unto that harmelesse monument of Christs sufferings the Crosse which is grown it seemeth so exorbitant that the Papists make use of it to discover an Hugonot I remember as I passed by water from Amiens to Abbeville we met in the boat with a levie of French Gentlewomen to one of them with that French as I had I applyed my self and she perceiving me to be English questioned my Religion I answered as I safely might that I was a Catholick and she for her better satisfaction proffered me the little crosse which was on the top of her beads to kisse and rather should I desire to kisse it then many of their lips whereupon the rest of the company gave of me this verdit that I was Un urai Christien ne point un Hugonâ—… But to proceed in our journall The same day we parted from Paris we passed through the Town of Luzarch and came to that of St. Loup The first famous only in its owner which is the Count of Soissons The second in an Abbey there situate built in memory of St. Lupus Bishop of Trios in Champagne These Townes passed we were entred into Picardie Picardie is divided into the higher which containeth the Countries of Calice and Boulogne with the Town Monstrevill and the lower in which are the goodly Cities of Amiens Abbeville and many other places of principall note The higher which is the lesser and more Northern part is bounded North and West with the English Ocean and on the East with Flanders and Artoys The lower which is the larger the richer and the more Southern hath on the East the little Country of Veromandys on the West Normandy and on the South the Countrey of Champagne In length it comprehendeth all the 51 degree of Latitude and three parts of the 50 extending from Calice in the North to Clermont in the South In breadth it is of a great inequality For the higher Picardie is like Linea amongst the Logitians which they desine to be longitudo sine latitudine it being indeed nothing in a manner but a meer border The lower is of a larger breadth and containeth in it the whole 24 degree of longitude and a fourth part of the 23 so that by the proportion of degrees this Province is 105 miles long and 25 broad Concerning the name of Picardie it is a difficulty beyond my reading and my conjecture All I can do is to overthrow the lesse probable opinions of other writers and make my self subject to that scoffe which Lactantius bestoweth on Aristotle Rectè hic sustulit aliorum disciplinas sed non recte fundavit suam Some then derive it from Piquon one forsooth of Alexander the greats Captains whom they fain to have built Amiens and Piquigni an absurdity not to be honoured with a confutation some from the Town of Piquigni it self of which mind is Mercator but that Town never was of such note as to name a Province others derive it from Picardus a fanaticall Heretick of these parts about the year 1300 and after but the appellation is far older then the man others fetch it from the Picts of Britain whom they would have to flie hither after the discomfiture of their Empire and Nation by the Scots a transmigration of which all Histories are silent this being the verdict of the best Antiquary ever was nursed up in Britain Picti itaque funesstissimo praelio debellati aut penitus fuerunt extincti aut paulatim in Scotorum nomen nationem concesserint Lastly some others derive the name from Pique which signifieth a Lance or a Pike the inventors of which warlike weapon the fathers of this device would fain make them In like manner some of Germany have laboured to prove that the Saxons had that name given them from the short swords which they used to wear called in their language Seaxon but neither truely For my part I have consulted 〈◊〉 for all the Nations and the Iâ—…rarium of Antâ—…nius for all the Towns in this tract but can find â—…one on which I may fasten any probable Etymologie All therefore that I can say is 〈◊〉 which Râ—…bert Bishop of Auranâ—…es in Normandy hath said before me and that only in the generall Quos itaque aetas nostra Picardos appelat verae Belgae dicendi sunt qui post modum in Picardorum nomen traâ—…migrarunt This Countrey is very plentiâ—…ull of Corne and other grain with which it abundantly surnisheth Paris and hath in it more store of pasture and medow grounds thâ—…n I â—…lse saw in any part of France In Vines only it is defective and that as it is thâ—…ught more by the want oâ—… industry in the people then any inhability in the soil For indeâ—…d they are a people that will not labour more then they needs must stâ—…nding much upon their state and distance and in the carriage of their bodies savouring a little of the Spaniard whence Picarder to play the Picard is usually said of those who are loâ—…ty in their looks or gluâ—…tonous at their tables this last being also one of the symptomes of a Picard The Governor of this Province is the Dâ—…ke of Les Diguieres into which office he succeâ—…ded Mr. Luynes as also he did into that of the Constable Two preferments which he purchased at a deer rate having sold or abandoned that religion to câ—…mpasse them which he had professed more then 60 yâ—…ars together an apostasie most unworthy of the man who having for so many years supported the cause of religion hath now forsaken it and thereby made himself gilty of the coâ—…ardise of M. Antonius Qui cum in desertores saevire debuerat 〈◊〉 sui exeâ—…t â—…us factus est But I â—…ear an heâ—…vier censure waiteth upon him the crown of immortality not being promised to all those which run but to those only which hold out till the end For the present indeed he hath augmented his honours by this office which is the principall of all France He hath place and command before and over all the Peers and Princes of the bloud and at the Coronation of the French Kings ministreth the oath when he entreth a City in state or upon the redition of it he goeth before with the Sword naked and when the King 〈◊〉 in an assembly of the three estates he is placed at 〈◊〉 Kings right hand He hath command over all his Majesties forces and he that killeth him is guilty of high treason He sitteth also as chief Judge at the Table of marble upon all suits actions persons and complaints whatsoever concerning the wars This Table de Marbre was wont to be continually in the 〈◊〉 hall of the Palais at Paris from whence upon the burnning of that hall it was removed to the Louure At this table doth the Admirall of France hold his Sessions to judge of trafick prizes letters of marts piracy and businesse of the like nature At this table judgeth also Le grand Maistre des eaues et forrests we
