So The Men Of The City Surrendered, And Were Received To Terms; And This
All Came About Through The Exertions Of Messer Nicolo, And Messer Maffeo,
And Messer Marco; And It Was No Small Matter.
For this city and province
is one of the best that the Great Kaan possesses, and brings him in great
revenues.[NOTE 5]
NOTE 1. - Pauthier's MS. C. here says: "When the Great Kaan, and the Barons
about him, and the messengers from the camp ... heard this, they all
marvelled greatly; for I tell you that in all those parts they know
nothing of mangonels or trebuchets; and they were so far from being
accustomed to employ them in their wars that they had never even seen
them, nor knew what they were." The MS. in question has in this narrative
several statements peculiar to itself,[1] as indeed it has in various
other passages of the book; and these often look very like the result of
revision by Polo himself. Yet I have not introduced the words just quoted
into our text, because they are, as we shall see presently, notoriously
contrary to fact.
NOTE 2. - The same MS. has here a passage which I am unable to understand.
After the words "300 lbs. and more," it goes on: "Et la veoit l'en voler
moult loing, desquelles pierres il en y avoit plus de lx routes qui
tant montoit l'une comme l'autre" The Bern has the same. [Perhaps we
might read lx en routes, viz.
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