on
oportet latere, confestim mittuntur per reges aut barones nuncij in
dromedarijs aut equis, qui celerrime festinant ad certa hospitia, ad hoc
ipsum, velut absque numero per imperium instituta: Isque nuncius hospitio
appropinquans, et cornu resonans, dum auditor paratur minicius alter, qui
de manu suscipiens literas, per recentem dromedarium festinat ad aliud
hospitium, et sic in breui tempore perferuntur rumores ad curia aures.
[Sidenote: Cursores, Chidibo Tartarice dicti.] Similique modo nuncij
pedites permutantur de hospitio in hospitium, vt citius percipiatur
negocium huius nuncij: appellantur sua lingua Chidibo.

[Sidenote: Charita Mandeuilli.] Ergo per praemissa satis elucet magnam esse
nobilitatem, potestatem, reuerentiam, et dominationem Imperatoris Tartariae
Grand Can de Cathay, et quod nullus ab ista parte Imperator nec Persiae, nec
Babylonia, nec Greciae, sed nec Romae est illi comparandus. Vnde et multum
miserandum est, quia ipse cum toto Imperio nec est fide Catholica
illustratus, nec salutari lauachro regeneratus: et hoc oremus vt in breui
eueniat, per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum.

Explicit pars secunda huius opens.

The English Version.

And whan the emperour dyethe, men setten him in a chayere in myddes the
place of his tent: and men setten a table before him clene, covered with a
clothe, and there upon flesche and dyverse vyaundes, and a cuppe fulle of
mares mylk: And men putten a mare besyde him, with hire fole, and an hors
saddled and brydeled; and thei leyn upon the hors gold and silver gret
quantytee: and thei putten abouten him gret plentee of stree: and than men
maken a gret pytt and a large; and with the tent and alle theise other
thinges, then putten him in erthe. And thei seyn, that whan he schalle come
in to another world, he schalle not ben with outen an hows, ne with owten
hors, ne with outen gold and sylver: and the mare schalle zeven him mylk,
and bryngen him forthe mo hors, tille he be wel stored in the tother world.
For thei trowen, that aftre hire dethe, thei schulle be etynge and
drynkynge in that other world, and solacynge hem with hire wifes, as thei
diden here. And aftre tyme, that the emperour is thus entered, no man
schalle be so hardy to speke of him before his frendes, And zit natheles
somtyme fallethe of manye, that thei maken hem to ben entered prevylly be
nyghte, in wylde places, and putten azen the grasse over the pytt for to
growe: or elle men coveren the pytt with