any of them could have within eight hundred Years laft paft, makes their Performances not worth Notice. He has fhewed us in §7, what Discoveries they have made in tranflating a few fingle Words; if they pleafe, they may keep them.

The most natural Defcription of these People, tho' it be a modern Draught, is from a Preacher to the Factory at Aleppo, three Merchants and a Jeweller; you are not to fuppofe that they had much SchoolLearning, nor Knowledge of the Antiquities of the Eaftern Tongues; therefore their Description of the Origin and Derivation of Names, of the Application or Prefervation of the Language, pafs for Hear-fay: "Tis intitled, The Travels of Four Englishmen and a Preacher into Syria, &c. London, 1612, p. 58. of the Arabians. "There were alfo many Arabians in Aleppo, called vulgarly, Arabs, or Bedweens: They call themselves Saracens of Sara; but they are rather Ishmaelites of Ishmael, Abraham's Son, by Hagar, and therefore alfo called Hagarens: But fome take them to be of the Race of the Sabaans, which were wild and favage People of Sabaa, a Country in the Middle of Arabia, towards the Eaft, environed with great Rocks, where is great Store of Cynnamon

and

and Caffia, Frankincenfe, and Myrrh; which People came of Sheba, Nephew to Ketura and Abraham. Their native Countrey was Arabia, a Country in Afia, between Judea and Ægypt, fo called of Arabus, the Son of Apollo. It is divided into three Regions, which are thefe, Arabia Petrea, Arabia Deferta, and Arabia Felix; but at this Day they have no certain Country or Place of Abode, but wander up and down throughout all Syria, Affyria, Gallily, Judea, Palaftina, and Egypt. As in Job's Time they lived by Theft and Robbery, and Spoil of Men, fo do they alfo to this prefent Day. They have two Kings at this Day, viz, Dandan, and Aborisha; the one their lawful King, the other an Ufurper, and fome follow the one, and fome the other, and are bitter Enemies one to another; yet have I feldom heard of any great Wars betwixt them; for they feldom meet, they never come into any walled Towns or Cities, for Fear of Treafon, but live in Tents, and are here to Day, and many hundred Miles off within few Days after.

They are a bafe, beggarly, and roguith People, wandering up and down, and living by Spoil, which they account no Sin, because they are Mahomet's Countrymen, L 3

and

and he allowed them Liberty to live by Theft; yet their Kings do no great Harm, but take Toll or Tribute of the Caravans, as they país by, which if they pay willingly, they pafs quietly, and are not robb'd, but a little exacted upon.

One of their Kings hath oftentimes pitched his Tents near unto the City of Aleppo, and many Merchants being defirous to fee them and their Order, took Occafion to prefent him with fome small Prefent or other, which he took very kindly, and admitted them to his Table, and gave them a Tent to lodge in all Night: On the Morrow, for Breakfast, one of them made him a minced Pie, and fet it before him, hot, as it came out of the Oven; but, as Diogenes, accustomed to feed on Roots, having a Piece of a Tart given him to eat, and as he was eating it being afked what it was, anfwer'd, that it was Bread: And when he was laugh'd at for his Anfwer, he faid again, Either it is Bread of a very good Making, or Bread very well handled in the Baking. So this Cynical or Diogenical King, accuftomed to feed grofly, having never feen a Pie or Paftie before, marvelled, what it, was; and when he faw it cut up

and

and open'd, and perceived Smoke to come out of it, fhrunk back, fearing it had been fome Engine to deftroy him, and that the Fire would follow after the Smoke but when he perceived no Fire followed the Smoke, he was content to taste of it, and highly commended it, as the daintieft Dish that ever he tafted of in his Life.

Thefe Arabian Kings never keep any Money in their Purses, but spend it as faft as they find it; and when they want, with their Sword they feek a new Purchafe. Some are Soldiers, fighting faithfully on any Side that will give them Pay. Some of this roguish Arabian Race follow neither of their Kings, but wander from Place to Place, in Caves and Rocks, and live by their Sword, not only robbing, but killing fuch as they can overcome. Others of them (of a better Mind) fojourn in Cities of Trade and Traffick, and make themselves Servants to any Nation that will fet them on Work, and well reward them. Some of them are Horfe-keepers, fome Under-Cooks in Kitchins, and are very ferviceable; but, for the moft Part, their Lodgings are on fome Dunghill or other, odd Corner of the City, with fome filly Tent over their L 4 Heads,

Heads. Their Wives wear Rings in their Nofes, either of Silver or Braís, faftened to the middle Griftle of their Nofe, and colour their Lips blue with Indico, and go always bare leg'd, and bare-footed, with Plates or Rings of Brafs about their Hands. They are People which can, and do endure great Hardness and Mifery, both for Diet and Lodging. Their Women are skilful in Mourning and Crying by Art, and therefore they are hired to cry at the Funerals of Turks and Moors, oftentimes, tearing their Hair, and making all their Face blue with Indico. The chiefeft Thing that I have obferved in them, worth Praife, is this, that they retain the Ufe of fpeaking their natural Tongue to this Day, fpeaking the Arabic naturally, which is a far more learned Language than the Turkish; for as the Turks Religion is a mixed Religion, compounded of many Religions, fo is their Language alfo a medley Language, or (as I may juftly call it) a Lindley-Woolfey Religion and Language, compounded of many other Languages, wherein nothing is written: But the Arabian Tongue is a learned Language, wherein Avicen and many learned Phyficians have written much; and to