to so many good works as were performed on that occasion nor put a stop to the course of so many Masses and Prayers as were daily procur'd to be said in the Chappel of the Miraculous Crucifix So he pack'd up all again and put it in the same order as he had found it which may still be seen in case they will permit the viewing of it in the said Chappel where the Devotion continues as great as ever If the Roman Catholick Bishops were a little better stocked with true zeal for the glory of God or at least for the Honour of their own party they would without doubt more seriously apply themselves to the examining of the different Devotions that are in vogue in their Dioceses I am well assured they would find a great deal of downright impiety covered under the Mask of Devotion But so far are they from this that they are the first to authorize and encourage them by the Indulgences they give from time to time to the Churches and Chappels where these Devotions are entertained and accordingly we find that great abundance of them have been granted by the Bishops of Langres to those who shall say five Pater Nosters and as many Ave Maries in this Chappel of the Miraculous Crucifix in the Abby of S. Benignus of Dijon Before I have done with this City Sir I must not forget to entertain you a while with a famous Nest of Monks four Leagues distant from it I mean â—he great and famous Abby of Citeaux the Abbot of which as you know is the chief and general of the whole Order which is without doubt one of the vastest Bodies of Religious the Church of Rome can boast of France Italy Spain Poland and Portugal being throngd with the Monasteries of that Oâ—der who all of them own this Abby of the Citeaux for their Mother I had very particular acquaintance with the Prior of the Monastery who was a young man of the City of Orleans who invited me to come and see him The Abbot sent two of his Coaches with six Horses to fetch some of his Relations whom he had invited to dine with him and with whom I had the honour to joyn my self All the discourse we had on the way from Dijon thither was about the Tragical end of Monsieur Bourre a Gentleman born of one of the most Noble Families of Dijon and a Religious of that order who a little before had been publickly executed at Dijon for Poysoning his Abbot because he went about to make an enquiry into his Crimes the fact being evident that he had Debauched some of the Nuns of a Monastery whither the Abbot had sent him in quality of their Director or Confessor As soon as we were come near to the Citeaux I could not but admire the stately Avenues of that Magnificent Abby This place which formely was nothing but a horrid Wilderness when S. Robert the first Abbot of that Order did institute it is now at present by the Voluptuousness and Luxury of the Monks become an Earthly Paradise abounding with all manner of delights The History tells us that that Abbot being a lover of Silence and Solitude retired himself with some of his Disciples into these parts which at that time was nothing else but a thick Wood and lying out of the way of almost all human Converse Here it was they began to Build themselves Cells with the Branches of Trees and some amongst them digged themselves Caves underground without either Art or Form like to the Dens of Ravenous Beasts The Herbs and Roots that grew in the Wood served them indifferently without distinguishing the good from the bad for Nourishment and all the precaution they used was this that after they had boild them they first gave some of them to a Dog or other domestick Animal which if it did not immediately dye or appear'd distempered they took it for granted that there were no Poysonous Herbs in their Cookery whose dangerous effects they had reason to apprehend But how prodigious a change appeared in that place not long after The People round about being informed of the astonishing severities and strange way of living of these Anchorets came flocking from all parts to admire them and returning to their homes published everywhere that in the Wood de Citeaux they had in their days seen somewhat more and greater than either Elias or S. John the Baptist And as in that Age of the World People were much more compassionate and tender than they are at present towards persons who for the love of God as they exprest it had left all they made it their business from all parts to carry them not only Food but other conveniences of Life These good Hermits contented themselves for some time to accept of some of the coursest and meanest of their supplies and afterwards by little and little the most exquisite and delicate receiving them as by an express order from God by attributing to themselves the promise of Jesus Christ made to his Apostles that having forsaken all for his sake they should receive in this World an hundred fold and in the world to come Eternal Life Thus within a short time from a Life of extraordinary Rigor and abstinence and most signal and remarkable piety they chopt about to a Life as Scandalous and Dissolute and whereof S. Bernard in his time began already highly to complain but at present is advanced to a far more Transcendent degree of excess Instead of a Desart and Solitude as it was before in the highest degree they have now made it a kind of a City which within its compass entertains all manner of Handicrafts men who live there with their Wives and all their Families Instead of that mean and spare Diet to which they were obliged by a Solemn Vow made at the foot at their Altars and in particular of abstaining from Flesh all the days of their Life they have at present directly contrary to their Vows introduc'd the use of it to the highest degree of Delicacy as being always accompanied with the agreeable Variety of Herbs and Fish And for my part I can truly aver That for the Two days that I staid there their Table besides their common Viands were covered with several Dishes of Venison followed by a Service of Fish the Sides of the Dishes being garnish'd with the Tongues and Roes of Carps and the Tails of Crabs Yea the Abbot had sent to Diep which is above an Hundred and twenty Leagues distant at an excessive Charge and by a Post sent Express who ran day and night for Soles which were fresh enough and so costly a Rarity that the Intendants and Presidents of the Parliament of Dijon durst not venture upon them in their most sumptuous Entertainments The Monks of this Abby in the mean time glorying in this Excess which ought rather to have confounded them vaunted with an unparallel'd Impudence That in all that Province there was not a Man besides
the Image with a pomp and magnificence altogether extraordinary at which time there was a great Concourse of the Nobility and Gentry of the City and Country The Confluence was so extraordinary that they were forced to set a Guard at the Doors of the Church who suffer'd none to enter but persons of Appearance and Quality I heard an Old Gentleman who with a great Sense of Devotion blessed God with a Loud Voice That he had vouchsafed him the happiness of having seen the same Miraculous Image Two and twenty times uncover'd during his Life time I was somewhat surpriz'd at this Expression of his for had it been true That the Image as was said had not been uncover'd more than once in Forty years it must have follow'd that at that rate this Gentleman must be more Aged than Methusalem But I was inform'd afterwards That there seldom passed a Year wherein upon some emergency or other of publick Need requiring it the said Image was not uncover'd This gave me a full Notion of the Cunning of these Priests who to procure the Vogue and Devotion of the People for some of their Images do Veil them withal declaring them to be Miraculous and so trascendently Holy that it is not lawful to expose them to publick and common View more than once in several Years time except it be upon some extraordinary emergent Necessity And yet as soon as they see that their Device has taken that the Devotion of the People is kindled and that their Profits are sure they have not the patience themselves to stay out the time of their own prefixing before they discover these their Lucriferous Mysteries but they lay hold of the opportunity of the first Drought or Wet Season and declare That Necessity having no Law the Fruits of the Earth being in great danger they are forc'd to uncover the Image sooner than they had design'd And thus an Image or Statue which according to the first Institution was not to be expos'd more than once in Forty years is set forth almost every Year Which proceeding of theirs is so far from being suspected by the deluded Laity that it gains them a great deal of Reputation and the Esteem of very good and honest Men full of Compassion and extreamly desirous to obviate and prevent as far as in them lies all publick Calamities The Monks and Priests do both of them perfectly well agree and harmonize in this Point for they have all of them some hidden Idol or other in their Churches which they uncover at certain Intervals of Time each in their due order without interfering or clashing one with another playing Hodie mihi cras tibi In those Monasteries where the Abbots Priors and Guardians are Triennial they have taken up the Custom of vouchsafing this Favour to the Publick at their first Arrival in the Monastery and this commonly either by exposing the Holy Sacrament for Three days together or by uncovering some miraculous Image or other Neither doth the Idol lose a whit of Credit and Repute for all this because it is look'd upon as an extraordinary Occasion and ceaseth not to pass in the Minds of the People for a Mystery not to be expos'd but once in such an Interval of Years This was the Rare Show I was entertain'd with at Sienna which at present is one of the most Superstitious Cities that is in all Italy and is commonly called by way of Prerogative and Excellence Sienna the Devout This City also is very famous for the Purity of her Language the best Italian without contradiction being spoken here After that I had Visited all the Places of Devotion that are in it I prosecuted my Journy and passing a Second time through Tuscany and Florence after two great days Journy I came to Bononia which is a very fine City Formerly this place was a Commonwealth but at present the Popes have reduc'd it to their Obedience and have a Legat there who Commands in their Name On the great Gate of the Legates Palace which is a very Ancient Structure is a Statue of Stone representing a Woman with a Tiara or Triple Papal Crown upon her Head They of Bononia say This Figure represents RELIGION but it seems with more probability to be a Statue of Pope Joan For that it is not the former appears from hence because the principal Marks with which the Papists set forth Religion are wanting in this Statue viz. a Cross in the one Hand and a Chalice with the Host in the other Two days after my Arrival at Bononia I went to take a View of the Fair and Renowned Abby of S. Michael in Bosco situate on a pleasant Hill about two Musquet-shot from the City It seems to have been plac'd on that Eminence to be seen and admir'd by all Italy Above all other places this is peculiarly Famous for the curious Paintings that embelish it Carache Guido Rhenus and many other Famous Painters seeming to have deposited in this Building the whole Curiosity and Perfection of their Art to make it the more Recommendable to Posterity The Religious that dwell here are Olivetan-Monks they profess the Rule of S. Bennet and are habited in White As I was taking a View of the Painting of the Grotto's or of the first Cloister which is built with right Angles the Abbot taking a Walk after Dinner with some of his Religious by an extraordinary piece of Civility drew near to me and took the pains himself to explain to me the Pictures which represent some very considerable Particularities of the Life of their Legislator S. Bennet After which he conducted me to their Library which is all curiously painted and furnished with very good and fairly Bound-Books and certainly is one of the neatest I have seen in Italy Where being entred into Discourse concerning some of those Books the Abbot made a proffer to me of staying in the said Abby and Teaching Humanity and Rhetorick to his Religious telling me That if I thought good to accept of it I should be Entertain'd at his own Table and enjoy a very Competent Allowance Tho' at this time I had no design of staying in Italy and that I was now actually engag'd in my Journy for France yet this occasion so favourably presenting it self and meeting with a strong Inclination in me to acquire a further perfection in the Italian Tongue after Two or Three days respit I had desir'd of the Abbot to consider of it I accepted of his Offers He appointed me a very good Salary and assign'd me Twelve of his young Monks for my Pupils They were almost all of them either Earls or Marquisses for these Fathers Receive none into their Society but persons of the Highest Quality I continued Two whole Years in this Employment during which time I received a Thousand marks of Kindness and Civility from my young Religious Scholars besides the continual Experience I had of the Bounty and Generosity of the Noble Prelat You cannot doubt Sir
