91 very wealthy. From a young age, they teach the women to sing; play; dance and turn and make many elegant moves. They are very beautiful and extremely confident women. The king and people of this land marry almost like we do and they have a marriage law, however, they may marry several women, especially the wealthy men who can afford to keep them. The king keeps many wives here with him in the palace, daughters of the leading lords of the realm offered him, and in addition, he has other concubines and serving girls, but the most beautiful and healthiest in the realm are chosen for him, so that they can serve him attentively and cleanly, because all his servants are women and they carry out all his service indoors, and hold all the positions in his household. They all sleep in the palace, where they are provided with everything they need and they have fine quarters; they play and sing and entertain the king in a thousand ways, they bathe every day in the many large tanks he has for this purpose, as I have already mentioned; he goes to watch them as they bathe and he takes the one who best pleases him to his chamber. Thefirst son, whichever woman it is born to, shall inherit the kingdom. There is so much jealousy and rivalry for the king’s favour among these women, that they kill each other and themselves with poison. The king has a house which is like a Court, where he goes certain days to meet his governors and officials, to deal with the dispatches and government of the kingdom; he punishes those that deserve it severely and greatly honours and rewards the good; should any leading lord or member of his family be found guilty of any crime, he sends for them, and as they all come with great pomp, they arrive on magnificent litters, born by their vassals, with many horses being led and men on horseback. Once the palace door is lowered, they go and tell the king, who has him enter, and unless he can give a sound reason for his error, he is given a very good dressing down as he deserves, and in addition
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