The Houses Of The Citizens Are Well Built And Elaborately Finished; And
The Delight They Take In Decoration, In Painting And In Architecture,
Leads Them To Spend In This Way Sums Of Money That Would Astonish You.
The natives of the city are men of peaceful character, both from education
and from the example of their kings, whose disposition was the same.
They
know nothing of handling arms, and keep none in their houses. You hear of
no feuds or noisy quarrels or dissensions of any kind among them. Both in
their commercial dealings and in their manufactures they are thoroughly
honest and truthful, and there is such a degree of good will and
neighbourly attachment among both men and women that you would take the
people who live in the same street to be all one family.[NOTE 8]
And this familiar intimacy is free from all jealousy or suspicion of the
conduct of their women. These they treat with the greatest respect, and a
man who should presume to make loose proposals to a married woman would be
regarded as an infamous rascal. They also treat the foreigners who visit
them for the sake of trade with great cordiality, and entertain them in
the most winning manner, affording them every help and advice on their
business. But on the other hand they hate to see soldiers, and not least
those of the Great Kaan's garrisons, regarding them as the cause of their
having lost their native kings and lords.
On the Lake of which we have spoken there are numbers of boats and barges
of all sizes for parties of pleasure. These will hold 10, 15, 20, or more
persons, and are from 15 to 20 paces in length, with flat bottoms and
ample breadth of beam, so that they always keep their trim. Any one who
desires to go a-pleasuring with the women, or with a party of his own sex,
hires one of these barges, which are always to be found completely
furnished with tables and chairs and all the other apparatus for a feast.
The roof forms a level deck, on which the crew stand, and pole the boat
along whithersoever may be desired, for the Lake is not more than 2 paces
in depth. The inside of this roof and the rest of the interior is covered
with ornamental painting in gay colours, with windows all round that can
be shut or opened, so that the party at table can enjoy all the beauty and
variety of the prospects on both sides as they pass along. And truly a
trip on this Lake is a much more charming recreation than can be enjoyed
on land. For on the one side lies the city in its entire length, so that
the spectators in the barges, from the distance at which they stand, take
in the whole prospect in its full beauty and grandeur, with its numberless
palaces, temples, monasteries, and gardens, full of lofty trees, sloping
to the shore. And the Lake is never without a number of other such boats,
laden with pleasure parties; for it is the great delight of the citizens
here, after they have disposed of the day's business, to pass the
afternoon in enjoyment with the ladies of their families, or perhaps with
others less reputable, either in these barges or in driving about the city
in carriages.[NOTE 9]
Of these latter we must also say something, for they afford one mode of
recreation to the citizens in going about the town, as the boats afford
another in going about the Lake. In the main street of the city you meet
an infinite succession of these carriages passing to and fro. They are
long covered vehicles, fitted with curtains and cushions, and affording
room for six persons; and they are in constant request for ladies and
gentlemen going on parties of pleasure. In these they drive to certain
gardens, where they are entertained by the owners in pavilions erected on
purpose, and there they divert themselves the livelong day, with their
ladies, returning home in the evening in those same carriages.[NOTE 10]
(FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE PALACE OF THE KING FACFUR.)
The whole enclosure of the Palace was divided into three parts. The middle
one was entered by a very lofty gate, on each side of which there stood on
the ground-level vast pavilions, the roofs of which were sustained by
columns painted and wrought in gold and the finest azure. Opposite the
gate stood the chief Pavilion, larger than the rest, and painted in like
style, with gilded columns, and a ceiling wrought in splendid gilded
sculpture, whilst the walls were artfully painted with the stories of
departed kings.
On certain days, sacred to his gods, the King Facfur[1] used to hold a
great court and give a feast to his chief lords, dignitaries, and rich
manufacturers of the city of Kinsay. On such occasions those pavilions
used to give ample accommodation for 10,000 persons sitting at table. This
court lasted for ten or twelve days, and exhibited an astonishing and
incredible spectacle in the magnificence of the guests, all clothed in
silk and gold, with a profusion of precious stones; for they tried to
outdo each other in the splendour and richness of their appointments.
Behind this great Pavilion that faced the great gate, there was a wall
with a passage in it shutting off the inner part of the Palace. On
entering this you found another great edifice in the form of a cloister
surrounded by a portico with columns, from which opened a variety of
apartments for the King and the Queen, adorned like the outer walls with
such elaborate work as we have mentioned. From the cloister again you
passed into a covered corridor, six paces in width, of great length, and
extending to the margin of the lake. On either side of this corridor were
ten courts, in the form of oblong cloisters surrounded by colonnades; and
in each cloister or court were fifty chambers with gardens to each.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 103 of 360
Words from 104151 to 105171
of 370046