On the following day we remained doing nothing in the house till midday, and after that we set out for the king's palace. We were again mounted upon the elephants, and the men with the presents preceded us as before. From the governor's house to that of the king, all the streets were full of men armed with swords, spears, and bucklers, the king having so commanded. We entered the palace still mounted upon the elephants; we then dismounted, and ascended a staircase, accompanied by the governor and some of the chief men, and entered a large room full of courtiers, whom we should call the barons of the kingdom; there we sat upon a carpet, and the vases with the presents were placed near us.
At the end of this hall there was another a little higher, but not so large, all hung with silk stuffs, among which were two curtains of brocade hung up, and leaving open two windows which gave light to the room.
There were placed three hundred men of the king's guard with naked daggers in their hands, which they held on their thighs. At the end of this second hall was a great opening, covered with a curtain of brocade, and on this being raised we saw the king sitting at a table, with a little child of his, chewing betel. Behind him there were only women.
Then one of the chief men informed us that we could not speak to the king, but that if we wished to convey anything to him, we were to say it to him, and he would say it to a chief or courtier of higher rank, who would lay it before a brother of the governor, who was in the smaller room, and they by means of a blow pipe placed in a fissure in the wall would communicate our thoughts to a man who was near the king, and from him the king would understand them. He taught us meanwhile to make three obeisances to the king, with the hands joined above the head, raising first one then the other foot, and then to kiss the hands to him. This is the royal obeisance. Then by the mode which had been indicated to us, we gave him to understand that we belonged to the King of Spain, who wished to be in peace with him, and wished for nothing else than to be able to trade with his island. The king caused an answer to be given that he was most pleased that the king of Spain was his friend, and that we could take wood and water in his states, and traffic according to our pleasure. That done we offered the presents, and at each thing which they gave to him, he made a slight inclination with his head. To each of us was then given some brocade, with cloth of gold, and some silk, which they placed upon one of our shoulders, and then took away to take care of them. A collation of cloves and cinnamon was then served to us, and after that the curtains were drawn and the windows closed. All the men who were in the palace had their middles covered with cloth of gold and silk, they carried in their hands daggers with gold hilts, adorned with pearls and precious stones, and they had many rings on their fingers.
We again mounted the elephants, and returned to the house of the governor. Seven men preceded us there, carrying the presents made to us, and when we reached the house they gave to each one of us what was for him, putting it on our left shoulder, as had been done in the king's palace. To each of these seven men we gave a pair of knives in recompense for their trouble.
Afterwards there came nine men to the governor's house, sent by the king, with as many large wooden trays, in each of which were ten or twelve china dishes, with the flesh of various animals, such as veal, capons, fowls, peacocks, and others, with various sorts of fish, so that only of flesh there were thirty or thirty-two different viands. We supped on the ground on a palm mat; at each mouthful we drank a little china cup of the size of an egg full of the distilled liquor of rice: we then ate some rice and some things made of sugar, using gold spoons made like ours. In the place in which we passed the two nights there were two candles of white wax always burning, placed on high chandeliers of silver, and two oil lamps with four wicks each. Two men kept watch there to take care of them. The next morning we came upon the same elephants to the sea shore, where there were two prahus ready, in which we were taken back to the ships.
This city is entirely built on foundations in the salt water, except the houses of the king and some of the princes: it contains twenty-five thousand fires or families. The houses are all of wood, placed on great piles to raise them high up. When the tide rises the women go in boats through the city selling provisions and necessaries. In front of the king's house there is a wall made of great bricks, with barbicans like forts, upon which were fifty-six bombards of metal, and six of iron. They fired many shots from them during the two days that we passed in the city.
The king to whom we presented ourselves is a Moor, and is named Raja Siripada: he is about forty years of age, and is rather corpulent. No one serves him except ladies who are the daughters of the chiefs. No one speaks to him except by means of the blow-pipe as has been described above. He has ten scribes, who write down his affairs on thin bark of trees, and are called chiritoles. He never goes out of his house except to go hunting.
