.28 of the same month there appeared in the Element ouer the same place at .x. of the clock in the night a shining Crosse wyth a starre in the toppe and a Moone at the lower ende retiring immediatly after it began to be day without being séene any more at y e time but touching these sights and visions in the aire with their causes which moue in dede by natural meanes as we beholde the figure of our selues in a glasse or the Rainbow in the Element I shal not néede to vse large description of them héere bicause they are auouched by the Astronomers Philosophers and others of like profession beside for mine owne selfe I forbeare to wade farre therin vntil a time cause more conuenient for such purpose THe monsters which are this yeare come to knowledge be two the one was in Prouence at Arles and wandred besides thorow Fraunce It was a childe rough or hairy on all the body hauing the nauell in the place where the nose should stand and the eyes where naturally should staÌ„d the mouthe betwéene the which was a certaine opening hys eares stode on either side the chinne and his mouthe at the ende of the same THe other monster of this yeare .1567 was séene in FlauÌ„ders betweene Anwarpe and Macline in a village called Vbalen It was a childe which had .ij. heades and .iiij. armes séeming .ij. maides ioyned together yet had but .ij. legges Of a wonderfull Daunce LIke as I am greatly in dout whether so infer in the number of wonderful Histories that which we now write not for the matter but that it is shorte and yet worthie of no lesse memorie than admiration Euen so for that the Historie may seeme of lesse credite and truthe the same being written in that time wherin men would scarsly suffer it to be imprinted or taken as a witnesse of antiquitie albeit it were ayded and assisted by a truthe or other probable arguments to the like effect hauing withall sufficiente colour to make men beleue that they speake to be suche as they recite notwithstanding for that we be able to iustifie the truth of this present Historie by one who as be assureth to haue seene it so hath he taken paine to write therof hym selfe which is Othopertus of Saxonie and after him Vincentius wytnesseth the same in hys xxvj boke and .x. chap. and besides Antoni in his fourth chap. his .xvj. titles and seconde tome of hys workes where as I neede not feare to recite it as it is or to aggrauate the opinion or beliefe of any further than a truth So neuerthelesse I haue to preferre and make mention of one Historie very straunge and not heard of yet albeit true Wherof Othopertus writeth that the yeare .1012 which was in the tenth yeare of the emperour Henry the second in a certain borough or towne of Saxonie where he himselfe accompanied with .xvij. other of his friends whiche by computation wer .xviij. he accompted dyd sée .xv. men and iij. women dauncing of a rounde in a Churchyarde and singing of Wanton songs not meete for the solace of honest Christians And albeit there passed by at that instant a Priest who cursed them in such sorte that they daunced and song there the space of a whole yeare Yet that which was most maruellous is that as it rained not sayd he vpon them neyther were they hotte or desirous of meate or drinke nor lefte from doing that exercise or labour so their garmentes and shoes in all their dauncing were not worne or consumed albeit in the ende they sonke into the earth first to the knées and lastely to their middles The yeare expired and their daunce ended and they withall come to a perfecte vnderstandyng in what sporte they had spente the yeare paste one of the women and two others of that companie dyeâ— sodainely and all the reste slepte continually three dayes and thrâ—â— nyghtes Wherevpon some of them immediatly vpon their wakyng dyed the others deferred to the ende to tast more their follie remayned in a continuall tremblyng thorough all the partes of theyr bodies during the terme and space of theyr myserable and vnfortunate lyues FINIS Gellius lib. j. cap. 12. Silemander a worme liuing in the fire A Lampe burning without the aide of oile or match A great infection throâ—ghout all Europe by reason the water in their welles was ympoysoned The Adamant smelleth and â—â—eleth The nature of the Emeraud The Emeraud enimie to vncleanesse Volateranus writeth a lyke example in his geography A wonderfull prouidence of God The natures of sundry stoues Damascen writeth that in the time of Maximinian there wer killed and martyred in .xxx. dayes .xvij. thousande christians Cornelius Tacitus lib. 15. A wall of dead mens head The cause of the flames of fyre from heauen The Romains fearfull of the Eclipse of the Moone The cause