] in the which a man shall be very well accommodated, with cushions under his head, and couered for the defence of the sunne and raine, and there he may sleep if he haue will thereunto: and his foure falchines cary him running away, changing two at one time and two at another. the custome of pegu and fraight thither, may amount vnto twentie or twentie two per cento, and 23. according as he hath more or lesse stolen from him that day they custome the goods. it is requisite that a man haue his eyes watchfull, and to be carefull, and to haue many friendes, for when they custome in the great hall of the king, there come many gentlemen accompanied with a number of their slaues, and these gentlemen haue no shame that their slaues rob strangers; whether it be cloth in shewing of it or any other thing, they laugh at it. and although the marchants helpe one another to keepe watch, and looke to their goods, they cannot looke therto so narrowly but one or other will rob something, either more or lesse, according as their marchandise is more or lesse: and yet on this day there is a worse thing then this: although you haue set so many eyes to looke there for your benefit, that you escape vnrobbed of the slaues, a man cannot choose but that he must be robbed of the officers of the custome house. for paying the custome with the same goods oftentimes they take the best that you haue, and not by rate of euery sort as they ought to do, by which meanes a man payeth more then his dutie. at length when the goods be dispatched out of the custome house in this order, the marchant causeth them to be caried to his house, and may do with them at his pleasure. there are in pegu 8. brokers of the kings, which are called tareghe, who are bound to sell all the marchandize which come to pegu, at the common or the currant price: then if the marchants wil sell their goods at that price, they sel them away, and the brokers haue two in the hundreth of euery sort of marchandise, and they are bound to make good the debts of those goods, because they be sold by their hands or meanes, and on their wordes, and oftentimes the marchant knoweth not to whom he giueth his goods, yet he cannot lose anything thereby, for that the broker is bound in any wise to pay him, and if the marchant sel his goods without the consent of the broker, yet neuerthelesse he must pay him two per cento, and be in danger of his money: [sidenote: a lawe for bankrupts.] but this is very seldom seene, because the wife, children, and slaues of the debtor are bound to the creditor, and when his time is expired and paiment not made, the creditor may take the debtor and cary him home to his house, and shut him vp in a magasin, whereby presently he hath his money, and not being able to pay the creditor, he may take the wife, children, and slaues of the debtor and sel them, for so is the lawe of that kingdome. [sidenote: euery man may stampe what money he wil.] the currant money that is in this city, and throughout all this kingdom is called gansa or ganza, which is made of copper and leade: it is not the money of the king, but euery man may stamp it that wil, because it hath his iust partition or value: but they make many of them false, by putting ouermuch lead into them, and those will not passe, neither will any take them. with this money ganza, you may buy golde or siluer, rubies and muske, and other things. for there is no other money currant amongst them. and golde, siluer and other marchandize are at one time dearer than another, as all other things be. this ganza goeth by weight of byze, and this name of byza goeth for the accompt of the weight, and commonly a byza of a ganza is worth (after our accompt) halfe a ducat, litle more or lesse: and albeit that gold and siluer is more or lesse in price, yet the byza neuer changeth: euery byza maketh a hundreth ganza of weight, and so the number of the money is byza. [sidenote: how a man may dispose himselfe for the trade in pegu.] he that goeth to pegu to buy iewels, if he wil do well, it behoueth him to be a whole yere there to do his businesse. for if so be that he would return with the ship he came in, he cannot do any thing so conueniently for the breuitie of the time, because that when they custome their goods in pegu that come from s. tome in their ships, it is as it were about christmas: and when they haue customed their goods, then must they sell them for their credits sake for a moneth or two: and then at the beginning of march the ships depart. the marchants that come from s. tome take for the paiment of their goods, gold and siluer, which is neuer wanting there. [sidenote: good instructions.] and 8. or 10. daies before their departure they are all satisfied: also they may haue rubies in paiment, but they make no accompt of them: and they that will winter there for another yere, it is needfull that they be aduertized, that in the sale of their goods, they specifie in their bargaine, the terme of two or 3. moneths paiment, and that their paiment shal be in so many ganza, and neither golde nor siluer: because that with the ganza they may buy and sel euery thing with great