Of a great citie named Cadon therein is the great Caanes palaice and sege.
IN the province of Cathay towards the East, is an olde citie & beside that citie the Tartariens have made an other citie that men call Cadon,1 yt hathe xii2 gates, and betwene eche two gates is a great myle, so those two cities the olde and the new is round about xx myle. In this citie is the palaice and sege of ye great Caane in a full faire place and great, of which the wals about is two myle, and within that are many fayre places, and in the gardeyne of that palaice is a right greate hill on the which is an other palaice, and it is the fayrest that may bee founde in any place, and all about that hyll are many trees berynge divers fruites, and about that hyll is a great dyche, and there nere are many rivers on eche syde, and in those are many wylde foules that he may take and not go out of the palayce. Within ye hall of that palaice are xxiiii pillers of gold and all the walks are covered with rych skynnes of beastes that men call Panthera.
Those are fayre beastes and well smelling and of the smell of those skynnes, none evyll smell may come to the palayce, those skynnes are as redde as bloude, and they shine so against the Sonne that a man can scarcely beholde them and those skynnes are estemed there as much as golde.
In the myddest of the palace is a place made that they call the Monture3 for the great Caane, that is well made with precious stones and great hanging about, and at the foure corners of that Montour are foure nedders4 of golde, & under that mountour and about are conduites of bevrage that they drink in the Emperour's courte. And the hall of that palayce is richly dight and wel, and firste at the upper ende of the hall is the throne of the Emperour right hie where he sitteth at meate (at a) table that is well bordered with gold and that bordure is full of precious stones and great pearles, and the greces on which he goeth up are of diverse precious stones bordred with golde.
At the left syde of his throne is the sege of his wife a degree lower than he sitteth and that is of Jasper bordred with gold and the sege of his seconde wife is a degree lower than the fyrste, and that is also of good Jasper bordred with golde and the sege of the thyrd wife is a degree lower than the seconde for alwaye he hathe three wives with him wheresoeuer he is, besyde these wives on the same side setteth other ladies of his kin eche one lower than other, as they are of degree, and all those that are wedded, haue a counterfaite5 of a man's foote uppon their heads a cubite long and all made with precious stones, & about they are made with shining fethers of pecockes or such other in tokening that they are in subjection to man & under men's feete, & they that are not wedded haue none such. On the right side of the Emperour sitteth fyrste his sonne the which shall be Emperour after him, and he sitteth also a degree lower than the Emperour in such maner of seges as the Emperour sitteth, and by him sitteth other lordes of his kyn, eche one lower than other as they are of degree. And the Emperour hath his table by himselfe alone that is made of golde and precious stones, or of white Crystal or yelowe, bordred with golde, and eche one of his wyves hath a table by hirselfe. And under the Emperours table sitteth foure clerkes at his feete that wryteth all that the Emperour sayth be it good or ylle. And at great feastes about the Emperours table, and all other tables in the hall is a vine made of gold that goeth all about the hall, and it hath many braunches of grapes lyke to grapes of the vine, some are white, some are yelowe, some red, some grene, and some blacke, all the red are of rubies of cremes6 or allabonce, the white are of cristall or byrall,7 the yelowe are of topaces, the grene are of Emeraudes & Crysolytes, and the blacke are of Quickes and Gerandes, & this vyne is made thus of precious stones so properly that it seemeth that it were a vyne growinge. And before the borde of the Emperour standeth great lordes and no man is so hardy to speke unto hym, except it be musicians for to solace the Emperour. And all the vessell that is served in his hall or chambres, are of precious stones and namely at tables where great lordes eate, that is to say, of Jasper, crystall, amatyst, or fyne golde, and the cuppes are of Emeraudes, saphyres, topaces, and many other maner of stones; and (of) silver haue they no vessell, for they praise silver but little to make vessell of, but they make of silver greces, pylers & paviments of halles & chambres. And ye shall understande that my felaw & I were in wages with him xvi moneths against the Kinge of Mancy,8 uppon whome he made warre, and the cause was we had so great desire to see the nobilitye of his court, if it were suche as we heard speake of, and forsoth we founde it more richer & solempne than ever we harde speake of, and we should neuer haue beleved it, had we not seene it. But ye shall understande the meat and drinke is more honest among us than it is in those countreys, for all the comons eate upon skines of beastes on theyr knees and eate but fleshe of all maner of beastes, & when they haue all eate they wipe theyr handes on their skirtes & they eate but once in the day & eate but little bread but the maner of the lordes is full noble and richly.
