The Unknown Country

Sig. Gaudentio di Lucca. 293will ftruggle for life till the lail gafp ?However, he was uneafy till he had leftthat hateful place. Befides, there werefeme figns of the plague breaking out ; fowe went down to Alexandria as fail wecovld. And to encourage Monfieur Go-dart, he made him a prefent beforehand ofWea diamond of a conhderable value*fet fail for Candy., where Monfieur Go-dart was to touch, the 16th day of Au-guft, am2o 1712. But, alas ! whether thefetroubles, or not being ufed to the fea, orfeme infe<flion of the plague he had caughtat Grand Cairo, or all together, is uncer-tain ; but that great good man fell fodangerouily ill, that we thought we fhouldfcarce get him to Candy. He allured xne^by the knowledge he had of himlelf andWenature, that his time was come. putin at the hrft creek, where the land-air alittle refreihed him ; but it was a fallaciouscrifis ; for in a few days, all of us perceiv-ed his end drew near. Then he told mehe was refolved to be baptized, and die inthe Cliriftian faith. I got him inflrucledby a Reverend prieft belonging to Mon-sieur Godart ; his nam.e was Monneur LeGrelle, whom I liad form.erly known wlienhe was a ftudent in the college for foreignmiiiiorib*; and what was tlie only comfortÌ had now left, liav/ him baptized, and.yield up the ghofl vrith a ccurage bccom.- Z2

294 The Adventures ofing the greateft hero, and the befl of men.This was the greateft affliction I ever hadin my whole HfeV after the death of hisdaughter. He left mc all his effects, whichwere fuihcient to make me happy in thislife, if riches could procure happinefs. We had fome days to ilay, before Mon-fieur Godart could make an end of his bu-finefs. I was walking in a melancholy po-fturc along the lea-fhore, and reflecting onthe adventures of my p ait life, occafionedby thofe very waters whereon I was look-ing, when I came, or rather my feet cariedme, to a hanging rock, on the (ideof theilland, juft on the edge of thefea, and wherethere was fcarce room enough for two orthree perfons to ftand privately under covert,very difficult to be difcerned; where goingto fit down, and indulge iry melancholythoughts, ^I efpied a Turk and two women,as if concealed under the rock. My owntroubles not allowing me the curioflty topryinto other people's concerns, made me turn Ihort back again : but the elder of the two women, who was miftrefs of the other, fee- ing by my diftrefs, that I was a ftranger and a Chriflian, (being now in that habit), came running to me, and falling on her knees, lai t hold of mine, and begged me to take pitty on a diftreffed woman, who expert d every moment to be butchered by one of the moft inhuman villains living, from whofe violence

295violence they had fled and hid themfelves inthat place, in expectation of finding a boatto convey him off. I litted her up, andthought I faw fomething in her face 1 feenbefore, though much aitered by yearsand troubles. She did the fame by me,Oand at length cried out, heavens ! itcannot be the man I hope ! I rememberedconfufediy fomething of the voice, as wellas the face ; and, after a deal of aftonifh-naent, found it was the Curdifli lady, whohad faved my life from the pirate Hamet,Oh ! fays fhe, I have juft time enough, totell you, that we expeded to be purfued bythat inhuman wretch, unlefs you can finda boat to carry us off before he finds us^otherwife we muft fall a facriiice to his cru-elty. 1 never ftaid to confider confequen-ces, but anfvvered precipitately, that Imywoul'! do bell ; fo ran back to the fhipas faft as I could, and with the help of thefirft man brought the boat to the rock. Iwas juft getting out to take hold of herhand, when we heard fome men comingmilling in behind us, and one of them cri-ed, Hold villain, that wicked woman (han'tefcape fo ; and fires a piilol, v/hich mifilngthe lady, fiiot the man attending her, intothe belly, fo that he fell down prefently,though not quite dead. I had providedmyfelf with a Turkiih fcymitar, and a cafeof pifiols, under my fadi, for my defence

