gild them. The coachman alfo appears in clothes that are quite plain, or more or lefs adorned with lace.

The officer who prefides here has the title of governor-general of the Indies, and the Dutch governors of all the other fettlements are fubordinate to him, and obliged to repair to Batavia that he may pafs their accounts If they appear to have been criminal, or even negli gent, he punishes them by delay, and detains them during pleasure, fometimes one year, fometimes two years, and fometimes three; for they cannot quit the place till he gives them a difmiffion. Next to the governor are the members of the council, called here Edele Heeren, and by the corruption of the English, Idoleers. These Idoleers take upon them fo much ftate, that whoever meets them in a carriage, is expected to rife up and bow, then to drive on one fide of the road, and there flop till they are paft: the fame homage is required alfo to their wives, and even their children; and it is commonly paid them by the inhabitants. But fome of our captains have thought fo flavith a mark of respect beneath the dignity which they derived from the fervice of his Britannic Ma jelly, and have refufed to pay it; yet, if they were in a hired car riage, nothing could deter the coachman from honouring the Dutch Grandee at their expence, but the moft peremptory menace of immediate death.

Juftice is administered here by a body of lawyers, who have ranks of diftinction among themselves, Concerning their proceedings in queftions of property, I know no thing; but their decifions in cri

minal cafes feem to be fevere with refpect to the natives, and lenient with refpect to their own people, in a criminal degree. A Chriftian always is indulged with an opportunity of escaping before he is brought to a trial, whatever may have been his offence; and if he is brought to a trial and convicted, he is feldom punished with death: while the poor Indians, on the contrary, are hanged, and broken upon the wheel, and even impaled alive without mercy.

The Malays and Chinese have judicial officers of their own, under the denominations of captains and lieutenants, who determine in civil cafes, fubje&t to an appeal to the Dutch court.

The taxes paid by these people to the company are very confiderable; and that which is exacted of them for liberty to wear their hair, is by no means the leaft. They are paid monthly, and to fave the trou ble and charge of collecting them, a

flag is hoisted upon the top of a house in the middle of the town when a payment is due, and the Chinese have experienced that it is their intereft to repair thither with their money without delay.

The money current here confifts of ducats, worth an hundred and thirty-two tivers; ducatoons, eighty flivers; imperial rixdollars, fixty; rupees of Batavia, thirty; fchellings, fix; double cheys, two ftivers and a half; and doits, one fourth of a ftiver. Spanish dollars; when we were here, were at five thillings and five-pence; and we were told that they were never lower than five fhillings and fourpence, even at the company's warehouse. For English guineas we could never get more than

nineteen fhillings upon an average; for though the Chinefe would give twenty fhillings for fome of the brighteft, they would give no more than feventeen fhillings for thofe that were much worn.

It may perhaps be of fome advantage to ftrangers to be told, that there are two kinds of coin here, of the fame denomination, milled and unmilled, and that the milled is of most value. A milled duca toon is worth eighty ftivers; but an unmilled ducatoon is worth no more than feventy-two. counts are kept in rixdollars and fivers, which, here at least, are mere nominal coins, like our pound fterling. The rixdollar is equal to forty-eight ftivers, about four fhillings and fix-pence English cur

rency.

All ac

Some Particulars relative to the Arabs; from an Account of a Journey from Perfia to England, by Edward Ives, Efq.

Τ

HE Arabs ftill continue divided into tribes; and out of as many of these as poffible, it will be adviseable for you to select the men who are to efcort you over the defert; for fhould you happen to fall in with a body of any of those particular tribes, to which the Arabs who accompany you belong, you may depend upon paffing unhurt and unmolefted; or if you meet with any of their fcouting parties, and can prevail only on one of them to enter your tents, drink of your coffee, eat rice, or any thing befides, you will then be fafe from any infult either by them or their brethren; it being an invariable maxim with them, "never

to moleft thofe ftrangers they have once eaten and drank with," looking upon it then as a breach of hofpitality, and confequently as a moft enormous crime. Should any of their out-lying detachments accidentally fall in with you, and inftead of entering your tents, and partaking of your entertainment, hurry back to their main body to communicate the pleafing intelligence; even in this cafe, if one of your party can make greater hafte than they, and join the Arab body. first, throw himself at the Sheick's feet, and demand protection, you may reft affured of your lives and property: for another ftable maxim with them is, that "whosoever shall fly to the powerful, and humbly implore affiftance, has a right to receive it." This point they carry fo far, that were the murderer of the Sheick's father, fon, or brother, to be the perfon fo petitioning, he would not be refufed. And what is

fill more extraordinary, this act of mercy is fure to take place, although the fupplicant may not be able to get quite up to the perfon of the Sheick. If he is only fo near him, as to be capable of throwing a stick to, or beyond the fpot of ground where he happens to be, this circumftance fecures him from all danger.

