and a little Bag fill'd with green Pepper, and ano→ ther Plant which they have there, fomething like our Ginger, but fmelling like Musk,and tafting like Mustard; all this was put together, and a fmall Lump or Piece of lean Mutton boil'd in it; and this was his Worship's Repaft, four or five Servants more attending at a Diftance. If he fed them meaner than he was fed himself, the Spice excepted, they must fare very courfly indeed.

As for our Mandarin, with whom we travell'd, he was refpected like a King; furrounded always with his Gentlemen, and attended in all his Appearances with fuch Pomp, that I faw little of him but at a Distance; but this I obferv'd, that there was not a Horfe in his Retinue, but that our Carriers Pack-Horfes in England feem to me to look much better, but they were fo cover'd with Equipage, Mantles, Trappings, and fuch like Trumpery, that you cannot fee whether they are fat or lean in a word, we could fee fcarce any thing but their Feet and their Heads.

I was now light hearted, and all my Trouble and Perplexity that I have given an Account of being over, I had no anxious Thoughts about me; which made this Journey the pleasanter to me, nor had I any ill Accident attended me, only in the paffing or fording a small River, my Horse fell, and made me free of the Country, as they call it, that is to fay, threw me in; the Place was not deep, but it wetted me all over; I mention it because it fpoil'd my Pocket-Book, wherein I had fet down the Names of feveral People and Places which I had Occafion to remember, and which, not taking due Care of, the Leaves rotted, and the Words were never after to be read, to my great

great Lofs, as to the Names of fome Places I touch'd at in this Voyage.

At length we arriv'd at Pecking; I had no Body with me but the Youth who my Nephew, the Captain, had given me to attend me as a Servant, and who prov'd very trufty and diligent, and my Partner had no Body with him but one Servant, who was a Kinfman; as for the Portuguese Pi lot he being defirous to fee the Court, we gave him his Paffage, that is to fay, bore his Charges for his Company; and to ufe him as an Interpreter, for he understood the Language of the Country, and fpoke good French, and a little English, and indeed this old Man was a moft ufeful Impliment to us every where, for we had not been above a Week at Pecking, when he came laughing, Ah Seignior Inglefe, fays he, I have fomething to tell you will make your Heart glad. My Heart glad, fays I, What can that be? I don't know any thing in this Country can either give me Joy or Grief to any great Degree. Yes, Yes, faid the old Man in broken English, make you glad, me forrow; forry he would have faid. This made me more inquifitive. Why, faid I, will it make you forry? Because, faid he, You have brought, me here 25 Days Journey, and will leave me to go back alone, and which way shall I get to my Port afterwards without a Ship, without a Horse, without Peccune? So he call'd Money, being his broken Latin, of which he had abundance to make us merry with.

In fhort, he told us there was a great Caravan of Muscovite and Polish Merchants in the City, and they 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 all alone. I confefs, I was furpris'd with his News, a fecret Joy fpread it felf over my whole Soul, which I cannot defcribe, and never felt before or fince, and I had no Power for a good while to fpeak a Word to the old Man; but at laft I turn'd to him; How do you know this, faid I, are you fure it is true? Yes, fays he, 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 alter'd his Mind, and is now refolv'd to go with the Caravan to Mufcow, and fo down the River Wolga to Aftracan. Well, Segnior, fays I, do not be uneafy 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 confulting together what was to be done, and I ask'd 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 Bengale, and left his Effects in fuch good Hands; that as we had made a good Voyage here, if he could veft it in China Silks, 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 Bengale, by the Company's Ships.

Having refolv'd upon this, we agreed, that if our Portugal Pilot would go with us, we would bear his Charges to Mufcow, or to England if he pleas'd; nor indeed were we to be efteem'd over generous in that Part neither, if we had not re

warded

warded 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 Sea, but he had been like a Broker for us on Shore, and his procuring for us the Japan Merchant, was fome. hundreds of Pounds in our Pocket: 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 coin'd Gold, which, as I compute it, came to about 175 Pounds Sterling between us, and to bear all his Charges, both for himself and Horse, except only a Horse to carry his Goods:

- Having fettled this among our felves, we call'd him to let him know what we had refolv'd; I told him, he had complain'd of our being to let him go back alone, and I was now to tell him we was refolv'd he fhould not go back at all; that as we had refolv'd to go to Europe with the Caravan, we refolv'd alfo he fhould go with us, and that we call'd him to know his Mind. He thook his Head, and faid, it was a long Journey, and he had no Pecune to carry him thither, or to fubfift himself when he came there. We told' him, we believ'd it was fo, and therefore we had refolv'd to do fomething for him, that fhould let him fee how fenfible we were of the Service he had done us, and alfo how agreeable he was to us; and then I told him what we had refolv'd to give him here, which he might lay out as we would do our own; and that as for his Charges, if he would go with us, we would fet him fafe a-fhore, (Life and Casualties excepted) either in Muscovy

*

Mufcovy or England, which he would, at our own Charge, except only the Carriage of his Goods.

He receiv'd the Propofal like a Man transported, and told us he would go with us over the whole World; and fo, in hort, we all prepar'd our felves for the Journey: However, as it was with us, fo 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 Stile, when we fet out from Peking, my Partner and the old Pilot had gone exprefs back to the Port where we had firft put in, to dispose of some Goods which we had left there; and I with a Chinese Merchant, who I had fome Knowledge of at Nanquin, and who came to Pecking on his own Affairs, went to Nanquin, where I bought ninety Pieces of fine Damasks, with about two hundred Pieces of other very fine Silks, of leveral Sorts, fome mix'd with Gold, and had all these brought to Peking against my Partner's Return; befides this, we bought a very large Quantity of. raw Silk, and fome other Goods, our Cargo amounting in thefe Goods only to about three thoufand five hundred Pounds Sterling, which, together with Tea and fome fine Callicoes, and three Camels Loads of Nutmegs and Cloves, loaded in all eighteen Camels for our Share, befides thofe we rode upon; which with two or three fpare Horfes, and two Horfes loaded with Provifions, made us in fhort 26 Camels and Horfes in our Retinue.

The Company was very great, and, as near as I can remember, made between three and

four