Canto ix, stanzas 5 and 6.

[49] The above anecdote of the fortitude and perseverance of Mir Hussein after his defeat, is new; and seems conclusive as to this MS. having remained unpublished, and almost unread; since, the _Panorama_ (or Spanish version of the _Univers Pittoresque_) _Historia de Portugal_, por M. Fernando Denis, Conservador de la Biblioteca de Santa Jenoveva: traducida por Una Sociedad Literaria, Barcelona, Imprenta del Fomento, 1845; says at p. 123:--

"This battle, as Simon Goulard relates it, brought the power of the Mussulmans of Egypt to an end, and so convinced of this was Melek-Jaz that he hastened to conclude a peace with the Portuguese. Mir-Hosein, who had manifested such distinguished valour and such profound knowledge in this struggle, fearing the inconstancy of Melek-Jaz, who might have given him up to Almeida, went off hurriedly to the kingdom of Cambay, and later removed himself to Upper Hindustan: but the historians lost his trace here and never again make any mention of the chief of the confederation of the Rumys."

[50] Jizan.

[51] Mocha.

[52] Camaran, Ortelius.

[53] Or Indians.

[54] Alaquequa is an Indian stone which stops the flow of blood; alaquequas are glass beads. Dictionary of V. Salva, Paris, 1856.

[55] The cocoa-nut shell is within a very thick husk, and so maybe called a kernel.

[56] Lac.

[57] Mangala, fortress of Sumatra, in the country of Lampong, on the shore of the Tulang-Buvang, nine leagues and two-thirds from the mouth of that river. _Geographical Dictionary_, Barcelona, 1832.

[58] Dhafar.

[59] Fartach, Ortelius, Fartaque, Atlas of 1753.

[60] Greco y levante, N.E.E., Gregal, Grech, N.E. wind, still used in Catalan.

[61] Mastro y Soroco, Mistral & Sirocco.

[62] Marked with a cross thus in the MS.

[63] Sangre de dragon.

[64] Dolfar, Ortelius.

[65] Shehir, one of the chief seaports of Hadramant. Zehar, Ortelius.

[66] Enciencio, antient for ajenjo, Absinthe; perhaps the Kat or Katta, a very expensive leaf of a shrub.

[67] This refers to the monsoon; if it is unfavourable the ships cannot get up the Red Sea.

[68] This word is illegible, it reads _se enpegen_.

[69] Probably an error of the pen for Ras al Gat.

[70] Cape Mussendom, in Ortelius and the German Atlas of 1753 also Mocandon, here it is evident that the cedilla of the c has been forgotten, and the error has been perpetuated. Ç is often used for s in old manuscripts.

[71] In the German Atlas there is a place called Kellat, and another close by called Calajute; Calata, Ortelius.

[72] Curiate in Ortelius and the German Atlas.

[73] This may be read Sar, or Sari.

[74] Soar Ortelius, Sohar in the German Atlas (map of Persia).

[75] Lebeche or leveche, S.W. wind.

[76] In the German Atlas Corscan, there is also another place there inland a long way off called Orfacan, both these seem to be corruptions of the name in the text Khor Fakan.

[77] Julphar or Giotoffar in the German Atlas.

[78] Roccalima in the Atlas of Abraham Ortelius, Antwerp, 1570: the Ras el Khyma of Captain Felix Jones's Chart.

[79] Probably Amulgowein of Captain F. Jones.

[80] Calba, Ortelius.

[81] Baha, Ortelius.

[82] Iguir in Ortelius, 1570.

[83] Naban, Ortelius, 1570.

[84] Quesibi, Ortelius.

[85] Berou, ibidem.

[86] Moy Macina, Ortelius, 1570.

[87] Lima, Ortelius.

[88] Carmon, Ortelius.

This list of towns is thus introduced without anything to connect it with the narrative; they would apparently be places on the Shat el Arab, between the sea and Basrah, but from the Atlas of Ortelius it is clear that they are intended to follow after Quesebi, from which word to "estuary" should be read in a parenthesis: from the entire absence of punctuation and capital letters in the MS. there is great difficulty in ascertaining always the correct meaning. This passage seems to show that those who made the early maps had had a copy of this MS. under their eyes. "Quesebi: y dende aqui adelante da vuelta la costa a maestro y tramontana hasta la boca del Rio eufrates y comiença en esa vuelta una tabla berohu caljar," et cetera. The word _tabla_ can hardly as here placed mean a list, and one of its meanings, dead water, or water without a current, in speaking of a river, seems here most applicable. Ortelius, however, followed by the German Atlas of 1753, has got _Tabla_ as a town between Quesibi and Berou, in which case the sense of comienza and una would be imperfect. As the word _tabla_ is Spanish, and in Portuguese is _tabula_, it would appear that this Spanish translation and not the Portuguese original has been made use of for the ancient atlases. This view is confirmed by there being no such place as Tabla in Captain F. Jones's Chart. Ramusio's edition has Tabla between Quesibi and Berohu.

[89] Gues, Ortelius, on the Persian shore.

[90] Gues, before named, re-appears as Cuez, Basida, Costaque, Conga, which are placed on the Arabian shore: Gonga also appears on the Persian shore in Ortelius's Atlas, 1570.

[91] Braimu, Ortelius.

[92] Denaze, ibid.

[93] Doan, ibid., on Persian shore.

[94] Laron, ibid.

[95] Andrani, Ortelius.

[96] Quaro, ibid.

[97] Lar, ibid.

[98] Coiar, ibid.

[99] Tome, ibid.

[100] Mulugan, ibid.

[101] Quezimi, ibid.

[102] Baharem, ibid. Besides these islands, Ortelius has got Gicolar and Ficor, which names might have been made out of the above list from this very MS. by reading differently the names which are written in italics.

[103] Here there appears to be a gap in the MS. of three quarters of a line.

[104] Shah Ismail, King of Persia, contemporary of the writer of this MS. and founder of the Shiah rite as at present existing.

[105] Son-in-law. This account is like that of Ramusio and differs somewhat from the Portuguese.

[106] The origin of the Kizilbashes.

[107] Chalderan, 3rd Rejeb 920, or August 1514. Vicente Rocca, in his history of the Turks, printed at Valencia 1556, says that the corpses of many Persian women who had accompanied their husbands in disguise, were found after the battle, and that Sultan Selim ordered them to receive an honourable burial.

[108] This embassy came to Albuquerque when he was at Ormuz the last time, the envoy sent by Albuquerque was Fernan Gomez. San Roman Hist. de la India, pp. 239, and 246-249. Valladolid, 1603.

[109] Frat, with a Persian termination.

[110] With respect to this geography of the four rivers of Paradise, see M. Renan's remarks on the Persian traditions, in his Hist. des Langues Semitiques, pp. 481-483. Paris, 1863.

[111] Zircon or jargon, a stone of which false diamonds are made.

[112] Reubarbaro.

[113] Sarahueles, Serwal or Shalwar.

[114] Almaizar.

[115] Atauxsia, Moorish workmanship of inlaying metals.

[116] This description of Persian customs is very exact.

