In His Ears He Had Rich Jewels Of Diamonds,
Sapphires, And Pearls, Two Of The Latter Being As Large As Walnuts.
His
arms, from the elbows to the wrists, were covered with golden bracelets,
set with numberless precious stones of great value; and his legs, from
the knees to the ankles, were similarly adorned.
His fingers and toes had
numerous rings, and on one of his great toes he wore a ruby of great size
and wonderful brilliancy. One of his diamonds was bigger than a large
bean. All these were greatly surpassed by his girdle of gold and jewels,
which was altogether inestimable, and was so brilliant that it dazzled
the eyes of the beholders. Beside the zamorin was a rich throne or state
chair, all of gold and jewels; and his _andor_, in which he had been
carried from the palace was of similar richness, and stood near him. He
was attended by twenty trumpeters, seventeen of whom had silver trumpets,
and three of them gold, all the mouth-pieces being finely wrought and set
with jewels. Although in full day, the hall was lighted by many silver
lamps, in the fashion of the Moors. Close by the king there stood a
spitting basin of gold, and several silver perfuming-pans, which produced
an excellent odour. Six paces from the king, he was attended on by his
two brothers, who were the nearest heirs to the kingdom; and a little
farther off were many noblemen, all standing.
On entering the hall, and seeing the splendid state of the zamorin,
Cabral would have kissed his hand, as is the custom of Europe; but was
informed that this was not customary among them, and therefore sat down
in a chair near the king, which was appointed for him as an especial
honour. He then delivered his letter of credit from the king of Portugal,
written in Arabic, and then said, that the king his master, willing to
cultivate trade and friendship with the zamorin and his subjects, had
given him orders to require permission to establish a factory or house of
trade in Calicut, which should always be supplied with every kind of
merchandize that was in demand; and requested the zamorin to supply a
sufficient loading of spices for the ships under his command, which he
was ready to pay for, either by means of the commodities he had on board,
or in ready money. The zamorin seemed or affected to be pleased with the
embassy, and said that the king of Portugal was welcome to every thing in
his city of which he was in need. At this time the present from the king
of Portugal to the zamorin was brought forwards; which, among other
things, contained, a richly wrought basin and ewer of silver gilt; a gilt
silver flaggon and cover of similar workmanship; two silver maces; four
cushions, two of which were cloth of gold, and the other two of unshorn
crimson velvet; a state canopy of cloth of gold, bound and fringed with
gold; a carpet of rich crimson velvet; two very rich arras hangings, one
ornamented with human figures, and the other with representations of
trees and flowers.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 329 of 427
Words from 172904 to 173437
of 224388
