THE land of the great Caane is departed in xii provinces, and euery province hath more than two thousande cities and townes. And when the Emperour rideth through the countrey, & he passeth through cities & townes, eche man maketh a fyre before his house, & caste therein ensence & other things that giue good smell to the Emperour. And if any man of relygion that are Christen men dwel nere as the Emperour cometh they mete him with procession, with crosse and holye water, and they singe, _Veni creator spiritus_ with a loude voyce, and when he seeth them comming he commaundeth the lordes that they ride nere to him to make way that the religious men may come to him, and when he seeth the crosse, he doeth[2] of his hat that is made of precious stones and greate perles, & that hat is so riche that it is marvaile to tel, and then he enclineth to the crosse, & the prelate of the religious men sayth orisons before him and giveth him the benison[3] with the crosse, and he enclineth to the benison ful devoutly, and then the prelate giveth him some fruite to the number of ix in a platter of gold,[4] peares or apples or other fruite, & then the Emperour taketh one thereof and the other he giveth to his lordes, for the maner is such there, that no strange man shall come before the Emperour but he giue him somewhat, after the olde law that sayth, _Non accedat in conspectu meo manis_[5] That is to say, No man come into my sight idle. And then y^e Emperour biddeth these religious men that they shall goe forth, so that the men of his hoste defyle them not, and those relygious men that dwell where the Empresse or the Emperours sonne cometh, they do in the same maner. [Footnote 1: Partitioned.] [Footnote 2: Taketh off.] [Footnote 3: Blessing.] [Footnote 4: Others say silver.] [Footnote 5: Misprint for _vacuus_, empty-handed.] CAP. LXXV. _How the great Caan is the mightiest lord of all the worlde._ THIS great Caane is the myghtiest lorde of the worlde, for prester[1] John is not so great a lorde as he, nor the Sowdan of Babilon, ne y^e Emperour of Percy. In this lande a man hath a hundred wives & some xi,[2] some more some lesse, & they take of their kin to wives, all saue their sisters, their mothers & daughters and they take also wel theyr stepmother if their father be dead, and men & women haue all one maner of clothing, so that they may not bee knowne, but y^t women that are wedded beare a token on theyr heads, & they dwell not with their housbandes, but he may lye by which he will. They have plenty of all maner of beastes save swine, and forsoth they wyll (_have_) none, and they beleve well in God that made all thing, & yet have they ydoles of golde and sylver, and to those Idols they offer theyr fyrst mylke of beastes.