tle and day of trial of the business; but when they came to pass over rivers, and assail trenches: when they heard the thunders of twenty pieces of ordnance, and felt the mischief and damage; when they were encountered with ten thousand well-armed horse, and driven back with the fury of courageous hearts; they knew not what to say, and less to do; nay, though the Janisaries came as a second unto them, and brought many field-pieces, to answer the discourtesy of their camp's ordnance; yet, by reason they had not the discipline of Gabions, they were subject to the greater destruction; and the soldiers, wanting armour, found themselves too weak for the Cossacks; whereupon they retreated, and were altogether appalled to be so disappointed, which, when Scander Bashaw perceived, he took an opportunity of exprobrating their audaciousness, and chiding their ostentation, whereas now they could perform nothing; which he did, as some report, to this or the like purpose:

Now, you that are so powerful in insolency and tumults, and were so forward to the war, that we must either take the field to spend your humours, and satisfy your impatience, or be taken by you, and suffer the indignity of your outrages: What say you now to the war? What can you do to these men? nay, What will you do for the Emperor's honour, and your own reputation? Well, seeing you see, by experi ence, that the times are changed, and the discipline of war must take you out other lessons of fury; leave your foolish finding fault with your friends, and spend your courages upon your enemies; there is now no retiring by mutinies, but, setting forward upon advantages, you must either force these trenches, or be forced to endure a slaughBut I will now answer for you, What is past is remediless; we come to fight, and, I know, you are resolute to play the men; there fore follow me, and I will lead you the way to death or glory: Whereupon, without any reply, they came forward with fifty-thousand, and, under the security of a rolling trench, gave a brave camizado on the Polonian camp, with many pieces of ordnance, which they mounted upon pretty good banks, as the pioneers cast up earth before them.

ter:

But as they were in this forwardness, the Cossacks came so violently upon the unarmed Tartars, that they were subject to a great slaughter; so that both they, and the Janisaries, were glad to retire with loss, and the young Emperor, unacquainted with the war, was yet acquainted with oaths and curses, to chide both himself and fortune. At last, the Bashaws, seeing no remedy, and finding so great obstacles of their attempts, projected the preservation of the Emperor's person; but it may be to secure their own lives; and so intrenched themselves, being, as they said, the first time that ever so great an army of Turks was inclosed within walls; by which occasion, necessity compelled them to confess, they had new work in hand, and that there was nothing so easy, as to cry to the war, but nothing so difficult, as to return with victory.

In this manner they lay all the summer, looking upon one another with revengeful eyes, and taking the advantage of so many sallies, that the Turks lost at least, in several skirmishes, fifty-thousand men ; for many times they met about the seeking of victuals, and there fought it out:

Many times they encountered in foraging, and getting provision for ther horses: Many times their courages were so exasperated, that, with equal encounters, and appointed sallies, they returned home again, finding the issue nothing but slaughter and blood; and many times they determined to deceive one another, by taking the rivers, and passing the fords, which ended not without destruction, and perishing of whole companies. As for set battles, or one day's trial, by equal agreement of both parties, it never came to so formidable a business, or remarkable adventure; and therefore I cannot but wonder at the shameless reports of strange men, and weak certificates by courants from foreign parts, especially to have them printed; to talk of so many thousands slain, the prince killed, Sigismond defeated, and the whole army put to flight, when yet, as I said, there was never any such matter, nor any set battle fought.

Yet, although the Polonians had rather the better, than the Turks, they did not run away so fast with prosperity, but they were subject to many inconveniences, and they saw plainly the wars were no Maygames; for they endured both hunger and cold, slackness of payment, and their entertainment came many times short.

The noble general died in the camp, the prince lay sick of a fever, their horse miscarried, and other lamentable effects taught them extraordinary patience, which made them attend good conditions of peace; and, when they found they might be entertained, they were not scrupulous, or thought it any disparagement to propose the same.

When the Bashaws were thus disappointed (especially Mahomet Bashaw) who was ever an enemy to the Moldavian business, and that he saw the young emperor every way discontented, but especially with himself; as blaming his owu unhappiness, that he should, in the first trial of his manhood, be so unfortunate, as to open the door of christian apprehension; that the Ottoman fame was now at the highest, and the Turkish empire subject to diminution: He went another way to work, and persuaded the young prince to make trial of another time, and peace for the present; nay, he did talk of another country, ta which, when the Turk angerly replied, he would die first, he inforced the argument, that it should be to his honour, and the Polack should seek it with great mediation.

