REMARKS AND OBSERVATIONS.
As the inhabitants of Europe received the first distinct account of
the vast country of China from our industrious Venetians, so from
them likewise they had the clearest and best account of the
revolutions that had happened in that empire by the power of the
Tartars; a thing of such consequence to the right understanding what
subsequent travellers have related, that I will be bold to say all
the difficulties and discouragements that have been thrown in our
way, and have so long hindered our making a right use of the many
collections of travels already published, have arisen in part from a
humour that for some time prevailed of treating Marco Polo's relation
as a romance, and partly through the mistakes made by those, who for
want of having sufficient lights, and the materials that were
requisite, undertook to explain the history of the irruptions of the
Tartars into China, and endeavoured to make the dates and facts
mentioned in these travels fall in with their accounts, accusing, at
every turn, the author of errors and faults, of which themselves only
were guilty. To remedy these disorders, and to make the way plainer
for the future, we shall, without running into a long discussion of
what other writers have advanced, observe, that there have been three
distinct conquests of China made by the Tartars, of each of which we
shall give a clear and distinct account in very few words. The first
of these was by the Eastern Tartars, who, before the time of
Zingis-Khan, made themselves masters of the northern provinces of
China, and fixed the seat of their empire at Khanbalick, Cambalu, or
Pekin; and this, as I conceive, gave rise to what is called the
empire of Cathay; concerning which all our ancient writers in general
deliver themselves with so much confusion, sometimes representing
Cathay as a part of Tartary, sometimes again comprehending under that
name the whole empire of China; and at others distinguishing it from
both. But from this distinction it clearly appears that though the
ancient empire of Cathay was situated in China, yet it was an empire
raised by the Tartars; and that from want of attending to this, so
many mistakes have been introduced.
The prince who governed Cathay in the time of Zingis-Khan was
Altan-Khan, against whom that great conqueror made his first attempt,
in the year 1206, and that with such success as to oblige this
monarch, after various defeats, to shut himself up in the city of
Cambalu, and to sue for a peace, which, with much difficulty, he
obtained; for the confirmation of which he gave his daughter in
marriage to Zingis-Khan. This peace was of but very short
continuance; for Altan-Khan, having a jealousy that some of his
nobility held intelligence with his enemy, he put many of them to
death; and finding the northern parts of his dominions in a manner
wasted and depopulated by the late invasion, he retired to the city
of Nankin, which his father had fortified with three walls, the last
of which was forty leagues in circuit, and left his son in possession
of Khanbalick and of the adjacent countries. The rest of the
nobility, enraged at the instances of severity before mentioned, and
at the same time doubting their own safety, had immediate recourse to
Zingis-Khan, and drew him a second time into Cathay, where he made
himself master of the imperial city of Cambalu; the news of which
accident affected Altan-Khan to such a degree, that he poisoned
himself. This happened about the year 1210; and thus the Tartars
became masters of the northern parts of China. They continued their
conquests under the reign of the successors of Zingis-Khan, till the
emperor who reigned when our author was in these parts, viz.,
Coplai-Khan, who in the year 1278 completed the conquest of Mangi, or
the southern parts of China.
The bounds of Zingis-Khan's conquests on this side was the river
Hoang; but his successors annexed all the country between that river
and the river of Kiang. All the rest were subdued by Coplai-Khan,
and his general Pe Yen. This was the second conquest made by the
Tartars, who not only destroyed the empire formerly established by
their countrymen in Cathay, but also that of the native Chinese,
which had subsisted for so many ages. This short recapitulation sets
this affair in its true light, and not only explains what Marco Polo
has told us, and reconciles his accounts with those of later authors,
but also connects his relation with that of Rubruquis, and even those
of the Arabian travellers; so that taking the whole together, we have
a clear and satisfactory view of the affairs of China, to that which
I call the second conquest by the Tartars; but as the affairs of this
country were entirely changed again before the arrival of the
Portuguese by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, I think it will be
for the reader's ease and advantage to have this history conducted to
its close before we enter upon the discoveries and conquests of the
Portuguese; because otherwise, when we come to speak of the Chinese
as again in the possession of their country, and again driven out and
conquered by the Tartars, it must necessarily introduce infinite
confusion. It is from the Chinese writers that we have the reigns of
the Tartar emperors who succeeded Coplai-Khan, and of whom there is
very little mention made in the histories of the Tartars.
