The lives of celebrated travellers, Vol. 1. (of 3) (2024)

The publishers of the Family Library, anxious to obtainand to deserve the favourable opinion of the public, withpleasure embrace the present opportunity to express theirwarm and sincere thanks for the liberal patronage which hasbeen bestowed upon their undertaking, and their determinationto do all that lies in their power to merit its continuance.For some time previous to the commencement of theFamily Library, they had entertained thoughts and wishesof reducing the quantity of merely fictitious writings, whichthe reading public had made it their interest to issue fromtheir press; and they were conscious that this could onlybe done by substituting for them works that should be equallyentertaining and more instructive. The difficulty was tofind an adequate supply of books possessing these requisites.At this time the attention of English philanthropists andauthors was strongly turned to the general dissemination ofuseful knowledge by means of popular abridgments, convenientin form, afforded at low prices, and as much as possiblesimplified in style, so as to be accessible as well to themeans as to the comprehension of “the people,” in contradistinctionto the educated and the wealthy. The result hasbeen the production of numerous collections, embracing wellwritten works treating of almost every department of art andscience, and, by their simplicity, clearness, and entire freedomfrom technicality, exactly calculated to attract and compensatethe attention of the general reader. From these collections,with additions and improvements, and such alterationsas were necessary to adapt the work to the taste and wantsof the American public, Harper’s Family Library hasbeen composed; and it is with pride and pleasure that thepublishers acknowledge the distinguished favour with whichit has been received. The approbation and support thathave already been bestowed upon it are greater than haveever been conferred upon any work of a similar characterpublished in the United States; and the sale of every succeedingvolume still demonstrates its continually increasingpopularity. In several instances gentlemen of wealth andof excellent judgment have been so much pleased with thecharacter of the Library, that they have purchased numbersof complete sets as appropriate and valuable gifts to thefamilies of their less opulent relatives; and others have2unsolicited, been active in their endeavours to extend itscirculation among their friends and acquaintances. Withthese strong inducements to persevere, the publishers areresolved to prosecute their undertaking with additional zeal,energy, and circ*mspection. What has been done theydesire their patrons to consider rather in the light of an experiment,than a specimen of what they hope and intend toaccomplish: they freely and gratefully acknowledge thatthe circulation and popularity of the Family Library are nowsuch as to justify them in disregarding expense, and todemand from them every care and every exertion. It shallbe their study to make such arrangements as shall warrantthem in assuring the friends and patrons of the Library thatthe forthcoming volumes, instead of decreasing in interestand value, will be found still more deserving of the supportand approbation of the public than those which have precededthem.

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The Dramatic Series of the Family Library will consistprincipally of the works of those Dramatists who flourishedcontemporaneously with Shakspeare, in which all suchpassages as are inconsistent with modern delicacy will beomitted. The number of volumes will be limited, and theywill be bound and numbered in such a manner as to render itnot essentially necessary to obtain them to complete a set ofthe Family Library.

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Fictitious composition is now admitted to form an extensive and importantportion of literature. Well-wrought novels take their rank by theside of real narratives, and are appealed to as evidence in all questionsconcerning man. In them the customs of countries, the transitions andshades of character, and even the very peculiarities of costume and dialect,are curiously preserved; and the imperishable spirit that surroundsand keeps them for the use of successive generations renders the raritiesfor ever fresh and green. In them human life is laid down as on a map.The strong and vivid exhibitions of passion and of character which theyfurnish, acquire and maintain the strongest hold upon the curiosity, and,it may be added, the affections of every class of readers; for not only isentertainment in all the various moods of tragedy and comedy provided intheir pages, but he who reads them attentively may often obtain, withoutthe bitterness and danger of experience, that knowledge of his fellow-creatureswhich but for such aid could, in the majority of cases, be onlyacquired at a period of life too late to turn it to account.

This “Library of Select Novels” will embrace none but such as havereceived the impress of general approbation, or have been written byauthors of established character; and the publishers hope to receive suchencouragement from the public patronage as will enable them in thecourse of time to produce a series of works of uniform appearance, andincluding most of the really valuable novels and romances that have beenor shall be issued from the modern English and American press.

There is scarcely any question connected with the interests of literaturewhich has been more thoroughly discussed and investigated than that ofthe utility or evil of novel reading. In its favour much may be and hasbeen said, and it must be admitted that the reasonings of those who believenovels to be injurious, or at least useless, are not without force andplausibility. Yet, if the arguments against novels are closely examined,it will be found that they are more applicable in general to excessive indulgencein the pleasures afforded by the perusal of fictitious adventuresthan to the works themselves; and that the evils which can be justlyascribed to them arise almost exclusively, not from any peculiar noxiousqualities that can be fairly attributed to novels as a species, but from thoseindividual works which in their class must be pronounced to be indifferent.

But even were it otherwise—were novels of every kind, the good aswell as the bad, the striking and animated not less than the puerile, indeedliable to the charge of enfeebling or perverting the mind; and werethere no qualities in any which might render them instructive as well asamusing—the universal acceptation which they have ever received, andstill continue to receive, from all ages and classes of men, would provean irresistible incentive to their production. The remonstrances of moralistsand the reasonings of philosophy have ever been, and will still befound, unavailing against the desire to partake of an enjoyment so attractive.Men will read novels; and therefore the utmost that wisdom andphilanthropy can do is to cater prudently for the public appetite, and, as itis hopeless to attempt the exclusion of fictitious writings from the shelvesof the library, to see that they are encumbered with the least possiblenumber of such as have no other merit than that of novelty.

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“The works of our elder dramatists, as hitherto edited, are wholly unfitto be placed in the hands of young persons, or of females of any age, oreven to be thought of for a moment as furniture for the drawing-roomtable, and the parlour-window, or to form the solace of a family circle atthe fireside. What lady will ever confess that she has read and understoodMassinger, or Ford, or even Beaumont and Fletcher? There ishardly a single piece in any of those authors which does not contain moreabominable passages than the very worst of modern panders would everdream of hazarding in print—and there are whole plays in Ford, and inBeaumont and Fletcher, the very essence and substance of which is, frombeginning to end, one mass of pollution. The works, therefore, of theseimmortal men have hitherto been library, not drawing-room books;—andwe have not a doubt, that, down to this moment, they have been carefullyexcluded, in toto, from the vast majority of those English houses in whichtheir divine poetry, if stripped of its deforming accompaniments, would havebeen ministering the most effectually to the instruction and delight of ourcountrymen, and, above all, of our fair countrywomen.

“We welcome, therefore, the appearance of the Dramatic Series ofthe Family Library with no ordinary feelings of satisfaction. We arenow sure that, ere many months elapse, the productions of thosedistinguished bards—all of them that is worthy of their genius, theirtaste, and the acceptation of a moral and refined people—will beplaced within reach of every circle from which their very names havehitherto been sufficient to exclude them, in a shape such as must commandconfidence, and richly reward it. The text will be presented pureand correct, wherever it is fit to be presented at all—every word and passageoffensive to the modest ear will be omitted; and means adopted,through the notes, of preserving the sense and story entire, in spite ofthese necessary erasures. If this were all, it would be a great deal—butthe editors undertake much more. They will furnish, in their preliminarynotices, and in their notes, clear accounts of the origin, structure, andobject of every piece, and the substance of all that sound criticism hasbrought to their illustration, divested, however, of the personal squabblesand controversies which so heavily and offensively load the bottoms ofthe pages in the best existing editions of our dramatic worthies. Livesof the authors will be given; and if they be all drawn up with the skilland elegance which mark the Life of Massinger, in the first volume, thesealone will form a standard addition to our biographical literature.”—LiteraryGazette.

“The early British Drama forms so important a portion of our literature,that a ‘Family Library’ would be incomplete without it. A formidableobstacle to the publication of our early plays, however, consists inthe occasional impurity of their dialogue. The editors of the FamilyLibrary have, therefore, judiciously determined on publishing a selection ofold plays, omitting all such passages as are inconsistent with moderndelicacy. The task of separation requires great skill and discretion, butthese qualities we have no apprehension of not finding, in the fullest degreerequisite, in the editors, who, by this purifying process, will performa service both to the public and to the authors, whom they will therebydraw forth from unmerited obscurity.”—Asiatic Journal.

“The first number of the ‘Dramatic Series’ of this work commenceswith the Plays of Massinger; and the lovers of poetry and the dramamay now, for the first time, possess the works of all the distinguishedwriters of the renowned Elizabethan age, at a cost which most pocketscan bear; in a form and style, too, which would recommend them to themost tasteful book collector. A portrait of Massinger adorns the firstvolume; and what little is known of the dramatist is given in a shortaccount of his life.”—Examiner.

The Publishers have much pleasure in recordingthe following testimonials in recommendation of theFamily Classical Library.

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Dr. Southey, speaking of the works of travellers,very justly remarks, that “of such books we cannothave too many!” and adds, with equal truth, that“because they contribute to the instruction of thelearned, their reputation suffers no diminution bythe course of time, but that age rather enhancestheir value.” Every man, indeed, whose comprehensivemind enables him to sympathize with humannature under all its various aspects, and to detect—throughthe endless disguises superinduced bystrange religions, policies, manners, or climate—passions,weaknesses, and virtues akin to his own,must peruse the relations of veracious travellerswith peculiar satisfaction and delight. But thereis another point of view in which the labours of thisclass of writers may be contemplated with advantage.Having made use of them as a species oftelescope for bringing remote scenes near our intellectualeye, it may, perhaps, be of considerableutility to observe the effect of so many dissimilarand unusual objects, as necessarily present themselvesto travellers, upon the mind, character, andhappiness of the individuals who beheld them. This,in fact, is the business of the biographer; and it iswhat I have endeavoured to perform, to the best ofmy abilities, in the following “Lives.”

By accompanying the adventurer through his distantenterprises, often far more bold and useful thanany undertaken by king or conqueror, we insensibly10acquire, unless repelled by some base or immoralquality, an affection, as it were, for his person, andlearn to regard his toils and dangers amid “antresvast and deserts idle,” as something which concernsus nearly. And when the series of his wanderingsin foreign realms are at an end, our curiosity, unwillingto forsake an agreeable track, still pursueshim in his return to his home, longs to contemplatehim when placed once more in the ordinary ranksof society, and would fain be informed of the remainderof his tale. By some such mental processas this I was led to inquire into the lives of celebratedtravellers; and though, in many instances, Ihave been very far from obtaining all the informationI desired, my researches, I trust, will neitherbe considered discreditable to myself nor useless tothe public.

In arranging the materials of my work, I haveadopted the order of time for many reasons; butchiefly because, by this means, though pursuing theadventures of individuals, a kind of general historyof travels is produced, which, with some necessarybreaks, brings down the subject from the middle ofthe thirteenth century, the era of Marco Polo, toour own times. The early part of this period isprincipally occupied with the enterprises of foreigners,because our countrymen had not then begunto distinguish themselves greatly in this departmentof literature. As we advance, however, the geniusand courage of Englishmen will command a largeshare of our attention; and from a feeling which,perhaps, is more than pardonable, I look forward tothe execution of that part of my undertaking withmore than ordinary pride and pleasure.

J. A. St. John.

Paris, 1831.

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WILLIAM DE RUBRUQUIS.

The conquests of Genghis Khan and his successors,extending from the Amoor and the ChineseWall to the confines of Poland and Hungary, havingexcited extraordinary terror in the minds of theChristian princes of Europe, many of them, and particularlythe pope and the King of France, despatchedambassadors into Tartary, rather as spies to observethe strength and weakness of the country, and thereal character of its inhabitants, than for any genuinediplomatic purposes. Innocent IV. commencedthose anomalous negotiations, by sending, in 1246and 1247, ambassadors into Mongolia to the GreatKhan, as well as to his lieutenant in Persia. Theseambassadors, as might be expected, were monks,religious men being in those times almost the onlypersons possessing any talent for observation, orthe knowledge necessary to record their observationsfor the benefit of those who sent them. The firstembassy from the pope terminated unsuccessfully,as did likewise the maiden effort of St. Louis; butthis pious monarch, whose zeal overpowered hisgood sense, still imagined that the conversion of theGreat Khan, which formed an important part of his18design, was far from being impracticable; and uponthe idle rumour that one of his nephews had embracedChristianity, and thus opened a way for theGospel into his dominions, St. Louis in 1253 despatcheda second mission into Tartary, at the headof which was William de Rubruquis.

This celebrated monk was a native of Brabant,who, having travelled through France, and severalother countries of Europe, had passed over, perhapswith the army of St. Louis, into Egypt, from whencehe had proceeded to the Holy Land. Of this partof his travels no account remains. When intrusted,however, with the mission into Tartary, he repairedto Constantinople, whence, having publicly offeredup his prayers to God in the church of St. Sophia,he departed on the 7th of May, with his companions,and moving along the southern shore of the BlackSea, arrived at Sinopia, where he embarked for theCrimea. From an opinion that any indignitieswhich might be offered to Rubruquis would compromisethe dignity of the king, it had been agreedbetween Louis and his agent that, on the way atleast, the latter should pretend to no public character,but feign religious motives, as if he had beenurged by his own private zeal to endeavour theconversion of the khan and his subjects. Uponreaching Soldaza in the Crimea, however, he discoveredthat, secret as their proceedings were supposedto have been, the whole scheme of the enterprisewas perfectly understood; and that, unless asthe envoy of the king, he would not be permitted tocontinue his journey.

Rubruquis had no sooner entered the dominionsof the Tartars than he imagined himself to be in anew world. The savage aspect of the people, cladin the most grotesque costume, and eternally onhorseback, together with the strange appearance ofthe country, the sound of unknown languages, thepractice of unusual customs, and that feeling of19loneliness and desertion which seized upon theirminds, caused our traveller and his companions tocredit somewhat too readily the deceptive testimonyof first impressions, which never strictly correspondswith truth. Travelling in those covered wagonswhich serve the Tartars for carriages, tents, andhouses, and through immense steppes in whichneither town, village, house, nor any other building,save a few antique tombs, appeared, they arrived ina few weeks at the camp of Zagatay Khan, which,from the number of those moving houses there collected,and ranged in long lines upon the edge of alake, appeared like an immense city.

Here they remained some days in order to reposethemselves, and then set forward, with guides furnishedthem by Zagatay, towards the camp of Sartak,the prince to whom the letters of St. Louis were addressed.The rude and rapacious manners of theTartars, rendered somewhat more insolent than ordinary,perhaps, by the unaccommodating temperof their guests, appeared so detestable to Rubruquis,that, to use his own forcible expression, he seemedto be passing through one of the gates of hell; andhis ideas were probably tinged with a more sombrehue by the hideous features of the people, whosecountenances continually kept up in his mind thenotion that he had fallen among a race of demons.As they approached the Tanais the land rose occasionallyinto lofty hills, which were succeeded byplains upon which nothing but the immense tombsof the Comans, visible at a distance of two leagues,met the eye.

Having crossed the Tanais and entered Asia, theywere for several days compelled to proceed on foot,there being neither horses nor oxen to be obtainedfor money. Forests and rivers here diversified theprospect. The inhabitants, a fierce, uncivilized race,bending beneath the yoke of pagan superstition, anddwelling in huts scattered through the woods, were20yet hospitable to strangers, and so inaccessible tothe feelings of jealousy that they cared not uponwhom their wives bestowed their favours. Hogs,wax, honey, and furs of various kinds constitutedthe whole of their wealth. At length, after a longand a wearisome journey, which was rendereddoubly irksome by their ignorance of the languageof the people, and the stupid and headstrong characterof their interpreter, they arrived on the 1st ofJuly at the camp of Sartak, three days’ journeywest of the Volga.

The court of this Tartar prince exhibited thatspecies of magnificence which may be supposed mostcongruous with the ideas of barbarians: ample tents,richly caparisoned horses, and gorgeous apparel.—Rubruquisand his suit entered the royal tent insolemn procession, with their rich clerical ornaments,church plate, and illuminated missals borne beforethem, holding a splendid copy of the Scriptures intheir hands, wearing their most sumptuous vestments,and thundering forth, as they moved along,the “Salve Regina!” This pompous movement,which gave the mission the appearance of being personsof consequence, and thus flattered the vanityof Sartak, was not altogether impolitic; but it hadone evil consequence; for, although it probablyheightened the politeness of their reception, thesight of their sacred vessels, curious missals, andcostly dresses excited the cupidity of the Nestorianpriests, and cost Rubruquis dearly, many valuablearticles being afterward sequestrated when he wasleaving Tartary.

It now appeared that the reports of Sartak’sconversion to Christianity, which had probably beencirculated in Christendom by the vanity of the Nestorians,were wholly without foundation; and withrespect to the other points touched upon in the lettersof the French king, the khan professed himself unableto make any reply without the counsel of his father21Batou, to whose court, therefore, he directed theambassadors to proceed. They accordingly recommencedtheir journey, and moving towards the east,crossed the Volga, and traversed the plains of Kipjak,until they arrived at the camp of this new sovereign,whose mighty name seems never before to havereached their ears. Rubruquis was singularly astonished,however, at the sight of this prodigiousencampment, which covered the plain for the spaceof three or four leagues, the royal tent rising likean immense dome in the centre, with a vast openspace before it on the southern side.

On the morning after their arrival they were presentedto the khan. They found Batou, the descriptionof whose red countenance reminds the readerof Tacitus’s portrait of Domitian, seated upon a loftythrone glittering with gold. One of his wives satnear him, and around this lady and the other wivesof Batou, who were all present, his principal courtiershad taken their station. Rubruquis was now commandedby his conductor to kneel before the prince.He accordingly bent one knee, and was about tospeak, when his guide informed him by a sign that itwas necessary to bend both. This he did, and thenimagining, he says, that he was kneeling before God,in order to keep up the illusion, he commenced hisspeech with an ejacul*tion. Having prayed that tothe earthly gifts which the Almighty had showereddown so abundantly upon the khan, the favour ofHeaven might be added, he proceeded to say, thatthe spiritual gifts to which he alluded could be obtainedonly by becoming a Christian; for that Godhimself had said, “He who believeth and is baptizedshall be saved; but he who believeth not shall bedamned.” At these words the khan smiled; but hiscourtiers, less hospitable and polite, began to claptheir hands, and hoot and mock at the denouncer ofcelestial vengeance. The interpreter, who, in allprobability, wholly misrepresented the speeches he22attempted to translate, and thus, perhaps, by someinconceivable blunders excited the derision of theTartars, now began to be greatly terrified, as didRubruquis himself, who probably remembered thatthe leader of a former embassy had been menacedwith the fate of St. Bartholomew. Batou, however,who seems to have compassionated his sufferings,desired him to rise up; and turning the conversationinto another channel, began to make inquiries respectingthe French king, asking what was his name,and whether it was true that he had quitted his owncountry for the purpose of carrying on a foreign war.Rubruquis then endeavoured, but I know not withwhat success, to explain the motives of the crusaders,and several other topics upon which Batourequired information. Observing that the ambassadorwas much dejected, and apparently filled withterror, the khan commanded him to sit down; andstill more to reassure him and dissipate his apprehensions,ordered a bowl of mare’s milk, or koismos,to be put out before him, which, as bread and saltamong the Arabs, is with them the sacred pledge ofhospitality; but perceiving that even this failed todispel his gloomy thoughts, he bade him look up andbe of good cheer, giving him clearly to understandthat no injury was designed him.

Notwithstanding the barbaric magnificence of hiscourt, and the terror with which he had inspired Rubruquis,Batou was but a dependent prince, who wouldnot for his head have dared to determine good orevil respecting any ambassador entering Tartary,—everything in these matters depending upon thesovereign will of his brother Mangou, the Great Khanof the Mongols. Batou, in fact, caused so much tobe signified to Rubruquis, informing him, that to obtaina reply to the letters he had brought, he mustrepair to the court of the Khe-Khan. When theyhad been allowed sufficient time for repose, a Tartarchief was assigned them as a guide, and being furnished23with horses for themselves and their necessarybaggage, the remainder being left behind, andwith sheepskin coats to defend them from the piercingcold, they set forward towards the camp of Mangou,then pitched near the extreme frontier of Mongolia,at the distance of four months’ journey.

The privations and fatigue which they enduredduring this journey were indescribable. Wheneverthey changed horses, the wily Tartar impudentlyselected the best beast for himself, though Rubruquiswas a large heavy man, and therefore required a powerfulanimal to support his weight. If any of theirhorses flagged on the way, the whip and the stickwere mercilessly plied, to compel him, whether hewould or not, to keep pace with the others, whichscoured along over the interminable steppes with therapidity of an arrow; and when, as sometimes happened,the beast totally foundered, the two Franks(for there were now but two, the third having remainedwith Sartak) were compelled to mount, theone behind the other, on the same horse, and thusfollow their indefatigable and unfeeling conductor.Hard riding was not, however, the only hardshipwhich they had to undergo. Thirst, and hunger, andcold were added to fatigue; for they were allowedbut one meal per day, which they always ate in theevening, when their day’s journey was over. Theirfood, moreover, was not extremely palatable, consistinggenerally of the shoulder or ribs of some half-starvedsheep, which, to increase the savouriness ofits flavour, was cooked with ox and horse-dung, anddevoured half-raw. As they advanced, their conductor,who at the commencement regarded them withgreat contempt, and appears to have been making theexperiment whether hardship would kill them ornot, grew reconciled to his charge, perceiving thatthey would not die, and introduced them as they proceededto various powerful and wealthy Mongols,who seem to have treated them kindly, offering them,24in return for their prayers, gold, and silver, and costlygarments. The Hindoos, who imagine the EastIndia Company to be an old woman, are a type ofthose sagacious Tartars, who, as Rubruquis assuresus, supposed that the pope was an old man whosebeard had been blanched by five hundred winters.

On the 31st of October, they turned their horses’heads towards the south, and proceeded for eightdays through a desert, where they beheld largedroves of wild asses, which, like those seen by theTen Thousand in Mesopotamia, were far too swiftfor the fleetest steeds. During the seventh day, theyperceived on their right the glittering peaks of theCaucasus towering above the clouds, and arrived onthe morrow at Kenkat, a Mohammedan town, wherethey tasted of wine, and that delicious liquor whichthe orientals extract from rice. At a city whichRubruquis calls Egaius, near Lake Baikal, he foundtraces of the Persian language; and shortly afterwardentered the country of the Orrighers, an idolatrous,or at least a pagan race, who worshippedwith their faces towards the north, while the eastwas at that period the Kableh, or praying-point ofthe Christians.

Our traveller, though far from being intolerant forhis age, had not attained that pitch of humanitywhich teaches us to do to others as we would theyshould do unto us; for upon entering a temple, which,from his description, we discover to have been dedicatedto Buddha, and finding the priests engaged intheir devotions, he irreverently disturbed them byasking questions, and endeavouring to enter intoconversation with them. The Buddhists, consistentlywith the mildness of their religion, rebukedthis intrusion by the most obstinate silence, or bycontinual repetitions of the words “Om, Om! hactavi!”which, as he was afterward informed, signified, “Lord,Lord! thou knowest it!” These priests,like the bonzes of China, Ava, and Siam, shaved their25heads, and wore flowing yellow garments, probablyto show their contempt for the Brahminical race,among whom yellow is the badge of the most degradedcastes. They believed in one God, and, liketheir Hindoo forefathers, burned their dead, anderected pyramids over their ashes.

Continuing their journey with their usual rapidity,they arrived on the last day of the year at the courtof Mangou, who was encamped in a plain of immeasurableextent, and as level as the sea. Here,notwithstanding the rigour of the cold, Rubruquis,conformably to the rules of his order, went to courtbarefoot,—a piece of affectation for which he afterwardsuffered severely. Three or four days’ experienceof the cold of Northern Tartary cured him ofthis folly, however; so that by the 4th of January,1254, when he was admitted to an audience ofMangou, he was content to wear shoes like anotherperson.

On entering the imperial tent, heedless of timeand place, Rubruquis and his companion began tochant the hymn “A Solis Ortu,” which, in all probabilitymade the khan, who understood not one wordof what they said, and knew the meaning of noneof their ceremonies, regard them as madmen. However,on this point nothing was said; only, beforethey advanced into the presence they were carefullysearched, lest they should have concealed knives ordaggers under their robes with which they mightassassinate the khan. Even their interpreter wascompelled to leave his belt and kharjar with theporter. Mare’s milk was placed on a low table nearthe entrance, close to which they were desired toseat themselves, upon a kind of long seat, or form,opposite the queen and her ladies. The floor wascovered with cloth of gold, and in the centre of theapartment was a kind of open stove, in which a fireof thorns, and other dry sticks, mingled with cow-dung,was burning. The khan, clothed in a robe of26shining fur, something resembling seal-skin, wasseated on a small couch. He was a man of aboutforty-five, of middling stature, with a thick flat nose.His queen, a young and beautiful woman, was seatednear him, together with one of his daughters by aformer wife, a princess of marriageable age, and agreat number of young children.

The first question put to them by the khan was,what they would drink; there being upon the tablefour species of beverage,—wine, cerasine, or rice-wine,milk, and a sort of metheglin. They repliedthat they were no great drinkers, but would readilytaste of whatever his majesty might please to command;upon which the khan directed his cupbearerto place cerasine before them. The Turcoman interpreter,who was a man of very different mettle,and perhaps thought it a sin to permit the khan’swine to lie idle, had meanwhile conceived a violentaffection for the cupbearer, and had so frequentlyput his services in requisition, that whether he wasin the imperial tent or in a Frank tavern was to hima matter of some doubt. Mangou himself hadpledged his Christian guests somewhat too freely;and in order to allow his brain leisure to adjust itself,and at the same time to excite the wonder of thestrangers by his skill in falconry, commanded variouskinds of birds of prey to be brought, each ofwhich he placed successively upon his hand, and consideredwith that steady sagacity which men a littletouched with wine are fond of exhibiting.

Having assiduously regarded the birds long enoughto evince his imperial contempt of politeness, Mangoudesired the ambassadors to speak. Rubruquisobeyed, and delivered an harangue of some length,which, considering the muddy state of the interpreter’sbrain and the extremely analogous conditionof the khan’s, may very safely be supposed to havebeen dispersed, like the rejected prayers of the Homericheroes, in empty air. In reply, as he wittily27observes, Mangou made a speech, from which, as itwas translated to him, the ambassador could infernothing except that the interpreter was extremelydrunk, and the emperor very little better. In spiteof this cloudy medium, however, he imagined hecould perceive that Mangou intended to expresssome displeasure at their having in the first instancerepaired to the court of Sartak rather than to his;but observing that the interpreter’s brain was totallyhostile to the passage of rational ideas, Rubruquiswisely concluded that silence would be his best friendon the occasion, and he accordingly addressed himselfto that moody and mysterious power, andshortly afterward received permission to retire.

The ostensible object of Rubruquis was to obtainpermission to remain in Mongolia for the purpose ofpreaching the Gospel; but whether this was merelya feint, or that the appearance of the country andpeople had cooled his zeal, it is certain that he didnot urge the point very vehemently. However, thekhan was easily prevailed upon to allow him to prolonghis stay till the melting of the snows and thewarm breezes of spring should render travellingmore agreeable. In the mean while our ambassadoremployed himself in acquiring some knowledge ofthe people and the country; but the language, withoutwhich such knowledge must ever be superficial,he totally neglected.

About Easter the khan, with his family and smallertents or pavilions, quitted the camp, and proceededtowards Karakorum, which might be termed hiscapital, for the purpose of examining a marvellouspiece of jewelry in form of a tree, the productionof a French goldsmith. This curious piece of mechanismwas set up in the banqueting-hall of hispalace, and from its branches, as from some miraculousfountain, four kinds of wines and other deliciouscordials, gushed forth for the use of the guests.Rubruquis and his companions followed in the emperor’s28train, traversing a mountainous and sterildistrict, where tempests, bearing snow and intolerablecold upon their wings, swept and roared aroundthem as they passed, piercing through their sheep-skinsand other coverings to their very bones.

At Karakorum, a small city, which Rubruquiscompares to the town of St. Denis, near Paris, ourambassador-missionary maintained a public disputationwith certain pagan priests, in the presence ofthree of the khan’s secretaries, of whom the firstwas a Christian, the second a Mohammedan, andthe third a Buddhist. The conduct of the khan wasdistinguished by the most perfect toleration, as hecommanded under pain of death that none of thedisputants should slander, traduce, or abuse his adversaries,or endeavour by rumours or insinuationsto excite popular indignation against them; an actof mildness from which Rubruquis, with the illiberalityof a monk, inferred that Mangou was totallyindifferent to all religion. His object, however,seems to have been to discover the truth; but fromthe disputes of men who argued with each otherthrough interpreters wholly ignorant of the subject,and none of whom could clearly comprehend thedoctrines he impugned, no great instruction was tobe derived. Accordingly, the dispute ended, as allsuch disputes must, in smoke; and each disputantretired from the field more fully persuaded than everof the invulnerable force of his own system.

At length, perceiving that nothing was to beeffected, and having, indeed, no very definite objectto effect, excepting the conversion of the khan,which to a man who could not even converse withhim upon the most ordinary topic, seemed difficult,Rubruquis took his leave of the Mongol court, andleaving his companion at Karakorum, turned hisface towards the west. Returning by an easier ormore direct route, he reached the camp of Batou intwo months. From thence he proceeded to the city29of Sarai on the Volga, and descending along thecourse of that river, entered Danghistan, crossedthe Caucasus, and pursued his journey throughGeorgia, Armenia, and Asia Minor, to Syria.

Here he discovered that, taught by misfortune oryielding to the force of circ*mstances, the Frenchking had relinquished, at least for the present, hismad project of recovering Palestine. He was thereforedesirous of proceeding to Europe, for the purposeof rendering this prince an account of his mission;but this being contrary to the wishes of hissuperiors, who had assigned him the convent of Acrafor his retreat, he contented himself with drawingup an account of his travels, which was forwarded,by the first opportunity that occurred, to St. Louis inFrance. Rubruquis then retired to his convent, inthe gloom of whose cloisters he thenceforward concealedhimself from the eyes of mankind. It hasbeen ascertained, however, that he was still livingin 1293, though the exact date of his death is unknown.

The work of Rubruquis was originally written inLatin, from which language a portion of it wastranslated into English and published by Hackluyt.Shortly afterward Purchas published a new versionof the whole work in his collection. From thisversion Bergeron made his translation into French,with the aid of a Latin manuscript, which VanderAa and the “Biographie Universelle” have multipliedinto two. In all or any of these forms, the workmay still be read with great pleasure and advantageby the diligent student of the opinions and mannersof mankind.

The relations of Ascelin, Carpini, and Rubruquis,which are supposed by some writers to have openedthe way to the discoveries of the Polo family, areby no means entitled to so high an honour. Carpinidid not return to Italy until the latter end of theyear 1248; Ascelin’s return was still later; and althoughreports of the strange things they had beheldno doubt quickly reached Venice, these cannot besupposed to have exercised any very powerful influencein determining Nicolo and Maffio to undertakea voyage to Constantinople, the original placeof their destination, from whence they were accidentallyled on into the extremities of Tartary.With respect to Rubruquis, he commenced his undertakingthree years after their departure fromVenice, while they were in Bokhāra; and before hisreturn to Palestine they had already penetrated intoCathay. The influence of the relations of thesemonks upon the movements of the Polos is thereforeimaginary.

Nicolo and Maffio Polo, two noble Venetians engagedin commerce, having freighted a vessel withrich merchandise, sailed from Venice in the year1250. Traversing the Mediterranean and the Bosphorus,they arrived in safety at Constantinople,Baldwin II. being then Emperor of the East. Herethey disposed of their cargo, and purchasing richjewels with the proceeds, crossed the Black Sea toSoldain, or Sudak, in the Crimea, from whence theytravelled by land to the court of Barkah Khan, aTartar prince, whose principal residences were thecities of Al-Serai, and Bolghar. To this khan they31presented a number of their finest jewels, receivinggifts of still greater value in return. When theyhad spent a whole year in the dominions of Barkah,and were beginning to prepare for their return toItaly, hostilities suddenly broke out between thekhan and his cousin Holagon; which, rendering unsafeall passages to the west, compelled them tomake the circuit of the northern and eastern frontiersof Kipjak. Having escaped from the scene ofwar they crossed Gihon, and then traversing a desertof seventeen days’ journey, thinly sprinkledwith the tents of the wandering tribes, they arrivedat Bokhāra. Here they remained three years. Atthe termination of this period an ambassador fromHolagon to Kublai Khan passing through Bokhāra,and happening accidentally to meet with the Polos,who had by this time acquired a competent knowledgeof the Tartar language, was greatly charmedwith their conversation and manners, and by muchpersuasion and many magnificent promises prevailedupon them to accompany him to Cambalu, or Khanbalik,in Cathay. A whole year was consumed inthis journey. At length, however, they arrived atthe court of the Great Khan, who received andtreated them with peculiar distinction.

How long the brothers remained at Cambalu isnot known; but their residence, whatever may havebeen its length, sufficed to impress Kublai Khan withan exalted opinion of their honour and capacity, sothat when by the advice of his courtiers he determinedon sending an embassy to the pope, Nicoloand Maffio were intrusted with the conduct of themission. They accordingly departed from Cambalu,furnished with letters for the head of the Christianchurch, a passport or tablet of gold, empoweringthem to provide themselves with guides, horses, andprovisions throughout the khan’s dominions, andaccompanied by a Tartar nobleman. This Tartarfalling exceedingly ill on the way, they proceeded32alone, and, after three years of toil and dangers,arrived at Venice in 1269.

Nicolo, who, during the many years he had beenabsent, seems to have received no intelligence fromhome, now found that his wife, whom he had leftpregnant at his departure, was dead, but that she hadleft him a son, named Marco, then nineteen yearsold. The pope, likewise, had died the precedingyear; and various intrigues preventing the electionof a successor, they remained in Italy two years,unable to execute the commission of the khan. Atlength, fearing that their long absence might be displeasingto Kublai, and perceiving no probability of aspeedy termination to the intrigues of the conclave,they, in 1271, again set out for the East, accompaniedby young Marco.

Arriving in Palestine, they obtained from the legateVisconti, then at Acre, letters testifying theirfidelity to the Great Khan, and stating the fact thata new pope had not yet been chosen. At Al-Ajassi,in Armenia, however, they were overtaken by amessenger from Visconti, who wrote to inform themthat he himself had been elected to fill the papalthrone, and requested that they would either return,or delay their departure until he could provide themwith new letters to the khan. As soon as theseletters and the presents of his holiness arrived, theycontinued their journey, and passing through thenorthern provinces of Persia, were amused with theextraordinary history of the Assassins, then recentlydestroyed by a general of Holagon.

Quitting Persia, they proceeded through a richand picturesque country to Balkh, a celebrated city,which they found in ruins and nearly deserted, itslofty walls and marble palaces having been levelledwith the ground by the devastating armies of theMongols. The country in the neighbourhood hadlikewise been depopulated, the inhabitants havingtaken refuge in the mountains from the rapacious33cruelty of the predatory hordes, who roamed overthe vast fields which greater robbers had reaped,gleaning the scanty plunder which had escaped theirpowerful predecessors. Though the land was wellwatered and fertile, and abounding in game, lionsand other wild beasts had begun to establish theirdominion over it, man having disappeared; and therefore,such travellers as ventured across this newwilderness were constrained to carry along withthem all necessary provisions, nothing whateverbeing to be found on the way.

When they had passed this desert, they arrived ina country richly cultivated and covered with corn,to the south of which there was a ridge of highmountains, where such prodigious quantities of saltwere found that all the world might have been suppliedfrom those mines. The track of our travellersthrough the geographical labyrinth of Tartary it isimpossible to follow. They appear to have beenprevented by accidents from pursuing any regularcourse, in one place having their passage impededby the overflowing of a river, and on other occasionsbeing turned aside by the raging of bloody wars, bythe heat or barrenness, or extent of deserts, orby their utter inability to procure guides throughtracts covered with impervious forests or perilousmorasses.

They next proceeded through a fertile country,inhabited by Mohammedans, to the town of Scasom,perhaps the Koukan of Arrowsmith, on the Sirr orSihon. Numerous castles occupied the fastnessesof the mountains, while the shepherd tribes, like thetroglodytes of old, dwelt with their herds and flocksin caverns scooped out of the rock. In three days’journey from hence they reached the province ofBalascia, or Balashghan, where, Marco falling sick,the party were detained during a whole year, adelay which afforded our illustrious traveller ample34leisure for prosecuting his researches respecting thisand the neighbouring countries. The kings of thispetty sovereignty pretended to trace their descentfrom the Macedonian conqueror and the daughter ofDarius; making up, by the fabulous splendour oftheir genealogy, for their want of actual power. Theinhabitants were Mohammedans, and spoke a languagepeculiar to themselves. It was said, that notmany years previous they had possessed a race ofhorses equally illustrious with their kings, beingdescended from Bucephalus; but as it was assertedthat these noble animals possessed one great advantageover their kings, that of bearing upon theirforeheads the peculiar mark which distinguished thegreat founder of their family, thus proving the purityof the breed, they very prudently added that thewhole race had recently been exterminated.

This country was rich in minerals and preciousstones, lead, copper, silver, lapis lazuli, and rubiesabounding in the mountains. The climate was cold,and that of the plains insalubrious, engenderingagues, which quickly yielded, however, to the bracingair of the hills; where Marco, after languishing fora whole year with this disorder, recovered his healthin the course of a few days. The horses werelarge, strong, and swift, and had hoofs so tough thatthey could travel unshod over the most rocky places.Vast flocks of wild sheep, exceedingly difficult tobe taken, were found in the hills.

Marco’s health being restored, our travellers resumedtheir journey towards Cathay, and proceedingin a north-easterly direction, arrived at the roots ofa vast mountain, reported by the inhabitants to bethe loftiest in the world. Having continued for threedays ascending the steep approaches to this mountain,they reached an extensive table-land, hemmedin on both sides by still loftier mountains, and havinga great lake in its centre. A fine river likewise35flowed through it, and maintained so extraordinarya degree of fertility in the pastures upon its banks,that an ox or horse brought lean to these plains wouldbecome fat in ten days. Great numbers of wild animalswere found here, among the rest a species ofwild sheep with horns six spans in length, fromwhich numerous drinking-vessels were made. Thisimmense plain, notwithstanding its fertility, was uninhabited,and the severity of the cold prevented itsbeing frequented by birds. Fire, too, it was asserted,did not here burn so brightly, or produce the sameeffect upon food, as in other places: an observationwhich has recently been made on the mountains ofSavoy and Switzerland.

From this plain they proceeded along the foot ofthe Allak mountains to the country of Kashgar,which, possessing a fertile soil, and an industriousand ingenious population, was maintained in a highstate of cultivation, and beautified with numerousgardens, orchards, and vineyards. From Kashgarthey travelled to Yarkand, where the inhabitants,like those of the valleys of the Pyrenees, were subjectto the goitres, or large wens upon the throat.To this province succeeded that of Khoten, whenceour word cotton has been derived. The inhabitantsof this country, an industrious but unwarlike race,were of the Mohammedan religion, and tributariesto the Great Khan. Proceeding in their south-easterlydirection, they passed through the city ofPeym, where, if a husband or wife were absent fromhome twenty days, the remaining moiety mightmarry again; and pursuing their course throughsandy barren plains, arrived at the country of Sartem.Here the landscape was enlivened by numerouscities and castles; but when the storm of war burstupon them, the inhabitants, like the Arabs, reliedupon famine as their principal weapon against theenemy, retiring with their wives, children, treasures,and provisions, into the desert, whither none could36follow them. To secure their subsistence fromplunder, they habitually scooped out their granariesin the depths of the desert, where, after harvest,they annually buried their corn in deep pits, overwhich the wind soon spread the wavy sand as before,obliterating all traces of their labours. Theythemselves, however, possessed some unerring indexto the spot, which enabled them at all times to discovertheir hoards. Chalcedonies, jaspers, andother precious stones were found in the rivers ofthis province.

Here some insurmountable obstacle preventingtheir pursuing a direct course, they deviated towardsthe north, and in five days arrived at the city of Lop,on the border of the desert of the same name. Thisprodigious wilderness, the most extensive in Asia,could not, as was reported, be traversed from westto east in less than a year; while, proceeding fromsouth to north, a month’s journey conducted thetraveller across its whole latitude. Remaining sometime at the city of Lop, or Lok, to make the necessarypreparations for the journey, they entered thedesert. In all those fearful scenes where man isconstrained to compare his own insignificance withthe magnificent and resistless power of the elements,legends, accommodated to the nature of the place,abound, peopling the frozen deep or the “howlingwilderness” with poetical horrors superadded tothose which actually exist. On the present occasiontheir Tartar companions, or guides, entertainedour travellers with the wild tales current in thecountry. Having dwelt sufficiently upon the tremendoussufferings which famine or want of watersometimes inflicted upon the hapless merchant inthose inhospitable wastes, they added, from theirlegendary stores, that malignant demons continuallyhovered in the cold blast or murky cloud whichnightly swept over the sands. Delighting in mischief,they frequently exerted their supernatural37powers in steeping the senses of travellers in delusion,sometimes calling them by their names, practisingupon their sight, or, by raising up phantomshapes, leading them astray, and overwhelming themin the sands. Upon other occasions, the ears of thetraveller were delighted with the sounds of musicwhich these active spirits, like Shakspeare’s Ariel,scattered through the dusky air; or were salutedwith that sweetest of all music, the voice of friends.Then, suddenly changing their mood, the beat ofdrums, the clash of arms, and a stream of footfalls,and of the tramp of hoofs, were heard, as if wholearmies were marching past in the darkness. Suchas were deluded by any of these arts, and separated,whether by night or day, from their caravan, generallylost themselves in the pathless wilds, and perishedmiserably of hunger. To prevent this danger,travellers kept close together, and suspended littlebells about the necks of their beasts; and when anyof their party unfortunately lagged behind, theycarefully fixed up marks along their route, in orderto enable them to follow.

Having safely traversed this mysterious desert,they arrived at the city of Shatcheu, on the Polonkir,in Tangut. Here the majority of the inhabitantswere pagans and polytheists, and their various godspossessed numerous temples in different parts of thecity. Marco, who was a diligent inquirer into thecreed and religious customs of the nations he visited,discovered many singular traits of superstition atShatcheu. When a son was born in a family, he wasimmediately consecrated to some one of their numerousgods; and a sheep, yeaned, perhaps, on thebirthday of the child, was carefully kept and fed inthe house during a whole year: at the expiration ofwhich term both the child and the sheep were carriedto the temple, and offered as a sacrifice to thegod. The god, or, which was the same thing, thepriests, accepted the sheep, which they could eat, in38lieu of the boy, whom they could not; and the meatbeing dressed in the temple, that the deity might berefreshed with the sweet-smelling savour, was thenconveyed to the father’s dwelling, where a sumptuousfeast ensued, at which it may be safely inferredthe servants of the temple were not forgotten. Atall events, the priests received the head, feet, skin,and entrails, with a portion of the flesh, for theirshare. The bones were preserved, probably for purposesof divination.

Their exit from life was celebrated with as muchpomp as their entrance into it. Astrologers, theuniversal pests of the east, were immediately consulted;and these, having learned the year, month,day, and hour in which the deceased was born, interrogatedthe stars, and by their mute but significantreplies discovered the precise moment on which theinterment was to take place. Sometimes theseoracles of the sky became sullen, and for six monthsvouchsafed no answer to the astrologers, during allwhich time the corpse remained in a species of purgatory,uncertain of its doom. To prevent the deadfrom keeping the living in the same state, however,the body, having been previously embalmed, was enclosedin a coffin so artificially constructed that nooffensive odour could escape; while, as the soul wassupposed to hover all this while over its ancienttenement, and to require, as formerly, some kind ofearthly sustenance, food was daily placed before thedeceased, that the spirit might satisfy its appetitewith the agreeable effluvia. When the day of intermentarrived, the astrologers, who would have losttheir credit had they always allowed things to proceedin a rational way, sometimes commanded thebody to be borne out through an opening made forthe purpose in the wall, professing to be guided inthis matter by the stars, who, having no other employment,were extremely solicitous that all Tartarsshould be interred in due form. On the way from39the house of the deceased to the cemetery, woodencottages with porches covered with silk were erectedat certain intervals, in which the coffin was set downbefore a table covered with bread, wine, and otherdelicacies, that the spirit might be refreshed withthe savour. The procession was accompanied byall the musical instruments in the city; and alongwith the body were borne representations uponpaper of servants of both sexes, horses, camels,money, and costly garments, all of which were consumedwith the corpse on the funeral pile, insteadof the realities, which, according to Herodotus, wereanciently offered up as a sacrifice to the manes atthe tombs of the Scythian chiefs.

Turning once more towards the north, they enteredthe fertile and agreeable province of Khamil,situated between the vast desert of Lop and anothersmaller desert, only three days’ journey across.The natives of this country, practical disciples ofAristippus, being of opinion that pleasure is happiness,seemed to live only for amusem*nt, devotingthe whole of their time to singing, dancing, music,and literature. Their hospitality, like that of theknights of chivalry, was so boundlessly profuse, thatstrangers were permitted to share, not only theirboard, but their bed, the master of a family departingwhen a guest arrived, in order to render him morecompletely at home with his wife and daughters.To increase the value of this extraordinary speciesof hospitality, it is added that the women of Khamilare beautiful, and as fully disposed as their lords topromote the happiness of their guests. MangouKhan, the predecessor of Kublai, desirous of reformingthe morals of his subjects, whatever might be thefate of his own, abolished this abominable custom;but years of scarcity and domestic afflictions ensuing,the people petitioned to have the right of followingtheir ancestral customs restored to them. “Sinceyou glory in your shame,” said Mangou to their ambassadors,40“you may go and act according to yourcustoms.” The flattering privilege was receivedwith great rejoicings, and the practice, strange as itmay be, has continued up to the present day.

Departing from this Tartarian Sybaris, they enteredthe province of Chinchintalas, a country thicklypeopled, and rich in mines, but chiefly remarkablefor that salamander species of linen, manufacturedfrom the slender fibres of the asbestos, which wascleansed from stains by being cast into the fire.Then followed the district of Sucher, in the mountainsof which the best rhubarb in the world wasfound. They next directed their course towards thenorth-east, and having completed the passage of thedesert of Shom*o, which occupied forty days, arrivedat the city of Karakorum, compared by Rubruquis tothe insignificant town of St. Denis, in France, butsaid by Marco Polo to have been three miles incircumference, and strongly fortified with earthenramparts.

Our travellers now turned their faces towards thesouth, and traversing an immense tract of countrywhich Marco considered unworthy of minute description,passed the boundaries of Mongolia, and enteredCathay. During this journey they travelled througha district in which were found enormous wild cattle,nearly approaching the size of the elephant, andclothed with a fine, soft, black and white hair, inmany respects more beautiful than silk, specimensof which Marco procured and brought home withhim to Venice on his return. Here, likewise, thebest musk in the world was found. The animal fromwhich it was procured resembled a goat in size, butin gracefulness and beauty bore a stronger likenessto the antelope, except that it had no horns. On thebelly of this animal there appeared, every full moon, asmall protuberance or excrescence, like a thin silkenbag, filled with the liquid perfume; to obtain whichthe animal was hunted and slain. This bag was41then severed from the body, and its contents, whendried, were distributed at an enormous price overthe world, to scent the toilets and the persons ofbeauties in reality more sweet than itself.

Near Changanor, at another point of their journey,they saw one of the khan’s palaces, which was surroundedby beautiful gardens, containing numeroussmall lakes and rivulets and a prodigious number ofswans. The neighbouring plains abounded in partridges,pheasants, and other game, among which areenumerated five species of cranes, some of a snowywhiteness, others with black wings, their feathersbeing ornamented with eyes like those of the peaco*ck,but of a golden colour, with beautiful black andwhite necks. Immense flocks of quails and partridgeswere found in a valley near this city, where milletand other kinds of grain were sown for them by orderof the khan, who likewise appointed a numberof persons to watch over the birds, and caused hutsto be erected in which they might take shelter andbe fed by their keepers during the severity of thewinter. By these means, the khan had at all timesa large quantity of game at his command.

At Chandu, three days’ journey south-west ofChanganor, they beheld the stupendous palace whichKublai Khan had erected in that city. Neither thedimensions nor the architecture are described byMarco Polo, but it is said to have been constructed,with singular art and beauty, of marble and otherprecious materials. The grounds of this palace,which were surrounded by a wall, were sixteen milesin circumference, and were beautifully laid out intomeadows, groves, and lawns, watered by sparklingstreams, and abundantly stocked with red and fallowdeer, and other animals of the chase. In this parkthe khan had a mew of falcons, which, when at thepalace, he visited once a week, and caused to be fedwith the flesh of young fawns. Tame leopards wereemployed in hunting the stag, and, like the chattah,42or tiger, used for the same purpose in the Carnatic,were carried out on horseback to the scene of action,and let loose only when the game appeared.

In the midst of a tall grove, there was an elegantpavilion, or summer-house, of wood, supported onpillars, and glittering with the richest gilding.Against each pillar stood the figure of a dragon,likewise richly gilt, with its tail curling round theshaft, its head touching the roof, and its wings extendedon both sides through the intercolumniations.The roof was composed of split bamboos gilded andvarnished, and so skilfully shelving over each otherthat no rain could ever penetrate between them.This beautiful structure could easily be taken topieces or re-erected, like a tent, and, to prevent itfrom being overthrown by the wind, was fastened tothe earth by two hundred silken ropes. At thispalace the khan regularly spent the three summermonths of June, July, and August, leaving it on the28th of the last-named month, in order to proceedtowards the south. Eight days previous to his departure,however, having solemnly consulted hisastrologers, the khan annually offered sacrifice tothe gods and spirits of the earth, the ceremony consistingin sprinkling a quantity of white mare’s milkupon the ground with his own hands, at the sametime praying for the prosperity of his subjects, wives,and children. Kublai Khan was in no danger ofwanting milk for this sacrifice, since he possessed astud of horses, nearly ten thousand in number, allso purely white, that like certain Homeric steeds,they might, without vanity, have traced their originto Boreas, the father of the snow. Indeed, much ofthis imperial nectar must have streamed in libationsto mother earth on less solemn occasions; sincenone but persons of the royal race of Genghis Khanwere permitted to drink of it, with the exception ofone single family, named Boriat, to whom this distinguishedprivilege had been granted by Genghis fortheir prowess and valour.

43

Our travellers now drew near Cambalu, and thekhan, having received intelligence of their approach,sent forth messengers to meet them at the distanceof forty days’ journey from the imperial city, thatthey might be provided with all necessaries on theway, and conducted with every mark of honour anddistinction to the capital. Upon their arrival, theywere immediately presented to the khan; and havingprostrated themselves upon the ground, according tothe custom of the country, were commanded to rise,and most graciously received. When they had beenkindly interrogated by the emperor respecting thefatigues and dangers they had encountered in hisservice, and had briefly related their proceedingswith the pope and in Palestine, from whence, at thekhan’s desire, they had brought a small portion ofholy oil from the lamp of Christ’s sepulchre at Jerusalem,they received high commendations for theircare and fidelity. Then the khan, observing Marco,inquired, “Who is this youth?”—“He is your majesty’sservant, and my son,” replied Nicolo. Kublaithen received the young man with a smile, and, appointinghim to some office about his person, causedhim to be instructed in the languages and sciencesof the country. Marco’s aptitude and genius enabledhim to fulfil the wishes of the khan. In a very shorttime he acquired, by diligence and assiduity, a largeacquaintance with the manners of the Mongols, andcould speak and write fluently in four of the languagesof the empire.

When Marco Polo appeared to have acquired thenecessary degree of information, the khan, to maketrial of his ability, despatched him upon an embassyto a city or chief called Karakhan, at the distance ofsix months’ journey from Cambalu. This difficultcommission our traveller executed with ability anddiscretion; and in order still further to enhance themerit of his services in the estimation of his sovereign,he carefully observed the customs and manners44of all the various tribes among whom he resided,and drew up a concise account of the whole in writing,which, together with a description of the newand curious objects he had beheld, he presented tothe khan on his return. This, as he foresaw, greatlycontributed to increase the favour of the prince towardshim; and he continued to rise gradually fromone degree of honour to another, until at length itmay be doubted whether any individual in the empireenjoyed a larger portion of Kublai’s affection andesteem. Upon various occasions, sometimes uponthe khan’s business, sometimes upon his own, hetraversed all the territories and dependencies of theempire, everywhere possessing the means of observingwhatever he considered worth notice, his authorityand the imperial favour opening the mostsecluded and sacred places to his scrutiny.

As our traveller has not thought proper, however,to describe these various journeys chronologically,or, indeed, to determine with any degree of exactnesswhen any one of them took place, we are atliberty, in recording his peregrinations, to adoptwhatever arrangement we please; and it being indisputablethat Northern China was the first part ofKublai’s dominions, properly so called, which he entered,it appears most rational to commence the historyof his Chinese travels with an outline of whathe saw in that division of the empire.

The khan himself, whose profuse munificenceenabled Marco Polo to perform with pleasure andcomfort his long and numerous expeditions, was afine handsome man of middle stature, with a freshcomplexion, bright black eyes, a well-formed nose,and a form every way well proportioned. He hadfour wives, each of whom had the title of empress,and possessed her own magnificent palace, with aseparate court, consisting of three hundred maids ofhonour, a large number of eunuchs, and a suiteamounting at least to ten thousand persons. He,45moreover, possessed a numerous harem besides hiswives; and in order to keep up a constant supplyof fresh beauties, messengers were despatched everytwo years into a province of Tartary remarkable forthe beauty of its women, and therefore set apart asa nursery for royal concubines, to collect the finestamong the daughters of the land for the khan. Asthe inhabitants of this country considered it an honourto breed mistresses for their prince, the “elegansformarum spectator” had no difficulty in findingwhatever number of young women he desired, andgenerally returned to court with at least five hundredin his charge. So vast an army of women were not,however, marched all at once into the khan’s harem.Examiners were appointed to fan away the chaff fromthe corn,—that is, to discover whether any of thesefair damsels snored in their sleep, had an unsavourysmell, or were addicted to any mischievous or disagreeabletricks in their behaviour. Such, says thetraveller, as were finally approved were divided intoparties of five, and one such party attended in thechamber of the khan during three days and threenights in their turn, while another party waited inan adjoining apartment to prepare whatever theothers might command them. The girls of inferiorcharms were employed in menial offices about thepalace, or were bestowed in marriage, with largeportions, upon the favoured officers of the khan.

The number of the khan’s family, though not altogetheranswerable to this vast establishment ofwomen, was respectable,—consisting of forty-sevensons, of whom twenty-two were by his wives, and allemployed in offices of trust and honour in the empire.Of the number of his daughters we are not informed.

The imperial city of Cambalu, the modern Peking,formed the residence of the khan during the monthsof December, January, and February. The palaceof Kublai stood in the midst of a prodigious park,thirty-two miles in circumference, surrounded by a46lofty wall and deep ditch. This enclosure, like allMongol works of the kind, was square, and each ofits four sides was pierced by but one gate, so thatbetween gate and gate there was a distance of eightmiles. Within this vast square stood another,twenty-four miles in circumference, the walls beingequidistant from those of the outer square, andpierced on the northern and southern sides by threegates, of which the centre one, loftier and moremagnificent than the rest, was reserved for the khanalone. At the four corners, and in the centre ofeach face of the inner square, were superb and spaciousbuildings, which were royal arsenals for containingthe implements and machinery of war, suchas horse-trappings, long and crossbows and arrows,helmets, cuirasses, leather armour, &c. Marco Polomakes no mention of artillery or of firearms of anykind, from which it may be fairly inferred that theuse of gunpowder, notwithstanding the vain pretensionsof the modern Chinese, was unknown to theirancestors of the thirteenth century; for it is inconceivablethat so intelligent and observant a travelleras Marco Polo should have omitted all mention ofso stupendous an invention, had it in his age beenknown either to the Chinese or their conquerors.Indeed, though certainly superior in civilization andthe arts of life to the nations of Europe, they appearto have been altogether inferior in the science ofdestruction; for when Sian-fu had for three yearschecked the arms of Kublai Khan in his conquestof Southern China, the Tartars were compelled tohave recourse to the ingenuity of Nicolo and MaffioPolo, who, constructing immense catapults capableof casting stones of three hundred pounds’ weight,enabled them, by battering down the houses andshaking the walls as with an earthquake, to terrifythe inhabitants into submission.

To return, however, to the description of the palace.The space between the first and second walls47was bare and level, and appropriated to the exercisingof the troops. But having passed the secondwall, you discovered an immense park, resemblingthe paradises of the ancient Persian kings, stretchingaway on all sides into green lawns, dotted and brokeninto long sunny vistas or embowered shades by numerousgroves of trees, between the rich and variousfoliage of which the glittering pinnacles and snow-whitebattlements of the palace walls appeared atintervals. The palace itself was a mile in length,but, not being of corresponding height, had rather theappearance of a vast terrace or range of buildings thanof one structure. Its interior was divided into numerousapartments, some of which were of prodigiousdimensions and splendidly ornamented; the wallsbeing covered with figures of men, birds, and animalsin exquisite relief and richly gilt. A labyrinthof carving, gilding, and the most brilliant colours,red, green, and blue, supplied the place of a ceiling;and the united effect of the whole oppressed the soulwith a sense of painful splendour. On the north ofthis poetical abode, which rivalled in vastness andmagnificence the Olympic domes of Homer, stoodan artificial hill, a mile in circumference and of correspondingheight, which was skilfully planted withevergreen trees, which the Great Khan had caused tobe brought from remote places, with all their roots,on the backs of elephants. At the foot of this hillwere two beautiful lakes imbosomed in trees, andfilled with a multitude of delicate fish.

That portion of the imperial city which had beenerected by Kublai Khan was square, like his palace.It was less extensive, however, than the royalgrounds, being only twenty-four miles in circumference.The streets were all straight, and six milesin length, and the houses were erected on each side,with courts and gardens, like palaces. At a certainhour of the night, a bell, like the curfew of the Normans,was sounded in the city, after which it was48not lawful for any person to go out of doors unlessupon the most urgent business; for example, to procureassistance for a woman in labour; in whichcase, however, they were compelled to carry torchesbefore them, from which we may infer that thestreets were not lighted with lamps. Twelve extensivesuburbs, inhabited by foreign merchants andby tradespeople, and more populous than the cityitself, lay without the walls.

The money current in China at this period was ofa species of paper fabricated from the middle barkof the mulberry-tree, and of a round form. To counterfeit,or to refuse this money in payment, or tomake use of any other was a capital offence. Theuse of this money, which within the empire was asgood as any other instrument of exchange, enabledthe khan to amass incredible quantities of the preciousmetals and of all the other toys which delightcivilized man. Great public roads, which may beenumerated among the principal instruments of civilization,radiated from Peking, or Cambalu, towardsall the various provinces of the empire, and by theenlightened and liberal regulations of the khan, notonly facilitated in a surprising manner the conveyanceof intelligence, but likewise afforded to travellersand merchants a safe and commodious passagefrom one province to another. On each of thesegreat roads were inns at the distance of twenty-fiveor thirty miles, amply furnished with chambers, beds,and provisions, and four hundred horses, of whichone half were constantly kept saddled in the stables,ready for use, while the other moiety were grazingin the neighbouring fields. In deserts and mountainoussteril districts where there were no inhabitants,the khan established colonies to cultivate thelands, where that was possible, and provide provisionsfor the ambassadors and royal messengerswho possessed the privilege of using the imperialhorses and the public tables. In the night these49messengers were lighted on their way by personsrunning before them with torches; and when theyapproached a posthouse, of which there were tenthousand in the empire, they sounded a horn, as ourmail and stage coaches do, to inform the inmates oftheir coming, that no delay might be experienced.By this means, one of these couriers sometimes travelledtwo hundred or two hundred and fifty miles ina day. In desolate and uninhabited places, thecourses of the roads were marked by trees whichhad been planted for the purpose; and in placeswhere nothing would vegetate, by stones or pillars.

