in all, and each gateway is fortified with towers of stone, other towers being fixed at intervals of about sixty yards all round the walls. These towers project fifty feet from the outer side of the walls, and those at the gateways have in front of them a fortification of a semicircular shape, so that the gate must be entered from the side, and not from the front.

The Tatar city is divided into three enclosures, each being surrounded with its own wall, and each inside of another. The innermost of these is the Prohibited City, and contains the imperial palaces and offices. Its circumference is nearly two miles; the wall is covered with imperial-yellow tiles, which look brilliant when seen from a distance. The enclosure next outside of this is occupied by the government offices, and by the army appointed to keep guard over the Emperor and his family. The next outside of this is the outermost of all, and consists of dwelling-houses and shops.

Although Polo begins his account of the chief city of Cathay with some flourish, he dismisses it, after he has described the palaces and pleasure-grounds, without many words. This is what he has to say of the capital of the empire:

CONCERNING THE CITY OF CAMBALUC.

Now there was on that spot in old times a great and noble city called Cambaluc, which is as much as to say in our tongue "The City of the Emperor." But the

XIV.]

ANCIENT PEKING.

131

Great Kaan was informed by his astrologers that this city would prove rebellious, and raise great disorders against his imperial authority. So he caused the present city to be built close beside the old one, with only a river between them. And he caused the people of the old city to be removed to the new town that he had founded; and this he called Taidu. However, he allowed a portion of the people whom he did not suspect to remain in the old city, because the new one would not hold the whole of them, big as it is.

As regards the size of this new city, you must know that it has a compass of twenty-four miles, for each side of it hath a length of six miles, and it is four-square. And it is all walled round with walls of earth, which have a thickness of full ten paces at the bottom, and a height of more than ten paces; but they are not so thick at the top, for they diminish in thickness as they rise, so at top they are only about three paces thick. And they are provided throughout with loop-holed battlements, which are all whitewashed.

There are twelve gates, and over each gate there is a great and handsome palace, so that there are on each side of the square three gates and five palaces; for (I ought to mention) there is at each angle also a great and handsome palace. In those palaces are vast halls in which are kept the arms of the city garrison.

The streets are so straight and wide that you can see right along them from end to end and from one gate to the other. And up and down the city there are beautiful palaces, and many and fine hostelries, and fine houses. in great numbers. All the plots of ground on which the houses of the city are built are four-square and laid out in straight lines, and the plots being occupied by great and spacious palaces, with courts and gardens of proportionate size. All these plots are assigned to different

heads of families. Each square plot is encompassed by handsome streets for traffic; and thus the whole city is arranged in squares just like a chess-board, and disposed in a manner so perfect and masterly that it is impossible to give a description that should do it justice.

Moreover, in the middle of the city there is a great clock-that is to say, a bell, which is struck at night. And after it has struck three times no one must go out in the city, unless it be for the needs of a woman in labour or of the sick. And those who go about on such errands are bound to carry lanterns with them. Moreover, the established guard at each gate of the city is one thousand armed men; not that you are to imagine this guard is kept up for fear of any attack, but only as a guard of honour for the Sovereign, who resides there, and to prevent thieves from doing mischief in the town.

The "great palaces" which Marco saw over the gates and at the angles of the walls still exist, although they are now used as defences for the gates rather than as palaces. The public clock-towers were probably provided with water-clocks to indicate the hour; these were copper basins set one above the other in brickwork, like a series of steps; and the water flowing downward from one basin to another marked by its fall the flight of time. The hour was struck by the watchman on a large gong suspended in the clock-tower.

That the Great Khan maintained great state in this wonderful city, and whenever he went abroad, can well be imagined. Marco Polo tells of the twelve