‘The travels of Sig. Pietro della Valle, a noble Roman, into East-India and Arabia Deserta. In which, the several countries, together with the customs, manners, traffique, and rites both religious and civil, of those Oriental princes and nations, are faithfully described: In familiar letters to his friend Signior Mario Schipano. Whereunto is added a relation of Sir Thomas Roe’s voyage into the East-Indies’ [‎153] (174/508)

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Into the E A S T-IN D I E S.
P-ilm-kavs. Her Complexion was as black as that of a ,
natural Mthiopan i (he was corpulent and grofs, but not heavy, ^
for (he feenVd to walk nimbly enough 5 her Age may be about ^ ^
forty years, although the Vomgab had defcnbd her to me , _ ^
much cider. She was cloth-d, or rkher g.rded at the wafte with
a plain piece of thick white Cotton, and bare-foot, wh,ch .sthe
cuftom of the Indian-Gentile Women, both h.gh and low in thc^^
houfe and abroad ; and of Men too, the mod and the moft ordi- ✓
nary w un (hod 5 fome of the more grave wear Sandals or Slippers,
very few u le whole Shoos covering all the Foot. From the wafte
upwards the Queen was naked faying that Qie had a cloth ty d
round about her Head , and hanging a little down upon her
Bread: and Shoulders. In brief, her afpeft and hab.t reprefented
rather a dirty Kitchin -wench or Laundrefs, then a delicate and
noble Queen; whereupon, I faid within my felt. Behold y
whom are routed in I*dU the Armies of the King o f^«,which .
in Europe is fo great a matter 1 Yet the Qyeen (hew d her quality
much more in fpeaking then by her prefence; for her voice was
very graceful in ref^eft of her Perfon and (hefpokelikea prudent
and judicious Woman. They had told me that (he had no teeth,
and therefore was wont to go with half her Face cover d , y
could not difcover any fuch defedt in her, either by my Eye or
by my Ear; and, I rather believe, that this covering the Mouth,
or half the Face, as (lie lometimes doth, is agreeable to the mo-
deft cuftom which I know to be common to almoft all Women
in the Eaft. I will not omit, that though (he were fo corpulent
as I have mentionVl yet (he feems not deform d, but I imagine
(he was hand feme in her Youth ; and indeed, the report is, that
Ihe hath been a brave Lady, though rather of a rough then a
delicate handfomenefi. As foon as we faw her com.ng we ftood
ftill lav'd down our baggage upon the ground and went on
nnp 3 fiHe ro leave her the way to pafs. Which fhe taking no-
tice of and of my ftrange habit, prefently afli'd,Whether there
was any among us that cSuld fpeak the j Language > Whereupon
my Brachman Narsii ftepd forth and anfwerd. Yes; and I,
after! had faluted her ,according to our manner, went n
fpeak to her, (he (landing ftffl in the way with all her people to
live us Audience. She alk'd who I was, Cbeing already in
formed as one of her Souldiers told me, by a Portugal who was
come about his bufineffes before me from MavgalortoManel,
that I was come thither to fee heO I caus'd my Interpreter to
tell her that I was VnCavaliero Ponentino,
A, who came from very farr Countries i and becaufe other
Eurof£ans than Tortngats were not ufually fcen m h « D o mim-
ons I caus'd her to be told, that I was not a Fortugalhat a. Ro
man, fpecify ing too that I was not of the Turks
who in all the Eaft are ftyI'd and known by the
but a Ghriftian of K(w/e 5 where is the See of the Pop ^
Head of the Chriftians. That it was almoft ten years
-■X. . •
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