except God be pleased to Restrain them or they take some Compassion on them it will make them infallibly go Mad and Distracted The Men especially in Italy go but seldom to Confession because they do not love to be Question'd or Examin'd about their Amours A Capuchin Fryer who was very Ugly and the very picture of a Satyr with his great Beard told me once Smiling That his Confession-Seat was a Scare-Crow to Women but that to make amends for that he was the great Confessor of Jealous Lovers His meaning was That Women did not care to Confess to him because he was Ugly but that on the other hand Men did choose to Confess to him the rather because he was so as judging him incapable of Injuring them by becoming their Rival A Confessor who has a design to make a bad use of his Minsterial Function may easily find means by the Questions he can put and to which his Penitent is oblig'd to Answer to discover the person he speaks of and accordingly may afterwards find means of attempting her A young Noble Venetian having been upon a time too indiscreetly Question'd by a Monk in his Confession where his Mistress dwelt Swore he would never Confess upon that point any more except it were at the point of Death or at least when he should be weary of his Misses and no more apprehend to have a Competitor in his Love I have been told by several Gentlewomen That Confessors have come to Visit them in their Houses being led thither only by the Light they have got from the Confession of their Penitents This Confession is one of the New Sacraments of the Church of Rome and we see to what goodly Ends it is made use of and the Interest the Priests and Monks have to preserve it This is that which makes them so boldly to protest against Marriage which they care so little for the Corruption of Mans Nature being so great that it represents Sin more sweet and pleasant to him than that which is honest and lawful I remember a Saying of a Regular Abbot of a Monastery in Italy who talking with me about Women said Melius est habere nullam quam aliquam That it was better to have none than any And having demanded of him what he meant by those Words Because said he when a person is not tied to one he may make use of many This you 'l say was a fine piece of Morality and to give this Prelate his due his Practice was very Conformable to his Doctrin He Entertain'd above a Score of Women with the Revenues of his Abby he had many Country-Houses which he turn'd into as many Brothel-Houses for himself and his Friends where he splendidly Entertain'd them and the excessive Expences he was at in these places of Pleasure procur'd him the Surname of Liberal But he was not of the same Humor towards his poor Farmers who labour'd hard to make the best of his Incoms and to Till his Ground for he was to them an insatiable Exactor and Oppressor insomuch as they could scarcely get out of him some part of the Mony which was of Right due to them These poor Men finding themselves so ill Treated by him resolved on a time to have their full Revenge of him and to play their Master such a Malicious Trick as he might have Reason to remember ever after They knew very well the Archbishop was a sworn Enemy to Monks and Abbots and therefore question'd not but They would find him in a disposition of favouring their Enterprize They went therefore and complain'd to him of a Scandalous Life their Abbot led who was at that time Three Leagues distant from Bononia at one of his Country-Houses with Three young Women who lay in the same Bed with him every Night The Archbishop having taken their Information lost no time but the same Evening sent away all his Marshalsey compos'd of the Barigel or Provost and Threescore Sbirries or Serjeants well Arm'd with Orders to seize the Abbot and the Women that were with him They arrived at the Abbots Country-House but a moment after he was gone to Bed The Farmers who had the Word and the Keys of all the Doors made the Provost with his Sbirries enter to rights into the Prelates Chamber who you may easily imagin was extreamly surpriz'd with this unwelcom and unlook'd for Visit He desir'd to compound with the Provost and the Sbirries as he had often done before and to persuade them the better open'd to them a Purse full of Gold but their Orders were too express to be so eluded and the Farmers who out of pure Revenge had solicited the Seizing of their Landlord were in presence and would not have fail'd to give in their full Information concerning all that had passed to the Archbishop So the Barigel and Sbirries tho' People otherwise of base and covetous Minds upon this occasion shew'd a forced Resolution not to be corrupted by the Prelates Gold Accordingly they took the Abbot stark Naked as he was without suffering him to put any thing upon him besides a Morning-Gown and in this Equipage having Mounted him with his Three Concubines upon an old Cart they found in a back-Yard of the House they tied them all together Back to Back and thus led them in Triumph in the most ignominious and reproachful manner into the City of Bononia before the Archbishop It was about Midnight when they arrived and the thick Darkness of the Night favour'd the poor Abbot very much sparing him a great deal of Confusion he would otherwise have been put to The Archbishop seeing him in this condition fell a Laughing and by way of Raillery told him That since it was not lawful for him to take any Cognizance of the Affairs of Monks he was willing so far to honour them as to make themselves the Judges of their Brethren and so order'd him with his Wenches at that very instant to be carried in the same posture to S. Michael in the Wood a Monastery of the same Order about a Canon-Shot distance from the City It was about One of the Clock in the Morning when all this goodly Train arrived there The Sbirries Knock'd with that violence at the great Gates of the Monastery and made such a Hollowing and Shouting that the Abbot himself was fain to Rise and to go accompanied by all his Monks to the great Gate where he met with a Sight he had little dreamt of He at first would not acknowledge the Old Abbot for his Brother upon pretext forsooth he was in his Night-Gown without the Habit of his Order and refus'd to receive him into the Monastery But the Sbirries told him That if he was so resolv'd they had no more to do but to carry him back again to the Archbishop who would not fail to send for his Habit and to send him back the next day at High Noon in his Prelates Habit and accompanied with his Doxies as now he was The
long a time had been the Object of the Peoples Adoration besides That the Devotion of Laicks in assisting the Clergy was already so far cooled that scarce any thing now was to be got from them but by some pious Fraud or holy Artifice The Archdeacon heard all his Discourse without contradicting him in the least and the Curate of the Parish as being the person most concerned in the Case very officiously returned him his most hearty Thanks This done they proceeded to the opening of the Cases and the truth is Bones either of Saints or no Saints were found in them In the mean time a Monk of the Abby of St. Lomer in Blois who was present cried out at the very instant That he smelt a very sweet Odour which proceeded from them wherewith he was so strongly seized that it was like to overcome him A young Religious his Companion seconded him immediately and some Country People of the Parish protested the same thing The Archdeacon and the rest of the Company freely declared that they smelt nothing Yet forasmuch as it might be that those Persons having some more particular Merit before God he might think them worthy of Receiving the like Favours it was ordered that their Attestations should be received and set in the Margent of the Verbal Process which was then making of that Translation the Original whereof was to be shut up with the Relicks in the new Cases I had the Curiosity some weeks after in the time of Viâ—tage to examine some of these Persons about the Odour they pretended to have smelt of what kind it was whereupon some of them said it was the sent of a Rose others of Jessamin and others of a Violet But finding that they faultered in their Expressions and smiled withal I took occasion to press them more seriouly so that at the upshot they confessed that the good Opinion they had of the two Monks which first started the matter had drawn them in and in a manner forced their imagination to make them believe that they smelt that which they never smelt indeed This ingenuous Confession of theirs made me to seek an opportunity to discourse these two Monks I went to see the youngest of them and after I had given him two or three Visits of Civility to encrease our Familiarity I obtained leave of his Superior for him to accompany me to a Country House where after friendly Entertainment given him I put him upon the matter of the Relicks of S. Victor The young Monk overcome by my kindness assured me he would open his Heart to me as to his own Brother that the truth was he had not smelt any such Miraculous Odour which he then attested but that partly that he might not contradict his companion and partly by a sudden shame that surprized him lest he should not seem to be as much graced with Heavenly favours as his Brother had made him to depose against his Conscience for which afterwards he was somwhat troubled But Father said I how can you be at Peace without unsaying again what you so openly averr'd and deposed and this in Honour to Truth The Devil is the Father of Lies and you cannot pretend to the quality of a Child of God without destroying the work of the Devil whereof your self have been the Instrument He answered that he had consulted with his Superiors about the matter and that the general Rule they had given him to pass over Scruples of that nature was to consider whether the thing undertaken or exerted into act were opposite to the Glory of God or the good and advantage of his Order That it was not against the Glory of God to advance the Honor of one of his Saints especially when some Circumstances that were both Glorious and Profitable to the Order engaged the doing of it and that all the evil that could be supposed in the case came but to this To say that God had done what he might have done and which he hath done on many other occasions which at the highest could be no more than a small Venial Sin as they say all Lies are that do not infringe Justice that is to say that do no Body any harm Having thus got this truth out of him I had no more to do now but to convince the old Monk which it was not possible for me to do for he continually persisted in asserting the truth of what he had deposed ay and much more for he added that the Odour had followed him every where as long as the least dust of those sacred Relicks was left upon his Cloaths In the mean time this did not hinder me from considering that all the Credibility of this Miracle was now reduc'd to the Conscience of one single Person upon whom the affirmations of all the other Deponents rested and that when ever these Cases should chance again to be opened in which the Verbal Process was shut up as Superstition is used to get strength by length of time this Miracle would come to be believed with as much assurance as a great many other most false and Ridiculous ones are in the Church of Rome I was the more willing Sir to represent this to your Consideration as being a thing which happened in your Neighbourhood and whereof you may fully inform your self whensoever you please that so finding the Faithfulness of my Relation in this particular you may be the more disposed to give Credit to what I shall Write to you concerning Foreign Countries I return now to my Voyage From Flavigny we went to Dijon the Metropolis of the Dutchy of Burgundy where I was Eye-witnes of a horrid cheat practised by the Men of the Church I do not relate this passage to you so much for its own sake but to the end you may make a reflection upon it of great importance to our present Subject We took a walk to the Holy Chappel where they shewed us many Relicks that were indeed very Ridiculous and amongst the rest that which they call the Holy Host or Wafer from whence they tell us Blood issued in great abundance after that a Protestant had in several places Stabbed it with a Knife that upon his so doing the Wafer was chang'd into an Infant and from an Infant to a Wafer again as it was before Whereupon entring into Discourse we at last were insensibly led to this Question How it came to pass that at present there were not so many Miracles to be seen as in former times In answer to which the Canon who shewed us the Relicks told us that in the Abby of S. Benignus in the same City there were almost every day Miracles wrought at an Altar of the Blessed Virgin where Still-born Children were restored to Lifâ— for some Moments till they could be made partakers of the Sacrament of Baptism which was look'd upon as a very great happiness for them forasmuch as according to the Opinion of the Church of Rome Infants dying in