But though the Arabs are thus fcrupulous in regard to the rights of hofpitality, yet in other in@ances they will be found to equivocate as well as their neighbours. The moft effectual way to bind them is by a particular oath of theirs, called the Tallanck; the penalty of a nonperformance of which is, that the perjured perfon fhall part with all his wives, and never cohabit with them again, until they have been

E 4

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prostituted to other men, The infamy and inconvenience arifing from hence, is efteemed fo very great, that you feldom, if ever, hear of this facred obligation be ing broken. The wife, that has the greater power in the family, is The, who by the confent of the parents of both parties, was first maṛried to the young man; fhe is early taught the art of cookery, and takes the lead of all the other wives in that respect; fhe has alfo the chief management of his domeftic affairs; nor can he ever part with her, but with the utmost difficulty and inconvenience.

[We hall further illuftrate this account, by the extraordinary adventures of an English gentleman, from the fame author.]

This gentleman (Mr. Barton) had, it feems; a few years before, acquired a handfome fortune in the Eaft-Indies, with which he return ed to England, fettled at fome diftance from London, in the character of a country gentleman, and ferved the office of high-fheriff for the county in which he lived. Being neceffitated however to return to India to fettle fome affairs, he had the courage to fit out a fmall Folkftone-cutter, in which he actually fet fail from England for the Eaft-Indies; but before he had been many days at fea, he was (luckily perhaps for himself and his little crew taken by a French privateer, and carried into Vigo. From hence he got a paffage to Leghorn, taking his fon with him, who had alfo embarked in the fame dangerous enterprize for the EaftIndies. At Leghorn they took hip again, and got fafe to Scanderoon. Here, he was fo impatient to get forward on his journey, that

he would not wait for the caravan but fet out for Aleppo, attended only by his fon, a country fervant, and a few camels. His fpirit was too active to endure the flow march of these animals; he therefore frequently made excurfions on the road before them, but one day, while walking on foot, and alone, he was attacked by a few Arabs who robbed him of every thing he had about him. This obliged him to wait for the coming up of his little company, and with them he travelled on without any other accident to Aleppo. Here, he was in the fame hurry for proceeding on his journey, nor could the whole factory prevail upon him to wait only a fortnight or three weeks for the fetting out of a large caravan for Bagdad and Baffora.

He accordingly began this fecond hazardous expedition with only two or three camels, and the fame country fervant, leaving his fon behind at Aleppo, with orders to follow him, by the first convenient opportunity. For a few days he and his man went on uninterrupted over the defert. At length five or fix hundred Arabs difcovered them; but upon their coming nigh, Mr. Barton drew out a brace of piftols which he carried in his belt, and prefented them at the Arabs: aftonished at his rathness, they made a stand, but at the fame time ordered him to throw down his arms. His fervant alfo perfuaded him to comply, but all in vain ; he ftill held his cocked piftols to wards the Arabs, and with a determined look, and high-toned voice, declared he would kill fome of them, if they dared to approach any hearer. By degrees they furrounded him, and with a blow on the

head,

head, he was brought to the ground, and his pistols taken from him: the Arabs now in their turn presented thefe weapons to his breaft, and told him that he deferved to be put to death; but they fatisfied themfelves with ftripping him quite naked, and leaving the fervant a jacket and breeches, but not a drop of water, or morfel of provision for either.

Mr. Barton, after the enemy rode off, accepted the breeches which his fervant offered to him, and they both fet off bare-footed (their camels also having been taken from them) in the track for Bagdad. After having paffed two days and nights without meeting with any

the Tygris to Corna, and from thence to Baffora, where we met with him. He was at that time clothed like a poor Turk, without fhirt or stockings; his beard was grown to an uncommon length; and he declared that he would indulge himself in few of the comforts, much lefs in the elegancies of life, till he arrived fafely at Calcutta, the place of his deftination.

