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REGNARD’S JOURNEY TO LAPLAND. 22
3
Janizariesare Turks, drefled like thofe whom Ihave feen in Turkey. A very curious
circumftance happened during the fitting of the laft diet. A Turkifh company of
the garrifon of Kaminiek, deferted completely with its arms, colours, money-cheit,
and officers, and came to offer their fervices to the king of Poland. ‘Vhe King behaved
on this occafion, in a manner that became a great Prince, and with his ufual intrepidity 5
for, notwithitanding the folicitations of the Queen, and of all his council, who advifed
him not to take thefe men into his fervice in the prefent conjuncture of affairs, as he
had at that time, a Turkifh ambaffador at the Court, which made them fuppofe, what
was not unlikely, that they were {pies, (the event fhewed, however, that he was better
informed than them all,) he has them {ftill, and gives them double pay. But it is a
very extraordinary thing, to fee a whole company defert with its officers.
The fineft militia of Poland confilts of huflars, Tavaches, and Panfars, who are
all nobles. . The armour of the huflars is fomewhat fingular. The King has ftilla
company of about a hundred reitres, who accompany him on all occafions.
We fawat Veroni, M. Acakias who returned from Trantylvania, and gave us infor-
mation refpecting that country ; he told us, that the people confifted of Tranfylvanians
and Saxons; that the former were mafters, and the latter fomewhat like flaves. The
Saxons are people who came from Saxony, who are here treated like Jews although
they are more men of property than the others. The Tranfylvanians travel without ex-
pending a halfpenny, as they live upon, and lodge with the Saxons. When the Tran-
fylvanian noblemen have caught fome game, they fend one of their fervants to fell it,
and the mafters demand fome game to eat ; the poor Saxon is obliged to go and pur-
chafe from the fervants of thefe mafters the game, and to pay. them whatever they
demand for it. Almoft every perfon fpeaks Latin in this country.
The Polifh language is Sclavonian, like that of Mufcovy and ‘Tartary ; and there is
as great a difference between thefe languages, though they are derived from the fame
fource, as betwixt the Italian and Spanifh, which are derived from the Latin. The
living languages which are fpoken in Europe, may be clafled under two heads; for I
am not {peaking of the dead languages, like the Greek, the Hebrew, and the Latin.
The Arabic language is in Afia what the Latin isin Europe ; and with a knowledge of
this language, one may pafs from the Bofphorus, to the moft diftant parts of India. ‘Phere
are therefore, only two mother-tongues, which have their dialects, and thefe are the
Teutonian and the Sclavonian. The Sclavonian is familiar at Con{tantinople, and its
principal dialects are the Ruffian, fpoken by the Mufcovites, the Dalmatian by the Tran-
fylvanians, and the Hungarians, the Bohemian and the Polifh, and fome others which
are fpoken among the Wallachians, Moldavians, and Leffler ‘Vartars.
The Teutonic has three principal dialects, the German, the Saxon, and the Danifh ;
and from thefe proceed other idioms, as the Englifh, the Swedifh, the Flemith, &c.
The Greek language is dead, and lefs corrupted than the Latin; but it is {till fpoken
in the iflands of the Archipelago, in Achaia, and inthe Morea. ‘There are alfo feveral
other leffer original languages which have very little extent, as the Albanefe, in Epirus
and Macedonia, the Bulgarian, in Servia, Bofnia, and Bulgaria; that of the Coffacs, or
Leffler Tartars, on the banks of the Tanais; that of the Laplanders, and the Fins;
that of the Irith; and the Bifcayan, and the Breton.
We left the fcourt, after having taken leave of their majefties on Friday, and were
conduéted by the Sieur de Valalé. We pafled next day through Jeroflans, which gives
its name to a duchy, the half of which belongs to the Queen. We faw fome little vil-
lages, which contain nothing remarkable. On our journey, we were attacked by three
robbers; wé were in our chariot, which on account of the wind, was fhut up on all
fides :
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