United States or Fiji ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !


And zee schulle undirstonde, that marchaundes, that comen fro Gene or fro Venyse or fro Romanye, or other partyes of Lombardye, thei gon be see and be lond 11 monethes, or 12, or more sum tyme, or thei may come to the yle of Cathay, that is the princypalle regyoun of alle partyes bezonde; and it is of the grete Cane.

And in another yle ben folk, that han gret eres and longe, that hangen doun to here knees. And in another yle ben folk, that han hors feet; and thei ben stronge and myghty and swift renneres; for thei taken wyld bestes with rennyng, and eten hem.

And from that yle, men gon be see, from yle to yle, unto an yle, that is clept Tracoda; where the folk of that contree ben as bestes and unresonable, and duellen in caves, that thei maken in the erthe; for thei have no wytt to maken hem houses. And whan thei seen ony man passynge thorghe here contrees, thei hyden hem in here caves.

He continues "They wanderynge and reioysinge at their good and fortunate arrival, named this yle in Greeke Olbion, which in Englishe signifieth happy." We quote the following "last scene of poor Jack's eventful history" from Capt. Basil Hall's Fragments of Voyages and Travel, a work, observes the Quarterly Review, "sure sooner or later, to be in everybody's hands."

Fro this lond men gon to another yle, that is clept Silha: and it is welle a 800 myles aboute. In that lond is fulle mochelle waste; for it is fulle of serpentes, of dragouns and of cokadrilles; that no man dar duelle there.

For thei ben right gode werryoures, and wyse, noble and worthi. And thei gon often tyme in sowd, to help of other kynges in here werres, for gold and sylver, as othere sowdyoures don: and thei meyntenen hem self right vygouresly. This lond of Amazoyne is an Yle, alle envirouned with the see, saf in 2 places, where ben 2 entrees.

And men clepen the olifantes, warkes. And in that yle there is a gret marvayle, more to speke of than in ony other partie of the world.

For thei holden hem self most noble and most worthi of alle the world. And thei han werre alle weys with the folk that gon alle naked. And faste besyde is another yle, that is clept Betemga, that is a gode yle and a plentyfous. And many other yles ben there about; where ther ben many of dyverse folk: of the whiche it were to longe to speke of alle.

From that contree, men gon be the see occean, be an yle that is clept Caffolos. Men of that contree, whan here frendes ben seke, thei hangen hem upon trees; and seyn, that it is bettre, that briddes, that ben angeles of God, eten hem, than the foule wormes of the erthe.

And there ben also many wylde bestes, and namelyche of olyfauntes. In that yle is a gret mountayne; and in mydd place of the mount, is a gret lake in a fulle faire pleyne, and there is a gret plentee of watre. And thei of the contree seyn, that Adam and Eve wepten upon that mount an 100 zeer, whan thei weren dryven out of Paradys.