were preparing to fet out on their journey, by land, to Muscovy, within four or five weeks, and he was fure we would take the opportunity to go with them, and leave him behind to go back alone. I confess I was furprised with this news: a fecret joy spread itfelf over my whole foul, which I cannot defcribe, and never felt before, or fince; and I had no power, for a good while, to speak a word to the old man ; but at last I turned to him: How do you know this? faid I are you fure it is true? Yes, he faid, I met this morning, in the street, an old acquaintance of mine, an Armenian, or one you call a Grecian, who is among them; he came laft from Aftracan, and was defigning to go to Tonquin, where I formerly knew him, but has altered his mind, and is now refolved to go back with the caravan to Mofcow, and fo down the river of Wolga to Aftracan. Well, Seignior, faid I, do not be uneasy about being left to go back alone; if this be a method for my return to England, it shall be your fault if you go back to Macao at all. We then went to confult together what was to be done, and afked my partner what he thought of the pilot's news, and whether it would fuit with his affairs: he told me he would do just as I would; for he had fettled all his affairs fo well at Bengal, and left his effects in such good hands, that as we made a good voyage here, if he could veft it in China filks, wrought and raw, fuch as might be worth the carriage, he would be content to go to England, and then make his voyage back to Bengal, by the company's fhips.

Having refolved upon this, we agreed, that if our Portuguese pilot would go with us, we would bear his charges

3

charges to Moscow, or to England, if he pleased; nor, indeed, were we to be esteemed over generous in that part neither, if we had not rewarded him farther; for the service he had done us was really worth all that, and more; for he had not only been a pilot to us at fea, but he had been also like a broker for us on fhore; and his procuring for us the Japan merchant, was fome hundreds of pounds in our pockets. So we confulted together about it; and, being willing to gratify him, which was, indeed, but doing him juftice, and very willing alfo to have him with us befides, for he was a moft neceffary man on all occafions, we agreed to give him a quantity of coined gold, which, as I compute it, came to about 175 pounds fterling between us, and to bear his charges, both for himself and horfe, except only a horse to carry his goods.

Having fettled this among ourselves, we called him to let him know what we had refolved: I told him, he had complained of our being like to let him go back alone, and I was now to tell him we were refolved he should not go back at all: that as we had refolved to go to Europe with the caravan, we refolved also he should go with us, and that we called him to know his mind. He fhook his head, and faid it was a long journey, and he had no pecune to carry him thither, nor to fubfift himself when he came thither. We told him, we believed it was fo, and therefore we had refolved to do fomething for him, that fhould let him fee how fenfible we were of the fervice he had done us; and alfo how agreeable he was to us: and then I told him what we had refolved to give him here, which he might lay out as

we

we would do our own; and that as for his charges, if he would go with us, we would fet him fafe afhore, (life and cafualties excepted) either in Mufcovy or in England, which he would, at our own charge, except only the carriage of his goods.

He received the propofal like a man transported, and told us, he would go with us over the whole world; and fo, in fhort, we all prepared ourfelves for the journey. However, as it was with us, so it was with the other merchants, they had many things to do; and instead of being ready in five weeks, it was four months and fome odd days before all things were got together.

It was the beginning of February, our style, when we set out from Pekin. My partner and the old pilot had gone exprefs back to the port where we had first put in, to dispose of fome goods which we had left there; and I, with a Chinese merchant, whom I had fome knowledge of at Nanquin, and who came to Pekin on his own affairs, went to Nanquin, where I bought ninety pieces of fine damasks, with about two hundred pieces of other very fine filks, of several forts, fome mixed with gold, and had all these brought to Pekin against my partner's return: befides this, we bought a very large quantity of raw filk, and fome other goods; our cargo amounting, in thefe goods only, to about three thoufand five hundred pounds fterling, which, together with tea, and fome fine callicoes, and three camel-loads of nutmegs and cloves, loaded in all eighteen camels for our fhare, befides thofe we rode upon; which, with two or three fpare hopfes, and two horfes loaded with provifions, made

us,

us, in fhort, twenty-fix camels and horfes in our retinue.

The company was very great, and, as near as I can remember, made between three and four hundred horfes and camels, and upward of an hundred and twenty men, very well armed, and provided for all events. For, as the eastern caravans are fubject to be attacked by the Arabs, fo are thefe by the Tartars; but they are not altogether so dangerous as the Arabs, nor fo barbarous when they prevail.

The company confifted of people of feveral nations, fuch as Muscovites chiefly; for there were about fixty of them who were merchants or inhabitants of Mufcow, though of them fome were Livonians; and to our particular fatisfaction, five of them were Scots, who appeared alfo to be men of great experience in business, and very good fubítance.

When we had travelled one day's journey, the guides, who were five in number, called all the gentlemen and merchants; that is to fay, all the paffengers, except the servants, to a great council, as they termed it. At this great council every one depofited a certain quantity of money to a common stock, for the neceffary expence of buying forage on the way, where it was not otherwise to be had, and for fatiffying the guides, getting horfes, and the like. And here they conftituted the journey, as they called it, viz. They named captains and officers to draw us all up, and give the command in cafe of an attack, and gave every one their turn of command. Nor was this forming us into order any more than what we found needful upon the way, as fhall be obferved in its place.

The

The road all on this fide of the country is very populous, and is full of potters and earth-makers; that is to fay, people that tempered the earth for the China ware; and, as I was going along, our Portuguese pilot, who had always fomething or other to fay to make us merry, came fneering to me, and told me, he would fhew the greatest rarity in all the country; and that I fhould have this to say of China, after all the ill-humoured things I had faid of it, that I had feen one thing which was not to be feen in all the world befide. I was very importunate to know what it was; at laft he told me, it was a gentleman's house, built all with China ware. Well, faid I, are not the materials of their building the product of their own country; and so it is all China ware, is it not? No, no, fays he, I mean, it is a houfe all made of China ware, fuch as you call fo in England; or, as it is called in our country, porcelain. Well, faid I, such a thing may be: How big is it; Can we carry it in a box upon a camel? If we can, we will buy it. Upon a camel! faid the old pilot, holding up both his hands, why there is a family of thirty people lives in it.

I was then curious, indeed, to fee it; and when I came to it, it was nothing but this: it was a timber house, or a house built, as we call it in England, with lath and plaifter, but all the plaiftering was really China ware, that is to fay, it was plaiftered with the earth that makes China ware.

The outfide, which the fun fhone hot upon, was glazed, and looked very well, perfectly white, and painted with blue figures, as the large China ware in England is painted, and hard, as if it had been

burnt.