in. The refusal of some Mussulman merchants, on a certain
occasion at Court, to eat of the dishes sent them by the Emperor, gave
great offence, and led to the revival of an order of Chinghiz, which
prohibited, under pain of death, the slaughter of animals by cutting their
throats. This endured for seven years, and was then removed on the strong
representation made to Kublai of the loss caused by the cessation of the
visits of the Mahomedan merchants. On a previous occasion also the
Mahomedans had incurred disfavour, owing to the ill-will of certain
Christians, who quoted to Kublai a text of the Koran enjoining the killing
of polytheists. The Emperor sent for the Mullahs, and asked them why they
did not act on the Divine injunction? All they could say was that the time
was not yet come! Kublai ordered them for execution, and was only appeased
by the intercession of Ahmad, and the introduction of a divine with more
tact, who smoothed over obnoxious applications of the text. (D'Ohsson, II.
492-493.)

CHAPTER XXIV.

HOW THE GREAT KAAN CAUSETH THE BARK OF TREES, MADE INTO SOMETHING LIKE
PAPER, TO PASS FOR MONEY OVER ALL HIS COUNTRY.

Now that I have told you in detail of the splendour of this City of the
Emperor's, I shall proceed to tell you of the Mint which he hath in the
same city, in the which he hath his money coined and struck, as I shall
relate to you. And in doing so I shall make manifest to you how it is that
the Great Lord may well be able to accomplish even much more than I have
told you, or am going to tell you, in this Book. For, tell it how I might,
you never would be satisfied that I was keeping within truth and reason!

The Emperor's Mint then is in this same City of Cambaluc, and the way it
is wrought is such that you might say he hath the Secret of Alchemy in
perfection, and you would be right! For he makes his money after this
fashion.

He makes them take of the bark of a certain tree, in fact of the Mulberry
Tree, the leaves of which are the food of the silkworms,--these trees
being so numerous that whole districts are full of them. What they take is
a certain fine white bast or skin which lies between the wood of the tree
and the thick outer bark, and this they make into something resembling
sheets of paper, but black. When these sheets have been prepared they are
cut up into pieces of different sizes. The smallest of these sizes is
worth a half tornesel; the next, a little larger, one torne