of the Eclypse of the Moone iij sunnes sene by Cardanus The causes of the shewes of so many suÌ„nes and moones Plato Aristotlâ— Socrates Vâ—serius Max. lib. 4. A drooken combat Two huÌ„dreth and .l. crownes and some value them at .ij. C.xxx and iiij M.iij C.lx. and v. Ducaâ—s A pearle waying halfe an vnce A wonderfull prodigalitie in an Italian Prelate Some writers haue referred this to the Emperour Tyberius Xerxes killed by his prouost And Darius poisoned after by Alexander Mar. Anto. killed him selfe Cleopatra was stong to death Helioga slayn and cast into Tyber A dead man speaketh to his companion in a dreame An other visioÌ„ appearing to a man that was not a slepe Certaine houses at Rome haunted wyth spirites S. Augustin approueth enchaunting by example The effects of the bishops prophecie Act. 11. Cap. 11. Luke 11. In his booke of the Diuination of Diuels Cap. 22. Gen. lib. 1â— cap. 14. 3. Reg. 22. Visions of the imagination Lib. 1. cap. 20. Visions by naturall cause In his boke of maruelous inuentions Of .vij. voyces or soundes Artificiall visions Paris Garden
of man the Diamont deserues moste estimation who besides his violent clearenesse which of it selfe hath power to dimme our eyes as if it were the sodaine flashe of a thunder is of a hardnesse so infringible that it resistes not only the hammer or stroke of other mettall but it is also inuincible againste fire or flame Plinie in his last booke of his naturall histories writes that in his time the DiamoÌ„t was not founde but in the Courtes of Princes and that very rarely but nowe nature which since his age is become more bountifull doth yelde vs such plentie of it that there is not so meane a marchaunt mans wife at this day whose fingers are not decked with that Iewell Ezechiel and Zacharie twoo of the moste famous Prophetes in the Churche of GOD haue gyuen greate honour to this stone and not without cause for besides his common properties to withstande venom poyson charmes dreames enchauntementes and visions of the night yet hath he a moste wonderfull vertue to resiste fire according to the opinion of some Philosophers whose experience warrantes it to be of force to endure amyds the moste hotte burning coles that be for nine dayes continuallye without diminushing any parte of it such is the excellencie of this stone that waye albeit in this place it cannot séeme impertinent to my intent of true descriptions of stones to impart to the readers wherein both the AuncieÌ„t and late writers haue erred touching the reseruation of the properties of this stone Plinie with moste that were afore hym and Francisce Ruell professour of Phisike with Morbodeus a latter Poete writers not long since haue greatly abused the simplicitie of a number of people in persuading that the Adamant hath no power ouer the yron neither to smell nor drawe it if the Diamont be in place séeing the contrarie is proued by common and daily experience euen so they haue erred no lesse in that they assure the Diamont not to be vanished either by fire yron or other meane excepte onely by the bloud of aâ— hée goate for it is moste certaine that the hammer is of force to bruse and bring hym in pieces being striken with a strong hande I will not denie but that it excéedes all other stones in hardnesse and that it deuides and confoundes all other precious stones by his soliditie neither is he with ease to be polished or framed with other thing thaÌ„ with his owne lime pouder or duste with this further argumeÌ„t of his subtiltie hardnesse which y e Auncients did practise with greate maruel that y e point of a dart dagger or other instrument cutting being dipped in the pouder or forge of Diamont doth penetrat or pierce any armour for y e yron steele being chafed or stirred with the blow w t the vehement hardnesse of the forge makes it of power to pierce easely whatsoeuer resistes it Nature hath yet gyuen to the DiamoÌ„t another secret singular propertie no lesse maruelous than the other which is that being chaâ—ed it drawes a rushe or light strawe as the Ieat doth but not with such vehemencie Many other strange condicioÌ„s in a diamont could I preferre and the same approued both by forein and familiar writers but because they bring with them a suspicion of lightnesse or discredit I will reserue them for an other vse time and note vnto you in this last discourse of the diamont how nature in counterpaise of the sundry graces and good gyftes bestowed vpon it hath infected it with one speciall and mortall vice for that it is most venemouse and of suche fatall operation that it stoppes breath assone as it is dronke in pouder which some affirme to procéede of his extreme coldnesse