He is now sixty years of Age; and, for a Man of his Years, he enjoys a moderate proportion of Health, and yet his Countenance doth discover, that he carries about him some hidden Disease, ’tis thought a Gangrene, or Ulcer, in the Thigh; yet at solemn Audiences of Ambassadors, he hath a Fucus to paint his Cheeks with, that he may appear sound and healthy to them, and thereupon be more dreaded by foreign Princes, their Masters. Methought, I discovered some such thing at my Dismission; for his Countenance was as sour when I left him, as it was at my first Audience.
Having thus taken my leave, I began my Journey in the Month of June, and the Heat thereof was so excessive, that it cast me into a Fever. ’Tis true, it was a remiss and gentle one, yet it came every Day; to which was added an Hoarseness, and Defluction of Rheum from the Head, and it held me till I came to Constantinople.
The Persian Embassador left Amasia the self-same Day that I did, and we went both out of the City the same way; for, (as I told you before) there is but one Passage into, or out of, that Town, it is so shut in by the circumjacent and unpassable Hills: But the Way quickly doth divide into two, one to the East, which the Persians took; and another to the West. which was our Road. In the open Fields about the Town, we saw the Turkish Camp pitch’d, with abundance of Tents. I shall not entertain you with the Stages of my Return, they being the same with those of my Journey thither, only we made a little more Speed, and sometimes rode two Day’s Journey in one. In fine, we came to Constantinople, June the 2d. You must needs think I had a troublesome Journey of it, having such a Companion with me, as a Quotidian Ague, all the way; so that, when I came thither, I was almost nothing but Skin and Bone: Yet, lean as I was, when I came to rest, and by the advice of Quaquelben, my Physician, used warm Baths, I quickly recovered. One thing I observed in the method of my Cure, that, when I came out of the warm Bath, he would sprinkle me over with cold Water, which, though it were troublesome to me at the present, yet I found that it did me much good.
Whilst I staid at Constantinople, there was a certain Person, that came from the Turkish Camp in Asia, who told me a Story, which I shall acquaint you with, because it shows that the Asiaticks are not very well pleased, either with the Religion, or the Government of the Turks. ’Twas this: Solyman, says he, as he was returning home, was forc’d to lodge one Night in the House of a certain Asiatick, and when he went away in the Morning, his Host brought a great deal of Perfume, and us’d a great many Ceremonies, to cleanse and purge his House, as if it had been polluted by such a Guest as Solyman; when Solyman heard of it, he caused the Man to be slain, and his House to be levelled with the Ground. This Punishment the poor Man underwent for his Aversion to the Turks, and his Propensity to favour the Persians.
I staid about fourteen Days at Constantinople to refresh my self, and then I entred on my Journey back again to Vienna: But I was entertain’d with an inauspicious Omen, even a very sad Spectacle; just as I was gone out of the Gates of Constantinople, I met whole Waggon-Loads of Boys and Girls, which were brought out of Hungary to Constantinople to be sold; no Merchandize is more frequent amongst them than that. For, as when we leave Antwerp, we meet with all sorts of merchantable Commodities importing into the Town, so here, ever now and then, there passed by us abundance of poor miserable Christian Slaves, which were going to be sold in the Markets to a perpetual Bondage. There was no distinction of Age; Old and Young were driven in Herds, or Companies, or else were tied in a long Chain, as we use to tail Horses when we carry them to Fairs. When I beheld this woful sight, I could not forbear weeping and bemoaning the unhappy State of poor Christendom. And if that miserable Spectacle were not afflicting enough to a new Traveller, take another bad and mortifying Occurrence: My Collegues had recommended some of their Retinue to me, which were weary of living in Turkey, that they might be of my Train, in returning to their own Country. I granted their Request, and having travelled two Day’s Journey, I perceiv’d one that was Chief among them, (called a Vaivode, from his Office,) was carried sick in a Coach; one of his Feet being bare, without any Stockings, he would not suffer it to be covered, for he had in it a Plague-sore, which he found more easy to keep open. We were much troubled at this sight, as fearing that infectious Disease would spread farther; but the poor Man liv’d till we came to Adrianople, and there departed this Life. Upon his Death another Mischief did succeed; as soon as the Breath was out of his Body, the rest of the Hungarians ran in greedily to the Prey, one caught up his Stockings, another his Doublet, a third his Shirt, a fourth his other Linnen; thus casting themselves, and us too, into a great deal of Danger. Nor was there any way in the World to hinder them.
