The great" Chane of Chatay" obtains a full share of our knyghte's attention, and the journalist appears to speak, in part at least, from personal observation. He relates, in ample detail, the circumstances of this prince's court and kingdom, beginning with the rialtee of the Chane's palays, how he sits at Mete, and the grete number of officers that serve him. We are then entrusted with a knowledge of the reasons wherefore this mighty monarch is denominated, or clept, the Grete Chane; with the style of his letters and the superscriptions on his seals; with the governance of his court whan he maketh solemn feasts, four times in the year; and with an account of his array when he rideth through the country. We cannot fail of admiring the magnificence of his domestic economy, as displayed in Sir John's programme of an imperial entertainment. In addition to the nobles and other high personages usually admitted to the enjoymennt of royal hospitality, we are informed, with a pleasing seriousness, that

"At o syde of the Emperour's table, sitten manye Philosofres that ben preved for wise men, in manye dyverse scyences; as of astronomye, nigromancye, geomancye, pyromancye, ydromancye, and augurye. And everyche of hem han before hem astrolabres of gold, sum speres, sum the brayn-panne of a ded man, sum vesselles of gold fulle of gravele or sond, sum vesselles of gold fulle of coles brennynge, sum vesselles of gold fulle of watre and of wyn and of oyle, and sum oriloges of gold mad ful nobely and richly wroughte, and manye othere maner of instruments after hire scyences. And at certyn houres whan hem thinkethe tyme thei seyn to certeyn officeres that stonden before hem, ordeynd for the tyme to fuifille hire cōmaundements, Makethe Pees; and than seyn the officeres, now Pees lystenethe. And aftre that, seyth another of the philosofres, everyche man do reverence and enclyne to the Emperour that is Goddes sone and soverayn lord of alle the world, for now is tyme; and thanne everyche man bowethe his hed toward the erthe. And thanne cōmaundethe the same philosophre azen, Stondethe up; and thei don so. And at another houre seythe another philosophre, Putte the zoure litylle fynger in zoure eres; and anon thei don so. And at another houre, seythe anothre philosophre, Puttethe zoure honde before zoure mouthe; and anon thei don so. And at another houre, seythe another philosophre, Puttethe zoure honde upon zoure hed. And aftre that, he byddethe hem to done here honde a wey; and thei don so. And so from houre to houre thei cōmaunden certeyn thinges; and thei seyn that tho thinges han dyverse significaciouns. And I asked hem prevyly what tho thinges betokened; and on of the maistres told me that the bowynge of the hed at that houre betokened this, that alle tho that boweden here hedes sholden evere more aftre ben obeyssant and true to the Emperour, and nevere for ziftes ne for promys in no kynde ben fals ne traytour unto him for gode ne evylle. And the puttynge of the lityelle fynger in the ere betokenethe that none of hem ne schalle not here, speke no contrarious thing to the Emperour, but that he schalle telle it anon to his conseille or discovere it to sum men that wille make relacioun to the Emperour, though he were his fadre or brother or sone. And so forthe of alle othere thinges that is don be the philosophres, thei tolde the causes of manye dyverse thinges; and trustethe righte wel in certeyn that no man dothe no thing to the Emperoure that belongethe unto him, nouther clothinge, ne bred, ne wyn, ne bathe, ne non othere thinge that longethe to him, but at certeyn houres that his philosophres wille devysen. And zif there falle werre in ony side to the Emperour, anon the philosophres comen and seyn here avys aftre here calculaciouns, and conseylen the Emperour of here avys be here scyences; so that the Emperour dothe no thing with outen here conseille."

