Travels to Tana and Persia : $b A narrative of Italian travels in Persia, in the 15th and 16th centuriesBarbaro, Giosofat
History
Travels to Tana and Persia : $b A narrative of Italian travels in Persia, in the 15th and 16th centuries
Barbaro, Giosofat
Iran -- Description and travel; Voyages and travels
from others, thinking never to meete again, do easylie forgett their
amitie, and so vse not those curtesies that they ought to vse: wherein,
by that litle experience that I haue had, me seemeth they do not well.
For, as the saieng is, mountaignes shall never meate, but men may. In
my retoʳneng out of PERSIA wᵗʰ the Ambassadoʳ of ASSAMBEI,[15] willing
to passe through Tartarie, and so through POLONIA to cōme to Venice
(though at that time I went not through that waie), it chaunced me to be
in companie of divers Tartarien merchaunts of whom I enquired for this
Edelmulg, and learned by signes of the phisonomie, and by the name, that
he which was given me by the father, as those Tartariens than telled me,
was great wᵗʰ thempoʳ. So that if we had goon further we must needes haue
fallen into his handes. In which cace I am assured I shulde haue had no
lesse good cheere of him, than as I haue made both to him and his father,
but who wolde haue belieued that xxxvᵗⁱᵉ yeres aftre in so ferre distant
cuntreys a Tartarien shulde haue mett wᵗʰ a Venetian? An other thinge
I woll rehearse even to the same purpose. The yere 1455, being in a
vinteners seller in the Rialto, as I ꝑvsed the seller in thone end of the
same, I ꝑceaued twoo men tyed in chaynes, which, by their countenaunce,
me thought shulde be Tartariens. I asked who they were, and they answered
that they had been sklaves of the Catelaines, and that, fleing awaie,
in a litle bote, they were taken by this vyntener, wherevpon I went
incontinently to the SIGNORI DI NOTTE, and declared this matter, who
by and by sent officers thither, brought them to the coʳte, and in the
vinteners presence delivered them, putteng him to his fyne. Thus I gate
them loosed, and had them home to my house, and askeng them what they
were and of what cuntrey; thone of them answered, he was of Tana, and had
been serunt to Cazadahuch, whom I had knowen well, for he was thempoʳˢ
customer over all things that came vnto Tana; so that, regarding him
more advisedly, me seemed to remembre his face, for he had been many
tymes in my house. I asked him what was his name. He answered, Chebechzi,
which signifieth a bulter of meale. And whan I had well behelde him, I
saied vnto him, doest thoᵘ knowe me? He answered, no. But, as soone as
I mentioned TANA and JUSUPH (for so they called me there), he fell to
thearthe, and wolde haue kissed my feete: saieng vnto me, thoʷ hast saved
my lief twies, and this is thone of them, for being a sklave I rekened
myself deade, and thother was whan Tana was on fyre, thoʷ madest an hole
in the wall, through the which so many creatures escaped, amongest whom
was I and my mʳ both. And it is true, for whan Tana was sett on fyre,
I made an hole in the wall forneagaint a certein grounde wheare many
persons were assembled: through the which there issued aboue xl, and
amongest them this felowe and CAZADAHUCH. I kept these twoo Tartariens
in my house about twoo moonethes, and when the shippes departed towardes
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