t^6' The Adventures ofon ftiipboard ; I faw there was no time todeliberate, fo I fired directly at them, forthere were three, and had the good luck todrop one of them. But Hamet, as 1 foundafterwards, minding nothing but his re-venge on the woman, fired again, andmiffing the lady a fecond time, fliot hermaid through the arm, and was drawinghis fcymitar to cleave her down, when Iftept in before the lady ; but fiiooting withtoo much precipitancy, the bullets palTedunder his arm, and lodged in the body ofhis fecond ; he flarted back at the fire fonear him, which gave me time to drawmy fcymitar. Being now upon equalterm.s, he retired two or three paces, andWhocried, art thou that ventureft thylife fo boldly for this wicked woman ? Iknew his voice perfectly well, neither washe {o much altered as the lady. I am theman faid I, v/hofe life thou wouldft havetaken, but this lady faved it, whofe caufeI fhall now revenge as well as m.y own, andmy dear brother's. We made no morewords, but fe'l to it with our fcymitars,with ail our nnght ; he was a brave floutman, and let me fee I fliould have Vv^ork•enough to hew him down. After feveralattacks, he gave me a confiderable Vv'oundon my arm, and I cut him acrofs the cheeka pretty large gafh, but not to endangermyhis Efs j at length the jnflice of cauii: w-culd

Sig. Gaudentio di Lucca. ^<^jwould have it, that ftriking of his turbanat one ftroke, and with another falling onhis bare head, I cut him quite into thebrains, that fome of them fpurted on myfcymitar. He fell down, as I thought,quite dead, but after fome time he gave agroan, and muttered thefe words, Maho-met thou art juft, I killed this woman'shufband, and fhe has been the occafion ofmy death ; with thefe words he gave upthe ghoft. By this time the lady's attend-ant was dead ; fo I took the lady and herwoman without flaying, for fear of furtherdifficulties, and putting them in the boat,conducted them to the (hip. MonlieurGodartwas extremely troubled at the acci-dent, faying we ihould have all the iflandupon us, and made great difiiculty to re-ceive the lady ; but upon a juft reprefenta-tion of the cafe, and an abundant recom-penfe for his effects left behind, we got himto take her in, and hoift fail for Venice asfaft as we could. The lady had now timeto thank me for her delivery, and I to con-gratulate my happy fortune in being ableto make a return for her faving my life.During our paflage, I begged her to giveus the hiftory of her fortunes fmce I lefther, which I prognollicated then could notbe very happy, confidering the hands fhewas fallen into. Says fhe, You rememberI made a promife to Hamet, that 1 h ould marry

.zg$ The Adventures ofmarry him on condition he would fave yourlife. Yes, Madam, faid I, and am rea^dyto venture my own once more in returnfor fo great a benefit. You have doneenough, fays fhe; and with that acquaintedus, that when I wa:s fold off to the ftrangemerchants, Hamet carried her to Algiers,and claimed her promife. I was entirelyignorant, fays £he, of his iiaving a hand inthe death of my dear lord ; but, on the con-trary, the villain had contrived his wick-CQRefs fo cunningly, that I thought he hadgencroufly ventured his own life to favehis, and being, as you know, a very hand-fome man, of no very inferior rank, andespreffing the moft ardent love for myperfon, and I having no hopes of return-ing into my own country, fulfilled mypromife made on your account, and mar-Weried him. lived contentedly enoughtogether for fome years, bating that we hadno children, till his conftant companion,who was the man attending me at the rock,and was killed by that villain, fell out a-bout a fair flave, which Omar, fo he wascalled, had bought, or taken prifoner infome of their piracies. Hamet, as well ashe, fell in love with her, and would havetaken her for his concubine, but the otherconcealed her from him : they had like tohave fought about it ; Hamet vowed re-venge. The other, wh® was the honefter man

Sig. Gaudentio di Lucca. 299man of the two, was advifed to be uponhis guard, and to deliver the woman tohim ; which he never would confent to,but was refolved to run all rifks, ratherthan the young lady fliould fuiFer any dif-honor. In the mean time, her friends, whowere rich people of Circaffia, hearingwhere flie was, made intereft to have herranfom.ed, and taken from both of them,by the authority of the Dey of Algiers,who was otherwife no friend to Hamet.rhis laft had been informed, that Omar,becaufe he could not enjoy her himfelf,contrived to have her ranfomed from hisrival, and I niyfelf had a hand in the affair,for which he threatened revenge on both ofus ; and being alfo difguft^d with the Dey,he gave orders to have his ihips ready tomove, and follow his trade of piracy.Then Om.ar informed rae how Hamet hadmurdered my firft hufband, by hiring theArabians to do it, while he pretended todefend him to avoid my fufpicions, withfuch circumftances of the hCi, t|jat I lawthe truth was too clear. The horror anddeteflation I was in, is not to be expreffed,both againft myfelf, for marrying fuch amonfler. Omar added, that he was cer- tainly informed, that as foonas he had usout at fea, he would make away with usboth ; and told me, if I would truft my-felf with him, he would undertake to carry nie

