green pepper, and another plant which they have there, something
like our ginger, but smelling like musk, and tasting like mustard;
all this was put together, and a small piece of lean mutton boiled
in it, and this was his worship’s repast. Four or five servants
more attended at a distance, who we supposed were to eat of the
same after their master. As for our mandarin with whom we
travelled, he was respected as a king, surrounded always with his
gentlemen, and attended in all his appearances with such pomp, that
I saw little of him but at a distance. I observed that there was
not a horse in his retinue but that our carrier’s packhorses in
England seemed to me to look much better; though it was hard to
judge rightly, for they were so covered with equipage, mantles,
trappings, &c., that we could scarce see anything but their feet
and their heads as they went along.
I was now light-hearted, and all my late trouble and perplexity
being over, I had no anxious thoughts about me, which made this
journey the pleasanter to me; in which no ill accident attended me,
only in passing or fording a small river, my horse fell and made me
free of the country, as they call it – that is to say, threw me in.
The place was not deep, but it wetted me all over. I mention it
because it spoiled my pocket-book, wherein I had set down the names
of several people and places which I had occasion to remember, and
which not taking due care of, the leaves rotted, and the words were
never after to be read.
At length we arrived at Pekin. I had nobody with me but the youth
whom my nephew had given me to attend me as a servant and who
proved very trusty and diligent; and my partner had nobody with him
but one servant, who was a kinsman. As for the Portuguese pilot,
he being desirous to see the court, we bore his charges for his
company, and for our use of him as an interpreter, for he
understood the language of the country, and spoke good French and a
little English. Indeed, this old man was most useful to us
everywhere; for we had not been above a week at Pekin, when he came
laughing. “Ah, Seignior Inglese,” says he, “I have something to
tell will make your heart glad.” – “My heart glad,” says I; “what
can that be? I don’t know anything in this country can either give
me joy or grief to any great degree.” – “Yes, yes,” said the old
man, in broken English, “make you glad, me sorry.” – “Why,” said I,
“will it make you sorry?” – “Because,” said he, “you have brought
me here twenty-five days’ journey, and will leave me to go back
alone; and which way shall I get to my port afterwards, without a
ship, without a horse, without PECUNE?” so he called money, being
his broken Latin, of which he had abundance to make us merry with.
In short, he told us there was a great caravan of Muscovite and
Polish merchants in the city, preparing to set out on their journey
by land to Muscovy, within four or five weeks; and he was sure we
would take the opportunity to go with them, and leave him behind,
to go back alone.
I confess I was greatly surprised with this good news, and had
scarce power to speak to him for some time; but at last I said to
him, “How do you know this? are you sure it is true?” – “Yes,” says
he; “I met this morning in the street an old acquaintance of mine,
an Armenian, who is among them. He came last from Astrakhan, and
was designed to go to Tonquin, where I formerly knew him, but has
altered his mind, and is now resolved to go with the caravan to
Moscow, and so down the river Volga to Astrakhan.” – “Well,
Seignior,” says I, “do not be uneasy about being left to go back
alone; if this be a method for my return to England, it shall be