at the top, and the noise from them when beaten was something terrific. Two monster drums would be slung on the back of an elephant, and the drummer, seated between the two, would beat first one and then another, when the signal was to be given to the fighting-men.

Imagine four hundred and sixty thousand soldiers, infantry and cavalry, marching to battle with the gigantic drums sounding, flags flying, troops shouting, and over all the war-banner of the great Emperor, streaming from his castle borne on the backs of four elephants. Truly that was a "parlous and fierce and fearful battle," the like of which we have never seen in our day.

Marco does not attempt to conceal his great admiration for the Khan, and takes pleasure in telling of the grand monarch's liberality and thoughtfulness for his captains and his people. Here is a characteristic chapter from our history:

HOW THE KAAN REWARDED THE VALOUR OF HIS

CAPTAINS.

So we will have done with this matter of Nayan, and go on with our account of the great state of the Great Kaan.

We have already told you of his lineage and of his age; but now I must tell you what he did after his return, in regard to those Barons who had behaved well in the battle. Him who was before captain of one hundred he made captain of one thousand; and him who was captain of one thousand men he made to be captain of ten thousand,

XIII.]

TABLETS OF AUTHORITY.

121

advancing every man according to his deserts and to his previous rank. Besides that, he also made them presents of fine silver plate and other rich appointments; gave them Tablets of Authority of a higher degree than they held before; and bestowed upon them fine jewels of gold and silver, and pearls and precious stones; insomuch that the amount that fell to each of them was something astonishing. And yet 'twas not so much as they had deserved; for never were men seen who did such feats of arms for the love and honour of their Lord as these had done on that day of the battle.

Now those Tablets of Authority, of which I have spoken, are ordered in this way: The officer who is a captain of one hundred hath a tablet of silver; the captain of one thousand hath a tablet of gold or silver-gilt; the commander of ten thousand hath a tablet of gold with a lion's head on it. And I will tell you the weight of the different tablets, and what they denote. The tablets of the captains of one hundred and one thousand weigh each of them one hundred and twenty saggi; and the tablet with the lion's head engraven on it, which is that of the commander of ten thousand, weighs two hundred and twenty saggi. And on each of the tablets is inscribed a device, which runs: "By the strength of the great God, and of the great grace which He hath accorded to our Emperor, may the name of the Kaan be blessed; and let all such as will not obey him be slain and be destroyed." And I tell you besides that all who hold these tablets likewise receive warrants in writing, declaring all their powers and privileges.

I should mention too that an officer who holds the chief command of one hundred thousand men, or who is generalin-chief of a great host, is entitled to a tablet that weighs three hundred saggi. It has an inscription thereon to the same purport that I have told you already, and below the inscription there is the figure of a lion, and below the lion

the sun and moon. They have warrants also of their high rank, command, and power. Every one, moreover, who holds a tablet of this exalted degree is entitled, whenever he goes abroad, to have a little golden canopy, such as is called an umbrella, carried on a spear over his head in token of his high command. And whenever he sits, he sits in a silver chair.

To certain very great lords also there is given a tablet with gerfalcons on it; this is only to the very greatest of the Kaan's Barons, and it confers on them his own full power and authority; so that if one of those chiefs wishes to send a messenger anywhither, he can seize the horses of any man, be he even a king, and any other chattels at his pleasure.

The tablets of gold and silver, given to special messengers and officers of the Great Khan, are frequently mentioned in Marco Polo's book. You will remember that, when the Khan sent the Polo brothers to their own country, as narrated in the first chapter of this book, he gave them a tablet of gold, on which was engraven an inscription which would procure for them all things needful for their journey through his dominions. The smallest of the tablets mentioned by Marco is said to weigh one hundred and twenty saggi. The saggio was a Venetian weight: as used by Polo, it was reckoned to be equal to about seventy-four grains troy; and this would indicate that the smallest of the golden tablets weighed eighteen and a half ounces troy.

The reader will notice that Polo refers to the

XIII.]

UMBRELLAS.

123

umbrella as if it were carried only by the favoured ones, who had won the special mark of approbation of their Sovereign. The history of the useful article, now so generally carried, wherever, in civilised countries, the rain or the sun is likely to interfere with the comfort of men and women, is of very ancient origin as suggested by the text above quoted, it was, at first, probably carried only by great personages. Among some of the sculptures of old Egypt may be seen the effigies of royal princesses protected from the sun by umbrellas. In the Middle Ages, the umbrella was a large, cumbrous affair, used in Europe chiefly by the high and mighty dignitaries of the Church. But in Oriental countries, the thing was, and still is, employed as a badge of distinction, being of elaborate and costly workmanship, and richly decorated. Umbrellas of inexpensive materials for every-day use were not common in England and America until very recent times. The name of Jonas Hanway will always be connected with this use of the umbrella. Returning to England from Persia in delicate health, Mr. Hanway (who died in 1786) shielded himself from the sun by one of the outlandish "canopies," which provoked the mirth of wayfarers and excited the wrath of the drivers of hackney-coaches and the bearers of sedan-chairs, who thought they saw in this contrivance a dangerous rival to their vehicles.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE BEAUTIFUL PALACE OF KUBLAI KHAN-HOW THE EMPEROR

SPENT

HIS

TIME-CONCERNING THE MIGHTY CITY OF

CAMBALUC-THE MANNER OF SERVING

DINNER IN THE

GREAT KHAN'S PALACE ANCIENT AND MODERN PEKING-
COSTLY ROBES.

HE personal appearance of the Great Khan is

THE

thus described by Marco: "He is of good stature, neither tall nor short, but of middle height. He has a becoming amount of flesh, and is very shapely in all his limbs. His complexion is white and red, the eyes black and fine, the nose well formed and well set on." But the portrait of Kublai Khan, drawn by a Chinese artist, does not exactly correspond with the pen portrait given here by Marco. This drawing leads us to infer that the Emperor was rather corpulent; moreover, we know, from Marco's own narrative, that he was subject to gout in his later life. After explaining that the family of the Great Khan are variously named and provided for, Marco goes on to tell of the glories of the imperial palace at Cambaluc, otherwise known as Peking:

You must know that for three months of the year, to