Part 2

Matters being thus composed at _Buda_, as well as we could, my Companion _Paliani_ returned to the Emperor; but I for my part, shipp’d my Horses, Coaches, and all my Family on some Vessels, prepared for me on the _Danow_, and so passed down the Stream to _Belgrade_; this was a shorter cut, and also more secure; for my Journey by Land to _Belgrade_, would at that Time have cost me at least twelve Days, especially, having such a deal of heavy Baggage with me; and besides, we had been in danger to be Robb’d by the _Heyduc_’s, so the _Hungarians_ call a sort of plundering Thieves and Robbers; but upon the Water there was no fear at all of them; and besides, we compassed our Journey in five Days. The Vessel in which I was, was drawn along by a lesser Pinnace, in which there were twenty-four Oars; the other Vessels had but two large Oars a-piece. The Mariners rowed Night and Day without any Intermission, excepting only a few Hours that the poor Souls borrow’d to Sleep and Eat in. In my Passage down the River, I could not but observe the venturousness, not to say temerity of the _Turks_, who were not afraid to Sail on in the mistiest Weather and darkest Night, and when the Wind blew very hard too; and besides, there were many Water-mills, with several Trunks and Boughs of Trees hanging over the Banks, which made our Passage very Dangerous; so that some times our Vessel, by the boisterousness of the Wind, was driven to the Bank, and there dash’d against old stumps of Trees hanging over, so that it was like to split; this is certain, that she lost some Planks out of her Hulk, which made a terrible crack and noise when they were loosed therefrom. This noise awak’d me; leaping out of my Bed, I advis’d the Mariners to be more cautious: they lift up their Voices, and gave me no other Answer than _Alaure_, i. e. _God will help_, and so I might go to Bed again, if I would.

Tho’ we speed pretty well, yet I am apt to believe, that at one Time or other, such Dangerous Sailing will be fatal to some Passengers. In our Passage, I saw _Tolna_, a handsome Town in _Hungary_; I cannot forbear to mention it, because there we had very good White-wine, and, besides the Inhabitants were very Courteous to us. Moreover, we passed in sight of the Castle of _Walpot_, seated on an Hill, and of other Castles and Towns besides; we saw also, where the River _Drave_, on the one side, and the _Tibiscus_, or _Taise_, on the other, made their Influx into the _Danow_. As for _Belgrade_ itself, it is seated at the confluence of the _Save_ and the _Danow_; the old City is built in the extreme Angel of the Promontory, the Building is old, it is fortified with many Towers, and a double Wall: Two parts of it are wash’d by the _Save_, and the _Danow_, but on that part where it is joined to the Land, it hath a very strong Castle on high Ground, consisting of many loftly Turrets made of square Stone; before you come into the City, there is a vast Number of Buildings, and very large Suburbs, wherein several Nations inhabit, _viz._ _Turks_, _Greeks_, _Jews_, _Hungarians_, _Dalmatians_, and many others. For you must know that ordinarily over all the _Turkish_ Dominions, the Suburbs are larger than the Towns, but take them both together, they give the resemblance of large Cities: ’Twas at this Town, that I first met with some ancient Coins, wherein, as you know, I take a great delight, and my Physician aforesaid, Dr. _Quackquelben_, fitted me to an Hair, as we say, for he was as much addicted to those Studies as myself. I found a great many Pieces, which on one side represented a _Roman_ Soldier, placed between a Bull and a Horse, (for ’tis known, that the Legions of upper _Mæsia_ did anciently encamp hereabouts) with this Inscription, _Taurunum_. This City, in the memory of our Grandfathers, was twice violently assaulted by the _Turks_, first, under _Almurath_; next under _Mahomet_, who took _Constantinople_; but the _Hungarians_, under the Banner of the Cross, made such a vigorous Defence, that the _Barbarians_ were beaten off with a great deal of Loss. But at last, in the Year 1520. _Solomon_, in the beginning of his Reign, came before it with a vast Army, and finding it, either by the neglect of young King _Ludovicus_, or by the Discords of the factious _Hungarian_ Nobles, destitute of a Garrison able to defend it, he took that opportunity to assault it, and so easily became Master thereof. And that Door being once opened, an _Iliad_ of Miseries broke in upon poor _Hungary_, of which she is sadly Sensible to this Day; for this Pass being gained, there followed the Slaughter of King _Lewis Ludovicus_, the taking of _Buda_, the inslaving of _Transilvania_, and a flourishing Kingdom, hereby brought under the Yoke, not without a Terror struck into the Neighbouring Nations, least they also should partake of the same Calamities; by which Example, Christian Princes may take warning, never to think their Frontier Towns and Castles to be strong enough, nor sufficiently provided against so potent an Enemy as the _Turk_. For the Truth is, the _Ottomans_ are herein not unlike to great Rivers, whose Swelling Waves, if they break down any part of the Bank or Jitty, that keeps them in, spread far and near, and do abundance of Mischief; so the _Turks_, but far more perniciously, having once broke through the Obstacles that stopt them, make a vast spoil where-ever they come. But to return to _Belgrade_, that I may prosecute the rest of my Journey to _Constantinople_.