aduantage. and how needfull is it to be aduertized, when they wil recouer their paiments, in what order they shal receiue their ganza? because he that is not experienced may do himselfe great wrong in the weight of the gansa, as also in the falsenesse of them: in the weight he may be greatly deceiued, because that from place to place it doth rise and fall greatly: and therefore when any wil receiue money or make paiment, he must take a publique wayer of money, a day or two before he go about his businesse, and giue him in paiment for his labour two byzaes a moneth, and for this he is bound to make good all your money, and to maintaine it for good, for that hee receiueth it and seales the bags with his scale: and when hee hath receiued any store, then hee causeth it to bee brought into the magason of the marchant, that is the owner of it. that money is very weightie, for fortie byza is a strong porters burden; and also where the marchant hath any payment to be made for those goods which he buyeth, the common wayer of money that receiueth his money must make the payment thereof. so that by this meanes, the marchant with the charges of two byzes a moneth, receiueth and payeth out his money without losse or trouble. [sidenote: the marchandizes that goe out of pegu.] the marchandizes that goe out of pegu are gold, siluer, rubies, saphyres, spinelles, great store of beniamin, long peper, leade, lacca, rice, wine, some sugar, yet there might be great store of sugar made in the countrey, for that they haue aboundance of canes, but they giue them to eliphants to eate, and the people consume great store of them for food, and many more doe they consume in vaine things, as these following. in that kingdome they spend many of these sugar canes in making of houses and tents which they call varely for their idoles, which they call pagodes, whereof there are great aboundance, great and smal, and these houses are made in forme of little hilles, like to sugar loaues or to bells, and some of these houses are as high as a reasonable steeple, at the foote they are very large, some of them be in circuit a quarter of a mile. the saide houses within are full of earth, and walled round about with brickes and dirt in steade of lime, and without forme, from the top to the foote they make a couering for them with sugar canes, and plaister it with lime all ouer, for otherwise they would bee spoyled, by the great aboundance of raine that falleth in those countreys. [sidenote: idol houses couered with gold.] also they consume about these varely or idol houses great store of leafe-gold, for that they ouerlay all the tops of the houses with gold, and some of them are couered with golde from the top to the foote: in couering whereof there is great store of gold spent, for that euery 10. yeeres they new ouerlay them with gold, from the top to the foote, so that with this vanitie they spend great aboundance of golde. for euery 10. yeres the raine doth consume the gold from these houses. and by this meanes they make golde dearer in pegu then it would bee, if they consumed not so much in this vanitie. also it is a thing to bee noted in the buying of iewels in pegu, that he that hath no knowledge shall haue as good iewels, and as good cheap, as he that hath bene practized there a long time, which is a good order, and it is in this wise. there are in pegu foure men of good reputation, which are called tareghe, or brokers of iewels. these foure men haue all the iewels or rubies in their handes, and the marchant that wil buy commeth to one of these tareghe and telleth him, that he hath so much money to imploy in rubies. [sidenote: rubies exceeding cheape in pegu.] for through the hands of these foure men passe all the rubies: for they haue such quantitie, that they knowe not what to doe with them, but sell them at most vile and base prices. when the marchant hath broken his mind to one of these brokers or tareghe, they cary him home to one of their shops, although he hath no knowledge in iewels: and when the iewellers perceiue that hee will employ a good round summe, they will make a bargaine, and if not, they let him alone. the vse generally of this citie is this: that when any marchant hath bought any great quantitie of rubies, and hath agreed for them, hee carieth them home to his house, let them be of what value they will, he shall haue space to looke on them and peruse them two or three dayes: and if he hath no knowledge in them, he shall alwayes haue many marchants in that citie that haue very good knowledge in iewels; with whom he may alwayes conferre and take counsell, and may shew them vnto whom he will; and if he finde that hee hath not employed his money well, hee may returne his iewels backe to them whom hee had them of, without any losse at all. which thing is such a shame to the tareghe to haue his iewels returned, that he had rather beare a blow on the face then that it should be thought that he solde them so deere to haue them returned. [sidenote: an honest care of heathen people.] for these men haue alwayes great care that they afford good peniworths, especially to those that haue no knowledge