_Of a rych man that is neyther king, prince, duke nor erle._
AND from this men go ten journeys through the land of the great Caan,
which is a full good yle & a great kingdom & the king is ful mighty.
And in this yle is a rich man which is no king, prince, Duke nor Erle,
but he hath eche yere cccc[1] thousand horses charged[2] with ryce
and corne, and he hath a noble & a rich life after the maner of the
countrey, for he hath L damosels that serve him every day at his meate
& bed and do what he wil. And when he sytteth at the table they bring
him meat, & at eche time fiue meates togither, and they sing in the
bringing a song, and they cut his meate and put it in his mouth, and
he hath righte long nayles on his hands, that is a great nobility in
that countrey & therefore they let theyr nayles grow as long as they
may,[3] and some let them growe so long that they come about theyr
handes and y^t is a great nobility & gentry, and the gentry of a woman
is to haue small fete, and therefore anon as they are borne, they
binde their feete so straight that they cannot wax halfe as they
shoulde. And he hath a full faire palaice, & rich, wher he dwelleth,
of which the wall is two myle about, & there is many faire gardeins,
and all the pavement of the hal, & chambres, is of gold & silver, and
in the midst of one of these gardeins is a lyttle hyl, whereon is a
place made wyth toures and pynacles all of golde, and there he wyll
syt often to take the ayer and disport, for it is made for nothing
else. From this land men may go through y^e land of the great Caane.
[Footnote 1: Other editions say 300,000.]
[Footnote 2: Loaded.]
[Footnote 3: Similar to the Chinese custom of the upper
classes.]