After I had provided myself in that City of all Things necessary for a Land Journey, I left _Semandria_, heretofore a Town or Castle, of the despots of _Servia_, on the left side of the _Danow_; from whence we Journied towards _Nissa_. In our way thither, the _Turks_ shewed us, from the higher Grounds, the Mountains of _Transilvania_, with Snowey Tops, but at a great Distance from us, and moreover, they pointed with their Fingers, were the Ruins of _Trajans_ Bridge were: After we had past the River called _Morava_, we came to a Town of the _Servians_, named _Jagodna_; there I observed the Funeral Rites of that Country, which differ very much from ours, as you may find by this Relation following.

The dead Body was placed in a Temple, with the Face uncovered; near it were laid Victuals, as Bread, Flesh, and a Flagon of Wine: The Wife and Daughter of the Deceased stood by, in their best Apparel; the Daughter’s Hat was made of Peacocks Feathers. The last Boon that the Wife bestowed on her dead Husband, was a Purple Bonnet, such as noble Virgins us’d to wear in that Country. Then we heard their Funeral Plaints, Mourning and Lamentations, wherein, they asked the dead Corps, How they came to deserve so ill at his Hands? Wherein had they been wanting in their Duty and Observance, that he had left them in such a lonesome and disconsolate Condition? And such like Stuff. The Priests that ministred in this Service, were of the _Greek_ Church. In the Church-Yard, there were erected on Poles, or long Staves, several Pictures of Stags, Hinds, and such Kind of Creatures, cut in Wood; when I asked them the Reason of this strange Custom, they told us, That their Husbands, or Fathers, did thereby signify the Celerity and Diligence of their Wives or Daughters, in managing their Houshold Affairs. Moreover, by some Sepulchres, there hung Bushes of Hair, which Women, or Maidens, had placed in Testimony of their Grief for the Loss of their Relations. We were also informed, that it was the Custom of that Country, after Friends on both Sides had accorded about the Marriage of a young Couple, for the Bridegroom to snatch away his Bride, as it were by Force; for they do not think it handsome, that a Maid should consent to her own Devirgination, or first Nights Lodging with her Husband.

At a small Distance from _Jagodna_, we met with a little River which the Neighbouring Inhabitants called _Nissus_, and we kept it on our right Hand almost all the Way till we came to _Nissa_; yea, and beyond the Town, upon the Bank thereof (were there were some Remains of an old _Roman_ Way) we saw a small Marble Pillar, yet standing, wherein there were some _Latin_ Letters inscribed; but they were so defaced, that they could not be read: As for the Town of _Nissa_, for that Country, it is a decent one, and full of Inhabitants.

