[Footnote 85:  Cloves are certainly not found in Ceylon.—­E.]

In three days sail we came to a city named Paleachet or Pullicat, belonging to the king of Narsinga, a famous mart for rich commodities, and especially for jewels and precious stones brought from Ceylon and Pegu, and where likewise abundance of spices are sold.  Many Mahometan merchants dwell in this city; and being received into one of their houses, we told him whence we came, and that we had brought saffron and coral for sale, with other merchandise, of which he was very glad.  At this city wheat is scarce, but rice is to be had in great plenty; and in other respects the productions of the neighbouring country are much the same as at Calicut.  But as the inhabitants were preparing for war, we departed from thence, and after thirteen days sail we arrived at the city of Tarnasari or Tanaserim, a hundred miles distant.

The city of Tanaserim is not far from the sea, well walled, seated on a fine plain, and has a famous port on a fine river that runs past its north side.  The king is an idolater of great power, and is constantly at war with the kings of Narsinga and Bengal[86].  He is able to bring into the field an hundred thousand foot and as many cavalry, together with a hundred of the largest and finest elephants I ever saw.  The weapons of his troops are swords, round bucklers, peltes, bows and arrows, and javelins or darts made of long reeds; they also use for defence cotton jacks wrought very hard and close quilted.  The houses in their towns are built close together like those in Italy.  This country produces wheat, cotton, silk of various kinds, Brazil wood, sundry kinds of fruit like those of Italy, with Assyrian apples, oranges, lemons, citrons, gourds, cucumbers, and many others.  It has many animals both wild and tame.  Among the former are oxen and cows, sheep, goats, hogs, and deer.  The wild beasts are lions, wolves, catamountains, and musk cats or civets.  In the woods are many peacocks and falcons, with popinjays or parrots, some of which are entirely white, while others are of seven different colours.  There are plenty of hares and partridges, and several kinds of birds of prey larger than eagles.  These birds are black and purple, with several white feathers intermixed, having yellow bills tipt beautifully with crimson, which are so large that the handles of swords are sometimes made of the upper mandible.  Their cocks and hens are the largest I ever saw, and both the natives and the Mahometans who dwell there, take great delight in cock-fighting, on which they venture large sums.  I have seen them fight for six hours, yet will they sometimes kill at the first stroke.  Some of their goats are much larger and handsomer than ours, and of these the females have often four kids at one birth.  So abundant are animals in this country, that twelve sheep may be bought for a single piece of gold worth about a pistole.  Some of their rams have horns like a buck, and are