people travelled in the same manner besides us, under the
protection of his retinue; for the country furnished all the
provisions for nothing to him, and yet he took our money for them.
We were twenty-five days travelling to Pekin, through a country
exceeding populous, but I think badly cultivated; the husbandry,
the economy, and the way of living miserable, though they boast so
much of the industry of the people: I say miserable, if compared
with our own, but not so to these poor wretches, who know no other.
The pride of the poor people is infinitely great, and exceeded by
nothing but their poverty, in some parts, which adds to that which
I call their misery; and I must needs think the savages of America
live much more happy than the poorer sort of these, because as they
have nothing, so they desire nothing; whereas these are proud and
insolent and in the main are in many parts mere beggars and
drudges. Their ostentation is inexpressible; and, if they can,
they love to keep multitudes of servants or slaves, which is to the
last degree ridiculous, as well as their contempt of all the world
but themselves.
I must confess I travelled more pleasantly afterwards in the
deserts and vast wildernesses of Grand Tartary than here, and yet
the roads here are well paved and well kept, and very convenient
for travellers; but nothing was more awkward to me than to see such
a haughty, imperious, insolent people, in the midst of the grossest
simplicity and ignorance; and my friend Father Simon and I used to
be very merry upon these occasions, to see their beggarly pride.
For example, coming by the house of a country gentleman, as Father
Simon called him, about ten leagues off the city of Nankin, we had
first of all the honour to ride with the master of the house about
two miles; the state he rode in was a perfect Don Quixotism, being
a mixture of pomp and poverty. His habit was very proper for a
merry-andrew, being a dirty calico, with hanging sleeves, tassels,
and cuts and slashes almost on every side: it covered a taffety
vest, so greasy as to testify that his honour must be a most
exquisite sloven. His horse was a poor, starved, hobbling
creature, and two slaves followed him on foot to drive the poor
creature along; he had a whip in his hand, and he belaboured the
beast as fast about the head as his slaves did about the tail; and
thus he rode by us, with about ten or twelve servants, going from
the city to his country seat, about half a league before us. We
travelled on gently, but this figure of a gentleman rode away
before us; and as we stopped at a village about an hour to refresh
us, when we came by the country seat of this great man, we saw him
in a little place before his door, eating a repast. It was a kind
of garden, but he was easy to be seen; and we were given to
understand that the more we looked at him the better he would be
pleased. He sat under a tree, something like the palmetto, which
effectually shaded him over the head, and on the south side; but
under the tree was placed a large umbrella, which made that part
look well enough. He sat lolling back in a great elbow-chair,
being a heavy corpulent man, and had his meat brought him by two
women slaves. He had two more, one of whom fed the squire with a
spoon, and the other held the dish with one hand, and scraped off
what he let fall upon his worship’s beard and taffety vest.
Leaving the poor wretch to please himself with our looking at him,
as if we admired his idle pomp, we pursued our journey. Father
Simon had the curiosity to stay to inform himself what dainties the
country justice had to feed on in all his state, which he had the
honour to taste of, and which was, I think, a mess of boiled rice,
with a great piece of garlic in it, and a little bag filled with