300 The Adventures «ofir.e OiTin a boat, and conduft me into myown country. I was relolved to fly to the fartheftend of the earth to avoid his loathed fight ; fo reioived to pack up our moft pre-ciou!s things, and go along with him. Heprocured a boat to meet us, at a little creekof the illand, by a perfon he thought hecould confide in, but who betrayed thewhole affair to Hamet. Of which alfowe had timely notice, and removing fromthe flation where we expected the boat, andfled along the coaft aj> privately as wecould, and hid ourfelves under the rockwhere you found us, expecting either tofind fome favourable occalion to be carriedoff, or to die by the hand of Hamet, Vi'hichwe certainly had done, had not he metwith his juft death by yours. The ladyhad fcarce given us this fhort account ofher misfortunes, and we were not onlycongratulating her for her deliverance, butadmiring the juflice of providence, whichreached this villain, both to bring him tocondign punifnment for the murder of theinnocent Curd, and make him die by myhand, five and twenty years after he hadrobbed and killed my brother with all hiscrew, fold me for a flave, and attempted tokill me alfo, had not the ftrange lady fav-myed life : I fay, we. were m.akirg fuchlike reflections on this ftrange accident,when they told us from above, two veffels feemed

Sig. -Gaudentio bi Lucca. 301feemed to come full fail upon us, as if theyWewere purfuing us with all their might.made all the fail we could, but our Ihipbeing pretty heavy loaded, we faw we muftbe overtaken. Some of us were refolvedto fight it out to the laft, in cafe they wereenemies. But Moniieur Godart would notconfent to it, faying the BalTa-s paffportwould fecure us, or by yielding peaceably,we might be ranfomed. They came upto us in a fiiort time, and faluied us witha volley oi fhot, to fhew what we were toWetruft to. ftruck our fails and let themboard us without any refiftance. MonfieurGodart, v/itli too mean a fpirit, as 1 thought,told them with cap in hand, that he wouldgive them any fatisfaélion, and affured themhe would not willingly fall out with thefubje6ts of the Grand Signior. Theyfeiz-,cd every man of us, and fpying the ladyand me. There they are, faid they ; theadulterefs and her lover, with the fpoils ofher murdered hufband. W^hich words,iliewing they were Turks in purfuit of usfrom Candy, quite confounded MoniieurGodart at once, and made me imagine, Ifiiould have much ado to find any quarter.They hauled us upon deck, making flicwas if they were going to cut off my head.I never thought myfelf fo nigh death be-fore; but had the prefence of mind tocry out in the hearing of the whole crew, Aa thru

3-0^ The Adventures ofthat we were fervants of the Grand Sul-tanefs j and produced the paiTport of theGreat Baila her brother, charging them ontheir peril not to touch us. This ftoptthen-. fury a httle ; fome cried out. Hold,have a care v/hat you do ; others cried.Kin them all for robbers and murderers,the Sultanefs will never protect fuch vil-lains -as thefe. When the hurlyburly wasfomething appcafed, Monfieur Godart rea-foned tiie cafe with them, and told them,if they murdered us, they could ueverconceal it ; fmce all the crew of the threeihips heard our appeal to the Sultanefs mo.ther, the palfpoit fetting forth amongother things, that I had faved the life ofthe Garnd Sultanefs. This brought themto a demur. The chief of them began toconfult among themfelves what was beft tobe done. When I, begging leave to fpeakjtold them, if they would carry us to Con-flantinople, we wouM willingly fubmit ourlives, and all that belonged to us, in cafethe Sultanefs did not own the faci, andtake us into her protection : that, in cafethey put us to death, fome one or other,in Rich a number, v/ould certainly informagainfl: them, the confequences of whichthey knew very well. I touched alfo buttenderly on the death of Hamet, and ourinnocence. The; firflpart of m.y fpeechnude them pais over the other. They demurred

Sig. Gaudentió di Lucca. 303demurred again, and at length refclvcd tocarry us to Conftantinople, a^nd proceed,againft us by way of juflice, not doubtingto make good prize of us, on account ofour being Chridians. Thus was our jour-ney to Venice interrupted by this accident.When we caine to the port,, Monfieur Go-dart got leave to fend our cafe to Tvlon-fieur Savigni, the French reildenti wh.ofound means to reprelent to the Sulianefcimother, that there was a ftranger inchains, who pretended to be the i^e ' ^who had faved her life, when fh';Grand Cairo, and would give h^: / , ::;of it, if he could be admitted to her lligh-nefh's prefence. I would not fend the ring111 e gave me, for fear of accidents. TheSultane !s gave orders immediately, I ihouidbe brought to her prefence ; faying, ihccould eahiy know the perfon, for all itwas fo long before. I put on the famekind of drefs 1 was in when ine firft h\yme, which, if your Reverences remember,was the traveliinaj drefs of the Mezorani-ans- When 1 was brought into her pre-fence, I fcarce knew her, being advancedto a middle age, and in the attire of theGrand Sulranefs,. She looked at ine witha great deal of emotion, and bid me ap-myproach nigher. I imm.ediately fell onknees, and holding the ring in my handwhich she gave me at parting,, as if I were making