and other holde it to moue by a violent gnawing in the bowels The greatest diamoÌ„t that euer was seene excéedes not in greatnesse an Almonde which as I haue hearde remaines amongest the Iewels of Solyman late Emperour of the Turkes Most writers haue gyuen the second place of honour for stones to y e Emeraud bycause that by his liuelye verdure he doth not onely solace the eye more than any other stone but also for delite and flourishing viewe it so surmountes both forrests trées and hearbes that nature séemes to contende with the earth to whome the price of gréennesse is due either to the Emeraud or y e plantes Touching the exellencie of this stone they write that it abhorres all vncleane and filthie liuers and is a special friend to chastitie the which they make good by an example experience in the Kyng of Hungarie who lying with his wife and hauing an Emeraud on his finger maruelled to sée it breake and conuert to many péeces which might also happen aswell by chaunce as come of any vertue in the stone séeing that of all other stones it is moste fraile tender The most true and credible properties attributed to this stone by most learned men be these First Aristotle giues councel to hang it at the heade of him that hath the falling sicknesse Rabie persuades that if a man drinke ix graines of it it drieth vp euil humors Sana Verola affirmeth that if it be layed to the thighe of a womaÌ„ feeling the paine of childe bearing it procures deliuerie Rasis Dioscorides will such as be infected with leprosye to drinke the pouder of an Emeraud wherunto as are diuerse other singularities so because they be not grounded vpon good substance let them persuade credit according to the wisedome of such as can iudge of them for my parte in suche causes of difference and doubt I had rather be carefull than curious but for a familiar example of the estimatioÌ„ and valewe of the Emeraud I maye boldely commende and bring in the honour of King Edward who hauing receiued a booke from Erasmus presented him with an Emeraud valued after his death at three thousande crownes whereof that famous clerke made so deare accompte that he had it on his finger euen at the instant of his death Suetonius writes that Nero was wont to discerne the eyes and lookes of ruffians and dashebucklers within an Emeraud Good Emeraudes do proue them selues by the touch stone called Lidia which if they be naturall and true they leaue a marke like the touche of brasse Saint Iohn in his Apocalipse hath giuen great honour to this stone That which the Auncients called a Carbuncle is no other thing than that which we commonly call a Rubie which takes his name by the similitude he hath in lighte with the burning coale the same being committed to the flames doth not onely resiste their force but excéedes them in clearenesse touching his giftes and properties the Philosophers moste commonly commende it of a vertue to chase awaye melancholye defende dreames and illusions of the night and to serue for a counterpoison againste all corrupte aire Ther be of them diuerse kindes as the Grenat and such other whereof I wil speake particularlye hereafter The
the whiche meanes we iudge to sée diuers sunnes We maye also sée the lyke in a table wel painted and polished which when we behold there appeareth to vs the shape of two or .iij. being but one in dede and as much we may say of y e Moone Thus haue we declared the very true causes wherfore appere so often .ij. or .iij Sunnes Moones let vs therfore now from henceforth search in nature the cause and beings of these things and stay no more at these fripperies deceiptes and dreames of the Astrologians iudicials who therby haue so oftentimes deceiued begiled vs that they oughte and deserue to be banished exiled from all cōmon wealths well gouerned for what trouble perplexitie and terrour haue they engendred in the consciences of a numbre of poore people As for example in the yere 1514. when they feared not with obstination to publishe openly in all places that there shoulde be in the moneth of February well nigh an vniuersall floud for that the coniunction of all the planets were in the signe of Pisces and notwithstandyng the day which should haue brought forth these waters was one of the moste faire and temperate days of the yere albeit many great personages fearefull of their prophecies made prouision of bisket flower ships and other like things propre to sayle withall fearyng to be surprised and drowned wyth the greate abundance of water whiche they before had tolde of Lette vs further from henceforth learne with Henry the .vij. king of Englande who reigned in oure tyme makyng no accompt of theyr deceytes