~— , 1 - — . m. jr 



34 A Relation of the Chap.IV. 



order' d all his chefts to be brought into the Seraglio, by the Bahagis, whom he fent 

 to his Lodgings, pulls out of his pocket the Chapelet of Coral,and the Ring, which he 

 fhewes him, and told him, that thofe two pieces were taken out of a little bag, which 

 a Pilgrim of Mecha had entrufted him with the cuftody of. He afterwards ftiews him 

 the note or fchedule of all the other pieces, and commanding him to open his Chefts > 

 the Jewels were there found .which that unhappy man,convinc'd of his guilt, and trem- 

 bling for fear, deliver'd up into the hands ot the Grand Seignor. The Pilgrim was 

 call'd, and prcfèntly knew his bag, and his Jewels -, and the Doctor, by an open con- 

 ftilion, acknowledg'd his crime, and pertidioufnefs. 



The next day, the Emperour orderM the Divan to be Affembled, at which he com- 

 manded that all the Grandees about Çonjiantinople (hould be prefent,to render the Judg- 

 ment the more folemn. He firft commanded, that whatever belong'd to the Pilgrim 

 fhould be reftor'd to him, together with fome additional recompence : and his next 

 command was,That the Doctor fhould be punifh'd, according to his own Sentence. To 

 that end, order was given, that a ftone fhould be made hollow, after the form of a 

 Mortar, into which he was thrown ftark, naked, and pounded alive by the common 

 Executioners. And that is the fame Stone-Mortar, which I have often feen near the 

 Gate of the Divan, and is left there, for a Memorial of fo admirable and Co folemn a 

 Judgment. And this was the period of a Hiftory, whereof all the circumftances are re- 

 markable, and which is not one of the leaft Monuments of the Wifdom of the Empe- 

 rour Amur at. That Prince, inftead of ufing his abfolute power at the firft overture of 

 fuch an Affair, thought it fitter, by a perfpicacity of mind and prudence, patiently to 

 expect remote occasions, that he might thence deduce evident proofs of a conceal'd. 

 crime : and his intention was to raife the Doctor to great dignities,if he had found him 

 innocenr, and to punilh him feverely, as he did, upon the difcovery of his guilt. 



At what time, I told you at the beginning of this Chapter, that of the four dayes of the Week, ap- 

 bowj the Grand pointed for the fitting of the Divan 3 thofe which are anfwerable to our Sunday and 



Sti fn! f ff Tuefday are the principal, as being thofe on which the Affairs of greateft importance 



out oj thttvay, . , 1 . r i o ■ . _ , o r 



thofe, whom he are debated. They call thofe two dayes Arzgbimz, in regard, that alter the Grand 

 Jiijpefis. Vizir \ the fix other Vizirs, and the two Cadilefqtars, who affift at the Divan, havead- 

 minihrcd Juftice ; they go all together to kifs the Grand Seignor 's hands. If any one 

 of thofe Nine Judges have ought to fay to him, he is permitted, on thofe dayes, to 

 fpeak to him freely : and it is ordinarily upon thcfe dayes alfo, that the Grand Seig- 

 nor takes his time, if he has a mind to take off any one. He then orders the Bofiangi- 

 Bacbi to be ready, with fume of thofe who attend him, to execute his will ■■, and ha- 

 ving dcclar'd to him who they are,whom he would have ftrangled,the order is nofoon- 

 er given, but that either at their arrival, or at their departure, it is punctually obey'd. 

 True it is, that he does not demean himfelf fo, but when he is afraid of fome popular 

 fedition, in cafe he fhould fend to punifh them in their own Houfes, where they might 

 make fome refiftânce. But within the Seraglio, and in fight of the Janizaries, who 

 are in their ftations near the Divan, the unfortunate Perfon, whom they would have to 

 be ftrangled, has no more to do then to bow down his Head, and to ftretch out his 

 Neck, without thinking of any refiftance, which would be to no purpofe. In the 

 Eleventh Chapter, I (hall give an account at large, how they proceed to that exe- 

 cution. 



A little beyond the Hall of the Divan, you come to another Hall, rais'd up after the 

 manner of a Balcony, where the Ambafladors are feated, when they alTift at the Divan y 

 and that they do, once in three months, and upon the dayes, that the Janizaries re- 

 ceive their pay. There is notice fent them to be there, out of a vain oftentation, that 

 they may fee, what abundance of money goes out of the Treafury. Between thefe two 

 Halls there is a Gate, which leads to the Quarter of the Baltagis. Thofe are a fort of 

 ftrong and robuft People, employ'd, as I told you, in carrying of Wood all about the 

 Seraglio, and other mean and painful Offices. As to the wood, which is burnt in the 

 Appartments of the Women, they disburthen themfelves of it at the door, where the 

 Negro-Eunuchs take it up, and carry it into the Baths and other rooms, into which 

 they only are permitted to go. And this is all that's confiderable in that fécond Court. 

 Let us now enter further into the Seraglio, and fee how things are manag'd there. 



CHAP. 



The days on 

 which Ambaf- 

 fadors come to 

 the Divan. 



\ 



