In The Months
Of May, June, And July, When With Us In Italy Every Thing Is Almost
Burnt Up With Heat And Drought, They Have Prodigious Rains.
The best of
their ships are built in the island of _Porcai_, not far from Calicut.
They have one
Kind of vessel or canoe, made all of one piece of wood
like a trough, very long, narrow, and sharp, which is propelled either
by oars or sails, and goes with amazing swiftness, which is much used by
pirates.
The palace of the king of Calicut exceeds a mile in circumference, and
is well constructed of beams and posts artificially joined, and
curiously carved all over with the figures of devils. It is all however
very low, for the reason before-mentioned, as they cannot dig deep for
secure foundations. It is impossible to express in words the number and
riches of the pearls and precious stones which the king wears about him,
which exceed all estimate in regard to their value. Although, when I was
in that place, the king lived rather in a state of grief, both on
account of the war in which he was engaged with the Portuguese, and
because he was afflicted by the venereal disease which had got into his
throat, yet his ears, hands, legs, and feet, were richly garnished with
all sorts of jewels and precious stones, absolutely beyond description.
His treasure is so vast, that it cannot be contained in two immense
cellars or warehouses, consisting of precious stones, plates of gold,
and other rich ornaments, besides as much, gold coin as might load an
hundred mules, as was reported by the Bramins, to whom these things are
best known.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 160 of 842
Words from 43019 to 43303
of 230997