[117] The Jewish traveller Pedro Teixeira (or Teireira, according to Rodriquez de Castro, Biblica, Rabinica Esp.) at the end of the sixteenth or beginning of the seventeenth century, wrote a history of Persia, translated from Mirkhond, and a "Journey from the East Indies to Italy Overland," Antwerp, Jerome Verdassen. Teixeira wrote the first part of this work in Portuguese, and afterwards translated it into Spanish, adding the second part. Both were translated into French by C. Cotolendi in 1681, and printed at Paris under the title of "Voyages de Teixeira, ou l'Histoire des Rois de Perse." He died at Verona. Teixeira says:

"It was a custom much in use, both formerly and in later times among the kings of Persia and Harmuz, in order to assure themselves of those whom they might have reason to fear, and who commonly were their relations. And even this day may be seen at Harmuz, on a hill near the hermitage of Santa Lucia, at a little more than a mile from the city, the ruins of some towers, in which the kings placed their relations who had been blinded for this reason. The method which they used for depriving them of sight was this: they took a brass basin, and heating it in the fire as much as possible, passed it two or three or more times before the eyes of the person they intended to blind; and without other lesion of the eyes they lost their sight, the optic nerves being injured by the fire, but the eyes remaining as limpid and clear as before." Amador de Los Rios, Estudios sobre los Judios de España, p. 557. Madrid, 1848.

Ramusio has translated to blind "cavar gli occhi," which in this case would not apply.

[118] This observation is owing to the Moorish coins of the Almohade dynasty having been square, which gave rise to the Spanish saying of spendthrifts: "My money rolls, as it is not Moorish."

[119] The standard of modern Spanish silver coin is eleven dinars, or dineros.

[120] The Portuguese force is said to have consisted of fifteen hundred Portuguese and six hundred Indian soldiers; this took place in 1514. Panorama or Univers Pittoresque. According to San Roman Hist. de la India Oriental in the beginning of 1515, Albuquerque's force consisted of 26 sail, 1500 Portuguese, and 600 Malabars.

[121] This governor's name was Rais Hamid; one account says so many daggers were drawn against him that the Portuguese wounded one another's hands: the other governor mentioned later was named Rais Nordim, i.e., Nureddin.

[122] In Ortelius's Map of Asia Dulcinda is some way up a river; in the German Atlas of 1753 no trace of it appears.

[123] Ulcinde, Camoens, canto x, stanza 106.

[124] Or hither.

[125] Cogecillos.

[126] Or gallery.

[127] A la bastarda.

[128] The Chaugan, Persian game of hockey on horseback.

[129] Urdu perhaps is meant by the writer.

[130] Campanero in Ramusio, Champanel in Portuguese edition.

[131] Gandos, people of Hindustan, established in the mountainous parts of the province of Ganduana: they live by the chase and the produce of their flocks, and, contrary to the custom of other Indians, eat fowls and bury their dead. The women are obese, and stronger than the men; they wear a dress all of one piece, paint all their body, and become bald in the prime of life. Ganduana, between 17 deg. and 24 deg. N. lat. and 81 deg. and 88 deg. E. long. Diccionario Encic., Madrid, Gaspar y Roig, 1855.

[132] Jagri.

[133] Arrak.

[134] This name might also be read Dvuxa or Dimxa.

[135] Shehir.

[136] This word alcatifa might also mean velvets, at least that is its meaning in Arabic and Wallachian; in modern Spanish it means a fine carpet.

[137] Coast guards, watch boats.

[138] Kind of artillery.

[139] This passage seems to fix the date of this work as previous to 1515, since in that year the Portuguese made themselves masters of Diu, in which they built a fortress in 1536. (Diccion. Geog. Universal, Barcelona, 1831.)

[140] Of Egypt.

[141] This author seems to have confused the account of two naval battles, reducing them to one; the above account, as far as the description of the meeting of the hostile fleets, refers to the battle in 1507, in which the Portuguese, commanded by Lorenzo son of Francisco de Almeyda, were routed and Lorenzo slain. Melik Az saved twenty prisoners alive from Lorenzo's ship, which would not strike, treated them well, and wrote to condole with the father, Francisco de Almeyda, for the death of his son. Almeyda prepared a fleet of nineteen sail to avenge his son's death, when Albuquerque arrived to supersede him; he had been sent from Europe in 1506. In spite of this Almeyda sailed for Diu, where Emir Hussein, instead of waiting for him, put out to sea against the advice of Melik Az and was defeated. Vasco Pereyra, captain of the ship that carried Admiral Hussein's ship by boarding, was killed, and his lieutenant, Tavora, took Emir Hussein's ship, killing or capturing all those who did not save themselves by swimming ashore. The captured ships were richly laden, and Almeyda distributed all the spoil amongst his crews. (This action was fought on the 3rd February, 1509.) Melik Az sued for peace after this defeat. His proposals were received with arrogance and a demand for the surrender of Emir Hussein: this Melik Az refused, but gave up all his Portuguese prisoners. Almeyda accepted this, but cut the heads off all his Moorish prisoners in cool blood at Cananor. Panorama, India, pp. 358-360, Barcelona, 1845; Translation of the Univers Pittoresque. The same work in the volume on Portugal, speaking of the first battle of Diu, merely says, "Mir Hosein routed the Portuguese, and Don Lorenzo lost his life," p. 121.

Camoens thus describes the second battle of Diu, in his 10th canto, stanzas 35, 36.

E logo, entrando fero na enseada De Dio, illustre em cercos e batalhas, Fará espalhar a fraca e grande armada De Calecut, que remos tem por malhas: A de Melique Yaz acautelada, Co 'os pelouros que tu, Vulcano, espalhas, Fará ir ver o frio e fundo assento, Secreto leito do humido elemento.

Mas a de Mir-Hocem, que, abalroando, A furia esperará dos vingadores, Verá bracos, e pernas ir nadando, Sem corpos, pelo mar, de seus senhores: Raios de fogo irão representando No cego ardor os bravos domadores: Quanto alli sentirão olhos, e ouvidos, He fumo, ferro, flammas e alaridos.

The last speech of Don Lorenzo d'Almeida is given in the following words in a MS. belonging to the Duke of Gor, at Granada, which describes the voyages to India from 1497 to 1509; it differs a little from that given in the second decade:

"Dom Lourenzo lhe disse Snõres companheiros e irmaos, minha vida he acabada que este mundo me tinha emprestada e minha alma ira dar conta ao Snõr Deos que a fez. En vos mando, e muito rogo que tomandonos Meliquiaz sobre si como diz aventureis as vidas em sua palavra, porque de o nõ fazerdes tao certas aqui tendes as mortes se Ds' nõ acodir cõ sua m[=i]a (misericordia) que lhe pezo que aja cõ minha alma, que em suas sanctas mãos encomendo: e deu a alma," f. 406 v.

Don Lorenzo said to them:

"Gentlemen, companions and brothers, my life which this world had lent me is ended, and my soul will go to give an account to the Lord God who made it. I charge you, and beg much of you, that as Melikiaz will take us on his own responsibility, as he says, that you adventure your lives upon his word, because if you do not do so, you have before you certain death, unless God succour you with his mercy: which I pray him to have with my soul, which I commend into his holy keeping."

