I might save his drink to supply my own urgent wants, and save my own life. SECTION XVI. _Of the Kingdom of Orissa and the River Ganges_. This was a fair and well regulated kingdom, through which a man might have travelled with gold in his hand without danger, so long as it was governed by its native sovereign who was a Gentile, and resided in the city of _Catecha_[161] six days journey inland. This king loved strangers, especially merchants who traded in his dominions, insomuch that he took no customs from them, neither did he vex them with any grievous impositions, only that each ship that came thither paid some small affair in proportion to her tonnage. Owing to this good treatment twenty-five ships, great and small, used to lade yearly in the port of Orissa, mostly with rice and with different kinds of white cotton cloths, oil of _zerzerline_ or _verzino_ which is made from a seed, and answers well for eating or frying fish, lac, long pepper, ginger, dry and candied mirabolans, and great store of cloth made from a kind of silk which grows on trees requiring no labour or cultivation, as when the _bole_ or round pod is grown to the size of an orange, all they have to do is to gather it. About sixteen years before this, the Pagan king of Orissa was defeated and slain and his kingdom conquered, by the king of _Patane_[162], who was also king of the greatest part of Bengal. After the conquest of Orissa, this king imposed a duty of 20 per centum on all trade, as had been formerly paid in his other dominions. But this king did not enjoy his acquisitions long, being soon conquered by another tyrant, who was the great Mogul of Delhi, Agra, and Cambaia, against whom the king of Patane made very little resistance. [Footnote 161: Cuttack, at the head of the Delta of the Mahamuddy or Gongah river, in lat. 20° 32' N. lon. 86° 9' E. is probably here meant, It is only about 45 miles from the sea, but might have been six days journey from the port where the author took shelter, which probably was Balasore.--E.] [Footnote 162: Probably so called from residing at Patna, called Patane in the text.--E.]