aked, and fell to swimming in
the lakes in the kings presence. Sometimes he banqueted in these groves,
being served by his damsels. All of these particulars I learnt from an old
rich merchant of Quinsai, who had been familiar with king Fanfur, and knew
all the incidents of his life and reign, and had seen the palace in its
most flourishing state; and he carried me to see it. The viceroy now
resides there, the first described galleries remaining, still in their
original state, but the chambers of the damsels are fallen to ruin; the
walls also which encompassed the woods and gardens, are all fallen down,
the beasts and trees are all gone, and all the other ornaments are
destroyed.

Twenty-five miles from Quinsai we come to the ocean, between the east and
the north-east, near which is a city called Gampu[11], having an excellent
port frequented by merchant ships from the Indies. While I Marco was in
Quinsai, an account was taken for the great khan, of the revenues, and the
number of inhabitants, and I saw that there were enrolled 160 toman of
fires, reckoning for each fire a family dwelling in one house. Each toman
is 10,000, which makes 1,600,000 families[12]; and for all this population
there is only one Nestorian church, all the rest being idolaters. Every
householder is obliged to have written over his door the names of every
individual in his family, whether males or females, as also the number of
horses, adding or effacing as the family increases or diminishes, and this
rule is observed in all the cities of Mangi and Kathay. Those also who keep
inns, must write down in a book the names of all their guests, with the day
and hour of their arrival and departure; and these books are sent daily to
the magistrates who preside at the market places. The revenues which accrue
to the khan from Quinsai, and the other cities under its authority, are,
first from salt eight tomans of gold, every toman being 80,000 sazzi, and a
sazzi is more than a gold florin, which will amount to six millions, and
four hundred thousand ducats. The cause of this is, that being near the
sea, there are many lakes or salines of sea water, which dry up and
coagulate into salt in summer, and five other provinces in Mangi are
supplied from the coast of Quinsai. This province produces plenty of sugar,
which pays, like all other spices, three and a third in the hundred, which
is likewise paid for rice-wine. All the twelve companies, which, we said
before,