Early voyages and travels in the Levant

by John Covel; Thomas Dallam

The same daye, beinge the eighte daye, we touke our jurnaye by lande, towinge our bootes by the shore ten myles.

In the after nowne we came to a towne called Hora,[106] for our boates was not able to goo any further, the wynde was so hie and the sea so roughe; thare we stayed alnyghte. At this towne, but espetialy at the laste before, is great store of corne and vinyardes, verrie good; also greate store of silke wormes, wyne a pottell[107] for one penye; but the inhabytans of all these townes ar verrie pore, the Turks dothe kepe them so under, levinge upon the frutes of these pore peoples labures. All this contrie which we traveled through from over againste Troye, or the place wheare we lefte our shipp, is Thratia, whearin Constantinople doth stande.

The nexte daye, beinge the nynthe daye, we lefte our boates at Horra, and wente 3 myles farther to a towne caled Cannosea,[108] but farther we could not goo anythinge neare to the sea, for it is so hillie and full of woodes, a verrie wyldernes; so thare we stayed that daye and alnyghte ever loukinge for our boates, but they could not com. Our captaine, Mr. Glover, when we had well vewed the towne and se that the condetion of the people was not to our lykinge, he made choyce of a house for us to lodge in, that was next unto the sea. The towne stode upon a hill, and this house upon the verrie brinke or end of the hill, beinge the heighte of St. Paules Churche a bove the sea; and we weare to go up a ladder into a gallarie, that was made at the end of the house, loukinge towardes the sea, and thare was a litle dowre to go into the roume wheare we shoulde lodge upon the bare bordes.

For, in all this time that we traveled, we never put of our clothis, nether did we finde any beed to rest in. In this roume thare was not so muche as a stoule or forme to sitt upon, nor anythinge in the house but one shelfe, whereon stood tow pitcheres and tow earthen plateres; note one wyndoe to give lyghte, but one litle hole throughe a stone wale.

We beinge at this towne before nowne, to pass awaye the time after we had made a shorte diner, we walked downe to the wood sid, which is close to the sea; a wildernes or desarte wood, which is put to no use, as we did thinke, by the sighte of it. Thare we saw diverse sortes of varmen, which we have not the like in Inglande.

Growinge towardes nyghte, and rememberinge whate hard lodginge we should have in our new In, findinge a thicke softe weed, that growed by the wood sid, everrie one of us that was thare gathered a bundle of it to laye under our heades, when we should sleepe.

Nyghte beinge come, and our supper ended, everie man chalked out his ristinge place upon the bare bordes; our jenisarie placed him selfe upon a borde that laye louse upon the joistes. Everie man had his Sorde reddie Drawne lyinge by his side; tow of our company had musketes. When we had layne about halfe an houre, we that had our weeden pillowes weare sodonly wonderfully tormented with a varmen that was in our pillowes, the which did bite farr worss than fleaes, so that we weare glad to throw awaye our pillowes, and swepe the house cleane; but we could not clense our selves so sowne. Thus as we laye wakinge in a Darke uncomfortable house, Mr. Glover tould us what strainge varmen and beastes he had sene in that contrie, for he had lived longe thare. He spoake verrie muche of Aderes, snaykes, and sarpentes, the defferance and the bignes of som which he had sene.

Passinge awaye the time with such lyke talke, the moste parte of us fell a sleepe, and som that could not sleepe laye still and sayd nothinge for disquietinge of the reste, all beinge whyshte. Mr. Baylye had occasion to goe to the dore to make water, the dore was verrie litle, and opened very straitly into the gallarie, the wynde blowed marvalus strongly, and made a greate noyse, for the house lay verrie open to the sea and wether. Mr. Baylle, when he lay downe to sleepe, had untied his garters a litle, so that when he came into the gallarie, the wynde blew his garter, that was louse and trayled after him, rounde aboute the other legge; it was a greate silke garter, and by the force of the wynde it fettered his legges bothe faste together. Our talk a litle before, of Aders, snakes, and sarpentes, was yeat in his rememberance, and the place was neare wheare muche varmen was. He thoughte they had swarmed aboute him, but aboute his legges he Thought he was sur of a sarpente, so that soddonly he cried oute with all the voyce he hade: A sarpente! a sarpente! a sarpente! and was so frighted that he could not finde the doore to gitt in, but made a great buslinge and noyse in the gallarie. On the other side, we that weare in the house, did thinke that he had saide: Assalted! assalted! for before nyghte we doubted that some tritcherie would hapen unto us in that towne, so that we thoughte the house had bene besett with people to cutt our Throtes. Thare was 15 of us in the house, and it was bute a litle house; everie man touke his sorde in hande, one reddie to spoyle another, not any one knowinge the Cause. One that could not finde his sorde, goot to the Chimnay, and offeringe to climbe up, Downe fell a parte of the chimnaye tope upon his heade, and hurte him a litle; another, that was sodonly awakede, strouke aboute him with his sorde, and beate downe the shelfe and broke the pitcheres and plateres which stood thar on; the roume being verrie darke, for it was a boute mydnyghte. Otheres did thinke that they weare pullinge downe the house over our heades. Our janisarie, who should have bene our garde, and have protecked us from all Daingeres, he lykwyse doubtinge the people of the towne, and hearinge suche a noyse sodonly, he touke up the louse borde wheare on he laye, and sliped Downe into the valte. As we weare thus all amayzed, at the laste Mr. Bayllye founde the waye in at the doore. When Mr. Glover saw him com in, he sayd unto him: How now, man, what is the matter, who do you se? Mr. Baylle was even bretheless with feare, cryinge out, and with struglinge to gitt in at the doore, so thet he could not answer him at the firste; at last he sayd: A sarpente! a sarpente! had trubled him. When Mr. Glover harde him say so, than feare was gone, and he wente to the Dore, and thare he founde Mr. Bayllis’ garter reddie to be carried away with the wynde. After we a litle wondered at our greate amayzmente for so smale a cause, Mr. Glover caled everie man by his name, to se yf any man weare slayne or wounded; for thare was sixtene of us in all, our weaperns all drawne, and the roume was but litle. Everie man beinge caled, we weare all alive, and but smale hurtes done. At laste we founde our janisarie wanting; who myghte well be ashamed to make it knowne wheare he was; but Mr. Glover callinge him verrie earnestly, he answered in the valte. He could not git out any way, but Mr. Gonzale Touke up the borde that laye wheare he wente downe, and lyinge a longe upon the floure, he could but hardly reatche him, to take him by the hande; without muche adew theye puled him up. When he leaped into the valte, beinge verrie sore frighted, he caste of his uper garmente, and lefte it behind him in the valte, but no man could perswade him to goo downe againe and fetche it, for the place was lothesom, and it should seme that he was thare frighted with somthinge, in that kinde Mr. Baylye was; so his garmente remayned there till the morninge, that he who oned the house did fetche it.