upon them any better than damn'd Souls and worse than Devils Neither had he any more charitable Opinion for the People whom the Monks by way of distinction term the People of the World and Worldlings with which words they denote all Laymen in general It seem'd to him impossible for a man that liv'd at large in the World to be saved except he took up and confin'd himself to a Convent yea and it must be in a Convent of his Order too If by chance he saw in the Streets a Woman well dressed without examining whether her Condition or some other reason might oblige her to it he immediately pronounced a Sentence of Eternal Condemnation against her saying that she was a Victim destin'd to the Flames of Hell and if he heard speak of any persons newly Married or that had obtained some good Fortune alas said he these persons make their Paradise of this World but they shall burn for ever in the other for it And thus without excepting any whatsoever and putting a wrong construction upon the most innocent Actions he judged with an inveteracy of Heart what belongs alone to God to judge of What I now say is not only to be understood of this Religious alone but generally almost of all sorts of Reformed Religious or those who profess a more strict life than others and of secular Priests also who by their little Superstitious ways pretend to be quite distinguished from the Common sort of People I have observed that they judge Men without Mercy Some have owned to me that from their Youth up they have been accustomed to these Ideas the World having been always represented to them as a Tempestuous and Raging Sea whence it is very rare for any one to escape without being Shipwrack'd and that their Monasteries are the very Ports of Salvation and the Havens of Grace where it is impossible to perish Whereas it were much better to educate them in a Spirit of Humility and to inspire them with charitable thoughts towards their Neighbour whether they be joyned with them in the same profession of Life or engaged in another way to which we ought Christian-like to believe that God hath called them This indeed we must own that it seems to be the unhappy Let of all Persons whatsoever that engage themselves in a party not to have any consideration but for those of their own company despising and condemning all the rest It was this consideration without doubt that made our Fathers the first Reformers of Religion to disapprove and afterwards to reject all these kind of inequalities which by dividing men into several different States do ordinarily divide their Hearts also and by this means separate them from the Charity of Jesus Christ But to return to our Benedictin who as he was extreamly Rigorous to others so was he as Indulgent to himself He was naturally very Comical and inclined to Raillery and did not affect that Monkish Gravity but upon certain occasions We arrived at Genouâ— the 1 st of September Being informed that there was a very fair Abby of his Order in the City called St. Catharine of Genoua he would needs go and Lodge there in hopes of being as well Entertain'd as he had been hitherto in the several Monasteries he had called at He went and presented his Letter of Obedience to the Abbot who having read it took a view of him from Top to Toe He asked him of what Order he was He answered that his Letter shewed that and that he was a Reform'd Benedictin The other reply'd That he believed nothing of what he said because he was not in the Habit of St. Bennet which was the chief mark which distinguish'd their Order Now it is to be noted that these Monks in France wear Gowns of Course-Cloth with a Cowl cut very strait whereas the Italians have extreamly amplified theirs and wear Stuffs very fine and lustrous they are very neatly shod wear Silk-Stockins fine grey Hats and are not a whit inferiour to the Bravery of Lay-men Moreover a small difference in the Habits in Italy makes also a difference of Order There are about Ten Sorts of the Religious of the Order of St. Francis which are only distinguish'd from one another because some of them have their Sleeves or their Cowls two or three Fingers-breadth larger than the others And yet this makes so great a division between them that they cannot endure the sight of one another and hate one another mortally The Monk of whom I am speaking was not sprucely enough accommodated according to their Mode to please this nice and curious Abbot and the conclusion was That he very basely deny'd him entrance into his Monastery The poor Benedictin was put into such a Rage by this Affront put upon him that he could not forbear downright Railing at the Abbot in his own Monastery telling him That he was an Abbot accurs'd of God that Damnation would be his portion and that all those who lived under his Conduct might make State to go to Hell with him that it was they that had changed the Venerable Habit of the Order and alter'd it to that degree that it seem'd at present rather contriv'd to please and entice young Ladies than to distinguish them from the people of the World and that they would see one day but alas too late what a Reception their glorious Patriarch would afford them in Heaven to that poor Habit which he had upon his Body and which they vilified so much here on Earth The Abbot found himself so extreamly netled at this Invective that he threatned our Reformed Monk that in case he did not that very Evening depart the City he would take care to stop his Pipes for him The poor Monk frighted and trembling at this Threat returns to the Inn where I was and gave me an account of his Disaster This was the Reason that I stay'd only three Days at Genâ—ua because my Companion for fear of being Sacrificed to the Italick Revenge durst not stir abroad but was fain to keep himself shut up in a Chamber all the while I staid there to take a View of the City Revenge is an abominable Vice and which at present is not without great Reason particularly appropriated to the Italians but certainly amongst them all there are none who exercise and act it with greater Rage and Fury than the Clergy who as they have no Families to care for their Attention is less divided and consequently more united and concentred to resent Injuries done unto them and have also more leisure time to descant upon them and besides all this in case of any Accident they have none but their own persons to save Neither do they fear so much as others the Confiscation of their Goods as being assured That whatsoever Country their Lot may cast them upon so it be the Romish Communion they cannot miss of getting a Livelyhood by their Masses and of being furnish'd with a full supply of their
particular Care for Pilgrims by faithfully employing the Revenues thereof for their Use and Relief whereupon at last their Request was granted them But since this forasmuch as they never had the least thought of performing their Promise but to make use of it for their own advantage they have taken up all the best part of the Building for themselves and Lodge the Pilgrims that Visit them in one of the Cellars that belong to the House Our Benedictin arriving here met with a Company of Seven or Eight Pilgrims besides himself who were all together Lock'd up in that Cellar without giving them either Meat or Drink or Beds to lye upon and left them thus shut up till Ten of the Clock the next Morning at which time the Door was opened for them The Fathers Dominicans seeing them in great confusion coming forth from their miserable Lodging Scoffed at them asking them Whether they had lin'd their Insides well and been Lodged at their Ease desiring them at their Return from Rome to call that Way for that all things should be in a readiness to give them a very goodly Entertainment All the World knows That there is nothing of more dangerous consequence in Italy than to offend a Dominican because having the Inquisition in their Hands they commonly make excellent use of it to avenge the least Affront is offer'd them Wherefore these poor Wretches were fain to slink away in silence without as much as daring to reply one Word to this their Villainous Scoffing at them after having treated them so outragiously The famous and rich Hospital of Loretto to which vast and immeâ—se Donations have been given in favour of Pilgrims is for all that but little better served than that we have just now mention'd To this purpose I shall relate to you a Passage whereof my self was Witness when I was at Loretto I was walking in the Great place which is between the Church and that Hospital with two French Priests who had Lodged there the Night before The Guardians it seems are obliged to Ring a Bell to gather the Pilgrims together before Supper that none of them may be absent But these Wretches that have no more Religion in them than Dogs and whose only desire is to defraud and pinch the poor Pilgrims had on purpose omitted Ringing of the Bell as they often do The French Priests about Six of the Clock retir'd to the Hospital where they demanded of them Why they did not come sooner and that Supper-time was past They Excus'd themselves by alledging that they had not Rung the Bell for them But they falsly and impudently maintain'd that the Bell had been rung so that it was not possible for them to obtain so much as a piece of Bread for themselves that Night The next Morning these poor Priests were so fearful of being serv'd the same Trick for in that Hospital they are obliged to give their Visitants Supper and Lodging for Three Nights together that they continued from Three of the Clock in the Afternoon until Evening under the Belfry The Guardians seeing that it was impossible to put them by their Suppers called them softly about Six of the Clock to come into the Hall to Supper which they very honestly refused to do till they had Rung the Bell to give warning to the rest of the Pilgrims The Guardians tho' enrag'd at this yet durst not but do it but avenged themselves another way by giving them very bad Wine In other parts of Italy they make use of other Devices in their Hospitals to affright Pilgrims from coming at them At Parma and Turin they oblige them all Wearied as they are to go in Procession throughout the whole City in the sight of all Men and to sing Long Litanies which makes persons that have the least spark of Generosity or those who are naturally more shamefac'd than others rather expose themselves to lie in the Streets yea or perish for Hunger than to Visit such kind of Hospitals where they must subject themselves to such odious Laws Others make it their business to spoil and deface all the Passports of Strangers with great ugly black Marks they make upon them as a sign they have been entertain'd in such and such Hospitals Now persons that are any thing careful of preserving their Honour in their own Country and to keep their Passports neat and clean will take care how they present themselves to such places as those whose Charity is so infamously and ignominiously administred In the mean time by these scandalous Fetches they make a shift to reduce their Guests to a very small Number for the fewer Visitants they have in a Year the greater is their Dividend at the Years end Others have the Impudence to make them gain that by their own Labour which was destinated for them out of Charity And indeed generally every where if they be not there precisely at the Set-time which ordinarily is an hour before Night they are irrecoverably shut out of the Hospital and it is impossible either by Prayers or Tears to procure any Entrance Others again treat their Guests very rudely in their Discourse and with the greatest Disdain and Contempt imaginable In a word Charity is every where administred in so Uncharitable and Misbecoming a manner that if the Benefactors of those Hospitals could once return to Life and have the possession of their Goods they formerly bequeath'd to these places I do perswade my self that seeing the horrid Abuses that are there practis'd they would take heed of Undertaking the like Foundations for time to come The Father told me That he had been in no place better Treated than at a New Hospital that was a Building at Mountefiascone Three days Journy from Rome It was about Five or Six years ago that the Priests of that place had been perswading the Nobility and Citizens of that small City to contribute to this Foundation They had already procur'd a considerable Revenue by the pious Legacies of some Ladies of Quality and some Annual Rents the City had granted towards it The Benedictin seeing the good Entertainment they had given him said Smilingly to the Priests who had the Direction of the House That he was very well satisfied with the good Entertainment he had received that he prayed God to preserve in them this Spirit of Charity for the Poor and that he heartily wished for the good of their Souls that they might not one day become like others by shearing the Revenues of the Hospital amongst themselves and neglecting and abusing the Members of Jesus Christ as they do Many Pilgrims have assured me that it is the greatest misery in the World to take up ones Lodging in any of the old Hospitals notwithstanding that they are the most Richly endowed and that in the new Hospitals they were well enough entertained because the Priests had not yet divided the Revenue amongst themselves They do like the Gardiners who suffer the Fruit to hang on the Tree