Hofpitality and Politeness of Choudar Aga, the Governor of Hilla, a Turkish Town on the Euphrates. From the fame.

be in season, and which they found in great plenty, they fortunately fell in with another tribe of Arabs, to whofe Sheick they told their melancholy tale, and implored his affiftance. The Sheick was touched with the relation of their distress, and afforded them every help in his power; his own wives miniftered unto them, anointed their feet, brought them milk, and every other neceffary. As foon as they were fufficiently recovered to fet forward, the son of the Sheick escorted them fo far, as to put them under the protection of another Sheick, by whom they were entertained in the like hofpitable thanner; and difmiffed with other guards and paffports; nor did they want friends as long as their journey lafted, each tribe seeing them fafely lodged with its next neighbour, until they had delivered them into the hands of our countrymen at Bagdad.

From that city, Mr. Barton was carried in the Pasha's galley down

got up pretty near to the governor of Hilla's palace, fituated in that part of the town which ftands on the left, or south side of the river. Our fandal carrying no guns, we could only falute with five bounces; their report however was equal to that of a four-pounder. We were foon furrounded by a very numerous company of people, of boys especially; even the women, who came down to the river with their pitchers, for water, fatisfied their curiofity by looking at us; most of them had their faces half covered, many were comely, and of a pretty good complexion. The men in general were well made; fome are white, but most of them tawny. We had been but a very little while near the fhore, before one of the governor's officers came to bid us welcome; he fat with us on a tool by the fide of the river, and took care the crowd should not prefs upon us. In the mean time we fent by Mr. Hemet, and our man Vertan, Mr. Shaw's letter, and

another

another from Aly Aga; they foon returned with the governor's compliments, and an invitation for us to repair to the feraglio; an officer with a filver battoon, and high cap, came alfo to conduct us.

Notwithstanding it was the faft of the Ramazan, and before funfet, we found the governor, Choudar Aga, feated on a carpet in his porch, at the entrance of his paJace, ready to receive us; (he was about forty years old, and of the genteeleft deportment) he bade us heartily welcome, thrice; told us we should do him honour by taking up our abode at his houfe; expreffed his unfeigned forrow at the fatigues and difficulties we had paffed through, of which he faid he had been informed three days ago; hoped we should reft well under his roof, and recover our loft ftrength, and that we might depend on every affistance in his power. At our first coming in, he obliged us immediately to feat ourfelves on the fide of the porch, oppofite to him, where had been placed a car pet and cushions. The rules of the fat were fill farther difpenfed with, for coffee was brought to us as foon as we were feated. In the courfe of the interview, be faid, as every people had their different manners, and he could not but be a ftranger to our's, he must defire the favour of us, while we continued with him, to purfue our own inclinations in all things, but efpecially in what refpected refreshments; he fhould therefore be glad if we would trouble ourselves to direct his domeftics what fort of repaft they should provide for our fupper. We replied to his civili ties, but begged we might be admitted to be ferved only with a plate

:

of what was the ufual provifions of his family upon his repeating his wishes, we answered," nothing could be more acceptable than a common Pillaw," (boiled fowl and rice.) We begged indeed the favour of being accommodated with a warm bagnio, which he immediately ordered to be got ready, and directed his attendants to be there in waiting with herbet, &c. but before we went to the bath, he ordered his people to fhow us the apartments that were provided for us above stairs. We then took our leave, each paying the other the moft obliging compliments they could think of; but the Turk was very much our fuperior in this fort of converfation.

Our rooms were the beft in the palace, lofty, with painted walls, and Gothic arched roofs. We were accompanied to and from the bag. nio by an officer carrying a filverheaded staff. At our return to the feraglio, we found fix or eight dishes placed upon our own table, with our ftools fet round it; and though the whole was dreffed after the Turkish manner, it was by no means difagreeable to an English palate. An intimation was also given to us, that the governor made it his particular request, that in regard to our liquors, we would be quite free and unrestrained. This was carrying his complaifance to a great height, confidering how very itrict the regular Turks are on this article: we doubted at first, whether we fhould fend for wine, but the governor having interro. gated our domeftics, and learned our common practice, repeated his requeft by a meffage fent on pur. pofe.

Choudar Aga, whilft we were at fupper,