’Tis true, my Physician, like an honest Man, ran in amongst them, and intreated them, for God’s sake, to throw the Things away, because they would infect us all; but they were deaf to his Advice. The Day after we left Adrianople, those very Persons came to him, and complain’d of a Pain in their Heads, with a dejection of their Spirits, and a Listlessness both of Body and Mind, and desired his Advice; he, suspecting the Symptoms of the Plague in the case, told them, they were well enough serv’d, for not harkening to his Counsel; yet he would do them what good he could, only, being on his Journey, he was unprovided of proper Medicines. The same Day I walked abroad into the Field, as I us’d to do, as soon as ever I came to my Inn, to see if I could find any thing worthy of my Notice in those Countries, where I met with an unknown Herb in the Meadow, which smelt like Garlick. After I had pluck’d some Leaves of it, I gave them to my Physician to know his Judgment; he looked wistly upon it, and told me, ’twas Scordium, and lifting up his Hands to Heaven, he gave God thanks for sending us so opportune a Remedy against the Plague; hereupon he gathers a great quantity of it, and putting it into a large Pot, boiled it over the Fire. Then he bid the Hungarians take heart, and parted the Decoction amongst them, prescribing the taking of it very hot, as they were going to Bed, mix’d with some Lemnian Earth, and Diascordium, and that they should not sleep till they had fallen into a great Sweat. Observing his Directions, the next Day after they were much better, and desired the same Portion again, and when they had drunk it, they grew perfectly well. And thus, by God’s Blessing, we avoided that Infection.
And yet, the residue of our Journey was not without Peril. After we had passed the Country of the Thracians and Bulgarians, which reaches as far as Nissa, and came into the Servians Country, reaching from Nissa to Simandria, where the Rascians Country begins; we came at last to Belgrade, the Weather being excessively hot and parching, for ’twas the hottest time of the Dog-days.
At Belgrade, upon one of our Fish-days, we were presented with abundance of choice Fish, and amongst the rest, with large full-bodied Carps, taken in the Danube, whose Carps are very much commended: My People did eat very greedily of them, and that was either the cause, or the occasion, which cast many of them into a Fever; yet all that quantity of Fish, which was enough to satisfy forty Men, cost but half a Dollar; and the Truth is, other Things are as cheap. As for Hay, ’tis little or nothing worth; the Meadows are so laden with it, that every Man may take what he will, provided he pay for the Mowing and Carriage; which made us admire the Wisdom of the old Hungarians, after they had passed the Save, who chose so fertile a Country, as Hungary, to dwell in; where there were all manner of Conveniences for Human Life. We passed over a great Tract of Land, both beyond and on this side the Save, and we found the Grass, Barley, Oats and Wheat, almost parch’d and withered with Drought; but as soon as we entred Hungary, the Grass was so tall, that a Coach, that went before, could hardly be seen by another that came after; which is a great Argument of the goodness of the Soil.
The Rascians, as I told you before, begin at Simandria, and reach as far as the River Drave; they are reputed to be a fudling sort of People, and not very faithful to Strangers. Whence they had their Name and Original, I do not certainly know; but truly they were kind enough to us; we passed through some Villages of theirs of less Note, and at last arrived at Esseck, which is almost inclosed with muddy Marshes, and is famous for the slaughter of Catzianerus, and the overthrow of the Christians. Here I was taken with a Tertian Ague, I was so parch’d with Heat, in travelling the open Fields of Hungary; and at Esseck we passed the Drave, and came to Lasque, where being weary with the Heat of my Journey, and my Ague, I laid me down to Rest. There the chiefest of the Place came to me to bid me welcome; and presented me with large Melons, Pears, and Plumbs of several Sorts, besides Wine, and other Provisions, all of them very good; the noted Country of Campania in Italy hardly bears better. In the Room where I lodged, there was a long Table all furnished with these Viands: My Servants desired the Hungarians to stay to Supper, excusing my Absence, because of my Sickness. As soon as I awoke, and saw such a full-spread Table before my Eyes, I thought verily I had been in a Dream, and ask’d my Physician, how that came about? He told me plainly, that he himself had caused the Table to be furnished, that so the very Sight of it might refresh me. But must I not taste of it, said I? Yes, said he, but you must only taste; and so I eat a little of it, and seem’d to be much the better for it. The Day after the Hungarians came to me again to present their Service, desiring me to represent their Condition to the Emperor, in regard of the Wrongs they received from some of their Neighbours. From thence we came to Mohatz, noted for the Overthrow and Death of Lewis King of Hungary; not far from that Town, I saw a River whose Water was deep, and its Banks very steep; here that unhappy Prince leapt in with his Horse, and was drown’d, being for his Fall as much to be lamented, as for his Imprudence, in venturing with a small and newly rais’d Army of his Country-Men, to cope with the more numerous, veteran, and well-disciplin’d Forces of Solyman.