I have seene men and women as usually sold here in Markets, as Horses and other beasts are with us: The most part of which are Hungarians, Transilvanians, Carindians, Istrians, and Dalmatian Captives, and of other places besides, which they can overcome. Whom, if no compassionable Christian will buy, or relieve; then must they either turne Turke, or be addicted to perpetuall slavery. Here I remember of a charitable deede, done for a sinfull end, and thus it was; A Ship of Marseilles, called the great Dolphin, lying here forty dayes at the Galata, A French palliard.the Maister Gunner, named Monsieur Nerack, and I falling in familiar acquaintance, upon a time he told me secretly that he would gladly for Conscience and Merits sake, redeeme some poore Christian slave from Turkish Captivity. To the which, I applauded his advice, and told him the next Friday following I would assist him to so worthy an action: Friday comes, and he and I went for Constantinople, where the Market of the slaves being ready, we spent two houres in viewing, and reviewing five hundreth Males and Females. At last I pointed him to have bought an old man or woman, but his minde was contrary set, shewing me that he would buy some virgin, or young widdow, to save their bodies undefloured with Infidels. The price of a virgin was too deare for [IV. 137.]him, being a hundred Duckets, and widdows were farre under, and at an easier rate: When we did visite and search them that we were mindfull to buy, they were strip’d starke naked before our eyes, where the sweetest face, the youngest age, and whitest skin was in greatest value and request: The Jewes sold them, for they had bought them from the Turkes: At last we fell upon a Dalmatian widdow, whose pittifull lookes, and sprinkling teares, stroke my soule almost to the death for compassion: whereupon I grew earnest for her reliefe, and he yeelding to my advice, she is bought and delivered unto him, the man being 60. yeares of age, and her price 36. Duckets. We leave the market and came over againe to Galata, where he and I tooke a Chamber for her, and leaving them there, the next morning I returned earely, suspecting greatly the dissembling devotion of the Gunner to be nought but luxurious lust, and so it proved: I knocked at the Chamber doore, that he had newly locked, and taken the key with him to the ship, for he had tarried with her all that night; and she answering me with teares, told me all the manner of his usage, wishing her selfe to be againe in her former captivity: whereupon I went a shipboord to him, & in my griefe I swore, that if he abused her any more after that manner, and not returned to her distresse, her Christian liberty; I would first make it knowne to his Maister the Captaine of the ship, and then to the French Ambassadour: for he was mindfull also, his lust being satisfied to have sold her over againe to some other: At which threatning the old Pallyard became so fearefull, that he entred in a reasonable condition with me, and the ship departing thence sixe dayes thereafter, he freely resigned to me her life, her liberty and freedome: which being done, and he gone, under [IV. 138.]my hand before divers Greekes, I The Dalmatian Widdow relieved.subscribed her libertie, and hyr’d her in the same Taverne for a yeare, taking nothing from her, for as little had she to give me, except many blessings and thankefull prayers: This French Gunner was a Papist, and heare you may behold the dregs of his devotion, and what seven nights leachery cost him, you may cast up the reckoning of 36. Duckets.
In Constantinople there have happened many fearefull fires, which often hath consumed to ashes the most part of the rarest Monuments there, and the beauty of infinite Pallaces; as Zonoras the Constantinopolitan Historiographer in his Histories mentioneth. And now lately in the yeare 1607. October 14. there were burned above 3000. houses, of which I saw a number of ruines (as yet) Pestilence and Earth quakes.unrepaired. It is subject also to divers Earth quakes, which have often subverted the Towers, Houses, Churches, and Walles of the City to the ground. Especially in the yeare 1509. in the raigne of Bajazeth, the ninth Emperour of the Turkes, in which time, more then 13000. persons were all smothered and dead, and laid up in heapes unburied. And commonly every third yeare, the pestilence is exceeding great in that City, and after such an odious manner; that those who are infected (before they die) have the halfe of their one side rot, and fall away: so that you may easily discerne the whole intrailes of their bowels. It is not licentiated here, nor else where in all Turkey, that any Christian should enter in their Moskies, or Churches, without the conduct of a Janisary; the tryall whereof I had when I viewed that glorious and great Church of Sancta Sophia, once the beauty and ornament of all Europe; and is now the chiefe place, to which the Great Turke or Emperour goeth every Friday, their Sabboth day to doe his devotion, being accompanied with 3000. Janisaries, besides Bashawes, [IV. 139.]Chowses and Hagars. Truely I may say of Constantinople, as I said once of the world, in the Lamentado of my second Pilgrimage;
A painted Whoore, the maske of deadly sin,
Sweet faire without, and stinking foule within.