The Chinese, as I before observed, called this new imperial family
Yuen, and bestowed the name of Chi-Tsou upon Coplai-Khan, of whom
their histories speak with the utmost reverence, and whom they
celebrate, for his having opened the great canal mentioned by our
author, and which has been ever since justly considered as one of the
wonders of China. It is three hundred leagues in length, and nine
thousand imperial barks are constantly employed thereon, in
transporting the tributes of the southern provinces to Cambahi or
Pekin, and in other services. These writers place the death of this
emperor somewhat lower than the Tartar historians; for the former say
that he lived to the age of fourscore, and died A.D. 1295, whereas
the latter place that event in 1292. He was succeeded in the empire
by his grandson, whom our author calls Timur, but in the Chinese
chronicles he is styled Tching-Tsong; and as his grandfather excelled
in power, so he distinguished himself by his clemency and the love of
his subjects. After him reigned seven other princes of his family,
all whom were no less illustrious on the score of their personal
virtues than glorious from their possessing so large an empire; and
it is very remarkable that the Chinese history renders so great
justice to this foreign race of princes, as to style the period in
which they ruled over China the "Wise Administration." The last of
them was Chun-ti, a prince of great natural endowments, but who
unfortunately gave himself up to priests and women, leaving the
management of the affairs of the empire entirely to his prime
minister. The Tartar soldiers, through so long a peace, had lost the
original discipline, and were become slothful and effeminate, which
so raised the courage of the Chinese, that they began to show a
disposition to revolt; and one Tchou, an obscure person who had been
no better than a footman, having put himself at the head of a body of
malcontents, reduced many of the great cities in the empire; and
became, by degrees, so powerful, that he twice defeated the imperial
army, and at last forced the Tartars to abandon China, after they had
been possessed of it ninety-nine years. This revolution happened in
1370; and Tchou, having by his success in this war raised himself to
the imperial throne, assumed the name of Tai-Tsou, and fixed his
imperial residence in the city of Nankin. And thus it was that the
Chinese, having expelled their conquerors, recovered the dominion of
their own country.
As for the Emperor Chun-ti, he retired with his Tartar subjects
northwards, and died of grief and vexation about two years after this
revolution happened. The Tartars that were thus expelled, having a
strong tincture of the Chinese customs, did not join with the rest of
the Moguls, but settled themselves in the country of Leaoton, and
were, from this time forward, styled the Nieuchen Moguls, or "Moguls
of the East," to distinguish them from the other Moguls, who were
called "Moguls of the West."
This desert country they cultivated with the utmost care, built
therein several considerable cities, and practised that industry
which they had learned by conversing so long with the Chinese; yet,
in some respects, they still retained a tincture of their ancient
manners; for, instead of remaining firm and united, which seemed to
be the only means left for recovering again the dominions they had
lost, they split themselves into several little principalities, under
so many Khans; who, though their territories were not very wide,
maintained nevertheless their independency. Among the most
considerable of those cities which they erected were Kirin, Ula, and
Kinkrita, all three of them seated on the west bank of the river
Sangoro, which falls into the great river Amur, about twelve days'
journey above its mouth. The city of Kirin is distant from the
province of Leaoton, about three hundred and sixty miles. The city
of Ula is in latitude forty-four degrees twenty minutes north, and
was considered as the capital of the Nieuchen Moguls. The Khan of
Ula however, was far from being a considerable prince, had no sort of
superiority over the rest of the Khans of the Eastern Tartars, was
without allies or resources beyond the power of his own subjects; and
yet, as we shall show hereafter, it was this Khan Ula that had the
courage to undertake, and the good fortune to accomplish, the third
conquest of China: but at present we will leave the Tartars
cultivating their deserts, and return to the new-founded empire of
Tchou and his descendants.
The dynasty, founded by this prince, was called Ming, and the
emperor, who, as I have said before, assumed the name of Tai Tsou,
reigned thirty-one years with great glory, and left the empire to his
grandson, who perished in a civil war, and was succeeded by his
uncle, who, having been formerly King of Pekin, transferred the seat
of the empire thither. The sixth emperor of this family was Yng
Tsong, under whose reign the Tartars made new incursions into China;
to oppose them, the emperor marched at the head of a great army, and
pursuing them considerably beyond the famous wall, they suddenly
faced about, attacked and defeated the Chinese, making the emperor
prisoner. His son, who was but two years old, was advanced to the
empire, and the brother of the captive emperor, whose name was King
Ti, declared protector, which promotion gave him an opportunity of
seizing the empire. The Tartars, some time after, released Yng
Tsong, who chose, however, to lead a private life, and leave his
brother in possession of the empire, which he enjoyed to his death;
and then the old emperor was again seated on the throne.