And he gave up his spirit.

[142] Sambuks, Arab undecked boats.

[143] This may have been intended for ivory of elephants, it would seem difficult to get an elephant into a sambuk.

[144] _Pozos_, wells, hollows.

[145] Guadamecil, _aluta celata_.

[146] This word is very clearly _enyertan_, which is an old word meaning to freeze, to congeal, to make _yerto_--hard: so that this stone would be like the Chinese soap stone, which is soft and easily carved when first extracted. _Ensartan_ would apply, meaning to string beads, but the writing does not admit of it.

[147] Ravel in Ortelius's map of India, 1570.

[148] Axuar, the household furniture which a wife has to bring to her husband on her marriage.

[149] The writer had forgotten that _aduana_ (custom-house) and _divan_ are the same word.

[150] Or Denby.

[151] Mezzo giorno, the Italian, instead of medio dia, a slip of the writer, the Genoese envoy.

[152] Chaul, Ortelius, 1570.

[153] Beatilla, bétille in French.

[154] Dabul, Ortelius, 1570.

[155] This was done by Don Francisco de Almeyda on his way to Diu in the beginning of 1509.

[156] Llanten, _plantago_. The leaf is chewed, not eaten, and assists the digestion.

[157] Munacem in Ramusio, and Muruary in the Portuguese edition.

[158] _Rumys._ Turks are so called east of Turkey. These Turks may have served in the Egyptian fleet, but did not belong to the Ottoman forces, as Egypt was not united to the Ottoman Empire till later in 1517.

Traz este vem Noronha, cujo auspicio De Dio os Rumes feros affugenta, Dio, que o peito e bellico exercicio De Antonio da Sylveira bem sustenta. Camoens, canto x, stanza 72.

[159] February 25th, 1510, or on the 17th February according to San Roman; Albuquerque was driven out of Goa, and reconquered it on the 25th November 1510.

[160] San Roman says that the revenue of Sabayo was five hundred thousand ducats; and that Goa produced much more in the hands of the King of Portugal (p. 183).

[161] Aliga R., German Atlas, 1753.

[162] Cintacola, Ortelius, 1570.

[163] Bisinagar, Ortelius.

[164] Cholmandel, Ortelius.

[165] In the Italian and Portuguese editions Mergeo.

[166] Onor, Ortelius.

[167] Batticalla, Ortelius.

[168] Quarter of a hundredweight.

[169] Gomio, this word is intended, perhaps, for gumia, a kind of dagger, a Marocco word not Arabic; these words are neither of them to be found in the old dictionaries. The dagger is not mentioned in the Italian or Portuguese editions.

[170] Pardao, an Indian coin worth 300 reis coined at Goa by the Portuguese, with the figure of King Sebastian. Dict. of P. Raphael Bluteau, Lisbon, 1720.

[171] Bahar, an Indian weight varying from 4-1/2 quintals to 5 quintals 3-1/2 arrobas.

[172] Or Jauibasal, these names are variously spelled in the Italian and Portuguese editions.

[173] Bacanor and Barsalor, German Atlas.

[174] Fanega--4 bushels or 84 lbs. French.

[175] Mangalor, Ortelius.

[176] Cape Comori, Ortelius.

[177] The Nil Gau or Blue Cow.

[178] Ramusio coincides with this MS. in writing giagonzas on a former occasion, and on this gegonzas.

[179] The abbreviation is [=m] [=mrs]; this might stand for ccc or three hundred, the value given by Ramusio.

[180] Filosañias, may be intended for physiognomy. It is so translated by Ramusio.

[181] The Arab travellers of the ninth century mention this.

[182] Tambarme in Ramusio.

[183] This is the probable origin of the story in Sinbad the Sailor. The Arabian Nights are not entirely fiction, as is usually supposed: the story of Seif el Muluk refers to facts in the Malay Annals, and describes the people, country, and winds about Sumatra.

[184] "Y sobre el dicho palo esta una piedra de altura de un cobdo y en el medio un agujero en el qual meten un palo agudo y arman las gradas paramentadas con paños de seda para que la gente de fuera no vea el secreto de dentro y la madre de la moza con algunas otras mugeres entran en aquel lugar despues de hechas muchas cerimonias y alli sobre aquel palo agudo rompen la moza su virginidad y deraman la sangre sobre aquella piedra."

[185] Apparently Orissa.

[186] Compare Plato's views on this subject:--

"But if a soldier highly distinguishes himself and gains himself credit, ought he not, think you, in the first place, while the army is still in the field, to be crowned with a garland by each of the youths and children in turn among his comrades in arms?" "Yes, I think so." "But I suppose you will hardly extend your approbation to my next proposition?" "What is that?" "That he should kiss and be kissed by them all." "Most certainly I do; and I would add to the law, that during the continuance of the campaign, no one whom he has a mind to kiss be permitted to refuse him the satisfaction; in order that, if any soldier happens to entertain an admiration for either a male or female comrade, he may be the more stimulated to carry off the meed of valour." "Good, I replied; and we have already said that a brave man will be allowed to enter into marriage relations more frequently than others will, and to exercise more than the usual liberty of choice in such matters, so that as many children as possible may be obtained from a father of this character."--Republic of Plato, book v, § 468, p. 201. Translation by Davies and Vaughan, Cambridge, 1858.

[187] Orissa: in this MS. it is clearly a _t_, but _t_ and _r_ are easily confounded in the handwriting of this period.

[188] Bragueros de laton.

[189] Eyicianos.

[190] Lo al, old expression for Lo demas.

[191] The Chulias or people of Southern India do this always.

[192] Or--these on being opened.

[193] Baxana in Ramusio, and Braechagua in the Lisbon edition.

[194] Nirabixi in Ramusio and Miralexy in Lisbon edition.

[195] People in the East carry stones of this description, which are said to draw out the venom from the bite of a serpent.

[196] Camoens addresses the King of Malabar as: "O nobre successor de Perimal" Canto viii, stanza 82.

[197] This agrees with the account of the Arab travellers of the ninth century. Paris, Langles.

[198] Cananor.

[199] Called Zamorin in other works, and Samorim by Camoens.

[200] Ramusio calls them Cunelanadyri, Benatederi, and Coletri; the Lisbon edition, Maly Couadary, Benatady, Cobertorim.

[201] Mostasos: old word, before introduction of bigotes from the German soldiers, and still used in Majorca.

[202] Repostero: a cloth marked with the arms of a grandee for putting over a beast of burden, or hanging in a doorway,--a portière.

[203] No valen mas de que ser hijos de sus madres.

[204] Sister of the king, apparently, from what follows.

[205] Ramusio, Caimaes; Lisbon edition, Cahimal.

[206] Atabal.

[207] Cymbals.

[208] Sistra.

[209] Of a cross-bow shot.

[210] Sygnadas.

[211] Valedor.

[212] Buxen, not in the dictionaries: buxeta, a small casket for perfumes to put in the pocket, so called because made of bux or box; Anglicè, box.

[213] If the writer had been a Spaniard, especially from Catalonia, he would have added here, "in our fashion." This way of drinking extends into Roussillon, and this custom was not introduced by the Arabs.

