kingdom and all over India the birds and beasts are entirely
different from ours, all but one bird which is exactly like ours, and that
is the Quail. But everything else is totally different. For example they
have bats,--I mean those birds that fly by night and have no feathers of
any kind; well, their birds of this kind are as big as a goshawk! Their
goshawks again are as black as crows, a good deal bigger than ours, and
very swift and sure.

Another strange thing is that they feed their horses with boiled rice and
boiled meat, and various other kinds of cooked food. That is the reason
why all the horses die off.[NOTE 17]

They have certain abbeys in which are gods and goddesses to whom many
young girls are consecrated; their fathers and mothers presenting them to
that idol for which they entertain the greatest devotion. And when the
[monks] of a convent[2] desire to make a feast to their god, they send
for all those consecrated damsels and make them sing and dance before the
idol with great festivity. They also bring meats to feed their idol
withal; that is to say, the damsels prepare dishes of meat and other good
things and put the food before the idol, and leave it there a good while,
and then the damsels all go to their dancing and singing and festivity for
about as long as a great Baron might require to eat his dinner. By that
time they say the spirit of the idols has consumed the substance of the
food, so they remove the viands to be eaten by themselves with great
jollity. This is performed by these damsels several times every year until
they are married.[NOTE 18]

[The reason assigned for summoning the damsels to these feasts is, as the
monks say, that the god is vexed and angry with the goddess, and will hold
no communication with her; and they say that if peace be not established
between them things will go from bad to worse, and they never will bestow
their grace and benediction. So they make those girls come in the way
described, to dance and sing, all but naked, before the god and the
goddess. And those people believe that the god often solaces himself with
the society of the goddess.

The men of this country have their beds made of very light canework, so
arranged that, when they have got in and are going to sleep, they are
drawn up by cords nearly to the ceiling and fixed there for the night.
This is done to get out of the way of tarantulas which give terrible
bites, as well as of fleas and such vermi