And Thus He Passed His Life In This Constant Dalliance With
Women, Without So Much As Knowing What Arms Meant!
And the result
of all this cowardice and effeminacy was that he lost his dominion to the
Great Kaan in that base and shameful way that you have heard.[NOTE 11]
All this account was given me by a very rich merchant of Kinsay when I was
in that city. He was a very old man, and had been in familiar intimacy
with the King Facfur, and knew the whole history of his life; and having
seen the Palace in its glory was pleased to be my guide over it. As it is
occupied by the King appointed by the Great Kaan, the first pavilions are
still maintained as they used to be, but the apartments of the ladies are
all gone to ruin and can only just be traced. So also the wall that
enclosed the groves and gardens is fallen down, and neither trees nor
animals are there any longer.[NOTE 12]]
NOTE 1. - I have, after some consideration, followed the example of Mr. H.
Murray, in his edition of Marco Polo, in collecting together in a
separate chapter a number of additional particulars concerning the Great
City, which are only found in Ramusio. Such of these as could be
interpolated in the text of the older form of the narrative have been
introduced between brackets in the last chapter. Here I bring together
those particulars which could not be so interpolated without taking
liberties with one or both texts.
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