The manners, customs, and opinions of the people,though apparently considered by Marco Polo as lessimportant than what regarded the magnificence andgreatness of the khan, commanded a considerableshare of our traveller’s attention. The religion ofBuddha, whose mysterious doctrines have eludedthe grasp of the most comprehensive minds evenup to the present moment, he could not be expectedto understand; but its great leading tenets, the unityof the supreme God, the immortality of the soul,the metempsychosis, and the final absorption of thevirtuous in the essence of the Divinity, are distinctlyannounced. The manners of the Tartars were mildand refined; their temper cheerful; their characterhonest. Filial affection was assiduously cultivated,and such as were wanting in this virtue were condemnedto severe punishment by the laws. Threeyears’ imprisonment was the usual punishment forheinous offences; but the criminals were markedupon the cheek when set at liberty, that they mightbe known and avoided.

Agriculture has always commanded a large shareof the attention of the Chinese. The whole countryfor many days’ journey west of Cambalu wascovered with a numerous population, distinguishedfor their ingenuity and industry. Towns and citieswere numerous, the fields richly cultivated, and interspersed50with vineyards or plantations of mulberry-trees.On approaching the banks of theHoang-ho, which was so broad and deep that nobridges could be thrown over it from the latitude ofCambalu to the ocean, the fields abounded withginger and silk; and game, particularly pheasants,were so abundant, that three of these beautiful birdsmight be purchased for a Venetian groat. Themargin of the river was clothed with large forestsof bamboos, the largest, tallest, and most useful ofthe cane species. Crossing the Hoang-ho, and proceedingfor two days in a westerly direction, youarrived at the city of Karianfu, situated in a countryfertile in various kinds of spices, and remarkable forits manufactories of silk and cloth of gold.

This appears to have been the route pursued byMarco Polo when proceeding as the emperor’s ambassadorinto Western Tibet. Having travelled forten days through plains of surpassing beauty andfertility, thickly sprinkled with cities, castles, towns,and villages, shaded by vast plantations of mulberry-trees,and cultivated like a garden, he arrived in themountainous district of the province of Chunchian,which abounded with lions, bears, stags, roebucks,and wolves. The country through which his routenow lay was an agreeable succession of hill, valley,and plain, adorned and improved by art, or reluctantlyabandoned to the rude but sublime fantasiesof nature.

On entering Tibet, indelible traces of the footstepsof war everywhere smote upon his eye. Thewhole country had been reduced by the armies ofthe khan to a desert; the city, the cheerful village,the gilded and gay-looking pagoda, the pleasanthomestead, and the humble and secluded cottage,having been overthrown, and their smoking ruinstrampled in the dust, had now been succeeded byinterminable forests of swift-growing bamboos, frombetween whose thick and knotty stems the lion, the51tiger, and other ferocious animals rushed out suddenlyupon the unwary traveller. Not a soul appearedto cheer the eye, or offer provisions formoney. All around was stillness and utter desolation.And at night, when they desired to taste alittle repose, it was necessary to kindle an immensefire, and heap upon it large quantities of green reeds,which, by the crackling and hissing noise whichthey made in burning, might frighten away the wildbeasts.

This pestilential desert occupied him twenty daysin crossing, after which human dwellings, and othersigns of life, appeared. The manners of the peopleamong whom he now found himself were remarkablyobscene and preposterous. Improving upon thesuperstitious libertinism of the ancient Babylonians,who sacrificed the modesty of their wives and daughtersin the temple of Astarte once in their lives, theseTibetians invariably prostituted their young womento all strangers and travellers who passed throughtheir country, and made it a point of honour neverto marry a woman until she could exhibit numeroustokens of her incontinence. Thieving, like want ofchastity, was among them no crime; and, althoughthey had begun to cultivate the earth, they still derivedtheir principal means of subsistence from thechase. Their clothing was suitable to their manners,consisting of the skins of wild beasts, or of akind of coarse hempen garment, less comfortable,perhaps, and still more uncouth to sight. Thoughsubject to China, as it is to this day, the papermoney, current through all other parts of the empire,was not in use here; nor had they any betterinstrument of exchange than small pieces ofcoral, though their mountains abounded with minesof the precious metals, while gold was rolled downamong mud and pebbles through the beds of theirtorrents. Necklaces of coral adorned the personsof their women and their gods, their earthly and52heavenly idols being apparently rated at the samevalue. In hunting, enormous dogs, nearly the sizeof asses, were employed.

Still proceeding towards the west, he traversedthe province of Kaindu, formerly an independentkingdom, in which there was an extensive salt-lake,so profusely abounding with white pearls, that toprevent their price from being immoderately reduced,it was forbidden, under pain of death, to fish forthem without a license from the Great Khan. Theturquoise mines found in this province were underthe same regulations. The gadderi, or musk deer,was found here in great numbers, as were likewiselions, bears, stags, ounces, deer, and roebucks. Theclove, extremely plentiful in Kaindu, was gatheredfrom small trees not unlike the bay-tree in growthand leaves, though somewhat longer and straighter:its flowers were white, like those of the jasmin.Here manners were regulated by nearly the sameprinciples as in the foregoing province, strangersassuming the rights of husbands in whatever housesthey rested on their journey. Unstamped gold,issued by weight, and small solid loaves of salt,marked with the seal of the khan, were the currentmoney.

Traversing the province of Keraian, of whichlittle is said, except that its inhabitants were pagans,and spoke a very difficult language, our travellernext arrived at the city of Lassa, situated on theDom or Tama river, a branch of the Bramahpootra.This celebrated and extensive city, the residence ofthe Dalai, or Great Lama, worshipped by the nativesas an incarnation of the godhead, was then theresort of numerous merchants, and the centre of anactive and widely-diffused commerce. Completereligious toleration prevailed, pagans, Mohammedans,and Christians dwelling together apparentlyin harmony; the followers of the established religion,a modification of Buddhism, being however by53far the most numerous. Though corn was here plentiful,the inhabitants made no use of any other breadthan that of rice, which they considered the mostwholesome; and their wine, which was flavoured withseveral kinds of spices, and exceedingly pleasant, theylikewise manufactured from the same grain. Cowriesseem to have been used for money. The inhabitants,like the Abyssinians, ate the flesh of the ox,the buffalo, and the sheep raw, though they do notappear to have cut their steaks from the living animals.Here, as elsewhere in Tibet, women weresubjected, under certain conditions, to the embracesof strangers.

From Lassa, Marco Polo proceeded to the provinceof Korazan, where veins of solid gold werefound in the mountains, and washed down to theplains by the waters of the rivers. Cowries werehere the ordinary currency. Among the usual articlesof food was the flesh of the crocodile, whichwas said to be very delicate. The inhabitants carriedon an active trade in horses with India. Intheir wars they made use of targets and other defensivearmour, manufactured, like the shields ofmany of the Homeric heroes, from tough bull orbuffalo hide. Their arms consisted of lances orspears, and crossbows, from which, like genuinesavages, they darted poisonous arrows at their foes.When taken prisoners, they frequently escaped fromthe evils of servitude by self-slaughter, always bearingabout their persons, like Mithridates and Demosthenes,a concealed poison, by which they could atany time open themselves a way to Pluto. Previousto the Mongol conquests, these reckless savageswere in the habit of murdering in their sleep suchstrangers or travellers as happened to pass throughtheir country, from the superstitious belief, it is said,that the good qualities of the dead would devolveupon those who killed them, of which it must beconfessed they stood in great need; and perhaps54from the better grounded conviction that they shouldthus, at all events, become the undoubted heirs oftheir wealth.

Journeying westward for five days our travellerarrived at the province of Kardandan, where thecurrent money were cowries brought from India,and gold in ingots. Gold was here so plentiful thatit was exchanged for five times its weight in silver;and the inhabitants, who had probably been subjectto the toothache, were in the habit of covering theirteeth with thin plates of this precious metal, which,according to Marco, were so nicely fitted that theteeth appeared to be of solid gold. The practice oftattooing, which seems to have prevailed at onetime or other over the whole world, was in voguehere, men being esteemed in proportion as theirskins were more disfigured. Riding, hunting, andmartial exercises occupied the whole time of themen, while the women, aided by the slaves whowere purchased or taken in war, performed all thedomestic labours. Another strange custom, thecause and origin of which, though it has prevailedin several parts of the world, is hidden in obscurity,obtained here; when a woman had been deliveredof a child, she immediately quitted her bed, andhaving washed the infant, placed it in the hands ofher husband, who, lying down in her stead, personatedthe sick person, nursed the child, and remainedin bed six weeks, receiving the visits andcondolences of his friends and neighbours. Meanwhilethe woman bestirred herself, and performedher usual duties as if nothing had happened. MarcoPolo could discover nothing more of the religiousopinions of this people than that they worshippedthe oldest man in their family, probably as the representativeof the generative principle of nature.Broken, rugged, and stupendous mountains, no doubtthe Himmalaya, rendered this wild country nearlyinaccessible to strangers, who were further deterred55by a report that a fatal miasma pervaded the air,particularly in summer. The knowledge of lettershad not penetrated into this region, and all contractsand obligations were recorded by tallies of wood,as small accounts are still kept in Normandy, andother rude provinces of Europe.

Ignorance, priestcraft, and magic being of onefamily, and thriving by each other, are always foundtogether. These savages, like Lear, had thrown“physic to the dogs;” and when attacked by diseasepreferred the priest or the magician to the doctor.The priests, hoping to drive disease out of theirneighbour’s body by admitting the Devil into theirown, repaired, when called upon, to the chamber ofthe sick person; and there sung, danced, leaped, andraved, until a demon, in the language of the initiated,or, in other words, weariness, seized upon them,when they discontinued their violent gestures, andconsented to be interrogated. Their answer, ofcourse, was, that the patient had offended some god,who was to be propitiated with sacrifice, which consistedpartly in offering up a portion of the patient’sblood, not to the goddess Phlebotomy, as with us,but to some member of the Olympian synod whosefame has not reached posterity. In addition to this,a certain number of rams with black heads weresacrificed, their blood sprinkled in the air for thebenefit of the gods, and a great number of candleshaving been lighted up, and the house thoroughlyperfumed with incense and wood of aloes, thepriests sat down with their wives and families todinner; and if after all this the sick man would persistin dying, it was no fault of theirs. Destiny alonewas to blame.

The next journey which Marco Polo undertook,after his return from Tibet, was into the kingdom ofMangi, or Southern China, subdued by the arms ofthe khan in 1269. Fanfur, the monarch, who hadreigned previous to the irruption of the Mongols, is56represented as a mild, beneficent, and peaceful prince,intent upon maintaining justice and internal tranquillityin his dominions; but wanting in energy, andneglectful of the means of national defence. Duringthe latter years of his reign he had abandoned himself,like another Sardanapalus, to sensuality and voluptuousness;though, when the storm of war burstupon him, he exhibited far less magnanimity thanthat Assyrian Sybarite; flying pusillanimously to hisfleet with all his wealth, and relinquishing the defenceof the capital to his queen, who, as a woman,had nothing to fear from the cruelty of the conqueror.A foolish story, no doubt invented after thefall of the city, is said to have inspired the queenwith confidence, and encouraged her to resist thebesiegers: the soothsayers, or haruspices, had assuredFanfur, in the days of his prosperity, that noman not possessing a hundred eyes should ever deprivehim of his kingdom. Learning, however, withdismay that the name of the Tartar general now besiegingthe place signified “the Hundred-eyed,” sheperceived the fulfilment of the prediction, and surrenderedup the city. Kublai Khan, agreeably to theopinion of Fanfur, conducted himself liberally towardsthe captive queen; who, being conveyed toCambalu, was received and treated in a manner suitableto her former dignity. The dwarf-minded emperordied about a year after, a fugitive and a vagabondupon the earth.

The capital of Southern China, called Quinsai, orKinsai, by Marco Polo, a name signifying the “CelestialCity,” was a place of prodigious magnitude,being, according to the reports of the Chinese, notless than one hundred miles in circumference. Thisrough estimate of the extent of Kinsai, though beyonddoubt considerably exaggerated, is after all notso very incredible as may at first appear. Withinthis circumference, if the place was constructed afterthe usual fashion of a Chinese city, would be included57parks and gardens of immense extent, vast openspaces for the evolutions of the troops, besides theten market-places, each two miles in circumference,mentioned by Marco Polo, and many other largespaces not covered with houses. By these meansKinsai might have been nearly one hundred miles incircuit, without approaching London in riches orpopulation. That modern travellers have found notrace of such amazing extent in Hang-chen, Kua-hing,or whatever city they determine Kinsai to havebeen, by no means invalidates the assertion of MarcoPolo; for considering the revolutions which Chinahas undergone, and the perishable materials of theordinary dwellings of its inhabitants, we may lookupon the space of nearly six hundred years as morethan sufficient to have changed the site of Kinsai intoa desert. Were the seat of government to be removedfrom Calcutta to Agra or Delhi, the revolution ofone century would reduce that “City of Palaces,”to a miserable village, or wholly bury it in the pestilentialbog from which its sumptuous but perishableedifices originally rose like an exhalation.

I will suppose, therefore, in spite of geographicalskepticism, that Kinsai fell very little short of themagnitude which the Chinese, not Marco Polo, attributedto it. The city was nearly surrounded bywater, having on one side a great river, and on theother side a lake, while innumerable canals, intersectingit in all directions, rendered the very streetsnavigable, as it were, like those of Venice, and floatedaway all filth into the channel of the river. Twelvethousand bridges, great and small, were thrown overthese canals, beneath which barks, boats, and barges,bearing a numerous aquatic population, continuallypassed to and fro; while horsem*n dashed along,and chariots rolled from street to street, above.Three days in every week the peasantry from all thecountry round poured into the city, to the numberof forty or fifty thousand, bringing in the productions58of the earth, with cattle, fowls, game, and everyspecies of provision necessary for the subsistenceof so mighty a population. Though provisions wereso cheap, however, that two geese, or four ducks,might be purchased for a Venetian groat, the poorwere reduced to so miserable a state of wretchednessthat they gladly devoured the flesh of the mostunclean animals, and every species of disgustingoffal. The markets were supplied with an abundanceof most kinds of fruit, among which a pear of peculiarfragrance, and white and gold peaches, were themost exquisite. Raisins and wine were importedfrom other provinces; but from the ocean, whichwas no more than twenty-five miles distant, so greata profusion of fish was brought, that, at first sight, itseemed as if it could never be consumed, though itall disappeared in a few hours.

Around the immense market-places were the shopsof the jewellers and spice-merchants; and in the adjoiningstreets were numerous hot and cold baths,with all the apparatus which belong to those establishmentsin eastern countries. These places, as theinhabitants bathed every day, were well frequented,and the attendants accustomed to the business fromtheir childhood exceedingly skilful in the performanceof their duties. A trait which marks the voluptuoustemperament of the Chinese occurs in the accountof this city. An incredible number of courtesans,splendidly attired, perfumed, and living with a largeestablishment of servants in spacious and magnificenthouses, were found at Kinsai; and, like theirsisters in ancient Greece, were skilled in all thosearts which captivate and enslave enervated minds.The tradesmen possessed great wealth, and appearedin their shops sumptuously dressed in silks, in additionto which their wives adorned themselves withcostly jewels. Their houses were well built, andcontained pictures and other ornaments of immensevalue. In their dealings they were remarkable for59their integrity, and great suavity and decorum appearedin their manners. Notwithstanding the gentlenessof their disposition, however, their hatred oftheir Mongol conquerors, who had deprived them oftheir independence and the more congenial rule oftheir native princes, was not to be disguised.

All the streets were paved with stone, while thecentre was macadamized, a mark of civilization notyet to be found in Paris, or many other Europeancapitals, any more than the cleanliness which accompaniedit. Hackney-coaches with silk cushions,public gardens, and shady walks were among theluxuries of the people of Kinsai; while, as Mr. Kerrvery sensibly remarks, the delights of European capitalswere processions of monks among perpetualdunghills in narrow crooked lanes. Still, in themidst of all this wealth and luxury, poverty and tremendoussuffering existed, compelling parents to selltheir children, and when no buyers appeared, to exposethem to death. Twenty thousand infants thusdeserted were annually snatched from destructionby the Emperor Fanfur, and maintained and educateduntil they could provide for themselves.

Marco Polo’s opportunities for studying the customsand manners of this part of the empire weresuch as no other European has ever enjoyed, as,through the peculiar affection of the Great Khan, hewas appointed governor of one of its principal cities,and exercised this authority during three years. Yet,strange to say, he makes no mention of tea, and alludesonly once, and that but slightly, to the manufactureof porcelain. These omissions, however, arein all probability not to be attributed to him, but tothe heedlessness or ignorance of transcribers andcopyists, who, not knowing what to make of theterms, boldly omitted them. The most remarkablemanufacture of porcelain in his time appears to havebeen at a city which he calls Trinqui, situated on onebranch of the river which flowed to Zaitum, supposed60to be the modern Canton. Here he was informed acertain kind of earth or clay was thrown up into vastconical heaps, where it remained exposed to theaction of the atmosphere for thirty or forty years,after which, refined, as he says, by time, it wasmanufactured into dishes, which were painted andbaked in furnaces.

Having now remained many years in China, thePolos began to feel the desire of revisiting theirhome revive within their souls; and this desire wasstrengthened by reflecting upon the great age of thekhan, in the event of whose death it was possiblethey might never be able to depart from the country,at least with the amazing wealth which they hadamassed during their long residence. One day,therefore, when they observed Kublai to be in a remarkablygood-humour, Nicolo, who seems to haveenjoyed a very free access to the chamber of thesovereign, ventured to entreat permission to returnhome with his family. The khan, however, who,being himself at home, could comprehend nothing ofthat secret and almost mysterious power by whichman is drawn back from the remotest corners of theearth towards the scene of his childhood, and who,perhaps, imagined that gold could confer irresistiblecharms upon any country, was extremely displeasedat the request. He had, in fact, become attached tothe men, and his unwillingness to part with themwas as natural as their desire to go. To turn themfrom all thoughts of the undertaking, he dwelt uponthe length and danger of the journey; and added,that if more wealth was what they coveted, they hadbut to speak, and he would gratify their utmostwishes, by bestowing upon them twice as much asthey already possessed; but that his affection wouldnot allow him to part with them.

Providence, however, which under the name ofchance or accident so frequently befriends the perplexed,now came to their aid. Not long after the61unsuccessful application of Nicolo, ambassadorsarrived at the court of the Great Khan, from Argûn,Sultan of Persia, demanding a princess of the imperialblood for their master, whose late queen on herdeathbed had requested him to choose a wife fromamong her relations in Cathay. Kublai consented;and the ambassadors departed with a youthful princesson their way to Persia. When they had proceededeight months through the wilds of Tartary,their course was stopped by bloody wars; and theywere constrained to return with the princess to thecourt of the khan. Here they heard of Marco, whohad likewise just returned from an expedition intoIndia by sea, describing the facility which navigationafforded of maintaining an intercourse between thatcountry and China. The ambassadors now procuredan interview with the Venetians, who consented, ifthe permission of the khan could be obtained, toconduct them by sea to the dominions of their sovereign.With great reluctance the khan at lengthyielded to their solicitation; and having commandedNicolo, Maffio, and Marco into his presence, andlavished upon them every possible token of his affectionand esteem, constituting them his ambassadorsto the pope and the other princes of Europe, hecaused a tablet of gold to be delivered to them, uponwhich were engraven his commands that they shouldbe allowed free and secure passage through all hisdominions; that all their expenses, as well as thoseof their attendants, should be defrayed; and thatthey should be provided with guides and escortswherever these might be necessary. He then exactedfrom them a promise that when they shouldhave passed some time in Christendom among theirfriends, they would return to him, and affectionatelydismissed them.

Fourteen ships with four masts, of which four orfive were so large that they carried from two hundredand fifty to two hundred and sixty men, were62provided for their voyage; and on board of this fleetthey embarked with the queen and the ambassadors,and sailed away from China. It was probably fromthe officers of these ships, or from those with whomhe had made his former voyage to India, that MarcoPolo learned what little he knew of the great islandof Zipangri or Japan. It was about fifteen hundredmiles distant, as he was informed, from the shoresof China. The people were fair, gentle in theirmanners, and governed by their own princes. Gold,its exportation being prohibited, was plentiful amongthem; so plentiful, indeed, that the roof of theprince’s palace was covered with it, as churches inEurope sometimes are with lead, while the windowsand floors were of the same metal. The prodigiousopulence of this country tempted the ambition orrapacity of Kublai Khan, who with a vast fleet andarmy attempted to annex it with his empire, butwithout success. It was Marco’s brief descriptionof this insular El Dorado which is supposed to havekindled the spirit of discovery and adventure in thegreat soul of Columbus. Gentle as the manners ofthe Japanese are said to have been, neither they northe Chinese themselves could escape the charge ofcannibalism, which appears to be among barbarianswhat heresy was in Europe during the middle ages,the crime of which every one accuses his bitterestenemy. The innumerable islands scattered throughthe surrounding ocean were said to abound withspices and groves of odoriferous wood.

The vast islands and thickly-sprinkled archipelagoeswhich rear up their verdant and scented headsamong the waters of the Indian ocean, now successivelypresented themselves to the observant eyeof our traveller, and appeared like another world.Ziambar, with its woods of ebony; Borneo, with itsspices and its gold; Lokak, with its sweet fruits, itsBrazil wood, and its elephants;—these were thenew and strange countries at which they touched63on the way to Java the less, or Sumatra. Thisisland, which he describes as two thousand miles incircumference, was divided into eight kingdoms, sixof which he visited and curiously examined. Someportion of the inhabitants had been converted to Mohammedanism;but numerous tribes still roamed ina savage state among the mountains, feeding uponhuman flesh and every unclean animal, and worshippingas a god the first object which met their eyesin the morning. Among one of these wild races avery extraordinary practice prevailed: wheneverany individual was stricken with sickness, his relationsimmediately inquired of the priests or magicianswhether he would recover or not; and if answeredin the negative, the patient was instantlystrangled, cut in pieces, and devoured, even to thevery marrow of the bones. This, they alleged, wasto prevent the generation of worms in any portionof the body, which, by gnawing and defacing it, wouldtorture the soul of the dead. The bones werecarefully concealed in the caves of the mountains.Strangers, from the same humane motive, wereeaten in an equally friendly way.

Here were numerous rhinoceroses, camphor, whichsold for its weight in gold, and lofty trees, ten ortwelve feet in circumference, from the pith of whicha kind of meal was made. This pith, having beenbroken into pieces, was cast into vessels filled withwater, where the light innutritious parts floatedupon the top, while the finer and more solid descendedto the bottom. The former was skimmedoff and thrown away, but the latter, in taste not unlikebarley-bread, was wrought into a kind of paste,and eaten. This was the sago, the first specimenof which ever seen in Europe was brought to Veniceby Marco Polo. The wood of the tree, which washeavy and sunk in water like iron, was used inmaking spears.

From Sumatra they sailed to the Nicobar and64Andaman islands, the natives of which were nakedand bestial savages, though the country producedexcellent cloves, cocoanuts, Brazil wood, red andwhite sandal wood, and various kinds of spices.They next touched at Ceylon, which appeared toMarco Polo, and not altogether without reason, tobe the finest island in the world. Here no grain,except rice, was cultivated; but the country produceda profusion of oil, sesamum, milk, flesh, palmwine, sapphires, topazes, amethysts, and the bestrubies in the world. Of this last kind of gem theKing of Ceylon was said to possess the finest specimenin existence, the stone being as long as a man’shand, of corresponding thickness, and glowing likefire. The wonders of Adam’s Peak Marco Poloheard of, but did not behold. His account of thepearl-fishery he likewise framed from report.

From Ceylon they proceeded towards the PersianGulf, touching in their way upon the coast of theCarnatic, where Marco learned some particularsrespecting the Hindoos; as, that they were an unwarlikepeople, who imported horses from Ormus,and generally abstained from beef; that their richmen were carried about in palankeens; and thatfrom motives of the origin of which he was ignorant,every man carefully preserved his own drinking-vesselsfrom the touch of another.

At length, after a voyage of eighteen months, theyarrived in the dominions of Argûn, but found that thatprince was dead, the heir to the throne a minor, andthe functions of government exercised by a regent.They delivered the princess, who was now nearlynineteen, to Kazan, the son of Argûn; and havingbeen magnificently entertained for nine months bythe regent, who presented them at parting with fourtablets of gold, each a cubit long and five fingersbroad, they continued their journey through Kurdistanand Mingrelia, to Trebizond, where they embarkedupon the Black Sea; and, sailing down the65Bosphorus and Dardanelles, crossed the Ægean,touched at Negropont, and arrived safely at Venice,in the year 1295.

On repairing to their own house, however, in thestreet of St. Chrysostom, they had the mortificationto find themselves entirely forgotten by all their oldacquaintance and countrymen; and even their nearestrelations, who upon report of their death hadtaken possession of their palace, either could not orwould not recognise them. Forty-five years had nodoubt operated strange changes in the persons ofNicolo and Maffio; and even Marco, who had left hishome in the flower of his youth, and now returnedafter an absence of twenty-four years, a middle-agedman, storm-beaten, and bronzed by the force oftropical suns, must have been greatly altered. Besides,they had partly forgotten their native language,which they pronounced with a barbarous accent,intermingling Tartar words, and setting therules of syntax at defiance. Their dress, air, and demeanour,likewise, were Tartarian. To convincethe incredulous, however, and prove their identity,they invited all their relations and old associates toa magnificent entertainment, at which the three travellersappeared attired in rich eastern habits of crimsonsatin. When all the guests were seated, thePolos put off their satin garments, which they bestowedupon the attendants, still appearing superblydressed in robes of crimson damask. At the removalof the last course but one of the entertainment, theydistributed their damask garments also upon the attendants,these having merely concealed far moremagnificent robes of crimson velvet. When dinnerwas over, and the attendants had withdrawn, MarcoPolo exhibited to the company the coats of coarseTartarian cloth, or felt, which his father, his uncle,and himself had usually worn during their travels.These he now cut open, and from their folds andlinings took out so prodigious a quantity of rubies,66sapphires, emeralds, carbuncles, and diamonds, thatthe company, amazed and delighted with the beautyand splendour of these magnificent and invaluablegems, no longer hesitated to acknowledge the claimsof the Polos, who, by the same arguments, mighthave proved their identity with Prester John and hisfamily.

The news of their arrival now rapidly circulatedthrough Venice, and crowds of persons of all ranks,attracted, partly by their immense wealth, partly bythe strangeness of their recitals, flocked to their palaceto see and congratulate them upon their return.The whole family was universally treated with distinction,and Maffio, the elder of the brothers, becameone of the principal magistrates of the city.Marco, as being the youngest, and probably the mostcommunicative of the three, was earnestly soughtafter by the young noblemen of Venice, whom he entertainedand astonished by his descriptions of thestrange and marvellous things he had beheld; and asin speaking of the subjects and revenues of the GreatKhan he was frequently compelled to count by millions,he obtained among his companions the nameof Marco Millione. In the time of Ramusio the Polopalace still existed in the street of St. Chrysostom,and was popularly known by the name of the Cortedel Millioni. Some writers, however, have supposedthat this surname was bestowed on the Polos onaccount of their extraordinary riches.

Marco Polo had not been many months at Venicebefore the news arrived that a Genoese fleet, underthe command of Lampa Doria, had appeared nearthe island of Curzola, on the coast of Dalmatia. Therepublic, alarmed at the intelligence, immediatelysent out a numerous fleet against the enemy, in whichMarco Polo, as an experienced mariner, was intrustedwith the command of a galley. The twofleets soon came to an engagement, when Marco,with that intrepid courage which had carried him67safely through so many dangers, advanced with hisgalley before the rest of the fleet, with the design ofbreaking the enemy’s squadron. The Venetians,however, who were quickly defeated, wanted theenergy to second his boldness; and Marco, who hadbeen wounded in the engagement, was taken prisonerand carried to Genoa.

Here, as at Venice, the extraordinary nature of hisadventures, the naïveté of his descriptions, and theamiableness of his character soon gained him friends,who not only delighted in his conversation, but exertedall their powers to soften the rigours of his captivity.Day after day new auditors flocked aroundthis new Ulysses, anxious to hear from his own lipsan account of the magnificence and grandeur of KublaiKhan, and of the vast empire of the Mongols.Wearied at length, however, with for ever repeatingthe same things, he determined, in pursuance of theadvice of his new friends, to write the history of histravels; and sending to Venice for the original noteswhich he had made while in the East, compiled ordictated the brief work which has immortalized hismemory. The work was completed in the year 1298,when it may also be said to have been published, asnumerous copies were made and circulated.

Meanwhile, his father and uncle, who had hithertolooked to Marco for the continuation of the Polofamily, and who had vainly endeavoured by the offerof large sums of money to redeem him from captivity,began to deliberate upon the course which they oughtto adopt under the present circ*mstances; and itwas resolved that Nicolo, the younger and morevigorous of the two, should himself marry. Fouryears after this marriage, Marco was set at libertyat the intercession of the most illustrious citizens ofGenoa; but on returning to Venice he found thatthree new members had been added to the Polofamily during his absence, his father having had somany sons by his young wife. Marco continued,68however, to live in the greatest harmony and happinesswith his new relations; and shortly afterwardmarrying himself, had two daughters, Maretta andFantina, but no sons. Upon the death of his father,Marco erected a monument to his memory in theportico of the church of St. Lorenzo, with an inscriptionstating that it was built in honour of the traveller’sfather. Neither the exact date of his father’sdeath nor of his own has hitherto been ascertained;but it is supposed that our illustrious traveller’s deceasetook place either in the year 1323 or 1324.According to Mr. Marsden’s opinion, he was thenseventy years of age; but if we follow the opinionof the majority of writers, and of M. Walkenaeramong the rest, he must have attained the age ofseventy-three or seventy-four. The male line ofthe Polos became extinct in 1417, and the only survivingfemale was married to a member of the noblehouse of Trevisino, one of the most illustrious inVenice.

When the travels of Marco Polo first appeared,they were generally regarded as a fiction; and thisabsurd belief had so far gained ground, that when helay upon his deathbed, his friends and nearest relatives,coming to take their eternal adieu, conjuredhim, as he valued the salvation of his soul, to retractwhatever he had advanced in his book, or at leastsuch passages as every person looked upon as untrue;but the traveller, whose conscience was untroubledupon that score, declared solemnly in thatawful moment, that far from being guilty of exaggeration,he had not described one-half of the wonderfulthings which he had beheld. Such was the receptionwhich the discoveries of this extraordinaryman experienced when first promulgated. By degrees,however, as enterprise lifted more and morethe veil from central and eastern Asia, the relationsof our traveller rose in the estimation of geographers;and now that the world, though still containing many69unknown tracts, has been more successfully explored,we begin to perceive that Marco Polo, likeHerodotus, was a man of the most rigid veracity,whose testimony presumptuous ignorance alone cancall in question.

To relate the history of our traveller’s work sinceits first publication would be a long and a dry task.It was translated during his lifetime into Latin (forthe opinion of Ramusio that it was originally composedin that language seems to be absurd), as wellas into several modern languages of Europe; and asmany of those versions were made, according to tradition,under the author’s own direction, he is thoughtto have inserted some numerous particulars whichwere wanting in others; and in this way the variationsof the different manuscripts are accounted for.The number of the translations of Marco Polo isextraordinary; one in Portuguese, two in Spanish,three in German, three in French, three or four inLatin, one in Dutch, and seven in English. Of allthese numerous versions, that of Mr. Marsden isgenerally allowed to be incomparably the best, whetherthe correctness of the text or the extent, riches,and variety of the commentary be considered.

IBN BATŪTA.

This traveller, whose name and works were littleknown in Europe before the publication of ProfessorLee’s translation, was born at Tangiers, in NorthernAfrica, about the year 1300. He appeared to be designedby nature to be a great traveller. Romanticin his disposition, a great lover of the marvellous,and possessing a sufficient dash of superstition in his70character to enable him everywhere to discoveromens favourable to his wishes, the slightest motivessufficed to induce him to undertake at a day’s noticethe most prodigious journeys, though he could reckonupon deriving from them nothing but the pleasureof seeing strange sights, or of believing that he wasfulfilling thereby the secret intentions of Providencerespecting him.

Being by profession one of those theologians whoin those times were freely received and entertainedby princes and the great in all Mohammedan countries,he could apprehend no danger of wanting thenecessaries of life, and had before him at least thechance, if not the certain prospect, of being raisedfor his learning and experience to some post of distinction.The first step in the adventures of all Mohammedantravellers is, of course, the pilgrimageto Mecca, as this journey confers upon them a kindof sacred character, and the title of Hajjî, which isa passport generally respected in all the territoriesof Islamism.

Ibn Batūta left his native city of Tangiers for thepurpose of performing the pilgrimage in the year ofthe Hejira 725 (A. D. 1324-5). Traversing the BarbaryStates and the whole breadth of Northern Africa,probably in company with the great Mogrebinecaravan which annually leaves those countries forMecca, he arrived without meeting with any remarkableadventure in Egypt, where, according to theoriginal design of his travels, he employed his timein visiting the numerous saints and workers of miracleswith which that celebrated land abounded inthose days. Among the most distinguished of thesem*n then in Alexandria was the Imam Borhaneddinel Aaraj. Our traveller one day visiting this man,“Batūta,” said he, “I perceive that the passion ofexploring the various countries of the earth hathseized upon thee!”—“I replied, Yes,” says the traveller,“though I had at that time no intention of extending71my researches to very distant regions.”—“Ihave three brothers,” continued the saint, “of whomthere is one in India, another in Sindia, and the thirdin China. You must visit those realms, and whenyou see my brothers, inform them that they are stillaffectionately remembered by Borhaneddin.”—“Iwas astonished at what he said,” observes Batūta,“and determined within myself to accomplish hisdesires.” He in fact regarded the expressions ofthis holy man as a manifestation of the will ofHeaven.

Having thus conceived the bold design of exploringthe remotest countries of the East, Ibn Batūtawas impatient to be in motion; he therefore abridgedhis visits to the saints, and proceeded on his journey.Nevertheless, before his departure from this part ofEgypt he had a dream, which, being properly interpretedby a saint, greatly strengthened him in hisresolution. Falling asleep upon the roof of a hermit’scell, he imagined himself placed upon the wingsof an immense bird, which, rising high into the air,fled away towards the temple at Mecca. Fromthence the bird proceeded towards Yarren, and, aftertaking a vast sweep through the south and the regionsof the rising sun, alighted safely with his burdenin the land of darkness, where he deposited it,and disappeared. On the morrow the sage hermitinterpreted this vision in the sense most consonantwith the wishes of the seer, and, presenting ourtraveller with some dirhems and dried cakes, dismissedhim on his way. During the whole of histravels Ibn Batūta met with but one man who equalledthis hermit in sanctity and wisdom, and observes,that from the very day on which he quitted him heexperienced nothing but good fortune.

At Damietta he saw the cell of the Sheïkh Jemaleddin,leader of the sect of the Kalenders celebratedin the Arabian Nights, who shave their chins andtheir eyebrows, and spend their whole lives in the72contemplation of the beatitude and perfection of God.Journeying onwards through the cities and districtsof Fariskūr, Ashmūn el Rommān, and Samānūd, heat length arrived at Misz, or Cairo, where he appearsto have first tasted the pure waters of the Nile,which, in his opinion, excel those of all other riversin sweetness.

Departing from Cairo, and entering Upper Egypt,he visited, among other places, the celebrated monasteryof Clay and the minyet of Ibn Khasib. Uponthe mention of this latter place, he takes occasion torelate an anecdote of a poet, which, because it is inkeeping with our notions of what a man of geniusshould be, we shall here introduce. Ibn Khasib,raised from a state of slavery to the government ofEgypt, and again reduced to beggary, and deprivedof sight by the caprice and cruelty of a calif of thehouse of Abbas, had while in power been a munificentpatron and protector of literary men. Hearingof his magnificence and generosity, a poet of Bagdadhad undertaken to celebrate his praises in verse; butbefore he had had an opportunity of reciting hiswork, Khasib was degraded from his high office, andthrown out in blindness and beggary into the streetsof Bagdad. While he was wandering about in thiscondition, the poet, who must have known him personally,encountered him, and exclaimed, “O, Khasib,it was my intention to visit thee in Egypt torecite thy praises; but thy coming hither has renderedmy journey unnecessary. Wilt thou allowme to recite my poem?”—“How,” said Khasib,“shall I hear it? Thou knowest what misfortuneshave overtaken me!” The poet replied, “My onlywish is that thou shouldst hear it; but as to reward,may God reward thee as thou hast others.” Khasibthen said, “Proceed with thy poem.” The poetproceeded:—

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When he had concluded, “Come here,” said Khasib,“and open this seam.” He did so. Khasibthen said, “Take this ruby.” The poet refused;but being adjured to do so, he complied, and wentaway to the street of the jewellers to offer it forsale. From the beauty of the stone, it was supposedit could have belonged to no one but the calif, who,being informed of the matter, ordered the poetbefore him, and interrogated him respecting it. Thepoet ingenuously related the whole truth; and thetyrant, repenting of his cruelty, sent for Khasib,overwhelmed him with splendid presents, and promisedto grant him whatever he should desire. Khasibdemanded and obtained the small minyet in UpperEgypt in which he resided until his death, and wherehis fame was still fresh when Ibn Batūta passedthrough the country.

Frustrated in his attempt to reach Mecca by thisroute, after penetrating as far as Nubia, our travellerreturned to Cairo, and from thence proceeded byway of the Desert into Syria. Here, like every otherbeliever in the Hebrew Scriptures, he found himselfin the midst of the most hallowed associations; andstrengthened at once his piety and his enthusiasm byvisiting the graves of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, aswell as the many spots rendered venerable by thefootsteps of Mohammed. As the believers in Islamismentertain a kind of religious respect for the founderof Christianity, whom they regard as a greatprophet, Batūta did not fail to include Bethlehem,the birthplace of Christ, in the list of those places hehad to see. Upon this town, however, as well as uponJerusalem, Tyre, Sidon, and others of equal renown inSyria, he makes few observations which can assist usin forming an idea of the state of the country in thosetimes; but in return for this meagerness, he relatesa very extraordinary story of an alchymist, who haddiscovered the secret of making gold, and exercisedhis supernatural power in acts of beneficence.

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From Syria he proceeded towards Mesopotamia,by Emessa, Hameh, and Aleppo, and having traversedthe country of the Kurds, and visited the fortressesof the Assassins, the people who, as he says, “actas arrows for El Malik el Nāisr,” returned to MountLibanus, which he pronounces the most fruitfulmountain in the world, and describes as aboundingin various fruits, fountains of water, and leafy shades.He then visited Baalbec and Damascus; and, afterremaining a short time at the latter city, departedwith the Syrian caravan for Mecca. His attempt toperform the pilgrimage, a duty incumbent on all trueMussulmans, was this time successful: the caravantraversed the “howling wilderness” in safety; arrivedat the Holy City; and the pilgrims having dulyperformed the prescribed rites, and spent three daysnear the tomb of the prophet, at Medina, Ibn Batūtajoined a caravan proceeding through the deserts ofNejed towards Persia.

The early part of this journey offered nothingwhich our traveller thought worthy of remark; buthe at length arrived at Kadisia, near Kufa, ancientlya great city, in the neighbourhood of which that decisivevictory was obtained by Saad, one of the generalsof Omar, over the Persians, which establishedthe interests of Islamism, and overthrew for everthe power of the Ghebers. He next reached the cityof Meshed Ali, a splendid and populous place, wherethe grave of Ali is supposed to be. The inhabitants,of course, were Shiahs, but they were rich; and IbnBatūta, who was a tolerant man, thought them abrave people. The gardens were surrounded byplastered walls, adorned with paintings, and containedcarpets, couches, and lamps of gold and silver.Within the city was a rich treasury, maintained by thevotive offerings of sick persons, who then crowded,and still crowd, to the grave of Ali, from Room,Khorasān, Irak, and other places, in the hope of receivingrelief. These people are placed over the75grave a short time after sunset, while other persons,some praying, others reciting the Koran, and othersprostrating themselves, attend expecting their recovery,and before it is quite dark a miraculous curetakes place. Our traveller, from some cause oranother, was not present on any of these occasions,and remarks that he saw several afflicted personswho, though they confidently looked forward to futurebenefit had hitherto received none.

The whole of that portion of Mesopotamia was atthis period in the power of the Bedouin Arabs, withoutwhose protection there was no travelling throughthe country. With them, therefore, Ibn Batūta proceededfrom Basra, towards various holy and celebratedplaces, among others to the tomb of “MyLord Ahmed of Rephaā,” a famous devotee, whosedisciples still congregate about his grave, and kindlinga prodigious fire, walk into it, some eating it,others trampling upon it, and others rolling in it,till it be entirely extinguished, while others takegreat serpents in their teeth, and bite the head off.From hence he again returned to Basra, the neighbourhoodof which abounded with palm-trees. Theinhabitants were distinguished for their politenessand humanity towards strangers. Here he saw thefamous copy of the Koran in which Othman, theson of Ali, was reading when he was assassinated,and on which the marks of his blood were still visible.

Embarking on board a small boat, called a sambūk,he descended the Tigris to Abbadān, whence it washis intention to have proceeded to Bagdad; but,adopting the advice of a friend at Basra, he saileddown the Persian Gulf, and landing at Magul, crosseda plain inhabited by Kurds, and arrived at a ridge ofvery high mountains. Over these he travelled duringthree days, finding at every stage a cell withfood for the accommodation of travellers. Theroads over these mountains were cut through thesolid rock. His travelling companions consisted of76ten devotees, of whom one was a priest, another amuezzin, and two professed readers of the Koran, toall of whom the sultan of the country sent presentsof money.

In ten days they arrived in the territories of Ispahan,and remained some days at the capital, a largeand handsome city. From thence he soon departedfor Shiraz, which, though inferior to Damascus, waseven then an extensive and well-built city, remarkablefor the beauty of its streets, gardens, and waters.Its inhabitants likewise, and particularly the women,were persons of integrity, religion, and virtue; butour singular traveller remarks, that for his part hehad no other object in going thither than that ofvisiting the Sheïkh Majd Oddin, the paragon of saintsand workers of miracles! By this holy man he wasreceived with great kindness, of which he retainedso grateful a remembrance, that on returning hometwenty years afterward from the remotest countriesof the east, he undertook a journey of five-and-thirtydays for the mere purpose of seeing his ancient host.

The greater portion of the early life of Ibn Batūtawas consumed in visiting saints, or the birthplacesand tombs of saints: but his time was not thereforemisemployed; for, besides the positive pleasurewhich the presence or sight of such objects appearsto have generated in his own mind, at every step headvanced in this sacred pilgrimage his personal consequence,and his claims upon the veneration andhospitality of princes and other great men, wereincreased. As he may be regarded as the representativeof a class of men extremely numerous in theearly ages of Islamism, and whose character andmode of life are highly illustrative of the mannersof those times, it is important to follow the footstepsof our traveller in his whimsical wanderings a littlemore closely than would otherwise be necessary.

Proceeding, therefore, at the heels of the honesttheologian, we next find him at Kazerun, beholding77devoutly the tomb of the Sheïkh Abu Is-hāk, a saintheld in high estimation throughout India and China,especially by sailors, who, when tossed about by adverseor tempestuous winds upon the ocean, makegreat vows to him, which, when safely landed, theypay to the servants of his cell. From hence he proceededthrough various districts, many of which weredesert and uninhabitable, to Kufa and Hilla, whence,having visited the mosque of the twelfth imam,whose readvent is still expected by his followers, hedeparted for Bagdad. Here, as at Rome or Athens,the graves of great men abounded; so that IbnBatūta’s sympathies were every moment awakened,and apparently too painfully; for, notwithstandingthat it was one of the largest and most celebratedcities in the world, he almost immediately quitted itwith Bahadar Khan, sultan of Irak, whom he accompaniedfor ten days on his march towards Khorasān.Upon his signifying his desire to return, the princedismissed him with large presents and a dress ofhonour, together with the means of performing thepilgrimage to Mecca, which, as an incipient saint, heimagined he could not too frequently repeat.

Finding, on his return to Bagdad, that a considerabletime would elapse before the departure of thecaravan for the Holy City, he resolved to employ theinterval in traversing various portions of Mesopotamia,and in visiting numerous cities which he had nothitherto seen. Among these places the most remarkablewere Samarā, celebrated in the history of theCalif Vathek; Mousul, which is said to occupy thesite of ancient Nineveh; and Nisibēn, renownedthroughout the east for the beauty of its position,and the incomparable scent of the rose-water manufacturedthere. He likewise spent some time at thecity and mountain of Sinjar, inhabited by that extraordinaryKurdish tribe who, according to thetestimony of several modern travellers, pay divinehonours to the Devil.

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This little excursion being concluded, Batūta foundthe caravan in readiness to set out for Mecca, anddeparting with it, and arriving safe in the Holy City,he performed all the ceremonies and rites prescribed,and remained there three years, subsisting upon thealms contributed by the pious bounty of the inhabitantsof Irak, and conveyed to Mecca by caravans.His travelling fit now returning, he left the birthplaceof the prophet, and repairing to Jidda, proceededwith a company of merchants towards Yemen by sea.After being driven by contrary winds to the coast ofAfrica, and landing at Sūakin, he at length reachedYemen; in the various cities and towns of which hewas entertained with a hospitality so generous andgrateful that he seems never to be tired of dwellingon their praises. He did not, however, remain longamong his munificent hosts, but, taking ship at Aden,passed over once more into Africa, and landed atZaila, a city of the Berbers. The inhabitants of thisplace, though Mohammedans, were a rude, uncultivatedpeople, living chiefly upon fish and the fleshof camels, which are slaughtered in the streets,where their blood and offals were left putrefying toinfect the air. From this stinking city he proceededby sea to Makdasha, the Magadocia of the Portuguesenavigators; a very extensive place, wherethe hospitable natives were wont, on the arrival ofa ship, to come down in a body to the seashore, andselect each his guest from among the merchants.—Whena theologian or a nobleman happened to beamong the passengers, he was received and entertainedby the kazi; and as Ibn Batūta belonged tothe former class he of course became the guest ofthis magistrate. Here he remained a short time,passing his days in banqueting and pleasure; andthen returned to Arabia.

During the stay he now made in this country hecollected several particulars respecting the tradeand manners of the people, which are neither trifling79nor unimportant. The inhabitants of Zafār, themost easterly city of Yemen, carried on at thatperiod, he observes, a great trade in horses withIndia, the voyage being performed in a month. Thepractice he remarked among the same people offeeding their flocks and herds with fish, and which,he says, he nowhere else observed, prevails, however,up to the present day, among the nations ofthe Coromandel coast, as well as in other parts ofthe east. At El Ahkāf, the city of the tribe of Aād,there were numerous gardens, producing enormousbananas, with the cocoanut and the betel. Ourfanciful traveller discovered a striking resemblancebetween the cocoanut and a man’s head, observingthat exteriorly there was something resemblingeyes and a mouth, and that when young the pulpwithin was like brains. To complete the similitude,the hair was represented by the fibre, from which,he remarks, cords for sewing together the planksof their vessels, as also cordage and cables, weremanufactured. The nut itself, according to him,was highly nourishing, and, like the betel-leaf, apowerful aphrodisiac.

Still pursuing his journey through Arabia, hecrossed the desert of Ammān, and met with a peopleextraordinary among Mahommedans, whosewives were liberal of their favours, without excitingthe jealousy of their husbands, and who, moreover,considered it lawful to feed upon the flesh of thedomestic ass. From thence he crossed the PersianGulf to Hormuz, where, among many other extraordinarythings, he saw the head of a fish resemblinga hill, the eyes of which were like two doors,so that people could walk in at one eye and out atthe other! He now felt himself to be within thesphere of attraction of an object whose power hecould never resist. There was, he heard, at Janja-bal,a certain saint, and of course he forthwithformed the resolution to refresh himself with a80sight of him. He therefore crossed the sea, andhiring a number of Turcomans, without whose protectionthere was no travelling in that part of thecountry, entered a waterless desert, four days’ journeyin extent, over which the Bedouins wander incaravans, and where the death-bearing simoomblows during the hot months of summer. Havingpassed this desolate and dreary tract, he arrived inKusistān, a small province of Persia, bordering uponLaristān, in which Janja-bal, the residence of thesaint, was situated. The sheïkh, who was secretly,or, as the people believed, miraculously, suppliedwith a profusion of provisions, received our travellercourteously, sent him fruit and food, and contrivedto impress him with a high idea of hissanctity.

He now entered upon the ancient kingdom ofFars, an extensive and fertile country, abounding ingardens producing a profusion of aromatic herbs,and where the celebrated pearl-fisheries of Bahrein,situated in a tranquil arm of the sea, are found.The pearl divers employed here were Arabs, who,tying a rope round their waists, and wearing upontheir faces a mask made of tortoise-shell, descendedinto the water, where, according to Batūta, someremained an hour, others two, searching amongforests of coral for the pearls.

Ibn Batūta was possessed by an extraordinarypassion for performing the pilgrimage to Mecca; andnow (A. D. 1332), the year in which El Malik ElNāsir, sultan of Egypt, visited the holy city, set outfrom Persia on his third sacred expedition. Havingmade the necessary genuflexions, and kissed theblack stone at the Kaaba, he began to turn histhoughts towards India, but was prevented, weknow not how, from carrying his design into execution;and traversing a portion of Arabia andEgypt, entered Room or Turkey. Here, in theprovince of Anatolia, he was entertained by an81extraordinary brotherhood, to whom, as to all hisnoble hosts and entertainers, he devotes a portionof his travels. This association, which existed inevery Turcoman town, consisted of a number ofyouths, who, under the direction of one of the members,called “the brother,” exercised the most generoushospitality towards all strangers, and werethe vigorous and decided enemies of oppression.Upon the formation of one of these associations,the brother, or president, erected a cell, in whichwere placed a horse, a saddle, and whatever otherarticles were considered necessary. The presidenthimself, and every thing in the cell, were always atthe service of the members, who every eveningconveyed the product of their industry to the president,to be sold for the benefit of the cell; andwhen any stranger arrived in the town, he was herehospitably entertained, and contributed to increasethe hilarity of the evening, which was passed infeasting, drinking, singing, and dancing.

Travelling to Iconium, and other cities of AsiaMinor, in all of which he was received and entertainedin a splendid manner, while presents ofslaves, horses, and gold were sometimes bestowedupon him, he at length took ship at Senab, andsailed for Krim Tartary. During the voyage heendured great hardships, and was very near beingdrowned; but at length arrived at a small port onthe margin of the desert of Kifjāk, a country overwhich Mohammed Uzbek Khan then reigned. Beingdesirous of visiting the court of this prince, IbnBatūta now hired one of those arabahs, or carts, inwhich the inhabitants travel with their familiesover those prodigious plains, where neither mountainnor hill nor tree meets the eye, and where the dungof animals serves as a substitute for fuel, and enteredupon a desert of six months’ extent. Throughoutthese immense steppes, which are denominateddesert merely in reference to their comparative82unproductiveness, our traveller found cities, butthinly scattered; and vast droves of cattle, which,protected by the excessive severity of the laws,wandered without herdsmen or keepers over thewaste. The women of the country, though theywore no veils, were virtuous, pious, and charitable;and consequently were held in high estimation.

Arriving at the Bish Tag, or “Five Mountains,”he there found the urdu (whence our word horde) orcamp of the sultan, a moving city, with its streets,palaces, mosques, and cooking houses, “the smokeof which ascended as they moved along.” MohammedUzbek, then sovereign of Kifjāk, was a braveand munificent prince; and Ibn Batūta, having, accordingto Tartar etiquette, first paid a visit of ceremonyto each of his wives, was politely received byhim.

From this camp our traveller set out, with guidesappointed by the sultan, for the city of Bulgār,which, according to the Maresid Al Etluā, is situatedin Siberia. Here, in exemplification of the extremeshortness of the night, he observes, thatwhile repeating the prayer of sunset he was overtaken,though he by no means lagged in his devotions,by the time for evening prayer, which was nosooner over than it was time to begin that of midnight;and that before he could conclude one voluntaryorison, which he added to this, the dawn hadalready appeared, and morning prayer was to bebegun. Forty days’ journey to the north of thisplace lay the land of darkness, where, he was told,people travelled over interminable plains of ice andsnow, on small light sledges, drawn by dogs; buthe was deterred from pushing his researches intothese Cimmerian regions by the fear of danger, andconsiderations of the inutility of the journey. Hereturned, therefore, to the camp of the sultan.

Mohammed Uzbek had married a daughter of theGreek Emperor of Constantinople, who, being at83this time pregnant, requested his permission to beconfined in her father’s palace, where it was her intentionto leave her child. The sultan consented,and Ibn Batūta, conceiving that an excellent opportunityfor visiting the Greek capital now presenteditself, expressed a desire to accompany the princess,but the sultan, who regarded him apparently assomething too gay for a saint, at first refused topermit him. Upon his pressing the matter, however,representing that he should never appear beforethe queen but as his servant and guest, so thatno fears need be entertained of him, the royal husband,relenting, allowed him to go, and presentedhim, on his departure, with fifteen hundred dinars, adress of honour, and several horses; while each ofhis sultanas, together with his sons and daughters,caused the traveller to taste of their bounty.

The queen, while she remained in her husband’sterritories, respected the religion and manners ofthe Mohammedans; but she had no sooner enteredher father’s dominions, and found herself surroundedby her countrymen, than she drank wine, dismissedthe ministers of Islamism, and was reported tocommit the abomination of eating swine’s flesh.Ibn Batūta was still treated with respect, however,and continuing to be numbered among the suite ofthe sultana, arrived at length at Constantinople,where, in his zeal to watch over the comfort of hisroyal mistress, he exposed himself to the risk ofbeing squeezed to death in the crowd. On enteringthe city, his ears appear to have been much annoyedby the ringing of numerous bells, which, withthe inveterate passion of all Europeans for noisewhen agitated by any joyous emotions, the Greeksof Constantinople substituted for their own voicesin the expression of their satisfaction.

Remaining about five weeks in Constantinople,where, owing to the difference of manners, language,and religion, he does not appear to have84tasted of much pleasure, he returned to MohammedUzbek, whose bounty enabled him to pursue hisjourney towards the east in a very superior style.The country to which his desires now pointed wasKhavāresm, the road thither traversing, during thegreater part of the way, a barren desert, where littlewater and a very scanty herbage were to be found.Crossing this waste in a carriage drawn by camels,he arrived at Khavāresm, the largest city at thatperiod possessed by the Turks. Here he found thepeople friendly towards strangers, liberal, and well-bred,—andno wonder; for in every mosque a whipwas hung up, with which every person who absentedhimself from church was soundly flogged bythe priest, besides being fined in five dinars. Thispractice, which Ibn Batūta thought highly commendable,no doubt contributed greatly towardsrendering the people liberal and well-bred. Nextto the refinement of the people, the most remarkablething he observed at Khavāresm was a speciesof melon, green on the outside, and red within,which, being cut into thin oblong slices and dried,was packed up in cases like figs, and exported toIndia and China. Thus preserved, the Khavāresmmelon was thought equal to the best dried fruits inthe world, and regarded as a present worthy ofkings.

From hence Ibn Batūta departed for Bokhāra, acity renowned throughout the east for the learningand refinement of its inhabitants, but at this periodso reduced and impoverished by the long wars ofGenghis Khan and his successors, that not one manwas to be found in it who understood any thing ofscience. Leaving this ancient seat of oriental learning,he proceeded to Māwarā El Nahr, the sultan ofwhich was a just and powerful prince, who receivedhim hospitably, and furnished him with funds to pursuehis wanderings. He next visited Samarkand,Balkh, and Herat, in Khorasān; and scaling the85snowy heights of the Hindoo Koosh, or Hindoo-Slayer,so called because most of the slaves attemptedto be carried out of India by this route arekilled by the severity of the cold, he entered Kabul.Here, in a cell of the mountain called Bashāi, hefound an old man, who, though he had the appearanceof being about fifty, pretended to be three hundredand fifty years old, and assured Ibn Batūta that atthe expiration of every hundred years he was blessedwith a new growth of hair and new teeth, and that,in fact, he was the Rajah Aba Rahim Ratan of India,who had been buried in Mooltam. Notwithstandinghis innate veneration for every thing saintly, and thisman bore the name of Ata Evlin, or “Father ofSaints,” our honest traveller could not repress thedoubts which arose in his mind respecting his extraordinarypretensions, and observes in his travelsthat he much doubted of what he was, and that hecontinued to doubt.

Ibn Batūta now crossed the Indus, and found himselfin Hindostan, where, immediately upon hisarrival, he met, in a city which he denominates Janai,one of the three brothers of Borhaneddin, theEgyptian saint, whose prediction, strengthening hisnatural bent of mind, had made a great traveller ofhim. Traversing the desert of Sivastān, where theEgyptian thorn was the only tree to be seen, andthen descending along the banks of the Sinde, orIndus, he arrived at the city of Lahari, on the seashore,in the vicinity of which were the ruins of anancient city, abounding with the sculptured figuresof men and animals, which the superstitious nativessupposed to be the real forms of the ancient inhabitantstransformed by the Almighty into stone for theirwickedness.

At Uja, a large city on the Indus, our travellercontracted a friendship with the Emīr Jelaleddin,then governor of the place, a brave and generousprince, whom he afterward met at Delhi. In journeying86eastward from this place, Batūta proceededthrough a desert lying between two ridges ofmountains, inhabited by Hindoos, whom the travellerterms infidel and rebellious, because they adhered tothe faith of their ancestors, and refused submissionto the power of the Mohammedan conquerors oftheir country. Ibn Batūta’s party, consisting oftwenty-two men, was here attacked by a large bodyof natives, which they succeeded in repulsing, afterthey had killed thirteen of their number. In thecourse of this journey he witnessed the performanceof a suttee, and remarks upon the occasion, thatthese human sacrifices were not absolutely requiredeither by the laws or the religion of Hindostan; butthat, owing to the vulgar prejudice which regardedthose families as ennobled who thus lost one of theirmembers, the practice was greatly encouraged.

On arriving at Delhi, which, for strength, beauty,and extent, he pronounces the greatest city, not onlyof all Hindostan, but of all Islamism in the east, heresorted to the palace of the queen-mother and presentinghis presents, according to custom, was graciouslyreceived and magnificently established bythe bounty of that princess and the vizier. It is tobe presumed, that the money he had received inpresents from various princes on the way had exceededhis travelling expenses, and gone on accumulating,until, on his arrival at Delhi, it amounted to avery considerable sum; for with his house, costlyfurniture, and forty attendants, his expenditure seemsgreatly to have exceeded the munificence of hispatrons; indeed, he very soon found that all the resourceshe could command were too scanty to supplythe current of his extravagance.

