I rob Persia, Persia robs not me: my losse is to me more honour; for the Persian empire borrowes her brightnes from the beames of one of the sonnes of England. Sherley to his Native Country. O THOU, my countrey, if I should pay back into thy hands so much as by bond is due vnto thee from me, I should then lay downe my life at thy feete. But my thoughts ayme at greater matters; it is not breath I would pay thee, but fame: take thou from me so much honor, as may make me liue for euer. Liberty is the gole to which I run, but such a liberty it is, as may free me from the common basenesse of the multitude, and make me worthy to be respected by the eye of a king. Seruus hero, I am a seruant to that greate maister, to whose feete all the Persians bow and doe reuerence: I am his seruant, that I may bee his messenger, and beare the treatyes of such a king, to other kings in Christendome. I am destin'de out, to deliuer his minde in their owne languages, to forraine princes, and to the monarches of the earth. Let them, therefore, come together, and quicklie shall the Turkish fury be calmed; and, being weakened in her owne strengths, shall be be glad to kneele to the power and mercy of others. And thou, O my natiue country, if thou wouldest be pleased to knit thy forces in this iust and vniversall warre, to what dignities mayst thou aduance thy selfe? Whatsoeuer is dishonorable, hath a base descention, and sincks beneath hell: but whatsoeuer is good and honest, lifts up an vnblemished brow on high, and makes it leuell with the front of heauen. The Authors Wish and Request to Vertue, that she would give cnto Sherley such a fruitfull Haruest of his Labours, that, having conquered the Hardnesse of them, his Name may aspire to the full Height of his Desert. O VERTUE! the noblest and boldest guide, thou that giuest to men the due crowne of praises, prosper thou the honored enterprises of Sherley but, touching those paths which must leade him to titles of fame and honour, make them euen and certaine before him: he hath no desire to haue his name eaten out by the rust of idlenesse; no, he will neuer vnworthily sinck beneath his owne proposed fortune. Another of the same Author, touching Sir Robert Sherley being called, as it were, by Fate, to manage the Affaires of Forraine Princes. WHAT is the cause that Shirley hath not all this while liued in the same country, that first lent him breath? This is the reason, a spirit so greate was not to be contained within so small a circle, as his country. Besides, He is the child of fate, and highly sings Of kingly Ambassies to none but Kings. Crownde with these prayses, as you heare in Poland, and leauing the fame of his memorable actions behind him, bending his course to other princes of Christendome with the same royall ambassage of honorable and Christian confederacie against Mahomet, and his adherents, it shal not bee amisse here to speake of the kingdome of Persia, where Sir Robert receiued such honorable entertainment, sutable to his noble actions, and the vertues of his minde, as also the maners, fashions, rites, and customes, that are and haue beene obserued by the Persians; and first, for their religion which they have obserued of old, doing worship and reuerence in their vpright zeale to the sunne, moone, Venus, fire, earth, water, and winds, erecting neyther altars nor statues, but in open fields offring their sacrifices, which sacrifices were superstitious, and full of idle ceremonies, too tedious to be here rehersed for their kinges, the golden line of them is drawn out of one family, that custome amongst the Persians neuer as yet suffred change or alteration, and so seuere their lawes are in effect, to the punishing of all rebellious, treasonable, and disobedient people, that, whosoeuer hee be that is found repugnant in the least demeanor to the will and affection of the king, hee is ceazde vpon by the tormentors, his head and armes chopt off, and, with his detested body, throwne into some common field, without eyther grave or couering: and for their palaces and royall mansions, this hath euer beene the continued custome amongst them, that euery King hath had his seate royall erected on some high hill or mountaine, the bowels of which hee makes his safe treasurehouse, where all his riches, jewels, and tribute moneyes are, with exceeding carefulnesse, kepte hid and secret: and so much they do detest sterility and barrennesse, that from the highest to the lowest they take many wiues in mariage, counting the fruitfull propagation of the empire, the onely happinesse they can rayse to it; and so much they thirst after humane fruitfulnesse, that the kings themselues propound great gifts and rewards, to those that in one yeare bring forth the greatest haruest of mankinde: from fiue yeare olde to foure-and-twenty, the male children practise to ride great horses, to throw the uulnerable and ineuitable darte, to shoote in arbalists or long steele bowes, and all such manly exercises; which shames many other Christian countries, and may iustly vpbraide them of effeminacie and lazynesse. Their victuals, for the most part, by which the common sort of people are fed and do liue by, are acorns and hedge-peares; their breade course and hard, their drinke the running springs: for their apparrell, the princes, and those that liue in greatest respect amongst them, adorne their bodies with a riple robe, and another garment in the fashion of a cloake hanging downe to their knees, the inward linings all of white silks, and the outward facing like poudred ermins; in somer, for the most part, they walke in purple; the winter refuses no color; about their temples they weare a great tyara, being a stately ornament high and round, with a cone at the top, from which descends a rich faire pendant of some costly embroidered stuffe, as tissue, &c. Attird in some of which ordinary Persian habits, his agent, Master Moore, is lately arrived in England, bringing happy tidings of this famous English Persian, as also of his comming to England, to the exceeding great joy of his natiue country, laden with honours through every kingdome, as the deserving ornaments of his vertue and labour. And thus, ingenuous reader, haue I set down by true and most credible information, a briefe epitome of Sir Robert Sherleyes entertainement into Cracouia, the chiefe cittye of Poland, together with all those seuerall speeches deliuered to him by the schollers of that countrye, which, although