3-04 T\"he Adtentures of making a prefent of it, Madam, faid I^behold a flave, who had the honour to faveyour Highnefs's life, and now begs his own, and that of his companions ; andmoft humbly requeft your Highnefs to ac-cept of this jewel, as a token gf ourlaft dif- trefs. Inftead of anfwering me, whichput me in great pain, as doubting whe-ther I was right or not, fhe turned to hernigheft attendants, and faid in a pretty foftvoice, It is he, I know him by his voice,as vi.'-ell as his drefs : and rifmg off her feat,came ard took the ring. 1 hen lookingattcntivdy at it, Yes, Sir, faid Ihe, Iown the ring and bearer ; and acknow-ledge you to be the one who faved my life.For which reafon, I give you yours, andall that belongg to you, forbidding all un-der pain of death, to give you the iea(ltrouble j and withal ordered a very richTurkifh robe to be thrown over my/houl-ders, as a fjgn of her favour. Immediateorders were fent to the port to fet Mon*f tur Godart and all his crew at liberty,and to feafc us as particular friends of theGrand Sultanefs. The company being dif-rniffed, ihe made a fign for me to ftay, hav-ing further bufinefs with me. When allwxre gone, but two of her chief favouritewomen, ihe came to me without any cere-m-ony, and takir.g me in her arms, as if Ihad bteri her brother^ embraced me with a great

Sig. Caudentio di Lune a, ò'^^;sat deal of tenderncfs; her joy to fee me,.iiaking her lay afide her grandeur, andyield to the traiifports of undifguifed rii-ture. She led me by the hand int.o a moilmagnificent apartment ; laying-. Come. 8ig^inior Gaudentio, forfolt''led ; after you have refre : -,meil-iall tell your adventures. She iVir.ds ;no feruoie to fit down with iiie, being: nownot only miftrefs of h'. : of thewhole Ottoman empire, ;. lare of .her attendants. V<^e had a refreiliment ofall the rarities of the Eall, with th.e richcil\"'wines for me, though fi-ie drank^noneher-felf; I long to hear your adventure^. C'- ~tinned fhe, of fo many ye:;rs abferhowI told her in ihoit, wasi c?-.-.that firange merchsnt into an iircountry without telling her the- v. ay v, u ;Vv^ent thither ; where I had ma'rried the re-gent's daughter. .She bluilied a little cXthat part, and fiicwed fhe remains of allher former beauty. But it put me'in mdnc^of my own indlfcretion, to touch on fuclia nice point. She paffed it pfl' with a greatdeal of goodnef$; arid, recovering myfelf,myI acquainted her of the reafons of ixyturn, as. well as how I was taken hy iiametthe iiril time, which ll-.c had not; been ac-quainted 'with before; and Lt:ft:yj,howImet with the fame Hamet agaiii, kiLled him,,and by that means came into that misfor- Aa 2 tunc*.

o6 The Adventures oftune. I called' it then a misfortune, faid I,but look upon it now to be one of mygrcateft happinelfes ; lìnee, by that occafi-on, I have the honour of feeing your High-nefs in that dignity of which you are them.otl worthy cf any one in all the Ottomanempire. She feemed to be in admirationat the courfe of nly life; and added, Ithink. Signer, you faid you were married;is your fpoufe dead ? No, Madam, faid I :myalas ! fl-:e is dead, and all children, and1 am going to retire, and lead a private lifein my native country. With thefe andother difcourfes we pafled the greateftpart of the day, when flie bid me go backto the fliip in public, attended with all themarks of her high favours ; but fhe faidn.e would fend for me privately in theevening ; for, a^ded (he, 1 have a thoufandother things to afk you. Accordingly IVv'as introduced privately into the feraglio ;v/hich fhe, being Sultanefs-regent, couldealily do. There fhe intirely laid afide herWegrandeur. talked all former paffagesever again, with the freedom of friendsand old acquaintances. In our converfa-tion, 1 found ihe was a woman of prodi-gious depth of judgment, as indeed herwading through fo many difiiculties, at-tending the inconftancy of the Ottomancourt, particularly the regency, evidentlyihewed. I made bold to afk her how fhe arrived

