Chap. I. to the 
allowed him to trade with, befides cuftomary Gifts of 
all the Merchants yearly, which amount commonly to 
much more. And indeed the whole Factory live 
together in the greateft Amity, Peace and Freedom, 
of any of them I have feen beyond Sea. 
The French and the Venetians have alfo their Confuls 
here, but they are in no great Credit amongft the Furks. 
The Englijh have the beft Reputation for their honeft 
Dealing, and therefore ordinarily their Word is taken 
inftead of Searching. But the Armenians pay more 
Cuftom than any. The Turks have thirteen Mofques, 
and the Jews feveral Synagogues, all which make the 
Town populous, though ill-built, and without either 
Strength or Beauty. All that defends it from the In- 
curfions of Corfairs, is a little Fort at the Strait com- 
ing in about five Miles from the Town, whofe great 
Guns are its beft Security : For it hath but a little 
Ditch about it, and the Walls fuch as by two or 
three great Guns would be beat to the Ground. As 
to the Caftle on the Hill above the Town it is flighted, 
and although it hath the old Wall about it, I believe 
built by the Greek Emperors, yet it is only a Heap of 
Ruins within, with here and there fome arched Caves, 
ufed anciently for Cifterns or Granaries, as fome think, 
having only two or three little Guns mounted againft 
the Haven, to falute the Captain of the Gallies, or as 
Mr. Smith faith, the new Moon of Bairam-. About 
the Walls are fet one or two of the Roman Eagles 
well cut, and another Eajfo relievo of Men on Horfe- 
back. Over the Door is an Infcription in Marble, in 
the latter Greek Characters, but too high and difficult 
to be read. 
There is another little old fafiiioned Caftle at the 
Harbour, for the Gallies and Boats. On the other 
Side of which Flarbour is the Scale or Cuftom- 
houfe for the Grand Signior’s own Subjefts. Beyond 
which. Southwards under the Hill, v/here St. Polycarp^s 
Tomb is, are the Englijh and Dutch Burying-places, 
and North of the Caftle along the Shore, is, Firft, the 
new Bezeftein, built out of the great fquared Stones of 
the Theatre. It is in Form like a Street, to fhut up 
at each End ; the Shops are little Rooms, with a Cu- 
pola over each of them covered with Lead, and little 
Holes on the Top, with Glafs to let in the Light ; op- 
pofite unto this is a very fine Kan now Building. Af- 
ter which is the Scale and Cuftom-houfe of the Franks, 
and then follows Frank-Jlreet along by the Water- Side, 
with their Scales and Warehoufes, very convenient to lade 
and unlade their Goods, and is the pleafanteft and beft 
built of any Part of this prefent Smyrna. 
3. As it muft be allow’d that no Author extant has 
given fo clear, fo curious, or fo correcft an Account 
of that wonderful Animal the Camelion, as Sir George 
Wheeler has done ; and as he was led to this by his fee- 
ing fo many of thefe Creatures at Smyrna, it cannot 
but be agreeable to the Reader, to perufe his Remarks 
on fo entertaining a Subjeeft. About Smyrna fays he, are 
Abundance of Camelions, which is an Animal fomething 
refembling a Lizard, but hath his Back gibbous like a 
Hog, and its Feet are divided like the Claws of a 
Woodpecker or Parrot, two Claws before, and three 
behind, which are not feparated from each other until 
near the Ends. A long Tail it hath like a Rat, and is 
. ordinarily as big, but it hath very little or no Motion with 
its Head. They are in great Abundance about the old 
Walls of the Caftle, where they breed, and lie in Holes 
and Heaps of Ruins. Several we faw, and two we 
kept twenty Days at leaft, in which Time, we made 
thefe following Obfervations upon them. 
Their Colour ufeth to be green, darker toward the 
Back, and lighter towards the Belly, inclining to a Yel- 
low, with Spots, fometimes of a reddifli Colour, and 
fometimes whitifli. But the Green would often change 
into a dark Dirt Colour, without any Appearance of 
Green. The whidfh Spots would fometimes vanilh, or 
turn into the fame Dirt Colour, and fometime remains. 
Sometimes they would only change into a darker Co- 
lour, of a kind of Purple-like Tinefture, which ufed of- 
ten to happen when it was difturbed. Sometimes from 
a green all over, they would be fpotted with a pure 
VOL. II. N'^125. 
