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draught; and so I did with the rest. The empress, and young
princes of the blood of both sexes, attended by many ladies, sat at
some distance in their chairs; but upon the accident that happened
to the emperor's horse, they alighted, and came near his person,
which I am now going to describe. He is taller by almost the
breadth of my nail, than any of his court; which alone is enough to
strike an awe into the beholders. His features are strong and
masculine, with an Austrian lip and arched nose, his complexion
olive, his countenance erect, his body and limbs well proportioned,
all his motions graceful, and his deportment majestic. He was then
past his prime, being twenty-eight years and three quarters old, of
which he had reigned about seven in great felicity, and generally
victorious. For the better convenience of beholding him, I lay on
my side, so that my face was parallel to his, and he stood but
three yards off: however, I have had him since many times in my
hand, and therefore cannot be deceived in the description. His
dress was very plain and simple, and the fashion of it between the
Asiatic and the European; but he had on his head a light helmet of
gold, adorned with jewels, and a plume on the crest. He held his
sword drawn in his hand to defend himself, if I should happen to
break loose; it was almost three inches long; the hilt and scabbard
were gold enriched with diamonds. His voice was shrill, but very
clear and articulate; and I could distinctly hear it when I stood
up. The ladies and courtiers were all most magnificently clad; so
that the spot they stood upon seemed to resemble a petticoat spread
upon the ground, embroidered with figures of gold and silver. His
imperial majesty spoke often to me, and I returned answers: but
neither of us could understand a syllable. There were several of
his priests and lawyers present (as I conjectured by their habits),
who were commanded to address themselves to me; and I spoke to them
in as many languages as I had the least smattering of, which were
High and Low Dutch, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Lingua
Franca, but all to no purpose. After about two hours the court
retired, and I was left with a strong guard, to prevent the
impertinence, and probably the malice of the rabble, who were very
impatient to crowd about me as near as they durst; and some of them
had the impudence to shoot their arrows at me, as I sat on the
ground by the door of my house, whereof one very narrowly missed my
left eye. But the colonel ordered six of the ringleaders to be
seized, and thought no punishment so proper as to deliver them
bound into my hands; which some of his soldiers accordingly did,
pushing them forward with the butt-ends of their pikes into my
reach. I took them all in my right hand, put five of them into my
coat-pocket; and as to the sixth, I made a countenance as if I
would eat him alive. The poor man squalled terribly, and the
colonel and his officers were in much pain, especially when they

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