XI. To Sir John Manndeville, Kt

(Of the Ways Into Ynde.)

Sir John,--wit you well that men holden you but light, and some clepen you a
Liar. And they say that you never were born in Englond, in the town of Seynt
Albones, nor have seen and gone through manye diverse Londes. And there goeth
an old knight at arms, and one that connes Latyn, and hath been beyond the
sea, and hath seen Prester John's country. And he hath been in an Yle that men
clepen Burmah, and there bin women bearded. Now men call him Colonel Henry
Yule, and he hath writ of thee in his great booke, Sir John, and he holds thee
but lightly. For he saith that ye did pill your tales out of Odoric his book,
and that ye never saw snails with shells as big as houses, nor never met no
Devyls, but part of that ye say, ye took it out of William of Boldensele his
book, yet ye took not his wisdom, withal, but put in thine own foolishness.
Nevertheless, Sir John, for the frailty of Mankynde, ye are held a good
fellow, and a merry; so now, come, I shall tell you of the new ways into Ynde.

In that Lond they have a Queen that governeth all the Lond, and all they ben
obeyssant to her. And she is the Queen of Englond; for Englishmen have taken
all the Lond of Ynde. For they were right good werryoures of old, and wyse,
noble, and worthy. But of late hath risen a new sort of Englishman very puny
and fearful, and these men clepen Radicals. And they go ever in fear, and they
scream on high for dread in the streets and the houses, and they fain would
flee away from all that their fathers gat them with the sword. And this sort
men call Scuttleres, but the mean folk and certain of the womenkind hear them
gladly, and they say ever that Englishmen should flee out of Ynde. Fro England
men gon to Ynde by many dyverse Contreyes. For Englishmen ben very stirring
and nymble. For they ben in the seventh climate, that is of the Moon. And the
Moon (ye have said it yourself, Sir John, natheless, is it true) is of lightly
moving, for to go diverse ways, and see strange things, and other diversities
of the Worlde. Wherefore Englishmen be lightly moving, and far wandering. And
they gon to Ynde by the great Sea Ocean. First come they to Gibraltar, that
was the point of Spain, and builded upon a rock; and there ben apes, and it is
so strong that no man may take it. Natheless did Englishmen take it fro the
Spanyard, and all to hold the way to Ynde. For ye may sail all about Africa,
and past the Cape men clepen of Good Hope, but that way unto Ynde is long and
the sea is weary. Wherefore men rather go by the Midland sea, and Englishmen
have taken many Yles in that sea.

For first they have taken an Yle that is clept Malta; and therein built they
great castles, to hold it against them of Fraunce, and Italy, and of Spain.
And