In That City Be Twelve Principal Gates; And Before
Every Gate, A Three Mile Or A Four Mile In Length, Is A Great Town
Or A Great City.
That city sits upon a great lake on the sea as
doth Venice.
And in that city be more than 12,000 bridges. And
upon every bridge be strong towers and good, in the which dwell the
wardens for to keep the city from the great Chan. And on that one
part of the city runneth a great river all along the city. And
there dwell Christian men and many merchants and other folk of
diverse nations, because that the land is so good and so plenteous.
And there groweth full good wine that men clepe Bigon, that is full
mighty, and gentle in drinking. This is a city royal where the
King of Mancy was wont to dwell. And there dwell many religious
men, as it were of the Order of Friars, for they be mendicants.
From that city men go by water, solacing and disporting them, till
they come to an abbey of monks that is fast by, that be good
religious men after their faith and law. In that abbey is a great
garden and a fair, where be many trees of diverse manner of fruits.
And in this garden is a little hill full of delectable trees. In
that hill and in that garden be many diverse beasts, as of apes,
marmosets, baboons and many other diverse beasts. And every day,
when the convent of this abbey hath eaten, the almoner let bear the
relief to the garden, and he smiteth on the garden gate with a
clicket of silver that he holdeth in his hand; and anon all the
beasts of the hill and of diverse places of the garden come out a
3000, or a 4000; and they come in guise of poor men, and men give
them the relief in fair vessels of silver, clean over-gilt. And
when they have eaten, the monk smiteth eftsoons on the garden gate
with the clicket, and then anon all the beasts return again to
their places that they come from. And they say that these beasts
be souls of worthy men that resemble in likeness of those beasts
that be fair, and therefore they give them meat for the love of
God; and the other beasts that be foul, they say be souls of poor
men and of rude commons. And thus they believe, and no man may put
them out of this opinion. These beasts above-said they let take
when they be young, and nourish them so with alms, as many as they
may find. And I asked them if it had not been better to have given
that relief to poor men, rather than to those beasts. And they
answered me and said, that they had no poor men amongst them in
that country; and though it had been so that poor men had been
among them, yet were it greater alms to give it to those souls that
do there their penance. Many other marvels be in that city and in
the country thereabout, that were too long to tell you.
From that city go men by the country a six journeys to another city
that men clepe Chilenfo, of the which city the walls be twenty mile
about. In that city be sixty bridges of stone, so fair that no man
may see fairer. In that city was the first siege of the King of
Mancy, for it is a fair and plenteous of all goods.
After, pass men overthwart a great river that men clepe Dalay. And
that is the greatest river of fresh water that is in the world.
For there, as it is most narrow, it is more than four mile of
breadth. And then enter men again into the land of the great Chan.
That river goeth through the land of Pigmies, where that the folk
be of little stature, that be but three span long, and they be
right fair and gentle, after their quantities, both the men and the
women. And they marry them when they be half year of age and get
children. And they live not but six year or seven at the most; and
he that liveth eight year, men hold him there right passing old.
These men be the best workers of gold, silver, cotton, silk and of
all such things, of any other that be in the world. And they have
oftentimes war with the birds of the country that they take and
eat. This little folk neither labour in lands ne in vines; but
they have great men amongst them of our stature that till the land
and labour amongst the vines for them. And of those men of our
stature have they as great scorn and wonder as we would have among
us of giants, if they were amongst us. There is a good city,
amongst others, where there is dwelling great plenty of those
little folk, and it is a great city and a fair. And the men be
great that dwell amongst them, but when they get any children they
be as little as the pigmies. And therefore they be, all for the
most part, all pigmies; for the nature of the land is such. The
great Chan let keep this city full well, for it is his. And
albeit, that the pigmies be little, yet they be full reasonable
after their age, and can both wit and good and malice enough.
From that city go men by the country by many cities and many towns
unto a city that men clepe Jamchay; and it is a noble city and a
rich and of great profit to the Lord, and thither go men to seek
merchandise of all manner of thing. That city is full much worth
yearly to the lord of the country. For he hath every year to rent
of that city (as they of the city say) 50,000 cumants of florins of
gold:
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