this man hath in yeerely reuenues thirty thuman of tagars of rise, euery of which thuman yeeldeth tenne thousand tagars, and one tagar is the burthen of an asse. his palace is two miles in circuit, the pauement whereof is one plate of golde, and another of siluer. neere vnto the wall of the sayd palace there is a mount artificially wrought with golde and siluer, whereupon stand turrets and steeples and other delectable things for the solace and recreation of the foresayd great man. and it was tolde me that there were foure such men in the sayd kingdome. [sidenote: long nailes.] it is accounted a great grace for the men of that countrey to haue long nailes vpon their fingers, and especially vpon their thumbes which nailes they may fold about their hands: but the grace and beauty of their women is to haue small and slender feet: and therefore the mothers when their daughters are yoong, do binde vp their feet, that they may not grow great. [sidenote: melistorte.] trauelling on further towards the south, i arriued at a certaine countrey called melistorte, which is a pleasant and fertile place. and in this countrey there was a certeine man called senex de monte, who round about two mountaines had built a wall to inclose the sayd mountaines. within this wall there were the fairest and most chrystall fountaines in the whole world: and about the sayd fountaines there were most beautifull virgins in great number, and goodly horses also, and in a word, euery thing that could be deuised for bodily solace and delight, and therefore the inhabitants of the countrey call the same place by the name of paradise. the sayd olde senex, when he saw any proper and valiant yoong man, he would admit him into his paradise. moreouer, by certaine conducts he makes, wine and milke to flow abundantly. this senex, when he hath a minde to reuenge himselfe or to slay any king or baron, commandeth him that is gouernor of the sayd paradise, to bring thereunto some of the acquaintance of the sayd king or baron, permitting him a while to take his pleasure therein, and then to giue him a certaine potion being of force, to cast him into such a slumber as should make him quite voide of all sense, and so being in a profound sleepe to conuey him out of his paradise: who being awaked, and seeing himselfe thrust out of the paradise would become so sorrowfull, that he could not in the world deuise what to do, or whither to turne him. then would he goe vnto the foresaid old man, beseeching him that he might be admitted againe into his paradise: who saith vnto him, you cannot be admitted thither, vnlesse you will slay such or such a man for my sake, and if you will giue the attempt onely, whether you kill him or no, i will place you againe in paradise, that there you may remaine alwayes: then would the party without faile put the same in execution, indeuouring to murther all those against whom the sayd olde man had conceiued any hatred. and therefore all the kings of the east stood in awe of the sayd olde man, and gaue vnto him great tribute. of the death of senex de monte. and when the tartars had subdued a great part of the world, they came vnto the sayd olde man, and tooke from him the custody of his paradise: who being incensed thereat, sent abroad diuers desperate and resolute persons out of his forenamed paradise, and caused many of the tartarian nobles to be slaine. the tartars seeing this, went and besieged the city wherein the said olde man was, tooke him, and put him to a most cruell and ignominious death. the friers in that place haue this speciall gift and prerogatiue: namely, that by the vertue of the name of christ iesu, and in the vertue of his pretious bloud, which he shedde vpon the crosse for the saluation of mankinde, they doe cast foorth deuils out of them that are possessed. and because there are many possessed men in those parts, they are bound and brought ten dayes iourney unto the sayd friers, who being dispossessed of the vncleane spirits, do presently beleeue in christ who deliuered them, accounting him for their god, and being baptized in his name, and also deliuering immediatly vnto the friers all their idols, and the idols of their cattell, which are commonly made of felt or of womens haire: then the sayd friers kindle a fire in a publike place (whereunto the people resort, that they may see the false gods of their neighbors burnt) and cast the sayd idols thereinto: howbeit at the first those idols came out of the fire againe. then the friers sprinkled the sayd fire with holy water, casting the idols into it the second time, and with that the deuils fled in the likenesse of blacke smoake, and the idols still remained till they were consumed vnto ashes. afterward, this noise and outcry was heard in the ayre: beholde and see how i am expelled out of my habitation. and by these meanes the friers doe baptize great multitudes, who presently reuolt againe vnto their idols: insomuch that the sayd friers must eftsoones, as it were, vnderprop them, and informe them anew. there was another terrible thing which i saw there: for passing by a certaine valley, which is situate beside a pleasant riuer, i saw many dead bodies, and in the sayd valley also i heard diuers sweet sounds and