When he changes his shirt or any other article
of his dress, no one dare wear it, or is sure to die. My companion
learnt from the merchants of Cambay that this wonderful venomous nature
of the sultan had been occasioned by his having been bred up by his
father from a child in the constant use of poison, beginning by little
and little, and taking preservatives at the same time.
[Footnote 61: It is evident from the text that the _areka_ nut is here
meant, which is chewed along with _betel_ leaf, called tambolos in the
text, and strewed with _chunam_ or lime made of oyster shells. - E.]
[Footnote 62: This ridiculous story can only be understood as an eastern
metaphor, expressive of the tyrannous disposition of the sultan. - E.]
Such is the wonderful fertility of this country that it surpasses all
description. The people, as already said, go almost entirely naked, or
content themselves with a single garment, and are a brave and warlike
nation, being at the same time much given to commerce, so that their
city is frequented by traders of all nations. From this city, and
another to be named afterwards, innumerable kinds and quantities of
merchandise are transported to almost every region and nation of the
world; especially to the Turks, Syrians, Arabians, Indians, and to
divers regions of Africa, Ethiopia, and Arabia; and more especially vast
abundance of silk and cotton, so that by means of this prodigious trade
the sultan is astonishingly rich.