till it be come to its full growth and maturity and then gather it and make their profit of it or like Merchants that Traffick in company who do not divide the Purse till it be full All these external practices and shews of Piety and Devotion visibly terminating in self-interest make it evident beyond dispute that they proceeded from no other Principles than Avarice and Hypocrisie You may probably object to me here Sir that the Italians whom I have elsewhere represented to you as men of Wit and Understanding must needs be very simple in suffering themselves to be persuaded to bestow their Goods upon such Foundations as these considering the great abuse of them To this Sir I shall answer that the Priests in all Countries have a very powerful Ascendent over the Spirits of the People and that this joyn'd with the Doctrin of the Church of Rome which is that the Prayers of Pilgrims are of a particular efficacy with God to deliver Souls out of Purgatory and with the practice observed in these Hospitals of obliging the Pilgrims at night to make long Prayers for the Souls of their deceased Benefactors and causing Mass to be said for them in the Chappels belonging to the said Hospitals is a powerful motive considering the false belief wherein they are engaged to persuade them to it Moreover these Priests are very Dexterous in divulging every where that they are very faithful in the Administration of their Alms that they are very careful in giving good Entertainment to their Pilgrims even so far as to contribute of their own Mony to defray the charges they are at for Provisions But it is evident enough that by a mental restriction they must understand this of Provisions for themselves tho' before God they cannot by this means excuse themselves from lying There were formerly many more Hospitals in Italy than there be at present every Monastery had its Hospital S. Odon Abbot of Clugny seeing that these Hospitals were all in vogue and that it was a kind of Devotion that made a great noise in the World would not in this point come behind any Seculars He divided the vast Revenues of his Abby into three parts The first was for the Abbot and the Entertainment of Strangers of note that came to the Monastery The second for the Maintenance of the Monks which was called the Conventual portion and the third part for the relief of the Poor and the Entertainment of Pilgrims whose Feet the Abbot himself as an effect of his Humility was pleased to wash Almost all the Abbots of France Germany and Italy follow'd this Example and in like manner made a Tripartition of the Revenues of their Abbies But this their abundant Chairty was not of any long continuance for soon after that which had been given with one Hand was taken away with the other The share of the Poor was lost or rather confounded with those of the Abbot and the Monks At present there are no more of these Hospitals to be found in Italy excepting one at Mont-Cassin and another at the Great Camaldule where they entertain Pilgrims The Chartreux Monks have also another in the Dutchy of Milan at their Monastery of Pavia But it is not to their Charity Strangers are beholden for this Convenience but to that of Galeacius Viscount Duke of Milan their Founder who would have this Monastery which he had endowed with a vast Revenue to be a place of publick reception and Entertainment for all whether Rich or Poor The Fathers of this Foundation have since done their utmost endeavour to rid themselves of this Hospitality under the specious pretext that it was a great disturbance to their Solitude But the Lords and great Men of that Dutchy who by the Charter of that Foundation are to be Splendidly entertained there with all their Train and Equipage as often as they pass that way found themselves too much interessed in this their Petition and therefore have always opposed it with all the Vigor imaginable so that they are still forced to continue the same tho' sore against their Wills T is a thing but too wellâ— known in Italy and Avowed by all that their Clergy are extreamly wanting in this great Duty and distinguishing Christian Badge of Charity T is an Observation I have made my self that the Poor who are over and above perswaded of this Truth by their own experience do seldom or never beg any Alms of them As for the Regular Clergy the Benedictin told me that from the time of our parting he had presented himself to all the Monasteries of his Order he met with to obtain a Lodging with them but that scarce ever they had been willing to receive him the Common answer he had from them was that there was an Hospital in the City to which he had best address himself for Entertainment and that when he came thither they absolutely refused him entrance telling him there was a Monastery of his Order in the City and that it was more proper for him to seek a Lodging there Thus this poor Monk seeing himself sometimes rejected on all sides lamented his sad Condition occasioned by the scandalous uncharitableness of the Clergy and his own Brethren of the same Order He added that if it were in his power he would abolish all these Hospitals as well as all Pilgrimaging For said he as these Hospitals are most Scandalously Administred so neither can any thing be imagined more Abominable than the persons that take up their Lodging in them amongst a score of them 't is hard to find one that is come from his own Country with a design to visit the Holy places being for the most part of them a company of Vagabonds who make it their business every year to go the round of Italy They commonly pass the Summer in the Alpes and then begin their Journy in Autumn spend their Winter at Rome Naples or in Calabria and in the Spring begin their round a new in order to return to their Summer Quarters in the Mountains The way they take to Live is this They beg in the day-time go from one Farm to another leap Hedges Rob Orchards and steal Fowl they meet with on the High-way or in the back Courts of Country Houses or whatever else they meet with After this good days work they retire towards the Evening to some Neighbouring Village where they know there is an Hospital Many of them Travel up and down thus with their whole Families trailing their Wives and Children along with them These generally profess themselves to be new Converts that formerly they were either Jews or Protestants but having abjured their Errors they have thereby reduced themselves into so miserable a Condition for the Love of Jesus Christ To this purpose they shew you very fair and plausible Letters of Credence with fair great Seals annexed to them I have sometimes diverted my self with questioning this kind of People about the Principles of Judaism or
that they did neither Swear nor Blaspheme but that it was only a particular quarrel about a piece of Mony of the value of a Shilling or thereabouts which at Luca they call a Jesus Christ The Magistrates of this City caused this Mony to be Coyned in Honour of a Miraculous Crucifix which is kept in their Cathedral which they say did either Weep or Speak or Bleed these being the ordinary Miracles of these Crucifixes The Figure of Jesus Christ hanging on the Cross is Stamp'd upon this Coyn which therefore they call a Christ By which means when they are at play or upon Quarrels arising about payments the adorable Name of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is not only very frequently taken in Vain but also outrag'd and blasphemed as those Wretches whom I have just now mentioned did for one of these pieces which the one of them restor'd to the other with these Horrid words take there your R of a Christ I have seen another sort of Mony at Bononia called a Madonnin that is to say an Our Lady or a Virgin Mary which is of the Value of Sixpence at Bononia upon occasion of which the same inconveniences do proportionably happen in the like Disputes Thus we see that an imprudent Devotion ordinarily terminates in a great Impiety The Queen of Sweden having seen one of these pieces of Mony said Smilingly to the Cardinal of Luca That the Italians would have done much better to have stampt a Coin and bestowed the Name of God upon it intimating That Gold and Silver were the God of Italy there being no People in the World that worship it with more Idolatry and yet that are more lazy and careless in the gaining of it From Luca I came to Pisa an ancient City of Tuscany situate upon the River Arno. Amongst other remarkable things here is to be seen a fair Church-yard call'd in Italian Campo Santo it is exceeding large and of a square Figure The Walls and Tombs of it are all of Marble Jasper and Porphyry very artificially wrought They of Pisa had fill'd this place with the Earth which in a great number of Vessels they brought from Jerusalem and in which the Dead-Bodies are consumed in 24 Hours In a word they tell us that this Holy-Earth is nothing but a continual Miracle But for my part I find no more of Miracle in the case than there is in the Church-yard of S. Innocents at Paris where Bodies are consumed within the same compass of Time without any Miracle at all In all their Churches they shew us a prodigious number of Relicks of Saints and Saintesses as in all the rest of Italy the most of which are extreamly Ridiculous I will not stop at present to give you a Catalogue of them but will pass on to Florence where I shall have occasion to entertain you with the Great Devotion that is so much in Vogue and Credit at a Church called the Annonciade or Annunciation The Original of the Devotion take as follows A Painter having been employ'd to make a Picture of the Blessed Virgin in the posture wherein the Romish Tradition tells us she was when the Angel Gabriel was sent to her to acquaint her with the Incarnation of the Word that is in her Chamber on her Knees reading the Prophecy of Isaiah The Painter had finished all other parts of the Picture except one to wit the Virgins Face which he had reserved for his last Task but being at a loss what Idea to follow in representing to the Life so Excellent a Creature and despairing ever to find any thing in his Art of sufficient perfection to reach this height he in this trouble and discomposure of Thoughts fell asleep iâ— the Church where he was at Work and awaking three or four Hours after O strange Prodigy and well deserving the Wonder of all men he found the Thing that had so much perplexed him happily finished and much better than ever he could hope to have done it himself whereupon he began to cry out amain A Miracle a Miracle highly averring that an Angel sent from Heaven had done the work whilst he was asleep The Fryers of the Convent where he Wrought finding their Interest in the thing rang'd themselves of his Side so that in a moment the Devotion took fire and the Concourse of People to their Church was so great and has ever since continu'd with such extraordinary Success as hath made it at this day one of the Richest of all Italy and the Convent of Fryers one of the best Endow'd The Reflections I have made on this Picture is That on many accounts all this might be no more than a meer Cheat or Mistake For first of all Some unknown person or rather Fryer of skill in that Art entring by Chance into the Chappel where the Painter was at Work and finding him asleep might make use of that opportunity and having finish'd the Work retire himself before the Painter awoke Secondly We may suppose that the Painter to make himself talk'd of and to gain himself the credit and reputation of a Good Man might have invented this Lie himself Or Lastly We may conceive that the Fryers of the Convent upon consideration of a good piece of Mony might have induc'd him to have publish'd this Lie to make their Advantage of it What I alledge here that might have been is not done with this intent as if I had a mind by all manner of ways to disgrace and discredit this pretended Miracle by supposing it a piece of Forgery I know it is the Character of a disingenuous and malicious Spirit to put a bad Construction upon a Matter that admits a favourable one and verily I would not for all the World expose my self to that Reproach But the Reason of what I have said concerning this Matter is That I am otherwise satisfied on good grounds that the Point in question is a manifest and palpable Falshood For first of all If it were an Angel as is pretended that had painted this Face of the Virgin as the Work of an Angel is far more perfect than that of a Man it will follow That this Picture at least as to the mixture and laying on of the Colours must have far excell'd all the Pieces of Caratche Guido Rhin or any other of the most famous Painters of Italy and in the mean time we see the contrary and that it does not at all exceed the rest of the Picture finished by the Painter himself which made a Traveller who Ey'd it very well to say That the Angel-Limner must have been but a Blockhead and Bungler at his Art to draw such rude and incurious Strokes But besides this We have another Argument to convince the Romanists that this is a false Supposition which is That this Portraiture of the Blessed Virgin bears no resemblance at all with those other Pictures of the Virgin which they pretend to have been drawn by the Hand of S. Luke