Being of the opinion of that ancient writer whothought a good companion better than a coach on ajourney, Ibn Batūta appears to have increased histravelling establishment with a mistress, by whomhe seems to have had several children, for shortly87after his arrival at the capital, he informs us that “adaughter of his,” evidently implying that he hadmore than one, happened to die. At this time ourworthy theologian was so deeply intoxicated withthe fumes of that vanity which usually accompaniesthe extraordinary smiles of fortune, that, althoughby no means destitute of natural affection, nothingin the whole transaction appears to have made anyimpression upon his mind except the honour conferredupon him by the condescension of the vizierand the emperor. The latter, then at a considerabledistance from the capital, on being informed ofthe event, commanded that the ceremonies and ritesusually performed at the funeral of the children ofthe nobility should now take place; and accordingly,on the third day, when the body was to be removedto its narrow house, the vizier, the judges, and thenobles entered the chamber of mourning, spread acarpet, and made the necessary preparations, consistingof incense, rose-water, readers of the Koran,and panegyrists. Our traveller, who anticipatednothing of all this, confesses ingenuously that hewas “much gratified.” To the mother of the childthe queen-mother showed the greatest kindness, presentingher with magnificent dresses and ornaments,and a thousand dinars in money.

The Emperor Mohammed having been absent fromDelhi ever since our traveller’s arrival, he hadhitherto found no opportunity of presenting himselfbefore the “Lord of the World;” but upon that greatpersonage’s returning, soon after the funeral, thevizier undertook to introduce him to the presence.The emperor received him graciously, taking himfamiliarly by the hand, and, in the true royal style,lavishing the most magnificent promises. As anearnest of his future bounty, he bestowed upon eachof the many travellers who were presented at thesame time, and met with the same reception, a gold-embroidereddress, which he had himself worn; a88horse from his own stud, richly caparisoned withhousings and saddle of silver; and such refreshmentsas the imperial kitchen afforded. Three daysafterward Ibn Batūta was appointed one of the judgesof Delhi, on which occasion the vizier observed tohim, “The Lord of the World appoints you to theoffice of judge in Delhi. He also gives you a dressof honour with a saddled horse, as also twelve thousanddinars for your present support. He has moreoverappointed you a yearly salary of twelve thousanddinars, and a portion of lands in the villages,which will produce annually an equal sum.” Hethen did homage and withdrew.

The fortune of Ibn Batūta was now changed.From the condition of a religious adventurer, wanderingfrom court to court, and from country tocountry, subsisting upon the casual bounty of thegreat, he had now been elevated to a post of greathonour and emolument in the greatest city thenexisting in the world. But it is very certain he wasnot rendered happier by this promotion. The monarchupon whose nod his destiny now dependedwas a man of changeful and ferocious nature, profuseand lavish in the extreme towards those whomhe affected, but when provoked, diabolically crueland revengeful. In the very first conference whichour traveller held with his master after his appointment,he made a false step, and gave offence; forwhen the emperor had informed him that he wouldby no means find his office a sinecure, he repliedthat he belonged to the sect of Ibn Malik, whereasthe people of Delhi were followers of Hanīfa; andthat, moreover, he was ignorant of their language.This would have been a good reason why he shouldnot in the first instance have accepted the office ofjudge; but, having accepted of it, he should by nomeans have brought forward his sectarian prejudices,or his ignorance, in the hope of abridging the extentof his duties. The emperor, with evident displeasure,89rejoined, that he had appointed two learnedmen to be his deputies, and that these would advisehim how to act. He moreover added, that it wouldbe his business to sign all legal instruments.

Notwithstanding the profuse generosity of MohammedKhan, Ibn Batūta, who seems to have understoodnothing of domestic economy, soon foundhimself prodigiously in debt; but his genius, fertilein expedients, and now sharpened by necessity, soonhit upon an easy way of satisfying his creditors.Observing that, like most of his countrymen, MohammedKhan was an admirer of Arabian poetry, moreparticularly of such as celebrated his own praises,our theological judge, whose conscience seems tohave been hushed to silence by his embarrassments,composed in Arabic a panegyric upon his patron,who, to borrow his own expression, “was wonderfullypleased with it.” Taking advantage, like a thoroughbredcourtier, of this fit of good-humour, he disclosedthe secret of his debt, which the emperor, who now,no doubt, perceived the real drift of the panegyric,ordered to be discharged from his own treasury;but added, however, “Take care, in future, not toexceed the extent of your income.” Upon this thetraveller, whether pleased with his generosity or hisadvice we will not determine, exclaims, “May Godreward him!”

No great length of time had elapsed, however,before Ibn Batūta perceived that his grandeur hadconducted him to the edge of a precipice. Having,during a short absence of the emperor, visited acertain holy man who resided in a cell without thecity, and had once been in great favour with Mohammedhimself, our traveller received an order toattend at the gate of the palace, while a council satwithin. In most cases this was the signal of death.But in order to mollify the Fates, Ibn Batūta betookhimself to fasting, subsisting, during the four daysin which he thus attended, upon pure water, and90mentally repeating thirty-three thousand times thatverse of the Koran which says, “God is our support,and the most excellent patron.” The aquaticdiet and the repetitions prevailing, he was acquitted,while every other person who had visited the sheïkhwas put to death. Perceiving that the risks incurredby a judge of Delhi were at least equal to the emolument,Ibn Batūta began to feel his inclination forhis own free roaming mode of life return, resignedhis perilous office, bestowed all the wealth he possessedupon the fakeers, and bidding adieu to thesplendid vanities of the world, donned the tunic ofthese religious mendicants, and attached himself duringfive months to the renowned Sheïkh KamāleddinAbdallah El Ghazi, a man who had performedmany open miracles.

Mohammed Khan, conceiving that the ex-judgehad now performed sufficient penance for his indiscretion,sent for him again, and receiving him moregraciously than ever, observed, “Knowing the delightyou experience in travelling into various countries,I am desirous of sending you on an embassyinto China.” Ibn Batūta, who appears by this timeto have grown thoroughly tired of a fakeer’s life,very readily consented, and forthwith received thosedresses of honour, horses, money, &c. which invariablyaccompanied such an appointment. Ambassadorshad lately arrived from the Emperor ofChina with numerous costly presents for the khan,and requesting permission to rebuild an idol templewithin the limits of Hindostan. Mohammed Khan,though, as a true Mussulman, he could not grantsuch permission unless tribute were paid, was nowabout to despatch ambassadors to his brother ofChina, “bearing, in proof of his greatness and munificence,presents much more valuable than thosehe had received.” These presents, as highly illustrativeof the manners of those times and countries,we shall enumerate in the words of the traveller91himself; they consisted of the following articles:—Onehundred horses of the best breed, saddled andbridled; one hundred Mamlūks; one hundred Hindoosinging slave girls; one hundred Bairami dresses,the value of each of which was a hundred dinars;one hundred silken dresses; five hundred saffron-coloureddresses; one hundred pieces of the bestcotton cloth; one thousand dresses of the variousclothing of India; with numerous instruments ofgold and silver, swords and quivers set with jewels,and ten robes of honour wrought with gold, of thesultan’s own dresses, with various other articles.

Ibn Batūta was accompanied on this mission byone of the chief of the Ulema, and by a favouriteofficer of the emperor, who was intrusted with thepresents; and a guard of a thousand cavalry wasappointed to conduct them to the seaport wherethey were to embark. The Chinese ambassadorsand their suite returned homeward in their company.The embassy left Delhi in the year 1342, but hadnot proceeded far before they encountered a seriousobstacle to their movements, and found themselvesengaged in warlike operations. El Jalali, a citylying in their route, being besieged by the Hindoos,Ibn Batūta and his companions determined, like trueMussulmans, to unite with their distressed brethrenin repelling the infidel forces, and in the commencementtheir valour was rewarded by success; but agreat number of their troop suffering “martyrdom,”and among the rest the officer who had been intrustedwith the care of the present, it was judgednecessary to transmit an account of what had takenplace to Delhi, and await the further commands ofthe “Lord of the World.” In the mean while theHindoos, though, according to Ibn Batūta, thoroughlysubdued, if not exterminated, continued their attacksupon the Moslems; and during one of these affraysour valiant traveller was accidentally placed in thegreatest jeopardy. Having joined his coreligionists92in pursuing the vanquished Hindoos, he suddenlyfound himself and five others separated from themain body of the army, and pursued in their turn bythe enemy. At length his five companions, escapingin different directions, or falling by the sword of theHindoos, disappeared, and he was thus left alone inthe midst of the most imminent danger. Just atthis moment the forefeet of his horse sticking fastbetween two stones, he dismounted to set the beastat liberty, and observed, that having entered themouth of a valley his pursuers had lost sight of him,as he had of them. Of the country, however, thetowns, the roads, and the rivers he was totally ignorant;so that, thinking his horse as good a judge ofwhat was best as himself in the present dilemma,he permitted the animal to select his own path.The horse, imagining, perhaps, that shade and safetywere synonymous, proceeded towards a part of thevalley where the trees were closely interwoven,but had no sooner reached it than a party of aboutforty cavalry rushed out, and made our ambassadorprisoner.

Ibn Batūta, who immediately alighted from hischarger, now began to believe that all his journeyingswere at an end; and that, notwithstanding hisdreams, and the predictions of many saints, he wasdoomed never to behold China, or the second andthird brothers of the Sheïkh Borhaneddin. Tocorroborate his apprehensions the Hindoos plunderedhim of all he possessed, bound his arms, and,taking him along with them, travelled for two daysthrough a country unknown to our traveller, who,not understanding the language or manners of hiscaptors, imagined they intended to kill, and, perhaps,to eat him. From these fears he was soon delivered,however, for at the end of two days, the Hindoos,supposing, no doubt, that they had terrified him sufficiently,gave him his liberty, and rode away. Theshadows of his past apprehensions still haunting93him, he no sooner found himself alone than plunginginto the depths of an almost impenetrable forest hesought among the haunts of wild animals an asylumfrom the fury of man. Here he subsisted sevendays upon the fruit and leaves of the mountain trees,occasionally venturing out to examine whither theneighbouring roads might lead, but always findingthem conduct him towards ruins or the abode ofHindoos.

On the seventh day of his concealment he metwith a black man, who politely saluted him, and, thesalute being returned, demanded his name. Havingsatisfied the stranger upon this point, our travellermade the same demand, and the stranger repliedthat he was called El Kalb El Karīh (the “WoundedHeart”). He then gave Ibn Batūta some pulse toeat, and water to drink, and, observing that he wastoo weak to walk, took him upon his shoulders andcarried him along. In this position our travellerfell asleep, and his nap must have been a long one,for, awaking about the dawn of the next day, hefound himself at the gate of the emperor’s palace.What became of his extraordinary charger he doesnot inform us; but the emperor, who had alreadyreceived by a courier the news of his misfortunes,bestowed upon him ten thousand dinars, to consolehim for his losses, and once more equipped him forhis journey. Another officer was sent to takecharge of the present, returning with whom to thecity of Kul, he rejoined his companions, and proceededon his mission.

Proceeding by the way of Dowlutabad, Nazarabad,Canbaza, and Pattan, he at length arrived atKalikut in Malabar, where the whole party were toembark for China. Here, not having properly timedtheir arrival, our sage ambassadors had to remainthree months, waiting for a favourable wind. Whenthe season for departure had arrived, the othermembers of the embassy embarked with the present;94but Ibn Batūta, finding the cabin which had beenassigned him much too small to contain his baggageand the multitude of slave girls, remained on shorefor the purpose of bargaining for a larger vessel, andhearing divine service on the next day. During thenight a tempest arose, which drove several of thejunks upon the shore, where a great number of thecrew and passengers perished. The ship whichcontained the imperial present weathered the stormuntil the morning, when our traveller, descending tothe beach, beheld her tossed about upon the furiouswaves, while the officers of the emperor prostratedthemselves upon the deck in despair. Presently shestruck upon the rocks, and every soul on boardperished. A part of the fleet, among the rest thevessel containing our traveller’s property, sailedaway, and of the fate of the greater number of themnothing was ever known. The whole of Ibn Batūta’swealth now consisted of a prostration carpet andten dinars; but being told that in all probability theship in which he had embarked his fortune had putinto Kawlam, a city ten days’ journey distant, heproceeded thither, but upon his arrival found thathis hopes had been buoyed up in vain.

He was now in the most extraordinary dilemmain which he had ever been placed. Knowing thefierce and unreflecting character of the emperor,who, without weighing his motives, would condemnhim for having remained on shore; and being toopoor to remain where he was, he could not for sometime determine how to act. At length, however, heresolved to visit the court of Jemaleddin, king ofHinaur, who received him kindly, and allowed himto become reader to the royal mosque. Shortlyafterward, having been encouraged thereto by afavourable omen, obtained from a sentence of theKoran, he accompanied Jemaleddin in an expeditionagainst the island of Sindibur, which was subduedand taken possession of. To console Ibn Batūta95for the many misfortunes he had lately endured,Jemaleddin presented him with a slave girl, clothing,and other necessaries; and he remained with himseveral months. Still, however, he was not reconciledto the loss of his pretty female slave and otherproperty which had been embarked in the Chineseship, and requested the king’s permission to make avoyage to Kawlam for the purpose of making inquiriesconcerning it. His request being granted, heproceeded to Kawlam, where, to his great grief, helearned that his former mistress had died, and thathis property had been seized upon by the “infidels,”while his followers had found other masters.

This affair being thus at an end, he returned toSindibur, where he found his friend Jemaleddinbesieged by an infidel king. Not being able to enterthe city, he embarked, without delay, for the MaldiveIslands, all parts of the earth being now muchalike to him, and after a ten days’ voyage arrived atthat extraordinary archipelago. Here, after dwellingupon the praises of the cocoanut, which he describesas an extremely powerful aphrodisiac, he informsus, as a commentary upon the above text, thathe had four wives, besides a reasonable number ofmistresses. Nevertheless, the natives, he says, arechaste and religious, and so very peacefully disposedthat their only weapons are prayers. In one ofthese islands he was raised to the office of judge,when, according to his own testimony, he endeavouredto prevail upon his wives, contrary to thecustom of the country, to eat in his company, andconceal their bosom with their garments, but couldnever succeed.

The legend which ascribes the conversion of theseislanders to Mohammedanism, the religion now prevailingthere, to a man who delivered the countryfrom a sea-monster, which was accustomed to devourmonthly one of their most beautiful virgins,strongly resembles the story of Perseus and Andromeda.96In order to keep up the fervency of theirpiety the monster still appears on a certain day inthe offing. Ibn Batūta, who had little of the skepticin his composition, saw the apparition himself, inthe form of a ship filled with candles and torches;and it may, perhaps, be the same supernatural structurewhich still hovers about those seas, sailing inthe teeth of the wind, and denominated by Europeanmariners the “Flying Dutchman.” In these islandsIbn Batūta remained some time, sailing from isle toisle through glittering and tranquil seas, being everywhereraised to posts of honour and distinction, andtasting of all the delights and pleasures which power,consideration, and a delicious climate could bestow.

Neither riches nor honours, however, could fixIbn Batūta in one place. He was as restless as awave of the sea. No sooner, therefore, had he seenthe principal curiosities of the Maldive Islands, thanhe burned to be again in motion, visiting new scenes,and contemplating other men and other manners.Embarking on board a Mohammedan vessel, he setsail for the island of Ceylon, principally for the purposeof visiting the mark of Adam’s footstep on themountain of Serendib, the lofty summit of whichappeared, he observes, like a pillar of smoke at thedistance of nine days’ sail. Drawing near the land,he was at first forbidden by the Hindoo authoritiesto come on shore; but, upon his informing themthat he was a relation of the King of Maabar, as hein some sense was, having while at Delhi marriedthe sister of that prince’s queen, they permittedhim to disembark. The king of the country, whohappened at that time to be in amity with the sovereignof Maabar, received him hospitably, and badehim ask boldly for whatever he might want. “Myonly desire,” replied the traveller, “in coming tothis island is to visit the blessed foot of our forefatherAdam.” This being the case, the king informedhim that his desires might easily be gratified,97and forthwith granted him an escort of four Jogees,four Brahmins, ten courtiers, and fifteen men forcarrying provisions, with a palanquin and bearersfor his own use.

With this superb retinue the traveller departedfrom Battalā, the capital of his royal host, and journeyingfor several days through a country aboundingwith wild elephants, arrived at the city of Kankār,situated on the Bay of Rubies, where the emperorof the whole island at that time resided. HereIbn Batūta saw the only white elephant which hebeheld in all his travels; and the beast, being setapart for the use of the prince, had his head adornedwith enormous rubies, one of which was largerthan a hen’s egg. Other rubies of still greater magnitudewere sometimes found in the mines, and IbnBatūta saw a saucer as large as the palm of thehand cut from one single stone. Rubies were in factso plentiful here that the women wore strings ofthem upon their arms and legs, instead of braceletsand ankle-rings.

In the course of this journey our traveller passedthrough a district inhabited chiefly by black monkeys,with long tails, and beards like men. He wasassured by “very pious and credible persons” thatthese monkeys had a kind of leader, or king, who,being, we suppose, ambitious of appearing to be anIslamite, wore upon his head a species of turbancomposed of the leaves of trees, and reclined on astaff as upon a sceptre. He had, moreover, hiscouncil and his harem, like any other prince; andone of the Jogees asserted that he had himself seenthe officers of his court doing justice upon a criminal,by beating him with rods, and plucking off allhis hair. His revenue, which was paid in kind, consistedof a certain number of nuts, lemons, andmountain fruit; but upon what principle it was collectedwe are not informed. Another of the wondersof Ceylon were the terrible tree-leeches, which,98springing from the branches, or from the tall rankgrass, upon the passing traveller, fastened upon him,drained out his blood, and sometimes occasioned immediatedeath. To prevent this fatal result the inhabitantsalways carry a lemon about with them,which they squeeze upon the leech, and thus forcehim to quit his hold.

Arriving at length at the Seven Caves, and theRidge of Alexander, they began to ascend the mountainof Serendib, which, according to the orientals,is one of the highest in the world. Its summitrises above the region of the clouds; for our travellerobserves, that when he had ascended it, he beheldthose splendid vapours rolling along in massesfar beneath his feet. Among the extraordinary treesand plants which grew upon this mountain is thatred rose, about the size of the palm of the hand,upon the leaves of which the Mohammedans imaginethey can read the name of God and of the Prophet.Two roads lead to the top of this mountain, of whichthe one is said to be that of Bābā, or Adam; theother, that of Māmā, or Eve. The latter is winding,sloping, and easy of ascent, and is thereforechosen by the pilgrims impatient on their first arrivalto visit the Blessed Foot; but whoever departswithout having also climbed the rough and difficultroad of Bābā, is thought not to have performed thepilgrimage at all. The mark of the foot, which iseleven spans in length, is in a rock upon the veryapex of the mountain. In the same rock, surroundingthe impression of the foot, there are nine smallexcavations, into which the pagan pilgrims, whoimagine it to be the print of Buddha’s foot instead ofthat of Adam, put gold, rubies, and other jewels;and hence the fakeers who come hither on pilgrimagestrenuously endeavour to outstrip each otherin their race up the mountain, that they may seizeupon those treasures.

In returning from the pilgrimage our traveller saw99that sacred cypress-tree the leaves of which neverfall, or if they do, drop off so seldom that it is thoughtthat the person who finds one and eats it will returnagain to the blooming season of youth, however oldhe may be. When Ibn Batūta passed by the tree, hesaw several Jogees beneath it, watching for the droppingof a leaf; but whether they ever tasted of thejoys of rejuvenescence, or quickened the passageof their souls into younger bodies, he does not informus.

Returning thence to Battalā, he embarked on boardthe same ship which had conveyed him to Ceylon,and departed for Maabar. During the voyage, shortas it was, a storm arose which endangered the ship,and put their lives in jeopardy; but they were savedby the bravery of the Hindoo pilots, who put out intheir small frail boats, and brought them to land.He was received by his relation, the Sultan Ghietheddin,with great honour and distinction; but thisprince being then engaged in war, for the vicissitudesand dangers of which our traveller had neverany particular predilection, he departed on a visit tothe Rajah of Hinaur. Passing on his way throughthe city of Fattan, he saw among groves of pomegranate-treesand vines a number of fakeers, one ofwhom had seven foxes, who breakfasted and dinedwith him daily, while another had a lion and a gazelle,which lived together as familiarly as the dogs andangolas in a cat-merchant’s cage on the Pont Neuf.

Before he could leave the Maabar country, he wasseized with a dangerous fever at Maturah, wherethe Sultan Ghietheddin died of the same contagiousdisorder. On his recovery he obtained the new sultan’spermission to continue his journey, and embarkingat Kawlam in Malabar, proceeded towardsHinaur. Ibn Batūta was seldom fortunate at sea.Sometimes he was robbed; at other times nearlydrowned. The present voyage was the most unfortunatehe ever undertook, for the ship being attacked100and taken by pirates, he, as well as the restof the passengers and crew, was robbed of all hepossessed, and landed on the coast penniless andnearly naked. He contrived, however, by the aidof the charitable, we presume, to find his way toKalicut, where, meeting with several merchants andlawyers who had known him in the days of hisprosperity at Delhi, he was once more equippedhandsomely, and enabled to pursue his romantic adventures.He had at this time some thoughts of returningto the court of the Sultan Mohammed, butfear, or rather prudence, deterred him, and he tookthe more agreeable route of the Maldive Islands,where he had left a little boy with his native mother.It seems to have been his intention to have takenaway the child; but as the laws of the country forbadethe emigration of women, he came away as hewent, abandoning his offspring to the affection of itsmother.

From hence the bounty of the vizier enabled himto proceed to Bengal, a country then, as now, renownedfor its prodigious fertility, and the consequentcheapness of provisions. He still, we find,regarded himself as a servant of the emperor, forFakraddin, the king or subahdar of Bengal, beingthen in rebellion against Mohammed, Ibn Batūtaavoided being presented to him, and proceeded towardsTibet, for the purpose of visiting a famoussaint, who wrought “great and notable” miracles,and lived to the great age of one hundred and fiftyyears. This great man, who was accustomed tofast ten days at a time, and sit up all night, foresawsupernaturally the visit of Ibn Batūta, and sentforth four of his companions to meet him at the distanceof two days’ journey, observing, “A westernreligious traveller is coming to you; go out andmeet him.”

On arriving at the cell he found the sheïkh preparedto receive him; and with this great saint and101his followers he remained three days. On the dayof our traveller’s presentation the sheïkh wore afine yellow garment, for which in his heart Ibn Batūtaconceived an unaccountable longing; and thesaint, who, it seems, could read the thoughts ofmen, as well as the secrets of futurity, immediatelywent to the side of the cave, and taking it off, togetherwith his fillet and his sleeves, put the wholeupon his guest. The fakeers informed Batūta, however,that the sage had predicted that the garmentwould be taken away by an infidel king, and givento the Sheïkh Borhaneddin of Sagirj, for whom itwas made; but Batūta replied, “Since I have ablessing from the sheïkh, and since he has clothedme with his own clothes, I will never enter withthem into the presence of any king, whether infidelor Moslem.” The prediction, however, was accomplished,for the Emperor of China took away thegarment, and bestowed it upon the very Borhaneddinin question.

Descending from these mountains to the seashore,he embarked at Sutirkawan for Sumatra, andtouching on the way at certain islands, which may,perhaps, have been the greater and lesser Andamans,saw a people with mouths like dogs, whowore no clothing, and were totally destitute of religion.Leaving these islands, they arrived in fifteendays at Sumatra, a green and blooming island,where the frankincense, the cocoanut, the Indianaloe, the sweet orange, and the camphor-reed werefound in great abundance. Proceeding to the capital,our traveller was hospitably received by theSultan Jemaleddin, a pious and munificent prince,who walked to his prayers on Friday, and was peculiarlypartial to the professors of the Mohammedanlaw; while in the arts of government and war heexhibited great talents, keeping his infidel neighboursin awe of him, and maintaining among his ownsubjects a great enthusiasm for his person.

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After remaining here fifteen days, partaking ofthe hospitality of the Sultan Jemaleddin, our travellerdeparted in a junk for China, where, after a pleasantand prosperous voyage, he arrived in safety,and found himself surrounded by new wonders.This, he thought, was the richest and most fertilecountry he had ever visited. Mohammedanism, however,had made little or no progress among the yellowmen, for he observes that they were all infidels,worshipping images, and burning their dead, like theHindoos. The emperor, at this period, was a descendantof Genghis Khan, who seems to have sofar tolerated the Mohammedans, that they had aseparate quarter allotted to them in every town,where they resided apart from the pagans. IbnBatūta seems to have regarded the Chinese with asecret disgust, for he observes that they would eatthe flesh of both dogs and swine, which was soldpublicly in their markets. Though greatly addictedto the comforts and pleasures of life, the distinctionsof rank were not very apparent among them,the richest merchants dressing, like the commonalty,in a coarse cotton dress, and all making use, inwalking, of a staff, which was called “the third leg.”In the extreme cheapness of silks, our travellermight have discovered the reason why the richestmerchants wore cotton; for, as he himself observes,one cotton dress would purchase many silk ones,which, accordingly, were the usual dress of thepoorer classes.

The internal trade and commerce of the countrywas carried on with paper money, which, as MarcoPolo likewise observes, had totally superseded theuse of the dirhem and the dinar. These bank-notes,if we may so apply the term, were about the sizeof the palm of the hand, and were stamped with theroyal stamp. When torn accidentally, or worn outby use, these papers could be carried to what maybe termed their mint, and changed without loss for103new ones, the emperor being satisfied with the profitsaccruing from their circulation. No other moneywas in use. Whatever gold and silver was possessedby individuals was melted into ingots, and placedfor show over the doors of their houses.

The perfection to which the Chinese of those dayshad carried the elegant and useful arts appeared extraordinaryto our traveller, who dwells with vastcomplacency upon the beauty of their paintings andthe peculiar delicacy of their porcelain. One exampleof their ingenuity amused him exceedingly.Returning after a short absence to one of their cities,through which he had just passed, he found thewalls and houses ornamented with portraits of himselfand his companions. This, however, was amere police regulation, intended to familiarize thepeople with the forms and features of strangers, thatshould they commit any crime they might be easilyrecognised. Ships found to contain any article notregularly entered in the custom-house register wereconfiscated; “a species of oppression,” says ourtraveller, “which I witnessed nowhere else.” Strangers,on their first arrival, placed themselves andtheir property in the keeping of some merchant orinnkeeper, who was answerable for the safety ofboth. The Chinese, regarding their children asproperty, sell them whenever they can get a purchaser,which renders slaves both male and female extremelycheap among them; and as chastity appearsto possess little or no merit in their eyes, travellersare in the habit of purchasing, on their arrival in anycity, a slave girl, who resides with them while theyremain, and at their departure is either sold again,like an ordinary piece of furniture, or taken awayalong with them to be disposed of elsewhere. Theseverity of their police regulations proves that theirmanners had even then arrived at that pitch of corruptionin which little or no reliance is to be placedon moral influence, the place of which is supplied by104caution, vigilance, and excessive terror. Strangersmoved about in the midst of innumerable guards,who might, perhaps, be considered as much in thelight of spies as defenders. Fear predominatedeverywhere; the traveller feared his host, and thehost the traveller. Religion, honour, morals had nopower, or rather no existence. Hence the low pitchbeyond which the civilization of China has neverbeen able to soar, and that retrogradation towardsbarbarism which has long commenced in that country,and is rapidly urging the population towards themiserable condition in which they were plunged beforethe times of Yaon and Shan, who drew themout of their forests and caverns.

To proceed, however, with the adventures of ourtraveller. The first great city at which he arrivedhe denominated El Zaitūn, which was the placewhere the best coloured and flowered silks in theempire were manufactured. It was situated upon alarge arm of the sea, and being one of the finest portsin the world, carried on an immense trade, and overflowedwith wealth and magnificence. He next proceededto Sin Kilan, another city on the seashore,beyond which, he was informed, neither Chinese norMohammedan ever travelled, the inhabitants of thoseparts being fierce, inhospitable, and addicted to cannibalism.In a cave without this city was a hermit,or more properly an impostor, who pretended tohave arrived at the great age of two hundred yearswithout eating, drinking, or sleeping. Ibn Batūta,who could not, of course, avoid visiting so great andperfect a being, going to his cell, found him to be athin, beardless, copper-coloured old man, possessingall the external marks of a saint. When the worthytraveller saluted him, instead of returning his salutation,he seized his hand, and smelt it; and then,turning to the interpreter, he said, “This man is justas much attached to this world as we are to thenext.” Upon further discourse, it appeared that the105saint and the traveller had met before, the formerbeing, in fact, a jogee, whom Ibn Batūta had seenmany years before leaning against the wall of anidol temple in the island of Sindibur. Saints, aswell as other men, are sometimes imprudent. Thejogee had no sooner made this confession than herepented of it, and, retreating into his cell, immediatelydisguised himself, so that the traveller, whohe suspected would forcibly follow him, could notupon entering recognise his person in the least. Toinfuse into his visiter’s mind the belief that he possessedthe power of rendering himself invisible, heinformed him that he had seen the last of the holymen, who, though at that moment present, was notto be seen. On returning to the city, our travellerwas assured by the judge of the place that it was thesame person who had appeared to him both withinand without the cave, and that, in fact, the good manwas fond of playing such tricks.

Returning to El Zaitūn, he proceeded towards thecapital, and halted a little at the city of Fanjanfūr,which, from the number and beauty of its gardens,in some measure resembled Damascus. Here, at abanquet to which he was invited, the remembranceof home was forcibly recalled to his mind by a veryaffecting and unexpected meeting. He was sittingat table, among his jovial entertainers, when a greatMohammedan fakeer, who entered and joined thecompany, attracted his attention; and as he continuedto gaze earnestly at him for some time, theman at length observed him, and said, “Why do youcontinue looking at me, unless you know me?” Tothis Ibn Batūta replied, by demanding the name ofhis native place. “I am,” said the man, “fromCeuta.”—“And I,” replied Ibn Batūta, “am fromTangiers.” By that peculiar structure of the mindwhich gives associations of ideas, whether pleasurableor painful, so thorough an empire over our feelings,the very enunciation of those two sounds melted106and subdued the temper of their souls. The fakeersaluted him, and wept; and the traveller, returninghis salute, wept also. Ibn Batūta then inquiredwhether he had ever been in India, and was informedthat he had remained for some time in the imperialpalace of Delhi. A sudden recollection now flashedupon our traveller’s mind: “Are you, then, El Bashiri?”said he; and the fakeer replied, “I am he.”Ibn Batūta now knew who he was, and rememberedthat while yet a youth without a beard he had travelledwith his uncle, Abul Kasim, from Africa toHindostan; and that he himself had afterward recommendedhim as an able repeater of the Koran to theemperor, though the fakeer, preferring liberty and arambling life, had refused to accept of any office.He was now in possession, however, of both rankand riches, and bestowed many presents upon hisformer benefactor. To show the wandering dispositionof the men, our traveller remarks that heshortly after met with the brother of this fakeer atSondan, in the heart of Africa.

Still proceeding on his way, he next arrived at thecity of El Khausa (no doubt the Kinsai of MarcoPolo), which he pronounces the longest he had everseen on the face of the earth; and to give some ideaof its prodigious extent, observes, that a travellermight journey on through it for three days, and stillfind lodgings. As the Chinese erect their houses inthe midst of gardens, like the natives of Malabar,and enclose within the walls what may be termedparks and meadows, the population of their cities isnever commensurate with their extent; so that theirlargest capitals may be regarded as inferior in populationto several cities of Europe. However, theflames of civil war, which then raged with inextinguishablefury through the whole empire, preventedour traveller from visiting Khan Balik, the Cambaluof Marco Polo and the older geographers, and thePeking of the Chinese; and therefore he returned107to El Zaitūn, where he embarked on board a Mohammedanvessel bound for Sumatra. During this voyage,in which they were driven by a tempest intounknown seas, both our traveller and the crew ofthe ship in which he sailed mistook a cloud for anisland, and, being driven towards it by the wind,suffered, by anticipation, all the miseries of shipwreck.Some betook themselves to prayer and repentance;others made vows. In the mean whilenight came on, the wind died away, and in the morning,when they looked out for their island, they foundthat it had ascended into the air, while a bright currentof light flowed between it and the sea. Newfears now seized upon the superstitious crew. Escapedfrom shipwreck, they began to imagine thatthe dusky body which they discovered at a distancehovering in the sky was no other than the monstrousrock-bird which makes so distinguished a figure inthe Arabian Nights’ Entertainment; and they hadlittle doubt, that should it perceive them, it wouldimmediately pounce upon and devour both them andtheir ship. The wind blowing in a contrary direction,they escaped, however, from the rock, and inthe course of two months arrived safely in Java,where our traveller was honourably received and entertainedby the king.

Remaining here two months, and receiving fromthe sultan presents of lignum, aloes, camphire, cloves,sandal-wood, and provisions, he at length departedin a junk bound for Kawlam, in Malabar, where, aftera voyage of forty days, he arrived; and visiting Kalikutand Zafār, again departed for the Persian Gulf.Traversing a portion of Persia and Mesopotamia, heentered Syria; and the desire of visiting his nativeplace now springing up in his heart, he hastened,after once more performing the pilgrimage to Meccaand Medina, to embark for Barbary, and arrived atFez in 1350, after an absence of twenty-six years.Though received in the most distinguished manner108by his native sovereign, who, in his opinion, unitedall the good and great qualities of all the greatprinces he had seen, and believing, like a true patriot,that his own country of all the regions of the earthwas the most beautiful, the old habit of locomotionwas still too strong to be subdued; and imagininghe should enjoy peculiar pleasure in warring for thetrue faith, he passed over into Spain, where the Mohammedanswere then engaged in vanquishing oreradicating the power of the Christians. The placeswhich here principally commanded his attentionwere, the Hill of Victory (Gibraltar), and Granada,whose suburbs, surpassing those of Damascus itself,and intersected by the sparkling waters of the Xenil,appeared to him the finest in the whole world.

From Spain Ibn Batūta again passed into Africa,apparently without at all engaging in the war againstthe Christians, and, after traversing the cultivateddistricts, entered the great desert of Sahara, throughwhich he proceeded, without meeting with villageor habitation for five-and-twenty days, when theyarrived at Tagāzā, or Thagari, a place built entirelyof rock salt. Proceeding onwards through thedesert, in this portion of which there is neither water,bird, nor tree, and where the dazzling burning sandis whirled aloft in vast clouds, and driven along withprodigious rapidity by the winds, they arrived in tendays at the city of Abu Latin, the first inhabitedplace in the kingdom of Sondan. Here our travellerwas so exceedingly disgusted with the character ofthe negroes, who exhibited unmitigated contempt forall white people, that he at first resolved to returnwithout completing his design; but the travellingpassion prevailed, he remained at Abu Latin fiftydays, studying the manners and customs of the inhabitants.Contrary to the general rule, he foundthe women beautiful and the men not jealous; theeffect, in all probability, of unbounded corruption ofmanners.

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Proceeding thence to Mali, or Melli, and remainingthere a short time, being honourably receivedand presented with valuable gifts by the king, henext departed for Timbuctoo, which at that timeappears to have been quite an inferior place, dependenton Mali. Returning thence by the way of Sigilmāsato Fez, in the year 1353, he there concludedhis wanderings, and in all probability employed theremainder of his life in the composition of thosetravels of which we merely possess a meagerabridgment, the most complete copy of which wasbrought to England by Mr. Burckhardt. The translationof this abridgment by Professor Lee, usefulas it is, must be rendered greatly more valuable byextending the English, and rejecting the Arabicnotes; and by the addition of an index, which wouldfacilitate the study of the work. How long IbnBatūta survived his return to his native country, andwhether the travels were his own work, are factsof which nothing is known.

LEO AFRICANUS.

The original name of this distinguished travellerwas Al Hassan Ben Mohammed Al Vazan, surnamedFezzani, on account of his having studied and passedthe greater part of his youth at Fez. He was, however,a native of the city of Granada in Spain,where he appears to have been born about the year1486 or 1487. When this city, the last strongholdof Islamism in the Peninsula, was besieged by theChristians in 1491, the parents of Leo, who were abranch of the noble family of Zaid, passed over intoAfrica, taking their son, then a child, along with110them, and established themselves at Fez, the capitalof the Mohammedan kingdom of the same name.Fez, at this period the principal seat of Mohammedanlearning in Africa, was no less distinguished amongthe cities of Islamism for the magnificence andsplendour of its mosques, palaces, caravansaries,and gardens; yet Leo, who already exhibited avigorous and independent character, preferred thetranquil and salubrious retreat of Habbed’s Camp, asmall place originally founded by a hermit, upon amountain six miles from the capital, and commandinga view both of the city and its environs. Herehe passed four delightful summers in study andretirement.

Having at the age of fourteen completed hisstudies, he became secretary or registrar to a caravanserai,at a salary of three golden dinars permonth, and this office he filled during two years.At the expiration of this period, about the year 1502,he accompanied his uncle on an embassy from theKing of Fez to the Sultan of Timbuctoo, and in thatrenowned assemblage of hovels he remained fouryears. On his return from this city, which he afterwardvisited at a more mature age, he made a shortstay at Tefza, the capital of a small independentterritory in the empire of Morocco. The city waslarge and flourishing; the people wealthy; but divisionsarising among them, several individuals of distinctionwere driven into exile, who, repairing to theKing of Fez, conjured him to grant them a certainnumber of troops, in return for which they engagedto reduce their native city, and place it in his hands.The troops were granted—the city reduced—thechiefs of the popular party thrown into prison. Thebusiness now being to extort from them the greatestpossible sum of money, they were informed, thatunless they immediately produced wherewith todefray the expenses of the expedition, they shouldwithout delay be transported to Fez, where the king111would not fail to exact from them at least doublethe amount. Being aware into what hands theywere fallen, the chiefs consented, and desired theirwives and relatives to produce the money. Theladies of course obeyed; but in order to make itappear that they had achieved the matter with theutmost difficulty, and had in fact collected all theypossessed in the world, they included their rings,bracelets, and other ornaments and jewels, the wholeamounting to about twenty-eight thousand goldendinars. This sum exceeding what had been demanded,there appeared to be no longer any pretencefor detaining the men in prison; but the general,imagining that persons who possessed so much mustinfallibly possess more, could not prevail upon himselfto part with them so easily. Therefore, callingtogether the prisoners, who were about forty-two innumber, he informed them in a tone of great commiserationthat he had just received letters from theking, peremptorily commanding him to put them allto death without delay, and that of course he couldnot dare to disobey the orders of his sovereign. Atthese words indescribable terror and consternationseizing upon the prisoners, they wept bitterly, andin the poignancy of their anguish conjured the chiefto have mercy upon them. The worthy soldier,who had apparently been educated at court, shedtears also, and seemed to be overwhelmed with sorrowand perplexity. While they were in this dilemma,a man who appeared to be totally new to theaffair entered, and upon hearing the whole state ofthe case, gave it as his opinion that the severity ofthe king might be mitigated by a large sum of money.The prisoners, who appeared to revive at thesewords, forgetting that, according to their own account,the former mulct had exhausted all theirmeans, now offered immense sums in exchange fortheir lives, not only to the king, but likewise to thegeneral. This being the point aimed at, their offer112was of course accepted; and having paid eighty-fourthousand pieces of gold to the king, and rewardedthe astute general with a costly present of horses,slaves, and perfumes, the poor men were at lengthliberated. Leo, who was present at this transaction,admires the extraordinary ingenuity of mankind inextorting money; and observes that some time afterthis his majesty of Fez extracted a still larger sumfrom a single Jew.

The chronology of our traveller’s various expeditionsit is difficult if not impossible to determine;but he appears shortly after this characteristic affairto have made an excursion into those vast plains, ordeserts, of Northern Africa, inhabited by the Bedouins,where he amused himself with contemplatingthe rude character and manners of this primitivepeople. His first attempt, however, to visit thesewild tribes was unsuccessful. Setting out from Fez,and traversing a mountainous and woody country,abounding in fountains and rivulets, and extremelyfertile, he arrived at the foot of Mount Atlas, whosesides were covered with vast forests, while its summitswere capped with snow. The merchants whocross this tremendous mountain with fruit from thedate country usually arrive about the end of October,but are often surprised in their passage by snow-storms,which, in the course of a few hours, notonly bury both carriages and men, but even the trees,so that not a vestige of them remains visible. Whenthe sun melts the snow in the spring, then the carriagesand the bodies of the dead are found.

It was some time in the month of October thatLeo arrived with a large company of merchants atthe ascent of Atlas, where they were overtakenabout sunset by a storm of blended snow and hail,accompanied by the most piercing cold. As theywere toiling upwards, they encountered a smalltroop of Arab horsem*n, who, inviting our travellerto descend from his carriage and bear them company,113promised to conduct him to an agreeable andsecure asylum. Though entertaining considerabledoubts of their intentions, he could not venture torefuse; but while he accepted of their civility, hebegan to revolve in his mind the means of concealingfrom them the wealth which he bore about his person.The horsem*n, however, were all mountedand impatient to be on the march; he had, therefore,not a moment to lose, but pretending a pressingnecessity for stepping aside for an instant, he retreatedbehind a tree, and deposited his moneyamong a heap of stones at the foot of it. Thencarefully observing the spot, he returned to theArabs, who immediately began their journey. Theytravelled rapidly till about midnight without utteringa word, battered by the storm and severely pinchedby the cold; when, having reached a spot proper forthe purpose they had in view, they stopped suddenly,and one of them, coming close up to our traveller,demanded of him what wealth he had about him.He replied that he had none, having intrusted one ofhis fellow-travellers with his money. This the Arabsrefused to believe, and, in order to satisfy themselvesupon the point, commanded him, without consideringthe bitterness of the weather, to strip himself to theskin. When he had done so, and was found to beas penniless as he was naked, they burst into a loudlaugh, pretending that what they had done wasmerely to ascertain whether he was a hardy man ornot, and could endure the biting of the cold and thefury of the tempest. They now once more proceededon their way, as swiftly as the darkness ofthe night and the roughness of the weather wouldpermit, until they perceived by the bleating of sheepthat they were approaching the habitations of men.This sound serving them for a guide, they dashedaway through thick woods and over steep rocks, tothe great hazard of their necks; and at lengtharrived at an immense cavern, where they found a114number of shepherds, who, having driven in all theirflocks, had kindled a blazing fire, and were eagerlycrowding round it on account of the cold.

Observing that their visiters were Arabs, the shepherdswere at first greatly terrified; but being bydegrees persuaded that they intended them no harm,and merely demanded shelter from the inclemencyof the weather, they recovered their self-possession,and entertained them with the most generous hospitality.After supper, the whole company stretchedthemselves round the fire, and slept soundly untilnext morning. The snow still continuing to fall,they remained two whole days in this wild retreat;but on the third the weather clearing up, a passagewas cut through the snow, and merging into daylightthey mounted their horses, and descended towardsthe plains of Fez, the kindly shepherds acting astheir guides through the difficult passes of the mountains.They now learned that the caravan withwhich Leo was travelling when encountered by theArabs, had been overwhelmed by the snow; so thatno hope of plunder being left, our traveller’s friendlypreservers seized upon a Jew with the design ofextorting a large ransom from him; and borrowingLeo’s horse in order to convey the Hebrew prize totheir tents, they commended its master to the mercyof fortune and the winds, and departed. Good luck,or the charity of some benevolent hind, furnishedour traveller with a mule, upon which he made hisway in three days to the capital.

Not being discouraged by this adventure, which,when safely concluded, appeared rather romanticthan unfortunate, he again bent his steps towardsthe desert, and at length succeeded in his attempt tobecome the guest of the children of Ishmael. Herehe found himself surrounded by that fierce and untameablepeople, who, having to their natural wildnessand ferocity added those qualities of perfidiousnessand treachery which the venom of the African115soil appears to engender inevitably, might be regardedas the most dangerous of all those barbariansamong whom civilized man could expose himself.Hunting the lion, taming the most fiery coursers, inshort, all violent exercises, and bloodshed, and war,were their daily recreations. Nevertheless sometraces of the milder manners of Arabia remained.Poetry, adapting itself to the tastes of these rudemen, celebrated in songs burning with energy andenthusiasm the prowess and exploits of their warriors,the beauty of their women, the savage butsublime features of their country, or the antiquityand glory of their race. Making their sword thepurveyor of their desires, they enjoyed whateveriron thus fashioned could purchase,—ample tents,costly and magnificent garments, vessels of copperor of brass, with abundance of silver and gold. Insummer moving northward before the sun, theypoured down upon the cultivated country lyingalong the shores of the Mediterranean, through athousand mountain defiles, and collecting both fruitand grain as they were ripened by its rays, watchedthe retreat of the great luminary towards thesouthern tropic, and pursued its fiery track acrossthe desert.

Returning from this expedition without undergoingany particular hardships, he shortly afterward passedinto Morocco, where he remained during severalyears, visiting its most celebrated cities, mountains,and deserts, and carefully studying the manners ofits inhabitants under all their aspects. The firstplace of any note which he examined was MountMagran. Here, amid wild Alpine scenes, and peakscovered with eternal snow, he found a people whosesimple manners carried back his imagination to thefirst ages of the world. In winter they had no fixedhabitations, but dwelt in large baskets, the sides ofwhich were formed of the bark of trees, and the roofof wicker-work. These they removed from place116to place on the backs of mules, stopping and dismountingtheir houses wherever they met with pasturefor their flocks. During the warm months,however, they erected huts of larger dimensions,roofing them with green boughs, and provender fortheir cattle being plentiful, remained stationary. Todefend their flocks and herds from the cold, whichis there always severe during the night, they kindledimmense fires close to their doors, which, emittingtoo great a flame when fanned by tempestuous winds,sometimes caught their combustible dwellings, andendangered the lives both of themselves and theircattle. They were likewise exposed to the dailyhazard of being devoured by lions or wolves, animalswhich abound in that savage region.

From hence he proceeded to Mount Dedas, a loftychain eighty miles in length, covered with vastforests, and fertilized by a prodigious number offountains and rivulets. On the summit of this ridgewere then found the ruins of a very ancient city, onthe white walls and solitary monuments of whichthere existed numerous inscriptions, but couched ina language and characters totally unknown to theinhabitants, some of whom supposed it to have beenbuilt by the Romans, though no mention of the placeoccurs in any African historian. The wretched racethen inhabiting the mountain dwelt in caverns, or inhuts of stones rudely piled upon each other. Theirwhole riches consisted in large droves of asses andflocks of goats; barley bread with a little salt andmilk was their only food; and scarcely the half oftheir bodies were covered by their miserable garments.Yet the caverns in which they and theirgoats lay down promiscuously abounded in nitre,which in any civilized country would have sufficedto raise them to a state of opulence. The mannersof these troglodytes were execrable. Living without hopeand without God in the world, they fearlesslyperpetrated all manner of crimes, treachery,117thieving, open robbery, and murder. The womenwere still more ragged and wretched than the men,and the traveller found it, upon the whole, the mostdisagreeable place in all Africa.

As Leo did not make any regular tour of the country,but repaired now to one place, now to another,as business or accident impelled him, we find him to-dayat one end of Morocco, and when the next dateis given he is at the opposite extremity. Nothing,therefore, is left the biographer but to follow asnearly as possible the order of time. Towards theconclusion of the year in which he crossed MountDedas in his way to Segelmessa, he proceeded withSheriff, a Moorish chief, in whose service he happenedto be, towards the western provinces of Morocco,and travelling with a powerful escort, or ratherwith an army, had little or nothing to fear from themost sanguinary and perfidious of the barbariantribes. One of the most remarkable places visitedduring this excursion was El Eusugaghen, the “Cityof Murderers.” The mere description of the mannersof its inhabitants makes the blood run cold.The city, erected on the summit of a lofty mountain,was surrounded by no gardens, and shaded by nofruit-trees. Barley and oil were the only produceof the soil. The poorer portion of the inhabitantswent barefoot throughout the year, the richer worea rude species of mocassin, fabricated from the hideof the camel or the ox. All their thoughts, all theirdesires tended towards bloodshed and war, and sofierce were their struggles with their neighbours, soterrible the slaughter, so unmitigated and unrelentingtheir animosity, that, according to the forcible expressionof the traveller himself, they deserved ratherto be called dogs than men. Nor was their dispositiontowards each other more gentle. No manventured to step over the threshold of his own doorinto the street without carrying a dagger or a spearin his hand: and as they did not appear inclined to118bear their weapons in vain, were restrained by noprinciples of religion or justice, and were utterly insensibleto pity, cries of “murder!” in the streetwere frequent and startling.

This atrocious stronghold of murderers was situatedin the district over which Sheriff claimed thesovereignty, and his visit to the place was undertakenin the hope of introducing something like law andjustice. The number of accusations of theft, robbery,and murder was incredible; and dire was thedissension, the commotion, the noise which everywhereprevailed. As Sheriff had brought with himneither lawyers nor magistrates who might undertaketo compose their differences, Leo, as a manlearned in the Koran, was earnestly conjured to fulfilthis terrible office. No sooner had he consentedthan two men rushed in before him, accusing eachother of the most abominable crimes, the one averringthat the other had murdered eight of his relations;and the latter, who by no means denied thefact, asserting in reply that the former had murderedten members of his family, and that, therefore, as thebalance was in his favour, he should, according tothe custom of the country, be paid a certain sum ofmoney for the additional loss he had sustained. Themurderer of ten, on the other hand, argued that itwas to him that the price of blood should be paid, forthat the persons whom he had slain had sufferedjustly, since they had violently seized upon a farmwhich belonged to him, and that he could in no otherway gain possession of his right; while his own relationshad fallen the victims of the mere atrocityof the other murderer. Such were the mutual accusationsin which the first day was consumed. Theevening coming on, Leo and the chieftain retired torest; but in the dead of the night they were suddenlyawakened by terrific shouts and yells, and springinghastily from their couches, and running to the window,they saw an immense crowd rushing into the119market-place, and fighting with so much fury andbloodshed, that to have beheld them the most ironnature must have been shocked; so that, dreadinglest some plot or conspiracy might be hatchingagainst himself, the chieftain made his escape asrapidly as possible, taking the traveller along withhim.

From this den they proceeded towards the city ofTeijent, and on the way began to imagine that, accordingto the vulgar proverb, they had fallen outof the fryingpan into the fire; for night comingupon them in a solitary place, where neither villagenor caravansary was nigh, Leo and his companion,who happened to be separated from the chieftain’sarmy, were compelled to take refuge in a smallwooden house which had fallen to decay on the road-side.It being extremely hot weather, they fastenedtheir horses to a post in the lower room, stoppingup the gaps in the enclosure with thorns and bushes,and then retreated to the house-top, to enjoy as faras possible the freshness of the air. The night wasalready far advanced, when two enormous lions, attractedby the scent of the horses, approached theruin, and threw them into the greatest consternation;for the least violence would have shaken down theirfrail tenement, and thrown them out into the lions’mouths, and their horses, maddened by fear, andshuddering at the terrible voice of the lions, beganto neigh and snort in the most furious manner. Toincrease their fears, they heard the ferocious animalsstriving to tear away the briery fence with whichthey had closed up the doors and openings in thewall, and which they every moment dreaded mightat length give way. In this situation they passedthe night; but when the dawn appeared, and lightbegan to infuse life into the cool landscape, thelions, feeling that their hour was gone by, retreatedto their dens in the forests, and left the travellers topursue their journey.

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Having remained a short time at Teijent, he proceededtowards the north-west through Tesegdeltumto Tagtessa, a city built upon the apex of a conicalhill, where he saw the earth covered by so prodigiousa cloud of locusts that they seemed to outnumberthe blades of grass. From this city hetravelled to Eitdevet, where he refreshed himselfafter his various toils by conversing with learnedJews and Ulemas on knotty points of law, and bygazing on the women, whose plump round forms andrich complexions delighted him exceedingly. Tokeep up the interest of his journey, and diversifythe scene a little, he was a few days afterward firedat by the subject of an heretical chief, who inhabiteda mountain fortress, and amused himself with layingtrue believers under contribution; but escaped thedanger, and succeeded in reaching Tefetne, a smallcity on the seashore. Here sufferings of a new kindawaited him. Not from the people, for they werehumane and friendly towards strangers; but fromcertain dependants of theirs, whose assiduous attentionsmade the three days which Leo spent amongthese good-natured people appear to be so manyages. In short, notwithstanding that he was lodgedin a magnificent caravansary, he was nearly stung todeath by fleas! The cause of the extraordinaryabundance of these active little animals at Tefetne,though it seems never to have occurred to our curioustraveller, is discoverable in a circ*mstancewhich he accidentally mentions—the Portuguesetraded to this city. This likewise may account foranother little peculiarity which distinguished thispart from the neighbouring towns, though not greatlyto its advantage: the stench, he tells us, which diffuseditself on all sides, and assaulted the nostrilsnight and day, was so powerful that his senses wereat length compelled to succumb, and he retreatedbefore the victorious odour.

In order somewhat to sweeten his imagination, he121now struck off from the seacoast, where the townsare generally infested by unpleasant smells, in orderto visit those wild tribes that inhabit the western extremityof Mount Atlas. Here the scenery, sparklingthrough a peculiarly transparent atmosphere, wasrich, picturesque, and beautiful. Innumerable fountains,shaded by lofty spreading trees, among whichthe walnut was conspicuous, sprung forth from thebosom of the hills, and leaping down over rocks andprecipices amid luxuriant foliage, united in the sunnyvalleys, and formed many cool and shining streams.This fertile region was well stocked with inhabitants—farmsand villas everywhere peeping from betweenthe trees, and refreshing the eye of the traveller.The inhabitants, however, though clothed superbly,and glittering with rings and other ornaments ofgold and silver, were immersed in the grossest ignorance,and addicted beyond credibility to everyodious and revolting vice. From thence, after ashort stay, he returned towards the coast, and arrivedat Messa, a city surrounded by groves of palm-treesand richly-cultivated fields, and situated abouta mile distant from the sea, close to which there wasa mosque, the beams and rafters of which wereformed of the bones of whales. Here, according tothe traditions of the place, the prophet Jonah wascast on shore by the whale, when he attempted toescape from the necessity of preaching repentanceto the Ninevites; and it is the opinion of the people,that if any of this species of fish attempt to swimpast this temple along the shore, he is immediatelystricken dead by some miraculous influence of theedifice, and cast up by the waves upon the beach;and it is certain that many carcasses of these enormousanimals are annually found upon that part ofthe coast of Morocco, as also large quantities ofamber.

Proceeding along the shore, and examining whateverappeared deserving of attention, he once more122betook himself to the mountains, where, among therude and lawless tribes which inhabited them, hefound a more extraordinary system of manners, andstood a better chance of gratifying his love of enterpriseand adventure. Traversing the savage defilesof Mount Nififa, whose inhabitants wholly employthemselves in the care of goats and bees, he arrivedat Mount Surede, where he became engaged in a verywhimsical scene. Cut off by their solitary and remoteposition from frequent intercourse with therest of the world, these thick-headed mountaineershad no conception of law or civilization, no idea ofwhich ever entered their minds, except when somestranger, distinguished for his good sense and modestmanners, made his appearance among them. Stillthey were not, like many of the neighbouring tribes,altogether destitute of religion; and when Leo arrived,he was received and entertained by a priest,who set before him the usual food of the inhabitants,a little barley-meal boiled in water, and goat’s flesh,which might be conjectured from its toughness tohave belonged to some venerable example of longevity.These savoury viands, which they atesquatted on their haunches like monkeys, appear tohave been so little to the taste of Leo, that, in orderto avoid the impiety of devouring such patriarchalanimals, he resolved to depart next morning at thepeep of dawn; but as he was preparing to mount hisbeast, about fifty of the inhabitants crowded abouthim, and enumerating their grievances and wrongs,requested him to judge between them. He replied,that he was totally ignorant of their customs andmanners. This, he was told, signified nothing. Itwas the custom of the place, that whenever anystranger paid them a visit, he was constrained beforehis departure to try and determine all the causeswhich, like suits in the Court of Chancery, mighthave been accumulating for half a century; and toconvince him that they were in earnest, and would123hear of no refusal they forthwith took away hishorse, and requested him to commence operations.Seeing there was no remedy, he submitted with asgood a grace as possible; and during nine days andnights had his ears perpetually stunned by accusations,pleadings, excuses, and, what was still worse,was obliged daily to devour the flesh of animals olderthan Islamism itself. On the evening of the eighthday the natives, being greatly satisfied with his modeof distributing justice, and desirous of encouraginghim to complete his Herculean labours, promisedthat on the next day he should receive a magnificentreward; and as he hoped they meant to recompensehim with a large sum of money, the night whichseparated him from so great a piece of good fortuneseemed an age. The dawn, therefore, had no soonerappeared than he was stirring; and the people, whowere equally in earnest, requesting him to place himselfin the porch of the mosque, made a short speechafter their manner, which being finished, the presentswere brought up with the utmost respect. To hisgreat horror, instead of the gold which his fancy hadbeen feeding upon, he saw his various clients approach,one with a co*ck, another with a quantity ofnuts, a third with onions; while such as meant tobe more magnificent brought him a goat. Therewas, in fact, no money in the place. Not being ableto remove his riches, he left the goats and onionsto his worthy host; and departed with a guard offifty soldiers, which his grateful clients bestowedupon him to defend his person in the dangerouspasses through which he had to travel.

From hence, still proceeding along the loftymountainous ridge, whose pinnacles are coveredwith eternal snow, he repaired to Mount Seusava, adistrict inhabited by warlike tribes, who, though engagedin perpetual hostilities with their neighbours,understood the use of no offensive arms except thesling, from which, however, they threw stones with124singular force and precision. The food of thesegallant emulators of the ancient Rhodians consistedof barley-meal and honey, to which was occasionallyadded a little goat’s flesh. The arts of peace,which the warriors, perhaps, were too proud or toolazy to cultivate with any degree of assiduity, werehere exercised chiefly by Jews, who manufacturedvery good earthenware, reaping-hooks, andhorse-shoes. Their houses were constructed ofrough stones, piled upon each other without cement.Nevertheless, a great number of learned men, whoseadvice was invariably taken and followed by thenatives, was found here, among whom Leo metwith several who had formerly been his fellow-studentsat Fez, and now not only received him withkindness and hospitality, but, moreover, accompaniedhim on his departure to a considerable distancefrom the mountain.

He now peacefully pursued his journey; and afterwitnessing the various phenomena of these mountainregions, where the date-tree and the avalanche,the fir and the orange-tree are near neighbours,again descended into the plainer and more cultivatedportion of Morocco, and after numerous petty adventures,not altogether unworthy of being recorded,but yet too numerous to find a place here, arrivedat Buluchuan, a small city upon the river Ommirabih.Here travellers were usually received andentertained with distinguished hospitality, not beingallowed to spend any thing during their stay, whilesplendid caravansaries were erected for their reception,and the citizens, whose munificence was notinferior to their riches, vied with each other in theirattentions and civilities. At the period of Leo’svisit, however, the city was in a state of the utmostdisorder. The King of Fez had sent his brotherwith orders to take possession of the whole provinceof Duccala; but on his arrival at this city, newswas brought him that the Prince of Azemore was125even then upon his march towards the place with anumerous army, with the intention of demolishingthe fortifications, and carrying away the inhabitantsinto captivity. Upon receiving this information,two thousand horse and eight hundred archerswere immediately thrown into Buluchuan; but atthe same time arrived a number of Portuguese soldiers,and two thousand Arabs; the latter of whom,first attacking the Fezzians, easily routed them, andput the greater number of the archers to the sword;then turning upon the Portuguese, they cut off aconsiderable number of their cavalry, and quicklyput them also to the rout. Shortly after this, thebrother of the King of Fez arrived, and upon undertakingto protect the inhabitants from all enemiesto the latest day of his life, received the tributewhich he demanded; but being worsted in battle,quickly returned to Fez. The people now perceivingthat, notwithstanding the promised protectionof the Fezzan king, they were still exposed to allthe calamities of war, and feeling themselves unequalto contend unassisted with their numerous enemies,and more particularly dreading the avarice of thePortuguese, deserted their city and their homes, andtook refuge upon the promontory of Tedla. Leo,who was present during these transactions, andwitnessed the slaughter of the archers, mounted ona swift charger, and keeping at a short distancefrom the scene of carnage upon the plain, had beendelegated by the monarch of Fez to announce thespeedy arrival of his brother with his forces.