’Tis Time now to acquaint you with the Entertainment we met with at our Inns, for I believe you long to know. When I came to _Nissa_, I lodged in a public Inn; the _Turks_ call them _Caravarsarai_, of which there are a great many in that Country; the Form of them is thus, it is a large Edifice, that has more of Length than Breadth; in the midst of it, there is a kind of Yard for the placing of Carriages, Camels, Mules and Waggons. This Yard is compassed about with a Wall about three Foot high, which joins, and is, as it were, built in the outward Wall that incloses the whole Building; the Top of this inner Wall is plain and level, and is about four Foot broad. Here the _Turks_ lodge, here they sup, and here is all the Kitchen which they have (for in the ambient Wall before spoken of, there are ever and anon some Hearths built) and here are no Partitions between Camels, Horses, with other Cattel, and Men, but the Space of that inner Wall; and yet at the Foot of that Wall, they so tye their Horses, that their Heads and Necks are above it, or at least may lean over it; and thus, when their Masters are warming themselves at the Fire, or else are at Supper, they stand near them as Servants us’d to do; and sometimes they will take a Piece of Bread or Apple, or whatsoever else is offered them, out of their Masters Hand. Upon the same Wall, the _Turks_ make their Beds, after this Manner, first of all they spread a broad Piece of Tapestry, which is fitted as a Saddle-cloth by Day, for their Horses; upon that they put their Cloaks, their Saddles serve for a Pillow, and with the long Vests they wear at Day, they cover themselves at Night. And thus they take their rest, never provoking Sleep by any other Allurement. There is nothing done in secret, there all is open, and every Body may see what another does, unless the Darkness of the Night hinder him. For my Part, I greatly abhored this Sort of Lodging, because the Eyes of all the _Turks_ were continually upon us, staring and wondering at our Carriage, according to the Customs of our Country. And therefore, I always endeavoured to lodge at the mean House of some poor Christian! but alas! their Cottages were so small, that many Times I had not room enough in them for placing my Bed; so that sometimes I slept in my Tent, sometimes in my Coach, and sometimes again I turned into the _Turkish_ Hospitals; which, to give them their due, are very convenient, and not unhandsomely built, for they have several distinct Apartments for Lodgings in them. There is no Man forbid the Use of them, either _Christian_ or _Jew_, Rich or Poor, they are open equally to all. Even the _Bashaw_’s and _Sanziacs_, when they travel, make use of them. In these I thought myself lodg’d as well as in the Palace of a Prince.

The Custom of these Inns, like Hospitals, is this: They allow Victuals to every particular Man, that comes in as a Guest: So that when Supper-time came, there was a Servant that brought in a great wooden Dish almost as big as a Table; in the middle of it was a Platter full of Barley boiled to a Jelley, with a little Piece of Flesh, and about the Platter were some small Loaves, and here and there a Piece of an Honey-comb. When I saw this, at first, out of Modesty, I refused it, saying, that my Servants were preparing my own Supper for me, and therefore, advised them to give it to the Poor: He took it amiss, and prest it upon me, and alledging, that I should not scorn their slender Provision, that the Bashaw’s themselves us’d to eat it; it was the Custom of their Country so to do; they had enough left to give to the Poor, and if I would not eat it my self, I should give it my Servants; hereupon, I was enforced to take it, that I might not be counted uncivil by them; and after I had tasted a little of it, I gave him Thanks. The Relish of it pleased me well, for that kind of Gruel, as it is commended by _Galen_, so it is very wholesome, and not unpleasing to the Taste. Travellers may be entertained with that kind of Diet for three Days; but when that Time is expired, they must pack up and be gone. Here (as I told you) I was well entertained; but I met not always with such good Quarters. Sometimes, when I could not light upon an House, I lodged in a Stable; my People enquired after a large and capacious one, in one part whereof was an Hearth and a Chimney, and the other part was design’d for the Herds of Cattle; for that is the Make of the _Turkish_ Stables, that the Herd and the Herdsman lodge under the same Roof. I divided that part where the Fire was from the rest, by the sides of my Tent, and then I put my Table and my Bed by the Fire-side, and liv’d like an Emperor: As for my Family, they wallowed in a great deal of clean Straw, in the other part of the Stable: But some of them fell a Sleep by the Fire-side in the adjoining Orchard or Meadow where a Supper was preparing; the heat of the Fire was their guard against the coldness of the Night, and they had as great a care not to let it go out, as the _Vestal Virgins_ had of old at _Rome_.

I suppose, you will ask me, how my Family relieved themselves against the inconvenience of their bad Lodging; especially seeing they could have little Wine in the middle of _Turkey_, which might have been some Remedy for their ill Lodging at Night. For the truth is, there is little Wine to be had in several of their Villages, especially, if no _Christians_ dwell among them: For I must tell you, that the _Christians_ being wearied out with the Pride and Insolency of the _Turks_, do many times withdraw themselves from the common Road into desert Places; which tho’ they are less fruitful, yet are more secure; and so leave their better Possessions to the domineering _Turks_. And whenever we drew near to any such Places, where there was no Wine, the _Turks_ would very fairly tell us of it before-hand; so that I sent my Steward the Day before, with a _Turk_ to guide him, to procure some from the next Villages of the _Christians_. And by this means it was, that the Distresses of my Family were something alleviated; ’tis true, I could not get any soft Feather-beds or Pillows for them, or other Blandishments for Sleep; the Wine was instead of all: As for myself, I had some Flagons of choice Wine in my Chariot, so that I wanted none; thus I and my Family were provided for, as to Wine.

