Note 295 — PRIMO VIAGGIO INTORNO AL MONDO (continued 2)

This passage is considerably abbreviated in MS. 5,650, where it reads as follows: “The prince, the king’s nephew, took us to his house, where he showed us four girls who were playing on four very strange and very sweet instruments, and their manner of playing was somewhat musical. Afterward he had us dance with them. Those girls were naked except that they wore a garment made of the said palm-tree cloth before their privies and which hung from the waist to the knee, although some were quite naked. We were given refreshments there, and then we returned to the ships.” These gongs are used in many parts of the Orient.