THEY have many fine carts — and many of them carved and gilded with gold — with two wheels, which be drawn with two little Bulls about the bigness of our great dogs in England,* and they will run with any horse and carry two or three men in one of these carts; they are covered with silk or very fine cloth, and be used here as our coaches be in England.
Hither is great resort of merchants from Persia and out of India, and very much merchandise of silk and cloth and of precious stones, both Rubies, Diamonds and Pearls. The King is apparelled in a white Cabie* made like a shirt, tied with strings on the one side, and a little cloth on his head coloured oftentimes with red or yellow. None come into his house but his eunuchs, which keep his women.
I left William Leedes,* the jeweller, in service with the king, Zelabdim Echebar, in Fatepore, who did entertain him very well and gave him an house and five slaves, an horse and every day six shillings in money.*
Abridged
* The largest English dog breed is said to be the English mastiff.
* “The long muslin tunic still general in India” explains editor J. Courtenay Locke, writing in 1930. “It is the Portuguese cabaya, probably from the Arabic kaba, ‘a garment’.”
* The adventure was led by four Englishmen, the merchants Ralph Fitch and John Newbery, with jeweller William Leedes and artist James Story. As far as we know, neither Leedes nor Newbery, the latter last heard of setting out for Lahore, returned to England. (The brand of Indian tonic known as Fitch & Leedes is named in honour of Ralph Fitch and William Leedes.)
* Six shillings a day (there were twenty shillings to the English pound sterling) was a considerable sum of money. According to Jeffrey L. Forgeng in Daily Life in Elizabethan England (2010), a craftsman in Elizabethan England might expect only one shilling a day.
Précis
Merchants came to the two cities from across India and as far afield as Persia, trading in fine cloth and gemstones; indeed, Fitch’s friend William Leedes accepted a lucrative post as Akbar’s own jeweller. But Fitch’s eye was caught by the sumptuous carts rumbling about the city, drawn by little bulls, which reminded him strongly of carriages back home. (59 / 60 words)
Merchants came to the two cities from across India and as far afield as Persia, trading in fine cloth and gemstones; indeed, Fitch’s friend William Leedes accepted a lucrative post as Akbar’s own jeweller. But Fitch’s eye was caught by the sumptuous carts rumbling about the city, drawn by little bulls, which reminded him strongly of carriages back home.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, if, just, may, otherwise, since, until, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Person. Street. Very.
2 All. Gild. Thence.
3 Big. Red. Service.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Place. 2 Still. 3 Service. 4 Market. 5 Use. 6 Man. 7 Draw. 8 Dog. 9 Tie.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Market. 2. People. 3. Coach. 4. Great. 5. Call. 6. Run. 7. Tie. 8. Horse. 9. Use.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
ldr (5+1)
alder. elder. leader. louder. older.
loader.
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