but chastised their dreame who vpon the sodaine beyng made to vnderstande that one of the moste famous Astrologians of Englande had published in all places that he had found amongst the most hidden secretes of Astrologie that the King shoulde die before the next feast of Christmas commaunded that he should be brought before hym who after he had asked hym whether this talke were true and that the prognosticator had answered him that it was certaine and that he had founde this infallible in his constellation and natiuitie I pray thée then sayde the King tell me where the starres tell thée thou shalte kéepe thy Christmas this yeare To whom he answered he shoulde be in hys owne house with hys familie but I knowe very wel sayd the King that thy starres be lyers for thou shalt neither sée Moone Sunne Starres heauen nor thy familie this Christmasse putting hym presentely in the moste straight darke prison in the great tower of London where he continued till the feast was past Here you may sée how this true Astrologian was vsed remayning prisoner in extreme misery vntil after the feast kept of the natiuitie of Iesus Christe ¶ A wonderfull Historie of Flames of fyre which haue sprong out of the heades of diuers men CHAP. xxj IF there were but one onely Authour which had made mention of the Historie followyng although the truthe therof be sufficiently proued for whiche cause I haue the rather at this time placed it in these my wōders as a chiefe argument or coniecture in nature whereupon may be founded the cause notwithstanding seing so many learned men haue busied themselues to write therof together with so greate a number of faithfull authors witnessing the same in their works we ought the rather vpon their credite to beleue that whiche they haue sayd therin Titus Liuius in his thirde booke and thirde Decade Cicero in his seconde boke De diuinatione Valerius the great in his first boke and .vj. chapiter Frontinus in his secōd boke and .x. chapiter write that after the Scipions were surprised by their enimies and ouerthrowē and killed by the Spanyards and that Lucius Martius a Romaine knight making an oration to his souldiers exhorting to reuēgement they became astonished to see a great flame of fire issuing from his heade without doing to him any hurt which caused the armed men being moued with the sight of thys wonderfull flame to take heart and run so furiously vpon their enimies that they not onely killed xxvij thousande but also had a praie of a great number of captiues besides an inestimable riches they toke from the Carthaginiens Neither haue such fantasticall fyres sprong from the bodies of certaine men or appeared in one only but in many Wherof the same author Titus Liuius writeth in his first boke of things worthy of memory sithens the foundation of Rome the like to happen to Seruius Tullius who succéeded in the imperial seate Tarquinius Priscus from whose heade being yet but yong and as he slepte they sawe issue a flame of fyre whervpon the Quéene Tanaquil wife to the foresayd Priscus affirmed to hir husbād that this flame promised to hym greate good honour and prosperitie whiche afterwards chaunced for he maried not onely hir daughter but after the death of hir husband hée was Kyng of the Romaines And Plutarche and others haue written the lyke of Alexander when he foughte against the Barbariens being in the moste heate of the skirmish they sawe him all on fyre whiche caused a maruellous feare and terrour to his ennimies Euen so I knowe a certaine Physition at this day who writeth of the lyke in diuers of his histories chauncing in our time to a nere friende of his in Italy not onely at one time but at many Whereof as Plinius not onely in an other place maketh mention of the ryuer Trasimenus whyche was seene all on fyre but also maketh a certain discourse of these wonderfull flames whyche be seene aboute the bodies of men Also Aristotle in hys fyrst boke of Metheores treateth in lyke maner But to tell you myne opinion therein I can not any wayes gather the cause or foundation eyther of the one or other althoughe I haue promised to shewe the causes and reasons whervpon these wonders procede and take their beginnyng For if we wyll saye they be made by Arte As we haue séene very often in oure tyme certaine Ruffians vomite and caste forth of theyr mouthes certayne flames of burnyng Fyre whiche Atheneus in the fyrst boke of the Dipnosophistes and fouretenth Chapiter doth witnesse whiche coulde not happen as I thinke to the Histories before mentioned for that it hath chanced to greate lordes vpon whome these wonders haue bene moste proued by which meanes they being attended vpon wyth a greate numbre and multitude of persones the fraude thereof was easlyer discouered Wherefore it is moste expediente then to beléeue that they be wonders and deceytes of Sathan who was so familiar in the worlde passed that he inuented dayly newe wonders as is wytnessed in Exodus of the Magitiens of Pharao whiche conuerted Maydes into Serpentes and floudes of water into bloud whyche be matters as difficulte as to make flames of fyre issue or come from the bodies of men ¶ A Historie very notable of Prodigeous Loues CHAP. xxij I Am ashamed and almoste confused in my self that I must declare the wonderfull loue
