did fpread very much; and fo they were in David's time a very strong nation, wherefore he prayeth very earneftly. in his 83d Pfalm, that God would punish and flay and difperfe them, as enemies of his holy church. But that I may come to our former Intention again, here the Arabians again asked us very often, where their King was at that time, fo that our mafter had business enough to anfwer them; whereby you may obferve what great refpect and love they have for their King. But that they might not altogether look upon us as outlandish men, nor prefently difcern us to be ftrangers, we did fometimes when there was occafion for it, change our turbants, and let one end thereof according to their fashion hang down, which they do to make themfelves a fhade against the heat, that is very cruel in thefe countries. But yet if any body, be he who he will, doth enquire after their King, and wants to come before him, to prefent him with a fuit of cloaths, &c. or to defire a pass from him, or if one should go about to hire one of them, to fhew him the way to a certain place, or through their country which he may do for a very small price, he would foon find one or other that would be ready to do it; but a mong the Turks there is no fuch obedience; for if you fhould defire any thing of them to do in the name of their Sultan, they are not willing to do it, except it would redound to 'their great profit. Wherefore a Turkish guide to conduct you would cost you a great deal more than one of them. Befides, they also remember their mafter daily, and hardly fpeak of any thing but of him, his great riches, &c. but with fuch pride and greatness, chiefly when they speak of his powerfulnefs, and enlarging of his kingdom, as if fome share of these were belonging to them, and that they must be refpected for it. In this navigation through the great defarts, we two did not spend much, because the towns were at fo great a diftance from one another that we could not reach them, to provide our felves daily neceffaries (as we do in our country on the Danube and Rhine) or lodgings. We were neceffitated to be contented with fome flight food or other, and make a fhift with curds, cheefe, fruits, honey, &c. and to take any of these with some bread for a good entertainment. The honey in thefe parts is very good,

I 4

and

and of a whitifh colour, whereof they take in their caravans and navigations great leathern bottles full along with them; this they bring you in fmall cups, and put a little butter to it, and fo you eat it with biskets. By this dish I often remembred S John the Baptist, the fore-runner of our Lord, how he alfo did eat honey in the defarts, together with other food. Befides this when we had a mind to feast our felves, fome ran, as foon as our mafter had landed at night, to fetch some wood, and others in the mean time made a hole in the ground on the fhoar, in the nature of a furnace, to boil our meat. So every company dreffed accordingly what they had a mind to, or what they had laid up in ftore; fome boil'd rice, others ground corn c. And when they had a mind to eat new bread instead, or for want of biskets, they made a paste of flower and water, and wrought it into broad cakes about the thickness of a finger, and put them in a hot place on the ground, heated on purpose by fire, and covered it with afhes and coals, and turned it feveral times until it was enough. These cakes were very favory and good to eat. Some of the Arabians have in their tents ftones or copperplates made on purpose to bake them. On the 4th day, being the last of September, about noon, we came to the end of the mountains, before which without, on this fide, lieth a very ftrong citadel, on a high hill, built three fquare, by the inhabitants called Seleby, whereof two points go downwards towards the river, and the third upward a great way on the mountain, fo that in it's fituation it is very like unto Baden in Switzerland. Although it is demolished, yet it is ftill very strong in it's walls, that are to be feen at the top and on the fides, chiefly towards the hills, and the river fide, to hinder the paffage both by water and land. There are alfo ftill ftanding fome watch-houfes without, as you come towards it near the mountains, which may hold three or four fouldiers yet it lieth ftill to this day in ruins, and fo defolated, that nothing but birds and beast inhabit it; whereof a great many appeared on the river fide, as Herns, Ducks, that were very large and of a delicate colour, and others among which were fome of a white colour, called Pelicans by Ariftotle, and Onocrotali by others, which are as big as Swans; the prophet Zephaniah maketh also