Some time after this, the King of Fez, oncemore resolving upon the reduction of the province,arrived in Duccala with an army, bringing Leo, whohad now risen to considerable distinction at court,along with him. Arriving at the foot of an eminenceof considerable height, denominated by ourtraveller the Green Mountain, and which dividesDuccala from the province of Tedla, the monarch,126charmed by the beauties of the place, commandedhis tents to be pitched, resolving to spend a fewdays in pleasure at that calm and delightful solitude.The mountain itself is rugged, and well clothed withwoods of oak and pine. Among these, remote fromall human intercourse, are the dwellings of numeroushermits, who subsist upon such wild productionsof the earth as the place supplies; and here andthere scattered among the rocks were great numbersof Mohammedan altars, fountains of water, andruins of ancient edifices. Near the base of themountain there was an extensive lake, resemblingthat of Volsinia in Italy, swarming with prodigiousnumbers of eels, pikes, and other species of fish,some of which are unknown in Europe. Mohammed,the Fezzan king, now gave orders for a generalattack upon the fish of the lake. In a moment,turbans, vests, and nether garments, the sleeves andlegs being tied at one end, were transformed intonets, and lowered into the water; and before theirowners could look round them pikes were strugglingand eels winding about in their capaciousbreeches. Meanwhile, nineteen thousand horses,and a vast number of camels, plunged into the laketo drink, so that, says Leo, by a certain figure ofspeech not at all uncommon among travellers, therewas scarcely any water left; and the fish werestranded, as it were, in their own dwellings. Thesport was continued for eight days; when, beingtired of fishing, Mohammed gave orders to explorethe recesses of the mountain. The borders of thelake were covered by extensive groves of a speciesof pine-tree, in which an incredible number of turtle-doveshad built their nests; and these, like the fishesof the lake, became the prey of the army. Passingthrough these groves, the prince and all his troopsascended the mountain. Leo the while keeping closeto his majesty among the doctors and courtiers;and as often as they passed by any little chapel,127Mohammed, keeping in sight of the whole army,addressed his prayers to the Almighty, callingHeaven to witness that his only motive in comingto Duccala was to deliver it from the tyranny of theChristians and Arabs. Returning in the evening totheir tents, they next day proceeded with houndsand falcons, of which the king possessed great numbers,to hunt the wild duck, the wild goose, theturtle-dove, and various other species of birds.Their next expedition was against higher game,such as the hare, the stag, the fallow-deer, the porcupine,and the wolf, and in this kind of chase eaglesand falcons were employed as well as dogs; and asno person had beaten up those fields for more thana hundred years, the quantity of game was prodigious.After amusing himself for several days inthis manner, the prince, attended by his court andarmy, returned to Fez, while Leo, with a smallbody of troops, was despatched upon an embassy tothe Emperor of Morocco.

On returning from Morocco, after being hospitablyentertained at El Medina, Tagodastum, Bzo, andother cities, he visited the dwelling of a mountainprince, with whom he spent several days in conversationson poetry and literature. Though immoderatelygreedy of praise, his gentleness, politeness,and liberality rendered him every way worthy ofit; and if he did not understand Arabic, he at leastdelighted to have its beauties explained to him, andhighly honoured and valued those who were learnedin this copious and energetic language. Our travellerhad visited this generous chieftain severalyears before. Coming well furnished with presents,among which was a volume of poetry containingthe praises of celebrated men, and of the princehimself among the rest, he was magnificently received;the more particularly as he himself hadcomposed upon the way a small poem on the same128agreeable subject, which he recited to the princeafter supper.

The date of our traveller’s various excursionsthrough the kingdom of Fez is unknown, but he apparently,like many other travellers, visited foreigncountries before he had examined his own, and Ihave therefore placed his adventures in Moroccobefore those which occurred to him at home. In anexcursion to the seacoast he passed through Anfa,an extensive city founded by the Romans, on themargin of the ocean, and in a position so salubriousand agreeable that, taking into account the generouscharacter and polished manners of the inhabitants,it might justly be considered the most delightfulplace in all Africa. From hence he proceededthrough Mansora and Nuchailu to Rabat, once avast and splendid city, abounding with palaces, caravansaries,baths, and gardens, but now, by wars andcivil dissensions, reduced to a heap of ruins, rendereddoubly melancholy by the figures of a fewwretched inhabitants who still clung to the spot,and flitted about like spectres among the dilapidatededifices. The scene, compared with thatwhich the city once presented, was so generativeof sad thought, that on beholding it our travellersank into a sombre revery which ended in tears.From this place he proceeded northward, and passingthrough many cities, arrived at a small towncalled Thajiah, in whose vicinity was the ancienttomb of a saint, upon which, according to the traditionsof the country, a long catalogue of miracleshad been performed, numerous individuals havingbeen preserved by this tomb, but in what manneris not specified, from the jaws of lions and otherferocious beasts. The scene is rugged, the groundsteril, the climate severe; yet so high was theveneration in which the sanctity of the tomb washeld, that incredible numbers of pilgrims resortedthither in consequence of vows made in situationsof imminent danger, and encamping round the129holy spot, had the appearance of an army bivouackingin the wood.

In the year 1513, having seen whatever he judgedmost worthy of notice in Morocco and Fez, andstill considering his travels as only begun, he oncemore left home, and proceeded eastward along theshores of the Mediterranean towards Telemsan andAlgiers. Upon entering the former kingdom heabandoned the seacoast, and striking off towardsthe right, through mountainous ridges of moderateelevation, entered the wild and desolate regioncalled the Desert of Angad, where, amid scantyherds of antelopes, wild goats, and ostriches, thelonely Bedouin wanders, his hand being againstevery man, and every man’s hand against him.Through this desolate tract the merchant boundfrom Telemsan to Fez winds his perilous way, dreadingthe sand-storm, the simoom, the lion, and otherphysical ministers of death, less than the fierce passionsof its gloomy possessors, stung to madness byhunger and suffering. Leo, however, traversed thislong waste without accident or adventure, and hiscuriosity being satisfied, returned to the inhabitedpart of the country, where, if there was less call forromantic and chivalrous daring, there was at allevents more pleasure to be enjoyed, and moreknowledge to be acquired. Passing through varioussmall places little noticed by modern geographers,he at length arrived at Hunain, an inconsiderablebut handsome city, on the Mediterranean,surrounded by a well-built wall, flanked with towers.Hither the Venetians, excluded from Oran bythe Spaniards, who were then masters of that port,brought all the rich merchandise which they annuallypoured into Telemsan, in consequence of whichchiefly the merchants of Hunain had grown rich;and taste and more elegant manners following, asusual, in the train of Plutus, the city was embellished,and the comfort of the inhabitants increased.130The houses, constructed in an airy and tastefulstyle, with verandahs shaded by clustering vines,fountains, and floors exquisitely ornamented withmosaics, were, perhaps, the most agreeable dwellingsin Northern Africa; but the inconstant tide ofcommerce having found other channels, the prosperityof Hunain had already begun to decline.

From hence he proceeded through the ancientHaresgol to the capital, an extensive city, which,though inferior in size and magnificence to Fez, wasnevertheless adorned with numerous baths, fountains,caravansaries, and mosques. The prince’spalace, situated in the southern quarter of the city,and opening on one side into the plain, was surroundedby delightful gardens, in which a great numberof fountains kept up a perpetual coolness in theair. Issuing forth from the city he observed on allsides numerous villas, to which the wealthier citizensretired during the heats of summer; and in themidst of meadows, sprinkled thick with flowers,whole groves of fruit-trees, such as the orange, thepeach, and the date, and at their feet a profusion ofmelons and other similar fruit, the whole forming alandscape of surpassing beauty. The literary men,the ulemas, the notaries, and the Jews of Telemsaninhabited an elegant suburb, situated on a hill at ashort distance from the city; and these, as well asall other ranks of men, lead a tranquil and securelife, under the government of a just and beneficentprince. Here Leo remained several months as theking’s guest, living sumptuously in the palace, andotherwise experiencing the liberality of his host.

On his departure from Telemsan he entered thecountry of the Beni Rasid, a tribe of Arabs livingunder the protection of the King of Telemsan, andpaying him tribute, yet caring little for his authority,and robbing his guests and servants without compunction,as Leo, on this occasion, learned to hiscost. These rude people were divided into two131classes, the mountaineers and the dwellers on theplain, the latter of whom were shepherds, living intents, and feeding immense droves of camels andcattle, according to the primitive custom of the Bedouins;while the former, who had erected themselveshouses and villages, were addicted to agriculture,and other useful arts.

Still proceeding towards the east, he arrived atthe large and opulent town of Batha, which hadbeen but recently erected, in a plain of great extentand fertility; and as, like Jonah’s gourd, it hadsprung up, as it were, in a night, it soon felt the hotrays of war, and perished as rapidly. The wholeplain had been destitute of inhabitants until a certainman, whom Leo denominates a hermit, but whoin ancient Greece would have been justly dignifiedwith the name of sage, settled there with his family.The fame of his piety quickly spread. His flocksand herds increased rapidly. He paid no tribute toany one; but, on the contrary, as the circle of hisreputation enlarged, gradually embracing the wholeof the surrounding districts, and extending over thewhole Mohammedan world, both in Africa and Asia,presents, which might be regarded as a tribute paidto virtue, flowed in upon him from all sides, andrendered him the wealthiest man in the country.His conduct quickly showed that he deserved hisprosperity. Five hundred young men, desirous ofbeing instructed by him in the ways of religion andmorality, flocked to his camp, as it were became hisdisciples, and were entertained and taught by himgratis. When they considered themselves sufficientlyinformed, they returned to their homes, carryingwith them a high idea of his wisdom and disinterestedness.Our traveller found on his arrivalabout one hundred tents clustered together upon theplain, of which some were destined for the receptionof strangers, others for the shepherds, andothers for the family of the chieftain, which, including132his own wives and female slaves, all of whomwere superbly dressed, amounted to at least fivehundred persons. This man was held in the highestestimation, as well by the Arab tribes in the neighbourhood,as by the King of Telemsan; and it wasthe reports which were everywhere spread concerninghis virtues and his piety that induced Leoto pay him a visit. The behaviour of the chieftaintowards his guest, who remained with him threedays, and in all probability might have staid asmany months had he thought proper, was not suchas to detract from the idea which the voice of famehad everywhere circulated of him. However, hislearning was deeply tinctured with the superstitionsof the times, consisting for the most part of an acquaintancewith that crabbed and abstruse jargon inwhich the mysteries of magic and alchymy werewrapped up from the vulgar, whose chief merit lyingin its extreme difficulty, deluded men into the pursuitof it, as the meteors of a marsh lead the night-wandererover fens and morasses.

Leaving the camp of the alchymist, our travellerproceeded to Algiers, where the famous Barbarossathen exercised sovereign power. This city, originallybuilt by the native Africans, was at first calledMesgana, from the name of its founder; but afterward,for some reason not now discoverable, it obtainedthe appellation of Geseir, or the “island,”which European nations have corrupted into Algiers.Its population in the time of Leo was four thousandfamilies, which, considering how families arecomposed in Mohammedan countries, would at leastamount to sixty thousand souls. The public edificeswere large and sumptuous, particularly thebaths, khans, and mosques, which were built in themost tasteful and striking manner. The northernwall of the city was washed by the sea, and alongthe top of it ran a fine terrace or public promenade,whence the inhabitants might enjoy the prospect of133the blue waves, skimmed by milk-white water-fowl,or studded by innumerable ships and galleys, perpetuallyentering or issuing from the port. The houses,rising one behind another, in rows, upon the side ofa lofty hill, all enjoyed the cool breeze blowing fromthe Mediterranean, as well as the pleasing view ofits waters. A small river which ran at the easternextremity of the city turned numerous mills, andfurnished the city with abundance of pure limpidwater; and the vicinity, for several miles round, wascovered with delightful gardens, and corn-fields ofprodigious fertility. Here our traveller remainedsome time, and it being an interesting period, thestruggles between the Turks and Spaniards havingnow approached their close, and the star of Barbarossarising rapidly, he no doubt enjoyed the triumphof Islamism, and the humiliation of the powerby which, while an infant, he had been driven fromhis home. His host during his stay was a learnedand curious person, who had previously been senton an embassy into Spain, from whence, with patrioticzeal, he had brought three thousand Arabianmanuscripts.

From Algiers Leo proceeded to Bugia, where hefound Barbarossa, whose active genius would admit ofno relaxation or repose, laying siege to the fortress;before he had advanced many leagues towards theeast, however, he heard the news of the death ofthis redoubted chief, who, being cut off at Telemsan,was succeeded in the sovereignty of Algiers byhis brother Kairaddin. It was at this time thatthe Emperor Charles V. turned his victorious armsagainst Algiers, where, meeting with a severe checkfrom Barbarossa, part of his chivalry falling on theplain and part being taken, his pride was humbledand his glory tarnished by the intrepid valour of atroop of banditti. Proceeding eastward from Bugiathrough many towns of inferior note, yet in manyinstances bearing marks of a Roman origin, he134arrived in a few days at Kosantina, a city undoubtedlyfounded by the Romans, and at that periodsurrounded by strong walls of black hewn stone,erected by the founders. It was situated upon thesouthern slope of a lofty mountain, hemmed roundby tremendous rocks, between which, through adeep and narrow channel, the river Sufegmarewound round a great portion of the city, forming, asfar as it went, a natural ditch. Two gates only, theone opening towards the rising, the other towardsthe setting sun, lead into the place; on the othersides enormous bastions or inaccessible precipicesprohibit all approach to the city, which at that periodwas extremely populous, and adorned with magnificentpublic buildings, such as monasteries, colleges,and mosques. The inhabitants, who were a warlikeand polished people, carried on an extensivetrade in oil and silk with the Moors of the interior,receiving in return slaves and dates, the latter ofwhich Leo here found cheaper and more plentifulthan in any other part of Barbary.

The plain of Kosantina was intersected by a river,and of immense fertility. Upon this plain numerousstructures in an ancient style of architecture werescattered about, and excellent gardens were plantedon both sides of the stream, to which you descendedby steps cut in the solid rock. Between the cityand the river is a Roman triumphal arch, supposedby the inhabitants to have been an ancient castle,which, as they affirm, afforded a retreat to innumerabledemons, previous to the Mussulman conquestof the city, when, from respect to the truebelievers, they took their departure. In the midstof the stream a very extraordinary edifice was seen.Pillars, walls, and roof were hewn out of the rock;but, notwithstanding the singularity of its construction,it was put to no better use than to shelter thewasherwomen of the city. A very remarkablewarm bath, likewise, was found in the vicinity of135Kosantina, around which, attracted by some peculiarityin the soil, innumerable tortoises were seen,which the women of the place believed to be demonsin disguise, and accused of causing all the fevers andother diseases by which they might be attacked. Alittle farther towards the east, close to a fountain ofsingular coldness, was a marble structure adornedwith hieroglyphics and enriched with statues, whichin the eyes of the natives were so close a resemblanceto life that, to account for the phenomenon,they invented a legend, according to which thisbuilding was formerly a school, both masters andpupils of which were turned into marble for theirwickedness.

In his way from Kosantina to Tunis, he passed bytwo cities, or rather names of cities, the one immortalizedby the prowess and enterprise of itschildren, the other by the casual mention of theloftiest of modern poets; I mean Carthage andBiserta. The former fills all ancient history withits glory; but the reader would probably never haveheard of the latter but that its name is found inParadise Lost:—

Carthage, though fallen to the lowest depths ofmisery, still contained a small number of inhabitants,who concealed their wretchedness amid the ruins oftriumphal arches, aqueducts, and fortifications. Proceedingwestward from Tunis as far as the desertof Barca, and visiting all the principal towns, whetherin the mountains or the plains, without meetingwith any personal adventures which he thoughtworthy of describing, he returned to Fez, and preparedfor his second journey to Timbuctoo and theother interior states of Africa.

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Crossing Mount Atlas, and proceeding directly towardsthe south, he entered the province of Segelmessa,extending from the town of Garselvin to theriver Ziz, a length of about one hundred and twentymiles. Here commences that scarcity of waterwhich is the curse of this part of Africa. Few or noinequalities in the surface of the ground, scantytraces of cultivation, human habitations occurring atwide intervals, and, in short, nothing to break thedreary uniformity of the scene but a few scattereddate-palms waving their fanlike leaves over thebrown desert, where at every step the foot was indanger of alighting upon a scorpion resting in thewarm sand. The few streams which creep in winterover this miserable waste shrink away and disappearbefore the scorching rays of the summer sun,which penetrate the soil to a great depth, and pumpup every particle of moisture as far as they reach.Nothing then remains to the inhabitants but a brackishkind of water, which they obtain from wells sunkextremely deep in the earth. Near the capital ofthis province, which is surrounded by strong walls,and said to have been founded by the Romans, Leospent seven months; and except that the air wassomewhat too humid in winter, found the place bothsalubrious and agreeable.

As he advanced farther into the desert, he dailybecame more and more of Pindar’s opinion, that ofall the elements water is the best,—the wells becomingfewer, and their produce more scanty. Manyof these pits are lined round with the skins and bonesof camels, in order to prevent the water from beingabsorbed by the sand, or choked up when the windsarise, and drive the finer particles in burning cloudsover the desert. When this happens, however, nothingbut certain death awaits the traveller, who iscontinually reminded of the fate which awaits himby observing scattered around upon the sand thebones of his predecessors, or their more recent bodies137withered up and blackening in the sun. The well-knownresource of killing a camel for the water containedin his stomach is frequently resorted to, andsometimes preserves the lives of the merchants. Incrossing this tremendous scene of desolation, Leodiscovered two marble monuments, when or bywhom erected he could not learn, upon which wasan epitaph recording the manner in which those whoslept beneath had met their doom. The one was anexceedingly opulent merchant, the other a personwhose business it was to furnish caravans withwater and provisions. On their arriving at this spot,scorched by the sun, and their entrails tortured bythe most excruciating thirst, there remained but avery small quantity of water between them. Therich man, whose thirst now made him regard hisgold as dirt, purchased a single cup of this celestialnectar for ten thousand ducats; but that whichmight possibly have saved the life of one of thembeing divided between both, only served to prolongtheir sufferings for a moment, as they here sunkinto that sleep from which there is no waking uponearth.

Yet, strange as it may appear, this inhospitabledesert is overrun by numerous animals, which, therefore,must either be endued by nature with the powerof resisting thirst, or with the instinct to discoversprings of water where man fails. Our travellerwas very near participating the fate of the merchantabove commemorated. Day after day they toiledalong the sands without being able to discover onedrop of water on their way; so that the small quantitythey had brought with them, which was barelysufficient for five days, was compelled to serve themfor ten. Twelve miles south of Segelmessa theyreached a small castle built in the desert by theArabs, but found there nothing but heaps of sand andblack stones. A few orange or lemon-trees bloomingin the waste were the only signs of vegetation138which met their eyes until they arrived at Tebelbelt,or Tebelbert, one hundred miles south of Segelmessa,a city thickly inhabited, abounding in waterand dates. Here the inhabitants employ themselvesgreatly in hunting the ostrich, the flesh of which isamong them an important article of food.

They now proceeded through a country utterlydesolate, where a house or a well of water was notmet with above once in a hundred miles, reckoningfrom the well of Asanad to that of Arsan, about onehundred and fifty miles north of Timbuctoo. In thefirst part of this journey, through what is called thedesert of Zuensiga, numerous bodies of men whohad died of thirst on their way were found lyingalong the sand, and not a single well of water wasmet with during nine days. It were to be wishedthat Leo had entered a little more minutely into thedescription of this part of his travels, but he dismissesit with the remark that it would have taken up awhole year to give a full account of what he saw.However, after a toilsome and dangerous journey,the attempt to achieve which has cost so many Europeanlives, he reached Timbuctoo for the secondtime, the name of the reigning chief or prince beingAbubellr Izchia.

The city of Timbuctoo, the name of which wasfirst given to the kingdom of which it was the capitalonly about Leo’s time, is said to have been foundedin the 610th year of the Hejira, by a certain MeusaSuleyman, about twelve miles from a small arm orbranch of the Niger. The houses originally erectedhere had now dwindled into small huts built withchalk and thatched with straw; but there yet remaineda mosque built with stone in an elegantstyle of architecture, and a palace for which thesovereigns of Central Africa were indebted to theskill of a native of Granada. However, the numberof artificers, merchants, and cloth and cotton weavers,who had all their shops in the city, was very considerable.139Large quantities of cloth were likewiseconveyed thither by the merchants of Barbary. Theupper class of women wore veils, but servants, market-women,and others of that description exposedtheir faces. The citizens were generally very rich,and merchants were so highly esteemed, that theking thought it no derogation to his dignity to givehis two daughters in marriage to two men of thisrank. Wells were here numerous, the water ofwhich was extremely sweet; and during the inundation,the water of the Niger was introduced intothe city by a great number of aqueducts. The countrywas rich in corn, cattle, and butter; but salt,which was brought from the distance of five hundredmiles, was so scarce, that Leo saw one camel-loadsold while he was there for eighty pieces of gold.The king was exceedingly rich for those times, andkept up a splendid court. Whenever he went abroad,whether for pleasure or to war, he always rode upona camel, which some of the principal nobles of hiscourt led by the bridle. His guard consisted entirelyof cavalry. When any of his subjects had occasionto address him, he approached the royal presence inthe most abject manner, then, falling prostrate onthe ground, and sprinkling dust upon his head andshoulders, explained his business; and in this mannereven strangers and the ambassadors of foreignprinces were compelled to appear before him. Hiswars were conducted in the most atrocious manner;poisoned arrows being used, and such as escapedthose deadly weapons and were made prisoners weresold for slaves in the capital; even such of his ownsubjects as failed to pay their tribute being treatedin the same manner. Horses were extremely rare.The merchants and courtiers made use of little ponieswhen travelling, the noble animals brought thitherfrom Barbary being chiefly purchased by the king,who generally paid a great price for them. Leoseems to have been astonished at finding no Jews at140Timbuctoo; but his majesty was so fierce an enemyto the Hebrew race, that he not only banished themhis dominions, but made it a crime punishable withconfiscation of property to have any commerce withthem. Timbuctoo at this period contained a greatnumber of judges, doctors, priests, and learned men,all of whom were liberally provided for by the prince;and an immense number of manuscripts were annuallyimported from Barbary, the trade in books being,in fact, the most lucrative branch of commerce.Their gold money, the only kind coined in the country,was without image or superscription; but thosesmall shells, still current on the Coromandel andMalabar coasts, and in the islands of the IndianOcean, under the name of cowries, were used in smalltransactions, four hundred of them being equivalentto a piece of gold. Of these gold pieces, six andtwo-thirds weighed an ounce. The inhabitants, amild and gentle race, spent a large portion of theirtime in singing, dancing, and festivities, which theywere enabled to do by the great number of slavesof both sexes which they maintained. The city wasextremely liable to conflagrations, almost one-halfof the houses having been burnt down between thefirst and second visits of our traveller,—a space ofnot more than eleven or twelve years. Neither gardensnor fruit-trees adorned the environs.

This account of the state of Timbuctoo in the beginningof the sixteenth century I have introduced,that the reader might be able to compare it withthe modern descriptions of Major Laing and Caillé,and thus discover the amount of the progress whichthe Mohammedans of Central Africa have made towardscivilization. I suspect, however, that whatevermay now be the price of salt, the book tradehas not increased; and that whether the nativesdance more or less than formerly, they are neitherso gentle in their manners nor so wealthy in theirpossessions.

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From Timbuctoo Leo proceeded to the town ofCabra on the Niger, which was then supposed todischarge its waters into the Atlantic; for the merchantsgoing to the coast of Guinea embarked uponthe river at this place, whence they dropped downthe stream to the seashore. Still travelling southward,he arrived at a large city without walls, whichhe calls Gajo, four hundred miles from Timbuctoo.Excepting the dwellings of the prince and his courtiers,the houses were mere huts, though many of themerchants are said to have been wealthy, while animmense concourse of Moors and other strangersflocked thither to purchase the cloths and other merchandiseof Barbary and Europe. The inhabitantsof the villages and the shepherds, by far the greaterportion of the population, lived in extreme misery,and, poverty extinguishing all sense of decorum,went so nearly naked, that even the distinctionsof sex were scarcely concealed. In winter theywrapped themselves in the skins of animals, andwore a rude kind of sandal manufactured from camel’shide.

This was the term of Leo’s travels towards thesouth. He now turned his face towards the risingsun, and proceeding three hundred miles in that direction,amid the dusky and barbarous tribes whocrouch beneath the weight of tyranny and ignorancein that part of Africa, arrived in the kingdom of Guber,having on the way crossed a desert of considerableextent, which commences about forty miles beyondthe Niger. The whole country was a plain,inundated in the rainy season by the Niger, and surroundedby lofty mountains. Agriculture and theuseful arts were here cultivated with activity. Flocksand cattle abounded, but their size was extremelydiminutive. The sandal worn by the inhabitantsexactly resembled that of the ancient Romans. Fromhence he proceeded to Agad, a city and countrytributary to Timbuctoo, inhabited by the fairest142negroes of all Africa. The inhabitants of the townspossessed excellent houses, constructed after themanner of those of Barbary; but the peasants andshepherds of the south were nomadic hordes, living,like the Carir of the Deccan, in large baskets, orportable wicker huts. He next arrived at Kanoo,five hundred miles east of the Niger, a country inhabitedby tribes of farmers and herdsmen, andabounding in corn, rice, and cotton. Among thecultivated fields many deserts, however, and wood-coveredmountains were interspersed. In thesewoods the orange and the lemon were found in greatplenty. The houses of the town of Kanoo, like thoseof Timbuctoo, were built of chalk. Proceeding eastwardthrough a country infested by gipsies, occasionallyturning aside to visit more obscure regions,he at length arrived at Bornou, a kingdom of greatextent, bounded on the north and south by deserts,on the west by Gnagera, and on the east by an immensecountry, denominated Gaoga by Leo, butknown at present by the various names of Kanem,Begharmi, Dar Saley, Darfur, and Kordofan.

The scenery and produce of Bornou were exceedinglyvarious. Mountains, valleys, plains, and desertsalternating with each other composed a prospectof striking aspect; and the population, consisting ofwild soldiers, merchants, artisans, farmers, herdsmen,and shepherds, some glittering with arms, orwrapped in ample drapery, others nearly as nakedas when they left the womb, appeared no less picturesqueor strange. Leo’s stay in this country wasshort, and the persons from whom he acquired hisinformation must have been either ignorant or credulous;for, according to them, no vestige of religionexisted among the people (which is not true of anynation on earth), while the women and children werepossessed by all men in common. Proper nameswere not in use. When persons spoke of theirneighbours, they designated them from some corporeal143or mental quality, as tallness, fatness, acuteness,bravery, or stupidity. The chief’s revenue consistedof the tenth of the produce of the soil, and of suchcaptives and spoil as he could take in war. Slaveswere here so plentiful, and horses so scarce, thattwenty men were sometimes given in exchange forone of those animals. The prince then reigning, anarrow-minded and avaricious man, had contrivedby various means to amass immense riches; his bits,his spurs, his cups, and vases were all of gold; butwhenever he purchased any article from a foreignmerchant, he preferred paying with slaves ratherthan with money.

From Bornou he proceeded through Gaoga towardsNubia, and approached those regions of the Nilewhere, amid poverty and barbarism, the civilizationof the old world has left so many indestructibletraces of the gigantic ideas which throw theirshadows over the human imagination in the dawn oftime. Coming up to the banks of the mysteriousriver, around the sources of which curiosity has solong flitted in vain, he found the stream so shallowin many places that it could be easily forded; butwhether on account of its immense spread in thoseparts, or the paucity of water, he does not inform us.Dongola, or Dangala, the capital, though consistingof mere chalk huts thatched with straw, containedat that period no less than one hundred and fiftythousand inhabitants. The people, who were richand enterprising, held knowledge in the highestesteem. No other city, however, existed in thecountry; the remainder of the population, chiefly orwholly occupied in the culture of the soil, living inscattered villages or hamlets. Grain was extremelyplentiful, as was also the sugarcane, though its useand value were unknown; and immense quantitiesof ivory and sandal-wood were exported. However,at this period, the most remarkable produce of Nubiawas a species of violent poison, the effect of which144was little less rapid than that of prussic acid, sincethe tenth part of a grain would prove mortal to a manin a few minutes, while a grain would cause instantaneousdeath. The price of an ounce of this deleteriousdrug, the nature of which is totally unknown,was one hundred pieces of gold; but it was sold toforeigners only, who, when they purchased it, werecompelled to make oath that no use should be madeof it in Nubia. A sum equal to the price of the articlewas paid to the sovereign, and to dispose of thesmallest quantity without his knowledge was death,if discovered; but whether the motive to this severitywas fiscal or moral is not stated. The Nubianswere engaged in perpetual hostilities with theirneighbours, their principal enemy being a certainEthiopian nation, whose sovereign, according toLeo, was that Prester John so famous in that andthe succeeding ages; a despicable and wretchedrace, speaking an unknown jargon, and subsistingupon the milk and flesh of camels, and such wildanimals as their deserts produced. Leo, however,evidently saw but little of Nubia; for though by nomeans likely to have passed such things over withoutnotice had they been known to him, he neveronce alludes to the ruins of Meloë, the temples andpyramids of Mount Barkal, or those enormous statues,obelisks, and other monuments which markthe track of ancient civilization down the course ofthe Nile, and present to the eye of the traveller oneof the earliest cradles of our race.

From this country he proceeded to Egypt, andpaused a moment on his journey to contemplate theruins of Thebes, a city, the founding of which someof his countrymen attributed to the Greeks, others tothe Romans. Some fourteen or fifteen hundred peasantswere found creeping like pismires at the foot ofthe gigantic monuments of antiquity. They ate gooddates, grapes, and rice, however, and the women,who were lovely and well-formed, rejoiced the streets145with their gayety. At Cairo, where he seems tohave made a considerable stay, he saw many strangethings, all of which he describes with that concisenessand naïveté for which most of our oldertravellers are distinguished. Walking one day bythe door of a public bath, in the market-place ofBain Elcasraim, he observed a lady of distinction,and remarkable for her beauty, walking out into thestreets, which she had no sooner done than she wasseized and violated before the whole market by oneof those naked saints who are so numerous in Egyptand the other parts of Africa. The magistrates ofthe city, who felt that their own wives might nextbe insulted, were desirous of inflicting condign punishmentupon the wretch, but were deterred by fearof the populace, who held such audacious impostorsin veneration. On her way home after this scene,the woman was followed by an immense multitude,who contended with each other for the honour oftouching her clothes, as if some peculiar virtue hadbeen communicated to them by the touch of thesaint; and even her husband, when informed of whathad happened, expressed the greatest joy, and thankingGod as if an extraordinary blessing had beenconferred upon his family, made a great entertainmentand distributed alms to the poor, who werethus taught to look upon such events as highlyfortunate.

Upon another occasion Leo, returning from a celebratedmosque in one of the suburbs, beheld anothercurious scene no less characteristic of the mannersof the times. In the area before a palace erectedby a Mameluke sultan, an immense populace wasassembled, in the midst of whom a troop of strollingplayers, with dancing camels, asses, and dogs, wereexhibiting their tricks, to the great entertainmentof the mob, and even of our traveller himself, whothought it a very pleasant spectacle. Having firstexhibited his own skill, the principal actor turned146round to the ass, and muttering certain words, theanimal fell to the ground, turning up his feet, swellingand closing his eyes as if at the last gasp. Whenhe appeared to be completely dead, his master, turninground to the multitude, lamented the loss of hisbeast, and hoped they would have pity upon his misfortune.When he had collected what money he could,—“Yousuppose,” says he, “that my ass is dead.Not at all. The poor fellow, well knowing thepoverty of his master, has merely been feigning allthis while, that I might acquire wherewith to provideprovender for him.” Then approaching the ass, heordered him to rise, but not being obeyed, he seizeda stick, and belaboured the poor creature most unmercifully.Still no signs of life appeared. “Well,”said the man, once more addressing the people, “youmust know, that the sultan has issued an order thatto-morrow by break of day the whole population ofCairo are to march out of the city to behold a grandtriumph, the most beautiful women being mountedupon asses, for whom the best oats and Nile waterwill be provided.” At these words the ass sprangupon his feet with a bound, and exhibiting tokensof extreme joy. “Ah, ha!” continued the mountebank;“I have succeeded, have I? Well, I was aboutto say that I had hired this delicate animal of mineto the principal magistrate of the city for his littleugly old wife.” The ass, as if possessed of humanfeelings, now hung his ears, and began to limp aboutas if lame of one foot. Then the man said, “Youimagine, I suppose, that the young women will laughat you.” The ass bent down his head, as if noddingassent. “Come, cheer up,” exclaimed his master,“and tell me which of all the pretty women nowpresent you like best!” The animal, casting hiseyes round the circle, and selecting one of theprettiest, walked up to her, and touched her withhis head; at which the delighted multitude withroars of laughter exclaimed, “Behold the ass’s wife!”147At these words, the man sprang upon his beast androde away.

The ladies of Cairo, when they went abroad, affectedthe most superb dresses, adorning their necksand foreheads with clusters of brilliant gems, andwearing upon their heads lofty hurlets or coifsshaped like a tube, and of the most costly materials.Their cloaks or mantles, exquisitely embroidered,they covered with a piece of beautiful Indian muslin,while a thick black veil, thrown over all, enabledthem to see without being seen. These elegantcreatures, however, were very bad wives; for, disdainingto pay the slightest attention to domesticaffairs, their husbands, like the citizens of modernParis, were obliged to purchase their dinners readydressed from restaurateurs. They enjoyed thegreatest possible liberty, riding about wherever theypleased upon asses, which they preferred to horsesfor the easiness of their motions. Here and thereamong the crowd you heard the strange cry of thoseold female practitioners who performed the ritewhich introduced those of their own sex into theMohammedan church, though their words, as thetraveller observes, were not extremely intelligible.

From Egypt Leo travelled into Arabia, Persia,Tartary, and Turkey, but of his adventures in thesecountries no account remains. On returning fromConstantinople, however, by sea, he was taken byChristian corsairs off the island of Zerbi, on the coastof Tripoli, and being carried captive into Italy, waspresented to Pope Leo X. at Rome, in 1517. Thepope, who, as is well known, entertained the highestrespect for every thing which bore the name of learning,no sooner discovered that the Moorish slavewas a person of merit and erudition, than he treatedhim in the most honourable manner, settled uponhim a handsome pension, and having caused him tobe instructed in the principles of the Christian religion,had him baptized, and bestowed upon him his148own name, Leo. Our traveller now resided principallyat Rome, occasionally quitting it, however, forBologna; and having at length acquired a competentknowledge of the Italian language, became professorof Arabic. Here he wrote his famous “Descriptionof Africa,” originally in Arabic, but he afterwardeither rewrote or translated it into Italian. Whatbecame of him or where he resided after the deathof his munificient patron is not certainly known.—Oneof the editions of Ramusio asserts that he diedat Rome; but according to Widmanstadt, a learnedGerman orientalist of the sixteenth century, he retiredto Tunis, where, as is usual in such cases, hereturned to his original faith, which he never seemsinwardly to have abandoned. Widmanstadt adds,that had he not been prevented by circ*mstanceswhich he could not control, he should have undertakena voyage to Africa expressly for the purposeof conversing with our learned traveller, so greatwas his admiration of his genius and acquirements.

With respect to the work by which he will beknown to posterity, and which has furnished theprincipal materials for the present life,—his “Descriptionof Africa,”—its extraordinary merit hasbeen generally acknowledged. Eyriès, Hartmann,and Bruns, whose testimony is of considerableweight, speak of it in high terms; and Ramusio, acompetent judge, observes, that up to his time nowriter had described Africa with so much truth andexactness. In fact, no person can fail, in the perusalof this deeply interesting and curious work, to perceivethe intimate knowledge of his subject possessedby the author, or his capacity to describe what hehad seen with perspicuity and ease. The bestedition of the Latin version, the one I myself haveused, and that which is generally quoted or referredto, is the one printed by the Elzevirs, at Leyden, in1632. It has been translated into English, French,and German, but with what success I am ignorant.

Pietro della Valle, who, according to Southey,is “the most romantic in his adventures of all truetravellers,” was descended from an ancient and noblefamily, and born at Rome on the 11th of April, 1586.When his education, which appears to have beencarefully conducted and liberal, was completed, headdicted himself, with that passionate ardour whichcharacterized all the actions of his life, to the studyof literature, and particularly poetry; but the effervescenceof his animal spirits requiring some othervent, he shortly afterward exchanged the closet forthe camp, in the hope that the quarrel between thepope and the Venetians, and the troubles which ensuedupon the death of Henry IV. of France, wouldafford him some opportunity of distinguishing himself.His expectations being disappointed, however,he in 1611 embarked on board the Spanish fleet, thenabout to make a descent on the coast of Barbary;but nothing beyond a few skirmishes taking place,he again beheld his desire of glory frustrated, andreturned to Rome.

Here vexations of another kind awaited him. Relinquishingthe services of Fame for that of an earthlymistress, he found himself no less unsuccessful, thelady preferring some illustrious unknown, whosename, like her own, is now overwhelmed with “thehusks and formless ruin of oblivion.” Pietro, however,severely felt the sting of such a rejection; andin the gloomy meditations which it gave birth to,conceived a plan which, as he foresaw, fulfilled hismost ambitious wishes, and attached an imperishable150reputation to his name. The idea was no soonerconceived than he proceeded to put it in execution,and taking leave of his friends and of Rome, repairedto Naples, in order to consult with his friend, MarioSchipano, a physician of that city, distinguished forhis oriental learning and abilities, concerning thebest means of conducting his hazardous enterprise.Fortunately he possessed sufficient wealth to spurnthe counsel of sloth and timidity, which, when any actof daring is proposed, are always at hand, disguisedas prudence and good sense, to cast a damp uponthe springs of energy, or to travesty and misrepresentthe purposes of the bold. Pietro, however,was not to be intimidated. The wonders and gloriesof the East were for ever present to his imagination,and having heard mass, and been solemnly clothedby the priest with the habit of a pilgrim, he proceededto Venice in order to embark for Constantinople.The ship in which he sailed left the port onthe 6th of June, 1614. No event of peculiar interestoccurred during the voyage, which, lying along theromantic shores and beautiful islands of Greece,merely served to nourish and strengthen Pietro’senthusiasm. On drawing near the Dardanelles thesight of the coast of Troy, with its uncertain ruinsand heroic tombs, over which poetry has spread anatmosphere brighter than any thing belonging tomere physical nature, awoke all the bright dreamsof boyhood, and hurrying on shore, his heart overflowingwith rapture, he kissed the earth from which,according to tradition, the Roman race originallysprung.

From the Troad to Constantinople the road liesover a tract hallowed by the footsteps of antiquity,and at every step Pietro felt his imagination excitedby some memorial of the great of other days. Onarriving at the Ottoman capital, where he purposedmaking a long stay, one of his first cares was toacquire a competent knowledge of the language of151the country, which he did as much for the vanity,as he himself acknowledges, of exhibiting his accomplishmentson his return to Italy, where theknowledge of that language was rare, as for the incalculablebenefit which must accrue from it duringhis travels. Here he for the first time tasted coffee,at that time totally unknown in Italy. He was likewiseled to entertain hopes of being able to obtainfrom the sultan’s library a complete copy of theDecades of Livy; but after flitting before him sometime like a phantom, the manuscript vanished, andthe greater portion of the mighty Paduan remainedveiled as before. While he was busily engaged inthese researches, the plague broke out, every housein Galata, excepting that of the French ambassador,in which he resided, was infected; corpses andcoffins met the sickened eye wherever it turned;the chief of his attendants pined away throughterror; and, although at first he affected to laughand make merry with his fears, they every day fedso abundantly upon horrors and rumours of horrors,that they at length became an overmatch for hisphilosophy, and startled him with the statement thatone hundred and forty thousand victims had alreadyperished, and that peradventure Pietro della Vallemight be the next.

This consideration caused him to turn his eye towardsEgypt; and although the plague shortly afterwardabated, his love of motion having been oncemore awakened, he bade adieu to Constantinople,and sailed for Alexandria. Arriving in Egypt, heascended the Nile to Cairo, viewed the pyramids,examined the mummy-pits; and then, with a selectnumber of friends and attendants, departed acrossthe desert to visit Horeb and Sinai, the wells ofMoses, and other places celebrated in the Bible.This journey being performed in the heart of winter,he found Mount Sinai covered with snow, which didnot, however, prevent his rambling about among its152wild ravines, precipices, and chasms; when, his piouscuriosity being gratified, he visited Ælau or Ailoth,the modern Akaba, and returned by Suez to Cairo.Among the very extraordinary things he beheld inthis country were a man and woman upwards ofeight feet in height, natives of Upper Egypt, whomhe measured himself: and tortoises as large as thebody of a carriage!

His stay in Egypt was not of long continuance,the longing to visit the Holy Land causing him toregard every other country with a kind of disdain;and accordingly, joining a small caravan which wasproceeding thither across the desert, he journeyedby El Arish and Gaza to Jerusalem. After witnessingthe various mummeries practised in the HolyCity at Easter by the Roman Catholics, and makingan excursion to the banks of the Jordan, where hesaw a number of female pilgrims plunging nakedinto the sacred stream in the view of an immensemultitude, he bent his steps towards Northern Syria,and hurried forward by the way of Damascus toAleppo. In this city he remained some time, hisbody requiring some repose, though the ardour andactivity of his mind appeared to be every day increasing.The journey which he now meditatedacross the Arabian Desert into Mesopotamia requiredconsiderable preparation. The mode of travellingwas new. Horses were to be exchanged for camels;the European dress for that of the East; and insteadof the sun, the stars and the moon were to lightthem over the waste.

He was now unconsciously touching upon themost important point of his career. In the caravanwith which he departed from Aleppo, September 16,1616, there was a young merchant of Bagdad, withwhom, during the journey, he formed a close intimacy.This young man was constantly in thehabit of entertaining him, as they rode along side byside through the moonlight, or when they sat down153in their tent during the heat of the day, with thepraises of a young lady of Bagdad, who, accordingto his description, to every charm of person whichcould delight the eye united all those qualities ofheart and mind which render the conquests of beautydurable. It was clear to Pietro from the beginningthat the youthful merchant was in love, and thereforehe at first paid but little regard to his extravagantpanegyrics; but by degrees the conversationsof his companion produced a sensible effect uponhis own mind, so that his curiosity to behold theobject of so much praise, accompanied, perhaps, bya slight feeling of another kind, at length grew intense,and he every day looked upon the slow marchof the camels, and the surface of the boundless plainbefore him, with more and more impatience. Thewandering Turcoman with his flocks and herds, rudetent, and ruder manners, commanded much lessattention than he would have done at any otherperiod; and even the Bedouins, whose sharp lancesand keen scimitars kept awake the attention of therest of the caravan, were almost forgotten by Pietro.However, trusting to the information of his interestedguide, he represents them as having filledup the greater number of the wells in the desert,so that there remained but a very few open, andthese were known to those persons only whoseprofession it was to pilot caravans across this oceanof sand. The sagacity with which these men performedtheir duty was wonderful. By night thestars served them for guides; but when these brilliantsignals were swallowed up in the light of thesun, they then had recourse to the slight variationsin the surface of the plain, imperceptible to othereyes, to the appearance or absence of certain plants,and even to the smell of the soil, by all which signsthey always knew exactly where they were.

At length, after a toilsome and dangerous marchof fifteen days, they arrived upon the banks of theEuphrates, a little after sunrise, and pitched their154tents in the midst of clumps of cypress and smallcedar-trees. On the following night, as soon as themoon began to silver over the waters of the Euphrates,the caravan again put itself in motion;and, descending along the course of the stream, in sixdays arrived at Anah, a city of the Arabs, lying onboth sides of the river, whose broad surface is heredotted with numerous small islands covered withfruit-trees. They now crossed the river; and themerchants of the caravan, avoiding the safe andcommodious road which lay through towns in whichcustom-house officers were found, struck off into adesolate and dangerous route, traversing Mesopotamianearly in a right line, and on the 19th of Octoberreached the banks of the Tigris, a larger andmore rapid river than the Euphrates, though on thisoccasion Pietro thought its current less impetuous.The night before they entered Bagdad the caravanwas robbed in a very dexterous manner. Their tentswere pitched in the plain, the officers of the custom-houseposted around to prevent smuggling; the merchants,congratulating themselves that they had alreadysucceeded in eluding the duties almost to theextent of their desires, had fallen into the soundsleep which attends on a clear conscience; and Pietro,his domestics, and the other inmates of the caravanhad followed their example. In the dead of thenight the camp was entered by stealth, the tentsrummaged, and considerable booty carried off. Thebanditti, entering Pietro’s tent, and finding all asleep,opened the trunk in which were all the manuscripts,designs, and plans he had made during his travels,carefully packed up, as if for the convenience ofrobbers, in a small portable escrutoire; but by aninstinct which was no less fortunate for them thanfor the traveller and posterity, since such spoil couldhave been of no value to them, they rejected theescrutoire, and selected all our traveller’s fine linen,the very articles in which he hoped to have captivatedthe beauty whose eulogies had so highly inflamed155his imagination. A Venetian, who happenedto be in the camp, had his arquebuse stolen from underhis head, and this little incident, as it tended to showthat the robbers had made still more free with othersthan with him, somewhat consoled Pietro for theloss of his linen. As the traveller does not himselfattach any suspicion to the military gentlemen of thecustom-house, it might, perhaps, be uncharitable todeposite the burden of this theft upon their shoulders;but in examining all the circ*mstances of thetransaction, I confess the idea that their ingenuitywas concerned did present itself to me.

Next morning the beams of the rising sun, gleamingupon a thousand slender minarets and lofty-swellingdomes surmounted by gilded crescents, discoveredto him the ancient city of the califs stretchingaway right and left to a vast distance over theplain, while the Tigris, like a huge serpent, rolledalong, cutting the city into two parts, and losingitself among the sombre buildings which seemed totremble over its waters. The camels were oncemore loaded, and the caravan, stretching itself outinto one long, narrow column, toiled along over theplain, and soon entered the dusty, winding streets ofBagdad. Here Pietro, whose coming had been announcedthe evening before by his young commercialcompanion, was met by the father of the Assyrianbeauty, a fine patriarchal-looking old man, who entreatedhim to be his guest during his stay in Mesopotamia.This favour Pietro declined, but at thesame time he eagerly accepted of the permission tovisit at his house; and was no sooner completelyestablished in his own dwelling than he fully availedhimself of this permission.

The family to which he became thus suddenlyknown was originally of Mardin, but about fourteenyears previously had been driven from thence by theKurds, who sacked and plundered the city, and reducedsuch of the inhabitants as they could capture156to slavery. They were Christians of the Nestoriansect; but Della Valle, who was a bigot in his way,seems to have regarded them as aliens from thechurch of Christ. However, this circ*mstance didnot prevent the image of Sitti Maani, the eldest ofthe old man’s daughters, and the beauty of whom hehad heard so glowing a description in the desert,from finding its way into his heart, though the ideaof marrying having occurred to him at Aleppo, hehad written home to his relations to provide himwith a suitable wife against his return to Italy.Maani was now in her eighteenth year. Her mindhad been as highly cultivated as the circ*mstancesof the times and the country would allow; and herunderstanding enabled her to turn all her accomplishmentsto advantage. In person, she was a perfectoriental beauty; dark, even in the eyes of anItalian, with hair nearly black, and eyes of the samecolour, shaded by lashes of unusual length, she possessedsomething of an imperial air. Pietro wascompletely smitten, and for the present every imagebut that of Maani seemed to be obliterated from hismind.

His knowledge of the Turkish language was nowof the greatest service to him; for, possessing but avery few words of Arabic, this was the only mediumby which he could make known the colour of histhoughts either to his mistress or her mother. Hispassion, however, supplied him with eloquence, andby dint of vehement protestations, in this instancethe offspring of genuine affection, he at length succeededin his enterprise, and Maani became his wife.But in the midst of these transactions, when it mostimported him to remain at Bagdad, an event occurredin his own house which not only exposed him to therisk of being driven with disgrace from the city, butextremely endangered his life and that of all thosewho were connected with him. His secretary andvalet having for some time entertained a grudge157against each other, the former, one day seizing thekhanjar, or dagger, of Pietro, stabbed his adversaryto the heart, and the poor fellow dropped down deadin the arms of his master. The murderer fled.What course to pursue under such circ*mstances itwas difficult to determine. Should the event cometo the knowledge of the pasha, both master and servantsmight, perhaps, be thought equally guilty, andbe impaled alive; or, if matters were not pushed tosuch extremities, it might at least be pretended thatthe deceased was the real owner of whatever propertythey possessed, in order to confiscate the wholefor the benefit of the state. As neither of these resultswas desirable, the safest course appeared to beto prevent, if possible, the knowledge of the tragedyfrom transpiring; a task of some difficulty, as allthe domestics of the household were acquaintedwith what had passed. The only individual withwhom Pietro could safely consult upon this occasion(for he was unwilling to disclose so horrible a transactionto Maani’s relations) was a Maltese renegade,a man of some consideration in the city; and forhim, therefore, he immediately despatched a messenger.This man, when he had heard what hadhappened, was of opinion that the body should beinterred in a corner of the house; but Pietro, whohad no desire that so bloody a memorial of the Italiantemperament should remain in his immediate neighbourhood,and moreover considered it unsafe, thoughtit would be much better at the bottom of the Tigris.The Maltese, most fortunately, possessed a houseand garden on the edge of the river, and thither thebody, packed up carefully in a chest, was quicklyconveyed, though there was much difficulty in preventingthe blood from oozing out, and betraying toits bearers the nature of their burden. When it wasdark the chest was put on board a boat, and, droppingdown the river, the renegade and two of hissoldiers cautiously lowered it into the water; and158thus no material proof of the murder remained. Theassassin, who had taken refuge at the house of theMaltese, was enabled to return to Italy; and theevent, strange to say, was kept secret, though somany persons were privy to it.

When this danger was over, and the beautifulMaani irrevocably his, Pietro began once more tofeel the passion of the traveller revive, and commencedthose little excursions through Mesopotamiawhich afterward enabled Gibbon to pronounce himthe person who had best observed that province.His first visit, as might be expected, was to the ruinsof Babylon. The party with which he left Bagdadconsisted of Maani, a Venetian, a Dutch painter,Ibrahim a native of Aleppo, and two Turkish soldiers.For the first time since the commencementof his travels, Pietro now selected the longest andleast dangerous road, taking care, moreover, to keepas near as possible to the farms and villages, in order,in case of necessity, to derive provisions and succourfrom their inhabitants. Maani, who appears to havehad a dash of Kurdish blood in her, rode astride likea man, and kept her saddle as firmly as any son ofthe desert could have done; and Pietro constantlymoved along by her side. When they had performeda considerable portion of their journey, and, rejoicingin their good fortune, were already drawing nearBabylon, eight or ten horsem*n armed with musketsand bows and arrows suddenly appeared in the distance,making towards them with all speed. Pietroimagined that the day for trying his courage wasnow come; and he and his companions, havingco*cked their pieces and prepared to offer a desperateresistance, pushed on towards the enemy. However,their chivalric spirit was not doomed to be hereput to the test; for, upon drawing near, the horsem*nwere found to belong to Bagdad, and the adventureconcluded in civility and mutual congratulations.

159

Having carefully examined the ruins of Babylon,the city of Hillah, and the other celebrated spots inthat neighbourhood, the party returned to Bagdad,from whence he again departed in a few days forModain, the site of the ancient Ctesiphon, near whichhe had the satisfaction of observing the interior ofan Arab encampment.

His curiosity respecting Mesopotamia was nowsatisfied; and as every day’s residence among theOttomans only seemed more and more to inflame hishatred of that brutal race, he as much as possiblehastened his departure from Bagdad, having nowconceived the design of serving as a volunteer in thearmies of Persia, at that period at war with Turkey,and of thus wreaking his vengeance upon the Osmanleesfor the tyranny they exercised on all Christianswithin their power. Notwithstanding that warbetween the two countries had long been declared,the Pasha of Bagdad and the Persian authorities onthe frontier continued openly to permit the passageof caravans; and thus, were he once safe out ofBagdad with his wife and treasures, there would beno difficulty in entering Persia. To effect this purposehe entered into an arrangement with a Persianmuleteer, who was directed to obtain from the pashaa passport for himself and followers, with a charoshto conduct them to the extremity of the Turkish dominions.This being done, the Persian, accordingto agreement, left the city, and encamped at a shortdistance from the walls, where, as is the custom, hewas visited by the officers of the custom-house; afterwhich, Pietro caused the various individuals of hisown small party to issue forth by various streets intothe plain, while he himself, dressed as he used to bewhen riding out for amusem*nt on the banks of theTigris, quitted the town after sunset, and gained theplace of encampment in safety.

When the night had now completely descendedupon the earth, and all around was still, the little160caravan put itself in motion; and being mounted,some on good sturdy mules, and others on the horsesof the country, they advanced at a rapid rate, fearingall the way that the pasha might repent of his civilitytowards the Persian, and send an order to bringthem back to the city. By break of day they arrivedon the banks of the Diala, a river which dischargesitself into the Tigris; and here, in spite of their impatience,they were detained till noon, there beingbut one boat at the ferry. In six days they reachedthe southern branches of the mountains of Kurdistan,and found themselves suddenly in the midst ofthat wild and hardy race, which, from the remotestages, has maintained possession of these inexpugnablefastnesses, which harassed the ten thousandin their retreat, and still enact a conspicuous part inall the border wars between the Persians and Turks.Living for the most part in a dangerous independence,fiercely spurning the yoke of its powerfulneighbours, though continually embroiled in theirinterminable quarrels, speaking a distinct language,and having a peculiar system of manners, which doesnot greatly differ from that of the feudal times, theymay justly be regarded as one of the most extraordinaryraces of the Asiatic continent. Some ofthem, spellbound by the allurements of wealth andease, have erected cities and towns, and addictedthemselves to agriculture and the gainful arts.Others, preferring that entire liberty which of allearthly blessings is the greatest in the estimation ofardent and haughty minds, and regarding luxury asa species of Circean cup, in its effects debasing anddestructive, covet no wealth but their herds andflocks, around which they erect no fortifications buttheir swords. These are attracted hither and thitherover the wilds by the richness of the pasturage, anddwell in tents.

In Kurdistan, as elsewhere, the winning mannersof Della Valle procured him a hospitable reception.161The presence of Maani, too, whose youth and beautyserved as an inviolable wall of protection amongbrave men, increased his claims to their hospitality;so that these savage mountaineers, upon whom themajority of travellers concur in heaping the mostangry maledictions, obtained from the warm-hearted,grateful Pietro the character of a kind and gentlepeople. On the 20th of January, 1617, he quittedKurdistan, and entered Persia. The change wasstriking. A purer atmosphere, a more productiveand better-cultivated soil, and a far more dense populationthan in Turkey, caused him, from the suddennessof the transition, somewhat to exaggerate,perhaps, the advantages of this country. It is certainthat the eyes of the traveller, like the fabledgems of antiquity, carry about the light by which heviews the objects which come before him; and thatthe condition of this light is greatly affected by thestate of his animal spirits. Pietro was now in thattranquil and serene mode of being consequent uponthat enjoyment which conscience approves; and havingpassed from a place where dangers, real orimaginary, surrounded him, into a country where heat least anticipated safety, if not distinction, it wasnatural that his fancy should paint the landscapewith delusive colours. Besides, many real advantagesexisted; tents were no longer necessary, therebeing at every halting-place a spacious caravansary,where the traveller could obtain gratis lodgings forhimself and attendants, and shelter for his beasts andbaggage. Fruits, likewise, such as pomegranates,apples, and grapes, abounded, though the earth wasstill deeply covered with snow. If we add to thisthat the Persians are a people who pique themselvesupon their urbanity, and, whatever may be the basisof their character, with which the passing travellerhas little to do, really conduct themselves politelytowards strangers, it will not appear very surprisingthat Della Valle, who had just escaped from the162boorish Ottomans, should have been charmed withPersia.

Arriving at Ispahan, at that period the capital ofthe empire, that is, the habitual place of residenceof the shah, his first care, of course, was to taste alittle repose; after which, he resumed his usual customof strolling about the city and its environs, observingthe manners, and sketching whatever wascurious in costume and scenery. Here he remainedfor several months; but growing tired, as usual, ofcalm inactivity, the more particularly as the courtwas absent, he now prepared to present himself beforethe shah, then in Mazenderan. Accordingly,having provided a splendid litter for his wife andher sister, who, like genuine amazons, determined toaccompany him to the wars should he eventuallytake up arms in the service of Persia, and providedevery other necessary for the journey, he quittedIspahan, and proceeded northward towards theshores of the Caspian Sea. The journey was performedin the most agreeable manner imaginable.Whenever they came up to a pleasant grove, a shadyfountain, or any romantic spot where the greenswardwas sprinkled with flowers or commanded a beautifulprospect, the whole party made a halt; and theladies, descending from their litter, which was borneby two camels, and Pietro from his barb, they satdown like luxurious gipsies to their breakfast ordinner, while the nightingales in the dusky recessesof the groves served them instead of a musician.

Proceeding slowly, on account of his harem, as heterms it, they arrived in seven days at Cashan, wherethe imprudence of Maani nearly involved him in avery serious affair. Being insulted on her way tothe bezestein by an officer, she gave the signal to herattendants to chastise the drunkard, and, a battleensuing, the unhappy man lost his life. When thenews was brought to Pietro he was considerablyalarmed; but on proceeding to the house of the principal163magistrate, he very fortunately found that theaffair had been properly represented to him, and thathis people were not considered to have exceededtheir duty. His wife, not reflecting that her masculinehabits and fiery temperament were quite sufficientto account for the circ*mstance, now began totorment both herself and her husband because shehad not yet become a mother; and supposing that insuch cases wine was a sovereign remedy, she endeavouredto prevail upon Pietro, who was a water-drinker,to have recourse to a more generous beverage,offering to join with him, if he would comply, inthe worship of Bacchus. Our traveller, who hadalready, as he candidly informs us, a small family inItaly, could not be brought to believe that the faultlay in his sober potations, and firmly resisted thetemptations of his wife. With friendly argumentsupon this and other topics they beguiled the lengthof the way, and at length arrived in Mazenderan,though Maani’s passion for horsemanship more thanonce put her neck in jeopardy on the road. Thescene which now presented itself was extremely differentfrom that through which they had hithertogenerally passed. Instead of the treeless plains orunfertile deserts which they had traversed in thenorthern parts of Irak, they saw before them a countrystrongly resembling Europe; mountains, deepwell-wooded valleys, or rich green plains rapidlyalternating with each other, and the whole, wateredby abundant streams and fountains, refreshed anddelighted the eye; and he was as yet unconsciousof the insalubrity of the atmosphere.