[214] Hidalgo por el Rey: an expression meaning a modern noble, not one whose origin is anterior to the Spanish monarchy: here it may imply official position only. Ramusio, Talassen; Lisbon edition, Talixe.

[215] Albalá, from Alberat, Letters Patent, Brevet, Warrant, Letter for drawing Pay. This word is in little use in Castile, but is common in Valencia and Aragon. Spanish, Latin, and Arabic Dict., Fr. Francisco Cañes. Madrid, 1787.

[216] This part is wanting in Ramusio, who says a little lower down, "Here several lines are wanting."

[217] Or it may be read Ciessua; Ramusio, Cressuamengan; Lisbon edition, Cryuamergam.

[218] That is, the first mass said by a new priest.

[219] Como mayorazgo.

[220] See Cardinal Wiseman's Lectures with regard to this subject, also the work of another Catholic author, where this Hindu doctrine is termed an _adumbration_. The Abbé Huc is opposed to the above-mentioned divines, and calls this a _counterfeit of Satan_. Unless his theory, or another alternative, be adopted, it must be assumed, since the Brahminical books were contemporary with David, perhaps with Moses, that the Hindus were more favoured than the Chosen People of Israel: which is impossible.

"Il faut ajouter que la science brâhmanique n'a pas été étrangère au développement du génie grec, l'une des sources de notre civilisation, ni à la formation du christianisme, religion de tout l'Occident." M. Emile Burnouf, La Civilisation Chrétienne en Orient, Revue des deux Mondes, 1er Juin, 1865, pp. 632, 633; see also pp. 638, 639.

[221] This may be estimated from the value of rice, 150 to 200 maravedis the 4 bushels or 90 lbs. See above.

[222] The explanation of this ceremony is to be found in Plato:--

"We said, you remember, that the children ought to be the issue of parents who are still in their prime." "True." "And do you agree with me that the prime of life may be reasonably reckoned at a period of twenty years for a woman, and thirty for a man?" "Where do you place these years?" "I should make it the rule for a woman to bear children to the state from her twentieth to her fortieth year: and for a man, after getting over the sharpest burst in the race of life, thenceforward to beget children to the state until he is fifty-five years old." "Doubtless," he said, "in both sexes, this is the period of their prime both of body and mind." "If, then, a man who is either above or under this age shall meddle with the business of begetting children for the commonwealth, we shall declare his act to be an offence against religion and justice; inasmuch as he is raising up a child for the state, who, should detection be avoided, instead of having been begotten under the sanction of those sacrifices and prayers, which are to be offered up at every marriage ceremonial by priests and priestesses, and by the whole city, to the effect that the children to be born may ever be more virtuous and more useful than their virtuous and useful parents, will have been conceived under cover of darkness by aid of dire incontinence." "You are right." "The same law will hold should a man, who is still of an age to be a father, meddle with a woman, who is also of the proper age, _without the introduction of a magistrate; for we shall accuse him of raising up to the state an illegitimate, unsponsored, and unhallowed child_." "You are perfectly right." "But as soon as the women and the men are past the prescribed age, we shall allow the latter I imagine to associate freely with whomsoever they please, so that it be not a daughter, or mother, or daughter's child, or grandmother; and in like manner we shall permit the women to associate with any man, except a son or a father." Republic, book v, sect. 461. Davis and Vaughan's Translation, p. 190.

"Explicemus jam tandem, quam nam florentem ætatem in utroque sexu existimemus, mulierem porro florenti esse ætate arbitramur, si a vigesimo ætatis suæ anno usque ad quadragesimum generationi incumbat, virum autem a trigesimo usque ad quinquagesimum quintum operam suam in gignendo civitati præbere præcipimus, in hoc enim annorum cursu et robur corporis, et prudentiæ vim sexus utriusque consistere certum est. Si quis igitur vel senior vel junior his generationes eas, quæ ad publicum civitatis commodum ordinatæ sunt, attigerit profanum et illegitimum hoc esse censebimus, quasi civitati foetum largiatur, qui si latuerit non sacrificiorum vel præcationum fiat inauguratione, quas tamen in singulis nuptiis cum universâ civitate peragent sacerdotes, ut ex bonis meliores et ex utilibus utiliores semper enascantur vota concipientes; sed id fiat sub tenebris ex vehementis cujusdam incontinentiæ libidine, eadem autem lex etiam erit servanda, si quis eorum qui et in ætate sunt apta ad matrimonium contrahendum, non assentiente tamen magistratu ad mulieres ætate nubiles accesserit, hunc enim statuemus edere civitati spurium profanum, et illegitimum partum; ubi vero et mulieres, et viri statutum generationi tempus pertransierint, _immunes a lege faciemus ut possint cum quacumque libuerit commisceri_; præter quam cum filia et matre et filiis filiarum ac matris ascendentibus; _et parem concedemus quoque libertatem mulieribus, ut possint cum quovis conjungi_, præter quam cum filio, vel patre, et ascendentibus, vel descendentibus ex his, quæ omnia, ubi mandaverimus curabimus, ne partus ullus omnino ex hujusmodi coitibus ortus in lucem proferatur, quod si proferetur sic expositus sit perinde ac quasi nulla ei adsint alimenta." Plato's Republic, book v. Translation of John Sozomenus, Venice, 1626.

[223] Plato perhaps got this idea as well as others from India:

"Consider, then, I continued, whether the following plan is the right one for their lives and their dwellings, if they are to be of the character I have described. In the first place no one should _possess any private property_, if it can possibly be avoided: secondly, _no one should have a dwelling or storehouse into which all who please may not enter_; whatever necessaries are required by temperate and courageous men who are trained to war, they should receive by regular appointment from their fellow-citizens, as wages for their services, and the amount should be such as to leave neither a surplus on the year's consumption nor a deficit...; but whenever they come to possess lands and houses and money of their own, they will be householders and cultivators instead of guardians, and will become hostile masters of their fellow-citizens rather than their allies." Republic, book iii, sect. 417. Davis and Vaughan's Translation, pp. 129, 130.

"Itaque Adiutores communes habere filios et uxores summopere expedit, quæ et consentiunt omnino iis quæ superius a nobis dicta sunt, diximus enim _hos neque domos proprias habere debere; neque terram possidere, vel aliud quidpiam in bonis adnumerare_: sed a cæteris enutritos hanc quasi custodiæ mercedem accipere, quam et in communi positam consumant, si re vera custodes futuri sunt; ut et quæ prius a nobis dicta sunt, et quæ nunc etiam dicuntur efficiant ipsos veros custodes, et ne Rempublicam in partes dividant; sed ut uno potius animo de propriis judicantes, et ad id tendantes omnes, uno eodemque et doloris et voluptatis sensu afficiantur." Platonis de Rebuspublicis, liber quintus. A Joanne Sozomeno, Venetiis, 1626.

"Etenim Plato cum multas Regiones lustrasset, et mores hominum varios inspexisset, ac sui temporis Respublicas contemplatus abundé fuisset, nec non antiquorum philosophorum ac legumlatorum monumenta studiosissime perquisivisset, senior tandem factus, politias quidem omnes nihil aliud esse intelligens, nisi concordem quandam in societate civili Regulam, ac ordinem quo eædem continerentur." Joannes Sozomenus Lectoribus.

