Cowpe is an whole volted roofe.
Bucasin is a verie fine lynen cloth made of cotton.
An other tyme, com̄yng to him, I founde hym in a chambre vnder a pavylion: and than he asked me howe I lyked it. And wheather they vsed any such in oʳ cuntreyes, I answered him that I lyked it excellently well; and that there was no comparyson to be made of oʳ places vnto his; both bicause his power ferre exceeded ours, and also for that we vsed no such chambers; and truly it was exceading faire. For the tymbre was well wrought aftre the fac̃on of a cowpe:[79] and hanged about wᵗʰ clothes of sylke, embrowderie, and golde and all the floore covered wᵗʰ excellent good carpetts, being about xiiij paces over. Beyonde this chamber was a great square tent embroʷdered, pitched, as it had been, betweene foure trees sett to shadowe it, betweene which and the cowpe there was a pavylion of Bucasin, all wrought and embrowdered wᵗhinfooʳthe. The chambre doore was of the woodde of Sandali entrelaced wᵗʰ threedde of golde and nettes of perle wrought and embrowdered wᵗhinfooʳthe. I founde the king sytteng there with his greatest ꝓsonaiges about him, having before hym a towell folded vp: which he vnfolded, and tooke out of it a threade of twelue balasses, lyke vnto olyves, of very clene coloʳ, betweene L and lxxx carratts a peece. Than tooke he out one sable balasse of twoo ounces and an halfe of a goodley fac̃on, bigge as a fynger, wᵗhout any hole and of excellent coloʳ, in thone corner whereof were certein moresco l’res graven, wᶜʰ moved me to aske what l’res they were, and he answered me that a certein king had caused them there to be graven, syns whose tyme neither his predecessoʳ nor he wolde grave any moore, bicause it shulde deface the whole. Than he asked me what that rubie might be woʳthe. I looked on him and smyled; wherevpon he asked me again, How I lyked it? I tolde him I had never seene the lyke, nor I thought never to finde any that might be a paragone vnto it. And if I shulde valewe it, the balassi, if he had a tongue might aske me wheather ever I had seene the lyke: to the which I shulde be dryven to saye no. So that I belieue he is not to be valewed wᵗʰ golde, but ꝑadventure, some citie might answere him. He looked earnestly on me, and saied Pran cataini cataini. The worlde hath iij eyes, whereof the Cataines haue two and the Franchi one. In dede thoʷ hast said truly. And toʳneng him towardes them that were about him he tolde them howe he had asked me what that balassi might be woʳthe and what answere I had made, rehearsing my woʳds vnto them.
I had before hearde this woʳde Cataini of an ambassadoʳ of Tartarie in his retoʳne from Cataio the yere 1436, who, passeng throwgh Tana wᵗʰ all his trayne, was lodged in my house: I hoping to get some jewell of him. At which time, talking of Cataio, he tolde me howe the chief of that Princes coʳte knewe well what the Franchi were. And vpon my demaunding of him howe it was possible they shulde haue knowledge of the Franchi, he asked me, why shulde they not knowe us? Thoʷ knowest, said he, howe neere we be vnto Capha, and that we practise thither continually; liek as also they reasorte into oʳ Lordo: addeng this further, we Cataini have twoo eyes and yoʷ Franchi one, whereas yoʷ (toʳneng him towards the Tartares that were wiᵗʰ him) haue never a one, which he spake merrylie. So that at this tyme I did the better vnderstande the proverbe, whan the king vsed these woordes vnto me. This doon, he shewed me a rubie, of an once and an halfe, of the fac̃on of a chest nutte, rounde, faire coloʷred, and clene: not bored throwgh and bounde in a cercle of golde, which seemed to me a mervailouse thinge, being so great: he shewed me aftre many balasses, both jewelled and vnjewelled, amongest the which there was one in a square table made aftre the fac̃on of a litle nayle, rounde about the which were v other table balasses, the great one in the middest weying xxx carretts or thereabouts, and the next twenty carrets or thereabouts, betwene the which there were certein great perles and turcasses set not of any great estimac̃on, for they were olde.
