Armenia Minor--Armenia--Mount Ararat--Georgia--Mosul, Baghdad, Bussorah, Tauris--Persia--The Province of Kirman--Comadi-- Ormuz--The Old Man of the Mountain--Cheburgan--Balkh--Cashmir-- Kashgar--Samarcand--Kotan--The Desert--Tangun--Kara-Korum-- Signan-fu--The Great Wall--Chang-tou--The residence of Kublai-Khan--Cambaluc, now Pekin--The Emperor's fetes--His hunting--Description of Pekin--Chinese Mint and bank-notes--The system of posts in the Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 III. Tso-cheu--Tai-yen-fou--Pin-yang-fou--The Yellow River-- Signan-fou--Szu-tchouan--Ching-tu-fou--Thibet--Li-kiang-fou-- Carajan--Yung-tchang--Mien--Bengal--Annam--Tai-ping--Cintingui-- Sindifoo--Te-cheu--Tsi-nan-fou--Lin-tsin-choo--Lin-sing--Mangi-- Yang-tcheu-fou--Towns on the coast--Quin-say or Hang-tcheou-foo--Fo-kien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 IV. Japan--Departure of the three Venetians with the Emperor's daughter and the Persian ambassadors--Sai-gon--Java--Condor-- Bintang--Sumatra--The Nicobar Islands--Ceylon--The Coromandel coast--The Malabar coast--The Sea of Oman--The island of Socotra--Madagascar--Zanzibar and the coast of Africa-- Abyssinia--Yemen--Hadramaut and Oman--Ormuz--The return to Venice--A feast in the household of Polo--Marco Polo a Genoese prisoner--Death of Marco Polo about 1323 . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 CHAPTER V. IBN BATUTA, 1328-1353. Ibn Batuta--The Nile--Gaza, Tyre, Tiberias, Libanus, Baalbec, Damascus, Meshid, Bussorah, Baghdad, Tabriz, Mecca and Medina-- Yemen--Abyssinia--The country of the Berbers--Zanguebar--Ormuz-- Syria--Anatolia--Asia Minor--Astrakhan--Constantinople-- Turkestan--Herat--The Indus--Delhi--Malabar--The Maldives-- Ceylon--The Coromandel coast--Bengal--The Nicobar Islands-- Sumatra--China--Africa--The Niger--Timbuctoo . . . . . . . . . . 77 CHAPTER VI. JEAN DE BETHENCOURT, 1339-1425. I. The Norman cavalier--His ideas of conquest--What was known of the Canary Islands--Cadiz--The Canary Archipelago--Graciosa-- Lancerota--Fortaventura--Jean de Bethencourt returns to Spain-- Revolt of Berneval--His interview with King Henry III.--Gadifer visits the Canary Archipelago--Canary Island or "Gran Canaria"-- Ferro Island--Palma Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 II. The return of Jean de Bethencourt--Gadifer's jealousy-- Bethencourt visits his archipelago--Gadifer goes to conquer Gran Canaria--Disagreement of the two commanders--Their return to Spain--Gadifer blamed by the King--Return of Bethencourt--The natives of Fortaventura are baptized--Bethencourt revisits Caux--Returns to Lancerota--Lands on the African coast--Conquest of Gran Canaria, Ferro, and Palma Islands--Maciot appointed Governor of the archipelago--Bethencourt obtains the Pope's consent to the Canary Islands being made an Episcopal See--His return to his country and his death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 CHAPTER VII. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, 1436-1506. I.