“From this place I escaped in a vessel called a junk, that brought me to the town of Singapore.  Thence at last, following my star, I came to Cathay after two years of journeyings.  There I dwelt in honour for three more years, moving from place to place, since never before had its inhabitants seen a Western man, and they made much of me, always sending me forward to new cities.  So at length I reached the greatest of them all, which is called Kambaluc, or Peking, and there was the guest of its Emperor, Timur.

“All the story of my life and adventures yonder I have written down, and any who will may read it after I am dead.  But of these I have no time to speak, nor have they anything to do with you.  Whilst I dwelt in Kambaluc as the guest of the Emperor Timur, I made study of the religion of this mighty people, who, I was told, worshipped gods in the shape of men.  I visited a shrine called the Temple of Heaven, hoping that there I should see such a god who was named Tien, but found in it nothing but splendid emptiness.

“Then I asked if there was no god that I could see with my eyes, whereon the Emperor laughed at me and said there was such a god, but he counselled me not to visit him.  I prayed him to suffer me to do so, since I, who worshipped the only true God, feared no other.  Whereon, growing angry, he commanded some of his servants to ’take this fool to the house of Murgh and let him see whether his God could protect him against Murgh.’  Having said this he bade me farewell, adding that though every man must meet Murgh once, few met him twice, and therefore he did not think that he should see me again.

“Now, in my heart I grew afraid, but none would tell me more of this Murgh or what was likely to happen to me at his hands.  Still, I would not show any fear, and, strong in the faith of Christ, I determined to look upon this idol, for such I expected him to be.

“That night the servants of Timur bore me out of the city in a litter, and by the starlight I saw that we travelled toward a hill through great graveyards, where people were burying their dead.  At the foot of the hill they set me down upon a road, and told me to walk up it, and that at dawn I should see the House of Murgh, whereof the gates were always open, and could enter there if I wished.  I asked if they would wait for my return, whereon they answered, smiling, that if I so desired they would do so till evening, but that it seemed scarcely needful, since they did not suppose that I should return.

“‘Do yonder pilgrims to the House of Murgh return?’ asked their captain, pointing towards those graveyards which we had passed.

“I made no answer, but walked forward up a broad and easy road, unchallenged of any, till I came to what, even in that dim light, I could see was a great and frowning gateway, whereof the doors appeared to be open.  Now, at first I thought I would pass this gateway at once and see what lay beyond.  But from this I was held back by some great fear, for which I could find no cause, unless it were bred of what the Emperor and his servants had said to me.  So I remembered their words—­namely, that I should tarry till dawn to enter the house.