66o 
A Defer ipion of the Coajis of 
CHAP. XXV. 
TheMmnerof Living of Hollanders /> Me Eaft-Indies, Their ufe of Tcd. 
and Cliocolate : Their ordmary Drink ; Mmner of Sleeping. A Defcription 
of the tm Rivers, the Ganges and the Nile. 
Manner of 
living of 
the Ducch. 
The ufe of 
Tea. 
How pre' 
pared. 
AS the manner of Living of the vulgar 
fort among the Dutch in the Eafi- 
Indies^ is none of the belt, fo we will be fa- 
tihfy'd with giving an account of thofeof 
the better fort. They commonly rife with 
the Sun, Sleep after Sun-rifing being ac- 
counted very unwholfom here in the 
Morning. Some have a Cuftom of wafh- 
ing their Heads, nay the whole Body 
with cold Water, immediately after their 
coming out of bed ; others do it with 
luke-warm Water three or four times a 
week ; the laft of which I have found 
the bell by experience. They common- 
ly fliift their Linen every day. Brandy 
Of any other ftrong Liquors are not much 
ufed by the wifer fort in the Morning, 
unlefs it be a Spoonful jufl; before Dinner, 
and a little at night before they goto 
bed. 
The Tea (always ufed falling by the 
Chinefes) has got a mighty Afcendant o- 
ver the HoUanders of late Years. The 
befl grows in China, being a Shrub ri- 
ling not very high above-ground, efpe- 
cially in the Province of Kiangmn, near 
the City of Hockhieu. The Leaves are 
dry'd, roll'd up and preferv'd for ufe. 
Father Martimis Martini, in his Chinefc 
Atlas, gives us the following account of 
the Tea. The Leaves are very like thofe 
oi thzRhm Coriarla, calPd Sumach the 
Arabians, and pS; by the G'ree^^, of which 
it feems to be a Species ; tho it does not 
grow wild, but is planted, being a Shrub 
with fmall Twigs. In the beginning of 
the Summer it buds out a lighc-colour'd 
Bloflbm of an agreeable Scent, after 
which come' green Buds that turn black 
at laft. They take a Leaf, and after they 
have warm'd it in an Iron Pot with a 
gentle Heat, they lay it upon a clean Mat, 
and having well roll'd it, put it again over 
She Fire, till it be thoroughly dry'd, and 
twilled together ^ when they put it up in 
Tin or Leaden VelTels^ to preferve it from 
the moift Air, which would foon corrupt 
it. The Tea being of different forts, 
confequently bears a lower or higher Price, 
according to its goodnefs. Its chief Vir- 
tues are to difperfe the grofs Vapours of 
the Head and Stomach, and confequently 
to exhilarate our Spirits. The Chinefes, 
as they are nevtr troubled with the Gouty 
fo they attribute the fime to the Tea , 
and A''/>'cii£'>-afcribes to it a Diuretick Qua- 
lit^. ntsTafteisfomewhatbitterifh, and 
not very agreeable at firft, but well e- 
nough afterwards. The Turks tell U!i 
V/ondcrs of their Cauwa or Cofiee, and 
th€ Spaniards of their Chocolate j but it 
has been found by experience, that the 
firft encreafes the Gall, and the laft en- 
flames the Blood, and nouriflies too faft ; 
whereas the Tea is much more moderate 
in its Nature, notwithftanding which its 
immoderate ufe hindei s the Concodtion of 
the Stomach (cfpecially if taken after 
Dinner) and too much dries up the Moi- 
ftufes of the Body, which is the reaforv 
the Chinefes never take it after Meals. 
The Chinefe Tea is both in Goodnefs and 
Price much fuperior to the Japonefe. I 
have found by experience that four or 
five Cups of the Extraction of the frelh 
Leaves of the Tea makes one light- 
headed ; and I remember, when the beft 
Tea was fold at the rate of 24 Gilders 
per Pound in Holland. 
The ordinary Drink of the Hollanders 
is a Mixture of Water and Sugar boil'd 
together. Some fill certain Earthen 
VelTels over night with Water, and add 
to it 3 or 4 Glafles of Spani/h Wine, which 
expofed together all night in the Dew, 
turns white, and affords a pleafant Li- 
quor •, but is a little too cool, for which 
reafon fome put a certain quantity of 
Mum in the Veffel. The Brunfmck Mum wf^^tf^f 
is both more pleafant and wholfbm here of Drinii^ 
than in Europe ; the worft is, that it is ex- i^mfl pro- 
ceflivedear, a Cask being fometiraes fold 
frora40 to ICQ Rixdollars. Among the^'^^'"' 
Wines, thofe of Spain are moft in re- 
queft : It's true they fometimes inflame 
the Gall ; but againft that they make ufe 
of Rhubarb and Crembr of Tartar. The 
French and Rhentfh Wines are not ftrong 
enough in thefe hot Countrys, where the 
Stomach requires more lively Cordials, 
as a little Brandy, or a moderate fliare 
of Canary, Their ordinary Food is 
Goats, Sheep, Fowl, Hares, Peacocks, 
and fuch like. 
The Hollanders moft generally take their 
Afternoons Sleep here, as the Italians 
and fome other Europeans do in hot Coun- 
tries j a thing fufficiently commendable 
in 