they may seeme to the nice ear of our times,_ not altogether so pure and polished as the refined labours of many English wits, yet therein they striued to express both their fashion and affection to the worthy vertues of Sir Robert; for a tast of their stile and manner of writing, it shall not be amiss, if you cast your eye vpon these verses following, composed by a scholler worthily reputed in that country, one Andreas Locæchius, and those are they which of his I borrow to shut vp the honorable praises of our famous English traueller. Ad illustrissimum & maximi tum ingenij tum animi virum, Dom. Robertum Sherlæum, equitem Anglum, Regis Persarum nomine ad Europa PP. legatum. AEMULE honos animo proauis, lux alta, Britannæ Hæc cuncta vnus habes, est vis, sunt ora diserta, Tantus honore licet, te Scoti haud subtrahe vena, SIR THOMAS OVERBURY'S OBSERVATIONS* IN HIS TRAVELS, Upon the STATE OF The seventeEN PROVINCES, As they stood Anno Domini, 1609. The Treaty of Peace being then on Foot. Printed in 1626. Quarto, containing thirty Pages. And, first, of the Provinces United. ALL things concurred for the rising and maintenance of this state, the disposition of the people being, as mutinous, so industrious and frugal; the nature of the country, every where fortifiable with water; the situation of it having behind them the Baltick Sea, which yields them all materials for ships, and many other commodities; and for men, hard before them France and England, both fearing the Spanish greatness, and therefore both concurring for their aid; the remoteness of their master from them; the change of religion falling out about the time of their revolt, and now the Marquis of Brandenburgh, a protestant, like to become Duke of Cleves. The discontentments of the Low Countries did first appear soon after the going away of the Kings of Spain, while the Duchess of Parma governed; to suppress which beginnings the Duke of Alva, being sent, inflamed them more, upon attempting to bring in the inquisition and Spanish decimation, upon the beheading Count Horne and Count Egmont, persecuting those of the religion, and undertaking to build citadels upon all their towns; which he effected at Antwerp; but, enterprising the like at Flushing, that town revolted first, and under it began the war. But the more general revolt of the provinces happened after the death of Don Lewis de Requiesens, and upon the coming down of Don John of Austria, when all the provinces, excepting Luxemburgh, upon the sacking of Antwerp, and other insolencies, proclaimed the Spaniards rebels and enemies to the King; yet the abjuring of their obedience from the crown of Spain was not till a year or two after. Holland and Zealand, upon their first standing out, offered the sovereignty of themselves to the Queen, then the protection (both which she neglected) and that, while the French sent greater aid, and more men of quality, than we; but, after the civil war began in France, that kept • See the 536th Article in the Catalogue of Pamphlets. VOL. III. them busy at home, and then the Queen, seeing the necessity of their being supported, upon the pawning of Brill and Flushing, sent money and men: And, since that, most part of the great exploits there have been done by the English, who were commonly the third part of the army, being four regiments, besides eleven hundred in Flushing and the Ramekins, and five hundred in the Brill; but of late, the King of France appearing more for them than ours, and paying himself the French that are there, they give equal, if not more countenance to that nation: But upon these two Kings they make their whole dependance; and, though with more respect to him that is stronger, for the time, yet so, as it may give no distaste unto the other. For the manner of their government: They have, upon occasion, an assembly of the general states, like our parliament, being composed of those which are sent from every province upon summons; and what these enact stands for law. Then is there, besides, a council of state, residing for the most part at the Hague, which attends daily occasions, being rather employed upon affairs of state, than of particular justice. The most potent in this council was Barnavelt, by reason of his advocates of Holland. And, besides both these, every province and great town have particular councils of their own: To all which assemblies, as well of the general states as the rest, the gentry is called for order's sake, but the state indeed is democratical, the merchant and the tradesman being predominant, the gentry now but few and poor; and even at the beginning, the Prince of Orange saw it safer to rely upon the towns, than them: Neither are the gentry so much engaged in the cause, the people having more advantages in a free state, they in a monarchy. Their care in government is very exact and particular, by reason that every one hath an immediate interest in the state: Such is the equality of justice, that it renders every man satisfied; such the publick regularity, that a man may see their laws were made to guide, not to intrap; such their exactness in casting the expence of an army, as that it shall be equally far from superfluity and want, and as much order and certainty in their acts of war, as in ours of peace, teaching it to be both civil and rich. And they still retain that sign of a commonwealth yet uncorrupted, Private poverty and publick wealth; for no one private man there is exceeding rich, and few very poor, and no state more sumptuous in all publick things. But the question is, Whether this, being a free state, will as well subsist in peace, as it hath done hitherto in war? Peace leaving every one to attend his particular wealth, when fear, while the war lasts, makes them concur for their common safety: And Zealand, upon the least security, hath ever been envious at the predominancy of Holland and Utrecht, ready to mutiny for religion; and besides, it is a doubt, whether the same care and sincerity would continue, if they were at their consistence, as appears yet, while they are but in rising. The revenue of this state ariseth chiefly from the Earl of Holland's demesnes, and confiscated church-livings; the rising and falling of money, which they use with much advantage; their fishing upon our coasts and those of Norway; contribution out of the enemies country; taxes upon all things at home, and impositions upon all merchandises from abroad; their expences upon their ambassadors, |