"and ninety from Weft to Eaft, as far as the Rock,
"and without any Stair-cafe on that Side, till you
"come to the Mountain, where the Afcent is form-
66 ed, between some scattered Rocks
where
"the Wall is lowest, and rifes to the Height of no
cc more than eighteen Feet and feven Inches; and
"the Altitude is lefs in feveral other Places."

I have, by a Stroke or horizontal Line, divided
this fhort Specimen into two Parts; by the firft, they
who perufe it will be eafily convinced how hard it is,
by the Words alone, to comprehend the Meaning
of it; they muft hesitate about the Word Afcent, and
be in doubt whether that of the Mountain is intend-
ed thereby, or whether it fignifies a Staircase or
Flight of Steps; if they pitch upon the latter, as the
natural Construction leads to, what Notion can they
frame of a Pair of Stairs formed between some scat-
tered Rocks? If they chufe the former, how odd is
it to talk of the Afcent of a Mountain being formed,
or formed between fome scattered Rocks? But if one
Part of this Sentence labours under Obfcurity, the
other feems to involve a Contradiction; for if Alti-
tude, one of the laft Words of it, refers to the Wall
therein spoken of, the Abfurdity is obvious; for how
can the Altitude of the Wall be, in feveral other
Places, less than in that where it is loweft? If Al-
titade refers to any thing else than the Wall, as in
Deference to our Author and his Tranflator one
would fuppofe, the Contradiction may, on fuch an
Allowance, be got clear of, but the utter Want of
Perfpicuity in the Expreffion will still remain unde-
niable: Though this Circumstance were to be found
in no other Part of this Description, yet the Infig-
nificancy of it, without the Plates, by which it is
illuftrated in the Original, would determine me to
forbear any further mention of the Chapters relating
thereto, excepting barely to obferve, that of the two
laft of the three, the firft contains Particular Re-
marks, with refpect to Perfepolis, and the antient Au-
thors who have written of it. The other, Obfervati-

ons

ons concerning the Founder of the Royal Palace of Per-
fepolis, which was destroyed by Alexander the Great,
and is known at this Time by the Name of Chilminar.

The Business of the former of these two Chapters
is to demonftrate, that the Ruins which M. Le Bruyn
has defcrib'd under the Title of Perfepolis, are indeed
the Remains of that famous Palace which took its
Denomination from the City that was so call'd under
the ancient Kings of Perfia, before the Conqueft of
Alexander, who wickedly gave it up to the Pillage
of his Army, and which that mad Victor fet fire to
with his own impious Hands. The Title of the lat-
ter is a fufficient Indication of its Subject.

In the fifty-fifth Chapter we have a Narrative of
the Author's Departure from Chilminar, of his Arri-
val at Zjie-raes, or Chiras, with an Account of that
City; and of his Return to Ifpahan.

Moft of the Buildings of Chiras are, he tells us,
gone quite to Decay; and the Streets are fo narrow
and dirty, that they are hardly paffable in rainy Sea-
fons: And there are feveral Places where Paffengers
are oblig'd to bend their Bodies, in order to walk
under the Arches before the Houfes, and efpecially
in the Quarter inhabited by the Jews. The Streets
are likewife render'd very offenfive by a Number of
Places of Easement, which are all without, and make
the Air very unwholfome; in Confequence of which,
the Generality of the Inhabitants are very lean and
pale.The Burying-grounds lie open to the Jack-
als, or wild Dogs, that are engender'd by a Dog and
a Fox. Thefe Creatures often commit great Difor-
ders in the City, and in the Nights make difmal
Howlings, which much refemble a human Voice.

The principal Ornament of this Place is the Cy-
prefs-trees, which our Author fays are finer and more
numerous here than he has feen any where elfe.
There are likewife feveral large Gardens without the
Town, which are fill'd with them, as are alfo the
Avenues to it, where Care is taken to plant them
with great Regularity. Half a League from the Ci-

ty,

ty, to the North, are several Tombs of Saints, in the Mountains.

On the Top of one of these Mountains, M. Le Bruyn met with an exceeding deep Well, hewn in the Rock, the Opening into which is 15 Feet long, and 8 broad. He meafur'd the Depth of it 420 Feet. He was fure, by what he faw of it, that it was no natural Cavern, but made by Hands, for the Prefervation of Water; and there was another fomewhat lefs, not far diftant from it.

In order to have an exact Knowledge of the Extent of this City, our Author walk'd quite round it, without-fide the Wall, and found it to be 2 Leagues in Circumference. The adjacent Country prefents a charming Profpect to the View, and is cover'd with a luxuriant Growth of Corn, and all other Grain, at the proper Season of the Year.

