402

PICAFETTA’s voyage round the world.

JJland Zipangu*.

** The ifland Zipangu is fituate in the eaftern part of the globe; the people of thecountry are idolators. The fovereign of the ifland is independent. The ifland pro-duces an extraordinary quantity of gold, and contains all forts of precious ftones andeaftern pearls. Thus much Marco Polo relates of it in his third book, chapter 2d.

“ Marco Polo likewife affirms in his third book, chapter 42, that failors have trulyobferved that in this fea of India there are more than twelve thoufand feven hundred in-habited iflands, in many of which are found precious ftones, fine pearl, and gold mines ;the inhabitants of them are men differing alfo from the generality of mankind ; but thedetail of thefe matters would be too long to give in this place.

“ The fea here produces many wonderful things j fyrens, for example, and otherfiffi.

“ Thofe who are anxious of information refpe&ing thefe Angular people, and thefeextraordinary fea-fiffi, as well as the terreftrial animals, may confult the works of Pliny ,Ifidorus, Ariftotle, Strabo , the Specula of Vincent de Beauvais, and other authors.

“ In their writings will be found a defcription of the inhabitants of the iflands, ofthe fea, .of many wonders j and of their terreftrial animals, roots, precious ftones, &c.’*

Ifland Candia.

“ The ifland Candia, with all the other iflands, as well Little Java as Angama,Neucuran, Pentham, Seylan, with all India Magna and the country of St. Thomas, arefo much to the fouth that the polar ftar, which with us is called the ar&ic pole, is therenever feen; but in its Head another ftar is vifible, called the antarctic; hence thefecountries are exactly our antipodes, fo that when day with us it is night with them, andwhen the fun fets with us it rifes with them ; and half the ftars which are beneath andinvifible to us are feen by them : this therefore proves that the earth, with all its mafsof water, was formed by God of a round figure, as is ftated by Sir John Mandeville inthe third part of his voyages.”

Ifland Neucuran f.

“ Marco Polo, in his third Book , chap. 20, fays, the ifland Neucuran is fituate ahundred and fifty Italian miles from the ifland Great Java, and that this ifland producesnutmegs, cinnamon, and cloves in abundance. In it are likewife whole forefts of fandalwood, and all forts of aromatics.

“ This ifland produces a great quantity of rubies, emeralds, topazes, fapphires, andeaftern pearls.”

IJland Pentan J.

“ On failing towards the fouth from the kingdom of Loach, you arrive at the iflandPentan, covered with forefts of odoriferous trees. The fea which furrounds this ifland is

• The author before noticed writes Zipangti.

•f The Necuram of Marco Polo ,j Called Petan by the laft quoted author.

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