Sig. Gaihsentio di Lucca, 307arrived at that dignity, though fhe wasthe only perfon in the world that defervedit ; and took the liberty to fay in a familiarway, that I believed her Highnefs wasnow fenfible of the fervice I did her, inrefufing to comply with her former de-mands, fmce the fvites had referved her tobe the greatefl emprefs of the world, notthe confort of a wandering flave. Had Inot been entirely alTured of her goodnefs,I Ihouldnot have dared to have touched onthat head. She biufhed with a little confu-fion at firft, but putting it off with a graveair, Grandeur, fays fhe, does not alwaysmake people happy. Ten thoufand caresattend a crown ; but the indifference I havefor all things, make mine fit eafier than itmight have done otherwife. It is true,continued Ifie, that young people very fel- dom fee their own good, and oftentimesrun intofuch errors, by the violence of theirpafTions, as not only to deprive them of greater blefTings, but render their misfor-tunes irretrievable. Some time after youwere gone, m.y father the Grand Baffawas accufed by fome underhand enemies, ofmal-adminiftration, a thing too frequentin our court, and privately condemned tobe flrangled. But having fome truftyfriends at the Porte, he-had notice of ir,,before the orders came : he immediatelydeparted from Grand Cairo, and took a round-

3o8 ' The Adventures ofround-about way towards Conftantinople,to prevent, a? liie way is, the executionof them. He fent m,e b_fore to preparematters, and to interceae with the youngmySuhan, late deceaied Lord, for his life,leaving word where I might let him knowmyof the luccef^i of interceffion. I pre-fented myfelf before the Sultan with thatmyipodeft aflurance, which my innocence,youth, and grief for my father's danger,gave me. 1 fell down on my knees, and,mywith a flood of tears, :begged facher'slife. The Sultan looked at me with Tomeamazement; and, ;v\^hatever it was he fawmy*n face, not only granted my requeit,myiid confirmed fatheÉ- in his former port;but made a profeffion of love to my.per-fon :. and even continued it with morecon. n I thought a Grand .S.ultan c.Y- - . iiaving io many exquiiite beaii-,lies to Givert him, as they generally have.myI confented, to fave father's life'; andwhethrr the indifi'erencv I had for all m.en,mmmade more eager, I cannot tell j DutI found I was the chief in his favour/' Heh?c f'^'- • '\"''^'=;- miitrtile-s nowailc<'\"-^'^ ^•• cry fond.' Jlut nev;,. -v'L ji ; .l/g rft'yfelf ab«mt it, 1 tcuiij, \/ I continued to have th'efolid ^rt of; is iriendlhip ;. arid bringing him tic ùtìX-ale cbild; the prefent emperor^ 1 becnnt^° * \"' \" ?.u.\ iy IÀ- doalii, arret ^ \" : • the

Sigo Caudentio DI Lucca. 509the minority of my fon, am now regent ;by which I am capable of rendering youali the fervice the Ottoman empire can per-form : which I elleem one of the happieftmyevents of life. I returned her the m.oftprofound bow, and humble thanks a heartfull of the moft lively ferlfé of gratitudecould profefs. She offered me the firftpoft of the Ottoman empire, if I wouldbut become a nmfiulman, or only fo in ap-pearance. Or if, faid fhe, you had ratherbe nigh me, you fhail be the chief ofEcerof my houfehold. I have had afTuranceenough, added fhe, that neither your In-clinations nor principles can be forced ;neither will I endeavour to do it, but leaveyou as much at your liberty, as your ge-nerous mafter did, when he bought youof Hamet. I expreiTed all the grateful ac-knowledgments poffible, for fo generous anoffer ; but aflured her with an air thateven exprelled forrow for the refufaly thati lay under religious obligations, whichbound me indifpenfably to return into myown country. She was become now asmuch miflr'efs of her inclinations, as fhehad acquired prudence and experience bythe long command flie had over her hus-band's heart, and the whole Ottoman em-pire. So after a month's flay {he let mego, with all the marks of honour her dig-nity would fuffer her to exprefs. She would