The eleventh emperor of this race was Chi Tsong, who had the good
fortune to defeat the Tartars in several battles; and it was under
his reign that the famous Francis Xavier preached the Christian
religion in the East, where he died in 1552. The emperor Chi Tsong
reigned forty-five years, in the latter part of which the government
began to decline very sensibly, as it continued to do under all his
successors, down to Hoai Tsong, who was the sixteenth and last
emperor of the family of Ming. It was under his reign that Zungt-hy,
who was Khan of Ula, formed the design of making himself master of
China, notwithstanding that all the force he was able to raise did
not exceed fifteen thousand horse. He began with entering into
private intrigues with some of the Chinese mandarins, who were exiled
into the province of Leaoton, by whose assistance he soon became
master of great part of that province. The emperor sent against him
an army more than sufficient to have forced him back into his own
country; but he had so much address as to prevent the principal
officers of this army from doing their duty; so that by degrees he
mastered all the rest of that province, and at last took possession
of its capital.
While this scene was transacted in the east, and the whole force of
the Chinese empire employed there to so little purpose, new troubles
arose in the western provinces, where several bands of thieves and
highwaymen committed the most extravagant outrages; and at last,
under the command of one Lycoungz, an obscure and infamous fellow,
plundered several cities, and even whole provinces, which, increasing
the number of their forces, the rebel had at last sufficient power to
attempt the subversion of the empire. It was with this view that he
marched directly to Pekin, where in three days he became master of
the place; and the emperor, finding himself abandoned, hanged himself
on a tree in his garden. Lycoungz immediately took the title of
emperor, and endeavoured, by all the methods he could devise, to
bring over to his interest Ou-san-guei, who was general of the army
sent against the Tartars, and the only person capable of disputing
with him the possession of China. That general, however, rejected
all his offers with contempt, which obliged Lycoungz to take the
field once again, and to march against him with his numerous army:
Ou-san-guei, who saw that it was simply impossible for him to think
of making head at once against the usurper and the Tartars, resolved
to make terms with the fairer enemy of the two, and thereupon invited
Zungt-hy to come to his assistance.
This was precisely what the Tartar prince desired, and therefore he
made no difficulty of complying with his demand. He left five
thousand of his own troops in the province of Leaoton, and then
marched with ten thousand Tartars and twenty thousand of the
inhabitants of that country to the relief of the Chinese general, who
received him with great joy. They marched together directly towards
the usurper, and when they were upon the point of giving him battle,
Zungt-hy observed, in a conference he had with the Chinese general,
that as the best part of the forces of the empire, and especially
those of the southern and western provinces were extremely afraid of
the Tartars, it would be very expedient for him to cut the tails of
his horses after their manner, by which means the army of the usurper
would take them all for Tartars. Ou-san-guei, following the advice
of the Khan, it had so good an effect, that the rebels were totally
defeated, and Lycoungz obliged to fly with the remainder of his army
towards Pekin. The victorious allies continued their pursuit without
the least intermission; and on their drawing near the city, the
Chinese general made proclamation that all such as did not take part
with the usurper should trim their horses after the manner of the
Tartars, that they might the more easily distinguish them on all
occasions. This stratagem had as great an effect as a second
victory: such multitudes declared themselves against the usurper,
that, finding it absolutely impossible to maintain his ground, he
first plundered the imperial city, and then retired with his army
loaded with booty. When the allies were in possession of Pekin, it
was agreed that Zungt-hy with his forces should remain there for the
security of the place, and that Ou-san-guei with his army should
pursue the usurper till such time as an end could be put to the war.
