is very fertile and abundant, the flesh fat which they sell without bones, their candles they make of the marowe of cattell, because the Moores eate the tallow.  They vse also certaine litle furnaces made of purpose, vnder the which they make fire, putting into the furnace foure or fiue hundred egges, and the said fire they nourish by litle and litle, vntill the chickens be hatched, which after they be hatched, and become somewhat bigger, they sell them by measure in such sort, as we sell and measure nuts and chestnuts and such like.

Of certaine notable monuments without the citie of Cairo.

Without the Citie, sixe miles higher into the land, are to be seene neere vnto the riuer diuerse Piramides, among which are three marueilous great, and very artificially wrought.  Out of one of these are dayly digged the bodies of auncient men, not rotten, but all whole, the cause whereof is the qualitie of the Egyptian soile, which will not consume the flesh of man, but rather dry and harden the same, and so alwayes conserueth it.  And these dead bodies are the Mummie which the Phisitians and Apothecaries doe against our willes make vs to swallow.  Also by digging in these Pyramides oftentimes are found certaine Idoles or Images of gold, siluer, and other mettall, but vnder the other piramides the bodies are not taken vp so whole as in this, but there are found legges and armes comparable to the limmes of giants.  Neare to these piramides appeareth out of the sand a great head of stone somewhat like marble, which is discouered so farre as the necke ioyneth with the shoulders, being all whole, sauing that it wanteth a little tippe of the nose.  The necke of this head contayneth in circuit about sixe and thirty foot, so that it may be according to the necke considered, what greatnesse the head is of.  The riuer Nilus is a mile broad, wherein are very many great Croccodiles from Cairo vpward, but lower than Cairo passeth no such creature:  and this, they say, is by reason of an inchantment made long since which hindereth their passage for comming any lower then Cairo.  Moreouer of these creatures there are sometimes found some of an incredible bignesse, that is to say, of fourtie foot about.  The males haue their members like to a man, and the females like to a woman.  These monsters oftentimes issue out of the water to feede, and finding any small beasts, as sheepe, lambes, goates, or other like, doe great harme.  And whiles they are foorth of the water, if they happen at vnawares vpon any man, woman or childe, whom they can ouercome, they spare not their liues.  In the yeere of our Lord one thousand fiue hundred and sixtie it happened, that certaine poore Christians trauelling by Cairo towardes the countrey of Prete Ianni to rescue certaine slaues, were guided by a Chaus, and iourneyed alongst the banke of the said riuer.  The Chaus remained lingering alone behinde to make his prayers (as their custome is) at a place called Tana, whom being busie in his double