[224] Or it might be Pasicars.

[225] Ramusio, _Sanguada_. Not in Lisbon edition.

[226] Enbarbatadas.

[227] That is 20 maravedis a day, about three times the peace allowance. See p. 124. Ramusio says 40 cas a day, which are 40 maravedis; the Lisbon edition has 4 taras a day.

[228] Though the nairs were deprived of their fathers, it appears that they retained their own family relations: the "divine Plato!" however, goes beyond his Hindu teachers, and would have reduced men altogether to the condition of brutes. He says:

"But how are they to distinguish fathers and daughters, and the relations you described just now?" "Not at all, I replied; only all the children that are born between the seventh and tenth month from the day on which one of their number was married, are to be called by him, if male, his sons, if female, his daughters; and they shall call him father, and their children he shall call his grandchildren; these again shall call him and his fellow-bridegrooms and brides, grandfathers and grandmothers; likewise all shall regard as brothers and sisters those that were born in the period during which their own fathers and mothers were bringing them into the world; and as we said just now, all these shall refrain from touching one another. But the law will allow intercourse between brothers and sisters, if the lot chances to fall that way, and if the Delphian priestess also gives it her sanction." Republic, book v, §461. Davies and Vaughan's Translation, p. 190.

"At dices quomodo patres, et filiæ, ac cæteræ hujusmodi personæ, inter quas interdicta est conjunctio, cognoscent se invicem; siquidem, ut dictum superius est _post editos partus permiscendi sunt in ovili foetus omnes, ut neque mater, quæ genuit, vel proprium filium a ceteris dignoscat_? Verum tamen non est difficile hanc solvere difficultatem, etenim quicumque nascentur partus, a quo primum die quis sponsus factus fuerit post decimum mensem vel post septimum, hos omnes filios suos nominabit, et foeminas pari modo filias, et illi vice versa ipsum patrem appellabunt, eosque qui ex his nascentur filios filiorum vocabit; illi è contra hos et avos, et avias, eos verò omnes, qui eodem tempore nati fuerint, quo matres ipsorum generabant, sorores, ac fratres nuncupabunt; quæ servata regula quod modò dicebamus a mutuo hi concubitu abstinebunt; fratres autem ac sorores, si sors ita tulerit, et annuerit Pithiæ oraculum, lex cohabitare permittet: talis erit itaque nobis constituenda, inter custodes nostros communitas mulierum et filiorum." De Rebuspubl., liber quintus.

[229] This legalised disorder appears to be exaggerated, but it is the natural consequence and result of the carrying out of Plato's theories with regard to the destruction of family among the nairs or military caste. It is singular that the author of such extravagant abominations should have found acceptance because he wrote in the Hellenic language.

"Such are the main features of Plato's Republic, in reference to his Guardians. They afford a memorable example of that philosophical analysis, applied to the circumstances of man and society, which the Greek mind was the first to conceive and follow. Plato lays down his ends with great distinctness as well as the means whereby he proposes to attain them. Granting his ends, the means proposed are almost always suitable and appropriate, whether practicable or otherwise." Grote's Plato, vol. iii, p. 207.

[230] "If one of the soldiers deserts his rank or throw away his arms, or is guilty of any such act of cowardice, must we not degrade him to the rank of an artisan, or an agricultural labourer?" "Decidedly." Republic, book v, sect. 468. Davis and Vaughan's Translation, p. 200.

"Existimo autem imprimis ego eum, qui ordinem deseruevit, vel arma abjecerit, vel tale quid ex ignavia commiserit, in Opificum aut Agricolarum ordinem amandandum esse." Platonis de Rebuspubl., liber quintus.

[231] Ramusio, Manantamar; Lisbon edition, Mainatos.

[232] Plato explains the object of this regulation:

"Itaque sacra deinceps connubia quam maxime fieri poterit efficiemus: erunt autem sacra constituenda, quæ utilissima fuerint, utilissima verò erunt, si lege marium cum feminis conjunctiones præscribantur, et tale quid in his conjunctionibus observetur, quale in propagatione ceterorum animalium ab iis observatum videmus, quibus id est propositum, ut quam generosi partus edantur, etenim licet sæpe sæpius animadvertere eos qui vel canes venatorios alunt, vel generosas aves enutriunt, et si generosas omnes existiment, eximias tamen ac præstantissimas quasdam e reliquarum numero eligere, ex quibus præcipue progenies suscipiatur." De Rebuspubl., liber quintus.

* * * * *

"Oportet enim ut ex hactenus dictis constitit optimos viros cum optimis mulieribus sæpissime congredi, deteriores verò cum deterioribus per raro, et illorum quidem editos partus nutrire, horum verò nequaquam: si modo præstantissimum sit futurum ovile." De Rebuspubl., liber quintus.

"It follows from what has been already granted, that the best of both sexes ought to be brought together as often as possible, and the worst as seldom as possible, and that the issue of the former unions ought to be reared, and that of the latter abandoned, if the flock is to attain to first-rate excellence." Republic, bk. v, sect. 459. Davis and Vaughan's Translation, p. 187.

[233] As no explanation of Zevil is given, it is possible that it is a slip of the pen for _e vil_ and vile. Ramusio, Tiberi; Lisbon edition calls them Tuias; in the Portuguese this caste is called tiar and _civel_ or rustic by antiphrasis, which has been mistaken by the translators for an Indian word.

[234] Repeated thus in the manuscript.

[235] Or hats.

[236] Apretada or hard pressed.

[237] Ramusio, Paneru; Lisbon edition, Panceni.

[238] Ramusio, Revoler; Lisbon ed., Revoleens.

[239] Ramusio, Puler; Lisbon, Poleas.

[240] Ramusio, Pareas; Lisbon, Parcens.

[241] Dañados de todo, this might be intended for dañosos, hurtful in every way; the word occurs before and is translated contaminated, but hurtful or noxious would make a better reading.

[242] Ramusio, Cheliis; Lisbon, Chatis.

[243] About two hundred tons.

[244] Cubiertas.

[245] Caña fistola.

[246] Ramusio, Crecati; Munich MS. 571, Crecate.

[247] Ramusio, Capogato; Lisbon ed., Quategatam.

[248] Or ezerubs.

[249] Root of ginger and other plants used in medicine.

[250] Culebras de sombrero, a shade, canopy, hood, hat.

[251] Ramusio, Pananie; Lisbon edit., Pananee; Munich MS. 570, Panane, 571, Pananx.

[252] Ramusio, Catua; Lisbon, Chatua; Munich, 570 and 571, Chatua.

[253] Caranganor, Ortelius: Cranganor, Homannus: it was taken by the Portuguese in 1505.

[254] Beledy: Arabic word no longer in use.

[255] Cuartillo, fourth part of an azumbre, equal to 2 litres and 016.618.

[256] Notwithstanding the extreme value and utility of these trees, as here described, some thousands of them were lately cut down to make way for sugar canes, and in spite of the remonstrances of the inhabitants, by a European who had got the loan of some land for a term of years, in one of the Comoro Islands. The loss to the islands was still greater from the fact that they depend chiefly on their own resources, being out of the regular track of trading vessels.

