_The waye to Babylon whereas the Soudan dwelleth._
[Illustration]
AND whoso wyll go through the lande of Babylon where the Soudan[1]
dwelleth, to have leave to go more sykerly[2] throughe the Churches &
countreys, and to go to mount Sinay before he come to Hierusalem, and
then turne agayne by Hierusalem; he shall goe from Gaza to the
castell Dayre. And after a man commeth out of Surry, and goeth in the
wildernesse, where the waye is full sandy, and the wyldernesse lasteth
eyght Journeys,[3] where men findeth all that them nedeth of vytayles
and men call that wyldernesse Archelleke,[4] and whan a man commeth
out of this deserte, hee entreth into Egypte, and they call Egypte,
Canopat,[5] and in another language men call it Mersyne,[6] and the
fyrste goode towne that men fynde is called Beleth, and it is at the
ende of the Kingdome of Alape,[7] and from thence men come to Babylon
and to Kayre,[8] and in Babylon is a fayre churche of our lady, where
she dwelled vii yeare when she was oute of the lande of Jewes, for
dreade of Kynge Herode. And there lyeth the bodye of Saynte Barbara
vyrgyn, and there dwelled Joseph whan he was solde of his brethrene,
and there made Nabugodonosor put the children in (_the_) fire, for
they were of right[9] trouth, the which chyldren men call Anania,
Azaria, and Misael (as y^e psalme of Benedicite saith) but
Nabugodonosor called them thus, Sydrac, Mysac, Abdenago, that is to
say, God glorious, God victorious, God over all Kingedomes, and that
was for myracle that he made Goddes sonne, as he sayd, go wyth those
chyldren throughe the fyre. There dwelleth the Soudan, for there is
a faire citie and a stronge castell and it standeth upon a rocke. In
that Castell is always dwellyng to kepe the castell and to serve the
soudan, above viii[10] thousand persons or folk that take all theyr
necessaries at the Soudans courte. I should well knowe it, for I
dwelled with him soudiour[11] in his warres a great while agayne the
Bedions,[12] and he wold haue wedded me to a great princes daughter
ryght richly, if I would haue forsaken my faith.
[Footnote 1: Sultan.]
[Footnote 2: Certainly, surely.]
[Footnote 3: Day's march.]
[Footnote 4: Athylec, Abylech, Alhylet, Alhelet, Abylet.]
[Footnote 5: Query Canopus, a city 12 miles from Alexandria,
named after the pilot of Menelaus' vessel, who was buried
here.]
[Footnote 6: Mersur, Morsyn.]
[Footnote 7: Aleppo.]
[Footnote 8: Cairo.]
[Footnote 9: True faith.]
[Footnote 10: Other editions say 6,000.]
[Footnote 11: Soldier.]
[Footnote 12: Bedouins.]