The "Grete Chane" also keeps his "Jogulours and Enchauntoures," and dancing damsels, and keepers of wild beasts, and "knyghtes to jousten in armes fulle lustyly, and thei rennen to gidere fulle fiercely, and thei breken here speres so rudely that the troncheons flew in sprotes and peces alle aboute the halle." He has likewise of

"Mynstralles the nombre of 13 cumancz; and he hathe of certeyn men, as though thei were zomen, that kepen bryddes, as ostryches, gerfacouns, sparehaukes, faukons, gentyls, lanyeres, sacres, sacrettes, papyngayes wel spekynge, and bryddes syngynge; and also of wylde bestes as of olifauntz, babewynes, apes, marmesettes, and othere dy verse bestes; the mountance of 15 cumancz of zomen. And of physicyens cristene he hathe 200, and of leches that ben cristene he hathe 210, and of leches and physicyens that ben Sarrazines 20. This Emperour may dispenden als moche as he wille with outen estymacioun, for he dispendethe not ne makethe no moneye but of lether emprented or of papyre; and of that moneye is som of gretten prys and som of lasse prys, aftre the dyversitee of his statutes; and whan that moneye hathe ronne so longe that it begynnethe to waste, than men beren it to the Emperoure's tresorye, and than thei taken newe moneye for the olde; and that moneye gothe thorghe out alle the contree and alle his provynces; and therefore he may dispende y now and outrageously."

Our "Voiagere" next discourses upon the "Lawe and Customes of the Tartariennes duellynge in Chatay;" and, in this portion of his Boke he communicates many interesting particulars concerning this extraordinary people, and these certainly deserve the attention of students desirous of procuring an acquaintance with the elements of oriental history. The following subjects are treated more rapidly, but

A

they give sketches of men and manners which modern travellers have confirmed. Here, he treats of the Roialme of Tharse and the londes and kyngdomes towardes the septentrionale partes, in comynge down from the land of Cathay: of the Emperour of Persye and of the lond of derknesse, and of othere kyngdomes that belongen to the Grete Chane of Cathay, and other londes of his unto the See of Grece: and of the contrees and yles that ben bezonde the Lond of Cathay, of the Frutes there, and of 22 kynges enclosed within the montaynes. To the admirers of vegetable marvayles, Sir John's remarks on the Frutes of these contrees may afford edification.

"Wherefore I seye zou," he observes, "that, in passynge be the Lond of Cathay toward the highe Ynde and toward Bacharye, men passen be a kyngdome that men clepen Caldilhe, that is a fulle fair contree. And there growethe a maner of fruyt as thoughe it weren gowrdes, and whan thei ben rype men kutten hem a to, and men fynden with inne a lytylle best, in flessche in bön and blode, as thoughe it were a lytylle lomb with outen wolle. And men eten both the frute and the best, and that is a grete marveyle: of that fruyt I have eten, alle thoughe it were wonderfulle, but that I know wel that God is marveylous in his werkes."

Prester John's country and his royal estate are painted in fair colours; and, somewhat in the foreground, stands an account of a riche man that made a marveyllous castelle and cleped it Paradys. In this dread sovereign's dominions is the "Gravely See," and

"A 3 iourneys long fro that see, ben gret montaynes, out of the whiche gothe out a gret flome that comethe out of paradys, and it rennethe thorghe the desert on that o syde, so that it makethe the see gravely. And in that desert ben manye wylde men that been hidouse to loken on, for thei ben

horned, and thei speken nought, but thei gronten as pigges. And there is also gret plentee of wylde houndes; and there ben manye popegayes that they clepen psitakes in hire langage, and thei speken of hire propre nature, and salven men, that gon thorghe the desertes, and speken to hem als appertely as thoughe it were a man. And thei that speken wel han a large tonge and han 5 toos upon a fote: and there ben also of othere manere that han but three toos, and thei speken not, or but lytylle, for thei con not but cryen."