harmonies of musike, especially the noise of citherns, whereat i was greatly amazed. this valley conteineth in length seuen or eight miles at the least; into the which whosoeuer entreth, dieth presently, and can by no meanes passe aliue thorow the middest thereof: for which cause all the inhabitants thereabout decline vnto the one side. moreouer, i was tempted to go in, and to see what it was. at length, making my prayers, and recommending my selfe to god in the name of iesu, i entred, and saw such swarmes of dead bodies there, as no man would beleeue vnlesse he were an eye witnesse thereof. at the one side of the foresayd valley vpon a certaine stone, i saw the visage of a man, which beheld me with such a terrible aspect, that i thought verily i should haue died in the same place. but alwayes this sentence, the word became flesh, and dwelt amongst vs, i ceased not to pronounce, signing my selfe with the signe of the crosse, and neerer then seuen or eight pases i durst not approach vnto the said head: but i departed and fled vnto another place in the sayd valley, ascending vp into a little sand mountaine, where looking round about, i saw nothing but the sayd citherns, which me thought i heard miraculously sounding and playing by themselues without the help of musicians. and being vpon the toppe of the mountaine, i found siluer there like the scales of fishes in great abundance: and i gathered some part thereof into my bosome to shew for a wonder, but my conscience rebuking me, i cast it vpon the earth, reseruing no whit at all vnto my selfe, and so, by gods grace i departed without danger. and when the men of the countrey knew that i was returned out of the valley aliue, they reuerenced me much, saying that i was baptised and holy, and that the foresayd bodies were men subiect vnto the deuils infernall, who vsed to play vpon citherns, to the end they might allure people to enter, and so murther them. thus much concerning those things which i beheld most certainely with mine eyes, i frier odoricus haue heere written: many strange things also i haue of purpose omitted, because men will not beleeue them vnlesse they should see them. of the honour and reuerence done vnto the great can. i will report one thing more, which i saw, concerning the great can. it is an vsuall custome in those parts, that when the forsayd can traueileth thorow any countrey, his subiects kindle fires before their doores, casting spices thereinto to make a perfume, that their lord passing by may smell the sweet and delectable odours thereof, and much people come forth to meet him. and vpon a certaine time when he was cumming towardes cambaleth, the fame of his approch being published, a bishop of ours with certaine of our minorite friers and my selfe went two dayes iourney to meet him: and being come nigh vnto him, we put a crosse vpon wood, i my selfe hauing a censer in my hand, and began to sing with a loud voice: veni creator spiritus. and as we were singing on this wise, he caused vs to be called, commanding vs to come vnto him: notwithstanding (as it is aboue mentioned) that no man dare approach within a stones cast of his chariot, vnlesse he be called, but such onely as keepe his chariot. and when we came neere vnto him, he vailed his hat or bonet being of an inestimable price, doing reuerance vnto the crosse. and immediatly i put incense into the censer, and our bishop taking the censer perfumed him, and gaue him his benediction. moreouer, they that come before the sayd can do alwayes bring some oblation to present vnto him, obseruing the antient law: thou shall not appeare in my presence with an empty hand. and for that cause we carried apples with vs, and offered them in a platter with reuerence vnto him: and taking out two of them he did eat some part of one. and then he signified vnto vs, that we should go apart, least the horses comming on might in ought offend vs. with that we departed from him, and turned aside, going vnto certaine of his barons, which had bene conuerted to the faith by certeine friers of our order, being at the same time in his army: and we offered vnto them of the foresayd apples, who receiued them at our hands with great ioy, seeming vnto vs to be as glad, as if we had giuen them some great gift. all the premisses abouewritten friar william de solanga hath put downe in writing euen as the foresayd frier odoricus vttered them by word of mouth, in the yeere of our lord 1330. in the moneth of may, and in the place of s. anthony of padua. neither did he regard to write them in difficult latine or in an eloquent stile, but euen as odoricus himselfe rehearsed them, to the end that men might the more easily vnderstand the things reported. i frier odoricus of friuli, of a certaine territory called portus vahonis, and of the order of the minorites, do testifie and beare wimesse vnto the reuerend father guidotus minister of the prouince of s. anthony, in the marquesate of treuiso (being by him required vpon mine obedience so to doe) that all the premisses aboue written, either i saw with mine owne eyes, or heard the same reported by credible and substantiall persons. the common report also of the countreyes where i was, testifieth those things, which i saw, to be true