EVANT. 8a$ 
black, which alfo happened fometimes when it return’d 
from the black, ordinarily when it flepc under a white 
woollen Cap, it would, when uncovered, be of a white 
or Cream Colour. But this it would do alfo under a 
red Cap. I never faw any change red or blue, altho* 
they have been laid upon thofe Colours often, and con« 
tinned there a long Time. But upon green they would 
become green, and upon the dark Earth they would 
foon change to that Colour. One of the fame Bignels, 
of which I made a Draught, I caught as I was walk- 
ing on the Side of the Hill near the old Caftle, 
where I faw many which had changed themfelves from 
the Colour of the fpeckled Stone Wall, to a grey, 
with Spots like Mofs. This I found on the Top of a 
green Bulh of Prunella Spinofa, which, when I firft call 
my Eye upon, it was of a bright green Colour ; but as 
foon as it perceived that I faw it, immediately let it- 
felf drop to the Ground, and I as foon flopp’d to look 
for it, but could fee nothing j yet continuing to look 
about earneftly, at laft I perceived it creeping away to 
a Hole in the Rock, being changed to a dark brown 
Colour, exadlly like the Earth, which was then of that 
Colour after a Shower of Rain. 
This changing of Colours is given to this Creature 
by Nature for its Prefervation. For it is very flow in 
its Pace, lifting up its Legs high and not quick, as if 
they faw not the Way before them, or rather, as if they 
fearched for Hold to climb up by, which they can do 
very well on a Bufh, Tree, or Wall. When it faw itfelf 
in Danger to be caught, it opened its Mouth, and hif- 
fed like a Snake. In a fmall Time after I put it into 
my Handkerchief, it turned of the fame Colour, with fome 
white Spots, and a little Tincture of red. This little 
one changed its Colour more nimbly than others that 
were greater. The Gaufe of which I attribute to the 
Wildnefs of it, the other having been kept a good 
while before it was given us, and confequently tamer. 
The Eyes are as wonderful as the Colours, which are as 
my Lord Bacon hath remarked, large in Proportion to 
the Bignefs of its Head, being commonly bigger and 
larger than a Pea. But that which feems moft obferva- 
ble, his Lordfhip hath taken no Notice of. It is cover- 
ed all over with a thick Skin, of the fame Subftance 
with the Body, the Grain being in Circles juft to the 
Center or Middle, where there is a Hole no bigger than 
a fmall Pin’s Head, by which it receives Light, which 
muft make the Angle of its Vifion very acute. The 
Head being immoveable, it cannot turn itfelf to the 
Objedls as it lifteth. But to make Amends for all fuch 
Inconveniencies, Nature hath given moft wonderful 
Motions to its Eyes, beyond thole of any living Creature. 
It cannot only move them at the fame Time, both 
forward and backward, upward and downward ; but alfo 
one forward, the other backward, the one upward the 
other downward, the one fixed on one Objeft, and the 
other moving according to the Motion of fome other 
Objeft, and fo is capable of all the Changes imaginable, 
which my Comrade Mr. Spon, and I often experimented 
with a great deal of Aftonifliment. 
The Tongue is a kind of little Trunk, of a grifly Sub- 
ftance, above half an Inch long and hollow, join’d to 
his Throat by a ftrong membranous and flelhy Subftance, 
in which it is fheathed when it is in the Mouth. It will 
dart this out of its Mouth above an Inch, being fmear- 
ed with a glutinous Subftance to catch Flies, which 
flick fall: to it as to Bird-lime, and fo are brought into 
its Mouth. Thefe Flies are their ordinary known 
Food, although I never faw them catch any, but faw 
one that was almoft dead, having a Fly in its Mouth. 
The reft of its Suftenance is Air, of v/hich it will fill 
itfelf, being fet out in the Sun, until it becometh much 
fwollen. Of its Excrement I remarked Nothing, But 
my Comrade reported, that a Perfon of Curiofity at Ly- 
ons, aflfured him from his own Obfervations, that al- 
though the Camelion did eat little or nothing, yet it ne- 
verthelefs made much Excrement. 
They will live without any Suftenance befides Air, a, 
very great While, as will many other Animals of the 
like cold Nature, viz. Serpents and Lizards, iFc. One 
that I open’d had Guts, but I perceived Nothing in 
I o A then! | 
