ABSTRACT
The aforesaid Christians made us see an experiment with the two kinds of perfume. One of them had a little of both sorts. The Calampat was about two ounces, and he made my companion hold it in his hand as long as he could say four times, “ Miserere mei, Deus,” holding it firmly in his closed hand. Then he made him open his hand. Truly, I never smelt such an odour as that was, which exceeded all our perfumes. Then he took a piece of benzoin as large as a walnut, and he took of that [the Calampat] which grows in Sarnau about half a pound, and had it placed in two cham bers in vases with fire within. In truth I tell you, that that little produced more odour, and a greater softness and sweet ness, than two pounds of any other kind would have done. It is impossible to describe the excellence of those two kinds of scents and perfumes. So that you have now heard the reason why these said things do not come to our parts. There also grows here a very great quantity o f lacca1 for making red colour, and the tree of this is formed like our trees which produce walnuts.