Pietro, who, like Petronius, was an “elegans formarumspectator,” greatly admired the beauty andgraceful figures of the women of this province,—afact which makes strongly against the idea of itsbeing unhealthy; for it may generally be inferred,that wherever the women are handsome the air isgood. Here and there they observed, as they moved164along, the ruins of castles and fortresses on the acclivitiesand projections of the mountains, whichhad formerly served as retreats to numerous chiefswho had there aimed at independence. A grotto,which they discovered in a nearly inaccessible positionin the face of a mountain, was pointed out tothem as the residence of a virgin of gigantic stature,who, without associates or followers, like the viragowho obstructed the passage of Theseus from Trœzeneto Athens, formerly ravaged and depopulatedthat part of the country. This and similar legendsof giants, which resemble those which prevail amongall rude nations, were related to our traveller, whor*jected them with disdain as utterly fabulous andcontemptible, though not much more so, perhaps,than some which, as a true son of the Roman church,he no doubt held in reverence.

At length, after considerable fatigue, they arrivedat Ferhabad, a small port built by the Shah Abbas onthe Caspian Sea. Here the governor of the city,when informed of his arrival, assigned him a housein the eastern quarter of the city, the rooms of which,says Pietro, were so low, that although by no meansa tall man, he could touch the ceiling with his hand.If the house, however, reminded him of the hutserected by Romulus on the Capitoline, the garden,on the other hand, was delightful, being a large spaceof ground thickly planted with white mulberry-trees,and lying close upon the bank of the river. Herehe passed the greater portion of his time with ActiusSincerus, or Marcus Aurelius, or Ferrari’s GeographicalEpitome in his hand, now offering sacrificesto the Muses, and now running over with his eye thevarious countries and provinces which he was proudto have travelled over. One of his favourite occupationswas the putting of his own adventures intoverse, under a feigned name. This he did in thatterza rima which Dante’s example had made respectable,but not popular, in Italy; and as he was not of165the humour to hide his talent under a bushel, hisbrain was no sooner delivered of this conceit thanhe despatched it to Rome for the amusem*nt of hisfriends.

Being now placed upon the margin of the Caspian,he very naturally desired to examine the appearanceof its shores and waters; but embarking for this purposein a fishing-boat with Maani, who, having passedher life in Mesopotamia, had never before seen thesea, her sickness and the fears produced in her mindby the tossing and rolling of the bark among thewaves quickly put an end to the voyage. He ascertained,however, from the pilots of the coast, thatthe waters of this sea were not deep; immense banksof sand and mud, borne down into this vast basin bythe numerous rivers which discharge themselvesinto it, being met with on all sides; though it isprobable, that had they ventured far from shore theywould have found the case different. Fish of manykinds were plentiful; but owing, perhaps, to the fatand slimy nature of the bottom, they were all large,gross, and insipid.

The shah was just then at Asshraff, a new citywhich he had caused to be erected, and was then enlarging,about six perasangs, or leagues, to the eastof Ferhabad. Pietro, anxious to be introduced tothe monarch, soon after his arrival wrote letters tothe principal minister, which, together with othersfrom the vicar-general of the Carmelite monks atIspahan, he despatched by two of his domestics;and the ministers, according to his desire, informedthe shah of his presence at Ferhabad. Abbas, whoapparently had no desire that he should witness thestate of things at Asshraff, not as yet comprehendingeither his character or his motives, observed, that theroads being extremely bad, the traveller had betterremain at Ferhabad, whither he himself was aboutto proceed on horseback in a day or two. Pietro,whose vanity prevented his perceiving the shah’s166motives, supposed in good earnest that Abbas waschary of his guest’s ease; and, to crown the absurdity,swallowed another monstrous fiction inventedby the courtiers, who, as Hajjî Baba wouldsay, were all the while laughing at his beard,—namely,that the monarch was so overjoyed at hisarrival, that, had he not been annoyed by the numberof soldiers who followed him against his will, hewould next morning have ridden to Ferhabad to bidhim welcome!

However, when he actually arrived in that city, hedid not, as our worthy pilgrim expected, immediatelyadmit him to an audience. In the mean while anagent from the Cossacks inhabiting the north-easternshores of the Black Sea arrived, and DellaValle, who neglected no occasion of forwarding hisown views, in the shaping of which he exhibited remarkableskill, at once connected himself with thisstranger, whom he engaged to aid and assist byevery means in his power, receiving from the barbarianthe same assurances in return. The Cossackhad come to tender the shah his nation’s servicesagainst the Turks; notwithstanding which, thebusiness of his presentation had been negligently orpurposely delayed, probably that he might understand,when his proposal should be afterward received,that, although the aid he promised was acceptable,it was by no means necessary, nor so considered.

At length the long-anticipated audience arrived,and Della Valle, when presented, was well receivedby the shah; who, not being accustomed, however,to the crusading spirit or the romance of chivalry,could not very readily believe that the real motiveswhich urged him to join the Persian armies wereprecisely those which he professed. Nevertheless,his offers of service were accepted, and the provisionswhich he had already received rendered permanent.He was, moreover, sumptuously entertained167at the royal table, and had frequently thehonour of being consulted upon affairs of importanceby the shah.

Abbas soon afterward removing with his courtinto Ghilan, without inviting Della Valle to accompanyhim, the latter departed for Casbin, there toawait the marching of the army against the Turks,in which enterprise he was still mad enough to desireto engage. On reaching this city he found thatAbbas had been more expeditious than he, and wasalready there, actively preparing for the war. Allthe military officers of the kingdom now receivedorders to repair with all possible despatch to Sultanieh,a city three days’ journey west of Casbin;and Pietro, who had voluntarily become a memberof this martial class, hurried on among the foremost,in the hope of acquiring glory of a new kind.

The shah and his army had not been many daysencamped in the plains of Sultanieh, when a courierfrom the general, who had already proceeded towardsthe frontiers, arrived with the news that theTurkish army was advancing, although slowly.This news allowed the troops, who had been fatiguedwith forced marches, a short repose; afterwhich they pushed on vigorously towards Ardebiland Tabriz, Pietro and his heroic wife keeping pacewith the foremost. In this critical juncture, Abbas,though in some respects a man of strong mind, didnot consider it prudent to trust altogether to corporealarmies; but, having in his dominions certainindividuals who pretended to have some influenceover the infernal powers, sought to interest hell alsoin his favour; and for this purpose carried a renownedsorceress from Zunjan along with him tothe wars, in the same spirit as Charles the First,and the Parliament shortly afterward, employedLily to prophesy for them. Their route now laythrough the ancient Media, over narrow plains orhills covered with verdure but bare of trees, sometimes168traversing tremendous chasms, spanned bybridges of fearful height, at others winding alongthe acclivities of mountains, or upon the edge ofprecipices.

Notwithstanding his seeming ardour to engagewith the Turks, Pietro, for some cause or another,did not join the fighting part of the army, but remainedwith the shah’s suite at Ardebil. This circ*mstanceseems to have lowered him considerablyin the estimation of the court. A battle, however,was fought, in which the Persians were victorious;but the Turkish sultan dying at this juncture, hissuccessor commanded his general to negotiate forpeace, which, after the usual intrigues and delays,was at length concluded. Abbas now returned toCasbin, where the victory and the peace was celebratedwith great rejoicings; and here Della Valle,who seems to have begun to perceive that he wasnot likely to make any great figure in war, took hisleave of the court in extremely bad health and lowspirits, and returned to Ispahan.

Here repose, and the conversation of the friendshe had made in this city, once more put him in good-humourwith himself and with Persia; and being ofan exceedingly hasty and inconsiderate disposition,he no sooner began to experience a little tranquillity,than he exerted the influence he had acquiredover the parents of his wife to induce them, right orwrong, to leave Bagdad, where they lived contentedlyand in comfort, and to settle at Ispahan, wherethey were in a great measure strangers, notwithstandingthat one of their younger daughters wasmarried to an Armenian of that city. The principalmembers of the family, no less imprudent than theiradviser, accordingly quitted Mesopotamia with theirtreasures and effects, and established themselves inthe capital of Persia.

This measure was productive of nothing but disappointmentand vexation. One of Maani’s sisters,169who had remained with her mother at Bagdad, whilethe father and brothers were at Ispahan, died suddenly;and the mother, inconsolable for her loss,entreated her husband to return to her with her otherchildren. Then followed the pangs of parting, rendereddoubly bitter by the reflection that it was forever. Pietro became ill and melancholy, havingnow turned his thoughts, like the prodigal in theparable, towards his country and his father’s house,and determined shortly to commence his journeyhomeward. Obtaining without difficulty his dismissionfrom the shah, and winding up his affairs, whichwere neither intricate nor embarrassed, at Ispahan,he set out on a visit to Shiraz, intending, when heshould have examined Persepolis and its environs,to bid an eternal adieu to Persia.

With this view, having remained some time atShiraz, admiring but not enjoying the pure streamof the Rocnabad, the bowers of Mesellay, and thebright atmosphere which shed glory on all around, heproceeded to Mineb, a small town on the river Ibrahim,a little to the south of Gombroon and Ormus, on theshore of the Persian Gulf. Maani, whose desire tobecome a mother had been an unceasing source ofunhappiness to her ever since her marriage, beingnow pregnant, nothing could have been more ill-judgedin her husband than to approach those pestilentialcoasts; especially at such a season of theyear. He quickly discovered his error, but it wastoo late. The fever which rages with unremittingviolence throughout all that part of the countryduring six months in the year had now seized notonly upon Maani, but on himself likewise, and uponevery other member of his family. Instant flightmight, perhaps, have rescued them from danger, asit afterward did Chardin, but a fatal lethargy seemsto have seized upon the mind of Pietro. He trembledat the destiny which menaced him, he sawdeath, as it were, entering his house, and approach170gradually the individual whom he cherished beyondall others; time was allowed him by Providence forescape, yet he stood still, as if spellbound, and sufferedthe victim to be seized without a struggle.His wife, whose condition I have alluded to above,affected at once by the fever, and apprehensive ofits consequences, was terrified into premature labour,and a son dead-born considerably before itstime put the finishing stroke, as it were, to the afflictionof her mind. Her fever increased in violence—medicalaid was vain—death triumphed—andMaani sunk into the grave at the age of twenty-three.

A total change now came over the mind of DellaValle, which not only affected the actions of his life,but communicated itself to his writings, deprivingthem of that dashing quixotism which up to thispoint constitutes their greatest charm. A cloud,black as Erebus, descended upon his soul, and ninemonths elapsed before he could again commandsufficient spirits or energy to announce the melancholyevent to his friend Schipano. He, however,resolved that the body of his beloved wife shouldnot be consigned to the earth in Persia, where heshould never more come to visit or shed a tear overher grave. He therefore contrived to have it embalmed,and then, enclosing it in a coffin adapted tothe purpose, placed it in a travelling trunk, in orderthat, wherever his good or bad fortune should conducthim, the dear remains of his Maani might accompanyhim to the grave. Certain circ*mstancesattending this transaction strongly serve to illustratethe character of Della Valle, and while they tell infavour of his affection, and paint the melancholycondition to which his bereavement had reducedhim, likewise throw some light upon the mannersand state of the country. Dead bodies being regardedas unclean by the Mohammedans, as theywere in old Greece and Rome, and most other171nations of antiquity, no persons could be found toundertake the task of embalming but a few oldwomen, whom the auri sacra fames reconciled to thepollution. These, wrapping thick bandages overtheir mouths and nostrils, to prevent the powerfulodour of the gum from penetrating into their lungsand brain, after having disembowelled the corpse,filled its cavities with camphor, and with the sameingredient, which was of the most pungent anddesiccating nature, rubbed all its limbs and surfaceuntil the perfume had penetrated to the very bones.Pietro, at all times superstitious, was now rendereddoubly so by sorrow. Having somewhere heard orread that the bodies of men will be reanimated at thegeneral resurrection, wherever their heads happento be deposited, while, according to another theory,it was the resting-place of the heart which was todetermine the point, and being desirous, accordingto either view of the matter, that Maani and himselfshould rise on that awful day together, he gaveorders that the heart of his beloved should be carefullyembalmed with the rest of the body. It neveronce occurred to him that the pollinctores (or undertakers)might neglect his commands, and thereforehe omitted to overlook this part of the operation;indeed his feelings would not allow him to be present,and while it was going on he sat retired, hushingthe tempest of his soul in the best manner hecould. While he was in this state of agony, heobserved the embalmers approaching him withsomething in their hands, and on casting his eyesupon it he beheld the heart of Maani in a saucer!An unspeakable horror shot through his wholeframe as he gazed upon the heart which, but a fewdays before, had bounded with delight and joy tomeet his own; and he turned away his head witha shudder.

When the operation was completed, the mummywas laid out upon a board, and placed under a tent172in the garden, in order to be still further desiccatedby the action of the air. Here it remained sevendays and nights, and the walls being low, it wasnecessary to keep a strict and perpetual watch overit, lest the hyenas should enter and devour it.Worn down as he was by fever, by watching, andby sorrow, Pietro would intrust this sacred duty tono vulgar guardian during the night, but, with hisloaded musket in his hand, paced to and fro beforethe tent through the darkness, while the howls ofthe hyenas, bursting forth suddenly quite near him,as it were, frequently startled his ear and increasedhis vigilance. By day he took a few hours’ repose,while his domestics kept watch.

When this melancholy task had been duly performed,he departed, in sickness and dejection, forthe city of Lâr, where the air being somewhatcooler and more pure, he entertained some hopesof a recovery. Not many days after his arrival, aSyrian whom he had known at Ispahan broughthim news from Bagdad which were any thing butcalculated to cheer or console his mind. He learnedthat another sister of Maani had died on the road inreturning from Persia; that the father, stricken tothe soul by this new calamity, had likewise died afew days after reaching home; and that the widow,thus bereaved of the better part of her family, andfeeling the decrepitude of old age coming apace,was inconsolable. Our traveller was thunderstruck.Death seemed to have put his mark on all thosewhom he loved. Persia now became hateful tohim. Its very atmosphere appeared to teem withmisfortunes as with clouds. Nothing, therefore,seemed left him but to quit it with all possiblecelerity.

Pietro’s desire to return to Italy was now abated,and travelling more desirable than home; motion,the presence of strange objects, the surmounting ofdifficulties and dangers, being better adapted than173ease and leisure for the dissipating of sharp grief.For this reason he returned to the shore of thePersian Gulf, and embarked at Gombroon on boardof an English ship for India, taking along with himthe body of his wife, and a little orphan Georgiangirl whom he and Maani had adopted at Ispahan.As even a father cannot remove his daughter, or ahusband his wife, from the shah’s dominions withoutan especial permission, which might not be grantedwithout considerable delay, Pietro determined toelude the laws, and disguising the Georgian in thedress of a boy, contrived to get her on board amongthe ship’s crew in the dusk of the evening, on the19th of January, 1623.

Traversing the Indian Ocean with favourable winds,he arrived on the 10th of February at Surat, wherehe was hospitably entertained by the English andDutch residents. He found Guzerat a pleasantcountry, consisting, as far as his experience extended,of rich, green plains, well watered, andthickly interspersed with trees. From Surat heproceeded to Cambay, a large city situated uponthe extremity of a fine plain at the bottom of thegulf of the same name. Here he adopted the dress,and as far as possible the manners of the Hindoos, andthen, striking off a little from the coast, visitedAhmedabad, travelling thither with a small cafila orcaravan, the roads being considered dangerous forsolitary individuals. At a small village on the roadhe observed an immense number of beautiful yellowsquirrels, with fine large tails, leaping from tree totree; and a little farther on met with a great numberof beggars armed with bows and arrows, whodemanded charity with sound of trumpet. His observationsin this country, though sufficiently curiousoccasionally, were the fruit of a too hasty survey,which could not enable him to pierce deeplybelow the exterior crust of manners. Indeed, heseems rather to have amused himself with strange174sights, than sought to philosophize upon the circ*mstancesof humanity. In a temple of Mahades inthis city, where numerous Yoghees, the Gymnosophistsof antiquity, were standing like so manystatues behind the sacred lamps, he observed animage of the god entirely of crystal. On the banksof the Sabermati, which ran close beneath the wallsof the city, numerous Yoghees, as naked as at themoment of their birth, were seated, with mattedhair, and wild looks, and powdered all over withthe ashes of the dead bodies which they had aidedin burning.

Returning to Cambay, he embarked in a Portugueseship for Goa, a city chiefly remarkable forthe number of monks that flocked thither, and forthe atrocities which they there perpetrated in thename of the Church of Rome. Della Valle soonfound that there was more security and pleasure inliving among pagans “suckled in a creed outworn,”or even among heretics, than in this Portuguesecity, where all strangers were regarded with horror,and met with nothing but baseness and treachery.Leaving this den of monks and traitors, he proceededsouthward along the coast, and in a fewdays arrived at Onore, where he went to pay a visitto a native of distinction, whom they found uponthe shore, seated beneath the shade of some finetrees, flanked and overshadowed, as it were, by arange of small hills. Being in the company of aPortuguese ambassador from Goa to a rajah of theSadasiva race, who then held his court at Ikery, heregarded the opportunity of observing somethingof the interior of the peninsula as too favourable tobe rejected, and obtained permission to form a partof the ambassador’s suite. They set out fromOnore in boats, but the current of the river theywere ascending was so rapid and powerful, that withthe aid of both sails and oars they were unable topush on that day beyond Garsopa, formerly a large175and flourishing city, but now inconsiderable andneglected. Here the scenery, a point which seldomcommanded much of Della Valle’s attention, howeverpicturesque or beautiful it might be, was of soexquisite a character, so rich, so glowing, so variable,so full of contrasts, that indifferent as he wason that head, his imagination was kindled, and heconfessed, that turn which way soever he might, theface of nature was marvellously delightful. A successionof hills of all forms, and of every shade ofverdure, between which valleys, now deep and umbrageous,now presenting broad, green, sunny slopesto the eye, branched about in every direction; loftyforests of incomparable beauty, among which themost magnificent fruit-trees, such as the Indianwalnut, the fawfel, and the amba, were interspersed,small winding streams, now glancing and quiveringand rippling in the sun, and now plunging into thedeep shades of the woods; while vast flights of gaytropical birds were perched upon the branches, orskimming over the waters; all these combined certainlyformed a glorious picture, and justified theadmiration of Pietro when he exclaimed that nothingto equal it had ever met his eye. On entering theGhauts he perceived in them some resemblance tothe Apennines, though they were more beautiful;and to enjoy so splendid a prospect he travelledpart of the way on foot. The Western Ghauts,which divide the vast plateau of Mysore fromMalabar, Canasen, and the other maritime provincesof the Deccan, are in most parts covered with forestsof prodigious grandeur, and in one of thesePietro and his party were overtaken by the night.Though “overhead the moon hung imminent, andshed her silver light,” not a ray could descend tothem through the impenetrable canopy of the wood,so that they were compelled to kindle torches, notwithstandingwhich they failed to find their way, and176contented themselves with kindling a fire and passingthe night under a tree.

Ikery, the bourn beyond which they were not toproceed towards the interior, was then an extensivebut thinly-peopled city, though according to theHindoos it once contained a hundred thousand inhabitants.Around it extended three lines of fortifications,of which the exterior was a row of bamboos,thickly planted, and of enormous height,whose lifted heads, with the beautiful floweringparasites which crept round their stems to the summit,yielded a grateful shade. Here he beheld asuttee, visited various temples, and saw the celebrateddancing girls of Hindostan perform theirgraceful but voluptuous postures. He examinedlikewise the ceremonial of the rajah’s court, andinstituted numerous inquiries into the religion andmanners of the country, upon all which points heobtained information curious enough for that age,but now, from the more extensive and exact researchesof later travellers, of little value. Returningto the seacoast, he proceeded southward as faras Calicut, the extreme point of his travels. Herehe faced about, as it were, turned his eyes towardshome, and began to experience a desire to be atrest. Still, at Cananou, at Salsette, and the otherparts of India at which he touched on his return,he continued assiduously to observe and describe,though rather from habit than any delight which itafforded him.

On the 15th of November, 1624, he embarked atGoa in a ship bound for Muskat, from whence heproceeded up the Persian Gulf to Bassorah. Herehe hired mules and camels, and provided all thingsnecessary for crossing the desert; and on the 21stof May, 1625, departed, being accompanied by anItalian friar, Marian, the Georgian girl, and thecorpse of Maani. During this journey he observedthe sand in many places strewed with seashells,177bright and glittering as mother-of-pearl, and inothers with bitumen. Occasionally their road layover extensive marshes, covered thickly with reedsor brushwood, or white with salt; but at thisseason of the year every thing was so dry that aspark falling from the pipe of a muleteer upon theparched grass nearly produced a conflagration inthe desert. When they had advanced many days’journey into the waste, and beheld on all sidesnothing but sand and sky, a troop of Arab robbers,who came scouring along the desert upon theirfleet barbs, attacked and rifled their little caravan;and Della Valle saw himself about to be deprivedof his wife’s body, after having preserved it solong, and conveyed it safely over so many seas andmountains. In this fear he addressed himself to thebanditti, describing the contents of the chest, andthe motives which urged him so vehemently todesire its preservation. The Arabs were touchedwith compassion. The sight of the coffin, enforcingthe effect of his eloquence, interested their hearts;so that not only did they respect the dead, andpraise the affectionate and pious motives of thetraveller, but also narrowed their demands, for theypretended to exact dues, not to rob, and allowedthe caravan to proceed with the greater part of itswealth.

On arriving at the port of Alexandretta anotherdifficulty arose. The Turks would never have alloweda corpse to pass through the custom-house,nor would the sailors of the ship in which he desiredto embark for Cyprus on any account have sufferedit to come on board. To overreach bothparties, Pietro had the body enveloped in bales ofspun cotton, upon which he paid the regular duty,and thus one further step was gained. After visitingCyprus, Malta, and Sicily, where he remainedsome short time, he set sail for Naples. Here hefound his old friend Schipano still living, and after178describing to him the various scenes and dangersthrough which he had passed, moved forwardtowards Rome, where he arrived on the 28th ofMarch, 1626, after an absence of more than twelveyears.

His return was no sooner made known in thecity than numerous friends and relations and thegreater number of the nobility crowded to his house,to bid him welcome and congratulate him upon thesuccessful termination of his travels. His presentationto the pope took place a few days afterward,when Urban VIII. was so charmed with his conversationand manners, that, without application orintrigue on the part of the traveller, he was appointedhis holiness’s honorary chamberlain,—a complimentregarded at Rome as highly flattering. Inorder to induce the pope to send out missionariesto Georgia, Pietro now presented him with a shortaccount of that country, which he had formerlywritten; and the affair being seriously taken intoconsideration, it was determined by the society DePropaganda Fide that the proposed measure shouldbe carried into effect, and that Pietro should beregularly consulted respecting the business of theLevant missions in general.

Early in the spring of 1627, he caused the funeralobsequies of his wife to be celebrated with extraordinarymagnificence in the church of Aracœli atRome. The funeral oration he himself pronounced;and when, after describing the various circ*mstancesof her life, and the happiness of their union,he came to expatiate upon her beauty, his emotionsbecame so violent that tears and sobs choked hisutterance, and he failed to proceed. His auditors,according to some accounts, were likewise affectedeven unto tears; while others relate that they burstinto a fit of laughter. If they did, the fault was intheir own hearts; for, however extravagant themanner of Della Valle may have been, death is a179solemn thing, and can never fail properly to affectall well-constituted minds.

However, though his love for Maani’s memoryseems never to have abated, the vanity of keepingup the illustrious name of Della Valle, and the consequentwish of leaving a legitimate offspring behindhim, reconciled a second marriage to his mind,and Marian Tinatin, the Georgian girl whom he hadbrought with him from the East, appears to have beenthe person selected for his second wife. M. Eyrièsasserts, but I know not upon what authority, that itwas a relation of Maani whom he married; but thisseems to be extremely improbable, since, so far ascan be discovered from his travels, no relation ofhers ever accompanied him, excepting the brotherand sister who spent some time with him in Persia.

Though he had exhausted a large portion of hispatrimony in his numerous and long-continued journeys,sufficient seems to have remained to enablehim to spend the remainder of his life in splendourand affluence. He had established himself in themansion of his ancestors at Rome, and the locomotivepropensity having entirely deserted him, wouldprobably never have quitted the city, but that oneday, while the pope was pronouncing his solemnbenediction in St. Peter’s, he had the misfortune tofall into a violent passion, during which he killed hiscoachman in the area before the church. Thisobliged him once more to fly to Naples; but murdernot being regarded as a very heinous offence atRome, and the pope, moreover, entertaining a warmfriendship for Pietro, he was soon recalled. Afterthis nothing remarkable occurred to him until hisdeath, which took place on the 20th of April, 1652.Soon after his death, his widow retired to Urbino;and his children, exhibiting a fierce and turbulentcharacter, were banished the city.

As a traveller, Della Valle possessed very distinguishedqualities. He was enthusiastic, romantic,180enterprising. He had read, if not studied, the historiesof the various countries through which heafterward travelled; and there were few dangerswhich he was not ready cheerfully to encounter forthe gratification of his curiosity. Gibbon complainsof his insupportable vanity and prolixity. With hisvanity I should never quarrel, as it only tends torender him the more agreeable: but his prolixity issometimes exceedingly tedious, particularly in thoserhetorical exordiums to his long letters, containingthe praises of his friend Schipano, and lamentationsover the delays of the Asiatic post-office. Nevertheless,it is impossible to peruse his works withoutgreat instruction and delight; for his active, andvigorous, and observant mind continually gives birthto sagacious and profound remarks; and his adventures,though undoubtedly true, are full of interestand the spirit of romance.

JEAN BAPTISTE TAVERNIER.

The father of Tavernier was a map and chartmaker of Antwerp in Brabant, who removed withhis family into France while our traveller was stillin his childhood. Though born of Protestant parents,some of his biographers have imagined thatTavernier must have been a Catholic, at least in theearly part of his life, before his intercourse with theEnglish and Dutch had sapped the foundations ofhis faith, and left him without any! But the truthappears to be, that although educated in the dominionsof a Catholic king, surrounded by priests, andwithin the hearing of the mass-bells, he, as well asthe rest of the family, one graceless nephew excepted,181always remained faithful to the Protestantcause. However this may be, Tavernier, who wasconstantly surrounded by the maps of foreign lands,and by persons who conversed of little else, veryearly conceived the design of “seeing the world,”and being furnished with the necessary funds by hisparents or friends, commenced his long wanderingsby a visit to England, from whence he passed overinto Flanders, in order to behold his native city.

The rumour of the wars then about to burstforth in Germany kindled the martial spirit in themind of our youthful traveller, who, moving throughFrankfort and Augsburg towards Nuremburg, fell inwith Hans Brenner, a colonel of cavalry, son to thegovernor of Vienna, and was easily prevailed uponto join his corps, then marching into Bohemia. Hisadventures in these wars he himself considered unworthyof being recorded. It is simply insinuatedthat he was present at the battle of Prague, sometime after which he became a page to the governorof Raab, then viceroy of Hungary. In this situationhe had remained four years and a half, whenthe young Prince of Mantua arrived at Raab on hisway to Vienna, and with the consent of the viceroytook Tavernier along with him in quality of interpreter.

This circ*mstance inspired him with the desire ofvisiting Italy; and obtaining his dismissal from theviceroy, who, at parting, presented him with asword, a pair of pistols, a horse, and, what was ofinfinitely greater consequence, a good purse filledwith ducats, he entered as interpreter into the serviceof M. de Sabran, the French envoy to the emperor,and proceeded to Venice. From this city,which he compares with Amsterdam, he removed inthe train of M. de Sabran to Mantua, where he remainedduring the siege of that place by the imperialtroops. Here, engaging with a small number ofyoung men in a reconnoitring party, he narrowly182escaped death, only four out of eighteen returning,and having been twice struck in the breast by a ball,which was repelled by the goodness of his cuirass.Of this excellent piece of armour the Count deGuiche, afterward Marshal de Grammont, disburdenedhim, considering the superior value to Franceof his own patrician soul, and the comparative unimportanceof Tavernier’s life. These little accidents,which seem to have aided in ripening hisbrain, curing him of his martial ardour, he quittedMantua, and having visited Loretta, Rome, Naples, andother celebrated cities of Italy, returned to France.

These little excursions, which might have satisfieda less ardent adventurer, only tended to strengthenhis passion for locomotion. He therefore immediatelyquitted Paris for Switzerland, whence, havingtraversed the principal cantons, he again passedinto Germany. Here he remained but a very shorttime before he undertook a journey into Poland,apparently for the purpose of beholding the splendidcourt of King Sigismund. His curiosity on thispoint being gratified, he retraced his footsteps, withthe design of visiting the emperor’s court; but,arriving near Glogau, he was diverted from his intentionby meeting accidently with the ColonelButler who afterward killed the celebrated Wallestein.With this gallant Scot and his wife he staidfor some time; but understanding that the coronationof Ferdinand III., as king of the Romans, wasabout to take place at Ratisbon, Tavernier, for whomthe sight of pomp and splendour appears to have possessedirresistible charms, quitted his new friendsand patrons, and repaired to the scene of action.

Upon the magnificence of this coronation it isunnecessary to dwell, but a tragical circ*mstancewhich took place at Ratisbon, during the preparationsfor it, is too illustrative of the manners andspirit of the times to be passed over in silence.Among the numerous jewellers who repaired upon183this occasion to Ratisbon, there was a young manfrom Frankfort, the only son of the richest merchantin Europe. The father, who feared to hazardhis jewels with his son upon the road, caused themto be forwarded by a sure conveyance to his correspondentat that city, with orders that as soon asthe young man should arrive they should be deliveredup to him. Upon the arrival of the youth,the correspondent, who was a Jew, informed himthat he had received a coffer of jewels from hisfather, which he would place in his hands as soon ashe should think proper. In the mean while he conductedhim to a tavern, where they drank and converseduntil one o’clock in the morning. They thenleft the house, and the Jew conducted the youngman, who was apparently a stranger to the city,through various by-streets, where there were fewshops, and few passers, and when they were ina spot convenient for the purpose he stabbed hisguest in the bowels, and left him extended in hisblood upon the pavement. He then returned home,and wrote to his friend at Frankfort that his son hadarrived in safety, and received the jewels. Themurderer had no sooner quitted his victim, however,than a soldier, who happened to be passingthat way, stumbled over the body, and feeling hishand wet with blood, was startled, and alarming thewatch, the body was taken up, and carried to thevery tavern where the young man and the Jew hadspent the evening. This led to the apprehension ofthe murderer, who, strange to say, at once confessedhis guilt. He was therefore condemned, accordingto the laws of the empire, to be hung upona gallows with his head downwards, between twolarge dogs, which, in the rage and agonies of hunger,might tear him to pieces and devour him. Thistremendous sentence was changed, however, at theintercession and by the costly presents of the otherJews of Ratisbon, to another of shorter duration184but scarcely less terrible, which was, to have hisflesh torn from his bones by red-hot pincers, whileboiling lead was poured into the wound, and to beafterward broken alive upon the wheel.

When the punishment of the Jew and the coronationwere over, Tavernier began to turn his thoughtstowards Turkey; and two French gentlemen proceedingat this period to Constantinople on publicbusiness, he obtained permission to accompanythem, and set out through Hungary, Servia, Bulgaria,and Romelia, to the shores of the Dardanelles.At Constantinople he remained eleven months, duringwhich time he undertook several little excursions,among which was one to the plains of Troy; butfinding neither the pomp of courts nor the bustle oftrade upon this scene of ancient glory, he wasgrievously disappointed, and regarded the time andmoney expended on the journey as so much loss.So little poetical enthusiasm had he in his soul!

At length the caravan for Persia, for the departureof which he had waited so long, set out, proceedingalong the southern shore of the Black Sea, a routelittle frequented by Europeans. On leaving Scutarithey travelled through fine plains covered with flowers,observing on both sides of the road a number ofnoble tombs of a pyramidal shape. On the eveningof the second day the caravan halted at Gebre, theancient Libyssa, a place rendered celebrated by thetomb of Hannibal. From this town they proceededto Ismid, the ancient Nicomedia, where Sultan Muraderected a palace commanding a beautiful prospect,on account of the abundance of game, fruits, andwine found in the neighbourhood. Continuing theirroute through a country abounding with wood, picturesquehills, and rich valleys, they passed throughBoli, the ancient Flaviopolis, when they halted twodays in order to feast upon the pigeons of the vicinitywhich were as large as fowls. From thencethey continued their route through Tosia, Amasia,185and Toket, to Arzroum, in Armenia, where they remainedseveral days. They then proceeded to Karo,thence to Erivan, and thence, by Ardebil and Kashan,to Ispahan, where he arrived in the year 1629.

Being destitute of a profession, and having, Iknow not how, picked up some knowledge of preciousstones, Tavernier became a jeweller in theEast. Where he first commenced this business, andwhat quantity of stock, who furnished him with hiscapital, or with credit which might enable him todispense with it, are points upon which no informationremains. It is certain, however, that in thisfirst visit to Persia several years were spent, duringwhich he traversed the richest and most remarkableprovinces of the empire, observing the country, andstudying the manners, but always conversing bymeans of an interpreter, not possessing the talentsnecessary for the acquiring of foreign language.The history of his six peregrinations into the East,as the events which marked them are not of sufficientimportance to require a minute description, Ishall not enter into other than generally, omittingall reference to his obscure and confused chronology.However, finding that the trade in precious stones,in which he had boldly engaged, promised to turnout a thriving one, he very soon projected a voyageto India, for the purpose of visiting the diamond-mines,and acquiring upon the spot all that speciesof information which his business required.

In fulfilment of this design, he repaired to Gombroon,on the Persian Gulf, where, finding a shipbound for Surat, he embarked for India. On arrivingat Surat, which at that period was a city ofconsiderable extent, surrounded by earthen fortifications,and defended by a miserable fortress, he tookup his residence with the Dutch, and commencedbusiness. His Indian speculations proving, as hehad anticipated, extremely profitable, his Persian expeditionsalways terminated by a visit to Hindostan,186during which he trafficked with the Mogul princes,who, though no less desirous than himself of drivinga hard bargain, appear to have generally paid handsomelyin the end for whatever they purchased.Upon one occasion Shahest Khan, governor of Surat,having made a considerable purchase from our merchant-traveller,determined to make trial of his skillin the art of trade. “Will you,” said he, “receiveyour money in gold or in silver rupees?”—“Iwill be guided by your highness’s advice,” repliedthe traveller. The khan, who probably expected ananswer of this kind, immediately commanded thesum to be counted out, reckoning the gold rupee asequivalent to fourteen rupees and a half in silver,which, as Tavernier well knew, was half a rupeemore than its real value. However, as he hoped tomake up for this loss upon some future occasion, hemade no objection at the time, but received hismoney and retired. Two days afterward he returnedto the khan, pretending that after much negotiation,and many attempts to dispose of his goldrupees at the rate at which he had received them,he had discovered that at the present rate of exchangegold was equivalent to no more than fourteensilver rupees, and that thus, upon the ninety-sixthousand rupees which he had received in gold,he should lose three thousand four hundred andtwenty-eight. Upon this the prince burst out into atremendous passion, and supposing it to be the Dutchbroker who had given this information, which he insistedwas false, to our diamond merchant, swore hewould cause him to receive as many lashes as wouldmake up the pretended deficiency, and thus teachhim to know the real value of money. Tavernier,who, by this time, understood the proper mode ofproceeding with Asiatic princes, allowed the stormto blow over before he ventured to reply; but observingthe khan’s countenance growing calm, andrelaxing into a smile, he returned to the point, and187humbly requested to know whether he should returnthe gold rupees, or might hope that his highnesswould make up the deficiency. At these words thekhan again looked at him steadfastly with an angryeye and without uttering a syllable; but at lengthinquired whether he had brought along with him acertain pearl which he had formerly shown. Tavernierdrew it forth from his bosom, and placed it in hishands. “Now,” said the khan, “let us speak no moreof the past. Tell me in one word the exact priceof this pearl.”—“Seven thousand rupees,” repliedthe traveller, who, however, meant to have takenthree thousand rather than break off the bargain.“If I give thee five thousand,” returned the khan,“thou wilt be well repaid for thy pretended lossupon the gold rupees. Come to-morrow, and thoushalt receive the money. I wish thee to depart contented;and therefore thou shalt receive a dress ofhonour and a horse.” Tavernier was content, andhaving entreated his highness to send him a usefulbeast, since he had far to travel, made the usualobeisance and took his leave.

Next day the kelât and the horse were sent.With the former, which was really handsome andvaluable, our traveller was well satisfied; and thehorse, which was decked with green velvet housingswith silver fringe, likewise seemed to answerhis expectations. When, however, he was broughtinto the court of the house, and a young Dutchmansprung upon his back to try his mettle, he began torear, and plunge, and kick in so powerful a mannerthat he shook down the roof of a small shed whichstood in the yard, and put the life of his rider inimminent jeopardy. Observing this, Tavernier commandedthe animal to be returned to the prince; andwhen he went to the palace in order to express histhanks and take his leave, he related the whole circ*mstance,adding that he feared his highness hadno desire that he should execute the commission188with which he had intrusted him. Upon this thekhan, who could not restrain his laughter during thewhole narration, commanded a large Persian horse,which had belonged to his father, and when younghad cost five thousand crowns, to be brought forthready saddled and bridled, and desired the travellerto mount at once. Tavernier obeyed, and foundthat, although upwards of twenty-eight years old,this horse was the finest pacer he had ever beheld.“Well,” said the khan, “are you satisfied? Thisbeast will not break your neck.” In addition tothis he presented him with a basket of Cashmereapples, and a Persian melon, so exquisite that theywere at least worth a hundred rupees. The horse,old as he was, he afterward sold at Golconda forfifty pounds sterling.

Having concluded his negotiations at Surat, he setout upon his journey to the diamond-mines; andpassing, among other towns, through Navapoor,where he found the rice, which he regarded as thebest in the world, slightly scented with musk, andthrough Dowlutabad, one of the strongest fortressesin Hindostan, arrived in about two months at Golconda.This kingdom, which was then a powerfuland independent state, contained an abundance offertile lands, numerous flocks and herds, and manysmall lakes, which furnished inexhaustible suppliesof fish. Baugnuggur, the capital (the modern Hyderabad),vulgarly called Golconda, from the fortressof that name in the vicinity, in which the king resided,was then a city of recent construction; butnevertheless contained a number of fine buildings,several admirable caravansaries, mosques, and pagodas,and the streets, though unpaved, were broadand handsome. Upon the roof of the palace weregardens, in which grew immense trees, yielding alarge and grateful shade, but menacing to crush thestructure with their weight. Here stood a pagoda,which, had it been completed, would not only have189been the largest in all India, but one of the boldeststructures in Asia, or perhaps in the world. Thestones employed in this building were all of verylarge dimensions; but there was one of such prodigioussize that it required five years to lift it out ofthe quarry, as many more to draw it to the pagoda,and a carriage with fourteen hundred oxen! That atemple commenced upon such a scale, and with suchmaterials, should be left unfinished, was not greatlyto be wondered at; and accordingly it was nevercompleted.

The population of this city with its extensivesuburbs, though not exactly stated, must have beenvery considerable, since the number of licensed courtesansamounted, as he was informed, to twentythousand, the majority of whom inhabited small huts,where by day they might always be seen standing atthe door, while a lamp or lighted candle was placedby night to light the passenger to his ruin. Theprincipal of these women presented themselvesevery Friday before the king, as was, according toBernier, the custom likewise at Delhi, when, if hismajesty permitted, they exhibited their skill in dancing;but if he were better employed they were commandedby the principal eunuch to retire. Theseladies, who were under the especial protection ofthe monarch, appear to have been peculiarly devotedto their illustrious patron: for when his majestywas upon one occasion returning to his capital fromMasulipatam, nine of these faithful servants contrivedto imitate with their bodies the form of anelephant; four enacting the legs, another four thebody, and one the proboscis; and, receiving theirprince upon their back, bore him in triumph into thecity! Both sexes here possessed a high degree ofpersonal beauty; and, excepting the peasantry, whoof course were rendered somewhat swarthy by theirexposure to the sun, were distinguished for the fairnessof their complexions.

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Though he had undertaken this long journey expresslyfor the purpose of visiting the diamond-mines,many persons, apparently, both here and elsewhere,endeavoured to dissuade him from carrying his designinto execution, by fearful pictures of the minedistricts, which, it was said, could only be approachedby the most dangerous roads, and were inhabited bya rude and barbarous population. However, as hewas never deterred by the fear of danger from pursuinghis plans, these representations were ineffectual.The first mine which he visited was that ofRaolconda, five days’ journey distant from Golconda,and eight or nine from Beajapoor. The country inthe environs of Raolconda, where, according to thetraditions of the inhabitants, diamonds had beendiscovered upwards of two hundred years, was asandy waste, strewn with rocks, and broken bychasms and precipices, like the environs of Fontainbleau.These rocks were traversed by veins fromhalf an inch to an inch in breadth, which were hollowedout with small crooked bars of iron by theworkmen, who put the earth or sand thus scrapedinto vessels prepared for the purpose, where, afterthe earth had been washed away, the diamonds werefound. Many of the gems obtained at this minewere flawed by the blows which were necessary forsplitting the hard rocks, and various were the artsresorted to by the miners for concealing these defects.Sometimes they cleaved the stones in two,at others they ground them into as many angles aspossible, or set them in a peculiar manner. Tavernier,who was a shrewd merchant, soon discoveredall their tricks, however; and, able as they were atoverreaching and driving bargains, succeeded inmaking an immense fortune at their expense.

The workmen, who, although engaged in draggingforth these splendid and costly toys from the bowelsof the earth, earned but a miserable pittance fortheir pains, sometimes conceived the idea of secreting191small diamonds; and, though rigidly watched,occasionally contrived to swallow or conceal themwithin their eyelids, having no clothing whateverexcept the cumme*rbund. When a foreign merchantarrived, one of the banyans who rented the minesusually called upon him about ten or eleven o’clockin the morning, bringing along with him a portion ofthe diamonds which he might have for sale. Thesehe generally deposited confidingly in the foreigner’shand, allowing him six or eight days to examinethem and determine upon the prices he would consentto give. The day for bargaining being arrived,however, it was necessary to come without muchnegotiation to the point; for if the foreigner hesitated,made many low offers, or otherwise endeavouredto undervalue the merchandise, the Hindoovery coolly wrapped up his gems in the corner ofhis garment, turned upon his heel, and departed; norcould he ever be prevailed upon to show the samejewels again, unless mixed with others.

The view of the ordinary diamond mart was singularlypicturesque. It was a large open space inthe centre of the town, where you might everymorning see the sons of the principal merchants,from ten to fifteen years old, sitting under a treewith their diamond balances and weights in smallbags under their arms; while others carried largebags of gold pagodas. When any person appearedwith diamonds for sale, he was referred to the oldestof the lads, who was usually the chief of the company,and transacted the business of the whole.This boy, having carefully considered the water ofthe gem, handed it to the lad who stood nearest him,who in like manner passed it to the next, and so on,until it had made the circuit of the whole, withouta word being spoken by any one. If after all heshould pay too dear for the diamond, the loss fellupon him alone. In the evening they assortedthe gems, and divided their gains; the principal192receiving one quarter per cent. more than theothers.

The merchants of Raolconda were extremelyobliging and polite towards strangers. Upon thearrival of Tavernier, the governor, a Mohammedan,who was likewise commander of the province, receivedhim with much kindness, and furnished him,in addition to the servants he had brought with him,four trusty attendants, who were commanded towatch day and night over his treasures. “Youmay now eat, drink, sleep, and take care of yourhealth,” said he; “you have nothing to fear; onlytake care not to make any attempts to defraud theking.”

One evening, shortly after his arrival, our travellerwas accosted by a banyan of mean appearance,whose whole apparel consisted of the miserablehandkerchief which was tied about his head, andhis girdle, or cumme*rbund, who, after the usualsalutation, sat himself down by his side. Tavernierhad long learned to pay but little attention to exteriorsin this class of people, since he had found thatmany of them whose appearance denoted extremepoverty, and might have excited the charitable feelingsof the passer-by, nevertheless carried concealedabout their persons a collection of diamonds whichthose who pitied them would have been extremelyproud to possess. He therefore conducted himselfpolitely towards the banyan, who, after a few civilitieshad passed between them, inquired through the interpreterwhether he would like to purchase a fewrubies. Having replied that he should be glad toexamine them, the banyan drew forth from his girdleabout twenty ruby rings, which our traveller saidwere too small for his purpose, but that neverthelesshe would purchase one of them. As the merchantseemed to regard the attendance of the governor’sservants as a restraint upon his actions, further conversationwas delayed until evening prayer should193have called them to the mosque; but three only attendedto the muezzin’s summons, the fourth remainingto enact the spy during their absence. Tavernier,however, whom a long residence in the East hadrendered politic, now suddenly recollected that hewas in want of bread; and the trusty Mohammedanbeing despatched in quest of it, he was left alonewith his interpreter and the merchant. As soon asthe spy was departed the Indian began to untie hislong hair, which, according to custom, he woreplaited in many a fold upon the crown of his head,and as it parted and fell down upon his shoulder, atiny packet wrapped in a linen rag dropped out. Thisproved to be a diamond of singular size and beauty,which Tavernier, when it was put into his hands,regarded with the greatest interest and curiosity.“You need not,” said the banyan, “amuse yourselfwith examining the stone at present. To-morrow,if you will meet me alone at nine o’clock in themorning, on the outside of the town, you may viewit at your leisure.” He then stated the exact priceof his gem and departed. Tavernier, who nowcoveted this stone with the eagerness and passionof a lover, did not fail to repair to the spot at theappointed moment, with the necessary sum of goldpagodas in his bag; and after considerable negotiationsucceeded in making it his own.

Three days after this fortunate purchase, while hisheart was elate with success, and flattered with self-congratulations,he received a letter from Golcondawhich cast a shadow over his prospects. It camefrom the person with whom he had intrusted hismoney, and informed him that on the very day afterhe had received his trust he had been attacked withdysentery, which, he doubted not, would speedilyconduct him to the grave. He therefore entreatedTavernier to hasten to the spot, in order to takecharge of his own property, which, he assured him,would now be far from secure; that should he arrive194in time, he would find it sealed up in bags, and placedin a certain chamber; but that, as at furthest he hadbut two days to live, not a moment ought to be lost.Not having as yet completed his purchases, for hehad still twenty thousand pagodas unemployed, hewas in some perplexity respecting the course heought to pursue; but as the danger was considerable,he at length resolved to set out at once. It beingimperative upon him, however, first to pay the royaldues upon what he had bought, he immediately repairedto the governor to perform this duty, and totake his leave. By this man’s good offices he wasenabled at once to employ the remainder of hiscapital; which having done, he departed in all hastefor Golconda, with apprehensions of pillage in hismind, and a long journey before him. To ensurehis safety in the dominions of Beajapoor, the governorof the mines had granted him a guard of sixhorsem*n, and thus escorted he pushed on rapidly.In due time he arrived at Golconda, and goingstraight towards his golden kėbleh, found the chamberin which his wealth had been deposited locked, andsealed with two seals, that of the kadi, and that ofthe chief of the merchants, his correspondent havingbeen dead three days. His apprehension and alarm,he now found, had all been needless; for upon provinghis right to the money, which it was not difficultfor him to do, his property was restored to himwithout delay.

This sad affair being concluded, he set out uponhis visit to the mines of Colour, seven days’ journeyeast of Golconda, or Hyderabad. These were situatedupon a plain, flanked on one side by a river,and on the other by lofty mountains, which sweptround in the form of a half-moon. The discoveryof these mines was made by a peasant, who, turningup the soil for the purpose of sowing millet, perceiveda small pointed sparkling stone at his feet,which he picked up, and carrying to Golconda, found195an honest merchant, who disclosed to him the valueof his treasure. The discovery was soon rumouredabout; merchants and speculators crowded to thespot, and gems of the most extraordinary magnitudeand beauty, the equal of which had never beforebeen seen, were dug up out of the earth of thisplain, and among others that famous diamond ofAurungzebe, which when rough weighed nine hundredcarats. When they would judge of the waterof a diamond, the Hindoos of Colour placed a lampin a small aperture in a wall by night, and holdingthe stone between their fingers in the stream of lightthrown out by the lamp, thought they could thusdiscern its beauties or defects more certainly thanby day.

Upon his arrival at Colour upwards of sixty thousandpersons, men, women, and children, were atwork upon the plain, the men being employed indigging up the earth, and their wives and childrenin carrying it to the spot where it was sifted for thejewels. Nevertheless, many of the stones foundhere fell in pieces under the wheel; and a remarkablylarge one, which was carried to Italy by a Jew,and valued at thirty thousand piastres, burst into ninepieces while it was polishing at Venice.

The third mine, the most ancient in India, wassituated near Sumbhulpoor, in Gundwana, at thatperiod included, according to Tavernier, in the kingdomof Bengal. The diamonds were here found inthe sands of the Mahanuddy, near its confluencewith the Hebe; but our traveller strangely travestiesthe name of this river into Gouel, and, indeed, generallymakes such havoc with names that there isoften much difficulty in discovering what places aremeant. However, when the great rains, whichusually took place in December, were over, the riverwas allowed the whole month of January to clear,and shrink to its ordinary dimensions, when largebeds of sand were left uncovered. The inhabitants196of Sumbhulpoor, and of another small town in thevicinity, then issued forth, to the number of eightthousand, and began to examine the appearance ofthe sands. If they perceived upon any spot certainsmall stones, resembling what are called thunder-stonesin Europe, they immediately concluded thatthere were gems concealed below; and having encloseda considerable space with poles and fascines,began to scoop up the sand, and convey it to a placeprepared for its reception upon the shore. Hamiltonand other modern authorities, however, observe,that the diamonds are found in a matrix of red clay,which is washed down among heaps of earth of thesame colour from the neighbouring mountains, andthat in the sand of the same rivulets which containthe gems considerable quantities of gold are likewisediscovered.

I have here thrown together the result of severalvisits to the diamond-mines, to avoid the necessityof returning again and again, after the manner of ourtraveller himself, to the same spot; and shall nowaccompany him through Surat to Agra and Delhi.Having returned to Surat with his jewels, and advantageouslydisposed of a part of them in that city, hedeparted with the remainder for the capital. At Baroche,in Guzerat, he witnessed the astonishing performancesof those jugglers whose achievementshave been the wonder of travellers from the daysof Megasthenes down to the present moment, andin a barbarous age might well justify the faith ofmankind in the powers of magic. The first featthey performed was to make the chains with whichtheir bodies were encircled red-hot, by means of animmense fire which they had kindled, and the touchof these they bore without shrinking, or seeming tofeel any thing beyond a slight inconvenience. Theynext took a small piece of wood, and having plantedit in the earth, demanded of one of the bystanderswhat fruit they should cause it to produce. The197company replied that they wished to see mangoes.One of the jugglers then wrapped himself in a sheet,and crouched down to the earth several times insuccession. Tavernier, whom all this diablerie delightedexceedingly, ascended to the window of anupper chamber for the purpose of beholding moredistinctly the whole proceedings of the magician, andthrough a rent in the sheet saw him cut himselfunder the arms with a razor, and rub the piece ofwood with his blood. Every time he rose from hiscrouching posture the bit of wood grew visibly, andat the third time branches and buds sprang out.—Thetree, which had now attained the height of fiveor six feet, was next covered with leaves, and thenwith flowers. At this instant an English clergymanarrived: the performance taking place at the houseof one of our countrymen, and perceiving in whatpractices the jugglers were engaged, commandedthem instantly to desist, threatening the whole of theEuropeans present with exclusion from the holycommunion if they persisted in encouraging the diabolicalarts of sorcerers and magicians. The zealof this hot-headed son of the church put a stop to theexhibition, and prevented our traveller from beholdingthe crowning miracle. The peaco*ck, which isfound in a state of nature in all parts of Hindostan,was at that period peculiarly plentiful in the neighbourhoodof Cambay and Baroche, and its flesh whenyoung was considered equal to that of the turkey.—Beingexceedingly wild and timid, it could only beapproached by night, when many curious arts wereput in practice for taking it.

The next considerable city at which he arrivedwas Ahmedabad, where, during his stay a very extraordinarycirc*mstance took place, which waslong the subject of wonder in that part of the country.Over the river which flows by this city therewas no bridge. The richer and more genteel partof the population, however, passed the stream in198large boats which plied continually for passengers;but the peasantry, who grudged or could ill affordthe expense, swam over upon inflated goat-skins;and when they happened to have their children withthem they were put into so many large earthen pots,which the swimmers pushed before them with theirhands. A peasant and his wife crossing the river inthis manner, with their only child in a pot beforethem, found about the middle of the stream a smallsandbank, upon which there was an old tree thathad been rolled down by the current. Here, beingsomewhat exhausted, they pushed the pot towards thetree, in the hope of being able to rest a moment; butbefore they had touched the bank a serpent sprangout from among the roots, and in an instant glidedinto the pot to the child. Stupified with fear andhorror, the parents allowed the pot to float away withthe current, and having remained half-dead at thefoot of the tree for some time, found, upon the recoveryof their senses, that their child had eithersunk in the stream, or floated Heaven only knewwhither. The little fellow in the pot and his serpent,however, sailed merrily down the river together,and had already proceeded about two leagues towardsthe sea, when a Hindoo and his wife, who werebathing upon the edge of the stream, saw the child’shead peeping out of the pot. The husband, promptedby humanity, immediately swam out, and overtakingthe child in his singular little nest, pushed it beforehim towards the shore. But no sooner was the actperformed than he found bitter cause to repent thathe had achieved it, for the serpent, which had harmlesslycurled round his little fellow-voyager downthe current, now darted from the pot, and windingitself round the body of the Hindoo’s child, immediatelystung it, and caused its death. Supposingthat Providence had deprived them of one child onlyto make way for another, they adopted the stranger,and considered him as their own. But the strangeness199of the event exciting great astonishment in thecountry, the news at length reached the real fatherof the child, who forthwith came and demanded hisoffspring. The adoptive father resisting this demand,the affair was brought before the king, whovery properly adjudged the infant to its naturalparent, though, by saving its life, the other had certainlyacquired some claim to it, the more especiallyas by effecting his purpose he had accidentally renderedhimself childless.

On his arrival at Delhi, our traveller assiduouslyapplied himself to business, and having disposed ofhis jewelry to his satisfaction, partly to the GreatMogul, and partly to his courtiers, repaired to courtto make his final obeisance to the monarch before hisdeparture. The emperor, who loved to exhibit hisriches and magnificence to strangers, particularly tothose who were likely to be dazzled, and to render aninflated account of them to the world, caused him tobe informed that he wished him to remain during theapproaching festival in honour of his birthday, whenthe annual ceremony of ascertaining the exact weightof his royal person was to take place. It was nowthe 1st of November, and the festival, which usuallylasted five days, was to begin on the 4th; but thepreparations, which had been commenced on the7th of September, were now nearly completed,and all Delhi looked forward with joy to the approachingrejoicings. The two spacious courts ofthe palace were covered with lofty tents of crimsonvelvet, inwrought with gold; the immense poleswhich sustained them, many of which were fortyfeet high, and of the thickness of a ship’s mast, werecased with solid plates of silver or gold. Aroundthe first court, beneath a range of porticoes, werenumerous small chambers, destined for the omrahson guard. Between these, on the days of the festival,the spectators moved into the amkas, or greathall of audience, which, together with the peaco*ck200throne, I shall describe in the life of Bernier. Theemperor, being seated upon his throne, a troop ofthe most skilful dancing-girls was brought in, who,with gestures and motions more voluptuous thanthe ancient performers of the Chironomia everpractised, amused the imagination of the monarchand his courtiers, and excited the amazement of foreignersat the licenses of an Asiatic court. On bothsides of the throne were fifteen horses, with bridlesand housings crusted with diamonds, rubies, pearls,and emeralds, and held each by two men; andshortly after the commencement of the ceremony,seven war-elephants, of the largest size, caparisonedin the most gorgeous style, were led in oneafter the other, and caused to make the circuit of thehall: when they came opposite the throne, each inhis turn made his obeisance to the sovereign, bythrice lowering his trunk to the floor, and accompanyingeach movement by a loud and piercing cry.This exhibition being concluded, the emperor arose,and retired with three or four of the principal eunuchsinto the harem. At an auspicious momentduring the festival, a large pair of scales was broughtinto the amkas, the emperor’s weight was ascertained,and if greater than on the preceding year,singular rejoicings and triumphant shouts took place;but if, on the contrary, his majesty was found to beless unwieldy than heretofore, the event was regardedwith apprehension and sorrow.

Two or three days previous to the barometry ofthe mogul, our traveller enjoyed the flattering privilegeof beholding the imperial jewels. Havingbeen first admitted to an audience, he was led byone of the principal courtiers into a small chambercontiguous to the hall of audience, whither the unrivalledcollection of gems was brought for his inspectionby four eunuchs. They were laid out likefruit in two large wooden bowls, highly varnished,and exquisitely ornamented with delicate golden201foliage. They were then uncovered, counted overthrice, and as many lists of them made out by threedifferent scribes. Tavernier, who viewed all thesethings with the eyes of a jeweller, rather than as atraveller, curious to observe and examine, scrutinizedthem piece by piece, descanting upon theirmercantile value, and the modes of cutting and polishingby which they might have been rendered morebeautiful. In this mood he feasted his eyes upondiamonds of incomparable magnitude and lustre;upon chains of rubies, strings of orient pearls, amethysts,opals, topazes, and emeralds, various in form,and each reflecting additional light and beauty uponthe other.

Having beheld these professional curiosities, heleft the Mogul court, and proceeded by the ordinaryroute towards Bengal. The Ganges, where hecrossed it, in company with Bernier, he found nolarger than the Seine opposite the Louvre, an insignificantstream which scarcely deserves the nameof a river. At Benares he observed the narroweststreets and the loftiest houses which he had seen inHindostan, a circ*mstance remarked by all travellers,and among the rest by Heber, who says, “Thehouses are mostly lofty; none, I think, less thantwo stories, most of three, and several of five orsix, a sight which I now for the first time saw inIndia. The streets, like those of Chester, are considerablylower than the ground floors of the houses,which have mostly arched rows in front, with littleshops behind them. Above these the houses arerichly embellished with verandahs, galleries, projectingoriel windows, and very broad and overhangingcoves, supported by carved brackets.” Theopposite sides of the streets stand so near to eachother in many places that they are united by galleries.The number of stone and brick houses in thecity are upwards of twelve thousand, of clay housessixteen thousand; and the population in 1803 considerably202exceeded half a million. Benares, accordingto the Brahmins, forms no part of the terrestrialglobe, but rests upon the thousand-headed serpentAnarta, or Eternity: or, according to others, on thepoint of Siva’s trident, and hence no earthquakes areever felt there. The Great Lingam, or Phallies, ofBenares, is said to be a petrifaction of Siva himself;and the worship of this emblem of the godhead sogenerally prevails here, that the city contains at leasta million images of the Lingam. This holy city, theBrahmins assure us, was originally built of gold, butfor the sins of mankind it was successively degradedto stone, and brick, and clay.

From Benares he proceeded through Patna andRajmahel to Daca, then a flourishing city; whence,having disposed of numerous jewels to the nawâb,he returned to Delhi.

To avoid repetitions and perplexing breaks in thenarrative, I have paid no attention to the date of hisvisits to this or that city; and, indeed, so confusedwere his notes and his memory, that he does notseem to have known very well himself during whichof his journeys many events which he relates tookplace. Into the particulars of his voyage to Ceylon,Sumatra, and Java it is unnecessary to enter, morefull and curious accounts of those islands occurringin other travellers.