It is said, the young Emperor shed tears, and was more afraid of his disreputation among his soldiers, than glad of any pacification of the present troubles; yet necessity had no law, and he was, in the end, compelled to the proposed composition. But how? By a politick contriving the business, and secret workings of more nimble spirits; for presently a priest of Moldavia was set on work to go among the Polonians, and, by way of general complaint against the outrageous effects of war, to enlarge the happiness of peace, and infer, what a blessing it were to procure the same: Whereupon he was brought to the young Prince of Poland, and commanders of the army, with whom he at last prevailed so well, and so far, that they sent a solemn ambassy to the great Turk, as he lay intrenched in the fields, to intreat a peace, and desire the renovation of the Antiqua Pacta, which had been ever be tween the two nations. The Turk had learned his lesson so well, that

he seemed to make the matter strange, and of great humiliation, if he should consent thereunto, and rather a courtesy granted, than a necessity imposed, and so deferred them a while, till at last (as if he had been over-wrought by the intercession and mediation of his bashaws). he was contented to capitulate the matter, and, after many meetings, and a great deal of conference, articles were drawn, and confirmed with a kind of solemnity, and proclaimed by sound of trumpet in both the camps.

But see the condition of men, and the inconveniences that great Emperors are subject unto; for all the Janisaries themselves neither durst, nor could maintain the war any longer, and were indeed affronted with an over-mastering power, and an over-ruling discipline of war: Yet they rather complained of the Emperor, as being unfortunate, than their own cowardice, as being overmatched, and so broke up the camp with a kind of murmuring and repining. The great Turk took easy journies towards Adrianople, where he discharged the Tartars, and sent most of his Janisaries before-hand to Constantinople. Sigismond, King of Poland, raised his army, and, rewarding the Cossacks, dismissed them home again into their own country; he went in person to Leopolis, from whence (by this time Osman was come to the great city) and sent a solemn ambassador to be there a lieger, as it had been in former times.

By Christmas Osman comes home, and had the accustomed acclamations of the people, with all the ceremonies of his return; whereupon he goes in great pomp to the Sophia, and had the usual guard of his court, Janisaries, to attend him: But, within short space, many fearful accidents appalled them all, and such a mischief followed, as they could not example by any precedent. First, they were astonished at a blazing comet, about which many men did rave in the interpretation. Secondly, they were affrighted at a great fire happening among the Jews, which they presaged ominous to the government. Thirdly, a sore earthquake made their hearts quake for fear: But this is so usual in those parts, by reason of the ascending up the hills, and many caverns under ground, that they needed not have made it, or taken it, for any sign of displeasure. Fourthly, the sea swelling extraordinarily, and the wind from the south-west driving the billows into the corner of the harbour, made such a noise and formidable sound, as catching the tackle of the ships and gallies in its whistling, that they were afraid even of common accidents.

Last of all, and worst of all, by reason of the great concourse of people, and resort of strangers, such a famine happened in the city, and dearth in the country, that every one complained; and, though it was remediless by the policy of man, yet was the fault laid upon superiors, and the Emperor himself did not escape scandal and calumniation.

For, while the visiers and principal officers endeavoured the common good, and studied the weal publick, which could not be done, but by discharging the city of multitudes of inhabitants, all was interpreted to be done for their private wealth, and ambitious over-ruling of others; but, when it came to the discharging of many Janisaries and soldiers out of the city, to live as it were in garison in the country, and that the

Emperor was slack in their donatives, and former allowances out of his treasury; they stormed beyond measure, and threatened the visiers and bashaws to have a better account of the business; crying out, they would not be quiet, till they were employed in one service or other. To this the visier replied, that he wondered at their baseness and audaciousness, that, having failed in all their enterprises, they durst yet complain of any accident, more than their own cowardice. As for the satisfying of wilful men, they would not violate the laws of nations, or infringe the contracted peace with other kingdoms, to appease the mutinies of turbulent spirits, who, if they might have their own demands, knew not what to demand. As for yourselves, what would you have? You know the treasury is exhausted, and the dearth is so great, that we have not sufficient to buy us bread; and, for your murmurings and repinings against the Majesty of the prince, as if he alone were branded with misfortune, or born under some disastrous constellation; how can this be, that, with the same hands, wherewith you boast you uphold the empire, you will presumptuously pull it in pieces? But I see the reason, this is for lack of discipline to make you know yourselves; and so I cannot resemble you better than unto stinking weeds and nettles, which, crushed hard, lose their force, and cannot hurt at all; but, gently handled, will sting and endamage one.

