ificers
concerned in the various arts; and none of these are ever mixed with the
family of a different profession. The several states of the Indies are not
subject to one king, but each province has its own; though the Balhara is
considered in the Indies as king of kings. The Chinese are fond of gaming
and all manner of diversions; but the Indians condemn them, and have no
pleasure in such employments. They drink no wine, neither do they use
vinegar, because it is made from wine; although this abstinence does not
proceed from any religious duty: but they allege that a king given to wine
is not worthy of being a king; for how should a drunkard be able to manage
the affairs of a kingdom, especially as wars are so frequent between the
neighbouring states? Their wars are not usually undertaken to possess
themselves of the dominions of others, and I never heard of any except the
people bordering on the pepper country that seized the dominions of their
neighbours after victory. When a prince masters the dominions of a
neighbour, he confers the sovereignty upon some person of the royal family
of the conquered country, and thus retains it in dependence upon himself,
under the conviction that the natives would never submit to be otherwise
governed.
When any one of the princes or governors of cities in China is guilty of a
crime, he is put to death and eaten; and in general, it may be said that
the Chinese eat all those who are put to death. When the Indians and
Chinese are about to marry and the parties are agreed, presents are
interchanged, and the marriage ceremony is solemnized amidst the noise of
drums and various sorts of instruments. The presents consist in money, and
all the relatives and friends contribute as much as they can afford. If any
man in the Indies runs away with a woman and abuses her, both are put to
death; unless it is proved that force has been used against the woman, in
which case the man only is punished. Theft is always punished capitally,
both in India and China, whether the theft be considerable or trifling; but
more particularly so in the Indies, where, if a thief have stolen even the
value of a small piece of money, he is impaled alive. The Chinese are much
addicted to the abominable vice of pederasty, which they even number among
the strange acts they perform in honour of their idols. The Chinese
buildings are of wood, with stone and plaster, or bricks and mortar. The
Chinese and Indians are not sat
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