SECTION XXXIII.

Of a Woman of Lorain, and a Goldsmith of Paris, and several other Christians, whom they found at the Court of Mangu-kkan.

We had the good fortune to meet with a woman, named Pascha, from Metz in Lorain, who belonged to the court of Cerina, who told us of the strange poverty she had endured before she came to this court, but who now lived well, as she had a young Russian husband, who was a skilful builder, and much esteemed among them, by whom she had three fine children, and this woman contributed all in her power to our comfort.  She told us, that there was a goldsmith at Caracarura, one William Bouchier from Paris, the son of Lawrence Bouchier, and who had a brother, Roger Bouchier, yet living upon the Great Bridge.  She told me likewise, that he had a son who was an excellent interpreter; but that Manga-khan had delivered to the goldsmith 300 jascots of silver, equal to 3000 marks, and fifty workmen, to make a certain piece of work, so that she feared he would not then be able to spare his son to interpret for us.  I wrote to this goldsmith, requesting him to send his son to me; he said in answer, that he could not at the time, but would send him next moon, when his work would be finished.  At the court of Baatu no intercourse could be had with other ambassadors, as each was under the charge of a particular Jani; but in that of Mangu, all were under one Jani, and might see and converse with each other.  We found here a certain Christian from Damascus, who said that he came from the sultan of Mons Regalis and Crax, who desired to become the ally and tributary of the great khan.

The year before I came thither, there was a certain clerk of Aeon or Ptolemais in Syria, who called himself Raimund, but his true name was Theodolus.  This man went with friar Andrew from Cyprus into Persia, and procured certain instruments from Amoricus, who remained in Persia after Andrew returned.  Theodolus went forwards with these instruments to the khan, pretending that a certain bishop had received letters from heaven in gold characters, saying that the khan should be king of the whole earth, but that his horse had fled from him among woods and mountains, so that he had lost all.  And Theodolus engaged to conduct ambassadors from the khan to the Pope and the king of France.  Then Mangu caused an exceedingly strong bow to be made, which two men could hardly bend, and two arrows made of silver, full of holes in their heads, which whistled when they were shot; and he chose a Moal to accompany Theodolus as his ambassador, ordering him to present these things to the king of France, and to say, if he would have peace with the Tartars, they would conquer the country of the Saracens, and would grant him ail the other countries of the west.  But if the king refused, the Moal was to bring back the bow and arrows, and to inform the king that the Tartars shot far and sharp with such bows.