When The Army Proceeds To The Wars, It Is Followed By 5000 Camels, All Laden With Ropes Of Bombasine[52].

[Footnote 50:

This is a ridiculous exaggeration, or blunder in transcription, and may more readily be limited to four thousand. - E.]

[Footnote 51: These terms unquestionably refer to cotton cloth. Perhaps we ought to read gossamopine _of_ Xylon, meaning cotton cloth from Ceylon. - E.]

[Footnote 52: The use of this enormous quantity of cotton ropes is unintelligible. Perhaps the author only meant to express that the packs or bales on the camels were secured by such ropes. - E.]

Hard by the prison to which I was committed, there was a long court or entry in the manner of a cloister, where sometimes I and other prisoners were permitted to walk, and which was overlooked by a part of the sultan's palace. It happened that one of the sultan's wives remained in the palace, having twelve young maidens to wait upon her, who were all very comely, though inclining to black. By their favour I was much aided, after the following manner: There were two other men confined alone with me in the same prison, and it was agreed among us that one of us should counterfeit madness, by which we might derive some advantage. Accordingly it fell to my lot to assume the appearance of madness, which made greatly for my purpose, as they consider mad men to be holy, and they therefore allowed me to go much more at large than before, until such time as the hermits might determine whether I were _holy mad_, or raging mad, as shall be shewn hereafter. But the first three days of my assumed madness wearied me so much, that I was never so tired with labour, or grieved with pain; for the boys and vile people used to run after me, sometimes to the number of forty or fifty, calling me a mad man, and throwing stones at me, which usage I sometimes repaid in their own coin. To give the better colour to my madness, I always carried some stones in the lap of my shirt, as I had no other clothing whatever. The queen hearing of my madness, used oftentimes to look from her windows to see me, more instigated by a secret love for my person than the pleasure she derived from my mad pranks, as afterwards appeared. One time, when some of the natives played the knave with me in view of the queen, whose secret favour towards me I began to perceive, I threw off my shirt, and went to a place near the windows, where the queen might see me all naked, which I perceived gave her great pleasure, as she always contrived some device to prevent me going out of her sight, and would sometimes spend almost the whole day in looking at me. In the mean time she often sent me secretly abundance of good meat by her maids; and when she saw the boys or others doing me harm or vexing me, she called to me to kill them, reviling them also as dogs and beasts.

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