of scoundrels and men-slayers, one Hassan-ben-Sabah, had his stronghold in Mount Lebanon, in the southern part of Syria; and he was also known as the Old Man of the Mountain.

It is interesting to know that the story of the Old One was current all over the East, and that we get our word "assassin" from the vile practices of that wicked man, who really did exist, and whose followers are still to be found in remote corners of the East. The drug which he gave to those whom he desired to enlist in his band was hashish, or Cannabis Indica. This is a learned name for Indian hemp, from which the drug is derived. Men who used the hashish to give them pleasant sleep and beautiful dreams were called "hashishiyyin"; and it was easy to make the word "assassin" out of hashishiyyin.

That this is the true origin of the English word nobody need doubt. As Marco passed by the castle of the Old Man of the Mountain not long after the defeat of the latter by the Prince Alaü, we can believe that he heard a true account of what had happened; and it is not unlikely that the followers of this chief, the Assassins, as they were called, were a numerous band of fanatics who were spread over a considerable part of the East.

At Taican, three days' journey from Badashan, Marco is much struck (and no wonder) by the mountains of salt:

IV.]

MOUNTAINS OF SALT.

59

Taican is a fine place, and the mountains that you see towards the south are all composed of salt. People from all the countries round, to some thirty days' journey, come to fetch this salt, which is the best in the world, and is so hard that it can only be broken with iron picks. 'Tis in such abundance that it would supply the whole world to the end of time.

CHAPTER V.

THE GEMS OF BADAKSHAN-A ROYAL PREROGATIVE-THE

B

CONJURERS OF CASHMERE.

ADASHAN, of which our traveller wrote an

interesting account, is now known as Badakshan; it lies to the north of that range of mountains which bears the name of the Hindu Kush, in Central Asia, south of Bokhara and north of Afghanistan. Marco's eyes are now turned eastward, and he writes thus of the country of which the outside world knew nothing then :

OF THE PROVINCE OF BADASHAN.

BADASHAN is a Province inhabited by people who worship Mahommet, and have a peculiar language. It forms a very great kingdom, and the royalty is hereditary. All those of the royal blood are descended from King Alexander and the daughter of King Darius, who was Lord of the vast Empire of Persia. And all these kings call themselves in the Saracen tongue Zulcarniain, which is as much as to say "Alexander"; and this out of regard for Alexander the Great.

It is in this province that those fine and valuable gems, the Balas Rubies, are found. They are got in certain

Ch. V.]

GEMS OF BADAKSHAN.

61

rocks among the mountains, and in the search for them the people dig great caves underground, just as is done by miners for silver. There is but one special mountain that produces them, and it is called Syghinan. The stones are dug on the King's account, and no one else dares dig in that mountain on pain of forfeiture of life as well as goods; nor may any one carry the stones out of the kingdom. But the King amasses them all, and sends them to other kings when he has tribute to render, or when he desires to offer a friendly present; and such only as he pleases he causes to be sold. Thus he acts in order to keep the Balas at a high value; for if he were to allow everybody to dig, they would extract so many that the world would be glutted with them, and they would cease to bear any value. Hence it is that he allows so few to be taken out, and is so strict in the matter.

There is also in the same country another mountain, in which azure is found; 'tis the finest in the world, and is got in a vein like silver. There are also other mountains which contain a great amount of silver ore, so that the country is a very rich one; but it is also (it must be said) a very cold one. It produces numbers of excellent horses, remarkable for their speed. They are not shod at all, although constantly used in mountainous country and on very bad roads. They go at a great pace even down steep descents, where other horses neither would nor could do the like. And Messer Marco was told that not long ago they possessed in that province a breed of horses, descended from Alexander's horse Bucephalus, all of which had from their birth a particular mark on the forehead. This breed

was entirely in the hands of an uncle of the King's; and in consequence of his refusing to let the King have any of them, the latter put him to death. The widow then, in despite, destroyed the whole breed, and it is now extinct.

In the mountains there are vast numbers of sheep

400, 500, or 600 in a single flock, and all of them wild; and though many of them are taken, they never seem to get aught the scarcer.

Those mountains are so lofty that 'tis a hard day's work, from morning till evening, to get to the top of them. On getting up, you find an extensive plain, with great abundance of grass and trees, and copious springs of pure water running down through rocks and ravines. In those brooks are found trout and many other fish of dainty kinds; and the air in those regions is so pure, and residence there so healthful, that when the men who dwell below in the towns, and in the valleys and plains, find themselves attacked by any kind of fever or other ailment that may hap, they lose no time in going to the hills; and after abiding there two or three days, they quite recover their health through the excellence of that air. And Messer Marco said he had proved this by experience; for when in those parts he had been ill for about a year, but as soon as he was advised to visit that mountain he did so and got well at once.

In this kingdom there are many strait and perilous passes, so difficult to force that the people have no fear of invasion. Their towns and villages also are on lofty hills, and in very strong positions. They are excellent archers, and much given to the chase; indeed, most of them are dependent for clothing on the skins of beasts, for stuffs are very dear among them. The great ladies, however, are arrayed in stuffs, and I will tell you the style of their dress. They all wear trousers made of cotton cloth, and into the making of these some will put 60, 80, or even 100 ells of stuff.

OF THE PROVINCE OF PASHAI.

You must know that ten days' journey to the south of Badashan there is a Province called PASHAI, the people of