From the 53d to the 59th Chapter, I find nothing confiderable enough to be taken Notice of. In the 59th we have a Defcription of Laer. This City is the Metropolis of an ancient Kingdom, which the Perfians with much Difficulty have reduc'd under their Dominion, and it is at this Time a Place of great Commerce. It has alfo a Silk Manufacture, and the beft Canons in all the Empire are caft here. M. Le Bruyn found all the Avenues to the Town in good Repair, and the Houses, for the most part, very high. The ftone Bazar, which is in the midft of the City, is the most beautiful of all the Buildings: It is arch'd over, and full of Shops: The Length of it is 216 Paces. At the End of this Bazar is a fine Square, and, below the Gate, the Ragoene, or the Place where the City-Mufick may be heard. Oppofite the Bazar is a large Structure, with a delightful Entrance, and it ferves as a Manfion-house for the Duke or Governor, Twas Chan. The Caftle, which is entirely of Stone, is fituated on a high Rock, whofe Summit it almoft furrounds. The Approaches to this Capital refemble a Wood, the Land about it being cover'd with Palm, Orange, and Citron-trees, which

almost

almoft fhrowd the Houses from the Eye. There are in it many Mofques, but none beautiful. It abounds likewife with Cifterns, vaulted over, to preferve the Water.

In the 60th Chapter we have a Draught of Gamron; the Perfian Appellation is Bauder- Abaffie, or the Port of Abbas, who took it from the Portuguese, together with Ormus. It is computed to be 2001 Leagues from Ifpaban, but our Author thinks it is int Reality no more than 186. It is a fmall League in Circumference: It is alfo open, and extends it felf along the Sea-fhore. It has no confiderable Buildings, and most of the Houfes have a very mean Appearance on the out-fide. The beft are those which belong to the English and Dutch Factories, that of the Governor being but indifferent. It is very incommodious for Strangers to refide there; the common People have only a fort of wretched Huts, and even the Bazar it self is but a mean Place. There are, indeed, four Structures which have the Name of Caftles, but they are low, fmall, and ruinous. That of the four which is furthest in the City, has fome Pieces of Canon to falute the Ships. The best Houses are furnish'd with Machines to draw and ventilate the Air. These are made like fquare Towers, of a confiderable Height, and are acceffible to the Wind on all Parts, except the Middle, which is clofed up: Those two Sides which are most expos'd, have two or three Openings, which are long and narrow; and thofe of the other two Sides are lefs: There is, likewife, between each Opening, a fmall advanc'd Wall, which receives the Wind, and turns it back into thofe Apertures, by which Means the Houfes are always render'd airy, when the leaft Gale is ftirring. These Towers, befides their Usefulness, are very ornamental to the City. The Sun is fo infupportable here about Noon, that the Inhabitants retire at that Time to take a fhort Repofe; and during the fultry Seafons, pafs the Nights on the Ter

races; it being then almoft impoffible to endure their Chambers.

A Flag is always ftreaming upon the Houses of the English and Dutch India Companies, and ferves for a Signal to their Ships. The Dutch House is the most beautiful Pile in all the City: It is very large, and furnish'd with fine Magazines. There is a very magnificent Hall in the Middle of the upper Apartment, the Windows of which, as well as thofe of the Director's and his Deputy's Lodgings, have a Prospect to the Sea, from whence they are refresh'd with the most agreeable Breezes.

The Climate here is very unhealthy, and the exceffive Heats carry off a vaft Multitude of People. Nothing, our Author fays, is more pernicious than the burning Fevers, which are more rife here than any where elfe, and often prove fatal in the Space of 24 Hours. The Months of October and November are amongst the most dangerous of the Year; for the Air is then either very damp, or exceeding dry: The latter is the leaft dangerous, and the Water is fresher, and better to drink, than in a rainy Season, the Humidity giving it an ill Flavour, and rendering it very unwholfome. Those who efcape the more malignant Distempers which attend these intolerable Heats, are not exempted from other great Inconveniencies that are the Effects of them, of which, one of the most remarkable is, the Worms, which eat into the Arms and Legs of Perfons, and which are not drawn out without their being expofed to apparent Danger, by breaking them in the Flefh. In a word, fays M. Le Bruyn, one could not find a more rigorous Punishment for Malefactors than confining them in a Place like this. And yet, fuch is the Force of Intereft, one feldom fails, as our Author fays, of finding fome People of Merit and Distinction here, whom Gain, and the Hopes of raifing a great Fortune, have drawn thither, and whom Death often fnatches away before they have attain'd to the Height of their Defires.