were fortified, because of the incursions of the Tartars. When we were come to one of these towns (it was about two days and a half's journey before we were to come to the city of Naum), I wanted to buy a camel, of which there are plenty to be sold all the way upon that road, and horses also, such as they are, because so many caravans coming that way they are often wanted. The person that I spoke to, to get me a camel, would have gone and fetched one for me; but I, like a fool, must be officious, and go myself along with him: the place was about two miles out of the village, where it seems they kept the camels and horses feeding under a guard.

I walked it on foot, with my old pilot and a Chinese, being very desirous of a little variety. When we came to the place, it was a low, marshy ground, walled round with a stone wall, piled up dry, without mortar or earth among it, like a park, with a little guard of Chinese soldiers at the door. Having bought a camel, and agreed for the price, I came away, and the Chineseman that went with me led the camel, when on a sudden came up five Tartars on horseback; two of them seized the fellow and took the camel from him, while the other three stepped up to me and my old pilot, seeing us, as it were unarmed, for I had no weapon about me but my sword, which could but ill defend me against three horsemen. The first that came up stopped short upon my drawing my sword, for they are arrant cowards; but a second, coming upon my left, gave me a blow on the head, which I never felt till afterwards, and wondered, when I came to myself, what was the matter, and where I was, for he laid me flat on the ground; but my never-failing old pilot, the Portuguese (so Providence, unlooked for, directs deliverances from dangers which to us are unforeseen), had a pistol in his pocket, which I knew nothing of, nor the Tartars neither; if they had, I suppose they would not have attacked but cowards are always boldest when there is no danger. The old man seeing me down, with a bold heart stepped up to the fellow that had struck me, and laying hold of his arm with one hand, and pulling him down by main force a little towards him with the other, shot him in the head, and laid him dead

us;

upon the spot. He then immediately stepped up to him who had stopped us, as I said, and before he could coine forward again, made a blow at him with a cimeter which he always wore, but missing the man, cut his horse in the side of his head, cut one of the ears off by the root, and a great slice down by the side of his face. The poor beast, enraged with the wound, was no more to be governed by his rider, though the fellow sat well enough too, but away he flew, and carried hin quite out of the pilot's reach; and at some distance rising upon his hind legs, threw down the Tartar, and fell upon him.

In this interval, the poor Chinese came in who had lost the camel, but he had no weapon: however, seeing the Tartar down, and his horse fallen upon him, away he runs to him, and seizing upon an ugly, ill-favored weapon he had by his side, something like a pole-axe, but not a pole-axe neither, he wrenched it from him, and made shift to knock his Tartarian brains out with it. But my old man had the third Tartar to deal with still; and seeing he did not fly, as he expected, nor come on to fight him, as he apprehended, but stand stock still, the old man stood still too, and fell to work with his tackle, to charge his pistol again; but as soon as the Tartar saw the pistol, away he scoured, and left my pilot-my champion I called him afterwards-a complete victory.

By this time I was a little recovered; for I thought when I first began to wake, that I had been in a sweet sleep; but, as I said above, I wondered where I was, how I came upon the ground, and what was the matter; but in a few moments after, as sense returned, I felt pain, though I did not know where; so I clapped my hand to my head, and took it away bloody; then I felt my head ache; and then, in a moment, memory returned, and every thing was present to me again. I jumped upon my feet instantly, and got hold of my sword, but no enemies in view: I found a Tartar lie dead, and his horse standing very quietly by him; and, looking farther, I saw my champion and deliverer, who had been to see what the Chinese had done, coming back with his hanger in his hand: the old man, seeing me on my feet, caine running to me, and embraced me with a great

deal of joy, being afraid before that I had been killed; and seeing me bloody, would see how I was hurt; but it was not much, only what we call a broken head; neither did I afterwards find any great inconvenience from the blow, for it was well again in two or three days.

We made no great gain, however, by this victory, for we lost a camel and gained a horse; but that which was remarkable, when we came back to the village, the man demanded to be paid for the camel; I disputed it, and it was brought to a hearing before the Chinese judge of the place. To give him his due, he acted with a great deal of prudence and impartiality; and, having heard both sides, he gravely asked the Chinese man that went with me to buy the camel, whose servant he was. "I am no servant," says he, "but went with the stranger."-" At whose request?" says the justice. "At the stranger's request," says he. 66 Why then," says the justice, "you were the stranger's servant for the time; and the camel being delivered to his servant, it was delivered to him, and he must pay for it."