On his return to France from his fifth visit to theEast, he married an ancient damsel, to borrow anepithet from Burke, merely from gratitude to herfather, who was a jeweller, and had rendered himseveral essential services. After this he undertookone more journey into Asia, with merchandise tothe value of four hundred thousand livres, consistingof curious clocks, crystal and agate vases, pearls,and other jewelry. This expedition occupied himsix years, during which he advanced farther towardsthe east than he had hitherto done; and having inthis and his other journeys amassed considerable203wealth, he returned with a splendid assortment ofdiamonds to France, having been engaged upwardsof forty years in travelling. Disposing of thesejewels advantageously to the French king, whogranted him a patent of nobility, he now conceivedthat all his wanderings were at an end, and beganto think of enjoying the wealth he had purchased withso much time and toil and difficulty. Experience,however, had not rendered him wise. Puffed upwith the vanity inspired by his patent of nobility, hiswhole soul was now wrapped up in visions of luxuryand magnificence. He rented a splendid house, setup a carriage, and hired a number of valets. Thenobility, who no doubt devoured his adventures andhis dinners with equal greediness, flocked about him,invited, caressed, flattered, and ruined him.

He was prevailed upon by some of his noblefriends, who supposed him to be possessed of thewealth of Crœsus, to purchase a baronial castle andestate near Lyons, the repairs of which, united withthe absurd expenses of his household, quickly threatenedto plunge him into the poverty and obscurityfrom which he originally rose. To accelerate thisunhappy catastrophe, undoubtedly owing principallyto his own folly, his nephew, to whose managementhe had intrusted a valuable venture in the hope of retrievinghis shattered fortune, proved dishonest,married, and remained in the East, appropriating tohis own use the property of his uncle. To increasethe consternation caused in his family by these privatecalamities, it was rumoured that the edict ofNantes was about to be revoked, which inducedhim immediately to dispose of his estate, and prepareto emigrate with the great body of the Protestantsout of France. Time for proper negotiationsnot being allowed, the barony was sold for considerablyless than it had cost him; and every thing204now going unprosperously with our noble jeweller,his family retired to Berlin, while he repaired, in anobscure manner, to Paris, in quest of funds for anotherjourney into the East.

Tavernier was now in his eighty-third year, brokenin spirits, ruined in fortune, and bending beneath theeffects of age; but his courage had not forsaken him.He succeeded by dint of great exertions in gettingtogether a considerable venture, and departed forHindostan by way of Russia and Tartary. That hearrived safely at Moscow is tolerably certain; butin this city we lose sight of him; some writers affirmingthat he died there, while others more confidentlyassert, that having spent some time at this ancientcapital of Russia, he continued his journey,and embarked with his merchandise in a bark uponthe Volga, with the design of descending that riverto the Caspian Sea. Whether this wretched barkfoundered in the stream, or, which is more probable,was plundered, and its crew and passengersmassacred by the Tartars, is what has never beenascertained. At all events, Tavernier here disappears,for no tidings of him ever reached Francefrom that time. He is supposed to have died in 1685,or 1686.

His works have gone through several editions, andmay be consulted with advantage by the students ofAsiatic manners, though the style, which is that ofsome miserable compiler whom he employed to digesthis rough memoirs, be intolerably bald and enervate;while the method and arrangement are, perhaps,the worst that could have been adopted. Hadhe contented himself with the simple form of a journal,narrating events as they occurred, and describingthings as they presented themselves to his notice,he could not have been more prolix, and would undoubtedlyhave rendered his work more agreeableand useful. As a traveller, he is undoubtedly entitledto the praise of enterprise and perseverance; no205dangers appalled, no misfortunes depressed him; buthis remarks are always rather the remarks of a traderthan of a traveller. Wealth was his grand object;knowledge and fame things of secondary consideration.The former, however, he gained and lost; hisreputation, though far less brilliant than that of manyother travellers, remains to him, and will long remaina monument of what can be effected by perseveringmediocrity.

FRANÇOIS BERNIER.

This distinguished traveller was born at Angersabout the year 1624. Though educated for the medicalprofession, and actuated in an extraordinarymanner by that ardour for philosophical speculationwhich pervaded his literary contemporaries, thepassion for travelling prevailed over every other; sothat, having prepared himself by severe study forvisiting distant countries with advantage, and takenhis doctor’s degree at Montpellier, he departed fromFrance in the year 1654, and passed over into Syria.From thence he proceeded to Egypt, where he remainedupwards of a year. In this country he assiduouslyoccupied himself in inquiries respecting thesources of the Nile, the time and manner of its rise,the causes and nature of the plague, and the fall ofthat dew which is said to deprive its virus of all activity.Being at Rosetta eight or ten days after thisdew had shed its mysterious moisture over the earth,he had an opportunity, which had like to have costhim dear, of discovering the absurdity of the popularbelief upon this subject. He was at supper with aparty of friends at the house of M. Bermon, vice-consul206of France, when three persons were suddenlystricken with the plague. Of these, two died in thecourse of eight days; and the third, who was M.Bermon himself, seemed likely to follow their example,when our medical traveller undertook the treatmentof his disease. What medicines he administeredto his patient he has not stated, but he lancedthe pestiferous pustules which rose upon the skin;and either by performing this operation, or by inhalingthe infected atmosphere of the sick chamber,himself caught the infection. The patient now recovered,while the physician in turn became the preyof disease. When Bernier perceived himself to bein the plague, the first step he took was to swallowan emetic of butter of antimony, which, togetherwith the natural force of his constitution, subduedthe disorder, and enabled him in the course of threeor four days to resume his ordinary pursuits. Hewas, perhaps, somewhat indebted to his Bedouinattendant for the preservation of his cheerfulness andtranquillity during his illness. This man, relying, orappearing to rely, upon the doctrine of predestination,in order to cheer and encourage him, by showinghim how lightly he thought of the matter, useddaily to eat the remainder of the food which his sickmaster had touched.

Having satisfied his curiosity respecting Egypt,and visited Mount Sinai and the neighbouring deserts,he proceeded to Suez, and embarked in an Arabvessel for Jidda. The Turkish bey, then governorof this post, had deluded him with the hope of beingable to visit Mecca and the Kaaba, places interdictedto all Christians; but having waited for this permissionthirty-four days, and perceiving no likelihoodof obtaining it, he again embarked; and sailing forfifteen days along the coast of Arabia Felix, or Yeman,arrived at Mokha, near the straits of Babelmandel.During his stay in this city, he partook ofthe hospitality of Murad, an Armenian Christian, and207a native of Aleppo, but who had settled in Abyssinia,whence he was now come into Arabia with a numberof black slaves to be disposed of for the benefitof the Abyssinian king, from whom he likewise borethe customary annual present which that augustmonarch made to the English and Dutch East Indiacompanies, in the hope of receiving one of greatervalue in return. With the proceeds of the slavesIndian merchandise was purchased; so that in exchangefor a few useless subjects, his Abyssinianmajesty annually received a large quantity of finemuslins, spices, and diamonds. With this honestArmenian merchant our traveller had a very characteristictransaction, which, although it happenedsome time after the visit to Mokha, may very wellcome in here. Murad, it seems, in addition to hisAleppine wife, maintained a harem of Nubian orAbyssinian girls, by one of whom he had a son, whoto the pure black complexion of his mother unitedthe fine handsome features peculiar to the Caucasianrace. This noble little fellow Murad, who was desirousof turning the produce of his harem to account,offered to sell M. Bernier for fifty rupees; butobserving that his guest was extremely anxious topossess the prize, he suddenly changed his mind,and refused to part with his darling son for less thanthree hundred rupees. At this strange instance ofrapacity our traveller became offended, and broke offthe negotiation; though, as he tells us, he was peculiarlydesirous of concluding the bargain, as muchfor the sake of the boy as for the purpose of seeinga father sell his own child. There seems, however,to be some reason for suspecting that the Armenianwas not quite so nearly related to the boy as he pretended,his paternity being in all probability feigned,for the purpose of enhancing the price of his littleslave.

From Mokha it was Bernier’s intention to havecrossed the Red Sea to the island of Mesowa and208Arkiko, from whence he expected an easy passagemight be obtained into the country of Habesh orAbyssinia. To dissuade him from his purpose, however,Murad and others, who might, perhaps, havehad some sinister motives for their conduct, assuredhim, that since the expulsion of the Jesuits, effectedby the intrigues of the queen-mother, no RomanCatholic was secure in the country, where a poorCapuchin friar, who attempted to enter it by wayof Snakin, had recently lost his head. These andother considerations turned the current of his ideas.He abandoned Africa, and, embarking on board of anIndian ship bound for Surat, sought the shores ofHindostan.

On the arrival of our traveller in India, those fratricidalwars between the sons of Shah Johan, whichterminated with the dethronement of the aged emperorand the accession of Aurungzebe to the throneof Delhi, had already commenced, and confusion,terror, and anarchy prevailed throughout the empire.Nevertheless Bernier hastened to the capital, where,finding that partly by robbery, partly by the ordinaryexpenses of travelling, his finances had beenreduced to a very low ebb, he contrived to be appointedone of the physicians to the Great Mogul.

About twelve months before Bernier’s appointmentto this office, the emperor, who, though upwards ofseventy, was immoderately addicted to the excessesof the harem, had become grievously ill from thatdisorder, it is supposed, which cut off untimely thechivalrous rival of the Emperor Charles V. His foursons imagining, and all, indeed, excepting the eldest,ardently desiring, that he might be drawing near hisend, had at once rushed to arms, and with powerfularmaments collected in their various subahs, or governments,had advanced towards the capital, eachanimated by the hope of opening himself a way tomusnud through the hearts of his brethren. Theirbattles, negotiations, intrigues, and mutual treachery,209though related in a vivid and energetic manner byBernier, can find no place in this narrative. Aurungzebe,having defeated and put to flight the RajahJesswunt Singh, was now advancing towards thecapital, when his eldest brother, Dara, incensed athis audacity, and naturally impatient of delay, advancedwith the imperial army towards the Chumbuland that range of mountain passes which extendsbetween the Jumna and Guzerat. Here a battle wasfought, in which Aurungzebe was victor. Dara, withthe wretched remnant of his forces, fled towardsAhmedabad, the ancient Mohammedan capital of Guzerat.In this miserable plight he was met by Bernier,whom the prince, who had known him at Delhi,and had now no medical attendant, compelled to followin his train. In the East misfortune is singularlyefficacious in thinning the ranks of a prince’sretinue. Dara was now accompanied by little morethan two thousand men, and this number, moreover,was daily diminished by the peasantry of the country,a wild and savage race, who hung upon his rear,pillaging and murdering all those who lagged for amoment behind the body of the army. It was nowthe midst of summer; the heat was tremendous;and the fugitives, without baggage or tents, had tomake their way over the naked sandy plains of Ajmere,by day exposed to the intolerable rays of thesun, and by night to the dews and chilling blastswhich sometimes issue from the northern mountains.However, the prince and his followers pushed onrapidly, and now began to entertain some hopes ofsafety, having approached to within one day’s journeyof Ahmedabad, the governor of which had beenpromoted to the post by Dara himself. But theemissaries and the gold of Aurungzebe had alreadydone their work at Ahmedabad. The treacherousgovernor, on hearing of the near approach of theprince, wrote to prohibit his drawing nearer the city,informing him that if he persisted he would find the210gates shut, and the people in arms against him. Onthe evening before this news was brought to him,Dara had taken refuge with his harem in a caravansary,into which, in spite of the natural aversion ofall orientals to introduce strangers among the womenof their anderûn, he kindly invited Bernier, apprehendinglest the sanguinary peasantry should beatout his brains in the darkness. Here it was melancholyto see the shifts to which this unfortunateprince was driven to have recourse for the preserving,even in this last extremity, of the dignity of hisharem; for, possessing neither tent nor any othereffectual covering, he caused a few slight screens tobe fixed up, in order to maintain some semblance ofseclusion, and these were kept steady by being tiedto the wheels of Bernier’s wagon.

Meanwhile, as the determination of the governorof Ahmedabad was not yet known, the most intenseanxiety prevailed among the fugitives. Every gustwhich moaned along the surrounding waste appearedto their half-slumbering senses to announce the approachof some messenger. The hours, which seemto flit away so rapidly when men are happy, now appearedso many ages. Time and the wheeling starsabove their heads seemed to stand still; and theirvery souls were sick with expectation. At length,as the red dawn began to appear in the east, a singlehorseman was discovered scouring across the plain.His tidings from Ahmedabad were such as have beenrelated above. Upon hearing this dreadful intelligence,the ladies of the harem, who had hithertoconsoled themselves with the hope of tasting a littlerepose in that city, which had become a kind of landof promise in their eyes, gave themselves up whollyto despair, and tears, sobs, and the most passionatelamentations burst unrestrainedly forth, and broughttears into the eyes of many not much used to weeping.Every thing was now thrown into the utmosttrouble and confusion. Each person looked at the211face of his neighbour, in the hope of discoveringsome ray of consolation, some sign of counsel, fore-thought,or magnanimity. But all was blank. Nota soul could advise any thing for the general safety,or knew how to avert the doom which impended overhimself. Presently, however, Dara, half-dead withgrief, came out to his people, and addressed himselfnow to one person, now to another, even to themeanest soldier. He perceived that terror had seizedupon every soul, and that they were all about toabandon him. What was to be his fate? Whithercould he fly? It was necessary to depart instantly.The condition of the army may be conjectured fromthat of our traveller. The wagon in which he travelledhad been drawn by three large Guzerat oxen,one of which had died on the previous day from fatigue,another was now dying, and the third waswholly unable to move. Nevertheless, the prince,who stood in need of his aid both for himself and forone of his wives, who had been wounded in the leg,found it absolutely impossible to procure eitherhorse, ox, or camel for his use, and was thereforecompelled to leave him behind. Bernier saw himdepart with tears in his eyes, accompanied at mostby four or five horsem*n, and two elephants said tobe loaded with silver and gold. He struck off towardsTettabakar, through pathless deserts of sand,where, for the most part, not a drop of water was tobe found; and though, as afterward appeared, he actuallysucceeded in reaching the point of destination,several of his followers, and, indeed, many of hisharem, died by the way of thirst or fatigue, or weremurdered by the banditti.

Bernier, being thus abandoned by the ill-fatedprince, in a country overrun with robbers, was at aloss what course to pursue. The circ*mstances ofthe moment, however, left him no time for deliberation;for no sooner had Dara and his train disappearedthan our traveller’s wagon was surrounded212by the banditti, who forthwith commenced the workof plunder. Fortunately, his servant and driver preservedtheir presence of mind, and, addressing themselvesto the marauders, began to inquire whetherthey would thus pillage the effects of a man who wasthe first physician in the world, and had already beendeprived of the most valuable part of his property bythe satellites of Dara. At the mention of the wordphysician these fierce banditti, who, like all barbarians,entertained a kind of innate reverence for thechildren of Esculapius, were rendered as mild asgazelles, and their hostile intentions were changedinto friendship. They now regarded this secondPæon as their guest, and, having detained him sevenor eight days, kindly furnished him with an ox todraw his wagon, and served him as guides and guardsuntil the towers of Ahmedabad appeared in sight.At this city he remained several days, when an emir,returning thence to Delhi, afforded him the protectionof his authority, and enabled him to perform thejourney with safety. The road over which theytravelled exhibited numerous traces of the calamitiesof the times, being strewed at intervals with thedead bodies of men, elephants, camels, horses, andoxen, the wrecks of the wretched army of Dara.

Aurungzebe, having outwitted and imprisoned hisfather, was now in possession of Delhi and the imperialthrone, and exerted all the force of his versatileand subtle genius to gain possession of the personsof his enemies. Dara, the principal of these,was soon afterward betrayed into his hands, andbrought to Delhi upon an elephant, bound hand andfoot, with an executioner behind him, who upon theleast movement was to cut off his head. Whenhe arrived at the gate of the city, Aurungzebe beganto deliberate whether it would be altogether safe,under present circ*mstances, to parade him in thisstyle through the streets, considering the affectionwhich the people had always borne him; but it was213at length determined to hazard the step, for the purposeof convincing those who admired him of hisutter fall, and of the consequent extinction of theirhopes. His rich garments, his jewelled turban, hismagnificent necklace of pearls, had been taken fromhim, and a dirty and miserable dress, such as wouldhave suited some poor groom, bestowed in theirstead; and thus habited, and mounted with his littleson upon a poor half-starved elephant, he was ledthrough the streets, lanes, and bazaars of the capital,that the people might behold the fortune of theirfavourite, and despair of his ever rising again. Expectingthat some strange revolution or horribleslaughter would inevitably ensue, Bernier had repairedon horseback, with a small party of friendsand two stout servants, to the grand bazaar, wherethe most prodigious crowds were assembled, inorder to witness whatever might take place; butalthough the multitude burst into tears at thesight, and overwhelmed the wretch who had betrayedhim, and was then on horseback by his side,with the most dire imprecations, not a sword wasdrawn, or a drop of blood spilt.

During the course of these public events Bernierbecame physician to Danekmand Khan, the favouriteof Aurungzebe. Upon this appointment, heseems to have been introduced at court, and presentedto the emperor; upon which occasion hekissed the hem of the imperial garment, and offered,for so custom ordered, eight rupees as a gift to therichest sovereign upon earth. He was now perfectlyat his ease, enjoying, besides a liberal salary,which seems to have answered all his wishes, thefriendship of the khan, a learned, inquisitive, andgenerous-minded man, who devoted those hourswhich others spent in debauchery to the discussionof philosophical questions, and conversations on themerits of Descartes and Gassendi. By the favourof this nobleman the entry to the palace was open214to him on all public occasions. He witnessed theaudience of foreign ambassadors, the pomp of theimperial banquets, and was admitted, under certaincirc*mstances, into the recesses of the harem.

Upon the termination of the civil wars, the Usbecksof Balkh and Samarcand, who, having formerlyoffered a grievous insult to Aurungzebe when heseemed little likely to ascend the imperial musnud,had now some reason to apprehend the effects ofhis resentment, despatched ambassadors to congratulatehim upon his accession to the throne, andto make him a tender of their services. Whenthese barbarians were admitted to an audience,Bernier, according to custom, was present. Beingadmitted into the imperial chamber, they made,while yet at a considerable distance from the throne,their salām to the emperor, after the Indian manner.This ceremony consisted in thrice placingthe hand upon the head, and as frequently loweringit to the earth; after which they advanced so nearthe throne that, had he chosen to do so, the emperormight have taken their letters from their ownhands; but this compliment he did not condescendto pay them, ordering one of his emirs to receiveand present them to him. Having perusedthese letters with a serious air, he caused each ofthe ambassadors to be presented with a robe ofbrocade, a turban, and a scarf or girdle of embroideredsilk. The presents were then brought forward.They consisted of several boxes of lapislazuli, a number of long-haired camels, severalmagnificent Tartarian horses, with many camel-loadsof fresh fruit, such as apples, pears, grapes,and melons, articles which their country usuallyfurnished for the Delhi market, and an equal quantityof dried fruits, as Bokham prunes, Kishmishapricots or grapes without stones, and two otherspecies of fine large grapes. Aurungzebe bestowedhigh commendations upon each article as it was presented,215praised the generosity of the khans, andhaving made some few inquiries respecting theacademy of Samarcand, dismissed the ambassadorswith the complimentary wish that he might seethem frequently.

These honest men, who were exceedingly pleasedat their reception, were nevertheless constrained towait four months at Delhi before they could obtaintheir dismissal; during which time they all fellsick, and many of them died, rather, according toBernier, from the bad quality of their food, andtheir contempt of cleanliness, than from the effectof the climate. Judging from this specimen, ourtraveller pronounced the Usbecks the most avariciousand sordid people upon earth; for, thoughfurnished by the emperor with the means of living,they preferred defrauding their stomachs and hazardingtheir lives, to the idea of parting with theirgold, and subsisted in a very wretched and meanstyle. When dismissed, however, they were treatedwith great distinction. The emperor and all hisemirs presented them with rich dresses and eightthousand rupees each; together with splendid robes,a large quantity of exquisitely flowered brocade,bales of fine muslin, and of silk striped with gold orsilver, and a number of carpets and two jewelledkhaudjars, or poniards, for their masters.

In the hope of learning something respectingtheir country, Bernier frequently visited them duringtheir stay, but found them so grossly ignorantthat they were unable to make any important additionsto his knowledge. They invited him to dinner,however, and thus afforded his curiosity aglance at their domestic manners. Among them astranger, as might be expected, was not overwhelmedwith ceremony, and so far they werepolite. The viands, which our traveller consideredextraordinary, consisted of excellent horse-flesh, avery good ragout, and an abundance of pilau, which216his robust hosts found so much to their taste, thatduring the repast they could not snatch a singlemoment to waste on conversation. Their guest,with infinite good taste, imitated their example,made a hearty dinner; and then, when the horse-flesh,pilau, and all had been devoured, they foundtheir tongue, and entertained him with panegyricsupon their own skill in archery, and the amazonianprowess and ferocity of their women. In illustrationof the latter, they related an anecdote which,as highly characteristic, may be worth repeating.When Aurungzebe formerly led an army against thekhan of Samarcand, a party of twenty or thirtyHindoo horsem*n attacked a small village, whichthey plundered, and were engaged in binding a numberof the inhabitants whom they intended to disposeof as slaves, when an old woman came up tothem and said, “My children, be not so cruel.My daughter, who is not greatly addicted to mercy,will be here presently. Retire, if you are wise.Should she meet with you, you are undone.” Thesoldiers, however, not only laughed at the oldwoman and her counsel, but seized and tied heralso. They had not proceeded above half a leaguewith their booty, when their aged prisoner, whonever ceased turning her eyes towards the village,uttered a scream of joy, for by the cloud of dustwhich she beheld rising on the plain she knew herdaughter was advancing to the rescue. On turninground, the soldiers beheld the amazon mounted ona fiery war-horse, with her bow and quiver by herside. She now raised her stentorian voice, andcommanded them as they valued their lives torelease their prisoners, and carry back whateverthey had taken to the village, in which case shewould spare them. But they regarded her menacesno more than they had those of her mother. Whenthree or four of the party, however, had felt thepoint of her arrows in their heart, and were stretched217upon the earth, they began to be a little morealarmed, and had recourse to their own bows.But all their arrows fell short of the mark, whileher powerful bow and arm sent every weaponhome, so that she quickly despatched the greaternumber of her enemies, and having dispersed andterrified the remainder, rushed upon them sabre inhand, and hewed them to pieces.

During the number of years which Bernier spentin Hindostan in a position peculiarly favourable toobservation, he possessed ample leisure for correctingand maturing his opinions. His views, therefore,are entitled to the highest respect, the moreespecially as no trait of gasconading is visible inhis character, and no touch of rhetorical flourishingin his style. His countrymen, in general, assumingParis as the standard of whatever is noble or beautifulin architecture, describe every thing whichdiffers from their type as inferior; but Bernier,whom philosophy had delivered from this paltrynationality, without depreciating the capital of hisown country, observes, that whatever might be itsbeauties, they would be but so many defects couldthe city be transported to the plains of Hindostan,the climate requiring other modes of building, anddifferent arrangements. Delhi was, in fact, a magnificentcity in his times. Whatever Asia couldfurnish of barbaric pomp or gorgeous show wasthere collected together, and disposed with as muchtaste as Mongol or Persian art could give birth to.Domes of vast circumference and fantastic swellcrowned the summits of the mosques, and toweredaloft above the other structures of the city; palaces,cool, airy, grotesque, with twisted pillars, balustradesof silver, and roofs of fretted gold; elephantsmoving their awkward and cumbrous bulk to andfro, disguised in glittering housings, and surmountedwith golden houdahs; and gardens, shaded and perfumedby all the most splendid trees and sweetest218flowers of Asia: such were the principal featuresof Delhi.

Our traveller did not at first relish the Mussulmanmusic, its loud ear-piercing tones being too powerfulfor his tympanum. By degrees, however, theirhautboys of a fathom and a half in length, and theircymbals of copper or iron not less than a fathom incircumference, which appeared to make the veryearth tremble with their tremendous clangour, becamefamiliar to his ear, and seemed delightfullymusical, particularly at night, when he lay awakein his lofty bedchamber, and heard their loud symphoniesfrom a distance. In a range of turretswithin the palace, before which this martial musicwas daily heard, was situated the harem, or seraglio,as it was termed by Europeans in those days. Thismysterious part of the palace Bernier traversed butdid not see, having been called in to prescribe for agreat lady of the court, but conducted by a eunuchblindfold, or with a cashmere shawl thrown over hishead and descending to his feet, through the variouschambers and passages. He learned, however, fromthe eunuchs, that the harem contained very nobleapartments, each of which was furnished with itsreservoir of running water, and opened upon gardens,with covered walks, dusky bowers, grottoes,streams, fountains, and immense caves, into whichthe ladies retired during the heat of the day. Thusthe inconveniences of the climate were never feltin this secluded paradise. The most delightful portionof this part of the palace, according to theeunuchs, was a small tower covered with plates ofgold, and glittering on the inside with azure, gold,mirrors, and the richest and most exquisite pictures.It overlooked the Jumna, and thence the ladiescould enjoy a fine prospect and the coolest air.

Though by no means liable to be dazzled bypompous exhibitions, Bernier could not refuse hisadmiration to the Great Mogul’s hall of audience,219and the splendour of the peaco*ck throne. In fact,the appearance of this hall upon one of the principalMohammedan festivals he considered one of the mostremarkable things which he saw during his travels.Upon entering the spacious and lofty saloon the firstobject which met the eye was the emperor himselfseated upon his throne, and attired in the most magnificentand gorgeous style of the East. His robewas composed of white satin with small flowers, relievedby a rich border of silk and gold; his turban,of stiff cloth of gold, was adorned with an aigrette,the stem of which was crusted with diamonds of prodigioussize and value, in the midst of which a largeoriental topaz of unparalleled beauty blazed like amimic sun; while a string of large pearls fell fromhis neck upon his bosom, like the beads of a devotee.The throne was supported upon six large feet ofmassive gold, set with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds.But its principal ornament were two peaco*cks,whose feathers were imitated by a crust ofpearls and jewels. The real value of this thronecould not be exactly ascertained, but it was estimatedat four azores, or forty millions of rupees.—Atthe foot of the throne stood all the numerousemirs or princes of the court, magnificently apparelled,with a canopy of brocade with golden fringeoverhead, and all round a balustrade of massive silver,to separate them from the crowd of ordinary mortals,who took their station without. The whole richesof the empire seemed collected there in one heap,for the purpose of dazzling and astonishing thecrowd. The pillars of the saloon were hung roundwith brocade with a gold ground, and the whole ofthe end near the throne was shaded with canopiesof flowered satin, attached with silken cords andnets of gold. Upon the floor immense silken carpets,of singular fineness and beauty, were spreadfor the feet of the courtiers. In short, wherever theeye could turn, the heart and secret thoughts of the220assembly not being visible, its glances alighted upona blaze of grandeur, above, around, below, until theaching sight would gladly have sought repose amongthe serener and more soothing beauties of externalnature.

In the several visits which Bernier made to Agra,the object which principally attracted his attentionwas the celebrated taj, or tomb, of Nourmahal, thefavourite wife of Shah Jehan, which he consideredfar more worthy than the pyramids to be enumeratedamong the wonders of the world. Leavingthe city and proceeding towards the east, througha long, broad street, running between lofty garden-wallsand fine new houses, he entered the imperialgardens. Here numerous structures, varying in theirforms, yet all possessing their peculiar beauties,courted observation; but the enormous dome of themausoleum, rising like the moon “inter minora sidera,”immediately absorbed all his attention. Tothe right and left dim covered walks and parterresof flowers yielded soft glimpses of shadow and abreeze of perfume as he moved along. At lengthhe arrived in front of the building. In the centrerose a vast dome, which, together with the tall,slender minarets on both sides of it, was supportedby a range of beautiful arches, partly closed up bya wall, and partly open. The façade of the structureconsisted entirely of marble, white like alabaster;and in the centre of the closed arches were tabletsof the same material, thickly inlaid with verses fromthe Koran, wrought in black marble. The interiorof the dome was bordered, like the exterior, withwhite marble, thickly inlaid with jasper, cornelian,and lapis lazuli, delicately disposed in the form offlowers and other beautiful objects. The pavementwas formed of alternate squares of black and whitemarble, disposed with singular art, and producingthe finest effect imaginable upon the eye.

In the month of December, 1663, Aurungzebe,221attended by his whole court, and an army of tenthousand foot and thirty-five thousand horse, undertooka journey into Cashmere, in the pleasures ofwhich, through the favour of Danekmend Khan,Bernier was allowed to partake. Keeping as longas possible near the banks of the Jumna, in orderto enjoy by the way the pleasures of the chase, andthe salubrious waters of the river, the army proceededtowards its place of destination by the way of Lahere.The style of travelling adopted by the Great Mogulwas perfectly unique. Two sets of tents numerousand spacious enough to contain the whole of theimperial retinue were provided, and of these one setwas sent forward, previous to the emperor’s settingout, to the spot marked out for the first halting-place.Here the ground was levelled by the pioneers, thetents pitched, and every convenience provided whichthe luxurious effeminacy of oriental courtiers, andmore particularly of the fretful and capricious inmatesof the harem, could require. When the emperorarrived at his camp, a fresh body of pioneersand labourers proceeded with the second set of tents,which they pitched and prepared in like manner;and thus a kind of city, with all its luxuries andconveniences, perpetually moved in advance of theprince, and became stationary whenever and whereverhe required it.

During the journey Aurungzebe generally travelledin a species of small turret or houdah, mountedon the back of an elephant. In fine weather thishoudah was open on all sides, that the inmate mightenjoy the cool breeze from whatever quarter of theheavens it might blow; but when storms or showerscame on, he closed his casem*nts, and reclined uponhis couch, defended from all the inclemencies of theweather as completely as in the apartments of hispalace. Ranchenara Begum, the sister of the emperor,and the other great ladies of the harem, travelledin the same kind of moving palace, mounted222upon camels or elephants, and presented a spectaclewhich Bernier delighted to contemplate. In generalthe blinds or casem*nts of these splendid little mansionsof gold, scarlet, and azure, were closed, topreserve the charms of those within from “Phœbus’amorous kisses,” or the profane gaze of the vulgar;but once, as the gorgeous cavalcade moved along,our traveller caught a glimpse of the interior ofRanchenara’s mikdembar, and beheld the princessreclined within, while a little female slave fannedaway the dust and flies from her face with a bunchof peaco*ck’s feathers. A train of fifty or sixty elephantssimilarly, though less splendidly, appointed,moving along with grave, solemn pace, surroundedby so vast a retinue as that which now accompaniedthe court, appeared in the eyes of our traveller topossess something truly royal in its aspect, andwith the beauteous goddesses which the fancy placedwithin, seem, in spite of his affected philosophicalindifference, to have delighted him in a very extraordinarymanner. True philosophy, however, wouldhave admired the show, while it condemned the extravagance,and despised the pride and effeminacywhich produced it.

In this manner the court proceeded through Lahoreand the plains of the Pundjâb towards Cashmere;but as their motions were slow, they were overtakenin those burning hollows which condensed and reflectedback the rays of the sun like a vast burning-glass,by the heats of summer, which are there littleless intense than on the shores of the Persian Gulf.No sooner had the sun appeared above the horizonthan the heat became insupportable. Not a cloudstained the firmament; not a breath of air stoodupon the earth. Every herb was scorched to cinders;and throughout the wide horizon nothing appearedbut an interminable plain of dust below, andabove a brazen or coppery sky, glowing like themouth of a furnace. The horses, languid and worn223out, could scarcely drag their limbs along; the veryHindoos themselves, who seem designed to revel insunshine, began to droop, and our traveller, who hadbraved the climate of Egypt and the Arabian deserts,writing from the camp, on the tenth day of theirmarch from Lahore, exclaims, “My whole face,hands, and feet are flayed, and my whole body iscovered with small red pustules which prick likeneedles. Yesterday, one of our horsem*n, whohappened to have no tent, was found dead at thefoot of a tree, which he had grasped in his last agonies.I doubt whether I shall be able to hold outtill night. All my hopes rest upon a little curdswhich I steep in water, and on a little sugar, withfour or five lemons. The very ink is dried up at thepoint of my pen, and the pen itself drops from myhand. Adieu.”

His frame, however, was much tougher than heimagined; and he continued to proceed with the rest,till having crossed the Chenâb, one of the five rivers,they ascended Mount Bember, and found themselvesin Cashmere, the Tempé of Hindostan. The traditionsof the Hindoos respecting the formation of thisbeautiful valley greatly resemble those which prevailedamong the Greeks about that of Thessaly, bothbeing said to have been originally a lake enclosedby lofty mountains, which having, been rent by theagency of earthquakes, or bored by human industry,suffered the waters to escape. Whatever was itsorigin, the Indian Tempé, though vaunted by lessrenowned poets, is no way inferior in fertility orbeauty to the Thessalian. Fields clothed witheternal green, and sprinkled thick with violets, roses,narcissuses, and other delicate or fragrant flowers,which here grow wild, meet the eye on all sides;while, to divide or diversify them, a number of smallstreams of crystal purity, and several lakes of variousdimensions, glide or sparkle in the foregroundof the landscape. On all sides round arise a range224of low green hills, dotted with trees, and affordinga delicious herbage to the gazelle and other graminivorousanimals; while the pinnacles of the Himalaya,pointed, jagged, and broken into a thousandfantastic forms, rear their snowy heads behind, andpierce beyond the clouds. From these unscaleableheights, amid which the imagination of the Hindoohas placed his heaven, ever bright and luminous, innumerablesmall rivulets descend to the valley; andafter rushing in slender cataracts over projectingrocks, and peopling the upland with noise and foam,submit to the direction of the husbandman, and spreadthemselves in artificial inundations over the fieldsand gardens below. These numerous mountain-torrents,which unite into one stream before theyissue from the valley, may be regarded as the sourcesof the Jylum or Hydaspes, one of the mightiest riversof Hindostan.

The beauty and fertility of Cashmere are equalledby the mildness and salubrity of the climate. Herethe southern slopes of the hills are clothed with thefruits and flowers of Hindostan; but pass the summit,and you find upon the opposite side the productionsof the temperate zone, and the features of aEuropean landscape. The fancy of Bernier, escapingfrom the curb of his philosophy, ran riot amongthese hills, which, with their cows, their goats, theirgazelles, and their innumerable bees, might, like thepromised land, be said to flow with milk and honey.

The inhabitants of this terrestrial paradise, whowere as beautiful as their climate, possessed the reputationof being superior in genius and industry tothe rest of the Hindoos. The arts and sciencesflourished among them; and their manufactures of palanquins,bedsteads, coffers, cabinets, spoons, and inlaidwork, were renowned throughout the East. Butthe fabric which tended most powerfully to diffusetheir reputation for ingenuity were their shawls,those soft and exquisite articles of dress which,225from that day to this, have enjoyed the patronage ofthe fair throughout the world. In the days of Bernierthese shawls were comparatively little knownin Europe; yet his account of them, though highlyaccurate as far as it goes, is brief and rather unsatisfactory.

During the three or four months which he spentin this beautiful country he made several excursionsto the surrounding mountains, where, amid thewildest and most majestic scenery, he beheld withwonder, he tells us, the natural succession of generationand decay. At the bottom of many precipitousabysses, where man’s foot had never descended,he saw hundreds of enormous trunks, hurled downby time, and heaped upon each other in decay; whileat their foot, or between their crumbling branches,young ones were shooting up and flourishing. Someof the trees were scorched and burnt, either blastedby the thunderbolt, or, according to the traditionsof the peasantry, set on fire in the heat of summerby rubbing against each other, when agitated byfierce burning winds.

The court, having visited Cashmere from motivesof pleasure, were determined to taste every speciesof it which the country could supply; the wild andsublime, which must be sought with toil and difficulty,as well as those more ordinary ones which laystrewed like flowers upon the earth. The emperoraccordingly, or at least his harem, ascended the lowerrange of hills, to enjoy the prospect of abyss andprecipice, impending woods, dusky and horrible, andstreams rushing forth from their dark wombs, andleaping with thundering and impetuous fury overcliffs of prodigious elevation. One of these smallcataracts appeared to Bernier the most perfect thingof the kind in the world; and Jehangheer, whopassed many years in Cashmere, had caused a neighbouringrock, from which it could be contemplatedto most advantage, to be levelled, in order to behold226it at his ease. Here a kind of theatre was raised byAurungzebe, for the accommodation of his court;and there they sat, viewing with wondering delightthis sublime work of Nature, surpassing in grandeur,and by the emotions to which it gave birth, allthe wonders of man’s hand. In this instance thestream was beheld at a considerable distance rollingalong its weight of waters down the slope of themountain, through a sombre channel overhung withtrees. Arriving at the edge of a rock, the wholestream projected itself forward, and curving round,like the neck of a war-horse, in its descent plungedinto the gulf below with deafening and incessantthunder.

An accident which occurred during these imperialexcursions threw a damp over their merriment. Inascending the Peer Punjal, the loftiest mountain ofthe southern chain, from whose summit the eyecommands an extensive prospect of Cashmere, oneof the foremost elephants was seized with terror,occasioned, according to the Hindoos, by the lengthand steepness of the acclivity. This beast was oneof those upon which the ladies of the harem weremounted; and fifteen others, employed in the sameservice, followed. The moment his courage failedhim he began to reel backwards; and striking againstthe animal which immediately succeeded, forcedhim also to retreat. Thus the shock, communicatedfrom the first to the second, and from the second tothe third, in an instant threw back the whole fifteen;and being upon the giddy edge of a precipice, no exertionof their drivers or of the bystanders couldcheck their fall; and down they rolled over the rocksinto the abyss, with the ladies upon their backs.This accident threw the whole army into consternation.A general halt took place. The most adventurousimmediately crept down the cliffs, andwere followed by the rest, to aid such as shouldhave escaped with life, and remove the bodies of the227dead. Here, to their great astonishment, they foundthat, by the mercy of Providence, only three or fourof the ladies had been killed; but the elephants,which, when they sink under their prodigious burdenseven on a smooth road, never rise again, hadall been mortally wounded by the fall, and could byno means be lifted from the spot. Even two daysafterward, however, when Bernier again visited theplace, he observed some of the poor animals movingtheir trunks.

On returning to Delhi from Cashmere, our travellerappears to have remained quiet for some time,pursuing his researches amid the mazes of the atomicalphilosophy; for he was a disciple of Democritus,and enjoying those “noctes cœnæque deorum”which seem to have constituted one of the principalpleasures of his friend Danekmend Khan. His influencewith this chief he exerted for the benefit ofothers no less than for his own. Numerous werethe individuals who owed to his interference or recommendationtheir admission into the service ofthe khan, or the speedy termination of their affairsat court, where Danekmend, who possessed theespecial favour of the emperor, could almost alwaysprocure an audience, or give success to a petition.These kind offices were uniformly repaid with abundantflattery, if not with gratitude; and the skilfulpractitioners invariably discharged a portion of thedebt beforehand. Putting on a grave face—a possessionof infinite value in the East—every personwho had need of his services assured him at theoutset of the affair that he was the Aristotalis, theBocrate, and the Abousina Ulzaman (that is, the Aristotle,the Hippocrates, and the Avicenna) of theage. It was in vain that he disavowed all claim tosuch immediate honours; they persisted in their assertions;argued down his modesty; and eternallyrenewing the charge, compelled him to acquiesce,and consent to allow all the glorious attributes of228those illustrious men to be centred in his own person.A Brahmin whom he recommended to the khan outdidthem all; for, upon his first introduction to hismaster, after having compared him to the greatestkings and conquerors that ever reigned, he concludedby gravely observing, “My lord, wheneveryou put your foot in the stirrup, and ride abroad accompaniedby your cavalry, the earth trembles beneathyour feet, the eight elephants which supportit not being able to endure so great an exertion!”Upon this, Bernier, who could no longer restrain hisdisposition to laugh, remarked to the khan, thatsince this was the case, it was advisable that heshould ride as seldom as possible on horseback, inorder to prevent those earthquakes, which might,perhaps, occasion much mischief. “You are perfectlyright,” replied Danekmend, with a smile,“and it is for that very reason that I generally goabroad in a palanquin!”

In the year 1666, while Bernier was still at Delhi,there happened an eclipse of the sun, which wasattended by so many curious circ*mstances that,should he have lived for ages, he declares it nevercould have been obliterated from his memory. Alittle before the obscuration commenced, he ascendedto the roof of his house, which, standing onthe margin of the Jumna, commanded a full view ofthe stream, and of the surrounding plain. Bothsides of the river for nearly a league were coveredwith Hindoos of both sexes, standing up tothe waist in the water, anxiously awaiting for thecommencement of the phenomenon, in order toplunge into the river and bathe their bodies at theauspicious moment. The children, both male andfemale, were as naked as at the moment of theirbirth—the women wore a single covering of muslin—themen a slight girdle, or cumme*rbund, aboutthe waist. The rajahs, nobles, and rich merchants,however, who, for the most part, had crossed the229river with their families, had fixed up certain screensin the water, which enabled them to bathe unseen.Presently the dusky body of the moon began to obscurea portion of the burning disk of the superiorplanet, and in a moment a tremendous shout arosefrom the multitude, who then plunged several timesinto the stream, muttering during the intervals anabundance of prayers, raising their eyes and theirhands towards the sun, sprinkling water in the air,bowing the head, and practising a thousand gesticulations.These ceremonies continued to the end ofthe eclipse, when, throwing pieces of money far intothe stream, putting on new garments, some leavingthe old ones, besides the gifts which in commonwith all others they bestowed, for the Brahmins,others retaining them, the whole multitude dispersed.

The Hindoos, however, were not singular in thesuperstitious feelings with which they regardedeclipses of the sun. Twelve years previous Bernierhad witnessed the effects which one of thesephenomena produced in his own country, where themadness exhibited itself in the guise of fear. Astrologers,possessing the confidence of the Fates,had predicted that the end of the world, that unfailingbugbear of the middle age, was now to takeplace, and the terrified rabble of all ranks, consciousof guilt, or oppressed by gloomy fanaticism, immediatelycrept, like rats, into their cellars, or darkclosets, as if God could not have beheld them there;or else rushed headlong to the churches, with a pietybegotten by apprehension. Others, who only anticipatedsome malignant and perilous influence,swallowed drugs, which were vaunted by their inventorsas sovereign remedies against the eclipsedisease! Thus it appears that the superstition ofthe Hindoos was the less despicable of the two.

During his long residence in India our travellertwice visited Bengal. Of his first journey into that230province the date is unknown, but his second visittook place in 1667, the year in which he finallyquitted the country. He seems, on this occasion, tohave approached the place by sea, for we first findhim coasting along the Sunderbund in a small nativebark, with seven rowers, in which he ascended byone of the western branches of the Ganges to thetown of Hoogly. The beauty of this immense delta,divided into innumerable islands by the various armsof the stream, and covered by a vegetation luxurianteven to rankness, delighted him exceedingly. Eventhen, however, many of these romantic isles hadbeen deserted, owing principally to the dread of thepirates who infested the coast; and as in India thespots which cultivation abandons quickly become theabode of pestilential miasmata, which thenceforwardforbid the residence of man, no one now venturedto disturb the tigers and their prey, which hadtaken possession of the soil. It was here that forthe third time in his life he enjoyed the sight of thatrare phenomenon, a lunar rainbow. He had causedhis boat to be fastened to the branch of a tree, asfar as possible from the shore, through dread of thetigers, and was himself keeping watch. The moon,then near its full, was shining serenely in the westernsky, when, turning his eyes towards the oppositequarter, he beheld a pale, bright arch, spanningthe earth, and looking like a phantom of the gloriousbow which, impregnated with the rich light of thesun, gladdens the eye with its brilliant colours byday. Next night the phenomenon was repeated;and on the fourth evening another spectacle, nowfamiliar to most readers by description, delightedour traveller and his boat’s crew. The woods onboth sides of the stream seemed suddenly to be illuminatedby a shower of fire, and glowed as if theyhad been clothed with leaves of moving flames.There was not a breath of wind stirring, and theheat was intense. This added to the effect of the231scene; for as the countless little fires streamedhither and thither in columns, or separated, and felllike drops of rain, or rose thick like the sparks of afurnace, the two Portuguese pilots whom our travellerhad taken on board, imagined they were so manydemons. To add to the effect of this exhibition offireflies, for, as the reader will have foreseen, it wasthey who were the actors, the swampy soil sent upa number of those earthly meteors which often glideover large morasses, some in the form of globes,which rose and fell slowly, like enormous rockets,while others assumed the shape of a tree of fire.

From Bengal our traveller proceeded along theCoromandel coast to Masulipatam, and having visitedthe kingdoms of Golconda and Bejapore, quittedHindostan, after a residence of twelve years, andreturned by way of Persia and Mesopotamia toEurope. The exact date of his arrival in France Ihave not been able to discover, but it must havebeen somewhere in the latter end of the year 1669,or in the beginning of 1670; for the first two volumesof his “History of the Revolutions of theMogul Empire,” which would require some time toprepare them for the press, were published in thecourse of that year. The third and fourth volumesappeared in 1671, and so great was the reputationthey acquired, that they obtained for our travellerthe surname of “The Mogul.” These works,which have frequently been reprinted under the titleof “The Travels of M. François Bernier, containingthe Description of the Mogul Empire, of Hindostan,of the Kingdom of Cashmere, &c.,” were immediatelytranslated into English, and appear to have beenthe means of introducing their author to the mostdistinguished individuals of his time. Among thosemost distinguished by his friendship were Ninon del’Enclos, Madame de la Sabliere, St. Evremont, andChapelle, whose Eloge he composed. To many ofthese his speculative opinions, which were any thing232but orthodox, may have rendered him agreeable; butto Ninon, his handsome person, easy manners, andfascinating conversation, which he knew how to enlivenwith a thousand interesting anecdotes, musthave proved by far his greatest recommendation.By St. Evremont he was called “the handsome philosopher;”and in a letter to Ninon, this same writerobserves, “Speaking of the mortification of thesenses one day, to M. Bernier, he replied, ‘I will tellyou a secret which I would not willingly reveal toMadame de la Sabliere or to Ninon, though it containsan important truth; it is this—the abstainingfrom pleasure is itself a crime.’ I was surprised,”adds St. Evremont, “by the novelty of the system.”Upon this M. Walkenaer shrewdly observes, thatthis system could have possessed but very littlenovelty for Mademoiselle de l’Enclos; and he mighthave added that the surprise of the writer of the lettermust either have been affected, or else betrayeda very slight acquaintance with the history of philosophy.The other works of Bernier, which havebeen suffered to sink into much greater neglect thanthey perhaps deserve, are,—1. “An Abridgment ofthe Philosophy of Gassendi:” in which, accordingto Buhl, the acute and learned historian of ModernPhilosophy, he not only exhibited the talents of anable and intelligent abbreviator, but, moreover, affordednumerous proofs of a capacity to philosophizefor himself. On several important points hediffered from his friend, with whom, previous to histravels, he had lived during many years on terms ofthe strictest intimacy, and who died shortly after hisdeparture from France. 2. “A Memoir upon theQuietism of India,” which appeared in the “Histoiredes Ouvrages des Savans,” for September, 1668. 3.“Extract of various Pieces sent as Presents to Madamede la Sabliere.” 4. “Eloge of Chapelle.” 5.“Decree of the Grand Council of Parnassus for theSupport of the Philosophy of Aristotle.” 6. “Illustration233of the Work of Father Valois, on the Philosophyof Descartes,” published by Boyle. 7. “ATreatise on Free Will.”

The travels of Bernier, which enjoy a vast reputationamong the learned, have never, perhaps, beenpopular, and can never become so, unless the variousletters and treatises of which the work is composedbe properly arranged, and the whole illustrated withcopious notes. As an acute observer of manners,however, he has seldom been surpassed. His historyof the revolutions of the Mogul empire entitleshim to a high rank among the historians of India;and his description of Cashmere, though brief, isperhaps the best which has hitherto been given ofthat beautiful country. In his private character heappears to have been generous, humane, and amiable,constant in his friendship, and capable, as maybe inferred from the singular affection entertained forhim by Gassendi and Danekmend Khan, of inspiringa lasting and powerful attachment. Still, his inclinationfor the dull, unimaginative, unspiritual philosophyof Epicurus bespeaks but little enthusiasmor poetical fervour of mind; and this feature in hisintellectual character may account for the inferiordegree of romance with which we contemplate hisadventures.

SIR JOHN CHARDIN.

Sir John Chardin was born at Paris on the 16thof November, 1643. He was the son of a rich Protestantjeweller, who, as soon as his education, whichappears to have been carefully conducted and liberal,was completed, intrusted him with the management234of a commercial speculation in the East, and thus atonce gratified and influenced the passion for visitingnew and remote regions which had already takenpossession of the mind of our traveller. LeavingParis at the age of twenty-two, he visited Hindostanand Persia, where he remained several years, andwas appointed merchant to the king. His manlybut shrewd character, united with extensive knowledgeand great suavity of manners, procured himnumerous friends at the court of Ispahan, someof whom filled important offices in the government,and were thus enabled to lay open to him the interiormovements of the great political machine which heafterward described with so much vigour and perspicuity.He accompanied the shah on his visits tovarious portions of his dominions, and in this waywas enabled to traverse with pleasure and advantagethe wilder and least accessible districts of Persia,such as Mazenderan, Ghilan, and the other provincesbordering on the Caspian Sea. Of this portion ofhis life, however, he did not judge it necessaryto give any detailed account; perhaps because hehad afterward occasion to visit the same scenes,when his mind was riper, his views more enlarged,and his powers of observation and description sharpenedand invigorated by experience and habit.

Returning to France in 1670, he remained fifteenmonths in the bosom of his family, and employedthis period of tranquillity and leisure in the compositionof his “History of the Coronation of SolymanIII., King of Persia;” a small work usually appendedto his account of his travels. The desire of fameand distinction, however, which in youthful and ardentminds is generally the ruling passion, urged himonce more to quit his native country, where, as hehimself observes, the religion in which he was educatedexcluded him from all hope of advancement orhonours, in order to revisit those regions of the Eastwhere his faith would be no bar to his ambition, and235where commerce was not thought to degrade eventhe majesty of kings.

Having collected together the jewels, gems, andcurious clocks and watches which he had been commissionedto purchase for the King of Persia, he repairedto Leghorn, where he embarked with his mercantilecompanion for Smyrna. Owing to the unskilfulnessof the mariners, the variableness of thewinds, and the badness of the weather, this shortvoyage was not performed in less than three months,during which the passengers endured all the privationand misery which such a voyage could inflict.From Smyrna he proceeded to Constantinople, where,through the aid of M. de Nointel, the ambassador ofFrance, he was initiated in all the mysteries of diplomacy,which he unveils in his travels with infiniteskill and naïveté for the amusem*nt of his readers.

In other respects his connexion with the Frenchambassador was rather prejudicial than useful tohim; for M. de Nointel having conducted himself inall his negotiations with the Turks in a puerile andfluctuating manner, passing by turns from extremehaughtiness to extreme cringing and servility, theanger of the Porte was roused, and directed againstthe whole French nation; and Chardin, when he becamedesirous of departing, was denied a passport.From this difficult and somewhat dangerous positionhe was delivered by the ingenuity of a Greek, whocontrived to procure him a passage to Azoph, on thePalus Mæotis, on board of a Turkish vessel thenabout to set sail with the new commandant and freshtroops which the Porte sent every year to that remotefortress. The Black Sea, which receives itsappellation from the gloomy clouds and tempestuouswinds which hover over and vex its waters in almostevery season of the year, was now to be traversed;and considering the unskilfulness and apathy ofTurkish sailors, who creep timidly along the shore,and have little knowledge of the use of the compass,236our traveller was not without his apprehensions.After a voyage of eight days, however, they arrivedat Caffa, in the Crimea, where, by the help of theGreek friend who had enabled him to laugh at thesultan’s beard and embark without a passport, heeluded the exorbitant demands of the custom-house,and transported his merchandise on board anothervessel bound for Mingrelia.

Setting sail from Caffa, where there was little tobe seen but stinking Tartars and caviare, they arrivedin twenty-four hours at Touzlah, or the SaltMarshes, a vast sweep of low shore, alternatelycovered by the waters of the sea, artificially introduced,and a white saline crust, looking like a sheetof snow from a distance. Here upwards of two hundredships are annually freighted with salt; and it wasfor the purpose of taking on board a cargo of thisuseful merchandise that the vessel in which Chardinand his companion were embarked now touched atthe place. On landing, the village was found to consistof about ten or twelve houses, with a smallmosque, and a considerable number of felt-coveredtents, which served for stables, kitchens, and dormitoriesfor the slaves. Salt was by no means theonly article of commerce obtained at this place.Every morning fires were observed lighted along theshore, as signals that the brigands of the countryhad laid violent hands upon a number of their fellow-creatures,and had them conveyed thither, chainedtogether like cattle, for sale. These fires being observed,boats were immediately sent on shore; andwhen they returned, crowds of women and children,half-naked, or covered with rags and filth, but resplendentwith beauty, were hoisted on board, wheretheir wretched apparel was exchanged for clean neatgarments, and where, perhaps, for the first time intheir lives they tasted bread. The men and boyswere chained two and two every night; the women,from whom no danger was apprehended, were permitted237the free use of their limbs. These Circassiansdid not fetch a great price. A Greek merchant,whose cabin was contiguous to that of Chardin,purchased for twelve crowns a woman of extraordinarybeauty, with an infant at the breast. Whatchiefly surprised our traveller in the circ*mstancesof this affair was, the coolness and serenity withwhich these honest people submitted to their fate.Had not the women, much against their will, beencompelled to occupy themselves with needlework,and the men with such little matters as they couldperform on board, they would have been perfectlyhappy. Idleness was their summum bonum; and thisthe most beautiful among the women knew theywere about to enjoy in the harems of Turkey.

On arriving at Isgaour, in Mingrelia, the placewhere the general market of the country is held,Chardin naturally expected to find human dwellings,with provisions, and such other necessaries as incivilized countries are everywhere attainable formoney. In this hope he went on shore, accompaniedby the Greek merchant, who had hitherto beenin a manner his guardian angel; but on entering theplace, they indeed found two long rows of huts formedof the branches of trees, where merchandise and provisionshad once been exposed for sale, but nowempty and deserted. In the vicinity of the placeneither house nor habitation appeared as far as theeye could reach. Two or three peasants, however,who flitted about like spectres among the desertedhuts, engaged to bring on the morrow a quantity ofthat species of grain called gom, which is bruised,boiled, and eaten instead of bread, together withwine and other provisions. There being no alternative,they were compelled to rely on the promisesof these men, as they were nearly in want of everynecessary of life; but their presents failing them, itbecame necessary to dissemble with his servants,who already began to murmur aloud and curse the238persons by whose advice he had taken the route ofthe Black Sea, relying for the future upon the bountyof Providence. The reason why the market of Isgaourwas thus deserted was, that the Abcas, aneighbouring people of savage character and barbarousmanners, having made an irruption into thecountry, were now ravaging it with fire and sword,while the peasantry and their lords were flying beforethem in dismay, or plunging for refuge into thedeepest recesses of their forests. Ten days aftertheir arrival these savages passed along the shorein search of plunder; and finding none in this celebratedmarket, set the huts on fire and reduced themto ashes.

In this dilemma, Chardin had much difficulty indetermining what course to take. He had immediatelyon landing applied for aid to the Catholic missionariesof Colchis, the chief of whom promised inreply to be with him by a certain day, but failed inhis engagement; and when after a second applicationhe repaired to the place of rendezvous, it wasless with the design of forwarding our traveller’sviews than of dissuading him from attempting thejourney at all. Perceiving, however, that his advicecould not be followed, he rendered the travellersevery service in his power with alacrity, but withoutin the least concealing the magnitude of the dangerthey were about to incur.

It was now the beginning of October, and Chardin,irritated at the numerous obstacles and hinderanceswhich had impeded his progress, was so extremelyimpatient to be in Persia that no dangers appeared tohim so terrible as delay. He had very soon cause torepent his impetuosity. The evils he had hithertoendured dwindled to nothing when compared withthose which now rushed upon him like a torrent, andthreatened to swallow up in a moment his wealth,his ambitious projects, and his life. Nevertheless,with that unshrinking courage which his total ignorance239of the future and the pressure of present evilsbestows upon man, he hastened to put his foot uponthe shores of Mingrelia; and embarking with all hismerchandise on board the felucca in which the monkhad arrived, set sail for Anarghia, where they nextday arrived. Here his followers made themselvesample amends for the scarcity they had endured atIsgaour; for poultry, wild pigeons, pork, goats’ flesh,wine, and other provisions were abundant and cheap.

After remaining nine days at Anarghia, they departedon the 14th, two hours before day, and havingsailed about six miles up the river, disembarkedtheir merchandise and provisions, with which theyloaded eight small vehicles, and proceeded on theirjourney by land. The report that a party of Europeanswere passing with incalculable riches throughthe country was soon spread; and as few rich travellersever traversed Mingrelia, this rumour immediatelyinflamed to the highest degree the cupidityof the hungry prince and his feudatories, who forthwithformed the design of appropriating these treasuresto themselves. They arrived, however, on theevening of the same day at Sipias, the residence ofthe missionaries, where they proposed to remain afew days in order to prepare themselves by a littlerepose for the fatigues which were to come, as wellas to deliberate with the monks respecting themeans of escaping from the rapacity of the rulersof Mingrelia.

Four days after his arrival, the princess, or queen,as she termed herself, of Mingrelia, came to Sipiasto visit our traveller, attracted by the rumours of hiswealth, as vultures are attracted by the scent of acarcass. Her majesty was followed by a train ofeight women and ten men, to all of whom a decentsuit of clothes and a tolerable beast to ride on wouldhave been a welcome present, for they were verybadly mounted and meanly clad. In order to wardoff, as far as possible, the dangerous reputation of240being rich, which is elsewhere so much coveted, ourtravellers endeavoured to pass for Capuchin friars,and pretended that the baggage with which theirvehicles were loaded consisted entirely of books.The princess believed neither of these stories. Beinginformed that Chardin understood Turkish andPersian, she tormented him, by means of a slavewho could speak the former language, with a thousandquestions, of which the greater number turnedupon the subject of love. After pushing these questionsbeyond the verge of decency, to the greatamusem*nt of her suite, who appeared to be moredelighted in proportion as her majesty became moreobscene, she suddenly turned to a still more embarrassingtopic—demanding to examine the effects ofour traveller, and the stores of the monks. Theyall now trembled for their property. Whatever sheshould have seen would have been lost. To allayher cupidity, therefore, and at least put off the evilday, the principal monk humbly informed her thatthe usual present should be sent on the morrow,accompanied by another from the travellers. Withthis assurance she appeared to be satisfied, and departed.

On the next day our traveller and two of themonks were invited to dine with the princess, andwere of course careful not to present themselvesbefore her empty-handed, it being a crime in theEast for an inferior to come into the presence of hissuperior without some gift, in token of dependenceand homage. Her highness of Mingrelia, who hadpainted her face and adorned her person to the bestof her ability, in order to appear to advantage in theeyes of the traveller, seemed to be highly gratifiedwith his present, which, though tasteful and elegant,was of small value, the better to maintain a show ofpoverty. Some ten or twelve ragged but merry-lookingwenches, and a crowd of half-naked ragamuffins,constituted the court of this princess, her241maids of honour having, as she assured the traveller,taken refuge in a neighbouring fortress on accountof the war! The better to enjoy the pleasure oftormenting M. Chardin, she caused him to sit nearher, and commenced her attack by observing, thatit was her will and pleasure that he should marryone of her friends, and settle in the country, whenshe promised to bestow on him houses, lands, slaves,and subjects. From all he had heard and seen ofthe women of Mingrelia, our traveller would havefelt less repugnance to marrying a vampire thanone of them, beautiful as they were; so that thebare possibility of the thing made him shudder. Hewas for the present delivered from the discussionof this painful topic by the appearance of dinner,during which the princess inflamed her naturallyardent temperament by copious libations of wine,which stifled whatever remains of shame mighthave lingered in her soul, and impelled her to exhibitall the importunity and effrontery of a courtesan.

