Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/109

97 ARAB WRITERS AND MARCO POLO. 97 houses belonging to the great people and rich and powerful men who reside in the place. And there are many abbeys and churches of idolaters, and the houses of the city have high towers of stone, where valuable things are put, for fear of fire. For the other habita- tions are of wood. The people are idolaters, and eat the flesh of dogs and other vile animals that Christians would on no account eat. " Know, also, that within this city is a mount, and on the mount a tower, and on the tower a plate of metal ; and whenever fire or any other cause of alarm happens in the city, a man, put there for the purpose, strikes this plate with a hammer, with which he is provided, so strongly, that he is heard afar off; so that when one hears that sound, one may know certainly that there is fire or some other distress. All the streets are paved with stone, and also all the roads in the country of Mangy *, and one can ride upon them very conveniently ; and if it were not for this pavement, one could not well ride, for the country is very low, and when it rains there are many pools. And know, also, that this city has full three thousand baths, with springs that issue from the ground, from which the people have much delight and cleanliness ; and the ocean sea is at about twenty-five miles off, near the town that they call Ganfoo ; and there are many great ships there, which come and go from India and other foreign parts, and bring and take back merchandise of such kinds as are thought of most worth in the city ; and from the city of Quinsay there goes a great river unto the sea-port. VOL. I. H
 * Southern China.