Till this they were not much enraged, but now no flames could exestuate more than their fury and ravings; for they dared to condemn the visiers, and cried out on their childish and unfortunate Emperor, that, having neither sufficient wit nor courage to govern the state, must be overruled by such, as made policy, covetousness, and ambition, the supportation of their greatness, and the commanding voice to do what they list, without controul; yea, such was the refractory disobedience of them at this time, that many offered to lay violent hands both on himself and his servants, and had not the aga, or their captain, come in to their pacification, they had questionless begun a war of mischief, and insolent trouble.

Well, they are quieted all this time; the suspicion of further uproars and mischiefs made the whole city stand upon their guard, and every bashaw strengthened himself with as many friends as he could; and the visiers, for security of the Emperor, assembled the causes, cappagies, spaheis, and janisaries of the court, to guard the seraglio, and watch the passages. Now you must consider, that there hath been ever enmity and emulation between these janisaries of the palace, and janisaries at large; whereupon, when these understood, that they were appointed for opposition, and saw plainly, that there was a device to single them out, that so they might be brought in question for their mutinics; they resolved, with Herostratus, that burnt the temple of Diana, to perform some nefarious and notorious outrage, to he remem bered to posterity, or be registered for an exorbitant action; and so, in multitudes past belief, they set upon the Emperor's seraglio, broke open the iron gates, dissipated the guards, seized on the women, and took as many bashaws as they could: But the chiefest reason, why they offered this outrage, is as followeth:

Sultan Osman having taken out of the treasury of Seven Towers a

good quantity of gold, and being therewith passed over into Asia, with resolution to go unto Mecca: The great Mufti, his father-in-law, having laboured with all the greatest of the court, whom it pleased not at all, that their Emperor, being so young, should make so far and long a voyage; not being able to remove him from his resolution, as he desired, did, in policy, spread a rumour abroad, that the Emperor had taken so many millions of gold away with him, purposing therewith to make new wars against his enemies, notwithstanding the small satisfaction he had given in the late wars against Poland. Which coming to the understanding of the spahies and janisaries, they rise, and in a fury ran unto the tower, wherein Sultan Mustapha was imprisoned, and, taking him thereout, saluted him Emperor, who was lawfully elected by the father of Osman. This coming to the knowledge of the young Emperor, he sent his grand visier, and the aga of his janisaries, to appease the same, who were presently slain by the soldiers in their fury. By which accident the young Emperor, to remedy this disorder, being forced to come himself in person, was instantly made prisoner, and brought to the presence of his uncle Mustapha; who, having framed judgment against him, caused him to be carried prisoner to the same tower where he himself had been prisoner, and the night following to be strangled, with two of his sons but lately born; which was most inhumanly commanded by Mustapha, his own uncle; who, for the more security, to keep the empire from another usurpation, caused it to be effected.

It is also written, that, although he condescended to deliver into their hands all the chief men they required, which were the principallest of the Ottoman court, who afterwards were all slain with the sword; though he proffered them great gifts, yea to increase their stipends, and other preferments; all could not avail, to asswage the anger of the soldiers.

It is further reported, that the Emperor had given in charge to the keeper of the tower, that he should suffer Mustapha to die of hunger, to avoid those disgraces and accidents which since had befallen him; and it seems he had already sustained some want of food; for, so soon as he came to be set at liberty by the people, he presently cried out for water, saying, he was ready to die of thirst, and that, if he had not come out of prison when he did, he presently had yielded up his life, being, as he said, wonderfully preserved by his God Mahomet.

When the young Emperor Osman was brought to his presence, he kneeled on his knees, and craved pardon of him for his life, as heretofore Ottoman had done the like to him; But Mustapha answered, saying, that favour I have received cometh from heaven, and not from your hand.

He afterwards caused the grand Mufti, the great Turk's uncle, to be put to death, who had formerly bereaved him of so great an empire, and made him a Masul, which is as much as to say, as a man deposed from his office. He placed, in the room of the dead visier, Daut Pascias, a man of great wisdom, and one that had demeaned himself well in matters of greatest importance.