For I Would Right Willingly Haue Painted All Things For You, Had My Skill Bin Ought In That Art.

One rich Moal or Tartar hath 200.

Or 100. such cartes with chests. Duke Baatu hath sixteene wiues, euery one of which hath one great house, besides other little houses, which they place behind the great one, being as it were chambers for their maidens to dwel in. And vnto euery of the said houses do belong 200. cartes. When they take their houses from off the cartes, the principal wife placeth her court on the West frontier, and so all the rest in their order: so that the last wife dwelleth vpon the East frontier: and one of the said ladies courts is distant from another about a stones cast. Whereupon the court of one rich Moal or Tartar will appeare like vnto a great village, very few men abiding in the same. One woman will guide 20. or 30. cartes at once, for their countries are very plaine, and they binde the cartes with camels or oxen, one behind another. And there sittes a wench in the foremost carte driuing the oxen, and al the residue follow on a like pace. When they chance to come at any bad passage, they let them loose, and guide them ouer one by one: for they goe a slowe pace, as fast as a lambe or an oxe can walke.

De lectis eorum et poculis. Cap. 3.

Postquam deposuerint domus versa porta ad meridiem, collocant lectum domini ad partem aquilonarem. Locus multerum est semper ad latus Orientale hoc est ad sinistrum domini domus cum sedet in lecto suo versa facie ad meridiem: locus vero virorum ad latus occidentale, hoc est ad dextrum. Viri ingredientes domum nullo modo suspenderent pharetram ad partem mulierum. Et super caput Domini est semper vna imago quasi puppa et statuuncula de filtro, quam vocant fratrem domini: alia similis super caput domina, quam vocant fratrem domina, affixa parieti: et superius inter vtramque illarum est vna paruula, macilenta, qua est quasi custos totius domus. Domina domus ponit ad latus suum dextrum ad pedes lecti in eminenti loco pelliculam hoedinam impletam lana vel alia materia, et iuxta illam statuunculam paruulam respicientem famulas et mulieres. Iuxta ostium ad partem mulieris est iterum alia imago cum vbere vaccino, pro mulieribus qua mungunt vaccas. De officio foeminarum est mungere vaccas. Ad aliud latus ostij versus viros est alia statua cum vbere equa pro viris qui mungunt equas. Et cum conuenerint ad potandum primo spargunt de potu illi imagini, qua est super caput domini: postea alijs imaginibus per ordinem: postea exit minister domum cum cipho et potu, et spargit ter ad meridiem, qualibet vice flectendo genu; et hoc ad reuerentiam ignis: postea ad Orientem ad reuerentiam aeris: postea ad Occidentem ad reuerentiam aqua; ad aquilonem proijciunt pro mortuis. Quando tenet dominus ciphum in manu et debet bibere, tunc primo antequam bibat, infundit terra partem suam. Si bibit sedens super equum, infundit antequam bibat, super collum vel crinem equi. Postquam vero minister sic sparserit ad quatuor latera mundi, reuertitur in domum et sunt parati duo famuli cum duobus ciphis et totidem patenis vt deferant potum domino et vxori sedenti iuxta eum sursum in lecto.

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