NOTE 2.—­Tarcasci (G.  T.) This word is worthy of note as the proper form of what has become in modern French carquois.  The former is a transcript of the Persian Tarkash; the latter appears to be merely a corruption of it, arising perhaps clerically from the constant confusion of c and t in MSS. (See Defremery, quoted by Pauthier, in loco.) [Old French tarquais (13th century), Hatzfeldt and Darmesteter’s Dict. gives; “Coivres orent ceinz et tarchais.” (WACE, Rou, III., 7698; 12th century).]

NOTE 3.—­["It seems to me [Dr. Bretschneider] that Polo took the towers, mentioned by the Chinese author, in the angles of the galleries and of the Kung-ch’eng for palaces; for further on he states, that ’over each gate [of Cambaluc] there is a great and handsome palace.’  I have little doubt that over the gates of Cambaluc, stood lofty buildings similar to those over the gates of modern Peking.  These tower-like buildings are called lou by the Chinese.  It may be very likely, that at the time of Marco Polo, the war harness of the Khan was stored in these towers of the palace wall.  The author of the Ch’ue keng lu, who wrote more than fifty years later, assigns to it another place.” (Bretschneider, Peking, 32.) —­H.C.]

[Illustration:  IDEAL PLAN of the ANCIENT PALACES of the MONGOL EMPERORS AT KHANBALIGH according to Dr. Bretschneider]

NOTE 4.—­The stores are now outside the walls of the “Prohibited City,” corresponding to Polo’s Palace-Wall, but within the walls of the “Imperial City.” (Middle Kingdom, I. 61.) See the cut at p. 376.

NOTE 5.—­The two gates near the corners apparently do not exist in the Palace now.  “On the south side there are three gates to the Palace, both in the inner and the outer walls.  The middle one is absolutely reserved for the entrance or exit of the Emperor; all other people pass in and out by the gate to the right or left of it.” (Trigautius, Bk.  I. ch. vii.) This custom is not in China peculiar to Royalty.  In private houses it is usual to have three doors leading from the court to the guestrooms, and there is a great exercise of politeness in reference to these; the guest after much pressing is prevailed on to enter the middle door, whilst the host enters by the side. (See Deguignes, Voyages, I. 262.) [See also H.  Cordier’s Hist. des Relat. de la Chine, III. ch. x. Audience Imperiale.]

["It seems Polo took the three gateways in the middle gate (Ta-ming men) for three gates, and thus speaks of five gates instead of three in the southern wall.” (Bretschneider, Peking, 27, note.)—­H.  C.]

NOTE 6.—­Ramusio’s version here diverges from the old MSS.  It makes the inner enclosure a mile square; and the second (the city of Taidu) six miles square, as here, but adds, at a mile interval, a third of eight miles square.  Now it is remarkable that Mr. A. Wylie, in a letter dated 4th December 1873, speaking of a recent visit to Peking, says:  “I found from various inquiries that there are several remains of a very much larger city wall, inclosing the present city; but time would not allow me to follow up the traces.”