The same arts, or rather the same virtues, by which the Tartar Prince
had gained the affections of the people of Leaoton produced the like
consequences amongst the inhabitants of Pekin; and as, on the one
hand, they were weary of living without the support and protection of
a governor, so they flattered themselves, on the other, with enjoying
all imaginable happiness under a prince of so much humanity and so
great abilities as Zungt-hy, and therefore almost of their own accord
they declared him emperor in the absence of the Chinese general, who
had himself views upon the throne, in which he had very probably
succeeded if he had not been thus outwitted by the Tartar Zungt-hy,
who foreseeing how difficult a thing it might prove for him to
maintain himself in possession of so great an empire, with such a
handful of forces, was no sooner seated on the imperial throne than
he instantly despatched advice of his good fortune to the Khans of
East Tartary, who were princes of his own family, inviting them to
come and share with him in so rich a conquest. This was certainly a
good expedient for securing himself against the fickleness or
infidelity of the Chinese; but at the same time it visibly exposed
the new emperor to the danger of being undone by his auxiliaries; for
the Khans of the Tartars, who on the first summons hastened to his
assistance, had certainly in view the dividing the Chinese empire
amongst them; but Zungt-hy was a prince of such wisdom and
penetration, that he immediately discovered the danger to which he
stood exposed, and provided against it with a sagacity equal to its
penetration. He divided these corps of Tartars as soon as they
entered his dominions, sent for several of their princes to Pekin,
and in a short time so separated them from each other, that they
became absolutely his subjects, and were unable to act otherwise than
was conducive to his service. In the conquest and settlement of
China, this Tartar prince showed all the courage and capacity of
Julius, all the policy and conduct of Augustus Cæsar, by which he
thoroughly accomplished the third conquest of China by the Tartars,
which happened in one thousand six hundred forty and four, after the
Chinese had preserved their freedom for two hundred and sixty-six
years.
This new race of Tartar princes, which still continue to reign in
China, for the twenty-second dynasty of their monarchs, is
distinguished by the name of Tsing; it is, however, very remarkable
that Zungt-hy is not accounted the first of those emperors, because
he died almost as soon as he was seated on his throne, and before he
was entirely possessed of China, leaving the empire to his son
Chun-Tchi, who was then no more than six years old, and to whom his
dying father assigned his brother Ama-Van for his guardian. So early
a minority, one would have imagined, must have been fatal to the
new-raised empire; but Ama-Van, during the non-age of his nephew,
conducted all things with so much wisdom and fidelity, that when the
young emperor came to take the reins of government into his own
hands, he found himself in as full possession of his dominions as if
they had descended to him from a long line of ancestors. The Emperor
Chun-Tchi was himself a person of extraordinary abilities, easy and
affable amongst his soldiers, wise and prudent in his councils, and
so refined a politician, that, under colour of executing the laws
with exactness, he took off all the great men in China that were
capable of giving him either jealousy or disturbance, so that after a
reign of seventeen years, he left the empire perfectly settled to his
son, who was but eight years old.
The name of this prince was Cang-hi; he was raised to the throne in
the year 1662, and during his minority the empire was governed by
four great ministers, who executed their offices with the greatest
wisdom and integrity, so that this second minority proved not in the
least dangerous to the empire. It is true that the famous Chinese
general Ou-san-guei took the advantage of it, and endeavoured to
shake off the yoke of the Tartars, of whom with equal wit and wisdom
he said, that he had called in lions to assist him in hunting dogs.
He had some success at the beginning, and might probably have secured
at least some part of the empire for himself and his posterity if he
had not been very old at the time of his revolt, and died not long
after, which gave the emperor's ministers an opportunity of taking
such measures as put it out of the power of the Chinese to rebel for
the future. Cang-hi fell nothing short, either of his father or his
grandfather, so that it may be reckoned an extraordinary felicity in
this family, that for three generations there were as great princes
of it as perhaps of any other in the world. This emperor was
extremely careful with regard to two points, the encouraging and
distinguishing his Tartar subjects, and behaving with the utmost
justice and moderation towards the Chinese.