vnto hir who had so greuously tormented hym wherin she shewed hir selfe very liberall and bountifull seing that the Historians write that all the treasures which she had gathered by little and little duryng all hir life of those whiche loued hir was melted and put into that Chaine whiche was of monstrous greatnesse and also kept of hir with great care for the only relief of hir in hir old age if fortune suffred hir to be pinched with pouertie The yong man hauyng thus caught the praie he moste desired went to fynde out Plangon to whome he offered the chaine making hir to vnderstande the liberalitie of his auÌ„cient friend betwéene whoÌ„ neither time nor distance of place nor other sinister accident coulde extinguishe their friendship wherewith Plangon maruelling of the loue and liberalitie of hir companion hauyng a noble heart and not willing to giue place to Bacchide neither in good wil nor bountie sent to hir again hir chaine louyng then more feruently the yong man thaÌ„ she had done at any tyme before and that which is moste wonderfull imparted hir loue to Bacchide being contente the yong man shoulde be common to them bothe Whiche made the Greekes with great admiration to name hir after Pasiphyle Wherin being now so ancred in maters of woÌ„derfull loues we must search the most rare maruellous histories amongst whome I do not remember there haue bene any dames in all the worlde whiche haue demeaned their loue with more greate wonder neither which haue â—â—te a more eternall witnesse to their posteritie of their wanton and lasciuious liues than Lamie Flora and Lays of whome I will write the life according as Pausanias the Greeke and Manilius the Latin haue writen in their bookes entreating of noble louing women But aboue all others I will folow Anthonius of Gueuare Bishop of Monâ—demo in a learned treatise which he hath made of this matter These three Dames haue bene thrée of y e most faire most famous women of the worlde whiche at any time were either borne in Asia or nourished in Europe and of whome the Historiographers haue moste talked and by whome moste Princes haue come to ruine and perdition It is written of them for a wonder that they so well charmed those which loued them that they were neuer lefte of any Prince whiche loued them nor denied at any time anye thing they required further it is written that these .iij. women as they neuer mocked any man so they were not mocked of any The Historians write that these .iij. Courtizans during their life were .iij. of the moste riche Courtizans of the worlde after their decease lefte most great memorie of them for euery of them where they dyed did erecte a great pillour of stones to continue a remembraÌ„ce of them and besides that euery one of them were by Nature beautiful yet had they a further particular gyfte to allure entice their louers to loue theÌ„ The engin wherewith Lamie entrapped hir louers procéeded of regarde for by the drawing of hir eyes she enflamed the beholders Flora wanne hirs by hir wonderful eloquence And Lays allured by hir swéete pleasant hermonie Wherefore the King Demetrius sodainely receiuing y e glaunce of the eye of Lamie was taken in the net and that newe fire in processe of time gained so much ouer him y t he liued not but in hir not only gaue hir all he had but also abandoned his wife Euxonie to followe his Lamie Wherefore Plutarke reciteth in the life of Demetrius that the Athenians hauing gyuen vnto him .xj. talents of siluer to ayde and paye his great armie he made a present of all the saide suÌ„me to his Lamie wherat y e Athenians wer maruellously greued to sée their mony so euil imployed This miserable King Demetrius doated so extremely in the loue of his Lamie that he honored hir as a God swering by hir as he accustomed to do by his Gods till death fortune which cuts asunder the fillet of those delites sends ende to all such enterprises suffred Lamie to die whereupon that poore King felt himself so griped that as some write of him he kissed hir and embraced hir after hir death and not content with this