[5] Mr. Wylie, after ascending this hill with Mr. Moule, writes:  “It is
    about two miles from the south gate to the top, by a rather steep
    road.  On the top is a remarkably level plot of ground, with a cluster
    of rocks in one place.  On the face of these rocks are a great many
    inscriptions, but so obliterated by age and weather that only a few
    characters can be decyphered.  A stone road leads up from the city
    gate, and another one, very steep, down to the lake.  This is the only
    vestige remaining of the old palace grounds.  There is no doubt about
    this being really a relic of the palace....  You will see on the map,
    just inside the walls of the Imperial city, the Temple of Brahma. 
    There are still two stone columns standing with curious Buddhist
    inscriptions....  Although the temple is entirely gone, these columns
    retain the name and mark the place.  They date from the 6th century,
    and there are few structures earlier in China.”  One is engraved above,
    after a sketch by Mr. Moule.

[6] See the plan of the city with last chapter.

CHAPTER LXXVIII.

TREATING OF THE GREAT YEARLY REVENUE THAT THE GREAT KAAN HATH FROM KINSAY.

Now I will tell you about the great revenue which the Great Kaan draweth every year from the said city of Kinsay and its territory, forming a ninth part of the whole country of Manzi.

First there is the salt, which brings in a great revenue.  For it produces every year, in round numbers, fourscore tomans of gold; and the toman is worth 70,000 saggi of gold, so that the total value of the fourscore tomans will be five millions and six hundred thousand saggi of gold, each saggio being worth more than a gold florin or ducat; in sooth, a vast sum of money! [This province, you see, adjoins the ocean, on the shores of which are many lagoons or salt marshes, in which the sea-water dries up during the summer time; and thence they extract such a quantity of salt as suffices for the supply of five of the kingdoms of Manzi besides this one.]

Having told you of the revenue from salt, I will now tell you of that which accrues to the Great Kaan from the duties on merchandize and other matters.

You must know that in this city and its dependencies they make great quantities of sugar, as indeed they do in the other eight divisions of this country; so that I believe the whole of the rest of the world together does not produce such a quantity, at least, if that be true which many people have told me; and the sugar alone again produces an enormous revenue.—­However, I will not repeat the duties on every article separately, but tell you how they go in the lump.  Well, all spicery pays three and a third per cent. on the value; and all merchandize likewise pays three and a third per cent. [But sea-borne goods from India and other