The menaces of this princess, who gave themclearly to understand that she had determined uponvisiting the monastery, for the purpose of examiningtheir treasures, caused them to return dejected andmelancholy from the castle, the monks apprehendingnew extortions and vexations, and Chardin theloss of all he possessed. The remainder of the daywas passed in deliberating upon the present postureof affairs, and it was at length resolved, that as soonas it was night, pits should be dug, and the mostvaluable portion of their merchandise buried in theearth. Accordingly, the sun had no sooner set behindthe mountains, than they commenced operations,first digging a pit five feet deep in the apartmentsof one of the monks, where they buried alarge chest filled with watches and clocks set withjewels. When this had been done, and the earthsmoothed over, and made to appear as before, theyrepaired under cover of the darkness to the church,242where the principal monk advised our traveller toopen the grave of one of the brotherhood, who hadbeen interred there some six years before, and depositeamong his ashes a small casket filled with themost costly gems of the East, designed for the princessesand great ladies of Persia. A secret presentimentprevented Chardin from following thisadvice, who selected in preference an obscure cornerof the church, where accordingly a pit was sunk,and the casket carefully interred. Other costlyarticles, as a sabre and poniard set with jewels, wereconcealed in the roof of the monastery; and sucharticles of great value as were small and portableour travellers retained about their persons.

Many days had not elapsed before they were convincedthat their fears were not without foundation.It was now Sunday, and Chardin, in offering up hisprayers to God, according to custom, would notpresume, he says, to petition his Maker for freedom,so persuaded was he that slavery was to be his fate;he merely prayed for a mild master, and to be deliveredfrom a Mingrelian wife. While the classicalidea of Medea was haunting his imagination, anddisturbing his devotion, a person came running in,exclaiming that two neighbouring chiefs, with aband of followers, armed to the teeth, were knockingat the outer gate, and demanding admittance. Therebeing no alternative, they were allowed to enter,which they had no sooner done than they seizedand bound the travellers, commanded the monks toretire, and threatened to put to death the first personwho should make the least stir or resistance.The principal friar was terrified and fled; but therest stood firmly by their guests, particularly thelay-brother, whom not even a naked sword pointedat his throat could induce to abandon them. Whenthe bandits proceeded to bind their servants, one ofthe latter, who had a large knife in his hand, endeavouringto defend himself, was instantaneously243struck to the earth with a lance, bound hand andfoot, and fastened to a tree. This being done, theruffians informed the travellers that they wished toexamine their effects. Chardin replied that it waswithin their power; that they were but poor monks,whose whole wealth consisted in books, papers, anda few wretched garments, the whole of which, ifthey would abstain from violence, should be shownthem. Upon this he was unbound, and commandedto open the door of their apartment, where theirbooks, papers, and wardrobe were kept. Chardin’scompanion had sewn the most valuable of his jewelsin the collar of his coat; but our traveller himselfhad made two small packets of his, which weresealed, and put among his books, not daring to carrythem about him lest he should be assassinated,stripped, or sold for a slave. In order to gain a momentto withdraw these packets, he requested hiscompanion and the lay-brother to hold the chiefs inconversation, by pretending to negotiate with them,and offering them a small sum of money. Thestratagem succeeding for an instant, he darted upstairs,their apartment being on the first floor, enteredthe chamber, and locked the door. His designwas suspected, and the whole band of ruffians rushedup after him; but the door being somewhat difficultto be broken open, he had time to take out hispackets and conceal them in the roof of the house.His companion, however, who was in the roombelow, called out to him that he ought to be on hisguard, for that he was observed through the cracksin the floor. Upon hearing this, and seeing that thedoor was giving way, he became confused, andscarcely knowing what he did, took down the jewelsout of the roof, thrust them into his pocket, andopening the window of the apartment, jumped outinto the garden. Without noticing whether he waswatched or not, he threw the packets into a thicket,and then hastened back to the room, now filled with244robbers, some of whom were maltreating his companion,while others were battering his coffers withtheir spears or lances, in order to break them open.

He now plucked up his courage, imagining thatthe greater part of his wealth was out of their reach,and bid them take heed of what they did; that hewas the envoy of the King of Persia; and that thePrince of Georgia would take ample vengeance forwhatever violence might be offered to his person.He then showed them his passport from the king.One of the chiefs snatched it out of his hand, andwas about to tear it in pieces, saying that he neitherfeared nor regarded any man upon earth; but theother, awed by the royal seal and letters of gold,restrained him. They now said, that if he wouldopen his coffers and allow them to examine hiseffects, no violence should be offered him; but thatif he refused any longer, they would strike off hishead from his shoulders. He was still proceedingto contest the point, when one of the soldiers, impatientto proceed to business, drew his sword, andaimed a blow at his head, which would have cleft itin twain, had not the villain’s arm been instantaneouslyarrested by the lay-brother. Perceiving thekind of arguments they were disposed to employ,he unlocked his chests, which in the twinkling of aneye were rummaged to the bottom, while everything which appeared to possess any value wastaken away. Turning his eyes from this painfulscene towards the garden, he perceived two soldierssearching among the bushes in the very spot wherehe had thrown his jewels; and rushing towardsthem, followed by one of the monks, they retired.He then, without reflecting upon the extreme imprudenceof his conduct, began himself to searchabout for the packets, but not being able to discoverthem, he supposed the soldiers had found and carriedthem off. As their value was little less thanten thousand pounds, the loss fell upon him like a245thunderbolt. Nevertheless, there was no time forsorrowing. His companion and the lay-brotherwere loudly calling him from the house. He thereforetore himself away from the spot. In returningtowards the house, two soldiers fell upon him,dragged him up into a corner, and after clearing hispockets of all they contained, were about to bindhim and hurry him off; but after much resistanceand expostulation, they released him, and shortlyafterward the whole troop retired from the monastery.

The robber chiefs and their followers had nosooner departed, than Chardin again repaired to thegarden, and was sorrowfully prying about the thicketswhere he had concealed his jewels, when a mancast his arms about his neck, and threw him intomore violent terror than ever. He had no doubt itwas a Mingrelian, who was about to cut his throat.The next moment, however, he recognised the voiceof his faithful Armenian valet, who, in accents brokenby sobs, and with eyes overflowing with tears, exclaimed,“Ah, sir, we are ruined!” Chardin, stronglymoved by this proof of his affection, bade him restrainhis tears. “But, sir,” said he, “have yousearched the place carefully?”—“So carefully,” repliedthe traveller, “that I am convinced all furthersearch would be so much labour lost.” This did notsatisfy the Armenian. He wished to be informedexactly respecting the spot where the traveller hadthrown the jewels; the manner in which he hadcast them into the thicket; and the way in whichhe had sought for them. To oblige him, Chardindid what he desired, but was so thoroughly persuadedthat all further search was useless, that herefused to remain upon the spot, and went away,overwhelmed with grief and vexation. How longhe remained in this state of stupefaction he couldnot tell; he was roused from it, however, by thepresence of the Armenian, who, approaching him in246the dark, for it was now night, once more threwhimself about his neck, and thrust the two packetsof jewels into his bosom.

By the advice of the monks, Chardin next morningproceeded to the prince’s castle, to relate hisgriefs, and demand justice; but all he gained by thisexpedition was, the thorough conviction that hishighness was as arrant a thief as his subjects, andhad shared the fruits of the robbery, which wasapparently undertaken by his orders. This discovery,however, was important; it opened his eyesto the true character of the country; and taught himthat in Mingrelia, at least, the man who put his trustin princes was a fool. In the course of two days,to give the finishing stroke to their misfortune, theylearned that the Turks, irritated at the insolence andrapacity of its chief, had made an irruption into thecountry, were laying it waste with fire and swordon all sides, and had already approached to withina short distance of Sipias. At midnight, two cannon-shotsfrom the neighbouring fortress of Ruchsannounced the approach of the enemy, and the peasants,with their wives, children, and flocks, immediatelytook to flight, and before dawn the wholepopulation was in motion. Our traveller, whosecompanion, excited and irritated by the precedinguntoward events, was now ill, fled among the rest,leaving behind him his books, papers, and mathematicalinstruments, which he hoped the ignoranceof both Turks and Mingrelians would protect. Hisburied wealth he also left where it was, and, consideringthe complexion of events, regarded as muchsafer than what he carried with him.

The sight of this whole people, suddenly throwninto rapid flight, was sufficiently melancholy. Thewomen bore along their children in their arms, themen carried the baggage. Some drove along theircattle before them, while others yoked themselveslike oxen to the carts in which their furniture was247loaded, and being unable long to continue their extraordinaryexertions, sunk down exhausted anddying on the road. Here and there, along the wayside,groups of old people, or very young children,implored the aid of those whose strength had notyet failed, with the most heart-rending cries andgroans. At another moment the spectacle wouldhave caused the most painful emotions, but it wasnow beheld with the utmost indifference. The ideaof danger having swallowed up every other, theyhurried by these miserable deserted creatures withoutpity or commiseration.

The castle in which they now took refuge belongedto a chief who had been a double renegade, havingdeserted Christianity for Mohammedanism, and Mohammedanismfor Christianity; notwithstandingwhich, he was supposed to be a less atrocious brigandthan his neighbours. He received the fugitivespolitely, and assigned them for their lodgings anapartment where they were somewhat less exposedto the weather than in the woods, though the rainfound its way in on all sides. The castle, however,was already crowded with people, eight hundredpersons, of whom the majority were women andchildren, having taken refuge in it, and others stillmore destitute and miserable arriving every moment.

Next day one of the missionaries returned to themonastery, for the purpose of bringing away, if possible,such plate and provisions as had been left behind:but he found that place in possession of theTurks, who beat him severely, and carried awaywhatever was portable in the house. The nightfollowing, a Mingrelian chief, more barbarous anddestructive than the Turks, sacked the monastery athird time, and having no torches or flambeaux tolight him in his depredations, made a bonfire of ourtraveller’s books and papers, and reduced the wholeto ashes. The chief in whose castle they had taken248refuge, being summoned to surrender by the Turkishpasha, and perceiving the absurdity of pretending tomeasure his strength with that of the enemy, consentedto take the oath of allegiance to the Porte,and, what was equally important, to make a handsomepresent to its agent. This present was toconsist of three hundred crowns in money, andtwenty young slaves, which the wretch determinedto levy from the unfortunate creatures who hadthrown themselves upon his protection, confiding inthe sacred laws of hospitality. Among Mingrelians,however, there is nothing sacred. Every familypossessing four children was compelled to give upone of the number to be transported into Turkey as aslave; but it was found necessary to tear away thechildren from the arms of their mothers, who graspedthem convulsively, pressed them to their bosoms,and yielded only to irresistible violence. Insteadof twenty children, the chief forced away twenty-five,selling the additional number for his own profit;and instead of three hundred crowns, he extortedfive hundred. Providence, however, compelled himand his family to devour their share of grief. Thepasha peremptorily demanded one of his sons as ahostage, and as he and his wives beheld the youngestof their boys depart into endless captivity for thehostage, delivered up to the Porte never to return,they had an opportunity of tasting a sample of thebitterness they had administered to others. Chardin,who had neither wife nor children to lose, wastaxed at twenty crowns.

Perceiving that the state of the country vergedmore and more every day upon utter anarchy andconfusion, our traveller came to the resolution of departingat all hazards for Georgia, to demand itsprince’s aid in withdrawing his property from Mingrelia.His companion remained to watch over itin his absence. Not being able to procure eitherguards or guides from among the natives, for with249all their misery there is no people who fear death ordanger more than the Mingrelians, he was constrainedto set out with a single domestic, who, asfate would have it, was the most consummate scoundrelin his service. On the way to Anarghia, wherehe was once more to embark on the Black Sea, helearned that the church in which he had depositedhis wealth had been sacked and stripped to thebare walls, that the very graves had been opened,and every vestige of property removed. Here wasa new source of anguish. It was now a questionwhether he was a rich or a poor man. He pausedin his journey—sent off an express to his companion—theruins of the church were visited—and theirmoney found to be untouched. This circ*mstance,he informs us, marvellously exalted his courage, andhe proceeded with fresh vigour on his new enterprise.

Embarking in a felucca at Anarghia, in companywith several Turks and their slaves, he sailed alongthe south-eastern coast of the Black Sea, passed bythe mouth of the Phasis, the site of Sebaste, andmany other spots redolent of classical fame, and inthree days arrived at Gonia in the country of theLazii. Here the character of his valet began todevelop itself. Repairing as soon as they had landedto the custom-house, leaving his master to managefor himself, the vagabond imparted to the authoritieshis conjectures respecting the real condition of thetraveller, and thus at once awakened their vigilanceand cupidity. His effects were in consequencerigorously examined, and the dues exacted from him,which were heavy, perhaps extortionate, no doubtenabled the custom-house officers to reward thetreachery of his servant. When these matters hadbeen settled, the principal officer, who, after all, wasa man of humane disposition and tolerably justprinciples, made Chardin an offer of an apartmentin his house, where he invited, nay, even entreatedhim to pass the night; but having already suffered250from what he regarded as his rapacity, the travellerdreaded some new act of extortion, and obstinatelyrefused his hospitality. He very soon repented thisfalse step. It being nearly night, he proceeded, onquitting the custom-house, to the inn, or ratherhovel, whither his valet had directed his effects tobe conveyed after examination. Here he was sittingdown, fatigued and dejected, disgusted with dirt andstench, and listening to the condolences of his Turkishtravelling companions, when a janizary from thelieutenant of the commandant, the chief being absent,entered in search of his valet, with whom that importantpersonage was desirous of holding a conference.In another hour the presence of the travellerhimself was required; and when, in obedienceto authority, he repaired to the fort, he found boththe lieutenant and his own graceless servant drunk,and began to perceive that a plan for pillaging himhad been concerted. The lieutenant now informedhim, with as much gravity as the prodigious quantityof wine he had taken would permit, that allecclesiastics who passed through Gonia were accustomedto pay two hundred ducats to his superior;and that he, therefore, as a member of that profession,for Chardin had thought proper to pass for aCapuchin, must deposite that sum in his hands forthe commandant. It was in vain that the travellernow denied all claim to the clerical character, andacknowledged himself to be a merchant; merchantor priest, it was all the same to the lieutenant; whathe wanted was the two hundred ducats, which, aftermuch altercation, were reduced to one hundred; butthis M. Chardin was compelled to pay, or submit tothe punishment of the carcan, a species of portablestocks, through which the offender’s head is putinstead of his feet. The worst feature, however,of the whole affair was, that the drunken officer tookit into his head to cause the present thus extortedto appear to be a voluntary gift; and again having251recourse to menaces, which he was prepared to executeupon the spot, he forced the traveller to makeoath on the Gospel that he bestowed the moneyfreely, and would disclose the real nature of thetransaction to no one. This being done, he wasallowed to retire.

Next morning the custom-house officer, who, ininviting him to pass the night in his house, had intendedto protect him from this species of robbery,furnished him with a guide, and two men to carryhis luggage; and with this escort, in addition to hishopeful valet, he departed for Akalziké. The roadat first lay through a plain, but at length began toascend, and pierce the defiles of the Caucasus; and ashe climbed higher and higher among the precipitousand dizzy heights of this sublime mountain, amongwhose many peaks the ark is supposed to have firsttaken ground after the deluge, and from whence thestream of population flowed forth and overspread theworld with a flood of life, he felt the cares, solicitudes,and sorrows which for many months had fed, as itwere, upon his heart, take wing, and a healing andinvigorating influence spread an exquisite calm overhis sensations. This singular tranquillity, which heexperienced on first reaching these lofty regions, stillcontinued as he advanced, notwithstanding the rain,the hail, and the snow which were poured on him bythe tempest as he passed; and in such a frame ofmind he attained the opposite side of the mountain,upon whose folding slopes he beheld numerousvillages, castles, and churches, picturesquely scatteredabout, and at length descended into a broadand beautiful valley, cultivated with the greatestcare, and fertilized by the waters of the Kur.

Arriving without accident or adventure at Akalziké,and remaining there four days to repose himself, hedeparted for Georgia. The route now presentednothing extraordinary. A castle or a ruin, picturesquelyperched upon the crest of a rocky eminence,252a church, or a village, or a forest—such were the objectswhich met the eye. He at length reached theCapuchin convent in the vicinity of Gory, whence,after mature consultation with the monks, who, forstrangers, entered with extraordinary earnestnessinto his views, he set out, accompanied by a lay-brotherof the order, for Tiflis, partly with the designof demanding aid from the Prince of Georgia, andpartly to obtain the advice of the principal missionaryrespecting the steps he ought to take in order to deliverhis partner and property from the avaricioushands of the Mingrelians. The opinion of the monkswas, that since the Prince of Georgia entertainedrather loose notions respecting his allegiance to theKing of Persia, whose servant Chardin was to beconsidered, and, like all petty potentates, was possessedby extreme cupidity and laxity of principle,there would in all probability be as much danger inbeing aided by him, as in depending on the uncertainwill of fortune and his own prudence and ingenuity;that he ought to return secretly to Mingrelia; andthat, for the greater chance of success, he should takewith him one of the brotherhood, who was deeplyversed in the small politics of those countries; anda native dependent on the monastery, who had beena thousand times in Mingrelia.

With these able coadjutors he returned once moreinto the country of Media, whence, after incredibledifficulties and very considerable danger, he succeededin rescuing his property. On his return toTiflis he calculated, with the aid of his companion,the losses they had sustained during the journeyfrom Constantinople to Georgia, and found that, bygreat good fortune, it did not exceed one per cent.upon the merchandise they had succeeded in conveyingsafe and entire to that city. He now tastedof that delight which springs up in the mind afterdangers escaped and difficulties overcome; and commencedthe pleasing task of studying the manners253of a people among whom, however impure and depravedmight be their morals, a stranger had littleto fear. The beauty of the women, he found, wasso irresistible in Georgia, and their manners sograceful and bewitching, that it was impossible tobehold them without love; but the depravity of theirmorals, and the blackness and perfidy of their souls,exceeded, if possible, the perfection of their forms,and rendered them as odious to the mind as theywere pleasing to the eye.

After remaining a short time at Tiflis, and goingthrough the usual routine of giving and receivingpresents, &c., he departed for Armenia. Being nowaccompanied by a mehmandar, or guest-guard, heproceeded without obstacle or extortion; this officertaking upon himself the care of adjusting matterswith the custom-houses, and of providing horses,carriage, and provisions on the way. Though in solow a latitude, the whole face of the country wasstill covered with snow in March, and it was withmuch difficulty that they proceeded over the narrowpathways made by the few travellers who were compelledto traverse the country at such a season. Toguard against the reflection of the sun’s rays fromthe snow, which weakened the sight, and caused aburning heat in the face, our traveller wore a handkerchiefof green or black silk tied across the eyes,after the manner of the inhabitants, though thismerely diminished, but could not altogether preventthe evil. Whenever they met any travellers movingin a contrary direction, they had to dispute whoshould yield up the narrow path, upon which twohorses could not pass each other, and go out intothe soft snow, in which the animals instantly sunk upto their bellies; but in the end every one yielded thepreference to the mehmandar. Creeping along inthis manner through the cold, they arrived at Eryvanon the 7th of March.

Being now in a country where civilization had254made some progress, Chardin took lodgings in acaravansary, and was provided abundantly with thenecessaries of life by the bounty of the governor,who, no doubt, expected that his civilities would beremembered when he should come in the sequel tobargain for a portion of the traveller’s jewels. Inthe East it is an established rule that the nativesshall always take advantage of a stranger, sometimesby force, at other times by cunning, but invariablyin some way or another. In Mingrelia our travellerhad to guard against force and violence; here againstwheedling, deceit, flattery, double-dealing, hypocrisy,and meanness. In the former case, however, beingweak, it was necessary to evade or succumb; butin the present, since ingenuity was the weapon onboth sides, there were more chances of success,though it often appeared that plain honest goodsense is not always a match for practised cunning.In the intervals of business the time was passed inparties, dinners, and visits, which at least furnishedopportunities of studying the manners of the people.

Perceiving that the time of his departure wasdrawing nigh, the governor came to the point atwhich he had been steadily aiming all the while,under cover of his hospitality and caresses, whichwere put forward as so many stalking-horses, toenable him to bring down his game with greatercertainty. Sending for Chardin to the palace, heproceeded warily and stealthily to business, occasionallyshaking the dust of compliments and flatteryin the traveller’s eyes as he went along. He firstlamented the actual state of Persia, in which, reducedby bad government and the malignant inclemencyof the seasons to a state bordering upon famineand anarchy, there was of course little or no demandfor expensive articles of luxury; besides, even ifpublic affairs had been flourishing, and the royalresources abundant, the present king had no tastefor jewelry; and that, therefore, there was no hope255of disposing of costly precious stones at the courtof Ispahan. From this preliminary discourse, whichwas meant to diminish in the traveller’s eyes thevalue of his merchandise, though in reality the picturewas correct, the governor passed at once to thegenuine object of his oration, and made an offer topurchase a part of the jewels. His conduct on thisoccasion was a masterpiece of mercantile skill, andhe succeeded, by holding out the hope of more importantpurchases in the sequel, in getting everything he really intended to buy at a very cheap rate.When his object was gained, he closed the negotiationin the coolest manner in the world, by returningthe large quantity of jewels which he had caused tobe sent to his palace, as if he had intended to bargainfor them all; and the traveller now perceived thatthe wily Persian had made a dupe of him. As allmanifestations of discontent, however, would havebeen altogether useless, he affected to be extremelywell pleased at his bad luck, and retired to hiscaravansary, cursing all the way the talents andaptitude of the governor of Eryvan for business andcheating.

On the 8th of April he departed from the capitalof Armenia, and travelling for several days throughlevel and fertile plains, interspersed with churchesand villages, arrived at Nacchivan, a city formerlycelebrated, and of great antiquity, but now in ruins.From hence he proceeded, etymologizing and makingresearches as he moved along, towards Tabriz,where he arrived on the 17th. At this city, then thesecond in Persia in rank, riches, and population, hetook up his quarters at the Capuchin convent, wherehe was visited by several of the nobles of the place,on account of his jewelry, the fame of which flewbefore him on the road, and like a pioneer smoothedand laid level his passage into Persia. In proceedingsouthward from Tabriz he had to traverse theplains of Aderbijān, the ancient Media, which being256covered at this season of the year by tribes ofKoords, Saraneshins, and Turcomans, all strikingtheir tents, and putting themselves in motion fortheir summer emigration to the mountains, couldnot be crossed by a stranger without considerabledanger. He was therefore counselled to defer hisdeparture for a few days, when he would have theadvantage of travelling in the company of a Persiannobleman, whose presence would be a sufficient protection.He adopted this advice, and in less than aweek set out under the safeguard of his noble escort,and crossed those rich and beautiful plains, whichafford the best pasturage in the world, and where,accordingly, the ancient kings of Media kept theirprodigious studs, which sometimes consisted of fiftythousand horses. The ancients relate, that thehorses of Nysa, which must be sought for in theseplains, were all cream-coloured; but the noblemanwho accompanied Chardin had never read or heardof any part of Persia where horses of that colourwere produced.

In his journey through Media he saw on the sideof the road circles of huge stones, like those ofStonehenge, and the Dolmens of Normandy andBrittany, which, according to the traditions of thePersians, were placed there by the Kaous, or giants,who formerly held possession of those regions. Thesame superstitions, the same fables, the same wildbelief in the enormous strength and stature of pastgenerations, prevail, we see, throughout the world,because the desires, faculties, and passions of themind are everywhere the same.

It was now June, and instead of disputing withthose they met on the road the possession of a narrowsnow-track, they were compelled to travel bynight to avoid the scorching heat of the sun. Theyusually set out about two hours before sunset, andwhen day had entirely disappeared, the stars, whichin the clear blue atmosphere of Persia yield a strong257brilliant light, agreeably supplied its place, andenabled them to proceed from caravansary to caravansarywith facility. At every step historical associationscrowded upon the traveller’s mind. Thedust which was thrown up into a cloud by the hoofof his camel, and the stones over which he stumbledin the darkness, were the dust and the wrecks ofheroes and mighty cities, crumbled by time, andwhirled about by the breath of oblivion. Cyrus andAlexander, khalifs, khans, and sultans, had fought,conquered, or perished on those plains. Vast citieshad risen, flourished, and vanished like a dream. Afew days before his arrival at Kom he passed at alittle distance the ruins of Rhe, a city scarcely lessvast in its dimensions, or less magnificent or populousthan Babylon, but now deserted, and becomeso unhealthy in consequence, that, according to aPersian poet, the very angel of death retired fromit on account of the badness of the air.

On his arrival at Koms, after escaping from thestorms of the Black Sea and the Mingrelians, Chardinwas nearly killed by the kick of a horse. Heescaped, however, and set out two days afterwardfor Kashan, traversing fine fertile plains, coveredwith villages. In this city, celebrated for its burningclimate and scorpions, he merely remained one dayto allow his horses a little repose, and then departedand pushed on to Ispahan, where he arrived on the23d of June.

Chardin was faithful to the Capuchin friars; forwhenever he passed through or visited a city inwhich they possessed a convent, it was the firstplace to which he repaired, and the last he quitted.On the present occasion he took up his residence,as usual, with these monks, at whose convent hefound on his arrival a bag of letters addressed to himfrom various parts of the world: before he couldread the half of which, many of his Persian andArmenian friends, whom he had known during his258former residence, and all the Europeans of the city,came to welcome him on his return to Ispahan.From these he learned that the court, which hadundergone innumerable changes during his absence,the greater number of those great men who had distinguishedthemselves, or held any offices of trust underthe late king, being either dead or in disgrace, wasnow in the utmost confusion, the persons who exercisedmost influence in it being a set of young noblemenwithout virtue, talents, or experience. Andwhat was still worse for Chardin, though not forPersia, it was secretly whispered about that SheïkhAli Khan, formerly prime minister, but now in disgrace,was about to be restored to favour; in whichcase our traveller anticipated great losses, as thisvirtuous and inflexible man, whose great talents hadalways been employed in the service of his country,was an enemy to all lavish expenditure, and regardedjewels and other costly toys as mere dross, unworthythe attention of a sovereign prince.

Chardin perceived, therefore, that he had not amoment to lose, it being of the highest importancethat his business with the king should be transactedbefore Sheïkh Ali Khan should again be prime vizier;but by whom he was to be introduced at court wasthe question. The persons to whom he applied inthe first instance, at the same time that they willinglyconsented to use their best efforts in hisfavour, and counselled him not to despair, yet gaveso sombre a picture of the state of the court, andthrew out so many insinuations, indicating theirbelief that the future would be still more unpropitiousthan the present, that they succeeded in castinga damp over his energies, and in dissipating or atleast blighting his hopes. Nevertheless, somethingwas to be done, and that quickly; and he determined,that whatever might be the result, he would at allevents not fail through inattention or indolence.

While Chardin was labouring to put those springs259in motion, the harmonious action of which was toproduce the fulfilment of his hopes, Sheïkh AliKhan suddenly entered into office. This event wasbrought about in a strange manner. The king, duringone of those violent fits of intoxication to whichhe was liable, and during which he acted more likea wild beast than a man, had commanded the righthand of a musician who was playing before him tobe struck off, and immediately fell asleep. Theperson to whom the barbarous order was given,imagining that all recollection of the matter wouldpass away with the fumes of sleep, ventured to disobey;but the king awaking, and finding the musician,whom he expected to find mutilated and bleeding,still touching the instrument, became so enraged,that he gave orders for inflicting the same punishmentupon the disobedient favourite and the musician;and finding that those around him still hesitatedto execute his brutal commands, his madnessrose to so ungovernable a pitch that he would probablyhave had the arms and legs of all the court cutoff, had not Sheïkh Ali Khan, who fortunately happenedto be present, thrown himself at his feet, andimplored him to pardon the offenders. The tyrant,now beginning to cool a little, replied, “You are abold man, to expect that I shall grant your request,while you constantly refuse to resume, at my mostearnest entreaties, the office of prime minister!”—“Sire,”replied Ali, “I am your slave, and will dowhatever your majesty shall command.” The kingwas pacified, the culprits pardoned, and next morningSheïkh Ali Khan reassumed the government ofPersia.

The event dreaded by our traveller had now arrived,and therefore the aspect of affairs waschanged. Nevertheless, not many days after thisevent, he received an intimation from one of hiscourt friends, that is, persons purchased over bypresents, that the nazir, or chief intendant of the260king’s household, having been informed of his arrival,was desirous of seeing him, and had warmlyexpressed his inclination to serve him with theshah. Chardin, who understood from what motivescourtiers usually perform services, laid but smallstress upon his promises, but still hastened to presenthimself at his levee, with a list of all the articlesof jewelry he had brought with him fromEurope, which the nazir immediately ordered to besent to him for the inspection of the king. A fewdays afterward he was introduced to the terriblegrand vizier, Sheïkh Ali Khan himself, who, fromthe mild and polished manner in which he receivedour traveller, appeared extremely different from theportraits which the courtiers and common famehad drawn of him.

His whole fortune being now at stake, and dependingin a great measure upon the disposition ofthe nazir and the conduct of the shah, Chardin wasunavoidably agitated by very painful and powerfulfeelings, when he was suddenly summoned to repairto the intendant’s palace, where the principal jewellersof the city, Mohammedan, Armenian, andHindoo, had been assembled to pronounce upon thereal value of the various articles he had offered tothe king. He had not long entered before thenazir ordered the whole of his jewels to be broughtforth, those which his majesty intended to purchasebeing set apart in a large golden bowl of Chineseworkmanship. Chardin, observing that notwithstandingthe whole had been purchased or madeby order of the late king, not a fourth part had beenselected by his present majesty, felt as if he hadbeen stricken by a thunderbolt, and became paleand rooted, as it were, to the spot. The nazir,though a selfish and rapacious man, was touched byhis appearance, and leaning his head towards him,observed, in a low voice, “You are vexed that theking should have selected so small a portion of your261jewels. I protest to you that I have taken morepains than I ought to induce him to purchase thewhole, or at least the half of them; but I have notbeen able to succeed, because the larger articles,such as the sabre, the poniard, and the mirror, arenot made in the fashion which prevails in this country.But keep up your spirits; you will still disposeof them, if it please God.” The traveller, whofelt doubly vexed that his chagrin had been perceived,made an effort to recover his composure,but could not so completely succeed but that theshadow, as it were, of his emotion still remainedupon his countenance.

However, pleased or displeased, it was necessaryto proceed to business. The shah’s principal jewellernow placed before him the golden bowl containingthe articles selected by his majesty, andbeginning with the smaller pieces, asked the priceof them in a whisper; and then caused them to beestimated by the other jewellers present, beginningwith the Mohammedans, and then passing on to theArmenians and Hindoos. The merchants of Persia,when conducting any bargain before company, nevermake use of any words in stating the price to eachother; they make themselves understood with theirfingers, their hands meeting under a corner of theirrobe, or a thick handkerchief, so that their movementsmay be concealed. To close the hand of theperson with whom business is thus transactedmeans a thousand; to take one finger of the openhand, a hundred; to bend the finger in the middle,fifty; and so on. This mode of bargaining is inuse throughout the East, and more particularly inIndia, where no other is employed.

The value of the jewels being thus estimated, theappraisers were dismissed, and the nazir, coming totreat tête-à-tête with Chardin, succeeded so completelyin throwing a mist over his imagination, bypretending to take a deep interest in his welfare,262that he drew him into a snare, and in the course ofthe negotiation, which lasted long, and was conductedwith infinite cunning on the part of thePersian, caused him to lose a large portion of thefruits of his courage and enterprise. Other negotiationswith various individuals followed, and inthe end Chardin succeeded in disposing of the wholeof his jewels.

These transactions closed with the year 1673.In the beginning of the following, which was passedin a devotional manner among the Protestants ofIspahan, the traveller began to feel his locomotivepropensities revive; and an ambassador from Balkh,then in the capital, happening to pay him a visit, sowrought upon his imagination by his description ofhis wild country, and gave him so many pressinginvitations to accompany him on his return, that,had it not been for the counter-persuasion of friends,Chardin would undoubtedly have extended his travelsto Tartary. This idea being relinquished, however,he departed for the shores of the Persian Gulf,a journey of some kind or other being necessary tokeep up the activity of both body and mind.

He accordingly departed from Ispahan in thebeginning of February, all the Europeans in the cityaccompanying him as far as Bagh Koolloo, wherethey ate a farewell dinner together. He then proceededon his journey, and in eleven days arrivedat the ruins of Persepolis, which he had twicebefore visited, in order once more to compare hisideas with the realities, and complete his descriptionof this celebrated spot. These magnificent ruinsare situated in one of the finest plains in the world;and as you enter this plain from the north throughnarrow gayas or between conical hills of vast heightand singular shape, you behold them standing infront of a lofty ridge of mountains, which sweepround in the form of a half-moon, flanking them onboth sides with its mighty horns. On two of these263lofty eminences which protected the approaches tothe city, and which, when Persepolis was in all itsglory, so long resisted the fierce, impatient attacksof Alexander, the ruins of ancient forts still subsistedwhen Chardin was there; but, after havingtravelled so far, principally for the purpose of examiningthe ruins scattered around, he found thehills too steep and lofty, and refused to ascendthem!

Having occupied several days in contemplatingthe enormous ruins of temples and palaces existingon the plain, our traveller descended into whatis called the Subterranean Temple; that is, a labyrinthof canals or passages, hewn out in the solidrock, turning, winding, and crossing each other in athousand places, and extending to an unknown distancebeneath the bases of the mountains. Theentrances and the exits of these dismal vaults areunknown; but travellers and other curious personsfind their way in through rents made by time or byearthquakes in the rock. Lighted candles, whichburned with difficulty in the heavy, humid air, wereplaced at the distance of every fifty yards, as Chardinand his companions advanced, particularly atthose points where numerous passages met, andwhere, should a wrong path be taken, they mighthave lost themselves for ever. Here and there theyobserved heaps of bones or horns of animals; thedamp trickled down the sides of the rocks; thebottom of the passages was moist and cold; respirationgrew more and more difficult every step;they became giddy; an unaccountable horror seizedupon their minds; the attendant first, and then thetraveller himself, experienced a kind of panic terror;and fearing that, should they much longer continueto advance, they might never be able to return, theyhastened back towards the fissures through whichthey had entered; and without having discoveredany thing but vaults which appeared to have no end,264they emerged into daylight, like Æneas and hiscompanion from the mouth of hell.

Departing from the ruins of Persepolis on the19th of February, he next day arrived at Shiraz,where he amused himself for three days in contemplatingthe waters of the Roknebad and the bowersof Mosellay. In proceeding from this city to Bander-Abassi,on the Persian Gulf, he had to pass overMount Jarron by the most difficult and dangerousroad in all Persia. At every step the travellersfound themselves suspended, as it were, over tremendousprecipices, divided from the abyss by a lowwall of loose stones, which every moment seemedready to roll of their own accord into the depthsbelow. The narrow road was blocked up at shortintervals by large fragments of rock, between whichit was necessary to squeeze themselves with muchpains and caution. However, they passed the mountainwithout accident, and on the 12th of Marcharrived at Bander-Abassi.

This celebrated port, from which insufferable heatand a pestilential atmosphere banish the wholepopulation during summer, is at all times excessivelyinsalubrious, all strangers who settle theredying in the course of a few years, and the inhabitantsthemselves being already old at thirty. Thefew persons who remain to keep guard over thecity during summer, at the risk of their lives, arerelieved every ten days; during which they suffersufficiently from the heat, the deluges of rain, andthe black and furious tempests which plough upthe waters of the gulf, and blow with irresistiblefury along the coast.

Though the eve of the season of death was drawingnear, Chardin found the inhabitants of Banderin a gay humour, feasting, drinking, and elevatingtheir sentiments and rejoicing their hearts with theheroic songs of Firdoosi. Into these amusem*ntsour traveller entered with all his heart—the time265flew by rapidly—the advent of fever and death wascome—and the ship which he expected from Surathad not yet arrived. Talents and experience arenot always accompanied by prudence. Chardinsaw the whole population deserting the city; yethe lingered, detained by the auri sacra fames, untilfar in the month of May, and until, in fact, the seedsof a malignant fever had been sown in his constitution.Those uneasy sensations which are generallythe forerunners of sickness and death, unitedwith the representations of the physicians, at lengthinduced him to quit the place, his attendants beingalready ill; but he had not proceeded many leaguesbefore a giddiness in the head and general debilityof body informed him that he had remained somewhattoo long at Bander.

Arriving on the 24th of May at Tangnedelan, aplace where there was not a single human being tobe found, he became delirious, and at last fell intoa fit from which his attendants had much difficultyin recovering him. There happened, by great goodfortune, to be a French surgeon in his suite. Thissurgeon, who was an able man in his profession, notonly took all possible care of our traveller duringhis moments of delirium, but, what was of infinitelygreater importance, had the good sense to hurryhis departure from those deserted and fatal regions,procuring from the neighbouring villages eight men,who carried him in a litter made with canes andbranches of trees to Lâr. As soon as they hadreached this city, Chardin sent for the governor’sphysician, who, understanding that he was theshah’s merchant, came to him immediately. Ourtraveller was by this time so weak that he couldscarcely describe his feelings; and, as well as theFrench surgeon, began to believe that his life wasnear its close. The Persian Esculapius, however,who discovered the nature of the disorder at aglance, assured him it was a mere trifle; that he266needed by no means be uneasy; and that, in fact,he would, with God’s blessing, restore him to healththat very day, nay, in a very few hours.

This dashing mode of dealing with disorders producedan excellent effect upon the traveller’s mind.The hakīm seemed to hold Death by the beard, tokeep him in his toils, to curb him, or let him havehis way at pleasure. Chardin’s whole frame trembledwith joy. He took the physician by the hand,squeezed it as well as his strength would permit, andlooked up in his face as he would have looked uponhis guardian-angel. The hakīm, to whom thesethings were no novelties, proceeded, without questionor remark, to prescribe for his patient; andhaving done this, he was about to retire, when thetraveller cried out, “Sir, I am consumed with heat!”—“Iknow that very well,” replied the hakīm; “butyou shall be cooled presently!” and with the wordboth he and his apothecary disappeared.

About nine o’clock the young apothecary returned,bringing with him a basketful of drugs, enough, toall appearance, to kill or cure a regiment of patients.“For whom,” inquired Chardin, “are all those medicines?”—“Foryou,” replied the young man; “theseare what the hakīm has ordered you to take thismorning, and you must swallow them as quickly aspossible.” Fevers make men docile. The travellerimmediately began to do as he was commanded; butwhen he came to one of the large bottles, his“gorge,” as Shakspeare phrases it, began to rise atit, and he observed that it would be impossible toswallow that at a draught. “Never mind,” said theyoung man, “you can take it at several draughts.”Obedience followed, and the basketful of physicdisappeared. “You will presently,” observed theapothecary, “experience the most furious thirst; andI would willingly give you ices to take, but there isneither ice nor snow in the city except at the governor’s.”As his thirst would not allow him to be267punctilious, Chardin at once applied to the governor;and succeeding in his enterprise, quenched his burningthirst with the most delicious drinks in theworld.

To render him as cool as possible his bed wasspread upon the floor in an open parlour, and so frequentlysprinkled with water that the room mightalmost be said to be flooded; but the fever still continuing,the bed was exchanged for a mat, uponwhich he was extended in his shirt, and fanned bytwo men. The disorder being still unsubdued, the patientwas placed upon a chair, where cold water waspoured over him in profusion, while the French surgeon,who was constantly by his side, and could notrestrain his indignation at seeing the ordinary rulesof his practice thus set at naught, exclaimed, “Theyare killing you, sir! Depend upon it, that it is bykilling you the hakīm means to remove your fever!”The traveller, however, maintained his confidencein the Persian, and had very soon the satisfaction ofbeing informed that the fever had already abated,and of perceiving that, instead of killing, the hakīmhad actually cured him. In one word, the disorderdeparted more rapidly than it had come on, and in afew days he was enabled to continue his journey.

Remaining quietly at Ispahan during the space ofa whole year after this unfortunate excursion, hethen departed from the capital for the court, whichstill lingered at Casbin, in company with MohammedHussein Beg, son of the governor of the island ofBahreint. This young man was conducting fromhis father to the king a present, consisting of twowild bulls, with long, black, sharp horns, an ostrich,and a number of rich Indian stuffs; and being by nomeans a strict Mussulman, drinking wine and eatingheartily of a good dinner, whether cooked by Mohammedanor Christian, was a very excellent travellingcompanion. On his arrival at Casbin, Chardin,who was now extremely well known to all the268grandees of the kingdom, was agreeably and hospitablyreceived by the courtiers, particularly by thewife of the grand pontiff, who was the king’s aunt.This lady, in order to manifest the friendship sheentertained for him, though in consequence of thepeculiar manners of the country their souls only hadmet, made him a present of eight chests of driedsweetmeats, scented with amber and the richest perfumesof the East. Her husband was no less distinguishedby his friendship for our traveller, who nowherein Persia experienced more genuine kindnessor generosity than from this noble family.

During this visit to Casbin, Chardin had the honour,as it is vulgarly termed, of presenting two ofhis countrymen to the shah; and so powerful is theforce of habit and prejudice, that this able, learned,and virtuous man really imagined it an honour toapproach and converse familiarly with an opium-eating,cruel, and unprincipled sot, merely becausehe wore a tiara and could sport with the destiniesof a great empire! The nazir, in introducing thetraveller, observed, “Sire, this is Chardin, your merchant.”To which the shah replied, with a smile,“He is a very dear merchant.”—“Your majesty isright,” added the nazir; “he is a politic man; hehas overreached the whole court.” This the ministeruttered with a smile; and he had a right to smile,says Chardin, for he took especial care that quite thecontrary should happen.

Chardin soon after this took his final leave of thecourt of Persia, and returned by way of Ispahan toBander-Abassi, whence he purposed sailing by anEnglish ship for Surat. The fear of falling into thehands of the Dutch, then at war with France, preventedhim, however, from putting his design intoexecution; and relinquishing the idea of again visitingHindostan, he returned to Europe in 1677. Ofthe latter part of his life few particulars are known.Prevented by religious considerations from residing269in his own country, where freedom of consciencewas not to be enjoyed, he selected England for hishome, where, in all probability, he became acquaintedwith many of the illustrious men who shed a gloryover that epoch of our history. It was in London,also, that he first met with the lady whom he immediatelyafterward made his wife. Like himself, shewas a native of France and a Protestant, forced intobanishment by the apprehension of religious persecution.On the very day of his marriage Chardinreceived the honour of knighthood from the hand ofthe gay and profligate Charles II.

Having now recovered from the fever of travelling,the beautiful Rouennaise in all probability aiding inthe cure, Chardin devoted his leisure to the compositionof his “Travels’ History,” of which the firstvolume appeared in London in 1686. While he wasemployed in preparing the remainder of his worksfor the press, he was appointed the king’s ministerplenipotentiary or ambassador to the States of Holland,being at the same time intrusted with the managementof the East India Company’s affairs in thatcountry. His public duties, however, which couldnot entirely occupy his mind, by no means prevented,though they considerably delayed, the publicationof the remainder of his travels; the whole of whichappeared, both in quarto and duodecimo, in 1711.Shortly after this he returned to England, where hedied in the neighbourhood of London, 1713, in thesixty-ninth year of his age.

The reputation of Chardin, which even before hisdeath extended throughout Europe and shed a lustreover his old age, is still on the increase, and mustbe as durable as literature and civilization; his meritnot consisting in splendour of description or in eruditeresearch, though in these he is by no meansdeficient, but in that singular sagacity which enabledhim to penetrate into the heart and characters ofmen, and to descend with almost unerring precision270to the roots of institutions and manners. No Europeanseems to have comprehended the Persians socompletely; and no one has hitherto described themso well. Religion, government, morals, manners,costume—every thing in which one nation can differfrom another—Chardin had studied in that bold andoriginal manner which characterizes the efforts ofgenius. His style, though careless, and sometimesquaint, is not destitute of that naïveté and ease whichresult from much experience and the consciousnessof intellectual power; and if occasionally it appearheavy and cumbrous in its march, it more frequentlyquickens its movements, and hurries along withnatural gracefulness and facility. Without appearingdesirous of introducing himself to the readerfurther than the necessities of the case require, heallows us to take so many glimpses of his characterand opinions, that by the time we arrive at the terminationof his travels we seem to be perfectly acquaintedwith both; and unless all these indicationsbe fallacious, so much talent, probity, and eleganceof manners has seldom been possessed by any traveller.Marco Polo was gifted with a more exaltedenthusiasm, and acquired a more extensive acquaintancewith the material phenomena of nature; Pietrodella Valle amuses the reader by wilder and moreromantic adventures; Bernier is more concise andsevere; Volney more rigidly philosophical; but forgood sense, acuteness of observation, suavity ofmanner, and scrupulous adherence to truth, notraveller, whether ancient or modern, is superior toChardin.

This distinguished traveller was born on the 16thof September, 1651, at Lemgow, a small town in theterritories of the Count de Lippe, in the circle ofWestphalia. His father, who was a clergyman, bestowedupon his son a liberal education suitable tothe medical profession, for which he was designed.It is probable, however, that the numerous removalsfrom one city to another which took place in thecourse of his education,—his studies, which commencedat Hameln, in the duchy of Brunswick,having been successively pursued at Lunebourg,Hamburgh, Lubeck, Dantzick, Thorn, Cracow, andKœnigsberg,—communicated to his character a portionof that restless activity and passion for vicissitudewhich marked his riper years. But thesechanges of scene by no means impaired his ardourfor study. Indeed, the idea of one day opening himselfa path to fame as a traveller appears, on thecontrary, to have imparted additional keenness tohis thirst for knowledge; his comprehensive andsagacious mind very early discovering in how manyways a knowledge of antiquity, of literature, andthe sciences might further the project he had formedof enlarging the boundaries of human experience.

Having during his stay at Kœnigsberg acquired acompetent knowledge of natural history and thetheory of medicine, he returned at the age of thirtyto his own country; whence, after a brief visit, heagain departed for Prussia and Sweden. Whereverhe went, the number and variety of his acquirements,the urbanity of his manners, and the romance and272enthusiasm of his character rendered him a welcomeguest, and procured him the favour of warm andpowerful friends. During his residence in this country,at the university of Upsal and at Stockholm, hebecame known to Rudbeck and Puffendorf, the fatherof the historian; and it was through the interest ofthe latter that, rejecting the many advantageousoffers which were made for the purpose of temptinghim to remain in Sweden, he obtained the office ofsecretary to the embassy then about to be sent intoPersia. The object of this mission was partly commercial,partly political; and as the Czar of Russiawas indirectly concerned in its contemplated arrangements,it was judged necessary that the ambassadorshould proceed to Ispahan by the way ofMoscow.

Our traveller departed from Stockholm March 20,1683, with the presents for the Shah of Persia, and,proceeding through Arland, Finland, and Ingermunland,joined Louis Fabricius at Narva. On their arrivalat Moscow, where their reception was magnificent,the ambassador so skilfully conducted hisnegotiations that in less than two months they wereenabled to pursue their journey. They accordinglydescended the Volga, and, embarking at Astrakan ina ship with two rudders, and two pilots who belongedto different nations, and could not understand eachother, traversed the Caspian Sea, where they encountereda violent tempest, and at length arrived atNisabad. Here they found the ambassadors of Polandand Russia, who had arrived a short time previously,and were likewise on their way to Ispahan,and in their company proceeded to Shamaki, thecapital of Shirwan.

In this city, which they reached about the middleof December, they remained a whole month, awaitingthe reply of the shah to the governor of Shirwan,who immediately upon their arrival had despatcheda courier to court for directions respecting the manner273in which, the several ambassadors were to betreated and escorted to Ispahan. This delay wasfortunate for Kæmpfer, as it enabled him to visit andexamine the most remarkable objects of curiosity inthe neighbourhood, more particularly the ancientcity of Baku, renowned for its eternal fire; thenaphtha springs of Okesra; the burning fountainsand mephitic wells; and the other wonders of thatextraordinary spot. Upon this excursion he set outfrom Shamakia on the 4th of January, 1684, accompaniedby another member of the legation, two Armenians,and an Abyssinian interpreter. Their road,during the first part of this day’s journey, lay over afine plain abounding in game; having passed which,they arrived about noon at the village of Pyru Resah.Here a storm, attended with a heavy fall of snow,preventing their continuing their journey any fartherthat day, they took possession of a kind of vaultedstable, which the inhabitants in their simplicity denominateda caravansary; and kindling a blazing firewith dried wormwood and other similar plants,which emitted a most pungent smoke, contrived tothaw their limbs and keep themselves warm untilthe morning.

Next morning they continued their route, at firstthrough a mountainous and desert country buried insnow, and afterward through a plain of milder temperature,but both equally uninhabited, no livingcreature making its appearance, excepting a numberof eagles perched upon the summits of the heights,and here and there a flock of antelopes browsingupon the plain. Lodging this night also in a caravansaryin the desert, and proceeding next daythrough similar scenes, they arrived in the afternoonat Baku. The aspect of this city, the narrownessof the gate, the strange ornaments of the walls, thepeculiarity of the site, the structure of the houses,the squalid countenances of the inhabitants, and thenovelty of every object which presented itself, inspired274our traveller with astonishment. It happeningto be market-day, the streets were crowded withpeople, who, being little accustomed to strangers,and having never before seen a negro, crowded obstreperouslyaround the travellers, and followedthem with hooting, shouting, and clamour to theirlodgings. An old man, who had officiously undertakento provide them with an apartment, conductedthem through the mob of his townsfolk, which wasevery moment becoming more dense, to a small mudhut, situated in a deserted part of the city, and fromits dismal and miserable appearance, rather resemblingthe den of a wild beast than a human dwelling.Having entered this new cave of Trophonius, andshut the door behind them, the travellers, as Kæmpferjocosely observes, began to offer up their thanksto the tutelary god of the place, for affording them anasylum from the insolence of the rabble. But theirtriumph was premature. The mob, whose curiositywas by no means to be satisfied with a passingglance, ascended the roof of the den in crowds, andbefore the travellers could spread out their carpetsand lie down, the crashing roof, the lattices broken,and the door, which they had fastened with a beam,violently battered, warned them that it was necessaryto escape before they should be overwhelmedby the ruins. It was now thought advisable thatthey should endeavour, by exhibiting themselvesand their Ethiopian interpreter, whom the Bakuaresunquestionably mistook for some near relation ofthe devil’s, to conciliate their persecutors, and purchasethe privilege of sleeping in peace. Theytherefore removed the beam, and issuing forth, Abyssinianand all, into the midst of the crowd, allowedthem time to gaze until they were tired. Presentlyafter this the governor of the city arrived; but, insteadof affording his protection to the strangers, asa man in his station should have done, he accusedthem of being spies, and having overwhelmed them275with menaces, which he seems to have uttered forthe purpose of enhancing his own dignity in the estimationof the multitude, departed, leaving them toenact the spies at their discretion.

Being now left in undisturbed possession of theirhut, and there still remaining some hours of daylight,they prevailed upon their host, by dint of asmall bribe, to show them the citadel, situated in theloftiest and most deserted part of the city. Returningfrom thence, they were met by the beadles ofthe town, who conducted them, with their beastsand baggage, to the public caravansary, though theirhost and guide had denied the existence of any suchbuilding; and while this ancient deceiver was hurriedoff before the magistrates, our travellers sat downto supper and some excellent wine. Next morningKæmpfer issued forth, disguised as a groom, to examinethe remainder of the city, while his companionsloaded their beasts, and, the keeper of the caravansarybeing absent, slipped out of the city, andwaited until he should join them at a little distanceupon the road. Having escaped from this inhospitableplace, they proceeded to examine the small peninsulaof Okesra, a tongue of land about threeleagues in length, and half a league in breadth,which projects itself into the Caspian to the southof Baku. This spot, like the Phlegræan fields, appearsto be but a thin crust of earth superimposedupon an internal gulf of liquid fire, which, escapinginto upper air through a thousand fissures, scorchesthe earth to dust in some places; in others, presentsto the eye a portion of its surface, boiling, eddying,noisome, dark, wrapped in infernal clouds, and murmuringlike the fabled waters of hell. Here andthere sharp, lofty cones of naked rocks, composed,like the summits of the Caucasus, of conchylaceouspetrifactions, shoot up from the level of the plain,and on the northern part of the peninsula are sometimesdivided by cultivated valleys. On the summit276of one of these eminences they perceived the ruinsof a castle, in former times the residence of a celebratedimam, who had taken refuge in these wildscenes from the persecution of the race of Omar.

Still proceeding towards the south they arrived, inabout an hour from these ruins, upon the margin ofa burning field, the surface of which was strewedwith a pale white sand, and heaps of ashes; while,from numerous gaping rents, rushing flames, blacksmoke, or bluish steam, strongly impregnated withthe scent of naphtha, burst up in a singularly strikingmanner. When the superincumbent sand was removed,whether upon the edge of the fissures, orin any other part of the field, a light rock, porous,and worm-eaten, as it were, like pumice-stone, wasdiscovered; which, as well as the substratum of thewhole peninsula, consisted of shelly petrifactions.Here they found about ten persons occupied in differentlabours about the fires; some being employedin attending to a number of copper or earthen vessels,placed over the least intense of the burningfissures, in which they were cooking dinner for theinhabitants of a neighbouring village; while otherswere piling stones brought from other places intoheaps, to be burnt into lime. Apart from these sattwo Parsees, the descendants of the ancient inhabitantsof Persia, beside a small wall of dry stoneswhich they had piled up, contemplating with holyawe and veneration the fiercely ascending flames,which they regard as an emblem of the eternal God.

One of the lime-burners now came up to the travellers,and said that for a small reward he wouldshow them a very extraordinary spectacle. Whenthey had given him some trifle, he plucked a fewthreads of cotton from his garment, and twistingthem upon the end of his rake, went and held themover one of the burning fissures, where they wereinstantly kindled. He then held the rake overanother rent, from which neither flame nor smoke277ascended, and in an instant the gaseous exhalation,previously invisible, was kindled, and shot up into atall, bright flame, like that of a vast gas lamp, which,after burning furiously for some time, to the unspeakableastonishment of the strangers, died awayand disappeared. Similar phenomena are observedin several parts of the Caucasus, particularly in thechasms of Mount Shubanai, about four days’ journeyfrom Okesra.

From this place they were conducted to the fountainsof white naphtha, where the substance oozedout of the earth as clear as crystal, but in smallquantities. Kæmpfer was surprised to find the wellsleft unprotected even by a wall; for if by any accidentthey were set on fire, as those near Ecbatanawere in ancient times, as we learn from Plutarch,they would continue to burn for ever with inextinguishableviolence. Having likewise visited thewells of black naphtha, where this pitchy oil bubbledup out of the earth with a noise like that of atorrent, and in such abundance that it supplied manycountries with lamp oil, our travellers repaired to aneighbouring village to pass the night. Here theyfared more sumptuously than at Baku; and havingsupped deliciously upon figs, grapes, apples, andpomegranates, their unscrupulous hosts, notwithstandingthat they were Mohammedans, unblushinglyoffered to provide them with wine and courtesans!Kæmpfer preferring to pass the evening inlearning such particulars as they could furnish respectingthe ancient and modern condition of theircountry, they merrily crowded about him, and eachin his turn imparted what he knew. When their informationwas exhausted, they formed themselvesinto a kind of wild chorus, alternately reciting rudepieces of poetry, and proceeding by degrees to singingand dancing, afforded their guests abundantamusem*nt by their strange attitudes and gestures.

Rising next morning with the dawn, they proceeded278to view what is termed by the inhabitantsthe naphtha hell. Ascending a small hemisphericalhill, they found its summit occupied by a diminutivelake, not exceeding fifty paces in circumference, thecrumbling, marshy margin of which could only betrodden with the utmost caution. The water, whichlay like a black sheet below, had a muriatic taste;and a strange hollow sound, arising out of the extremestdepths of the lake, continually smote uponthe ear, and increased the horror inspired by the aspectof the place. From time to time black globulesof naphtha came bubbling up to the surface of thewater, and were gradually impelled towards theshore, where, mixing with earthy particles, they incessantlyincreased the crust which on all sides encroachedupon the lake, and impended over its infernalgloom. At a short distance from this hillthere was a mountain which emitted a kind of blackooze impregnated with bitumen, which, being hardenedby the sun as it flowed down over the sides ofthe mountain, gave the whole mass the appearanceof a prodigious cone of pitch. In the northern portionof the peninsula they beheld another singularphenomenon, which was a hill, through the summit ofwhich, as through a vast tube, immense quantitiesof potter’s earth ascended, as if impelled upwardsby some machine, and having risen to a considerableheight, burst by its own weight, and rolled downthe naked side of the hill. In this little peninsulanature seems to have elaborated a thousand wonders,which, however, while they astonish, are usefulto mankind. It was with the produce of Okesrathat Milton lighted up his Pandæmonium:—

Returning to Shamakin, which Kæmpfer erroneously279supposes to be the Rhaya of the Bible, ourtraveller a few days afterward departed for Ispahan,where he remained nearly two years. Shah Solyman,the prince then reigning, whose character andcourt have been so admirably described by Chardin,was a man whose feeble constitution and feeblermind rendered him a slave to physicians and astrologers.He was now, by the counsel of his stargazers,a voluntary prisoner in his own palace, a malignantconstellation, as they affirmed, menacing himwith signal misfortunes should he venture abroad.On the 30th of July, however, the sinister influenceof the stars no longer preventing him, he held apublic levee with the utmost splendour and magnificence;upon which occasion, as Asiatic princes arepeculiarly desirous of appearing to advantage in theeyes of strangers, all the foreign ambassadors thenin the capital were admitted to an audience. Thoughthe representatives of several superior nations, asof France, Germany, and Russia, to say nothing ofthose of Poland, Siam, or of the pope, were present,the ambassador of Sweden obtained, I knownot wherefore, the precedence over them all. Probablyneither the shah nor his ministers understood thecomparative merits of the various nations of Europe,and regulated their conduct by the personalcharacter of the envoys; and it would seem thatLewis Fabricius possessed the secret of renderinghimself agreeable to the court of Persia.

Meanwhile Kæmpfer, who lost no opportunity ofpenetrating into the character and observing the mannersof a foreign people, employed his leisure incollecting materials for the various works which hemeditated. He bestowed particular attention uponthe ceremonies and observances of the court; thecharacter and actions of the shah; the form of government;the great officers of state; the revenueand forces; and the religion, customs, dress, food,and manners of the people. His principal inquiries,280however, both here and elsewhere, had medicine andnatural history for their object; and that his researcheswere neither barren nor frivolous is demonstratedby his “Amœnitates Exoticæ,” one ofthe most instructive and amusing books which haveever been written on the East.

