“’Many years ago there reigned in Babylon, on the Nile, a haughty Khalif who vexed the Christians with taxes and corvees.  He was confirmed in his hate of the Christians by the Khakam Chacham Bashi or Chief Rabbi of the Jews, who one day said to him:  “The Christians allege in their books that it shall not hurt them to drink or eat any deadly thing.  So I have prepared a potion that one of them shall taste at my hand:  if he does not die on the spot then call me no more Chacham Bashi!” The Khalif immediately sent for His Holiness the Patriarch of Babylon, and ordered him to drink up the potion.  The Patriarch just blew a little over the cup and then emptied it at a draught, and took no harm.  His Holiness then on his side demanded that the Chacham Bashi should quaff a cup to the health of the Khalif, which he (the Patriarch) should first taste, and this the Khalif found only fair and right.  But hardly had the Chacham Bashi put the cup to his lips than he fell down and expired.’  Still the Musulmans and Jews thirsted for Christian blood.  It happened at that time that a mass of the hill Mokattani became loose and threatened to come down upon Babylon.  This was laid to the door of the Christians, and they were ordered to stop it.  The Patriarch in great distress has a vision that tells him summon the saintly cobbler (of whom the same story is told as here)—­the cobbler bids the rock to stand still and it does so to this day.  ’These two stories may still be heard in Cairo’—­from whom is not said.  The hill that threatened to fall on the Egyptian Babylon is called in Turkish Dur Dagh, ’Stay, or halt-hill.’ (L.c.  April, 1878")—­MS. Note, H. Y.

CHAPTER XI.

OF THE NOBLE CITY OF TAURIS.

Tauris is a great and noble city, situated in a great province called YRAC, in which are many other towns and villages.  But as Tauris is the most noble I will tell you about it.[NOTE 1]

The men of Tauris get their living by trade and handi crafts, for they weave many kinds of beautiful and valuable stuffs of silk and gold.  The city has such a good position that merchandize is brought thither from India, Baudas, CREMESOR,[NOTE 2] and many other regions; and that attracts many Latin merchants, especially Genoese, to buy goods and transact other business there; the more as it is also a great market for precious stones.  It is a city in fact where merchants make large profits.[NOTE 3]

The people of the place are themselves poor creatures; and are a great medley of different classes.  There are Armenians, Nestorians, Jacobites, Georgians, Persians, and finally the natives of the city themselves, who are worshippers of Mahommet.  These last are a very evil generation; they are known as TAURIZI.[NOTE 4] The city is all girt round with charming gardens, full of many varieties of large and excellent fruits.[NOTE 5]

Now we will quit Tauris, and speak of the great country of Persia. [From Tauris to Persia is a journey of twelve days.]