tretched in the fashion that I have described,
which it fitted exactly. Then he told me that in his country all
the nobles wore such ornaments and that those who did so were called
"ear-men" to distinguish them from the common people. Also he told me
many other things too long to set out, which made me desire more than
ever to see this empire with my eyes, for an empire and no less he
declared it to be.

Afterwards Kari made many such ornaments which I sold for brooches with
a pin set at the back of them. Also he shaped other things, for his
skill as a goldsmith was wonderful, such as cups and platters of strange
design and rich ornamentation which commanded a great price. But on
every one of them, in the centre or some other part of the embossment,
appeared this image of the sun. I asked him why. He answered because the
sun was his god and his people were Sun-worshippers. I reminded him that
he had said that a certain Pachacamac whose image he wore about his neck
was his god. To this he replied:

"Yes, Pachacamac is the god above gods, the Creator, the Spirit of the
World, but the Sun is his visible house and raiment that all may see
and worship," a saying that I thought had truth in it, seeing that all
Nature is the raiment of God.

I tried to instruct him in our faith, but although he listened patiently
and I think understood, he would not become a Christian, making it
very plain to me that he thought that a man should live and die in the
religion in which he was born and that from what he saw in London he did
not hold that Christians were any better than those who worshipped
the sun and the great spirit, Pachacamac. So I abandoned this attempt,
although there was danger to him while he remained a heathen. Indeed
twice or thrice the priests made inquiry concerning his faith, being
curious as to all that had to do with him. However, I silenced them by
pretending that I was instructing him as well as I was able and that as
yet he did not know enough English to hearken to their holy expositions.
Also when they became persistent I made gifts to the monasteries to
which they belonged, or if they were parish priests, then to their cures
or churches.

Still I was troubled about this matter, for some of these priests were
very fierce and intolerant, and I was sure that in time they would push
the business further.

One more thing I noticed about Kari, namely, that he shrank from women
and indeed seemed to hate them. Th