These Cassacks are longe and strait, and but half sleeved.
After this he caused certein Cassacks[80] to be brought fooʳthe of clothe of golde, of sylke, and of damaskyne chamlette, lyned wᵗʰ sylke or furred wᵗʰ exceading faire armelynes and sables: telling me these be of the clothes of a towne of Ies.[81] Our apparaill, qd he, is faire; but it waieth a litle to much. Finally, he caused certein sylke carpetts to be brought fooʳthe, which were mervailouse faire.
The morowe aftre, I came to hym againe, and calling me neere, he said vnto me, Thoʷ shalt haue a litle more passetime. And so deliuered me a camewe[82] of the breadeth of a grote, wherein was a womans heade graven; her heare backwarde, and a garlande about her heade. He badde me looke, is not this Mary? I answered, no. Why, who is it than (qᵈ he)? I answered, it was the figure of some of thauncient goddesses that the Burpares[83] woʳshipped, that is, to witt, the Idolaters. He asked me howe I knewe it? I tolde him I knewe it; for these kinde of woʳkes were made before the com̄yng of Jesu Christ. He shaked his heade a litle, and saied no more. Than he shewed me three poincted diamants, one of xxx carretts, very clene both aboue and benethe; and the other betwene x and xij carretts, askeng me wheather there were any such jewells wᵗʰ vs. I tolde him no; wherevpon he tooke vp a masse of perles of xl threades, vpon every one whereof were xxx perles of betwene v and vj carretts a peece: halfe of them rounde, and the rest not unfitt to be iewelled.[84] Than he caused to be putt into a sylver basen about xl perles, like vnto peares and gourdes, of betwene viij and xij carretts a peece, vnbored through and of very faire coloʳ, saieng to me wᵗʰ a smyleng cheere: I coulde shewe the an hoʳse loade of these. This was doon at a bankett by night aftre their maner, at the circumcision of his twoo sonnes.
The daye folowing I repaired to him into a great feelde wᵗhin the towne, wheare wheate had been sowen, the grasse whereof was mowed to make place for the tryomphe and the owners of the grounde satisfied for it. In this place were many pavilions pight,[85] and as sone as he ꝑceaued me he com̄aunded certein of his to go wᵗʰ me, and to shewe me those pavilions, being in nombre about an cᵗʰ, of the which I ꝑvsed xl of the fairest. They all had their chambres wᵗhinfooʳthe, and the roofes all cutt of divers coloʳˢ, the grounde being covered wᵗʰ most beautiful carpetts, betwene which carpetts and those of Cairo and of Borsa[86] (in my iudgement), there is as much difference as betweene the clothes made of Englishe woolles and those of Saint Mathewes. Aftrewardes they caused me to entre into twoo pavylions, which were full of sylke apparaill aftre their fac̃on, and of other sortes of clothes laied on a great heape: on thone side of the which I ꝑceaved to the nombre of xl sadles, trymed wᵗʰ sylver. All which apparaile and sadells they tolde me shulde be given awaie by the king at the tryomphe. They also shewed me twoo great doores of the woodde of Sandali, of vj foote high, a peece sett wᵗʰ golde and moother of perle aftre the woʳke of Tharsia.[87] Than I retoʳned to the king, and took my leafe for that tyme.
The morowe folowing I founde him sitteng in his accustomed place, vnto whom there were brought eight great dishes of woodde: in every of the which was a white sugar loofe made of divers fac̃ons, weying viijˡᵇ a peece, and rounde about it were certein litle disshes wᵗʰ confections of divers coloʳˢ, but for the most parte comfettes. There were also many other disshes brought fooʳthe wᵗʰ other confecc̃ons and frutes. The first eight he appoincted himself to whom they shulde be given: I being the first that was presented wᵗhall, and it was woʳthe betwene iiij and v ducates a peece: the rest was distributed amongest others, according to their degrees.
Camocato is fine Calicut cloth.