himself The Face here is round fair and ruddy with lively and brisk Eyes and a low smooth Forehead whereas that painted by S. Luke is long and swarthy Egyptian like with an humble and modest Look and an high and prominent Forehead and which has nothing of that so charming Beauty of the Blessed Virgin they so highly magnifie when they speak of her being more proper to excite Sensual Lust than any Sentiments of Devotion Wherefore we must conclude That either this Angel was mistaken or that S. Luke was a great Ignoramus in the Art of Painting which notwithstanding they tell us he was skilful in to perfection for without doubt the one or the other must have been fouly mistaken To attribute this Mistake to the Angel would be to derogate extreamly and against all Reason from the transcendent Excellence of those Blessed Spirits and to accuse S. Luke would destroy their own Tradition which they ought not so far to villfie and debase as to make it give way to the particular Testimony of a Silly Painter who may be a Liar as well as so many others I speak of him who drew this Picture of the Annunciation Lastly It might also as well be alledg'd That the Devil for the encouragement and increase of Superstition might have had a Finger in the Intrigue as so peremptorily to assert That it was an Angel of Light tho' to speak the Truth this is not very Rational neither for the Devil is too cunning to have done his Work so much at random and would without doubt rather have borrow'd his Idea from the Picture of Sancta Maria Magiore at Rome However the Popes have declar'd it to be a Truth they have approv'd the Matter and have issued their Bulls for the Authorizing of it and Thunder'd-out their Excommunications against those who should be so Fool-hardy to doubt of it being the same that other Popes have done in favour of the Picture of S. Luke This Devotion has procur'd vast Treasures to the Fathers of this Convent called Serviti The Great Duke of Tuscany repair'd thither every Evening to Say his Prayers whilst I was at Florence and it is the common Rendezvous of Strangers that have a mind to see this Court. He every day gave great Alms to the Poor at the Door of the Church who all of them as I was told were persons very well to Live tho' to induce people more to Compassion they keep themselves cover'd with nothing but Rags They have taken such firm possession of this Post that they will not suffer any strange Beggar to mingle with them By occasion of mentioning these Beggars and that you may somewhat the better apprehend the powerful Virtue of the Holy Image and the Miracles the Virgin continually works in favour of those who repair thither to pay her their Adorations I 'le here relate to you a Miracle which they Cry'd along the Streets of Florence as a thing that had lately hapned which Print my Curiosity prompted me to buy The Story seem'd to me very Gallant and tho' it be something long yet I hope the Recital will not seem tedious to you A Gentleman of one of the best Families of Florence was fallen from a flourishing condition by means of some cross Blasts of Fortune to extream Poverty That which greatly added to his Affliction was That he had two grown Daughters that were not yet provided for his only recourse in this miserable condition was to the Mother of God And to enter himself the better into her Favour he made a Vow to continue all his Life long very devout to her Miraculous Image of the Annunciade To this purpose he Rose very early every Morning and went to Say his Prayers in the Church-Porch before the Doors were open'd After he had continued his Devotion thus for a long time the Blessed Virgin thought good at last to hear his Prayers and to send him some Relief Accordingly she inspir'd two Blind-men of the number of those who always kept about the Door of the Church to Rise sooner than ordinary to take their Stations in the Church-Porch Being arriv'd there one of them began to tell his Companion how much he was beholden to the Miraculous Virgin for that from extream Poverty he had in a short time attain'd to competent Riches by the Alms he had received there and that besides the Mony in Silver he had left at his Lodging he had Two hundred Pistols in Gold quilted in the Crown of his Hat His Blind Comrade having heard this his Discourse told him That for his part he did not in the least envy his good Luck as being much more obliged to the Miraculous Image and that he had quilted in his Hat no less than Five hundred Pistols in Gold The Gentleman who was near to them at his Prayers without making the least Noise that might discover him to be there having heard them discoursing at this rate and seeing so fair an opportunity offer'd him of enriching himself very softly drew near to the two Blind-men and very dexterously took off both their Hats at once retiring some Paces backwards The Blind-men being extreamly surpriz'd hereat and each of them believing his Companion had done the Feat demanded their Hats of one another and proceeded to such a Rage that handling their Crutches they discharg'd several hearty Strokes upon one anothers Heads and without doubt had kill'd one another if People had not come in to part them Whilst they were thus hotly engag'd the Gentleman went off and finding some scruple in himself for what he had done he goes the same Day to the Cardinal Archbishop of Florence to whom he told all that had past The Archbishop having heard the Relation did fully approve of what he had done and told him That he was not at all obliged to make any Restitution forasmuch as it was apparent That the Virgin had visibly assisted him in the whole course of that Affair in consideration of the Devotion he bore to her Miraculous Portraiture and Ordered That for the Comfort of the Faithful it should be printed and publish'd through out the City of Florence This same Story has since been printed anew in a Book which is very Currant in Italy and has for its Title L'Utile col Dolci or Profit with Pleasure You see here Sir a very pleasant Miracle wherein the Virgin to pleasure one of her Servants makes a Robber of him and who as such ought to be punished according to the Laws For by what means soever these poor Blind-men might have pick'd up this Mony however theirs it was and had been given them for Alms. But if we suppose this to be a Story invented at pleasure I am astonish'd that a Cardinal-Archbishop should ever cause it to be printed and that the Inquisition which in all other Matters appear so exact and scrupulous should Licence the Impression of it in the Book before-mentioned People are so cloy'd with Miracles in Italy
They engag'd themselves at the beginning of their Reformation to a certain Standard oâ— Building their Convents which was both very modest and regular only they have always had a great Care to provide themselves fair Gardens with fine Parterres pleasant Fountains and great Walks of Trees which are commonly frequented by the Gentlemen of Cities that are near them to take the Air in The Capuchins are at this daâ— the best Gardiners in Europe In Italy they furnishâ—â— all the Ladies with Flowers and Big-bellied Womeâ— with Fruits But we find that of late they have lost much of their Modesty in Building too The New Buildings they make at present are more lofty more large their Cells greater their Churches more adorned and their other Regular places more comporting with the Modern way of Building They have very fair Convents at Venice Florence Pisa and Milan When I passed through the Dutchy of Burgundy in France I saw at Dijon the fine Pile of Building these Fathers caus'd to be rais'd for their Sick which was not in the least inferiour to the fair Palaces of the Presidents and Counsellors of Parliament of that City And when I pass'd through Germany in my Way for England I saw upon the Rhine about Half a days Journy above Coblentz a stately Building which I took for one of the Palaces of the Elector of Treves but was indeed a Convent of Capuchins which his Electoral Highness caused to be built for them Before the Foundations of it were laid he demanded of them a Model of their Convents to have it built by but the Fathers answered him That if S. Francis were to give the Plane it would be very plain and scanty but that forasmuch as his Electoral Highness had the Goodness to concern himself therewith it could not well be blam'd if the Building did in some degree suit with his Greatness The Conclusion of all is this Sir That whatever these Men may pretend to as long as they shall make the Christian-Perfection to consist in certain Phantastick Stoical and Extraordinary ways of Living a short times Experience will make it appear they have deceiv'd themselves all their fine Designs will vanish in their own view And as the Principles on which they build are false they will alway find themselves reduc'd to the impossibility of practising what they have Vowed and will be forc'd at last to acknowledge that the great Axioms of Christian Morality which are of an infallible Truth and to which only we ought to tye our selves are to avoid Evil and to do Good to love God with all our Heart and our Neighbour as our selves I conclude with these excellent words and am with all my Heart SIR Your c. The Fourth LETTER Of a Journey to Loretto c. SIR HAving promis'd in my last LETTER to give you an Account of my Journy to Loretto I doubt not but your Curiosity to be informed about that place of Devotion which makes so great a Noise in the World will incline you to wish for the performance of my Promise To the end therefore that I may acquit my self thereof I shall begin where my last LETTER left me After the View I had taken of Mount Alverne I parted with my Company who went no further and all alone came down the other side of the Apennin and taking my Way through the Towns of Fossombrône and Urbane I came to Fane which is a pretty City situate on the Adriâ—tick Sea Whilst I was here going abroad in the Morning to look out for some Convenience to go to Loretto I saw a great Company of persons very comically Mounted and dressâ—d coming into Town They were Pilgrims that came from Bononia being about Threescore in number and all of them mounted on Asses which is a very easie and commodious way of Travelling and more in request in the Marquisate of Ancone than the use of Horses The first place where we meet with this convenience of Travelling is at Imola Half a days Journy from Bononia Formerly Travellers were wont to hire their Asses at Bononia But forasmuch as some Wits took occasion from hence to use an Allusion which did not over-please the Scholars and Doctors of the University of that City for it was a common Saying We will go to Loretto and take an Ass at Bononia the Magistrates for their sakes abolish'd that Custom so that now these Beasts must be hired at Imola and for the value of about a Shilling a Man may Travel Six Miles which is the Stage those Asses are wont to perform They are furnish'd with Little Saddles and Stirrups in the manner as Horses but there is no need either of a Whip or Spurs for as soon as one is got upon their Backs they run continually with all their might until they be come to their Journies end where being arrived it is impossible by all the Stroaks that can be given them to make them advance one step further but one is forc'd to leave them there and take others Thus these Asses are changed at every Six Miles end till one comes to the Mountain of Ancona which is not very far from Laretto But to return to our Pilgrims and to give you a further description of them they were all of them accoutred in their Pilgrimage Habits which consisted of a large Linnen-Vest of an Ash-grey colour reaching to the middle of the Leg with very wide Sleeves coming down to the Wrist on the backside of these Vests at the Collar they have a kind of a large Cowl which they put over their Heads and being pull'd down reacheth to the Pit of the Stomach so that their Faces are wholly covered with them And to the end that in this posture they might have their free Sight and Breathing these Cowls have openings in them answering to the Eyes and Mouth like Masks They never draw these Cowls over their Heads but when they come to places where they have no mind to be known for otherwise they let them hang backwards upon their Shoulders They gird this Vest about them with a Girdle and somewhat above the Girdle upon their Breast they have a Scutcheon representing the Arms of their Society Confriery or Company which they call in Italian Scuola There be scarcely any Italians that are not of one or other of these Societies These Pilgrims moreover have a large Row of Pater-noster-Beads hanging at their Girdles and a Pilgrims Staff in their Hands which is the chief mark of their Pilgrimaging These Staves are about an Half-Pikes length with Knots or Protuberances at the Top and middle of them They carry them to the Church to get them blest by their Curates before their Setting-forth which Ceremony is performed with many Prayers and the assistance of Holy-Water As soon as they have received them it is not lawful for them to stay any longer than Three days at the place of their Residence and cannot be admitted to the Communion till they have performed their