3 IO The Advfntures ofwould have punifned the perfons that took115, but I interceded for them. Men fie ui'Godart, who was well rewarded for thelofs of his time and confinement, c^n tef-.tify the truth of this hiAory. The lailwords fne f >id to me, were, to bid me re<»member, that i l^urk and a woman v/erecapable of generous gratitude and honour,as well as Chriftians. So we fet fail forVenice.\_Secrefary, Here one of the inquifitorycame in with a gold medal in his hand,and turning to the examinant, fald.Signor Gaudent'o, I believe you havefound a relation in Italy, as well as inAfrica, and one of the fame nationwith your mother. It is the Perfianlady you brought along with you,^:.;> 3vhom we fecured the fame time wc•-\"^ 'did you ; but would not let you know it, wetill could procure intelligencefrom Venice, and a perfon who couldWefpeak the Perilan language. ownv^•e find her in the fame llory with you,and nothing material againft you fromVenice. Upon the examining her ef-fects, we found this medal of the fame• make with yours by which you kne\rwho your mother was. She fays itwas about her neck, when fiie wasfold to the Perfian merchant. Butiince we ihail give you both your li- berties

SIro'. Gaudentio di Lucca. .oix berties in a fhort time, {he (bali be brought unto you, and we give you ' leave to fay v/hat you will to her, with the interpreter by. Upon this the lady was introduced, with her maid and the interpreter. As Ibcn as flic, faw^our examinaiit in good health, feeniingly at Hberty, a joyful fercnity fpread itielf over her coiintenancCj fuch as we had not feen before. Our examinant aflied her; to be pleafed to give an account of her hfe, as far as ììie thought proper, and how Ihe came by that medai.Lady. All I know of myfelf, faid fhe, is, that the noble C.urd, who bou.. ht mc of a Perfian me- chant for a companion for his only daughter, about my ov/n age, whom he thought I refembled very much, often declared to me, that the mierchant bought me of a 'I'urkiili woman, who left that medal about my neck, fuppollng it to be fomc charm or prefer vati ve againft diftem-- pers, or becaufe a filler of mine had the fiimc fattened about lier neck, with a gold chain, which could not be tak- en off without breaking ; but who, or where the lifter was, I never knew. The noble Curdi fli Lord, who bought me, grew prodigious fond of jne, and bred me up as anotlier daughter ; and not

^liè The Adventures of not only fo, but having an only foUj fomething older than myfelf, he con- nived at a growing love he perceived between his fon and myfelf ; whichj after fome diiSculties on both fides, at length came to a marriage ; though it coft my generous benefactor and fa- ther-in-law his life. For anothor young Lord of Curdiftan, falling in love with me, often challenged Prince Cdli (^that was my dear hufband's name) to decide their pretenfions by the fv/ord, which I had always forbid him to do; faying, that man fliould never be my hafband who expofed my reputation by a duel ; fince the world would never believe, that any man would expofe his life for a woman, unlefs there had been fome encourage- ment given on both fides : whereas I never gave the ieaft to any but Prince C2.IÌ. However, the other met him one day, and attacked him fo furioufr Ij, that Prince Cali was forced to kill him in his own defence, making a thoufand proteftations, that he had :almoft fuffered himfelf tobe killed, ra- ther than to difobeym.y orders. But the father of the prince who was {lain, v^ith a company of airafilns, laid an ambufcade for prince Cali and his fa- ther, in which this latter was killed, and

Sig. Gaudentio di Lucc/i, 313and mod of his train. But by the va-lour of his fon, and two of his com-panions, the chief aifaflins were laiddead on the foot, and the reft put toiligbt. But Prince Cali, after thedeath of his lather, fearing furthertreachery of that nature, prefently af-ter we were married, removed to an-other part of the kingdom ; fromwhence being fent on acommiilion byhis king, he was inhumanly murder-ed by the barbarous Hamet. This ismythe (iim of unfortunate life, till Ihad the good fortune to fave yours.WeSecretary. permitted the nephev/and the aunt (for fo they were foundto be by the medal) to embrace oneanother ; Signor Gaudentio alluringher, that by all appearance he wasthe fon of her filler and themother's lifter that was loft, a^.d bothot them f referved to fave each other'slife. The lady then declared, Ciewould turn Chriftian, fmce her mif-fortunes were come to a period > andthat file was relolved to leavje theworld, and retire into fome of ourWemona(i:eries. put her among thenuns of our order, where fhe.pro-mifes to be a fignal example of vivtueand piety. The inquifitors orderedthe examinant to give them the le- B b remaning \