In the beginning of his reign, indeed, he committed some necessary
acts of severity, but when he found that he had by this means
absolutely broken the mutinous spirit of the people of China, he
changed his conduct entirely, and applied himself wholly to the
putting everything in the best order possible, for the benefit of all
his subjects. It was with this view that he obliged the viceroys and
other governors of provinces to administer justice with impartiality
and mildness, taking from them the power of punishing capitally, and
obliging them to send all such sentences to the supreme tribunal of
the empire. In order to take away all distinctions, and to render
his Tartar and Chinese subjects but one people, he established this
regulation: he obliged the Tartars to wear the Chinese habit, and
obliged the Chinese to cut their hair, after the mode of the Tartars,
and this upon pain of death. It may seem strange, but it is
nevertheless true, that many refused to comply with this order, and
chose rather to part with their lives than their hair, and that many
more abandoned their native country, to fly into places where they
might wear their hair as long as they were wont. But the emperor's
edict had notwithstanding the desired effect, that is to say, freed
him from such mutinous spirits as might have disturbed the
tranquillity of his reign.
The most important employments, and the most honourable offices in
the government, he gave only to the Tartars; but then he made a law,
by which the children of Tartars by Chinese women, or of Chinese by
Tartarian women, who were bred up in the customs, and were taught to
speak the language of the Tartars, were declared capable of the
highest offices in the empire. He was not more careful of the
domestic than of the foreign affairs of his empire, which almost all
his predecessors had neglected to a great degree; for he not only
reduced all the eastern Tartars entirely under his obedience, but
made two journeys into that country where he admitted all ranks of
people freely to his presence, and thereby gained the love of the
Moguls in the highest degree. As for the Tartars of the west, he
forced them to have recourse to his protection, and not only drove
the Calmucks from his frontiers, but entering their country also in
his turn, took from them the provinces of Chamil and Tarfan, which
serve as an excellent barrier on that side of the Chinese empire.
In his person, and in his manners, he had nothing of the Tartar, and
was so perfectly acquainted with every government in Europe, that he
discoursed of them in a manner that surprised even the Europeans
themselves. The late Czar Peter the First sent M. d'Ismailoff with
the character of his ambassador to the Chinese Court, whom the
emperor not only received with all imaginable politeness, but at the
first audience presented his excellency, a nobleman who accompanied
him, and his secretary, each with a gold cup full of mead, by which
they plainly perceived that he was informed of the Czar's custom, who
when he had a mind to distinguish any foreigner, was wont to present
him with a glass of wine with his own hand. This Emperor Cang-hi
reigned with great glory sixty-one years, and died on the 20th of
December, 1722. He left behind him seventeen sons, the fourth of
whom he declared his successor, who at his accession to the imperial
dignity, assumed the name of Tong-Tching, _i.e._, peace undisturbed.
This prince, who is said to inherit the virtues as well as dominions
of his ancestors, was in quiet possession of the empire in the year
1735, since which we have not had any certain, or at least very
important, accounts from China.
By this deduction of the Chinese history we learn a multitude of
things necessary for the understanding such of the subsequent voyages
as mention that country, which was the reason that I insisted upon it
so long; and we likewise discover the usefulness of this sort of
knowledge with respect to the voyages that have gone before. We see
that the Chinese, with whom our Arabian travellers conversed, were
quite another sort of people than those that now inhabit China; for
they were a pure and unmixed nation, whereas the modern Chinese are
in a great measure incorporated with the Tartars; from whence it is
easy to discern that great alterations must have happened in their
manners, especially if we consider the character that Rubruquis gives
the Tartars, which comes much nearer that of the modern Chinese than
anything we meet with in the Arabian writers. It appears likewise
from the comparison of the facts related by the Arabians with those
mentioned by Marco Polo of the people of Mangi, that both these
writers must have reported things with great fidelity, since they
agree in a multitude of particulars. The conquest of the northern
part of China by the Tartars, though not expressly mentioned, yet is
plainly alluded to by the second Arab writer; and as to the entire
conquest of China by the same nation, we owe the full account of it
to Marco Polo; for, without the assistance of his relations, it would
have been a thing very difficult, if not impossible, to have
discovered that Chi-Tsou was the same with Coplai-Khan, or
Cublai-Khan, Emperor of the Tartars, who before he became master of
their country was called by the Chinese Ho-pi-lie.