In conferring farther on the "Lordscipe of Prestre John," our kind instructor favours us with a picture of the "Develes Hed in the Valeye Perilouse in mydde place of the whiche, under a roche, is an hede and the visage of a devyl bodyliche, and he beholdethe everysche man so scharply with dreadfulle eyen that ben evere more mevynge and sparklynge as fuyr, with so horrible countenance, that no man dar not neighen him; and fro him comethe out smoke and stink and fuyr, and so moche abhomynacioun that unethe no man may there endure." Journeying from the isles of the Lordschipe, of whiche the moral and natural history are briefly sketched, we arrive at the "Yle of Bragman," and are delighted at finding it gret, gode and plentyfous, where ben gode folk and trewe, and of gode lyvynge aftre hire beleve, and of gode feythe. A neighbouring island is clepen Gnosophe, and its inhabitants are gode folk and fulle of gode feythe; but thei gon alle naked. Their wisdom is exemplified in a dialogue between Alexander the Great and the men of that contree. In the following section, we read of the "hilles of gold that Pissemyres kepen,” and of the four Flōmes that issue from the terrestrial paradise. These golden hills," as men seyn," are in the Yle of Taprobane, and there, in Sir John's diction,

"Ben grete hilles of gold that Pissemyres keepen fulle diligently: and thei frymen the pured gold and casten away the unpured. And theise Pissimyres ben grete as houndes, so that no man may get of that gold but be grete sleighte; and therfore whan it is grete hete the Pissemyres resten hem in the erthe from pryme of the day in to noon, and than the folk of the contree taken camayles, dromedaries and hors, and othere bestes, and gon thidre and chargen hem in alle haste that thei may; and aftre that thei fleen awey in alle haste that the bestes may go, or the Pissemyres comen out of the erthe; and in other tymes whan it is not so hote, and that the Pissemyres ne resten hem not in the erthe, than thei geten gold be this sotyltee; thei taken mares that han zonge coltes or foles and leyn upon the mares voyde vesselles made therfore, and thei ben alle open aboven and hangynge lowe to the erthe, and thanne thei sende forth the mares for to pasturen aboute tho hilles, and with holden the foles with hem at home. And whan the pissemyres sen tho vesselles thei lepen in anon, and thei han this kynde that thei lete no thinge ben empty among hem, but anon thei fillen it, be it what maner of thinge that it be, and so thei fillen tho vesselles with gold. And whan that the folk supposen that the vesselles ben fulle thei putten forthe anon the zonge foles and maken hem to nyzen aftre hire dames, and than anon the mares retornen towardes hire foles with hire charges of gold, and than men dischargen hem and geten gold y now be this sotyltee; for the Pissemyres* wole suffren bestes to gon and pasturen amonges hem, but no man in no wyse."

* It might be a theme for Naturalists to decide whether or no this orien

Among the customs of the kings and their people that dwell in the islands "costynge to Prestre Johnes Londe, the worshippe that the sone do the fader whan he is dede," appears to be the most remarkable. It consists of the most revolting ceremonies; thus,

"Whan the fader is ded of ony man, and the sone list to do gret worshippe to his fader, he sendethe to alle his friendes, and to alle his kyn, and for religious men and preestes, and for mynstralle also, in gret plentee. And thanne men beren the dede bodye unto a grete hille, with grete joye and solempnyte; and whan thei han brought it thider the chief prelate smytethe of the hede and leyethe it upon a grete platere of gold or of sylver, zif so be he be a riche man; and thanne he takethe the hede to the sone, and thanne the sone and his othere kyn syngen and seyn many orisouns; and thanne the preestes and the religious men smyten alle the bodye of the dede man in peeces; and thanne thei seyn certyn orisouns. And the foules of raveyne of alle the contree abouten knowen the custom of longe tyme before, and comen fleenge aboven in the eyr, as egles, gledes, ravenes, and othere foules of raveyne that eten flessche; and thanne the preestes casten the gobettes of the flessche, and thanne the foules eche of hem takethe that he may and gothe a litille thens and etethe it; and so thei don whils ony pece lastethe of the dede bodye; and aftere that the preestes syngen for the dede. And thanne semethe it to the sone that he is highliche worshipt whan that manye briddes and foules and raveyne comen and eten his fader; and he that hathe most nombre of foules, is moste worshiped. Thanne the sone bryngethe

tal legend concerning the "Pissemyres" may not have derived its origin from a fantastic consideration of the Termites and the wonderful sagacity displayed in their labours and their social economy. Consult the Philosophical Transactions: vol. 73, p. 139, 1781.