Idolatrie he made hir be buried before one of y e windowes of his house and when any of his friends asked the occasion wherefore he buried hir in that place he aunswered them sighing dipely the law of friendship of Lamie is so stroÌ„gly graffed in my heart that I knowe not wherein to satisfie the loue she bare me the bonde which I owe to hir for y e same if not to put hir in such a place that by viewe therof my poore eyes may bewaile dayly the death of hir and my sorowful harte continually thinke thereof Whereby the dolor sorow that Demetrius had for y e death of Lamie was so great and extreme that all the Philosophers of Athens were to dispute thereof whether of these twoo things were most to be estéemed either the teares sorow which he suffred for hir or the riches which he spent in the obsequies pomps of hir burial Within a yere .ij. monethes after the death of Lamie died King Demetrius The second amorous Dame named Lays spoken of before was the daughter of a great Sacrificatour of the TeÌ„ple of Apollo a maÌ„ so expert in the arte Magicall that he prophecied the perdition of his daughter incontinent after hir natiuitie This Lays as hir companion had a King for hir friende who was the renoumed Pirrhus with whome she went into Italie in the expedition and warres he made against the Romains remaining there a long time in his campe after returned with him from the warres notwithstanding it is written of hir that she neuer gaue hir selfe to one man alone This Lays was so sufficiently furnished with al perfections of beautie and ornaments of Nature that if she would haue bene continent and not common in hir loue there had not bene so constant a Prince in y e world which woulde not haue desired hyr and not denied to perfourme what she had demaunded of him Being returned from Italie into Grece â–ª she remained at Corinthe as Aulus Gelius writeth and there was soughte vnto of many Kings and noble men whome she courted and dandled with such dissimuled sleightes in loue that if hir louers were vnfainedly passioned and burned extremely in the desire of hir beautie she tooke a singular pleasure to smile and ieste at their simplicitie and folly being besides noted for one of the women of the worlde who excéeded the reste in making gayne proffit of hir loue I haue red one wonder of hyr whiche I neuer hearde of in any but in hir that is that she neuer shewed affection to any man neither was she in loue with anye man whiche coulde be knowen This Lays died in y e Citie of Corinthe being of the age of lxxij yeares the death of whome as it
be amongst them song when he heard them crow beat him self with his armes as they do with their wings As also some other that persuaded them to be transfigured into a vessel of earth who kéeping cōtinually vpon the plaines champaines dare not come neare houses or trees for feare to bruse or breake them in pieces There was a certaine Damsel ▪ whereof Alexander Trallianus writeth this history that by a corruption of the imagination she persuaded hir selfe to haue deuoured a Serpente sleeping neither coulde she be deliuered from the disease of suche thought vntill being prouoked to an extreme vomite there was secretly conueyed into the basin a quicke Serpent immediatly after the which she was deliuered of hir disease persuading that she had vomited the Serpent that stirred in the basyn There be yet visions whiche procéede by eating certaine poisons as Plinie and Edwardus witnesse of him of those whiche did eate the braines of a Beare whiche being deuoured they imagined that they were turned into a Beare The like happening in oure time to a Spanishe Gentleman who hauing eaten of a Beare wente wandring by the desertes and mountaines thinking to be trāsformed into a Beare Yet ther be other sortes of visions which according to y e opiniōs of certaine Phisitions proceede vpon certaine Naturall causes as when any man is killed and buried not very deepe in the earth there come as they saye from the dead bodye certaine exhalations and vapours whiche ascende into the ayre do séeme to represente the figure or fourme of hym that was put in the earth Wee haue also many other things whiche vnder the coloure of illusions abuse oure vnderstanding as when the ayre is troubled with contrary winds by whose agitations is engendred a bruite or murmure resembling properly the lowing or noise of beastes or not much vnlike to the complaintes of women and little children sometimes also the ayre pierceth within the creuisses and vaultes of rocks and olde walls and being sent backe againe by his owne violence giueth out so distincte a sounde that it séemes a precise or set voice as we proue