'Collections of travels through Turky into Persia, and the East Indies. Giving an account of the present state of those countries, as also a full relation of the five years wars, between Aureng-Zebe and his brothers in their father's life time, about the succession. And a voyage made by the Great Mogul (Aureng-Zebe) with his Army from Dehli to Lahor, from Lahor to Bember, and from thence to the Kingdom of Kachemire, by the Mogols, call'd, the Paradise of the Indies. Together with a relation of the Kingdom of Japan and Tunkin, and of their particular manners and trade. To which is added a new description of the Grand Seignior's Seraglio, and also of all the Kingdoms that encompass the Euxine and Caspian Seas, being the travels of Monsieur TavernierBernier, and other great men.' [‎65] (614/1024)

A Relation of the Grand Seignors Seraglio.
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he is the Supenour over the Halvagk, and Akgh, who are the Cooks and the Con"
fedioners, of whom not one can enter into fervice, but by his Orders.
In my difcourfe of the Treafury I made no mention of the Quarter of thofe
Officers, Who ferve there, becaute my defign was to follow the order of the Strutt-
uresof the Seraglio, and to condutt the Reader, by little and little, out of one
Court into another, and out of one Quarter into another. That of the Pages of
tfie Treafury, is hard by the Kilar, and begins with a Gallery, pav’d with fquare
pieces of Marble, of different colours, fuftain’d by eight Pillars, of the famemate-
rial, and whereof the fides and the roof are painted with all forts of flowers, in
Gold and Azure. That Gallery is open on the one fide, and on the other you
find in the midft of it, the Door leading into the Appartment of the Pages, with
three great Windows on the right hand, and as many on the left: And ’tis there
that the fix moffelderly Pages of the Treafury have refidence night, and day.
From that door, along a walk pav’d with white Marble ftones, very large ones,
about fifteen paces in length, and five in btedth, you come t4> another Portal of
the lame materia], fuftain’d by two Pillars of black Marble; over the faid Portal,
there may be read thefe words, which are ordinarily enough in the mouths of the
furkt, and which I have explicated ellewhere;
La lllahe Ilia Alia, Muhammed Rejoul Alla.
tt gives entrance into a long Hall, where there inay be feen on both fides a kind Seds "‘erntmt
of Seat, or Scaffold, a foot and a half in height, and between feven or eight in r<> Turkifll
breadth. Every Page has but four foot in breadth for his repofing place, as well
by day, as by night; And for their Beds, they are permitted to have under
them, only a Woollen Coverlet, four times doubled, which feryes them for a
Quilt, and over that they ordinarily have one of Gold or Silver-Brockado, or
f*me other fumptuous Silk-ftuff; and inthe Winter time, they are permitted to have
three of them. The y are not to have their Coverlets all of Wooll, which would
be fo much the warmer, becaufe it would not be a decent fight for the Grand
Seignor, When he comes ever and anon, in the night time, pretending indeed as
their repofe, having their Waft-coat and Drawers on ; for there is no talk of any '
ojher kind of Linnen, either in 2 k>%, or any part of the Eaft; and whether it be
Winter or Summer, they alwaies lay themlclves down to fleep, half clad, with-
out any great Ceremony.
Over the Beds of the Pages, there is a Gallery which goes quite round the
and is iuftain d by Pillars of Wood, painted ail over with red varnilh, and the necefnies
there they have their Coffers, therein their Cloaths are kept. Every one has a °f nat ^edifi
Coffer to himfelf, but the twelve Senior Pages have each of them two Coffers* ancr f rm
one of thofe twelve has the Key of the Gallery in his cuftody. It is ordinarily
open’d but one day in the Week* which is anfwerable to our Wednefclay, and then 3
every Page goes, and takes out of his Coffer* what he (lands in need of. If any
one of them mud of neceflity look for fome thing there upon any other day, he
gets five or fix Pages together, and they all goto the principal Officer of the Trea
sury, and he commands the Rafgi, who has the Key of the Gallery in his cufiody,
to open it for them, and td have a care that they meddle not with the Coffers of
tneir Companions. y
. At one of the ends of the Hall, there is a Door, Which condu£ls you to the
ountams* where thofe that have their dependence on the Treafury go and
aln, when they are call’d to their Devotions. There are feven Copper Cocks
*or that oonveniency^ and as well the pavement as the Walk of that place are of
White Marble.
The places appointed for the eafing of Nature are on the right hand* divided
nto tour little Rooms, which are alwas kept very dean* and pav’d with fquare
CS ° V/ k* te Marblej as the Room of the Fountaiw k The lu-ks do not fit
0Wn > as we do* when they are in thofe places* but they fquat down over the hole,
. • / which