Oil thither and ingeniously make it to distill down I have sometimes seen some poor Pilgrims who returned from that Pilgrimage and who had little Bottles full of this Oil which had cost them Mony enough who would afterwards fain have given it for a piece of Bread but could find no Customers to take it off their Hands Which makes it evident That the Italians for all their Bigotry had no Belief in it themselves In like manner at Naples the Priests make shew of a Bottle which they aver to be full of the Blood of S. Januarius Archbishop of that City When at first they bring forth this Blood to be seen it appears all Congeal'd but as they approach it to the Body of this Saint it dissolves by degrees As to this also it is sufficient ground for me not to believe it because I know that this Liquor may be congealed in the manner as they make Sorbets and afterwards dissolve by the Heat of the place where they shew it or by the heat of the Hands of those who handle it At Padua is to be seen the Tomb of S. Anthony of Padua which sends forth a very sweet Scent between that of Ambergris and Musk The Fryers of that Convent tell us That this Odour proceeds from the Bones of that Saint which are shut up there But the Testimony of these Fellows who are so byass'd by their Interest does not give me any satisfaction as long as I know that they may easily anoint it with Odoriferous Quintessences as it is certain they do because that this Odour is the very same with that of the perfumed Pater-nosters that are Sold in the Shops at Padua In the same place they shew us in a very fair Chrystal supported by a stately Pedestal of Gold extreamly well wrought the Tongue of the said Saint which they say was found in his Tomb being endued with the Priviledge of Incorrâ—ption all the rest of his Flesh being consumed They have the Impudence to aver That this Tongue for having been a Lash to the Sacramentarians of his Time has been preserv'd thus sound and whole without the least Taint of Corruption that as a perpetual Miracle it might bear witness to the Truth of the Doctrin of Transubstantiation The greatest part of the Romish Legends tell us it is as fresh and lively as when the Saint was alive but that is very false for I have seen it and it is dry Those who have the Art of Embalming Bodies may preserve a Tongue in this manner for many Years yea many Ages without any thing extraordinary or so much as bordering upon a Miracle Thus I have given you a View Sir of the most Famous and Avowed Miracles of Italy which the Roman Catholicks pretend to be so palpable and sensible that they cannot be deny'd without giving the Lie to Sense and Reason I will add to these Three Bodies of Saints which have been preserv'd without any Taint of Corruption and which I have seen all Three The one is the Body of S. Rose of Viterbo the other of S. Clara of Monfaucon 〈◊〉 the third of S. Katharine of Bononia These Bodies have been preserved whole and uncorrupted but without any the least Beauty being altogether dryed up and as hard as Past-board and very black they are very frightful to behold notwithstanding they have drest them in very rich Habits and adorn'd them with more Jewels than Queens are embelish'd with on their Coronation-days Some have a great Esteem for these incorrupted Bodies and so should I too in case they enjoyed their former lively Tincture and Natural Colour but to be so dry so black and so ghastly it were more eligible in my mind to return to the Universal way of all Flesh than to be made partakers of such a kind of Incorruption neither can I see that God herein hath conferr'd any great Favour upon these Blessed Saints by preserving them in a condition proper to terrifie Nature and affright Mankind The Works of God are all perfect he never bestows a Favour by halves and if he were pleased to grant Incorruption to Bodies he would also probably preserve them with all the Natural qualities belonging to them Wherefore I don't believe That the defective Incorruptions of the Bodies of these Saints can truly be ascribed to any thing else but the dexterity of those who have dried or embalmed them We saw at the Chartreuse of Venice the Body of a Noble Venetian which being Embalmed has been preserved whole and entire for above an Hundred years This person was never accounted a Saint and yet I found his Body much fairer to the Eye than were those of the Three Saints now mentioned tho' it be much more disregarded and neglected than they are for they have left the Body in an old Wooden-Coffin which does not shut close and where all those that go to-the Chartreuse do view it and touch it whereas the Bodies of these Saints are kept in very dry Chappels where the great Wax-Tapers that burn Day and Night purifie the Air and clear it of all moistures and impurity I have also seen in France at Vandosme in the Collegiate Church of the Castle the Body of Jane d' Albret who died a very zealous Protestant above an Hundred years since her Body hath been very well Embalmed and if at present one would take it up from the place where it lies and dress it and keep it in a very dry place it would undoubtedly appear much fairer than that of these Religious And yet I am very well assured the Roman Catholicks will never say she was a Saint And forasmuch as I am now upon the Chapter of these Saints I shall acquaint you That I have often Read the History of their Lives and of many others in the Legends of the Church of Rome but never in all my Life did I meet with any thing more ridiculous And I have observed that these are those Prophetesses of which the Jesuit spoke at Strasbourgh and which the Protestants are depriv'd of Apud quos cessavit Propheta who have no Prophets amongst them In a manner all their Religionâ— after that they are arrived to the State of Perfection as they call it take upon them to Prophesie For the better understanding of this you may take notice That at Rome they have distinguish'd or divided the Spiritual Life into several States as an House hath many Stories the Lowermost the Middle and the Highest or Uppermost There is one State they call Active this is the Lowest and consists only in Action and aâ— orderly regulation of the Senses according to the Law of God The second is the Contemplative State which consists in the Meditation of those things which have no Communication with the Senses The third is a State Extatical abstracted and purely Passive in which the Soul does nothing but by a simple Application Adhaesion and Union with the Divine Essence receives without any Action Affection or Contemplation on
about Four Thousand Masses at several Altars and the Fathers paid them at the Rate of the one Half of what they had received for them At the end of Three Weeks some Priests that I was acquainted with came and told me That having been to offer themselves to Say more Masses for them they were refus'd and told That all the Masses were already celebrated tho' indeed it were a thing absolutely impossible for so many Masses to be said in that compass of Time But the Truth of the matter was That they were griev'd at the Heart to squander their Mony thus abroad and therefore were resolv'd rather to tell a gross Lye than to part with any more They alledg'd for their Excuse That they had celebrated several Masses at their Priviledg'd Altar This is another Stratagem of those Priests which is never a whit inferiour to that of Reduction and against which the Popes have nothing to alledge for otherwise they would contradict themselves as to the Power they pretend to have over the Affairs of Purgatory These Priviledg'd Altars as was hinted before are such as be Endow'd with great Indulgences To obtain one of these Altars great Sums of Mony must be given but what care they as long as the Bubled Multitude refund it an Hundred-fold A Mass celebrated at this sort of Altars on such a Day of the Week which commonly is Monday doth infallibly deliver a Soul out of Purgatory and a man who should dare to question this would be look'd upon as an Heretick and Committed to the Inquisition as if he had deny'd one of the Fundamentals of Christianity According now to this Principle they Argue thus and indeed granting their Supposition I find their Argument strong enough The Pope say they grants a Priviledge to one of our Altars and declares That when any shall procure a Mass to be said there for any Soul in Purgatory tho' the most obnoxious that is there it shall in the same moment be deliver'd thence Now the Pope is Infallible in all he declares especially about the Concerns of the other World wherefore to draw to a Conclusion We have Mony sent us to celebrate so many Hundred or Thousand Masses to Say for such a Man or Woman What is to be done in this Case Frustra fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciora 'T is a folly to go about when there lies a short Cut before us We 'l therefore cause One Mass to be said at our Priviledg'd Altar which will infallibly deliver the Party concern'd out of Purgatory and will trouble our selves no farther about Saying the rest forasmuch as they being only in order to procure the same End would be altogether superfluous and unprofitable so that by this fair Way we have without the least Pains-taking gain'd a good Lump of Mony as well as without the least discomposure to our Peace of Conscience This Argument was once most vigorously enforc'd against the Jesuits of Rome upon this occasion A Rich Merchant by his Last Will had left them all his Estate to have so many Millions of Masses said for the Deliverance of his Soul from Purgatory after his Death His near Kinsman who of Right was to have been his Heir being made acquainted with his Will lost no time but as soon as he was Dead went to the Jesuits and gave them Mony to say a Mass at their Priviledg'd Altar for the Soul of the Deceased he himself was present at it and took an Attestation in Writing of them that they had Said it Having done this he order'd all the Goods of his Kinsman to be Arrested alledging That the End of the Testament being obtain'd the Goods ought to return to their Natural Channel that is to say to the Heir at Law that he could prove That his Relation was either in Paradise or in Hell and that in either of those places he stood in no need of Masses The Case was brought to the Bar and pleaded with great heat on both sides the Jesuits being Plaintiffs and the Merchant the Defendant But alas the Case was to be determin'd by an Ecclesiastical Court where all the Judges were Parties who had they done right would have condemn'd what themselves do every day So the Suit was carried in Favour of the Jesuits under pretence forsooth That the Church must always be favour'd However it is evident that Right and Reason were on the Merchant's side and that he could not be condemn'd without Injustice But I return to our Confraternities There is never a Village in Italy how small and inconsiderable soever which has not a Confraternity for the Souls of Purgatory and at the least a Score of Priests who live upon it very plentifully Besides the Mony they receive for their Masses which never fails them they have a sort of People who carry Boxes through the Streets from House to House Begging of all those they meet with with a great deal of Importunity some Mony for the Souls in Purgatory which Mony the Priests afterwards share amongst themselves In many places of Italy especially in the great Cities in order to their having a fix'd and setled Income they Let to Farm this Purgatory-Mony to some Lay-man or other as I have seen at Milan in that Famous Confraternity of the Souls in Purgatory establish'd in the Church of S. John de Casa Rotta The Farmer here pays Four Thousand Crowns every Year to the Priests of that Church and makes his Profit of the rest He maintains for this end Forty Box-Carriers who are cloath'd in White and wear upon their short White Cloaks the Arms of the Conâ—raternity to distinguish them They have each of them a Shilling a Day allow'd them and their Business is to run through all the Streets of the City and beg Mony for the Souls in Purgatory These Box-Carryers are pickt Men very cunning and skilful at their Trade of Begging Sometimes they are so importunate and impertinent that they follow a man the length of two or three Streets without quitting him to force him by their Importunity to give them something Neither is it without danger to give them any rude or churlish Answer for in that case they have the Malice to tell you to your Face That they see well enough by you you have no consideration for the Souls in Purgatory And should you continue to Revile them might probably get you recommended to the Inquisition to learn more Manners The Farmer of the Souls in Purgatory has the Keys of all these Boxes and they are bound once or twice a Week to bring them in to him When at any time they bring them full and well Lin'd he gives them something over and above their ordinary Pay to encourage them to perform the Quest with so much the more application and dexterity He takes care to place some of his Boxes in all Inns Ordinaries Taverns Victualling-Houses and other publick Places Those who have Travell'd Italy know That the Host