mention

a

*

mention of them in his fecond chapter, when he prognofticated the punishment that was to come to the Ninevites, Affyrians and Moors; there alfo appeared fome quite black with long necks; whereof I did fee abundance in my travels into the Land of Promife, and efpecially near Acon among the rocks and crags of the fea; as far as I could difcern them at a diftance, they feemed to be a kind of Sea-Eagle, that feed more upon fifh than any thing elfe. Six miles lower, and at the other fide of the Euphrates, lieth ftill another fortification, which is called Subiau Seleby, that is, lower Seleby, on a very high bank, ni feeing that we failed very near it, I could not well discover it. Of these two which way they were befieged and taken; and alfo of the way of government, or ruling of the Kings of Arabia, &c. I fhould have been very glad to have been a little better informed, but the language wherewith I was not well acquainted, did hinder me. And fuppofe I fhould have understood it very well, or enough to have made an enquiry after those particulars, yet I could not have done it without great danger, to have been taken for a fpy; for they foon fufpect outlandish men on every little occafion, which thofe that trade in these parts have often experienced not without great lofs and danger. Beyond the mountains in the low country we faw inore tilled grounds, and habitations of the Arabians than we had done before, wherefore our mafter landed fooner than he used to do, near a village, to take in provifion for our farther journey, where the people brought flesh and Indian Melons to us to fell. Here it happened, that about midnight, one of the Turkish fouldiers went out to ease himself on the river fide; and when he was bufy about it, a Moor came creeping along to him, and thrust him into the river before he was aware of it, and run away. The Turk finding himself in the Euphrates, fell a crying out for help; I hearing him, ftanding centinel that night did not fail him, but made what hafte I could, with my fcymeter in my hand, followed his voice, and came to the place, although it was very dark, drew him out, and brought him into the fhip, which was fo kindly taken by

* I guess them rather to have been Cormorants; no Eagles baving long Necks.

by the rest of the Turks, that I got mightily into their favour, and received many kindneffes of them all the way until we came to Bagdet, the garrifon which they went to reinforce.

The first of October when our Voyage went on again, there came early in the morning a post of fix Arabians on horfeback to the river fide, to inquire of us whither their King was gone, or where we thought they might find. him; they had received letters for him from the Sultan, wherefore they muft follow him until they found him, The mafter of our fhip told them, as he did to every body that ask'd him, that we had feen him in Mefopotamia, which province he call'd Amanachar, that he was broken up with his Men to go back into Arabia, where they would find him. After this relation they departed, and we went on our way, and foon faw below a town to our right at a diftance, call'd Seccard, very well fituated on an afcent, belonging to the King of Arabia, wherefore fome of the Turks faid, that none but Haramiquiber, that is, great Thieves, lived in it, which they do out of fpight to all them that are fubject to any other mafter than their Sultan. This town we paffed by, and went directly towards Deer another town, whence we were then three leagues diftant, yet they do not account their distances by leagues, for they know little or nothing of it, but rather reckon by days journeys, for their towns are fo fituated at fuch a distance, that they have fometimes to go through divers wildernesses, feveral days, more or lefs, before they arrive there. Before we came thither, one of the fhips in our company did go too much towards one fide, toward a

So

branch of the river, that runs by the town, for it divideth itfelf into feveral branches, where it got into the mud and ftuck. Our mafter feeing this, landed immediately, and did fend his men to help them. I got time to look about for the ftrange plants, and found there about the river many Tamarisk-trees, aifo a peculiar fort of Willow, which the inhabitants ftill call by it's ancient Arabian name Garb. Thefe trees do not grow high, but fpread very much; the twigs thereof are ftronger and not fo tough, as to make bands or withs as ours will; the bark is of a pale

a pale yellow colour, and fo are the leayes, which are long and about two fingers broad, and at the edges round about crenated, fo that they are very much differing from the reft of this kind. I found them to be of a pretty drying and aftringent quality. Of their flowers and fruit, whereof Avicenna maketh mention in his 126th and 686th chap. I can fay nothing, because I faw none. Hereabouts the Turk, that would not ftay until we were cleared, but went away before us, fuffer'd fhipwreck, and fo loft a great deal of his corn, that he intended to carry to Bagdat, call'd Baldac, to fell it in the great fcarcity, which was occafion'd for want of rain, for there fell none in the space of two years and an a half. And yet, as they fay, if it raineth but twice or thrice a year, they have enough to fupply themselves. After our men had wrought longer than an hour together with theirs, until they had emptied the fhips, they came to us again to go that night to Deer. But there being feveral rocks before it, which were very dangerous to pafs, fome of their pilots, that understood the depths, came out to meet, and did help us, fo that we got fafe there. The town of Deer, which is not very big, and belongs to the Sultan, is fituated on this fide of the river, on an ascent, and is pretty well built with houses, (whereon stood great numbers of people when we into it, to fee us) but as for the walls and ditches, they are but very flight. At our firft arrival, we thought we should foon get clear for the custom with the Armin, and ship off again, but he was not in town, fo that we were forced to stay three days for his coming. In the mean time we got acquaintance with the inhabitants, which were handfome, lufty and well fet, and white, and more mannerly than the reft; they vifited us frequently, and spoke kindly to us, so that we found a vaft difference between thofe and the former. The Armin alfo, who was no lefs civil, we presented at his return, with a great difh fill'd up with Cibebs, and feveral forts of confectures, and laid round about with foap-balls, as is the fashion in these countries; but to them that were with him and of his family, we gave some sheets of white paper, which they willingly received, and were fo well pleafed with it, that fome of them (as

the