We likewise learn from this succinct view of the Chinese history that
the Tartars, who now possess China, are the very same nation that
formerly possessed it, contrary to what some very learned men
asserted, and which was generally believed half an age ago. We
likewise see that the reigning family in China are direct descendants
of Cublai-Khan, and consequently of Zingis-Khan, that famous
conqueror whose empire, as we have elsewhere shown, was the most
extensive that has been hitherto known in the world. These things
are of very great consequence, if we read voyages for the sake of
improving and enlarging our knowledge, and not merely for the sake of
amusement, which, however, is rather increased than lessened by
attending to these circumstances. We can easily apprehend, after a
little reflection, that in the time of our Arabian travellers, and
even in that of Marco Polo, the Chinese empire must have been in a
much better condition, and its trade much more flourishing, than when
it was first visited by the Portuguese, English, and Dutch. Before
that time it had not been exposed to those cruel ravages that ensued
first on the breaking out of their civil wars, and next from the last
conquest by the Tartars. Besides, we can at any time have recourse
to this short history when we are at a loss as to the facts mentioned
in subsequent voyages, and by comparing the times in which they
happened with the dates that are therein set down, obtain an easy
solution of doubts that perhaps we could never otherwise have got
over.
It is from the consideration of these advantages, and that as far as
in my power lies I might remove all obstacles whatsoever to the
perfect understanding of this subject, that I have determined to give
the reader in the next section a concise history of the other Tartar
empire in the Indies, I mean that of the Great Mogul, who was
likewise a descendant from the same family with the great conqueror I
have so often mentioned. By pursuing this method, which I have
brought into the narrowest compass possible, the reader will gain
such a previous knowledge of a great number of facts as never to be
at a loss in perusing any of the voyages to the East Indies, either
in this, or in any other collection, which, without such an
introduction, it would have been absolutely impracticable for him to
have understood, and that for many reasons, of which I will take the
liberty to mention only a few. In the first place then, every voyage
brings us not only into a new country, but, if I may so speak,
introduces us into a new company, with the character of which, if we
have not some previous acquaintance, it is impossible for us to be at
our ease, whereas if we know in general who and what they are, we
enter immediately into the true sense of the relation, and hear all
that is told us with pleasure. In the next place, it often happens
that either from the fear of appearing tedious, or from some other
motive, the writers of voyages give us only short hints as to the
government of the countries through which they pass, or the
characters of princes that reign in them, which would be utterly
unintelligible to such as never heard of them before, and yet may be
sufficient for the information of those who have a general notion of
the posture of things in that country at the time mentioned by the
author. Lastly, we are by these means enabled to rectify the
mistakes of such writers to distinguish between the truth and
falsehood of what they relate, and to form a clear and certain
judgment of the merit of their performances.
It may possibly be objected, that for the same reasons which have
been offered in support of these two histories of the Chinese and of
the Indian empires, we might be obliged to write the history of all
the other princes that have reigned in the Upper Asia, which
objection, however, is not at all founded in fact, since in the first
place the histories of all the little princes in India are very far
from being so necessary as those of the capital empires; and in the
next, how necessary soever we might think them, it is impossible for
us to write any such histories, because the necessary materials for
them are not to be found. When, therefore, this matter is seriously
considered, it appears to be a new argument in favour of our design;
for, since there have been but two great empires in this part of the
world, of which any just and regular account can be given, and to
which all books of voyages and travels through the East Indies must
necessarily refer, it would seem very absurd and unreasonable, after
all the pains we have taken in the darker ages of this history, to
decline that period of it which is at once the most useful, and will
appear by far the most agreeable, to a modern reader, as there is not
in the compass of universal history any branch so full of
extraordinary events, or in which there occur more surprising turns
and revolutions, than in that which we are about to give.
Add to all this, that however deficient the rest of the oriental
histories may be, we have abundant materials for this, and those too
as excellent in the kind as can be desired; for besides the
particular relations afforded us by several writers of credit, who
were actually on the spot when those events happened which they
record, we have very great lights given us by such of the oriental
writers as have undertaken to explain the several expeditions of the
Tartars, and especially those of the famous Timur-Bec, known to us by
the name of Tamerlane, whose conquests, though less extensive, have,
notwithstanding, made a greater figure in our general histories than
those of his glorious predecessor Zingis-Khan. Besides all which, we
have the singular advantage of having a great part of this history
taken from the very records of that empire which it concerns, by the
industry of Mr. Manouchi, who was forty years in that country, in the
quality of physician to its emperors, and had thereby an opportunity
of having free recourse to those records, which for the benefit of
posterity, as well as his own information, he transcribed.
Printed by Cassell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London, E.C.
[Transcriber's note: Inconsistent and archaic spellings are as
printed.]