[257] Here Ramusio adds: "which the Christians of the country affirmed to me was described in their books, which they preserve with great veneration."

Camoens puts this event, as well as the tomb of St. Thomas at Mailapur. Canto x, stanza

108. Olha que de Narsinga o senhorio Tem as reliquias santas, e bemditas Do corpo de Thomé, varão sagrado Que a Jesu Christo teve a mão no lado.

109. Aqui a cidade foy, que se chamava Meliapor, formosa, grande e rica: Os idolos antiguos adorava, Como inda agora faz a gente inica: Longe do mar naquelle tempo estava Quando a Fé, que no mundo se publica, Thomé vinha pregando, e ja passara Provincias mil do mundo, que ensinara.

110. Chegado aqui pregando, e junto dando A doentes saude, a mortos vida, A caso traz hum dia o mar vagando Hum lenho de grandeza desmedida: Deseja o Rei, que andava edificando, Fazer delle madeira, e não duvida Poder tira-lo a terra com possantes Forças d'homens, de engenhos, de elefantes.

111. Era tão grande o pezo do madeiro, Que, só para abalar-se, nada abasta; Mas o nuncio de Cristo verdadeiro Menos trabalho em tal negocio gasta: Ata o cordão, que traz por derradeiro No tronco, e facilmente o leva, e arrasta Para onde faça hum sumptuoso templo, Que ficasse aos futuros por exemplo.

112. Sabia bem que se com fé formada Mandar a hum monte surdo, que se mova, Que obedecerá logo á voz sagrada; Que assi lho ensinou Christo, e elle o prova: A gente ficou disto alvoroçada, Os Brãhmenes o tem por cousa nova Vendo os milagres, vendo a sanctidade, Hão medo de perder autoridade.

113. São estes sacerdotes dos gentios, Em quem mais penetrado tinha inveja, Buscam maneiras mil, buscam desvios, Com que Thomé, não se ouça, ou morto seja. O principal, que ao peito traz os fios, Hum caso horrendo faz, que o mundo veja, Que inimiga não ha tão dura, e fera, Como a virtude falsa da sincera.

114. Hum filho proprio mata, logo accusa De homicidio Thomé, que era innocente: Dà falsas testemunhas, como se usa, Condemnaram-no á morte brevemente: O Sancto, que não vê melhor escusa, Que appellar para o Padre Omnipotente, Quer diante do Rei, e dos senhores, Que se faça hum milagre dos maiores.

115. O corpo morto manda ser trazido, Que resuscite, e seja perguntado Quem foi seu matador, e será crido For testemunho o seu mais approvado: Viram todos o moço vivo erguido Em nome de Jesu crucificado: Da graças a Thomé, que lho deo vida, E descobre seu pai ser homicida.

116. Este milagre fez tamanho espanto, Que o Rei se banha logo na agua santa, E muitos após elle: hum beija o manto, Outro louvor do Deos de Thomé canta. Os Brahmenes se encheran de odio tanto, Com seu veneno os morde inveja tanta, Que, persuadindo a isso o povo rudo, Determinam mata-lo em fin de tudo.

117. Hum dia, que pregando ao povo estava, Fingiram entre a gente hum arruido: Ja Christo neste tempo lhe ordenava Que, padecendo, fosse ao ceo subido, A multidão das pedras, que voava, No Sancto dá já a tudo offerecido: Hum dos maos, por fartarse mais depressa, Com crua lança o peito lhe atravessa.

118. Choraram-te, Thomé, o Gange e o Indo; Chorou-te toda a terra, que pizaste; Mais te choram as almas, que vestindo Se hiam da sancta Fé que lhe ensinaste.

[258] Mar Thomas is Syriac for St. Thomas; this word must have been introduced by the Nestorians or Armenians, as they are called here, though St. Thomas may have carried the word there himself in speaking of others, as of Mar Elias.

[259] Ancient coin equal to two reals vellon or sixpence.

[260] Mailapur, a league and two-thirds south of Madras, seat of a catholic bishop and two churches, was taken by the Portuguese in 1545 and by the French in 1672.

[261] These were Nestorians, who call themselves in Mesopotamia Esky Chaldany, old Chaldæans. In 1599 Archbishop Alexander Menezes held a conference at Culam, for the purpose of uniting the Roman Catholics and Nestorians.

[262] Blessed bread, is bread in little pieces distributed in churches on great feast days.

[263] It is hardly necessary to state that this is absolutely opposed to catholic practice.

[264] Selling the sacraments, canonically a great offence: it was condemned by the 48th Canon of the Council of Elvira, A.D. 305.

[265] This passage is translated in the Lisbon edition from Ramusio; the next paragraph is not to be found in either of them.

[266] It is vexatious that the date should be wanting; it is probable, however, that this was an Italian and an overland traveller, for if not he could not have been buried more than fifteen years, and a fresh tomb would have hardly called for notice from the writer.

[267] This passage is not in the Italian or Portuguese edition of Barbosa. It is in the MS. No. 571 of the Munich Library, and the date is also wanting; in the Munich MS. No. 570 this paragraph is entirely wanting, as in Ramusio.

[268] This group is called Maldivar in Ortelius, and is there stated to contain seven or eight thousand isles. One of the islands is called Y^a de Ilheos, or island of small islands, the second word being Portuguese and apparently not understood by the compiler of the atlas.

[269] Muxama or mojama, preserved tunny fish.

[270] "Vês corre a costa celebre Indiana Para o Sul até o cabo Comori, Já chamado Cori, que Taprobana (Que ora he Ceilão) defronte tem de si." Os Lusiadas, canto x, stanza 107.

[271] There is something wrong here; for, from Cape Comorin to Maylepur is more than double fifty leagues; the direction of the compass and length of the channel, make it probable that the island of Manar was intended instead of Maylepur.

[272] Jargon or Zircon is a stone having a superficial resemblance to a diamond. Milburn's Oriental Commerce, p. 361. Possibly this stone may be connected with the jarkna stein mentioned in the Edda, and supposed by Grimm to be the opal. In Ramusio the spelling is the same as in this MS. The whole of this passage is much shortened in the Lisbon edition.

[273] "Olha em Ceylão, que o monte se alevanta Tanto, que as nuvens passa, ou a vista engana Os naturaes tem por cousa sancta, Por a pedra em que està á pegada humana." Lusiadas, canto x, 136.

[274] The ascent is still performed in the same manner, and is difficult in windy weather.

[275] Chilao in Ortelius's Map of Asia, the Portuguese way of writing Chilam.

[276] Comp. Malay sampan.

[277] Cael in Ortelius and Homannus, the cedilla has been omitted in another part of this work.

[278] Maestros: this may also mean dealers.

[279] Cholmandel, Ortelius.

