faire porte into the sea, whither come many ships from Mecca, Malacca,
Sumatra, and from diuers other places. And there the ships staie and
discharge, and send vp their goods in Paroes to Pegu. [Sidenote: Coches
caried on mens shoulders.] From Cirion we went to Macao, which is a prettie
towne, where we left our boates or Paroes, and in the morning taking
Delingeges, which are a kind of Coches made of cords and cloth quilted, and
caried vpon a stang betweene 3. or 4. men: we came to Pegu the same day.
Pegu is a citie very great, strong, and very faire, with walles of stone,
and great ditches round about it. There are two townes, the old towne and
the newe. In the olde towne are all the marchants strangers, and very many
marchants of the countrey. All the goods are sold in the olde towne which
is very great, and hath many suburbes round about it, and all the houses
are made of Canes which they call Bambos, and bee couered with strawe
['srawe' in source text--KTH]. In your house you haue a Warehouse which
they call Godon, which is made of bricke to put your goods in, for
oftentimes they take fire and burne in an houre foure or fiue hundred
houses: so that if the Gordon [sic--KTH] were not, you should bee in danger
to haue all burned, if any winde should rise, at a trice. In the newe towne
is the king, and all his Nobilitie and Gentrie. It is a citie very great
and populous, and is made square and with very faire walles, and a great
ditch roundabout it full of water, with many crocodiles in it: it hath
twenty gates, and they bee made of stone, for euery square fiue gates.
There are also many Turrets for Centinels to watch, made of wood, and
gilded with golde very faire. The streets are the fairest that euer I saw,
as straight as a line from one gate to the other, and so broad that tenne
or twelue men may ride a front thorow them. On both sides of them at euery
mans doore is set a palmer tree which is the nut tree: which make a very
faire shew and a very commodious shadow, so that a man may walke in the
shade all day. The houses be made of wood, and couered with tiles. The
kings house is in the middle of the city, and is walled and ditched round