AD. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



c. 1580. 



great ditch, which extendeth into the river, and passeth 

 through the midst of the citie, and entring there are 

 innumerable barkes rowing too and fro laden with gallant 

 girles and beautifull dames, which with singing, eating, 

 drinking and feasting, take their solace. The women of 

 this countrey are most beautifull, and goe in rich attire 

 bedecked with gold, pretious stones, and jewels of great 

 value, but chiefely perfumed with odours, and are very 

 libidinous, and the men likewise, but foule and hard 

 favoured. The soile is very fertile and abundant, the 

 flesh fat which they sell without bones, their candles 

 they make of the marowe of cattell, because the Moores 

 eate the tallow. They use also certaine litle furnaces 

 made of purpose, under the which they make fire, putting 

 into the furnace foure or five hundred egges, and the 

 said fire they nourish by litle and litle, untill the chickens 

 be hatched, which after they be hatched, and become 

 somewhat bigger, they sell them by measure in such 

 sort, as we sell and measure nuts and chestnuts and such 

 like. 



Of certaine notable monuments without the citie 

 of Cairo. 



Without the Citie, sixe miles higher into the land, 

 are to be scene neere unto the river diverse Pira- 

 mides, among which are three marveilous great, and very 

 artificially wrought. Out of one of these are dayly 

 digged the bodies of auncient men, not rotten but all 

 whole, the cause whereof is the qualitie of the Egyptian 

 soile, which will not consume the flesh of man, but 

 rather dry and harden the same, and so alwayes con- 

 serveth it. And these dead bodies are the Mummie 

 which the Phisitians and Apothecaries doe against our 

 willes make us to swallow. Also by digging in these 

 Pyramides oftentimes are found certaine Idoles or Images 

 of golde, silver, and other mettall, but under the other 

 piramides the bodies are not taken up so whole as in 

 this, but there are found legges and armes comparable to 



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