[280] This story is evidently of Hindu origin, since the peacock is respected by the Hindus. It also in some measure confirms the antiquity of the establishment of Christianity in India, which from this story must have been established before the arrival in India of any of the Nestorian priests: since they came from a country where the peacock is associated with the devil, especially amongst the devil-worshiping Yezidys, who have got a peacock for an idol, which was seen and described by Mr. Layard. Many of their superstitions come down from the Manichees of the second century. Besides this, I have seen an Arabic description of animals written in Syria, in which the peacock is described as the first creature expelled out of Paradise, on account of its pride. This idea and the Yezidy love for it, probably have a common origin.

[281] Romeria: this word here translated pilgrimage, means a visit to a shrine or holy place, and is inferior to peregrinage: it implies a shorter distance, and is equivalent to ziaret.

[282] Paleacate, Ortelius.

[283] Guenga, Ortelius; it should be Gunga.

"Ganges, no qual os seus habitadores Morrem banhados, tendo por certeza, Que inda que sejão grandes peccadores, Esta agua sancta os lava, e da pureza."--Lusiad. x, 121.

[284] In Ortelius there is a place called Aralem, east of Bengala.

[285] Bengala, Ortelius, and on the same spot in Homannus Chatigan; in our maps Chittagong, which name was changed by the Moghuls in 1666 to Islam Abad.

"Vê Cathigão cidade das melhores De Bengala provincia; que se preza De abundante; mas olha, que está posta Para o Austro de aqui virada a costa."--Lusiad. x, stan. 121.

[286] Abasis.

[287] The employment of eunuchs was forbidden by the Prophet, since their employment induced people to supply the demand. Hidayah, vol. iv, p. 121.

[288] Verma, Ortelius and Ramusio.

[289] Aracangil, Lisbon edit.

[290] Here Ramusio adds: "And they say that by this trial they know which of them are healthy and of a good temperament."

[291] Pegu, Ortelius and Ramusio.

[292] The Dicco. Geogo. Universal, Barcelona, states the distance at twelve leagues, as this work is chiefly translated from French authorities, these distances would agree, and the river deposit may have increased the distance.

[293] This is also related by Nicolo Conti, India in the Fifteenth Century, Hakluyt Society.

[294] Saddle between _à la gineta_, a high saddle and short stirrups, and _à la brida_, long stirrups and hardly any saddle at all.

[295] Martabam, Ortelius.

[296] Ava, Ortelius.

[297] Capelan, Ortelius, near the mouth of the river Menam.

[298] Sian, Ortelius.

[299] Tanazaru, Ortelius.

[300] Java frankincense, in Arabic.

[301] Queda, Ortelius; Keddah, Malay State tributary to Siam, it derives its name from the Arabic, a cup. Ramusio and Lisbon edit., Quedaa.

"Olha Tavay cidade, onde começa De Syão o largo imperio tão comprido Tenessary, Queda, que he so cabeça Das que pimienta aly tem produzido; Mays avante fareys que se conheça Malaca, por Emperio ennobrecido, Onde toda a província domar grande, Suas mercadorias ricas mande."--Lusiadas, x, stanza 123.

[302] Paam, Ortelius; Pahang, now an independent Malay State.

[303] Not in Ortelius; Salangore, an independent Malay State.

[304] "Vé nos remotos montes outras gentes Que Gueos se chamão de selvages vidas; Humana carne comem, mas a sua Pintão com ferro ardente, usança crua." Lusiade, stanza 126.

[305] "Mas na ponta da tierra Gingapura Veràs, onde o caminho às naos se estreyta, De aqui tornando a costa à Cynosura Se encurva, e para a Aurora se endereyta. Ves Pam, Patàne reynos, e alongura De Syão, que estes, e outros mays sogeyta. Olha o rio Menão, que se derrama Do grande lago, que Chiamay se chama." Lusiade, x, stanza 125.

[306] The Lisbon edition has _sulia_, and explains the word in a note as translated above.

[307] Encienço is the old word for ajenjo, absinthe, or it may be the old form of incenso, incense.

[308] The English word to _fish_ a mast or fishing rod, comes from the Spanish word used here, fajar; anciently pronounced as the Catalan faixar, to wrap or wind a sash, to swathe.

[309] Rattan.

[310] Small coins, three ceutis make one blanca, an ancient coin. Escuela de leer letras Antiguas, p. 207: not in the dictionaries.

[311] Kris.

[312] This passage fixes the Hindu origin of running amok, which from this seems to have been connected with the worship of Shiva or Bhowani. Now it would be difficult to get any other explanation than that of _adet_, custom.

[313] The Barcelona MS. has plainly Amuco, which is correct. Ramusio has Amulos, and the Lisbon edition Guanicio.

[314] Thirty men according to other accounts.

[315] Nicobar, Ortelius' map of Asia, and Nicovan in map of India; Ramusio, Navacar.

[316] Medio _giorno_, Italian.

[317] Samotra and Sumatra, Ortelius.

[318] Pedir, Ortelius.

[319] Biraen, Ortelius, on the north-west coast.

[320] Pasem and Pazer, Ortelius; Passam, Homannus.

[321] Camper, Ortelius and Homannus, between Siuk and Jambi.

[322] Amdaragui, Ortelius; Andragari, Homannus; east coast.

[323] Menancabo, Ortelius, south-west coast.

[324] Sunda, Ortelius.

[325] Ramusio has here translated south-east, the Lisbon edition has south-west.

[326] Java Maior, Ortelius. It is still called Java Major by the Arabs.

[327] Ramusio, Palevdora; Lisbon, Pateudru.

[328] They look very like Crim Tatars.

[329] Raydas.

[330] Java Minor, Ortelius, now Bali, the inhabitants are still pagans; the island Sumbawa also in Ortelius is not the same as Java Minor, but apparently the one here called Oçare, as it contains a great volcano. Here Ramusio says some lines are wanting; he calls the island Oçare, Nucopora.

[331] Timor, Ortelius:--

"Aly tambien Timor, que o lenho manda Sandalo salutifero, e cheyroso. Olha a Sunda tão larga, que humabanda Esconde para o Sul difficultuoso. A gente do sertão, que as torras anda, Hum rio diz que tem miraculoso, Que por onde elle so sem outro vae Converte em pedra o pao que nelle cae." Lusiad. x, stanza 134.

[332] Bandan, Ortelius:--

"Olha do Bandá asilhas que se esmaltão Da varia cor, que pinta o rosco fruto, As aves, variadas, que aly saltão, Da verde Noz tomando seu tributo. Olha tambem Borneo, onde não faltaõ Lagrimas, no licor qualhado, e enxuto, Das arvores, que camphora he chamado Com que da ilha o nome he celebrado." Lusiad., 133.

[333] Chapel is also the same as chapin, a slipper or sandal.

[334] Ramusio, Ambon; Lisbon, Andam.

[335] Molucos, Ortelius.

[336] Bachian, Machian, Motir, Tidore, Tarenate, Ortelius; Bluteau's dictionary names them Bachan, Maquien, Moutel, Tidor, Ternate, and says they were anciently named Seque, Mara, Moutil, Duco, Gape. The only remaining possession of the Portuguese in the Malay Archipelago is Dili in the island of Timor.

[337] Nury is the real name of Molucca parrots, which has been changed to loro and lori. Ramusio calls them mire, and the Lisbon ed. noire.

[338] This section is not in the Lisbon MS.

[339] The Bugis of Celebes still make the best krises.