But, there was one Inconvenience, which troubled us more than the Scarcity of Wine, and that was, our Sleep was miserably interrupted; for we being to rise betimes in the Morning, and sometimes before Day, that we might come the sooner to our Inns at Night; our _Turkish_ Guides being deceived by the Light of the Moon, would sometimes call us up at, or about Midnight, with a great deal of Noise and Clamour. For the _Turks_ have no Clocks to distinguish Hours, nor Miles to shew the Distance of Places: Only they have a sort of Ecclesiasticks, which they call _Talismans_; this sort of People use a kind of Admeasurement by Water, and when they perceive thereby, that ’tis Morning, then they cry aloud from an high Tower, built on purpose, exhorting them to arise and worship God. They make the same Noise in the middle between Sun-rise and Noon, and likewise, between Noon and Sun-set; and, last of all, when the Sun is set, they cry out with a very shrill Voice, which hath no unpleasant Modulation, and which is heard farther than any Body would think. Thus the _Turks_ divide the Day into four Spaces, longer or shorter, according to the Season of the Year: But for the Night-time, they have no certain Rule at all.

So our _Turkish_ Guides being deceived by the exceeding Brightness of the Night they called us up before Sun-rising, and we started out of our Beds in great Haste, that so they might not impute any unlucky Accident, upon the Way, to our Slothfulness; in the Morning, we pack’d up our Baggage, and put my Bed and Tent in our Waggons, harnessed our Horses, and were ready for our Journey, only expected the Word of Command. But our _Turks_, when they found their Mistake, fairly went into their Nests again, and after we had waited for them a great while, I sent to them, to tell them, we were all ready; and now the Delay was on _their_ Side, my Messengers brought me Word, from them, that the Moon-light had deceived them, and therefore, they were gone to sleep again, for it would be a great while before it would be Time to go; and they persuaded us to try to sleep again too. And thus, we must either unpack all our Things again, to our no small Trouble, or else, we must endure a great Part of the Coldness of the Night in the open Air.

To prevent this Inconvenience for the future, I charged the _Turks_ not to be so troublesome any more, as to rouze me out of my Sleep, for if they would but tell me over Night, at what Time they would rise in the Morning, I would be sure to be ready at the Time appointed; for I had Watches by me, that I intended to make Use of, which would not fail to acquaint me with the precise Hour of the Morning; and if they over-slept themselves, they should lay it to my Charge, so that they need not scruple to trust me with the Hour of their rising. They seemed to be somewhat satisfied herewith, and yet did not lay aside all their Solicitude neither; for in the Morning betimes, they awakened my _Valet de Chambre_, desiring him to go to me, and to see how the Index of my Watches did pointed; he so, and returned Answer to them, as well as he could, That ’twas very near Sun-rising, according as he found it. When they had thus tried him once or twice, and found that he hit the Time right, they trusted me for the future, and admired the Structure of our Watches, that could so faithfully declare the Time; so that ever after, we slept out our Sleep, without any Disturbances from them.

From _Nissa_ we came to _S. Sophia_; the Journey thither, and the Weather, for that Time of the Year, was very tolerable. _Sophia_ is a Town big enough, and well inhabited both by Citizens and Strangers: It was heretofore the Royal Seat of the King of _Bulgaria_; and afterwards, if I mistake not, of the _Despots_ of _Servia_, whilst that House stood, before it was overthrown by the _Turkish_ Arms.

Afterwards, we continued our Journey, for many Days, through the pleasant, and not unfruitful, Valley of _Bulgaria_; all the Time we were in that Country, we had little other Bread, but only Cakes bak’d under Ashes upon the Hearth, which they call _Togatch_. The Women and Maids sell them, for they have no Bakers in those Parts; and when they perceive any Guests a-coming, that are likely to pay for what they have, presently they knead a little Dough, with Water, without any Leaven, and lay it upon Tiles, under the Ashes, and so bring it out piping hot, and sell them for a very small Matter; other Victuals is also very cheap there, a good Weather-sheep may be bought for thirty-five Aspers; a Chicken and a Hen for an Asper, a sort of Coin with them, of which fifty make but a Crown.

