This Casket Was A Span And A Half Square, Entirely Full
Of Rubies, The Inside Being Divided Into Many Compartments Where The
Stones Were Sorted In Order According To Their Sizes.
When he had opened
the casket, he ordered it to be placed before the Persian, desiring him
to take of these precious rubies as many as he thought fit.
But my
companion, as if still more provoked to generosity by the liberality of
the king, spoke to him in these words, "Most high and honourable
sovereign! Such is my sense of your generous conduct to me, that I swear
by the head of Mahomet and all the mysteries of his holy religion, that
I freely and gladly give you all my goods. I do not travel in search of
gain, but merely from a desire to see the world; in which I have not
hitherto found any thing that has given me so much delight as the
generous favour your majesty has now been pleased to shew me!" To this
the king answered, "Will you yet contend with me in liberality?" Then
selecting some rubies from all the compartments in the casket, out of
which he took as many as he could hold in his hand, being two hundred
rubies, he gave all these to the Persian with most royal munificence,
and commanded him not to refuse. He gave also to each of the Christians
two rubies worth not less than a thousand crowns; but those he gave to
the Persian were reckoned worth a hundred thousand crowns. This king
therefore certainly exceeds all the kings of the earth in munificence,
both in manner and in richness of his gifts. About this time news came
to Pegu that the king of Ava was advancing against him with a vast army,
on which the king of Pegu went to meet him with one almost innumerable.
Two days after the departure of the king from Pegu, we sailed towards
the city of Malacca, where we arrived after a voyage of eight days. Not
far from this city is a famous river named Gaza[90], the largest I ever
saw, as it is 25 miles broad, and on the other side of it is seen the
very large island of _Sumatra_, which by old writers was called
_Taprobana_, and which is said by the inhabitants to be 500 miles in
circuit[91]. Upon our arrival at _Malacca_, called by some _Melcha_, we
were commanded to appear before the sultan, who is a Mahometan and
tributary to the great sultan of _Chini_[92], because as is said the
city was built about 80 years before on account of the convenience of
its harbour, being one of the best in the ocean, and to which doubtless
many ships resort for trade. This region is not everywhere fruitful, yet
it has a sufficiency of corn and cattle, although scarce of wood. They
have plenty of birds of the same kind with those at Calicut, but the
popinjays or parrots are more beautiful.
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