finde any thinge meete for the Prince, they take that that pleaseth them, yelding the valewe for it in other things, the rest remayneth at the merchaonts libertie. The small mooney they spende in this place is made of paper, which they yerely chaunge into a newe printe: for tholde mooney at the yeres ende is brought to the mynte wheare the bringer receaueth as much of the faire newe mooney, paieng for it, nevertheles, aftre twoo in the hundred of good sylver; and than is the olde mooney throwen into the fyre. As for the golde and syluer, they sell it by weight, and of those mettalls, they also make certein great peeces of mooney. [Sidenote: As some halles be in London.] I suppose these Cataini be paynems of belief, though divers of Zagatai and of other macons that come thense, saye they be christened; for whan I asked them howe they knowe them to be Christians, they answere, bicause they haue ymages in their churches as we haue. It happened me whilest I was in Tana, the said ambassadoʳ being wᵗʰ me, as I haue said before, there passed an olde man by me, a Venetian, called NICOLO DIEDO, who sometimes ware a gowen of cloth, lyned with sendall, open sleved, as in tymes past they vsed in Venice vpon a furred dublett, wᵗʰ an hoode on his shulder and a twoopeny strawen hatt on his heade: whom the said ambassadoʳ wondered at: saieng vnto me, This maner of apparaill vse the CATAINI to weare, and they arr like vnto the men of oʳ religion, and arr apparailed as we be. There groweth no wyne in that cuntrey; for the region is very colde, but of other vittaills there is plentie enough. These, wᵗʰ divers other things which I forbeare at this ꝓnt, arr such as I learned of the reapoʳte of the said ambassadoʳ of Tartarie, and of his famyliars, as tooching the province of Catay, wheare I was not myself, and therefore retoʳneng backe towards Tauris, liek as I haue spoken of the wayes east northeast, so shall I nowe declare vnto yoʷ the waie east southeast. First, we founde a citie called Chuerch, passing over those townes that we founde in the waie, of the which there is no notable thinge to be remembered. In this citie there is a pitt like vnto a fountaigne, in the keeping of their TALAFTIMANNI; that is to saie, their priests, the water whereof hath great vertue against the leaprie. Of which infirmitie I haue somewhat seene, not of experience, but of other mennes credulitie. For, at the same tyme there passed a frencheman that waie wᵗʰ certein seruants and guydes, that were moores, which frencheman was infected wᵗʰ the leaprie: and therefore (as we were informed) travailed thither to bathe himself in that water. What became of him I wote not, but the com̄on voice went that many were healed there. For whilest I taried there myself, I vnderstode notable things of the vertue of that water.[110] [Sidenote: Pistacchi is a kynde of delicate nuttes.]