er. In his
right waistcoat-pocket we found a prodigious bundle of white thin
substances, folded one over another, about the bigness of three men,
tied with a strong cable, and marked with black figures; which we
humbly conceive to be writings, every letter almost half as large as
the palm of our hands. In the left there was a sort of engine, from
the back of which were extended twenty long poles, resembling the
pallisados before your majesty's court: wherewith we conjecture the
man-mountain combs his head; for we did not always trouble him with
questions, because we found it a great difficulty to make him
understand us. In the large pocket, on the right side of his middle
cover" (so I translate the word _ranfulo_, by which they meant my
breeches,) "we saw a hollow pillar of iron, about the length of a
man, fastened to a strong piece of timber larger than the pillar; and
upon one side of the pillar, were huge pieces of iron sticking out,
cut into strange figures, which we know not what to make of. In the
left pocket, another engine of the same kind. In the smaller pocket
on the right side, were several round flat pieces of white and red
metal, of different bulk; some of the white, which seemed to be
silver, were so large and heavy, that my comrade and I could hardly
lift them. In the left pocket were two black pillars irregularly
shaped: we could not, without difficulty, reach the top of them, as
we stood at the bottom of his pocket. One of them was covered, and
seemed all of a piece: but at the upper end of the other there
appeared a white round substance, about twice the bigness of our
heads. Within each of these was enclosed a prodigious plate of
steel; which, by our orders, we obliged him to show us, because we
apprehended they might be dangerous engines. He took them out of
their cases, and told us, that in his own country his practice was to
shave his beard with one of these, and cut his meat with the other.
There were two pockets which we could not enter: these he called his
fobs; they were two large slits cut into the top of his middle cover,
but squeezed close by the pressure of his belly. Out of the right
fob hung a great silver chain, with a wonderful kind of engine at the
bottom. We directed him to draw out whatever was at the end of that
chain; which appeared to