314 '^i'^-e Adventures of maining part of his life, which, in all appearance, if they found his ftory to agree with their informations, might purchafs hini his liberty. Up- on whirli Gaudcntio proceeded as- fc:io..vr,.] I was telling your Reverences, that atlength wefetfall from the Porte, andfteer-cd our counfe direcily for Venice, wherewe nLippiiy arrived without any conildera-ble accident, the lOth of December 17 12.I do not quedion but your Reverences arealready informed, that fiich perfons didarrive at Venice about that time. Ivlon-fieur Godart is v.ell known to feveral mer-chr.jits, rad fome of the fenators of thatfamous city, v/hom he informed of whatownhe f.i eyes. But there were . ' ' '1\" . ;feme ...Izr pafTages, unknown to ,yeur R::vci-enccs, wherein 1 had like to havemyir.r. .!3 ihipwreck of life, after fo manymydangers ; as I 'did here of liberty ;though I do not complain, but only repre-feat my hard fortune' to your Reverencesconnderation, as well as a great manyftran?:rrs of the firft rank, to fee the na-ture of it. I put on m.y Mezoranian ha-bit, {banded ^^::\"l /:i':j of gold, and themyiillet-rrov.-n on head, adorned withinns Ox gold, with feveral jewels of very-great vahie, which Ibelieve was t-f •:''''> 'Irer^arkable and m.jgnificent dre-^ere. 1 wp'it unmalked being c-i-a.cd my

Sìg. Gaudentio di Lucca. 315my face and perfon were linknown to «ailthe world. Every one's eyes were liponme. Several of tne mafque.aders came tome, and talked to me, particularly theladies. They fpoke to m.e in feveral lan-guages, as Latin, French, Italian, Spanifh,,High Dutch, ^c. I anfwered them all inthe Pvlezoranian language, which feeraedas ftrange to them, as m^y drefs. Some ofthem fpoke to me in the Turkilli and Per-fian language, in Lingua Franca, and fomein an Indian language 1 did not under-ftand. I anfwered ihem ftill in the Mezo-ranian, of which no body knew one word.Two ladies particularly, very richly dref-fed, followed me where ever I went. Theone, as it proved afterwards, was Favilla,the celebrated courtefan, in the richeli:drefs of a'l the com^pany; the other wasthe lady who was with me when I was takenup, and wlio was the myoccafion of fet-tling at Bologna ; I mean the true occafi-on, for I will conceal nothing from your*Reverences. Notwithftanding their dili-gence, I got away unknown at that time.The next time I came, I appeared in thefame drefs, but with richer jewels ; I hadmore eyes upon mc now than before. Thecourtefan purfued me again in a different,but richer drefs than the former. Atlength ihe got me by miyfclf, and pullingoff' her ma&, fliev/ed me a wonderful pret*

3i6 The Adventures ofty face, only there was too fierce an alTur-O2.nce in it. She cried in Italian, Signor,you are not fo ignorant of our language,.as you would feem to bei you can fpeakItalian and French too : though we don'tknow who you are, we have learned youare a man of honour. If you would notunderiiand our words, vou nrjay underitanda face, which very great perfonages havebeen glad to look at : and with that put onone of the mod enfnaring airs I ever fav/.I don't doubt but your Reverences haveheard of that famous courtefan, and howthe greateil man in Venice was once herilave. I was juil going to anfwer her,when the other lady came up, and pull-ing oif her malk alio, faid almoft the famethings, but v/ith a m.odefty more gracefulthan her beauty, which was moft exqui-lile, and the moft like the incomparableIfyphena I ever law. I made them both amod refpectful bow, and told them, thatit had been much fafer for me, if I hadkept myfeif ftiil unknown, and never feenfuch dangerou^i charms. I pronouncedthefe v^ords with an air, that fliewed, thatI was more pleafed with the modefty of thelaft lady, thanthe commanding affurance ofthe fìriì. The courteian, though a littlenettled at the preference fhe thought I gaveth;:- other, put on a more ferious air, \"andfaid, fhe had been informed, there wasfomething very extraordinary in my cha- racter,,

SIg. Gaudentio Bi Lucca 317raéler, and faid (lie would be glad to hearmore of it by hcrfelf ; that her name wasFavilla, and that fhe lived in fuch a ftreet,where I iliouid find her houfe remarkableenough. The Bolognian lady, whom yourReverences knew very well, and who wasthen at Venice, on account of the death ofher uncle, one of the fenators, who had lefther all his efi'eclsjfaid modeftly, if I vigere tofavour her %vith a viiit, as (lie had been in-formed that I v^/as a learned man and a vir-tuofo, being inclined that way herfelf, (lieIhould be glad of an hour's converfationv/ith me on that fubjecl, telling me hername, and where flie lived ; adding, if IVv'ould inform myfelf of her charafter, Ineed not be afliamed of her acquaintance ;nor, I hope of mine. Madam, fays theother, thinking (he had been reflected on bythat word. It was Monfieur Godart,who,v/ith a levity peculiar to his nation, hadmade the difcovery who I was, though heknew nothinoj of me but what palled (inccI came from Grand Cairo. I was going toreply to the ladies, when company cameup, and broke off the difcourfe. 1 wasre-folved to fee neither of them, and wouldgo no more to the aiiemhly, though al-moft unavoidably I fiw both afterwards.I inquired into Favilla's ciiaraci^rr, thoughI fcarce doubted of it by what I faw andheard, and was informed that fhe was an imperious