[340] Celebes, Ortelius.

[341] This section is not in the Lisbon MS.

[342] Ramusio and the Lisbon ed., Tendaya. Banguey island, north of Borneo, 7 deg. 13 min. N. lat. and 120 deg. 12 min. E. long.; 6-3/4 leagues long and 3-1/2 broad: it is desert. Geographical Dict., Barcelona, 1831.

[343] The island now called Solor is in another direction E. of the island Flores, 8 deg. 30 min. S. lat. and 126 deg. 52 min. E. long.

[344] Ramusio stops here and says several lines are wanting.

[345] Borneo, Ortelius.

[346] Champa, Ortelius and Homannus, the southern portion of Cochin China next to Cambodia; it is not an island as here stated.

[347] Ramusio says three hundred maravedis, the Lisbon MS. says thirty or forty pardoes.

[348] Borceguies--the Turkish mest.

[349] There is a _no_, not, here in the manuscript, which seems to be put in by mistake; the Spanish idiom does not allow of adding another negative at the beginning of the sentence; the one negative alone makes nonsense, and is contrary to what has been said above.

[350] A French missionary, quoted in the "Dictionnaire de la Conversation," does not believe this story, which he assumes to be invented for the sake of increasing the value of the porcelain.

[351] The Liu Kiu Islands. Lequio major and minor, Y^{a.} Fermosa, and Reix magas, form a group in Ortelius: in Homannus Formosa is in its proper place, and the group is called Lequeyo or Riukiu Islands.

[352] Here the Lisbon edition says that the manuscript of Duarte Barbosa ends, and that what follows about the precious stones has been translated from the Italian of Ramusio: this appendix about precious stones is wanting in the Munich MS. No. 570.

[353] Martin Centurion according to the Munich MS. No. 571, where the name is given in full.

[354] Fano, fanam, fanão--a weight for weighing rubies, according to Bluteau = 1 quilat or carat; according to the Dicco. Enciclopedico, Madrid, 1853, and the Encyclopedie of Diderot and D'Alembert = to 2 carats of Venice. Also a coin equal to two Spanish reals or twenty Portuguese reis, or ten of which made a cruzado. The author has said in another place that it is equal to thirty-six maravedis. The following table of coins will be useful with reference to the prices named in this work.

Ducado = 375 maravedis. Dobla = 365 " Florin = 265 " Real = 34 "

These maravedis were worth double those of the present time, in which a real contains 34 maravedis, so that a fanam would be worth 2 reals or half a peseta = 6d. The author of the Escuela de leer Letras Antiguas, from which these figures are taken, has added lists of prices at different times as guides to the value of coins.

In 1348, law of Don John I.

Fanega of wheat 15 maravedis. Ditto barley 10 " Ditto oats 8 " Cubit of French cloth 60 " Ditto Flanders or English cloth 50 " Day's wages from November to March 3 " Ditto ditto March to November 4 " Each yoke for ploughing all day 10 " A servant by the year 100 " A maid ditto 50 " For grinding a fanega of wheat 2 " A thousand tiles 60 " Ditto bricks 55 " A fanega of mortar 6 " Ditto lime 5 " An ox 200 " A calf 180 " A pound of mutton 2 " A hare 3 " A rabbit 2 " A fowl 4 " A goose 6 " A pigeon 3 " A partridge 5 "

These maravedis were worth 22-1/2 actual maravedis, or about 2d. each.

In 1524 the fanega of wheat was fixed at 70 maravedis. Ditto ditto of barley " 40 "

These maravedis were worth two of the actual ones.

1865, a fanega of wheat = 50 reals.

[355] A miskal.

[356] A real de plata means two reals vellon, or actual reals of the present time.

[357] Son bermejos y deslavados, y encarnados.

[358] 65 in Ramusio.

[359] Balassia in Ramusio.

[360] Toque or proof.

[361] Equal to a carat and a third.

[362] These two names must be the same word Kringa-nila; blue stone, perhaps. In Ramusio, Quiniganilam.

[363] Capucar in Ramusio.

[364] A jour.

[365] Exer in Ramusio.

[366] Kerman. Chiraman, Ortelius.

[367] In the MS. the passage reads _as mina y tierra seca_.

[368] The _Times_ reviewer of Mr. Emmanuel's book _On Precious Stones_, April 5, 1866, is in error in saying that "the zircon is known in trade as the jacinth or hyacinth".

The jargon, corindon or circon, which was much used in the xvi^{th} century, is not held in any estimation at the present time; it has the merit of possessing the hardness of the sapphire.

[369] Mar Deignan in Ramusio.

[370] I have been informed by Mr. Capt, jeweller, of Geneva, that the proportions of the prices of precious stones, according to their weight, are still very exact for uncut stones in the Indian market, and that the general accuracy of the details given in this MS. is very great. With respect to the doubts which had been expressed as to the stones of combined colours, they do exist, but are held in no estimation in Europe. Experiments have been made in Europe, and especially in Germany, for the purpose of deepening the colour of precious stones, particularly rubies, by the process here mentioned; but success was so hazardous, and so costly, that speculators would no longer incur the risks of it.

[371] 6562 in Ramusio.

[372] Beledin, of the country, local; Arabic. Ramusio has not translated it.

[373] xl in Ramusio.

[374] El peso del es el mayor. This may refer to the old and new weights, or it may mean that this ginger is heavier than the other ginger.

[375] Syn enbarar.

[376] Faratela, Indian weight equal to seven and a quarter pounds. Encicloped. Dict., Madrid, 1853.

[377] Atincar, Anglicè tincal, when refined, borax.

[378] Calamo aromático, also called acoro, a kind of aquatic plant used in medicine.

[379] This may be either incense or wormwood. Incenso in Ramusio.

[380] Lombriguera, southernwood, wormwood: Artemisia abrotanum.

[381] Turbith, Convolvulus turpethum; its root is used as a purgative, and it comes from India and Ceylon.

[382] Gum from the giant fennel: also called sagapeno, is known in commerce as yellowish white drops of a strong aromatic smell something like garlic; is used for diachylum.

[383] Atulia, a sublimate of calamine.

[384] Probably cubebs.

[385] Or four hundredweight English.

[386] Lo al, old Spanish.

[387] This voyage is not in Ramusio nor in the Lisbon edition, and apparently has been hitherto unpublished. The Munich MS., No. 570, gives the date 1522, but 1512 is the correct reading.

[388] Leste o este.

[389] Surat glaized cotton stuff.

[390] Sudueste and su sudueste, these terms have not been ever used in the body of the book.

[391] Norueste.

[392] Singaduras for Singladuras, Portuguese Singradura, derived by Bluteau from French Cingler, and that from the German Segelen.

[393] Setentrional.

[394] Del sur al sueste.

[395] Or Colayres and giravales according to another reading.

[396] Les nordeste.

[397] This passage important. Los marineros q. tomamos en borney llevaban carta de marear e trayan una aguja y piedra yman e una carta en q. trayan muchas rayas e lineas de lo qual nos espantamos mucho. See the Pillars of Hercules, by D. Urquhart with respect to the Phenician compass.

[398] Line across the forehead.