Show any particular sign
of sanctity." The like practice is ascribed to the rude Moslem of Gilghit;
and such allegations must have been current in Europe, for they are the
motive of Southey's St. Romuald:
"'But,' quoth the Traveller, 'wherefore did he leave
A flock that knew his saintly worth so well?'
"'Why, Sir,' the Host replied,
'We thought perhaps that he might one day leave us;
And then, should strangers have
The good man's grave,
A loss like that would naturally grieve us;
For he'll be made a saint of, to be sure.
Therefore we thought it prudent to secure
His relics while we might;
And so we meant to strangle him one night.'"
(See Sindh, pp. 86, 388; Ind. Antiq. I. 13; Southey's Ballads,
etc., ed. Routledge, p. 330.)
[Captain Gill (I. p. 323) says that he had made up his mind to visit a
place called Li-fan Fu, near Ch'eng-tu. "I was told," he writes, "that
this place was inhabited by the Man-Tzu, or Barbarians, as the Chinese
call them; and Monseigneur Pinchon told me that, amongst other pleasing
theories, they were possessed of the belief that if they poisoned a rich
man, his wealth would accrue to the poisoner; that, therefore, the
hospitable custom prevailed amongst them of administering poison to rich
or noble guests; that this poison took no effect for some time, but that
in the course of two or three months it produced a disease akin to
dysentery, ending in certain death." - H.C.]
[1] Mr. E.H. Parker writes (China Review, XXIV. p. 106): "Polo's
Kogatin is Hukoch'ih, who was made King of Yun-nan in 1267,
with military command over Ta-li, Shen-shen, Chagan Chang,
Golden-Teeth, etc." - H.C.
[2] Though the bellowing of certain American crocodiles is often spoken
of, I have nowhere seen allusion to the roaring of the
ghariyal, nor does it seem to be commonly known. I have once
only heard it, whilst on the bank of the Ganges near Rampur Boliah,
waiting for a ferry-boat. It was like a loud prolonged snore; and
though it seemed to come distinctly from a crocodile on the surface of
the river, I made sure by asking a boatman who stood by: "It is the
ghariyal speaking," he answered.
CHAPTER L.
CONCERNING THE PROVINCE OF ZARDANDAN.
When you have left Carajan and have travelled five days westward, you find
a province called ZARDANDAN. The people are Idolaters and subject to the
Great Kaan. The capital city is called VOCHAN.[NOTE 1]
The people of this country all have their teeth gilt; or rather every man
covers his teeth with a sort of golden case made to fit them, both the
upper teeth and the under.