3i3 The Adventures ofimperious courtefan, ^.vho had enllavedfeveral perlbns of the firft rank, of diifer-ent nations, and enriched herleif by theirfpoils : this detcrrPiined me not to fee her.But, as Monfieur Godart and myfelf werewalkina: to fee the town, he brought meeither induftrioufly, or accidentally, byher door ; fie was fitting at the windowof one of the mofc magnificent palaces inVenice, fiuch fpoils had fhe reaped fromher bewitched lovers.) As fooii as fheefpied me, fhe fent a fervant to tellm,e, that lady Favila v/ould wifh tofpeak with me : I made fome difH-cuhy, but Monfieur Godart told me, aman of honour could not refufe fuch a fa-vour as that ; fo I went in, and MonfieurGodart vv^ith me. The lady received mewith a m.ofc charmiing agreeable air, m.uchc liferent from her former affurance, andconduced me into a moft magnificent a-partment, leaving Monfieur Gcdart enter-taining a very pretty lady, her companion.Not to detain your reverences too long, Vv'henI would not underfiand what flie m.eant, fheoffered mem. arri age, with the inheritance ofAl her effcfls; I was put to the laft nonplus.I aiTured her with a mofc profound bow,that though I was not worthy of fuch ahappinef^, i had an oh]Ì2::ition never to^marry. Ail the blood imrnediat^ly cameiuio her face : 1 did not knov/ what (he was

Sig. Gaudentio di Lucca. 319going to do, but finding her in that difor-der, I made another bow, faying, I wouldconiider further on her propofal • andwalked direftly out of the houfe, defigningto leave Venice as foon as my affairs wouldgive nie leave. Some timi after MonfieurGodart came to me, and told me, he wasforced to do as I did ; that the lady wasin fuch an outrageous fury ' he did notknow what might be the confequence.Three nights after, as Monfieur Godartand a young kinfman of his, and myfelf,were going towards the Rialto, in the du&of the evening, four rulHans attacked usunav/ares ; two of them fet upon me, theOcher two attacked Monfieur Godartand his kinfman ; the poor young gentle-man v/as run through the body the firftmypufli ; I ;r.:;de inift to diilible one ofadverf-;' '^ ' :\" i\" dr'rg it, the otherrun r .; \" :, but the f .A'ordtook on:V oiri; of my oody, and miiih^Jtmy '•1'' 1 • went out on f ^ entrai!,, the point tne iideof my back. Monfieur Godart, Vv-ho, togive him his due, behaved with a greatdeal of CvOurage and, bravery, had killedone of his men, and wounded the other ;and the ruuian^s, being difappointed intheir nefarious deligns, fled with the grcvU-eit precipctancy, andina place fo difiipat-ed :md corrupt as Venice, it is very eafiyto elude difcovery, orthn hand of juffice ;after this unexpected rencounter, v.-e re- tire

J320 The Adventures oftired to our lodgings, where we had ourwounds drciTed, and as foon as they wouldadmit of travelling, we fet out for Bologna,for probably any longer ftay might haveinvolved us in greater diflicukies.myThis is a true and full account of lifehitherto ; whatever is blameable in it Ihope your Reverences will pardon, as Ifubmit it entirely to your judgments.\_Sccretary. As I had the honour to inform you before, we inquired into all thofe fads which he faid happened to him in the company of Moniieur Godart ; which finding to be true, we judged Wethe reft mdght be fo. afked him, ifhe v/ould conduft fome of our mif- fionaries to that ftrange country he mentioned ; he told us he would : but not willing to trull him entirely, as not knowing what he might do with them, v/hen he had them in un- known countries, we thought fit to give him his liberty firft to go where he would, even out of Italy, with af- furances, if he came back of his own accord, v/e would fend mifilonaries along with him. He went to Venice and Genoa abought his concerns, and' is now come back, with us ; fo that we believe the man to be really what he profelTes himfclf to be.,,-\'*' FINIS.