For indeed outwardly it hath the fairest show, and inwardly in the streets being narrow, and most part covered, the filthiest & deformed buildings in the world; the reason of its beauty, is, because being situate on moderate prospective heights, the universall tectures, a farre off, yeeld a delectable show, the covertures being erected like the backe of a Coach after the Italian fashion with gutterd tyle. But being entred within, there is nothing but a stinking deformity, and a loathsome contrived place; without either internall domesticke furniture, or externall decorements of fabricks palatiatly extended. Notwithstanding that for its situation, the delicious wines, & fruits, the temperate climat, the fertile circumjacent fields, and for the Sea Hellespont, and pleasant Asia on the other side: it may truely be called the Paradice of the earth.
Perah is over against Constantinople, called of old, Cornubizantii; but by the Turkes, Galata, being both a quarter of a mile distant, and the Thraick Bosphore dividing the two. It is the place at which Christian Ships touch, and where The Christian Ambassadours at Perah.the Ambassadours of Christendome lie. The number of the Christian Ambassadours that then lay there, and now doe, were these, first the Romane Emperours, then the French, thirdly the English, fourthly the Venetian, and lastly the Holland Ambassadours, with whom often for discourses I was familiar, although with Noble Sir Thomas Glover I was still domestick for 12. weekes, whose Secretary for that time was my Countrey man, Maister James Rollocke, who now, as I take it, is resident in Striveling; he was the last Scotsman I saw till my returne to Malta after my departure from Constantinople.
[IV. 140.]From thence I went to the blacke Sea: but commonly Mare Euxinum, where I saw Pompeyes Pillar.Pompeyes Pillar of Marble, standing neere the shoare, upon a rocky Iland: and not far from thence, is a Lanthorne higher then any Steeple, whereon there is a panne full of liquor, that burneth every night to give warning unto ships how neare they come the shore; It is not much unlike these Lanthornes of Ligorne and Genua. The water of this Sea is never a whit blacker then other Seas: but it is called blacke, in respect of the dangerous events in darke and tempestuous nights, which happen there; and because of the Rockes and Sands which lye a great way from the maine shore: upon which many vessels many times are cast away. The blacke Sea is not farre from Galata, for I both went and returned in one day, being forty miles out, and in: For I went by boate, and not by land, through the pleasant Euripus, that runneth betweene the Euxine Sea and Hellespont: And by the way, I cannot but regrate, the great losse Sir Thomas Glover received by the Duke of Moldavia, who chargeably entertained him two yeares in his house, and furnished him with great moneys, and other necessaries fit for his eminency: This Duke or Prince of Bugdonia was depraved of his Principalities by Achmet, and fled hither to the Christian Ambassadours for reliefe: To whom when all the rest had refus’d acceptance, onely Noble Sir Thomas received him, maintained him, and seriously wrought with the Grand Signior and his Counsell, to have had him restored againe to his Lands, but could not prevaile.
In the end, Sir Thomas Glovers five yeares time of Ambassodry being expired, and the Duke hearing privately that Sir Paul Pinder was to come in his place, as indeede he came too soone: this Moldavian Prince stole earely [IV. 141.]away in the morning over to Constantinople; and The Duke of Moldavia turnd Turke.long or midday turnd Turke, and was circumcised, contenting himselfe onely for all his great Dukedome, with a Palace, and a yearely pension of twelve thousand Chickens of Gold during his life. Which, when we heard, the Ambassadour, and we were all amazed and discontented: He was indebted to the Ambassadour above 15. thousand Chickens of Gold, yet or my leaving Galata, I went twice over with Sir Thomas, and saw him, and found him attended with a number of Turkes, who when he saw me, tooke me kindly by the hand, for we had bene two moneths familiar in the Ambassadors house before.
The English Ambassador within halfe a yeare, recovered the halfe of his moneys, the other halfe he was forced to forgoe for diverse importunate respects. Nay, I must say one thing more of this Knight, he releeved more slaves from the Galleys, payd their ransomes, and sent them home freely to their Christian stations, and kept a better house, than any Ambassadour did, that ever lay at Constantinople, or ever shall to the worlds end.
His mother was a Pollonian, who comming from Dansicke to London, was delivered of him upon the Sea: Afterward he was brought up at Constantinople from a boy, and spoke, and wrot the Slavonian Tongue perfectly: And thence returning for London, he was the first Ambassador King James, of blessed Memory, sent to Constantinople, after his comming to the Crowne of England: And this much for this worthy and ever renowned Knight, whose prayse and fame I cannot too much celebrate.