h, made of wood
and couered or guilt with gold, the streetes thereof are the fayrest that I
haue seene, they are as straight as a line from one gate to another, and
standing at the one gate you may discouer to the other, and they are as
broad as 10 or 12 men may ride a breast in them: [Sidenote: A rich and
stately palace.] and those streetes that be thwart are faire and large,
these streetes, both on the one side and on the other, are planted at the
doores of the houses, with nut trees of India, which make a very commodious
shadowe, the houses be made of wood and couered with a kind of tiles in
forme of cups, very necessary for their vse, the kings palace is in the
middle of the citie, made in forme of a walled castle, with ditches full of
water round about it, the lodgings within are made of wood all ouer gilded,
with fine pinacles, and very costly worke, couered with plates of golde.
Truely it may be a kings house: within the gate there is a faire large
court, from the one side to the other, wherein there are made places for
the strongest and stoutest Eliphants appointed for the seruice of the kings
person, and amongst all other Eliphants, he hath foure that be white, a
thing so rare that a man shall hardly finde another king that hath any
such, and if this king knowe any other that hath white Eliphantes, he
sendeth for them as for a gift. The time that I was there, there were two
brought out of a farre Countrey, and that cost me something the sight of
them, for they commaund the marchants to goe to see them, and then they
must giue somewhat to the men that bring them: the brokers of the marchants
giue for euery man halfe a duckat, which they call a Tansa, [Marginal note:
This money called Tansa is halfe a duckat which may be three shillings and
foure pence.] which amounteth to a great summe, for the number of merchants
that are in that citie; and when they haue payde the aforesayde Tansa, they
may chuse whether they will see them at that time or no, because that when
they are in the kings stall, euery man may see them that will: but at that
time they must goe and see them, for it is the kings pleasure it should be
so. This king amongst all other his titles, is called the King of the white
Eliphantes and it is reported that if this king knewe any other king that
had any of these white Eliphantes, and woud not send them vnto him, that he
would hazard his whole kingdome to conquer them, he esteemeth these white
Eliphantes