Towards the conclusion of the year 1686, M. Fabricius,having successfully terminated his negotiationswith the Persian court, prepared to leave Ispahan;but Germany being still, says Kæmpfer,engaged in war with France and the Ottoman Porte,he preferred relinquishing his office of secretary tothe embassy, and pushing his fortunes in the remotercountries of the East, to the idea of beholding,and perhaps involving himself in the calamitiesof his native land, which, however he might deplore,he had no power to remedy or alleviate. He thereforetook his leave of the ambassador, who did himthe honour to accompany him with all his retinue amile out of Ispahan, and proceeded towards Gombroon,or Bander-Abassi, having, by the friendshipof Father du Mons, and the recommendations of M.Fabricius, obtained the office of chief surgeon tothe fleet of the Dutch East India Company, thencruising in the Persian Gulf. He long hesitated, hesays, whether he should select Egypt or the “FartherEast” for the field of his researches; and hadnot circ*mstances, which frequently stand in theplace of destiny, interposed, it is probable that thecharms of the Nile would have proved the morepowerful. To a man like Kæmpfer, the offer of becomingchief physician to a Georgian Prince, “withconsiderable appointments,” which was made himabout this time, could have held out but small temptation,as he must have been thoroughly acquainted,not only with the general poverty of both prince andpeople, but likewise with the utter insecurity of personand property in that wretched country.

It was during this journey that he visited the celebrated281ruins of Persepolis. He arrived in sight ofthe Forty Pillars on the 1st of December, 1686; andlooking towards this scene of ancient magnificence,where the choicest of the population of a vast empirehad once sported like butterflies in the sun, hiseye encountered about fifty black Turcoman tentsupon the plain, before the doors of which sat a numberof women engaged in weaving, while their husbandsand children were amusing themselves in thetents, or absent with the flocks and herds. Nothaving seen the simple apparatus which enables theHindoos to produce the finest fabrics in the world,whether in chintzes or muslins, Kæmpfer beheld withastonishment the comparatively excellent productionsof these rude looms, and the skill and industryof the Persepolitan Calypsos, whose fair fingers thusemulated the illustrious labours of the Homeric goddessesand queens. It was not within the power ofhis imagination, however, inflamed as it was by thegorgeous descriptions of Diodorus and other ancienthistorians, to bestow a moment upon any thing modernin the presence of those mysterious and prodigiousruins, sculptured with characters which nolonger speak to the eye, and exhibiting architecturaldetails which the ingenuity of these “degeneratedays” lacks the acumen to interpret. Here, if wemay conjecture from the solemn splendour of thelanguage in which he relates what he saw, his mindrevelled in those dreamy delights which are almostinevitably inspired by the sight of ancient monumentsrent, shattered, and half-obliterated by time.

Having gratified his antiquarian curiosity by theexamination of these memorials of Alexander’s passionfor Thaïs, who,—

he continued his journey to Shiraz, where beautiesof another kind, exquisite, to use his own language,beyond credibility, and marvellously varied, refreshed282the eye, and seemed to efface from the mind allrecollection of the fact that the earth contained suchthings as graves or ruins. The effervescence ofanimal spirits occasioned by the air and aspect ofscenes so delicious appeared for the moment tojustify the enthusiasm of the Persian poet, who,half-intoxicated with the perfume of the atmosphere,exclaims:—

But, with all its beauty, Shiraz contains nothingwhich raises so powerful an enthusiasm in the soulas two tombs,—the tomb of the bard who sung thebeauties of the Rocknabad, and of the moral authorof the “Rose Garden;” irresistible and lastingare the charms of poetry and eloquence! Our travellerhaving acquired at Ispahan sufficient knowledgeof the Persian language to enable him to relishHafiz, though he complains that he is difficult, aswell as the easier and more popular Saadi, whosesayings are in Persia “familiar to their mouths ashousehold words,” it was impossible that he shouldpass through the city where their honoured ashesrepose without paying a pious visit to the spot.Having contemplated these illustrious mausoleumswith that profound veneration which the memoryof genius inspires, he returned to his caravansaryhalf-persuaded, with the Persians, that they who donot study and treasure up in their souls the maximsof such divine poets can neither be virtuous norhappy.

From the poets of Shiraz he naturally turned toits roses and its wine; the former, in his opinion, themost fragrant upon earth; and the latter the mostbalmy and delicious. In his history and description283of this wine, one of the most agreeable articles in his“Amœnitates,” there is a kind of bacchic energy andenthusiasm, a rhapsodical affectation of sesquipedalianwords, which would seem to indicate that eventhe remembrance of this oriental nectar has thepower of elevating the animal spirits. But whateverwere the delights of Shiraz, it was necessary to bidthem adieu; and inwardly exclaiming with the calif,“How sweetly we live if a shadow would last!” heturned his back upon Mosellay and the Rocknabad,and pursued his route towards Gombroon.

Here, if he was pleased with contrasts, he couldnot fail to be highly gratified; for no two placesupon earth could be more unlike than Shiraz andGombroon. It was the pestilential air of this detestablecoast that had deprived Della Valle of his Maani,and reduced Chardin to the brink of the grave; andKæmpfer had not been there many months beforehe experienced in his turn the deadly effects ofbreathing so inflamed and insalubrious an atmosphere,from which, in the summer season, even thenatives are compelled to fly to the mountains.Though no doubt the causes had long been at work,the effect manifested itself suddenly in a malignantfever, in which he lay delirious for several days.When the violence of this disorder abated, it wassuccessively followed by a dropsy and a quartanague, through which dangerous and unusual steps, asDr. Scheuchzer observes, he recovered his health,though not his former strength and vigour. Admonishedby this rough visitation, he now had recourseto those means for the restoration of his strengthwhich a more rigid prudence would have taught himto put in practice for its preservation, and removedwith all possible expedition into the mountainousdistricts of Laristân.

On the 16th of June, 1686, at least six weeks afterevery other sane person had fled from the place,Kæmpfer set out from Gombroon, sitting in a pannier284suspended from the back of a camel, being too weakto ride on horseback, and attended by a servantmounted upon an ass, while another animal of thesame species carried his cooking apparatus and provisions.To shield himself from the burning windswhich swept with incredible fury along these parchedand naked plains, he stretched a small sheet over hishead, which, falling down on both sides of the pannier,served as a kind of tent. Thus covered, hecontrived to keep himself tolerably cool by continuallywetting the sheet on the inside; but beingclothed in an exceedingly thin garment, open in severalparts, he next day found that wherever the wetsheet had touched him the skin peeled off as if it hadbeen burned. Having procured the assistance of aguide, they deserted the ordinary road, and struckoff by a less circuitous, but more difficult track,through the mountains. The prospect for some timewas as dull and dreary as could be imagined; consistingof a succession of sandy deserts, here andthere interspersed with small salt ponds, the glitteringmineral crust of which showed like so manysheets of snow by the light of the stars.

At length, late on the night of the 20th, though thedarkness precluded the possibility of perceiving theform of surrounding objects, he discovered by thearoma of plants and flowers diffused through the airthat he was approaching a verdant and cultivatedspot; and continuing his journey another day over arocky plain, he arrived at the foot of the mountains.Here he found woody and well-watered valleys alternatingwith steep and craggy passes, which inspiredhim with terror as he gazed at their frowning andtremendous brows from below. By dint of perseverance,however, he at length reached the summitof Mount Bonna, or at least the highest inhabitedpart, though spiry rocks shooting up above thismountain plateau on every side intercepted all viewof the surrounding country. The chief of the mountain285village in which he intended to reside receivedhim hospitably, and on the very morning after hisarrival introduced him to the spot where he was toremain during his stay. This was a kind of gardenexposed to the north-east, and therefore cool andairy. Ponds of water, cascades, narrow ravines,overhanging rocks, and shady trees rendered it a delightfulretreat; but as the Persians as well as theTurks regard our habit of pacing backwards and forwardsas no better than madness, there were nowalks worthy of the name. When showers of rainor any other cause made him desire shelter, he betookhimself to a small edifice in the garden, wherehis only companion was a large serpent, which ensconceditself in a hole directly opposite to hiscouch, where it passed the night, but rolled out earlyin the morning to bask in the sun upon the rocks.Upon a sunny spot in the garden he daily observedtwo delicate little chameleons, which, he was persuaded,were delighted with his society; for atlength one or the other of them would follow himinto the house, either to enjoy the warmth of thefire, or to pick up such crumbs as might drop from histable during dinner. If observed, however, it wouldutter a sound like the gentle laugh of a child, andspring off to its home in the trees. He was shortlyafterward joined by another German invalid fromGombroon, whom he appears to have found preferableas a companion both to the serpent and the chameleon.

Having now no other object than to amuse himselfand recover his health, he indulged whateverfancy came uppermost; at one time examining theplants and trees of the mountain, and at another joininga party of mountaineers in hunting that singularspecies of antelope in the stomach of which thebezoar is found. The chase of this fleet and timidanimal required the hunters to be abroad before day,when they concealed themselves in some thicket or286cavern, or beneath the brows of overhanging rocks,near the springs to which it usually repaired withthe dawn to drink. They knew, from some peculiaritiesin the external appearance of the beasts, suchindividuals as certainly contained the bezoar in theirstomach from those which did not; and in all hisvarious excursions Kæmpfer requested his companionsto fire at the former only.

In these same mountains there was an extraordinarycavern concealed among rugged and nearly inaccessibleprecipices, from the sides of which thereconstantly exuded a precious balsam of a black colour,inodorous, and almost tasteless, but of singularefficacy in all disorders of the bowels. The samedistrict likewise contained several hot-baths, numeroustrees and plants, many of which were unknownin Europe, and a profusion of those fierce animals,such as leopards, bears, and hyenas, which constitutethe game of an Asiatic sportsman.

Remaining in these mountains until he consideredhis strength sufficiently restored, he returned toGombroon. During his residence in Persia, whichwas nearly of four years’ continuance, he collectedso large a quantity of new and curious information,that notwithstanding that most of the spots he describeshad been visited by former travellers, hiswhole track seems to run over an untrodden soil;so true is it that it is the mind of the traveller, farmore than the material scene, which furnishes theelements of interest and novelty. The history ofthis part of his travels, therefore, the results of whichare contained in his “Amœnitates,” seemed to deservebeing given at some length. To that curiousvolume I refer the reader for his ample and interestinghistory of the generation, growth, culture, anduses of the date-palm; his description of that remarkablebalsamic juice called muminahi by the Persians,and mumia, or munmy, by Kæmpfer, whichexudes from a rock in the district of Daraab, and was287annually collected with extraordinary pomp and ceremonyfor the sole use of the Persian king; and thecurious account which he has given of the asafœtidaplant, said to be produced only in Persia; the filariamedinensis, or worm which breeds between the intersticesof the muscles in various parts of the humanbody; and the real oriental dragon’s blood, which isobtained from a coniferous palm.

About the latter end of June, 1688, he sailed onboard the Dutch fleet from Gombroon, which havingorders to touch at Muscat and several other portsof Arabia, he enjoyed an opportunity of observingsomething of the climate and productions of thatcountry, from whose spicy shore, to borrow the languageof Milton, Sabæan odours are diffused by thenorth-east winds, when,—

Proceeding eastward through the Indian Ocean,they successively visited the north-western coastsof the Deccan, the kingdoms of Malabar, the islandof Ceylon, the Gulf of Bengal, and Sumatra; all whichcountries he viewed with the same curious eye, thesame spirit of industry and thirst of knowledge.

Upwards of a year was spent in this delightfulvoyage, the fleet not arriving at Batavia, its ultimatepoint of destination, until the month of September,1689. Kæmpfer regarded this chief seat of the Dutchpower in the East as a hackneyed topic, and neglectedto bestow any considerable research or painsupon its history or appearance, its trade, riches,power, or government; but the natural history ofthe country, a subject more within the scope of histaste and studies, as well as more superficiallytreated by others, commanded much of his attention.The curious and extensive garden of Cornelius VanOuthoorn, director-general of the Dutch East IndiaCompany, the garden of M. Moller, and the littleisland of Eidam, lying but a few leagues off Batavia,288afforded a number of rare and singular plants, indigenousand exotic, many of which he was the first toobserve and describe.

It was at that period the policy of the Dutch tosend an annual embassy to the court of Japan, theobject of which was to extend and give stability totheir commercial connexion with that country.Kæmpfer, who had now been eight months in Batavia,and appears during that period to have mademany powerful and useful friends, obtained the signalfavour of being appointed physician to the embassy;and one of the ships receiving orders to touch atSiam, the authorities, to enhance the obligation, permittedhim to perform the voyage in this vessel, thatan opportunity might be afforded him of beholdingthe curiosities of that country.

He sailed from Batavia on the 7th of May, 1690;and steering through the Thousand Islands, havingthe lofty mountains of Java and Sumatra in sightduring two days, arrived in thirteen days at PuliTimon, a small island on the eastern coast of Malacca.The natives, whom he denominates banditti,were a dark, sickly-looking race, who, owing to theirhabit of plucking out their beard, a custom likewiseprevalent in Sumatra and the Malay peninsula, hadall the appearance of ugly old women. Their dressconsisted of a coarse cumme*rbund, or girdle, and ahat manufactured from the leaves of the sago-palm.They understood nothing of the use of money; butwillingly exchanged their incomparable mangoes,figs, pineapples, and fowls for linen shirts, rice, oriron. On the 6th of June they arrived safely in themouth of the Meinam, and cast anchor before Siam,where our traveller’s passion for botany immediatelyled him into the woods in search of plants; but astigers and other wild beasts were here the naturallords of the soil, it was fortunate that his herborizingdid not cost him dearer than he intended.

In this country, which has recently been so ably289described by Mr. Crawfurd, the historian of theIndian Archipelago, Kæmpfer made but a short stay.In the capital, which formed the extreme limit ofhis knowledge, he observed a great number of templesand schools, adorned with pyramids and columnsof various forms, covered with gilding. Thoughsmaller than European churches in dimension, theywere, he thought, greatly superior in beauty, on accountof their numerous bending and projectingroofs, gilded architraves, porticoes, pillars, and otherornaments. In the interior, the great number ofgilded images of Buddha, seated in long rows uponraised terraces, whence they seemed to overlookthe worshippers, increased the picturesque characterof the building. Some of these statues were ofenormous size, exceeding not only that PhidianJupiter, represented in a sitting posture, which, hadit risen, must have lifted up the roof of the temple,but even those prodigious statues of Osymandyas,on the plains of Upper Egypt, which look like petrifactionsof Typhæus and Enceladus, the Titans whocast Pelion upon Ossa. One of these giganticimages, one hundred and twenty feet long, representsBuddha reclining in a meditative posture, and hasset the fashion in Siam for the attitude in whichwisdom may be most successfully wooed.

In sailing down the Meinam he was greatly amusedwith the extraordinary number of black and graymonkeys, which walked like pigmy armies alongthe shore, or perched themselves upon the tops ofthe loftiest trees, like crows. The glowworms, heobserves, afforded another curious spectacle; for,setting upon trees, like a fiery cloud, the wholeswarm would spread themselves over its branches,sometimes hiding their light all at once, and a momentafter shining forth again with the utmost regularityand exactness, as if they were in a perpetualsystole and diastole. The innumerable swarms ofmosquitoes which inhabited the same banks were290no less constant and active, though less agreeablecompanions, which, from the complaints of ourtraveller, appear to have taken a peculiar pleasurein stinging Dutchmen.

They left the mouth of the river on the 7th ofJuly, and on the 11th of August discovered themountains of Fokien in China. Continuing theircourse along the southern coast of this empire, theyobserved, about the twenty-seventh degree of northlatitude, a yellowish-green substance floating on thesurface of the sea, which appeared for two days.Exactly at the same time they were visited by anumber of strange black birds, which perched onseveral parts of the ship, and suffered themselves tobe taken by the hand. These visits, which weremade during a dead calm, and when the weatherwas insufferably hot, was succeeded by tremendousstorms, accompanied by thunder and lightning, anda darkness terrible as that of Egypt. The rain,which was now added to the other menaces of theheavens, and was hurled, mingled with brine andspray, over the howling waves, appeared to threatena second deluge; and both Kæmpfer and the crewseem to have anticipated becoming a prey to thesharks. However, though storm after storm beatupon them in their course, the “audax genus Japeti”boldly pursued their way, and on the 24th of Septembercast anchor in the harbour of Nangasaki, inJapan, which is enclosed with lofty mountains,islands, and rocks, and thus guarded by natureagainst the rage of the sea and the fury of thetempest.

The appearance of this harbour, which on thearrival of Kæmpfer was enlivened by a small fleetof pleasure-boats, was singularly picturesque. Inthe evening all the vessels and boats put up theirlights, which twinkled like so many stars, over thedark waves; and when the warm light of the morningappeared, the pleasure-boats, with their alternate291black and white sails, standing out of the port,and gilded by the bright sunshine, constituted anagreeable spectacle. The next sight was equallystriking. This consisted of a number of Japaneseofficers, with pencil and paper in hand, who came onboard for the purpose of reviewing the newly-arrivedforeigners, of whom, after narrowly scrutinizingevery individual, they made an exact list and descriptionof their persons, in the same manner as wedescribe thieves and suspicious characters in Europe.All their arms and ammunition, together with theirboat and skiff, were demanded and delivered up.Their prayer-books and European money they concealedin a cask, which was carefully stowed awayout of the reach of the Japanese.

Kæmpfer quitted the ship as soon as possible, andtook up his residence at Desima, a small island adjoiningNangasaki, or only separated from it by anartificial channel. Here he forthwith commencedthe study of the language, and the contrivance of themeans of acquiring from a people bound by a solemnoath to impart nothing to foreigners such informationrespecting the country, its institutions, religion,and manners as might satisfy the curiosity of therest of mankind respecting so singular a nation.The difficulties, he observes, with which he had tocontend were great, but not altogether insuperable;and might be overcome by proper management, notwithstandingall the precautions which the Japanesegovernment had taken to the contrary. The Japanese,a prudent and valiant nation, were not so easilyto be bound by an oath taken to such gods or spiritsas were not worshipped by many, and were unknownto most; or if they did comply, it was chiefly fromfear of the punishment which would inevitably overtakethem if betrayed. Besides, though proud andwarlike, they were as curious and polite a nation asany in the world, naturally inclined to commerceand familiarity with foreigners, and desirous to292excess of acquiring a knowledge of their histories,arts, and sciences. But the Dutch being merchants,a class of men which they ranked among the lowestof the human race, and viewed with jealousy andmistrust even for the very slavish and suspiciouscondition in which they were held, our travellercould discover no mode of insinuating himself intotheir friendship, and winning them over to his interest,but by evincing a readiness to comply with theirdesires, a liberality which subdued their avarice, andan humble and submissive manner which flatteredtheir vanity.

By these means, as he ingenuously confesses, hecontrived, like another Ulysses, to subdue the spellsof religion and government; and having gained thefriendship and good opinion of the interpreters andthe officers who commanded in Desima, to a degreenever before possessed by any European, the roadto the knowledge he desired lay open and level beforehim. It would, indeed, have been no easy task toresist the methods he put in practice for effecting hispurpose. He liberally imparted to them both medicineand medical advice, and whatever knowledgehe possessed in astronomy and mathematics; helikewise furnished them with a liberal supply ofEuropean spirituous liquors; and these, joined withthe force of captivating manners, were argumentsirresistible. He was therefore permitted by degreesto put whatever questions he pleased to them respectingtheir government, civil and ecclesiastical,the political and natural history of the country, themanners and customs of the natives, or any otherpoint upon which he required information; even inthose matters on which the most inviolable secrecywas enjoined by their oaths. The materials thuscollected, however, though highly important andserviceable, were far from being altogether satisfactory,or sufficient foundation whereon to erect ahistory of the country; which, therefore, he must293have left unattempted had not his good genius presentedhim with other still more ample means ofknowledge.

Upon his arrival in Desima young man of aboutfour-and-twenty, prudent, sagacious, indefatigable,thoroughly acquainted with the languages of Chinaand Japan, and ardently desirous of improving himselfin knowledge, was appointed to attend uponhim, in the double capacity of servant and pupil.This young man had the good fortune, while underthe direction of Kæmpfer, to cure the governor ofthe island of some complaint under which helaboured; for which important service he was permitted,apparently contrary to rule, to remain in theservice of our traveller during the whole of his stayin Japan, and even to accompany him on his twojourneys to the capital. In order to derive all possibleadvantage from the friendship of his pupil,Kæmpfer taught him Dutch, as well as anatomy andsurgery; and moreover allowed him a handsomesalary. The Japanese was not ungrateful. Hecollected with the utmost assiduity from everyaccessible source such information as his masterrequired; and there was not a book which Kæmpferdesired to consult that he did not contrive to procurefor him, and explain whenever his explanation wasnecessary.

About the middle of February, 1691, the customarypresents having been got ready, and the necessarypreparations made, the Dutch embassy set outfrom Nangasaki for the court of the emperor, withKæmpfer and his pupil in its train. Having gotfairly out of the city they proceeded on their journey,passing through the small village of Mangome,wholly inhabited by leather-tanners, who performthe office of public executioners in Japan; and inabout two hours passed a stone pillar marking theboundaries of the territory of Nangasaki. Hereand there upon the wayside they beheld the statue294of Zisos, the god of travellers, hewn out of the solidrock, with a lamp burning before it, and wreaths offlowers adorning its brows. At a little distance fromthe image of the god stood a basin full of water, inwhich such travellers performed their ablutions asdesigned to light the sacred lamps, or make any otheroffering in honour of the divinity.

Towards the afternoon of the first day’s journeythey arrived at the harbour of Omura, on the shoreof which they observed the smoke of a small volcano.Pearl oysters were found in this bay; andthe sands upon the coast had once been strewn withgold, but the encroachment of the sea had inundatedthis El Doradian beach. Next morning they passedwithin sight of a prodigious camphor-tree, not lessthan thirty-six feet in circumference, standing uponthe summit of a craggy and pointed hill; and soonafterward arrived at a village famous for its hot-baths.After passing through another village, theyreached a celebrated porcelain manufactory, wherethe clay used was of a fat-coloured white, requiringmuch kneading, washing, and cleansing, before itcould be employed in the formation of the finer andmore transparent vessels. The vast labour requiredin this manufacture gave rise to the old saying, thatporcelain was formed of human bones.

The country through which they now travelledwas agreeably diversified with hill and dale, cultivatedlike a garden, and sprinkled with beautifulfields of rice, enclosed by rows of the tea-shrub,planted at a short distance from the road. On thenext day they entered a plain country, watered bynumerous rivers, and laid out in rice-fields like theformer. In passing through this district they hadfor the first time an opportunity of observing theform and features of the women of the province ofFisen. Though already mothers, and attended bya numerous progeny, they were so diminutive instature that they appeared to be so many girls, while295the paint which covered their faces gave them theair of great babies or dolls. They were handsome,however, notwithstanding that, in their quality ofmarried women, they had plucked out the hair ofboth eyebrows; and their behaviour was agreeableand genteel. At Sanga, the capital of the province,he remarked the same outrageous passion for paintingthe face in all the sex, though they were naturallythe most beautiful women in Asia; and, as mightbe conjectured from the rosy colour of their lips,possessed a fine healthy complexion.

Upon quitting the province of Fisen, and enteringthat of Toussima, a mountainous and rugged country,they travelled in a rude species of palanquincalled a cango, being nothing more than a smallsquare basket, open on all sides, though covered attop, and carried upon a pole by two bearers. Inascending the mountain of Fiamitz they passedthrough a village, the inhabitants of which, theywere told, were all the descendants of one man,who was then living. Whether this was true or not,Kæmpfer found them so handsome and well formed,and at the same time so polished and humane intheir conversation and manners, that they seemed tobe a race of noblemen. The scenery in this districtresembled some of the woody and mountainousparts of Germany, consisting of a rapid successionof hills and valleys, covered with copses or woods;and though in some few places too barren to admit ofcultivation, yet, where fertile, so highly valued, thateven the tea-shrub was only allowed to occupy thespace usually allotted to enclosures.

On the 17th of February they reached the city ofKokura, in the province of Busen. Though considerablyfallen from its ancient opulence and splendour,Kokura was still a large city, fortified by towersand bastions, adorned with many curious gardensand public buildings, and inhabited by a numerouspopulation. Here they moved through two long296lines of people, who lined both sides of the way, andknelt in profound silence while they passed. Theythen embarked in barges; and, sailing across thenarrow strait which divides the island of Kiersufrom Nisson, landed at Simonoseki in the latterisland, the name of which signified the prop of thesun. Next day being Sunday, they remained at Simonoseki;and Kæmpfer strolled out to view thecity and its neighbourhood. He found it filled withshops of all kinds, among which were those of certainstonecutters, who, from a black and gray speciesof serpentine stone, dug from the quarries inthe vicinity, manufactured inkstands, plates, boxes,and several other articles, with great neatness andingenuity. He likewise visited a temple erected tothe manes of a young prince who had prematurelyperished. This he found hung, like their theatres,with black crape, while the pavement was partlycovered with carpets inwrought with silver. Thestatue of the royal youth stood upon an altar; andthe Japanese who accompanied our traveller bowedbefore it, while the attendant priest lit up a lamp,and pronounced a kind of funeral oration in honourof the illustrious dead. From the temple they wereconducted into the adjoining monastery, where theyfound the prior, a thin, grave-looking old man, clothedin a robe of black crape, who sat upon the floor;and making a small present to the establishment,they departed.

Next morning, February 19th, they embarked forOsaki, preferring the voyage by water to a toilsomejourney over a rude and mountainous region; and,after sailing through a sea thickly studded withsmall islands, the greater number of which werefertile and covered with population, arrived in fivedays at their point of destination. Osaki, one ofthe five imperial cities of Japan, was a place of considerableextent and great opulence. The streetswere broad, and in the centre of the principal ones297ran a canal, navigable for small unmasted vessels,which conveyed all kinds of merchandise to thedoors of the merchants; while upwards of a hundredbridges, many of which were extremely beautiful,spanned these canals, and communicated apicturesque and lively air to the whole city. Thesides of the river were lined with freestone, whichdescended in steps from the streets to the water,and enabled persons to land or embark whereverthey pleased. The bridges thrown over the mainstream were constructed with cedar, elegantly railedon both sides, and ornamented from space to spacewith little globes of brass. The population of thecity was immense; and, like those of most seaporttowns, remarkably addicted to luxury and voluptuousness.

From Osaki they proceeded through a plain country,planted with rice, and adorned with plantationsof Tsadanil trees, to Miako, the ancient capital ofJapan. It being the first day of the month, whichthe Japanese keep as a holyday, they met greatmultitudes of people walking out of the city, as theLondoners do on Sunday, to enjoy the sweets ofcessation from labour,

to visit the temples, and give themselves up to allkinds of rural diversions. Nothing could be moregrotesque than the appearance of these crowds.The women were richly dressed in various-colouredrobes, with a purple-coloured silk about their foreheads,and wearing large straw hats, to defend theirbeauty from the sun. Here and there among themultitude were small groups of beggars, somedressed in fantastic garbs, with strange masks upontheir faces, others walking upon high iron stilts,while a third party walked along bearing large potswith green trees upon their heads. The moremerry among them sung, whistled, played upon the298flute, or beat little bells which they carried in theirhands. In the streets were numbers of open shops,jugglers, and players, who were exercising theirskill and ingenuity for the amusem*nt of the crowd.The temples, which were erected on the slope ofthe neighbouring green hills, were illuminated withnumerous lamps, and the priests, no less merry oractive than their neighbours, employed themselvesin striking with iron hammers upon some bells orgongs, which sent forth a thundering sound over thecountry. Through this enlivening scene they pushedon to their inn, where they were ushered into apartments,which, being like all other apartments in theempire, destitute of chimneys, resembled thoseWestphalian smoking-rooms in which they smoketheir beef and hams.

Having visited the governor, and the lord chiefjustice of Miako, and delivered the customary presents,the embassy proceeded towards Jeddo. Short,however, as was their stay, Kæmpfer found leisurefor observing and describing the city, which wasextensive, well-built, and immensely populous. Beingthe chief mercantile and manufacturing townin the empire, almost every house was a shop, andevery man an artisan. Here, he observes, they refinedcopper, coined money, printed books, wovethe richest stuffs, flowered with gold and silver,manufactured musical instruments, the best-temperedsword-blades, pictures, jewels, toys, and everyspecies of dress and ornaments.

They departed from Miako in palanquins onthe 2d of March, and travelling through a picturesquecountry, dotted with groves, glittering withtemples and lakes, and admirably cultivated, arrivedin three days at the town of Mijah, where they sawa very curious edifice, called the “Temple of theThree Scimitars,” where three miraculous swords,once wielded by demigods, are honoured with akind of divine worship. On the 13th of March they299arrived, by a fine road running along the edge ofthe sea, at Jeddo, and entered the principal street,where they encountered as they rode along numeroustrains of princes and great lords, with ladiesmagnificently dressed, and carried in chairs or palanquins.This city, the largest and most populous inthe empire, stands at the bottom of a large bay orgulf, and is at least twenty miles in circumference.Though fortified by numerous ditches and ramparts,Jeddo is not surrounded by a wall. A noble river,which divides itself into numerous branches, intersectsit in various directions, and thus creates anumber of islands which are connected by magnificentbridges. From the principal of these bridges, whichis called Niponbas, or the Bridge of Japan, the greatroads leading to all parts of the empire radiate aslines from a common centre, and thence likewiseall roads and distances are measured. Thoughhouses are not kept ready built, as at Moscow, tobe removed at a moment’s notice in case of destructionby fire or any other accident, they aregenerally so slight, consisting entirely of wood andwainscotting, that they may be erected with extraordinarydespatch. Owing to the combustible materialsof those edifices, the very roofs consistingof mere wood-shavings, while all the floors are coveredwith mats, Jeddo is exceedingly liable to fires,which sometimes lay waste whole streets and quartersof the city. To check these conflagrations intheir beginnings every house has a small woodencistern of water on the house-top, with two mopsfor sprinkling the water; but these precautionsbeing frequently found inefficient, large companiesof firemen constantly patrol the streets, day andnight, in order, by pulling down some of the neighbouringhouses, to put a stop to the fires. Theimperial palace, five Japanese miles in circumference,consists of several castles united together bya wall, and surrounded by a deep ditch. The various300structures which compose this vast residence arebuilt with freestone, and from amid the wildernessof roofs a square white tower rises aloft, and, consistingof many stories, each of which has its leadedroof, ornamented at each corner with gilded dragons,communicates to the whole scene an air ofsingular grandeur and beauty. Behind the palace,which itself stands upon an acclivity, the groundcontinues to rise, and this whole slope is adorned,according to the taste of the country, with curiousand magnificent gardens, which are terminated bya pleasant wood on the top of a hill, planted withtwo different species of plane-trees, whose starryleaves, variegated with green, yellow, and red, areexceedingly beautiful.

When their arrival at Jeddo was notified to theimperial commissioners, to whom was intrusted theregulation of foreign affairs, they were commandedto be kept confined in their apartments, and strictlyguarded. This, in all probability, was to preventtheir discovering the tremendous accident whichhad lately occurred in the city, where forty streets,consisting of four thousand houses, had been burnedto the ground a few days before their arrival. Severalother fires, exceedingly destructive and terrific,and an earthquake which shook the whole city toits foundations, happened within a few days aftertheir arrival. On the 29th of March they were honouredwith an audience. Passing through the numerousgates and avenues to the palace betweenlines of soldiers, armed with scimitars, and clothedin black silk, they were conducted into an apartmentadjoining the hall of audience, where theywere commanded to await the emperor’s pleasure.As nothing could more forcibly paint the insolentpride of this barbarian despot, or the degradedposition which, for the sake of gain, the Dutchwere content to occupy in Japan, I shall describethis humiliating ceremony in the words of the301traveller himself. “Having waited upwards ofan hour,” says he, “and the emperor having in themean while seated himself in the hall of audience,Sino Comi (the governor of Nangasaki) and thetwo commissioners came in and conducted ourresident into the emperor’s presence, leaving usbehind. As soon as he came thither, they cried outaloud ‘Hollanda Captain!’ which was the signal forhim to draw near, and make his obeisance. Accordinglyhe crawled on his hands and knees to aplace shown him, between the presents ranged indue order on one side, and the place where theemperor sat, on the other, and then kneeling, hebowed his forehead quite down to the ground, andso crawled backwards, like a crab, without utteringone single word. So mean and short a thing isthe audience we have of this mighty monarch.”

After a second audience, to which they were invitedchiefly for the purpose of allowing the ladiesof the harem, who viewed them from behind screens,an opportunity of seeing what kind of animalsDutchmen were, and having despatched the publicbusiness, which was the sole object of the embassy,they returned to Nangasaki. During this secondvisit to Jeddo, in the following year, nothing veryremarkable occurred, except that they were invitedto dine in the palace, and thus afforded an opportunityof observing the etiquette of a Japanese feast.Each guest was placed at a small separate table,and the repast commenced with hot white cakes astough as glue, and two hollow loaves of large dimension,composed of flour and sugar, and sprinkledover with the seeds of the sesamum album. Thenfollowed a small quantity of pickled salmon; andthe magnificent entertainment was concluded witha few cups of tea, which Kæmpfer assures us waslittle better than warm water! When they haddevoured this sumptuous feast, they were conductedtowards the hall of audience, where, after having302been questioned respecting their names and age byseveral Buddhist priests and others, Kæmpfer wascommanded to sing a song, for the amusem*nt ofthe emperor and his ladies, who were all present,but concealed behind screens. He of course obeyed,and sung some verses which he had formerly writtenin praise of a lady for whom he says he hada very particular esteem. As he extolled the beautyof this paragon to the highest degree, preferring itbefore millions of money, the emperor, who appearsto have partly understood what he sung, inquiredthe exact meaning of those words; upon which,like a true courtier, our traveller replied that theysignified nothing but his sincere wishes that Heavenmight bestow “millions of portions of health, fortune,and prosperity upon the emperor, his family,and court.” The various members of the embassywere then commanded, as they had been on theformer audience, to throw off their cloaks, to walkabout the room, and to exhibit in pantomime inwhat manner they paid compliments, took leave oftheir parents, mistresses, or friends, quarrelled,scolded, and were reconciled again. Another repast,somewhat more ample than the preceding, followedthis farce, and their audience was concluded.

Having now remained in Asia ten years, two ofwhich were spent in Japan, the desire of revisitinghis native land was awakened in his mind, and quittingJapan in the month of November, 1692, hesailed for Batavia. Here, in February, 1693, heembarked for Europe. The voyage lasted a wholeyear, during which they were constantly out at sea,with the exception of a few weeks, which theyspent upon the solitudes of an African promontory,for so he denominates the Cape of Good Hope. Hearrived at Amsterdam in the October following;and now, after having, as M. Eriès observes, pushedhis researches almost beyond the limits of the oldworld, began to think of taking his doctor’s degree,303a measure which most physicians are careful to expeditebefore they commence their peregrinations.He was honoured with the desired title at Leyden,in April, 1694, and custom requiring an inauguraldiscourse, he selected for the purpose ten of themost singular of those dissertations which he afterwardpublished in his “Amœnitates.”

This affair, which is still, I believe, considered importantin Germany, being concluded, he returnedto his own country, where his reputation and agreeablemanners, together with the honour of being appointedphysician to his sovereign, the Count deLippe, overwhelmed him with so extreme a practicethat he could command no leisure for digesting andarranging the literary materials, the only riches, ashe observes, which he had amassed during his travels.However, busy as he was, he found opportunitiesof conciliating the favour of some fair Westphalian,who, he hoped, might deliver him from aportion of his cares. In this natural expectation hewas disappointed. The lady, far from concurringwith her lord in smoothing the rugged path of humanlife, was a second Xantippe, and, as one ofKæmpfer’s nephews relates, poured more fearfulstorms upon his head than those which he had enduredon the ocean. His marriage, in fact, was altogetherunfortunate; for his three children, whomight, perhaps, have made some amends for theirmother’s harshness, died in the cradle.

It was upwards of eighteen years after his returnthat he published the first fruits of his travels andresearches—the “Amœnitates Exoticæ;” which,however, immediately diffused his reputation overthe whole of Europe. But his health had alreadybegun to decline, and before he could prepare for thepress any further specimens of his capacity andlearning, death stepped in, and snatched him awayfrom the enjoyment of his fame and friends, on the2d of November, 1716, in the 66th year of his age.304He was interred in the cathedral church of St.Nicholas, at Lemgow; and Berthold Haeck, ministerof the town, pronounced a funeral sermon, or panegyric,over his grave, which was afterward printed.

Upon the death of Kæmpfer being made knownin England, Sir Hans Sloane, whose ardour for theimprovement of science is well known, commissionedthe German physician of George I., whohappened to be at that time proceeding to Hanover,to make inquiries respecting our traveller’s manuscripts,and to purchase them, if they were to bedisposed of. They were accordingly purchased, togetherwith all his drawings; and on their beingbrought to England, Dr. Scheuchzer, a man of considerableability, was employed to translate theprincipal work, the “History of Japan,” into English.From this version, which has since beenproved to have been executed with care and fidelity,it was translated into French by Desmaigeneux, andretranslated into German in an imperfect and slovenlymanner. However, after the lapse of manyyears, the original MS was faithfully copied, and thework, hitherto known to our traveller’s own countrymenchiefly through foreign translations, publishedin Germany. Many of Kæmpfer’s manuscripts stillremain unpublished in the British Museum.

Kæmpfer may very justly be ranked among themost distinguished of modern travellers. To themost extensive learning he united an enterprisingcharacter, singular rectitude of judgment, greatwarmth of fancy, and a style of remarkable purityand elegance. His “Amœnitates” and “History ofJapan” may, in fact, be reckoned among the mostvaluable and interesting works which have ever beenwritten on the manners, customs, or natural historyof the East.

Of the birth, education, and early life of this travellerlittle or nothing appears to be known with certainty.His friends, who were of genteel rank, sincehe calls Sir Charles Hodges, judge of the HighCourt of Admiralty, his uncle, seem to have residedin the neighbourhood of Richmond. Having completedhis studies, and taken the degree of master ofarts at Oxford, he was appointed chaplain to theEnglish factory at Aleppo, and departed fromEngland in the year 1695. Part of this journeywas performed by land; but whether it passed offsmoothly, or was diversified by incidents and adventures,we are left to conjecture, our traveller nothaving thought his movements of sufficient importanceto be known to posterity. It is simply recordedthat he passed through Germany, and madesome short stay at Frankfort, where he conversedwith the celebrated Job Ludolphus, who, learninghis design of residing in Syria, and visiting the HolyLand, communicated to him several questions, theclearing up of which upon the spot might, it washoped, tend to illustrate various passages in the Oldand New Testaments.

Shortly after his arrival at Aleppo, he undertook,in company with a considerable number of his flock,that journey to Jerusalem which, short and unimportantas it was, has added his name to the list ofcelebrated travellers; so pleasantly, ingenuously,and delightfully is it described. The history of theshort period of his life consumed in this excursionis all that remains to us; and this is just sufficient toexcite our regret that we can know no more; for,306from the moment of his introduction into our companyuntil he quits us to carry on his pious andnoiseless labours at Aleppo, diversified only byfriendly dinners and rural promenades or hunting,we view his character with unmingled satisfaction.He was a learned, cheerful, able, conscientious man,who viewed with a pleasure which he has notsought either to exaggerate or disguise the spotsrendered venerable by the footsteps or sufferings ofChrist, and of the prophets, martyrs, and apostles.

Maundrell and his companions departed fromAleppo on the 26th of February, 1696, and crossingthe plains of Kefteen, which are fruitful, well cultivated,and of immense extent, arriving in two daysat Shogr, a large but dirty town on the banks of theOrontes, where there was a splendid khan erectedby the celebrated Grand Vizier Kuperli, on the nextday they entered the pashalic of Tripoli; travellingthrough a woody, mountainous country, beneath theshade of overarching trees, amused by the roar oftorrents, or by the sight of valleys whose green turfwas sprinkled with myrtles, oleanders, tulips, anemonies,and various other aromatic plants and flowers.In traversing a low valley they passed over astream rolling through a narrow rocky channelninety feet deep, which was called the Sheïkh’s Wife,an Arab princess having formerly perished in thisdismal chasm.

Crossing Gebel Occaby, or the “Mountain of Difficulty,”which, according to our traveller, fully deservesits name, they arrived towards evening atBelulca, a village famous for its wretchedness, andfor the extremely humble condition to which Christianityis there reduced,—Christ being, to use his ownexpressive words, once more laid in a manger in thatplace. The poorness of their entertainment urgedthem to quit Belulca as quickly as possible, thoughthe weather, which during the preceding day hadbeen extremely bad, was still far from being settled;307and they had not proceeded far before they began toregret this miserable resting-place, the rains burstingout again with redoubled violence, breaking upthe roads, and swelling the mountain torrents tooverflowing. At length, however, they arrived oppositea small village, to reach which they had onlyto cross a little rivulet, dry in summer, but now increasedby the rains to a considerable volume, andfound upon trial to be impassable. In this dilemma,they had merely the choice of returning to the miserable,inhospitable den where they had passed thepreceding night, or of pitching their tent where theywere, and awaiting the falling of the stream. Thelatter appeared the preferable course, though theweather seemed to menace a second deluge, themost terrible thunder and lightning now minglingwith and increasing the horrors of the storm; whiletheir servants and horses, whom their single tentwas too small to shelter, stood dripping, exposed toall the fury of the heavens. At length a smallsheïkh’s house, or burying-place, was discovered inthe distance, where they hoped to be allowed totake shelter along with the saints’ bones; but thedifficulty was how to gain admittance, it being probablethat the people of the village would regard theapproach of so many infidels to the tomb of theirholy men as a profanation not to be endured. Tonegotiate this matter, a Turk, whom they had broughtalong with them for such occasions, was despatchedtowards the villagers, to obtain permission peaceably,if possible; if not, to inform them that theywould enter the edifice by force. It is possible thatthe Ottoman exceeded his instructions in his menaces;for the indignation of the villagers was roused,and declaring that it was their creed to detest andrenounce Omar and Abubeer, while they honouredAhmed and Ali, they informed the janizary that theywould die upon the infidels’ swords rather than submitto have their faith defiled. The travellers on308their part assured them that the opinion they entertainedof Omar and Abubeer was in no respect betterthan their own; that they had no intention whateverto defile their holy places; and that their onlyobject at present was to obtain somewhere or anothera shelter from the inclemency of the weather.This apparent participation in their sectarian feelingssomewhat mollified their disposition, and theyat length consented to unlock the doors of the tomb,and allow the infidels to deposite their baggage in it;but with respect to themselves, it was decreed bythe remorseless villagers that they were to pass thenight sub Jove. When our travellers saw the dooropened, however, they began secretly to laugh atthe beards of the honest zealots, being resolved, assoon as sleep should have wrapped itself roundthese poor people like a cloak, as Sancho words it,to steal quietly into the tomb, and dream for onceupon a holy grave. They did so; but either the angerof the sheïkh or their wet garments caused them topass but a melancholy night.

Next morning, the waters of the river, which roseand fell with equal rapidity, having sunk to their ordinarylevel, they issued forth from their sacredapartments, and proceeding westward for some time,they at length ascended a lofty eminence, fromwhence, across a wide and fertile plain, they discoveredthe city of Latichen, founded by Seleucus Nicatoron the margin of the sea. Leaving this cityand the Mediterranean on the right-hand, and a highridge of mountains on the left, they proceededthrough the plain towards Gibili, the ancient Gabala,where they arrived in the evening, and remained oneday to recruit themselves. In the hills near thiscity were found the extraordinary sect of the Nessariah,which still subsists, and are supposed to be aremnant of the ancient pagan population, worshippersof Venus-Mylitta and the sun.

Proceeding southward along the seacoast they309crossed the Nahrel-Melek, or King’s River, passedthrough Baneas, the ancient Balanea, and arrivedtowards sunset at Tortosa, the Orthosia of antiquity,erected on the edge of a fertile plain so close to thesea that the spray still dashes among its crumblingmonuments. Continuing their journey towards Tripoli,they beheld on their right, at about three miles’distance from the shore, the little island of Ruad,the Arvad or Alphad of the Scriptures, and the Andusof the Greeks and Romans, a place which, thoughnot above two or three furlongs in length, was oncerenowned for its distant naval expeditions and immensecommerce, in which it maintained for a timea rivalry even with Tyre and Sidon themselves.Having travelled thus far by forced marches, as itwere, they determined to remain a whole week atTripoli, to repose their “wearied virtue,” and byeating good dinners and making merry with theirfriends, prepare themselves for the enduring of those“slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” whichall flesh, but especially travelling flesh, is heir to.But the more fortunate and happy the hero of thenarrative happens to be, the more unfortunate andmelancholy is his biographer, for happiness is extremelydull and insipid to every one except the individualwho tastes it. For this reason we hurry asfast as possible over all the bright passages of aman’s life, but dwell with delight on his sufferings,his perils, his hair-breadth escapes, not, as someshallow reasoners would have it, because we rejoiceat the misfortunes of another, but because our sympathiescan be awakened by nothing but manifestationsof intellectual energy and virtue, which shineforth most gloriously, not on the calm waves of enjoyment,but amid the storms and tempests of humanaffairs.

We therefore snatch our traveller from the ruralparties and cool valleys of Tripoli, in order to exposehim to toil and the spears of the Arabs. The310week of pleasure being expired, the party set forwardtowards the south, and proceeding for fivehours along the coast, arrived at a high rocky promontory,intersecting the road, and looking with asmooth, towering, and almost perpendicular faceupon the sea. This appears to be the promontorycalled by Strabo, but wherefore is not known, τὸ τουΘεου Προσώπον, or the Face of God. Near this strangely-namedspot they encamped for the night under theshade of a cluster of olive-trees. Surmounting thissteep and difficult barrier in the morning, they pursuedtheir way along the shore until they arrived atGabail, the ancient Byblus, a place once famous forthe birth and worship of Adonis. In this place theymade little or no stay, pushing hastily forward tothe Nahr Ibrahim, the river Adonis of antiquity, theshadows of Grecian fable crowding thicker andthicker upon their minds as they advanced, andbringing along with them sweet schoolboy recollections,sunny dreams, which the colder phenomenaof real life never wholly expel from ardent andimaginative minds. Here they pitched their tent,on the banks of the stream, and prepared to passthe night amid those fields where of old the virginsof the country assembled to unite with the goddessof beauty, in lamentations for Adonis,

The night was rainy and tempestuous, and whenthey looked out in the morning the Nahr Ibrahimhad assumed that sanguine hue, which, according toLucian, always distinguishes it at that season of the311year in which the festival of Adonis was celebrated.Nay, the stream not only “ran purple to the sea,”but had actually, as they observed in travellingalong, communicated its bloody colour to the wavesof the Mediterranean to a considerable distance fromthe land, just as the Nile discolours them at thetime of the inundation along the whole coast of theDelta.

Their road now lay nearly at the foot of thosesteep and rugged mountains which have for manyages been inhabited by the Maronites, several ofwhose convents they discerned perched like eagles’nests on the bare summit of the crags. A road cutfor a considerable distance through the solid rock,and a track still more rude and wild, worn by thefootsteps of travellers in the side of the mountain,at length brought them to the river Lycus, or Canis,the Nahr-el-Kelb, or “Dog’s River,” of the Turksand Arabs. Proceeding along a low sandy shore,and crossing the Nahr-el-Salib, they arrived at asmall field near the sea, where St. George, the patronof England, acting over again the fable of Apolloand Python, fought with and killed that mightydragon which still shows its shining scales on thegolden coin of Great Britain. A small chapel, nowconverted into a mosque, was anciently erected onthe spot in commemoration of the exploit. In theevening they arrived at Beiroot, where they remainedthe following day, examining the ruins and presentaspect of the city.

The principal curiosities of Beiroot were the palaceand gardens of Fakreddin, fourth prince of the Druzes,a people of Mount Lebanon, said to be descendedfrom the fragments of those Christian armies which,after the final failure of the Crusades, were unableor unwilling to return to their own countries, andtook up their residence in the mountain fastnessesof the Holy Land. Originally the gardens of Fakreddinmust have been a little paradise. Even when312Maundrell was there, after time and neglect hadconsiderably impaired their beauty, they were stillworthy of admiration. Large and lofty orange-treesof the deepest verdure, among which the ripe yellowfruit hung thickly suspended like oblong spheres ofgold, shaded the walks; while below small shiningrivulets of the purest water ran rippling along,through channels of hewn stone, spreading coolnessthrough the air, and distributing themselves overthe gardens by many imperceptible outlets.

On leaving Beiroot they proceeded through a spaciousplain, and traversing a large grove of pine-trees,planted by the Emīr Fakreddin, arrived in twohours on the banks of the river Dammar, ancientlyTamyras, in which, about four years before, theyounger Spon had been drowned in proceeding northwardfrom Jerusalem. Coming up to the edge ofthe stream, they found a number of men, who, observingtheir approach, had stripped themselvesnaked, in order to aid them in passing the stream;but having previously learned that a bridge whichonce spanned this river had been purposely brokendown by these officious guides, in order to rendertheir services necessary, and that, moreover, theysometimes drowned travellers to obtain their property,they disappointed the ruffians, and ascendingalong the stream for some time, at length discovereda ford, and crossed without their aid.

At the Awle, a small river about three miles northof Sidon, our travellers were met by several Frenchmerchants from this city, who, having been informedof their drawing near, had come out to welcomethem. From these friends they learned, however,that the French consul, who, being also consul ofJerusalem, was compelled by the duties of his officeto visit the Holy City every Easter, had departedfrom Sidon the day before; but that as he meant tomake some stay at Acra, they might hope to overtakehim there. On this account they again set out313early next morning, and keeping close to the sea,passed by the site of the ancient Sarepta, crossedthe Nahr-el-Kasmin, and in another hour arrived atTyre, where, notwithstanding their anxiety to placethemselves under the protection of the Frenchconsul, who was travelling with an escort, theywere detained for a moment by the recollection ofthe ancient glory of the place.

Having indulged their curiosity for an instant, theyagain hurried forward, the phantom of the consulstill flitting before them, like the enchanted bird inthe Arabian Nights, and reached Ras-el-Am, or the“Promontory of the Fountains,” where those famousreservoirs called the “Cisterns of Solomon” aresituated. Our traveller, who had little respect fortraditions, conjectured that these works, howeverancient they might be, could not with propriety beascribed to the Hebrew king, since the aqueductwhich they were intended to supply was built uponthe narrow isthmus uniting the island to the continent,constructed by Alexander during the siege ofthe city; and we may be sure, he observes, that theaqueduct cannot very well be older than the groundit stands upon.

At Acra they found the consul, who had politelydelayed his departure to the last moment in orderto give them time to arrive; and next morning continuedtheir journey in his company. Crossing theriver Belus, on whose banks glass is said to havebeen first manufactured, and making across the plaintowards the foot of Carmel, they entered the narrowvalley through which the ancient Kishon, famousfor the destruction of Sisera’s host, rolls its waterstowards the sea. After threading for many hoursthe mazes of this narrow valley, they issued forthtowards evening upon the plains of Esdraelon sprinkledwith Arab flocks and tents, and in the distancebeheld the famous mounts of Tabor and Hermon,and the sacred site of Nazareth. Here they learned314the full force of the Psalmist’s poetical allusions tothe “dews of Hermon,” for in the morning theyfound their tents as completely drenched by it as ifit had rained all night.

Paying the customary tribute to the Arabs as theypassed, they proceeded on their way, their eyes restingat every step on some celebrated spot: Samaria,Sichem, mounts Ebal and Gerizim, places renderedvenerable by the wanderings of prophets and patriarchs,but hallowed in a more especial manner bythe footsteps of Christ. They now began to enterupon a more rocky and mountainous country, andpassing by the spot where Jacob saw angels ascendingand descending, “in the vision of God,” andBeer, supposed to be the Michmas of the Scriptures,to which Jonathan fled from the revenge of hisbrother Abimelech, arrived at the summit of a hill,whence Rama, anciently Gibeah of Saul, the plain ofJericho, the mountains of Gilead, and Jerusalemitself were visible in one magnificent panorama.

Being in the Holy City, which no man, whetherbeliever or unbeliever, can visit without the mostprofound emotion, Maundrell enjoyed unrestrainedlythe romantic delight of living where Christ had livedand died, which to a high-minded religious man mustbe one of the noblest pleasures which travelling canafford. They resided, during their stay, at the Latinconvent, visiting the various places which are supposedto possess any interest for pilgrims; such asthe church of the Sepulchre, on Mount Calvary, thegrotto of Jeremiah, the sepulchres of the kings, andthe other famous places within the precincts or inthe vicinity of the city.

Four days after their arrival they set out in companywith about two thousand pilgrims of both sexesand of all nations, conducted by the mosselim, orgovernor of the city, to visit the river Jordan. Goingout of the city by the gate of St. Stephen, theycrossed the valley of Jehoshaphat, with part of Mount315Olivet, passed through Bethany, and arrived at thatmountain wilderness to which Christ was takenforth to be tempted by the Devil. Here some terribleconvulsion of nature appears to have shatteredand rent in pieces the foundations of the everlastinghills, swallowing up the summits, and thrusting upin their stead the bases and substructions, as it were,of the mighty masses. In the depths of a valleywhich traversed this “land of desolation, waste andwild,” were discovered the ruins of numerous cottagesand hermits’ cells, many ascetics having formerlyretired to this dreary region to waste awaytheir lives in solitary penance. From the top ofthis mountain, however, the travellers enjoyed aprospect of extraordinary diversity, comprehendingthe mountains of Arabia, the Dead Sea, and the Plainof Jericho, into the last of which they descended inabout five hours from the time of their leaving Jerusalem.

In this plain they saw the fountain of Elisha,shaded by a broad-spreading tree. Jericho itselfhad dwindled into a small wretched village, inhabitedby Arabs; and the plain beyond it, extending to theJordan, appeared to be blasted by the breath ofsterility, producing nothing but a species of samphire,and similar stunted marine plants. Here and there,where thin sheets of water, now evaporated by therays of the sun, had formerly spread themselvesover the marshy soil, a saline efflorescence, whiteand glittering like a crust of snow, met the eye; andthe whole valley of the Jordan, all the way to theDead Sea, appeared to be impregnated with thatmineral. They found this celebrated river, whichin old times overflowed its banks, to be a smallstream not above twenty yards in breadth, which, toborrow the words of the traveller, seemed to haveforgotten its former greatness, there being no signor probability of its rising, though the time, the30th of March, was the proper season of the316inundation. On the contrary, its waters ran at leasttwo yards below the brink of its channel.

Proceeding onwards towards the Dead Sea, theypassed over an undulating plain, in some places risinginto hillocks, resembling those places in Englandwhere there have formerly been limekilns, and whichmay possibly have been the scene of the overthrowof the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah recorded inGenesis. On approaching the Dead Sea, they observedthat on the east and west it was hemmed inby mountains of vast height, between whose barrenridges it stretched away, like a prodigious canal, fartherthan the eye could reach towards the south.On the north its limpid and transparent waters rattledalong a bed of black pebbles, which being held overthe flame of a candle quickly kindle, and, withoutbeing consumed, emit a black smoke of intolerablestench. Immense quantities of similar stones aresaid to be found in the sulphureous hills borderingupon the lake. None of the bitumen which thewaves of this sea occasionally disgorge was then tobe found, although it was reported that both on theeastern and western shores it might be gathered ingreat abundance at the foot of the mountains. Thestructures of fable with which tradition and “superstitiousidle-headed Eld” had surrounded this famoussea vanished, like the false waters of the desert, uponexamination. No malignant vapours ascended fromthe surface of the waves, carrying death to the birdswhich might attempt to fly over it. On the contrary,several birds amused themselves in hoveringabout and over the sea, and the shells of fish werefound among the pebbles on the shore. Those applesof Sodom which, “atra et inania velut in cineremvanesc*nt,” according to the expression of Tacitus,for a thousand years have furnished poets withcomparisons and similes, were found, like manyother beautiful things, to flourish only in song; therebeing in the neighbourhood of the lake no trees upon317which they could grow. The surprising force of thewater, which according to the great historian ofRome sustained the weight even of those who hadnot learned to buoy themselves up by art, was in agreat measure found to exist, and subsequent experimentsappear to support the opinion.

Returning thence to Jerusalem, and visiting Bethlehemand the other holy places in its vicinity, theyat length departed on the 15th of April for Nazareth,which they found to be an inconsiderable village onthe summit of a hill. Their road then lay throughtheir former track until they struck off to the rightthrough a defile of Mount Lebanon, entered the valleyof Bocat, and emerged through a gorge of Anti-Libanusinto the plain of Damascus, which, wateredby “Abana and Pharphar, lucid streams,” unfoldeditself before the eye in all that voluptuous beautyglittering in a transparent atmosphere which intoxicatedthe soul of the Arabian prophet, and causedhim to pronounce it too generative of delight. Thesomewhat colder imagination of Maundrell wasstrongly moved by the view of this incomparablelandscape. The City of the Sun (for such is the significationof its oriental name) lifted up its gildeddomes, slender minarets, and tapering kiosks amida forest of deep verdure; while gardens luxuriant inbeauty, and wafting gales of the richest fragrancethrough the air, covered the plain for thirty milesaround the city. The interior of the city wasgreatly inferior to its environs, and disappointed thetraveller.

From Damascus, where they saw the Syrian caravan,commanded by the Pasha of Tripoli, and consistingof an army of pilgrims mounted on camelsand quaintly-caparisoned horses, depart for Mecca,they proceeded to Baalbec, where they arrived onthe 5th of May. The magnificent ruins of this citywere then far less dilapidated than they are at present,and called forth a corresponding degree of admiration318from the travellers. The site of Baalbec,on the cool side of a valley, between two lofty ridgesof mountains, is highly salubrious and beautiful; andthe creations of art which formerly adorned it wereno way inferior (and this is the highest praise theworks of man can receive!) to the beauties which natureeternally reproduces in those delicious regions.Time and the Ottomans, however, have shown thatthey are less durable.

When a place affords nothing for the contemplationof curiosity but the wrecks of former ages, itusually detains the footsteps of the traveller but ashort time; and accordingly Maundrell and his companionsquitted Baalbec early next morning, and,penetrating through the snowy defiles of Mount Lebanoninto the maritime plains of Syria, arrived in twodays at Tripoli. From hence, on the 9th of May,Maundrell departed with a guide to visit the famouscedars so frequently alluded to in the Scriptures, andwhich, from the prodigious longevity of the tree,may be those which the poets and prophets of Israelviewed with so much admiration. The extremebrevity of the original narrative permits us to describethis excursion in the traveller’s own words:—“Havinggone for three hours across the plain ofTripoli, I arrived,” says he, “at the foot of Libanus;and from thence continually ascending, not withoutgreat fatigue, came in four hours and a half to asmall village called Eden, and in two hours and ahalf more to the cedars.

“These noble trees grow among the snow, nearthe highest part of Lebanon, and are remarkable aswell for their own age and largeness as for those frequentallusions made to them in the Word of God.Here are some of them very old and of a prodigiousbulk, and others younger of a smaller size. Of theformer I could reckon up only sixteen, and the latterare very numerous. I measured one of the largest,and found it twelve yards six inches in girth, and yet319sound, and thirty-seven yards in the spread of itsboughs. At about five or six yards from the groundit was divided into five limbs, each of which wasequal to a great tree.”

Descending the mountain, and rejoining his friendsat Tripoli, they departed thence together; and returningby the same road which they had pursued intheir journey to Jerusalem, they arrived in a fewdays at Aleppo without accident or peril. Such isthe history of that brief excursion, which, being ablyand honestly described, has justly ranked Maundrellamong celebrated travellers. The date of his deathI have been unable to discover. This journey hasbeen translated into several modern languages, andis held in no less estimation abroad than at home.