oftentimes in that whiche we call Eccho the same pronouncing for the most parte v. or .vj. wordes with so greate maruell that it easely persuades suche as knowe not the cause but specially in the nighte that they be some spirites or Diuels the like hapning in our time to a counseller secretary of a certaine Prince the which by reason of his ignoraunce in the cause of his Eccho was in daunger to be drowned according to Cardanus in his booke of maruellous inuentions who writeth of one Augustinus Lauisarius Counseller to a certain Prince who being in the countrey and out of his waye and lastly ouertaken with night founde himselfe greatly passioned and riding all along a Riuer side began to lamente his distresse and after the Italian maner cried Oh the Eccho which came from a certaine rocke thereby replyed vnto him incontinent with Oh Lauisarius somewhat comforted with the voice thinking it was some man whiche spake demaūded in his language vnde debo passa the Eccho aunswered Passa then the poore secretary being in greater paine than before demaunded Chi which asmuch to say as heare the Eccho replied chi but being yet not well assured he asked him again debo passa chi passa chi saith the Eccho whiche wordes fedde him with suche comfort of his waye that he tooke the riuer being astonied notwithstanding that his horse at his firste entry lost the bottome and begā to swimme and had it not bene the goodnesse of his horse and mercye of the waues that séemed to take compassion vpon his distresse he had taken a moyste lodging in the bottome of the riuer from the whiche albeit he escaped so hardely yet being broughte with muche ado to the other side he passed the reste of the night in colde and prayers withoute comforte sauinge for the pleasure he tooke in the remembrance of his peril past wherof certaine dayes after being come to Millan he made discourse to his deare frende Cardanus in sorte as if it had bene the malice of an euill sprite that wente aboute to drowne him telling the place euery circunstance in order Cardanus smelled forthwith the ignorance and simplicity of the secretary knowing that in that place was a wonderfull Eccho whiche yelded suche a plaine and perfect voice that it séemed to be formed oute of the mouth of some creature for a more assuraunce and proofe whereof he led him eftesones to the same place where they founde that his Passa that guided hym was none other thing than a reuerberation of the Eccho wherein séeing we are nowe so déeply fallen I will not forget to inferre the authoritie of mine authour in an example whilest he write this booke at Paris I haue saith he heard a sound in the borough of Chalenton neare Paris whiche yeldes and returnes the wordes that are spoken whole entier distinctly and plainly and that .vij. times one after an other like to the Eccho septuplex of the Auncients and specially commended of Plinie I haue also oftē marueled y t those which haue written the Antiquities and things worthie of memorie in Paris haue lefte suche a straunge thing without remembraunce in their writings seeing I haue neither heard nor séene so rare a thing in all the voyages I haue made ouer the highe Alpes of Italye and Germanie But now there resteth to put a laste seale to our difference and diffinition of visions to make some discourse of artificiall illusions the which being wroughte by sundry secret and Sophisticall sleightes of men moue no small terror to suche as beholde them as that whereof Hector Boetius in his Histories of Scotlande maketh mention wherein as there was a helpe and furtheraunce by art so the effecte was no lesse maruellous and straunge and at laste the onely cause of conseruation of a whole Kingdome in sorte as foloweth The Pictes according to the Histories haue alwayes borne a mortall hate to the Scots killing after sundry battails and skirmishes the first King of that countrey with the ouerthrowe of most of the nobilitie of that countrey Cenethus second King of the Scots and sonne to him whome the Pictes had murdered desirous to reuenge the death of his father vsed many persuasions to incense the nobilitie to fall into armes againste them who in respecte of their late infortune in the warre and their lacke of power to maintaine the quarell would not agrée to the persuasions of the King in whome as there remained a more grudge againste the death of his father than in the reste so finding him insufficient to worke it by wordes or incitation he reposed a laste helpe and refuge in arte and to giue a beginning to his deuise he fained a cause of conscience and consultation for the which the nobilitie were sente for to assiste the counsell where being lodged