pigafetta’s voyage round the world.

37 8

To Chiempa fucceeds the kingdom of Couhi, the fovereign of which is called RajahSiri Bummipala. Alter this follows Great China , the king of which country is themod powerful monarch upon earth. His name is Santoa Rajah. Seventy fovereignswearing crowns are dependent on him, and each of thefe have from ten to fifteen othersfubjeQ: to him. The port of this kingdom is called Guantan*, and among its numerouscities the two principal are Nankin and Comlaha: the king refides in this laft. In hispalace he has four prime minifters, each of whom gives audience in one of the fourfronts of it, which look towards the cardinal points. All the kings and lords of Greaterand Upper India are obliged to eredt in the middle of the fquare, as a mark of depen-dence, the image of an animal ftronger than the lion, called chinga, which image is alfoengraven on the royal fignet, and all veffels entering the port of this monarch have thefame image in ivory or wax on board. Whenever any of his lords Ihew figns of dis-obedience, they are flayed alive ; arid their-Ikins, dried, pickled, and fluffed, are placed infome confpicuous part of the fquare, the head bent, and the hands tied over the headin the a£t of making the zongu, or reverence to the king f. This monarch neverIhews himfelf to any one ; and whenever defirous of feeing any of his fubjedls. hecaufes himfelf to be carried on a peacock, made with much ingenuity, and ricidy orna-mented, accompanied by fix women dreffed entirely like himfelf, fo that one cannot bediftinguilhed from the other. He then places himfelf in the hollow image of a ferpent,called Naga, fuperbly decorated, which has a glafs window in its breaft, through whichthe king fees what he pleafes, without being feen himfelf. — He marries his filters, thatfo the royal blood may not be intermingled with that of his fubjefts. His palace is fur-rounded by feven walls, and to every wall are ten thoufand guards, which are relievedevery twelve hours. Each wall has its gate, and every gate likewife its guard. At the firfl:gate is a man with a large whip in his hand ; at the fecond, a dog ; at the third, a manwith an iron club ; at the fourth, another with a bow and arrows; at the fifth, againanother with a lance ; at the fixth, a lion ; and at the feventh, two white elephants. Inthe palace of this monarch are feventy-nine halls, which contain women alone for thefervice of the king, and which are conftantly lighted with flambeaux. It takes an en-tire day to make the tour of the palace. At the extremity of the palace are four halls,whither the minifters repair when they wilh to fpeak to the king. The walls, the vaultedroof, and even the floor of one of thefe halls, are ornamented with bronze; in the fe-cond, the ornaments are of filver; in the third, of gold ; and in the fourth, of pearlsand precious (tones. In thefe halls are depofited the gold and other valuables given intribute to the king. I have feen nothing of all this which I now relate, but merely re-peat the account of a Moor, who affured me that he had himfelf been witnefs of whathe delivered.

The Chinefe are fair, and wear clothing ; like us they eat off tables. With themcroffes are likewife feen, but of the ufe they put them to 1 am wholly ignorant.

From China it is that mulk is brought: the animal which produces it is a fpecies ofcivet, which feeds entirely upon a faft wood of the thicknefs of the finger, called cha-maru. In order to extradt mulk from this animal a leach is faftened on it, which, whenwell filled with blood, is crulhed. and the blood received on a plate that it may be driedin the fun the fpace of four or five days, in order to perfedt it. Every one who keepsone of thefe animals is bound to pay a certain tribute. The grains of mulk brought toEurope are no other than frnall pieces of goat’s flelh fteeped in real mulk. The blood

* Canton.

f Bruce (Travels to difcover the Sources of the Nile } more than once faw grandees of Abyflinia, whohad revolted, punithed in this manner.

is