I confess the thing was so clear, that I had not a word to say; but, admiring to see such just reasoning upon the consequence, and an accurate stating of the case, I paid willingly for the camel, and sent for another; but, you may observe, I did not go to fetch it myself any more, for I had had enough of that.

The city of Naum is a frontier of the Chinese empire; they call it fortified, and so it is as fortifications go there; for this 1 will venture to affirm, that all the Tartars in Karakathay, which, I believe, are some millions, could not batter down the walls with their bows and arrows; but to call it strong, if it were attacked with cannon, would be to make those who understand it laugh at you.

We wanted, as I have said, above two days' journey of this city, when messengers were sent express to every part of the road to tell all travellers and caravans to halt till they had a guard sent for them; for that an unusual body of Tartars,

making ten thousand in all, had appeared in the way, about thirty miles beyond the city.

This was very bad news to travellers; however, it was carefully done of the governor, and we were very glad to hear we should have a guard. Accordingly, two days after, we had two hundred soldiers sent us from a garrison of the Chinese, on our left, and three hundred more from the city of Naum, and with these we advanced boldly; the three hundred soldiers from Naum marched in our front, the two hundred in our rear, and our men on each side of our camels, with our baggage, and the whole caravan in the centre; in this order, and well prepared for battle, we thought ourselves a match for the whole ten thousand Mogul Tartars, if they had appeared; but the next day, when they did appear, it was quite another thing.

It was early in the morning, when, marching from a wellsituated little town, called Changu, we had a river to pass, which we were obliged to ferry; and, had the Tartars had any intelligence, then had been the time to have attacked us, when the caravan being over, the rear-guard was behind; but they did not appear there. About three hours after, when we were entered upon a desert of about fifteen or sixteen miles over, behold, by a cloud of dust they raised, we saw an enemy was at hand; and they were at hand, indeed, for they came on upon the spur.

The Chinese, our guard on the front, who had talked sc big the day before, began to stagger; and the soldiers frequently looked behind them, which is a certain sign in a sol dier that he is just ready to run away. My old pilot was of my mind; and, being near me, called out, "Seignior Inglese," says he, "those fellows must be encouraged, or they will ruin us all; for if the Tartars come on, they will never stand it." "I am of your mind," said I; "but what must be done?' "Done!" says he, "let fifty of our men advance, and flank them on each wing, and encourage them; and they will fight like brave fellows, in brave company; but without this, they

will every man turn his back." Immediately I rode up to our leader, and told him, who was exactly of our mind; and accordingly fifty of us marched to the right wing, and fifty to the left, and the rest made a line of rescue; and so we marched, leaving the last two hundred men to make a body by themselves, and to guard the camels; only that, if need were, they should send a hundred men to assist the last fifty.

In a word, the Tartars came on, and an innumerable company they were; how many we could not tell, but ten thousand, we thought, was the least; a party of them came on first, and viewed our posture, traversing the ground in the front of our line; and, as we found them within gun-shot, our leader ordered the two wings to advance swiftly, and give them a salvo on each wing with their shot, which was done; but they went off, and I suppose back, to give an account of the reception they were like to meet with; and, indeed, that salute cloyed their stomachs, for they immediately halted, stood awhile to consider of it, and wheeling off to the left, they gave over their design, and said no more to us for that time; which was very agreeable to our circumstances, which were but very indifferent for a battle with such a number.

Two days after, we came to the city of Naun, or Naum; we thanked the governor for his care of us, and collected to the value of a hundred crowns, or thereabouts, which we gave to the soldiers sent to guard us; and here we rested one day. This is a garrison, indeed, and there were nine hundred soldiers kept here; but the reason of it was, that formerly the Muscovite frontiers lay nearer to them than they now do, the Muscovites having abandoned that part of the country, which lies from this city west for about two hundred miles, as desolate and unfit for use; and more especially being so very remote, and so difficult to send troops thither for its defence; for we had yet above two thousand miles to Muscovy, properly so called.

After this we passed several great rivers, and two dreadful deserts; one of which we were sixteen days passing over; and