and in the mean time Sir I beseech you to believe that I shall continue all my Life Your c. The Sixth LETTER Of the deplorable Abuse of Preaching in Italy c. YOu know Sir That that which supports the Church of God and is as it were the Life and Soul of it are the Sacraments and the Word of God wherefore it is of the highest Consequence that both these be faithfully and decently Administred and I shall always take the due and faithful Dispensation thereof for a sure Mark of the True Church This Motive engag'd me whilst I was at Rome particularly to inspect the Practices of the Church of Rome in reference to both these I suppos'd I could not meet with any place more favourable to this my design than this Great City which boasts her self if we will believe her not only to contain within her Precinct the Principal and Mother Church of the whole World but over and above doth attribute to Her self tho' it be hard to say upon what good ground the Name of HOLY Roma Sancta As for what concerns the Administration of the Sacraments I cannot deny but the same is performed there both very orderly and solemnly and indeed with an overplus of Ceremonies even to Superstition Here I should give you an account of those Ceremonies which are observed at the Consecration of Priests the Celebrating of the Eucharist and of the Pompous Preparations that are made against Easter the Week before called The Holy Week which by their Splendour and Magnificence draw an infinite Number of Strangers to Rome towards the End of Lent to be Spectators thereof It is a common Saying That he who would pass his Time most agreeably in Italy must be at Venice at Shrovetide and Ascension-day the Octave of the Holy Sacrament at Bononia and the Holy Week at Rome Here also I should have occasion to Relate to you an infinite Number of Fopperies that are practis'd here on certain Feasts in the Year as at Christmass Ascension and Pentecost but because this would take up a great deal of Time I shall pass them by in Silence at present to enlarge my self on a more considerable Subject wherewith my intent is to Entertain you particularly at this time which is their Way and Manner of Preaching Asmuch as there is of Superstition and Excess in the pompous Administration of their Sacraments so great a Deficiency Negligence and Unfaithfulness do we meet with in their Dispensing of the Word During the space of the Seven Years that I was in Italy in all the Cities where I have been at the Times of Advent and Shrovetide I have heard a vast Number of Sermons but I have never seen or known any Curate or Secular Priest to Preach except once a Canon at S. John of Lateran and a Cardinal on Easter-day in the Cathedral Church of Milan So that in case the Word of God be corrupted and abus'd as indeed it is very considerably every day we cannot charge the Secular Priests of Italy therewith who do not Preach at all or who indeed are for the most part so Ignorant that they cannot if they would but the Fault is wholly to be laid at the Door of the Monks and other Religious who have in a manner wholly engross'd the performance thereof Methinks it is enough said when I tell you That the true Pastors who are the Curates take no pains to â—eed their own Flock but recommend that Care to Strangers I mean to Monks who are more sollicitous to satisfie their own Interest and Vain-glory than to procure the Salvation of Souls Yea the Monks have so absolutely possess'd themselves of this Ministry that they will not suffer a Secular Priest to Preach in his own Church and if any of them should undertake so to do and they should find that they could not supplant him they would maliciously employ all manner of Means to blacken and misrepresent him in the Eyes of the People and rob him of his Credit and Reputation True it is that on the other hand the Curates being generally lovers of Ease and Idleness make no great endeavours to reclaim their Right to the Pulpit They declare openly That it is the Business of the Monks to Preach forasmuch as not being engag'd in the Business and Trouble of the World they have leisure enough in their Monasteries to Study and Cun their Sermons but that as for them being wholly employ'd in the Administration of the Sacraments in hearing of Confessions and assisting at Funerals they have no spare Time to turn their Thoughts that way So that we seldom meet with any Quarrels on this occasion between them and the Monks Whilst I was at Rome I often went to the Minerva to hear Sermons They are the Father Dominicans that Preach here who are also called The Preaching Brothers because in the sharing and division of the Gifts and Graces of God the Monks have made amongst themselves these have boldly appropriated to themselves the Gift of Preaching But we find that this is nothing but an arrogant Usurpation of theirs without the Consent of the Holy Spirit for I have scarcely found any Monks more unsuccessful in this Ministry than themselves God will never permit the Pride of Men to dispose of those Gifts which belong to him alone The Jesuits have arrogated to themselves the Gifts of Tongues and of Informing Youth and yet Experience shews that they are indeed very ignorant and unskilful in both these and that the Scholars who have Studied in the Universities under other Masters are incomparably better grounded in Learning than theirs are The Monks of S. Bennet have appropriated to themselves the Character of Retirement and Silence and yet we find no People more Gadding up and down in Cities and Country than they But to return to my Discourse It was one of these Old Dominican or Preaching Brothers that Preâ—â—â—ed at the Minerva but he did it in so unworthy and indecent a manner that I wonder how I could resolve to go and hear him more than once All that was attractive in him was That notwithstanding he was very Old yet he was extreamly Comical and an egregious Buffoon so that he made his Auditors Laugh with open Throats He walked in his Pulpit for in Italy they have them very long and wide he Thump'd the Pulpit with his Hands and Feet he Roll'd his Eyes in his Head and put himself into an Hundred ridiculous Postures I shall give you here a small scantling of one of his Sermons which I still remember that by the Pattern ye may judge of the Whole Piece He had a mind it seems to make a Moral Application of the History set down in the XXI Chapter of the Book of Genesis where Abraham turn'd his Maid Hagar out of Doors He begins thus Sirs said he come follow me and take a Walk with me in the Holy Scripture Then fetching three Steps in the Pulpit having one of his Arms a
with a great deal of Modesty and Reverence and what is the chiefest of all they always keep close to the Truth and Purity of the Gospel in the which I desire to Live and Die I wish you the same Grace and am Sir with all my Heart Your most Humble Servant c. The Seventh LETTER Of the Processions of Italy c. SIR HAving passed the Lent Time at Rome I departed thence some Weeks after Easter with an intent of Returning to France I took my Journy through that part of the Great Duke of Tuscany's Country which Borders upon the Patrimony of S. Peter or the Popes Dominions The Entrance into the Dukes Territories is by Il Rè de Caphani which is a very high Mountain surrounded with many great Woods and is a very proper place for Hunting where I saw several Cardinals who diverted themselves at that Sport From hence 't is Two small days Journy to Sienna in my Way thither I met with nothing but Processions all along the Road. 'T is an Ancient Custom establish'd in the Roman Church to celebrate frequent Processions after Easter which they call Rogations in order to implore the Blessing of God upon the Fruits of the Earth The Year wherein I took this Journy there was a more pressing need of it than ordinary because of the great Drought which threatned a Scarcity A Procession according to the definition of the Papists is A Walking or Marching of People from one Church to another under the Conduct of the Priests assisting with the Cross and Banner there to Invoke by the Intercession of some He or She Saint the extraordinary Assistance of God These Processions are sometimes Two or Three Days a Marching before they come to the place design'd and when they have once dispatch'd the Singing of their Letanies they play the Fools as much as the Pilgrims in their Pilgrimaging do according to the Account I have already given you in a former LETTER So that I wanted no Divertisement all the Way from the Rè de Cophani till I came to Sienna whither all these Processions were going Only I found great Inconvenience when I came to my Inn because that wherever these Processions pass they cause great Scarcity by reason of the great Numbers that compose them Being come to Sienna I enquir'd what Church it was to which all these Devotions were design'd and was told That they all went to a Church of our Lady where they had lately uncover'd a Miraculous Image of the Virgin which was only done at the end of every Forty years My Curiosity invited me to take a View of it but the Throng of the People was so great that I had much ado to Crowd into the Church They told me That this Thronging Concourse had already continued for Eight Days for so long the Image had been Unveiled and that after Eight Days more it was to be Veiled again with a great deal of Solemnity I took an exact View of this Image which was about a Foot broad and a Foot and an Half high the Countenance of it representing that of a very young Girl neither could I find any thing extraordinary in it for which it might seem to deserve the Adorations they gave it I enquir'd of the Priests that served this Church What might be the Reason that this Image was only Unveiled once every Forty Years But they could give me no better than this That it had been a Custom observed Time out of Mind and that they believed the first Rise of it was An Order given by the Virgin her self for so doing I have in Italy seen a vast Number of these sorts of Veiled-Images not only of the Virgin but also of the Crucifix and all other Saints and I can say with Truth That there is scarcely a Church to be met with which hath not Two or Three of them Sometimes we meet with great Pictures in their Churches where several Saints are represented and amongst them one only having his or her Face Veiled that being the Mysterious Saint The Secret of which Intriegue as far I could pierce into by the use the Priests and Monks make of it is plainly this They find this way admirably well suited to advance their Temporal Profit The things we see every Day become too common with us and make little or no Impression by reason of the Customariness of them on our Imagination There be some Parts of the World where they have six Months of Night and six Months of Day so that their whole Year consists but of a Day and a Night Now we are told That the Inhabitants of these Countries assemble themselves in Crowds to see the Sun Rise whereas in these Lands where the Sun riseth every Day we don't find People concern themselves to be present at his Rising and by a parity of Reason we may conclude That the Images and Statues of the Church of Rome would make no great impression on the Minds of the People or be powerful enough to induce the opening of their Purse-Strings if the Priests had not found out this ingenious Invention of making them more rare and therefore the more desired Yea it seems also that the long time of their Veiling begets something of a greater Veneration for them and that the Roman Catholicks imagin That when after so long a time they are uncovered they meet with in those Pictures Images and Statues something more August and Divine than ordinary In a word They do all believe and take it for granted that when these are Unveiled here on Earth the Saints whom they represent become more Liberal in Heaven and more favourably inclin'd to grant their Vows and Prayers Thus you see whither Superstition or rather Folly will run when those who ought to be the most Zealous to overthrow it I mean the Clergy are the chief Contrivers of Ways and Methods to foster and encourage it The Profit which from hence accrues to the Priests is very great as you will be able to conceive from what I shall tell you of this Our Lady of Sienna I spent Nine or Ten Days in this City and so had the leisure frequently to Visit this Church of the Virgin I confess I cannot give you an exact account of the Presents I saw there offer'd and therefore shall content my self to tell you That I do not believe any Single person entred the Church without giving something very considerable And to encourage the People the more in their Liberality to exceed and outstrip one another the Priests had had the Cunning to prepare a place Rail'd-in with Balisters near to the Altar of the Virgin where they expos'd to View part of the Presents the People had offer'd Here were to be seen a vast quantity of whole Pieces of Cloth and Fine Linnen Handkerchiefs Shifts many rich Jewels and in particular a prodigious number of Great Tapers of White Virgin-Wax whereof some of them could weigh no less than Fifty pounds apiece
