luxury and idleness, but must employ it in some proper exercise according to their various inclinations, which is for the most part reading.

It is ordinary to have public lectures every morning before daybreak, at which none are obliged to appear but those who are marked out for literature; yet a great many, both men and women of all ranks, go to hear lectures of one sort or other, according to their inclinations. But if others, that are not made for contemplation, choose rather to employ themselves at that time in their trades, as many of them do, they are not hindered, but are rather commended, as men that take care to serve their country. After supper they spend an hour in some diversion, in summer in their gardens, and in winter in the halls where they eat, where they entertain each other, either with music or discourse. They do not so much as know dice, or any such foolish and mischievous games; they have, however, two sorts of games not unlike our chess; the one is between several numbers, in which one number, as it were, consumes another: the other resembles a battle between the virtues and the vices, in which the enmity in the vices among themselves, and their agreement against virtue, is not unpleasantly represented; together with the special oppositions between the particular virtues and vices; as also the methods by which vice either openly assaults or secretly undermines virtue; and virtue on the other hand resists it. But the time appointed for labor is to be narrowly examined, otherwise you may imagine that since there are only six hours appointed for work, they may fall under a scarcity of necessary provisions.

:

But it is so far from being true, that this time is not sufficient for supplying them with plenty of all things, either necessary or convenient; that it is rather too much; and this you will easily apprehend, if you consider how great a part of all other nations is quite idle. First, women generally do little, who are the half of mankind; and if some few women are diligent, their husbands are idle then consider the great company of idle priests, and of those that are called religious men; add to these all rich men, chiefly those that have estates in land, who are called noblemen and gentlemen, together with their families, made up of idle persons, that are kept more for show than use; add to these all those strong and lusty beggars that go about pretending some disease, in excuse for their begging; and upon the whole account you will find that the

number of those by whose labors mankind is supplied is much less than you perhaps imagined.

Then consider how few of those that work are employed in labors that are of real service; for we who measure all things by money give rise to many trades that are both vain and superfluous, and serve only to support riot and luxury. For if those who work were employed only in such things as the conveniences of life require, there would be such an abundance of them that the prices of them would so sink that tradesmen could not be maintained by their gains; if all those who labor about useless things were set to more profitable employments, and if all they that languish out their lives in sloth and idleness, every one of whom consumes as much as any two of the men that are at work, were forced to labor, you may easily imagine that a small proportion of time would serve for doing all that is either necessary, profitable, or pleasant to mankind, especially while pleasure is kept within its due bounds.

This appears very plainly in Utopia, for there, in a great city, and in all the territory that lies round it, you can scarce find five hundred, either men or women, who by their age and strength are capable of labor, that are not engaged in it; even the Syphogrants, though excused by the law, yet do not excuse themselves, but work, that by their examples they may excite the industry of the rest of the people. The like exemption is allowed to those who, being recommended to the people by the priests, are by the secret suffrages of the Syphogrants privileged from labor, that they may apply themselves wholly to study; and if any of these fall short of those hopes that they seemed at first to give, they are obliged to return to work. And sometimes a mechanic, that so employs his leisure hours as to make a considerable advancement in learning, is eased from being a tradesman, and ranked among their learned men. Out of these they choose their ambassadors, their priests, their Tranibors, and the Prince himself; anciently called their Barzenes, but is called of late their Ademus.

And thus from the great numbers among them that are neither suffered to be idle, nor to be employed in any fruitless labor, you may easily make the estimate how much may be done in those few hours in which they are obliged to labor. But besides all that has been already said, it is to be considered that the needful arts among them are managed with less labor than anywhere else. The building or the repairing of houses

among us employ many hands, because often a thriftless heir suffers a house that his father built to fall into decay, so that his successor must, at a great cost, repair that which he might have kept up with a small charge: it frequently happens that the same house which one person built at a vast expense is neglected by another, who thinks he has a more delicate sense of the beauties of architecture; and he, suffering it to fall to ruin, builds another at no less charge. But among the Utopians, all things are so regulated that men very seldom build upon a new piece of ground; and are not only very quick in repairing their houses, but show their foresight in preventing their decay so their buildings are preserved very long, with but little labor; and thus the builders to whom that care belongs are often without employment, except the hewing of timber, and the squaring of stones, that the materials may be in readiness for raising a building very suddenly, when there is any occasion for it.

As to their clothes, observe how little work is spent in them: while they are at labor, they are clothed with leather and skins, cast carelessly about them, which will last seven years; and when they appear in public they put on an upper garment which hides the other; and these are all of one color, and that is the natural color of the wool. As they need less woolen cloth than is used anywhere else, so that which they make use of is much less costly. They use linen cloth more; but that is prepared with less labor, and they value cloth only by the whiteness of the linen, or the cleanness of white wool, without much regard to the fineness of the thread.

