The King made this
provision for the gratification of his people, and the place was open to
every one who desired to give an entertainment. [Sometimes there would be
at these palaces an hundred different parties; some holding a banquet,
others celebrating a wedding; and yet all would find good accommodation in
the different apartments and pavilions, and that in so well ordered a
manner that one party was never in the way of another.[NOTE 4]]
The houses of the city are provided with lofty towers of stone in which
articles of value are stored for fear of fire; for most of the houses
themselves are of timber, and fires are very frequent in the city.
The people are Idolaters; and since they were conquered by the Great Kaan
they use paper-money. [Both men and women are fair and comely, and for the
most part clothe themselves in silk, so vast is the supply of that
material, both from the whole district of Kinsay, and from the imports by
traders from other provinces.[NOTE 5]] And you must know they eat every
kind of flesh, even that of dogs and other unclean beasts, which nothing
would induce a Christian to eat.
Since the Great Kaan occupied the city he has ordained that each of the
12,000 bridges should be provided with a guard of ten men, in case of any
disturbance, or of any being so rash as to plot treason or insurrection
against him. [Each guard is provided with a hollow instrument of wood and
with a metal basin, and with a time-keeper to enable them to know the hour
of the day or night. And so when one hour of the night is past the sentry
strikes one on the wooden instrument and on the basin, so that the whole
quarter of the city is made aware that one hour of the night is gone. At
the second hour he gives two strokes, and so on, keeping always wide awake
and on the look out. In the morning again, from the sunrise, they begin to
count anew, and strike one hour as they did in the night, and so on hour
after hour.
Part of the watch patrols the quarter, to see if any light or fire is
burning after the lawful hours; if they find any they mark the door, and
in the morning the owner is summoned before the magistrates, and unless he
can plead a good excuse he is punished. Also if they find any one going
about the streets at unlawful hours they arrest him, and in the morning
they bring him before the magistrates. Likewise if in the daytime they
find any poor cripple unable to work for his livelihood, they take him to
one of the hospitals, of which there are many, founded by the ancient
kings, and endowed with great revenues.[NOTE 6] Or if he be capable of
work they oblige him to take up some trade.