but that by this means I had the fairest Opportunity I could wish for to penetrate all the Secrets of Monkery for they kept nothing from me and tho' I was not one of them yet I liv'd and continually Convers'd with them neither was any thing hid from me Wherefore I may say without boasting That I can speak of the Monastick-way of Living upon good grounds which I intend to do in my next LETTER to you As for this I have now in hand as I have already begun it with giving you some account of the Manner of their Processions so I intend to prosecute the same Subject and the rather because I find here in this City Matter enough to Stuff it out and such as is very curious too and therefore hope that the Recital I shall make of it will not prove unacceptable or tedious to you I shall begin with the Processions which are celebrated during the Octave or Week of the Holy Sacrament in the City of Bononia The Feast of the Holy Sacrament having been instituted on purpose to make the Host to Triumph as the Papists say they omit nothing that may render that Day and the Week following the most pompous and solemn that may be They make many fine Processions and carry the Consecrated Host which they say is the Living Body of our Saviour Jesus Christ through their Streets with very Magnificent Shows and Ceremonies In France it is the Custom on this occasion to Adorn the Fronts of Houses with curious Tapestries and to strew the Streets with Flowers and sweet smelling Herbs They erect Oratories or Repositories as they call them at certain distances there to repose the Holy Sacrament as if it were very weary with the March it had taken They Dress up abundance of Little Children like Angels to strew Flowers in the Way before it and to Incense it And in a word they make a Thousand Idolatrous Prostrations and Adorations to it In Germany they Adorn all their Streets with the Branches of Trees on both sides of them by this means turning their Cities into Parks or Forests or rather into Fine Gardens whereof every Street represents a Long Walk as far as one could see all set with Trees and Verdure But Italy being the most ingenious of them all as well as the most Superstitious does by many degrees excel all other Nations that profess the Roman Catholick Religion and the City Bononia exceeds the rest of Italy in her Famous celebration of the Octave of the Holy Sacrament Besides the great General Procession which is made throughout that City the Thursday after Trinity Sunday which is the Day appointed for that Feast at which all the Clergy both Regular and Secular with all the Magistrates of the City do assist there are every Year Three Parishes appointed to furnish and make the Preparatives for the Octave and having discharged their Turn they are quit of that Expence for Twelve or Fourteen years after until all the rest have had theirs this being a very Chargeable Office About a Fortnight or Three Weeks before the Feast they Barricado all the Entries of the Streets of those Parishes to hinder Horses and Carts from passing that way that the Workmen may apply themselves to their Work without disturbance The Chief Work and that which is most painful and takes up most Time is to cover all the Streets and Walls with Veils of Silk which are the Manufactory of that City and to form them into Figures and Histories The several Parishes when their Turn comes strive to outvy one another in some New Invention or other Some with these Little Veils represent all manner of Birds others all Four-footed Beasts insomuch that a Man cannot so much as imagine any whole Figure is not to be found there Others endeavour to represent in the said Silken Figures Huntings Battels Triumphs and in a word an infinite Variety of things extreamly pleasing to the Eye Moreover they expose to publick View in the Streets all the most curious Pictures which the Inhabitants of those Parishes are Masters of not excepting the Profane ones themselves amongst which are to be seen many infamous Naked Pictures and Grotesques to cause Laughter The Bononians are extreamly curious in Pictures all their Closets Halls and Chambers are full hung with them and forasmuch as they expose them to publick View at this time Travellers meet with the satisfaction of seeing very Rare and Curious Pieces of Art Over and above all this Altars are erected almost in every Corner of the Streets set forth and adorn'd with Statues Images and Vessels of Gold and Silver and upon every Altar there is always a Representation to the Life of some Mystery of our Religion or of some Saint The Houses of the Great Lords of those Parishes that furnish the Ornament of the Feast are open to all As long as this Feast lasts they take Care to adorn their Chambers the most sumptuously they can and to expose all their Riches to view There be some of them so splendid and liberal to bestow Cooling Liquors called Sorbetti upon all Comers or at least upon all persons who appear never so little Considerable and in their Courts or Gardens they have Fountains Running with Wine in great abundance for the Common People All things being thus prepared the Procession begins This is a Work on which the Priests exhaust their Invention and rack their Brain to bring forth something New and Unlook'd for that may please the Spectators They dress up a great many Little Children like Angles with Wings at their Backs they make very lively Representations of all the Figures and Types mention'd in the Old Testament which they conceive did prefigure their Holy Sacrament as Abraham's Sacrificing of his Son Isaac the Offering of Melchisedeck the Shew-Bread the Paschal Lamb c. They represent all the Prophets and Sibyls that have Prophecied of our Saviour And last of all they make a Show of the Blessed Virgin the Twelve Apostles and our Saviour who follows them with a Loaf in his Hand as if he were about to break it as he did at the Celebration of his Holy Supper Besides these they also give us the Representations of many of their He and She Saints which were the most devoted to the Holy Sacrament as S. Thomas Aquinas S. Anthony of Padua S. Rose of Viterbo c. All these they represent not in Figures to the Life but Living Figures that is young Boys and Girls chusing the prettiest and handsomest they can meet with Above all I took notice of many Little S. John Baptists amongst them To represent these S. John Baptists they take Little Children of Four or Five years of Age strip them stark Naked and put nothing upon them besides a Colour'd Riband which like a Belt reacheth from their Right Shoulder to their Left Thigh so as it doth not hinder their Nakedness from being expos'd to publick View It is not now only that the Italians are
Abbot perceiving that nothing could be gain'd this way but a double Reproach and Confusion commanded his Fryers to go and unloose him and so admitted him into the Monastery and let the Women go The Penance impos'd upon this Abbot for the Affront and Scandal he had given was this To abide 15 Days in the Monastery without stirring abroad Which was the more easie for him to submit to because the Noise of this gallant Story being spread through the whole City he could not well any sooner without great Shame and Confusion have appear'd in the Streets The General who might easily have Depos'd him from his Charge of Abbot was of Opinion That for so light a Fault as this it was not worth the pains to proceed to so rigid a Censure and thus by a Spirit of Charity which will not permit us to do that to another which we would not have others do to us especially when we find our selves in the same Circumstances contented himself to make him exchange his Abby for some time and Entertain'd him at his own Monastery of Mount Olivet I have given you a true and faithful Relation of this History as having been an Eye-witness of part of it my self because it hapned during the time that I was in the Monastery of S. Michael in the Wood. This Accident gave me the occasion of making a very pleasant Discovery for upon the Sbirries entring into the Monastery a young Religious being extreamly affrighted and apprehending lest they might make a narrow search into his Chambers where for Three Weeks time he had kept a young Lass came directly to me and without much considering to whom he addrest himself desir'd me for the Love of God to hide his Mistress in one of the most private Chambers of my Apartment until the Storm were over But notwithstanding the extream Earnestness wherewith he solicited my Consent I did not think it fit to expose my own Credit to save his and knowing withal how dangerous it is to give a downright Refusal to an Italian and more especially to a Monk I in the mildest way I could wish'd him to Address himself to the Apothecary of the Abby who was a young Man of his own Country and who was not so scrupulous in that point as I was The Religious following my Counsel found the Apothecary very ready to comply with his desire and without making any difficulty took her from him and shut her up in one of the Large Presses of his Shop where she continued the rest of that Night and the Day following in deadly Fears The young Monk came to me the next Morning to Excuse himself and as 't is likely being troubled that he had given me an occasion by the discovery he had made to me to believe That the rest of his Brethren were better than he he took the freedom to discover to me several things which till then I was ignorant of tho' I had now already continued six Months amongst them He told me That most of his Brethren had their Wenches whom they kept in their Chambers and that they got them in from abroad from time to time where they kept them some a Week others a Fortnight or a Month according to the Bargain they had made with them and the Ability of their Purse The Abbot himself was not ignorant of it but prevalent Custom had reduc'd things to that pass amongst them that he was fain to wink at all and content himself with the Presents they made him from time to time for so doing The most convenient time they had to get their Wenches into the Abby was about the beginning of the Night who being come to a place according to Appointment and precisely at such an Hour the Monks who had sent for them brought them Cowls and Frocks and so dress'd them in their own Habit which done these good Fryers entred all without distinction into the Monastery in greater Number than they were gone out I had indeed formerly often been surpriz'd to see several new Figures of Monks entring into the Dormitories which I had never seen before and upon my Enquiry they had always made me believe that they were some Stranger-Monks that were come to Lodge with them Most of the Religious have double Rooms whereby they have a great Convenience of Entertaining their Women unperceiv'd The Abbots make their Profit of it for a Religious cannot have one of these Double-Chambers without paying about an Hundred Crowns for it and they are very well acquainted what it is design'd for but provided their Religious only take care to manage the Matter so as that it may not come to the knowledge of Seculars they do not trouble themselves about it neither doth this hinder them from being advanced to Religious Charges and Employments as much as if they were the Holiest persons of the World I was acquainted at Venice with a Regular Canon of the Abby of S. Saviour who was a young Man of considerable Learning and who publickly taught Philosophy This Man entertain'd the most infamous Whore that was in the whole City and who commonly serv'd for a Model to the Limâ—â—rs of the Academy It was above a Year that he had had commerce with her and his Abbot gave him leave every Evening during Shrovetide to dress himself in Masquerade and to go to her Lodging and lead her thence to the Opera or Comedy after which he either brought her along with him to his Chamber in the Monastery or else past the rest of the Night with her at her own Lodging Now as long as the Matter was carried secretly and without making any Noise abroad the Abbotâ— let the young Monk take his swing without giving him the least Check or Reproof for it and having a particular Kindness for him he had already dispos'd all things in order to his being chosen Abbot when by Ill-luck for this young Fryer a great number of Artizans who lived in the same Street with this Courtizan and who probably were displeased with his frequent Visits to her came and made their Complaints to the Monastery The Abbot having heard what they had to say endeavour'd what he could to sweeten them and to excuse the Monk but all this did but incense them the more and the next Sunday they gather'd together in the Church near to the Chappel where this young Religious was wont to say Mass being resolved publickly to Affront him and to stop him from going up to the Altar but the Abbot having notice of it sent them a piece of Mony to make them desist from prosecuting their Design whereupon they retir'd without more ado But the Abbot perceiving the thing had taken Wind and was become the publick Talk of the City thought it now high time to declare himself against the Monk and notwithstanding he had never before given him the least Reproof for this high Misdemeanour he then wrote a Letter to the Father General of the Order to deprive