Nor is there anything that can tempt a man to desire more; for if he had them, he would neither be the warmer, nor would he make one jot the better appearance for it. And thus, since

they are all employed in some useful labor, and since they content themselves with fewer things, it falls out that there is a great abundance of all things among them: so that it frequently happens that for want of other work, vast numbers are sent out to mend the highways. But when no public undertaking is to be performed, the hours of working are lessened. The magistrates never engage the people in unnecessary labor, since the chief end of the constitution is to regulate labor by the necessities of the public, and to allow all the people as much time as is necessary for the improvement of their minds, in which they think the happiness of life consists.

MEMOIRS OF BABER.

[BABER OF BABAR, great-grandson of Timur, a Turk in speech and affiliations though a Mongol in blood, was born in 1483; succeeded his father as Sultan of Ferghana in 1494; conquered Kashgar and most of Afghanistan, and in 1525-26 subdued India with a Turkish army, and founded the so-called "Mogul" empire. He wrote voluminous and delightful memoirs in the Turkish language.]

IN THE month of Ramzân, in the year 899 [1494 A.D.], and in the twelfth year of my age, I became King of Ferghâna. In this country there are seven districts, five on the south of the Seihun, and two on the north.

Of the districts on the south of the river, one is Andejân, which has a central position, and is the capital of Ferghana. It abounds in grain and fruits, its grapes and melons are excellent and plentiful. In the melon season it is not customary to sell them at the beds. There are no better Nâshpâlis produced than those of Andejân. In Mâweralnaher, after the fortresses of Samarkand and Kêsh, none is equal in size to Andejân. It has three gates. The citadel is situated on the south of the city. The watercourses of the mills by which the water enters the city are nine; and it is remarkable that of all the water that enters the city, none flows out of it. Around the fortress, on the edge of the stone-faced moat, is a broad highway covered with pebbles. All around the fort are the suburbs, which are only separated from the moat by this highway that runs along its banks.

The district abounds in birds and beasts of game. Its pheasants are so fat that the report goes that four persons may dine on the broth of one of them, and not be able to finish it. The inhabitants of the country are all Turks, and there is none in town or market who does not understand the Tûrki tongue. The common speech of the people of this country is the same as the correct language of composition; so that the works of Mir Ali Shir, surnamed Nawâi, though he was bred and flourished at Heri, are written in this dialect. The inhabitants are remarkable for their beauty. Khwâjeh Yûsef, so famous for his science in music, was a native of Andejân. The air is unwholesome, and in autumn agues are prevalent.

Another district is Ush, which is situated to the southeast of Andejân, but more to the east, and distant from Andejân four farsangs by the road. The air of Ush is excellent. It is

abundantly supplied with running water, and is extremely pleasant in spring. The excellencies of Ush are celebrated even in the sacred traditions. On the southeast of the fort is a mountain of a beautiful figure, named Barakoh, on the top of which Sultan Mahmûd Khan built a small summerhouse, beneath which, on the shoulder of the hill, in the year 902, I built a larger palace and colonnade. Although the former is in the more elevated situation, yet that built by me is the more pleasant of the two; the whole town and suburbs are seen stretched out below. The river of Andejân, after passing through the suburbs of Ush, flows on towards Andejân. On both banks there are gardens, all of which overlook the river. Its violets are particularly elegant. It abounds in streams of running water. In the spring its tulips and roses blow in great profusion. On the skirt of this same hill of Barakoh, between the hill and the town, there is a mosque, called the Mosque of Jouza; and from the hill there comes a great and wide stream of water. Beneath the outer court of the mosque there is a meadow of clover, sheltered and pleasant, where every traveler and passenger loves to rest. It is a standing joke among the common people at Ush to carry across the three streams all such as fall asleep there. On this hill, about the latter end of the reign of Omar-Sheikh Mirza, there was discovered a species of stone finely waved red and white, of which they make the handles of knives, the clasps of belts, and other things of that sort, and it is a very beautiful stone. In all Ferghâna, for healthiness and beauty of situation, there is no place that equals Ush.

Another is Marghinân, which lies on the west of Andejân, at the distance of seven farsangs, and is a fine district. It is noted for its pomegranates and apricots. There is one species of pomegranate named dâna-kilân (or great seed), which, in its flavor, unites with a sweet acid, and may even be deemed to excel the pomegranate of Semnân. They have a way of taking out the stones of the zerd-alû (or apricot), and of putting in almonds in their place, after which the fruit is dried. When so prepared it is termed Seikkhani, and is very pleasant. The game and venison are here also excellent. The white deer is found in its vicinity. All the inhabitants are Sarts; the race are great boxers, noisy, and turbulent, so that they are famous all over Mâweralnaher for their blustering and fondness for boxing, and most of the celebrated bullies of Samar