I must not omit to acquaint you with the Habit of these _Bulgarian_ Women. They commonly wear nothing but a Smock or Shift, made of no finer Linnen-thread, than that we make Sacks of. And yet, these course Garments are wrought by them, with several sorts of strip’d Needle-work, after a homely Fashion: With this lose party-coloured Habit they mightily pleased themselves, so that when they saw our Shifts, made of the finest Linnen, yet they wondered at our Modesty, that we could be contented to wear them without various Works of divers Colours wrought in them.

But that which I most of all admired in them, was the Tower, which they wore on their Heads, for such was the Form of their Hats. They were made of Straw, braided with Webs over them. The Figure of them differs from the Hats Women wear in our Country, for ours hang down on the Shoulders, and the lowest Part of it is the broadest, and so it rises as it were into a Pyramid at top; but theirs is narrowest below, and so rises up like a top, almost nine Inches above the Head; but that Part of it that looks upwards, towards the Sky, is both very capacious, and also very open, so that it seems made to take in Rain, as ours are to shelter us against them; but in that Space, interjacent between their upper and lower Part, their hang Pieces of Coin, little Pictures or Images, small Parcels of painted Glass, or whatever is resplendent, though never so mean, which are accounted very ornamental among them.

Those kind of Hats makes them look taller, and also more Matron-like, though they are easily blown off their Heads, by a blast of Wind, or by any light Motion they fall off themselves.

When they appeared to us in this Dress, I thought they resembled _Clytemnestra_, or some _Hecuba_ or other, in the flourishing Time of _Troy_, coming upon the Stage. This Sight suggested to me some pious Meditations, _viz._ How frail and mutable a Thing that which is called _Nobleness of Birth_, _is_; for when I asked of some of these Lasses, they that seemed to be the handsomest among them, concerning their Stock and Lineage, they told me, They were descended from the Chief Nobles of that Country; and some of them were of a Royal Progeny, though now it was their Fate, to marry Herdsmen or Shepherds: For Nobility is very little esteemed in the _Turkish_ Dominions. For, I my self did afterwards see at _Constantinople_, and other Places, some Descendants from the Imperial Families of the _Catacuzeni_, and the _Palæologi_, living more contemptuously among the _Turks_, than ever _Dionysius_ did of old at _Corinth_; nay, the _Turks_ esteem no Men for their Birth, but only for their own perform’d Accomplishments, excepting only the _Ottoman Family_; for that they have a high Veneration, upon Account of its Original.

It is thought that these _Bulgarians_ had their Original from _Seythia_, near the River _Volga_, and that they changed their Habitations and came into these Parts, when other Nations, either compelled by Force, or prompted by Choice, changed theirs; and that they were called _Bulgarians_, i. e. _Volgarians_, from the River _Volga_, aforesaid. Upon this Transmigration, they fix’d their Habitation upon those Parts of Mount _Hæmus_, that lie between _Sophia_ and _Philippopolis_, which are Places naturally strong; where they, for a long Time, baffled all the Power of the _Grecian_ Emperors, and killed _Baldwin_ the Elder, Earl of _Flanders_, then Emperor of _Constantinople_, after they had taken him in an hot Skirmish. Yet, for all this, they were not able to resist the Power of the _Turks_, but were overcome and miserably enslaved by them. They use the _Illyrian_, or _Slavonian_ Tongue, as the _Servians_ and _Rascians_ also do.

Before a Man descends into that Plain that lies over against _Philippopolis_, he must go through a Forest and a craggy Mountain, which the _Turks_ call _Carpi Dervent_, i. e. _The Gate of the strait or narrow Passage_; but in the Plain before-mentioned, we met with the River _Hebrus_, having its Original from the adjoining Mountain _Rhodope_. Before we could pass the said Straits, we saw the Top of Mount _Rhodope_ all cover’d over with deep Snow. The Inhabitants, as I remember, call it _Rulla_. From hence flows the River _Hebrus_, as _Pliny_ says, and _Ovid_ also affirms the same in this Distick.

_Qua patet umbrosum Rhodope glacialis ad Hœmum,_ _Et sacer amissas exigit Hebrus aquas._

_Where Icy ~Rhodope~ ope’s to shady ~Hœme~,_ _And sacred ~Hebrus~ wants part of her Stream._