laâ—…entable and bloudy war which 〈◊〉 upon hem tâ—…ey not only endevoured not to avoid but invited during the reign of Henry IV. who would not see it and the troublesome minority of Lewis XIII who could not molest them they had made themselves masters of 99 Towns well fortâ—…yed and enabled for a fiege a strength too great for any one factiâ—…n to keep together under a King which desires to be himself and rule hiâ—… people In the opiniâ—…n of this thâ—…ir potency they call Assemblies Parliaments as it were when and as often as they pleased There they consulted of the common affairs of Religion made new Laws of government removed and rechanged their generall officers the Kings leave all this while never so much as formally demanded Had they only been guilty of too much power that crime alone had been sufficient to have raised a war against them it not standing with the safety and honour of a King not to be the absolute commander of his own Suâ—…s But in this their licentious calling of Assemblies they abused their power into a neglect and not dissolving them at his 〈◊〉 commandment they increased their neglect into into a 〈◊〉 The Assembly which principally occasioned the war and their ruine was that of Roehell called by the Protestants presenâ—…ly upon the Kings journey into Bearn This generall meeting the King prohibited by his especiall Edicts declaring all them to be guilty of treason which notwithstanding they would not 〈◊〉 to but very undutifully went on in their purposes It was said by a Gentleman of their party and one that â—…ad been imployed in many of their affairs That the fiery zeal of some who had the guiding of their consciences had thrust them into those desperate courses and I believe him Tantum relligio potuit suadere malorum Being assembled they sent the King a Remonstrance of their grievances to which the Duke Lesdiguiers in a Letter to them written gave them a very fair and plausible answer wherein also he intreateth them to obey the Kings Edict and break up the Assembly Upon the receipt of this Letter those of the Assembly published a Declaration wherein they verified their meeting to be lawfull and their purpose not to dismisse themselves till their desires were granted This affront done to the King made him gather together his Forces yet at the Duke of Lesdiguiers request he allowed them 24 dayes of respite before his Armies should march towards them he offered them also very fair and reasonable conditions such also as their Deputies had sâ—…licited but far better then those which they were glad to accept when all their Towns were taken from them Profecto ineluct abilis fatorum vis cujus fortunam muâ—…are constituit ejus corrumpit consilia It held very rightly in this people who turned a deaf eare to all good advice and were râ—…lved it seemeth Not to hear the voice of the Charmer charmed he never so sweetly In their Assemblie therefore they mâ—…ke Lawes and Orders to regulate their 〈◊〉 as That no peace should be made without the consent of the generall Convocation about paying of Souldiers wages fâ—…r the detaining of the Revenues of the King and Cleâ—…y and the like They also there divided France into seven cirâ—…es or parts assigning over every circle severall Generals and Lieutenants and prescribed Orders how those Generals should proceed in the wars Thus we see the Kings Army leavied upon no slight grâ—…nd his Regall authority was neglected his especiall Edicts violated his gracious profers slighted and his Revenues â—…orbidden him and his Realm divided before his face and allotted unto officers not of his own election Had the prosecution of his action been as fair as the cause was just and legall the Protestants had only deserved the infamy but hinc illae lachrymae The King so behaved himself in it that he suffered the sword to walk at randome as if his main design had been not to correct his people but to ruine them I will instance onely in that tyrannicall slaughter which he permitted at the taking of Nigrepetisse a Town of Quercu wherein indeed the Souldiers shewed the very â—…igour of severity which either a barbarous victor could inflict or a vaâ—…quished people suffer Nec ullum saevitiae genus â—…misit ira victoria as Tacitus of the angred Romans For they spared neither man nor woman nor childe all equally subject to the cruelty of the sword and the Conquerour The streets paved with dead carkasses the channels running with the bloud of Christians no noise in the streets but of such as were welcoming death or suing for life Their Churches which the Goths spared at the sack of Rome were at this place made the Theatres of lust and bloud neither priviledge of Sanctuary nor fear of God in whose holy house they were qualifying their outrage this in the common plâ—…ces At domus interior gemitu miseroque tumultu Misâ—…tur penitusque cavae plangoribus aedes Foemineis ululant As Virgil in the ruine of Trâ—…y But the calamities which besell the men were mercifull and sparing if compared to those which the women suffered when the 〈◊〉 had made them the objects of their lust they made them also the suâ—…jects of their fury in that only pittifull to that poor and distressed sex that they did not let them survive their honours Such of them who out of fear and faintness had made but little reâ—…ance had the favour to be stabbed but those whose virtue and courage maintaned their bodies valiantly from the rapes of those villains had the secrets of nature procul hino este castae misericordes aures filled with gun-powder and so blown into ashes Whither O you divine powers is humanity fled when it is not to be found in 〈◊〉 or where shall we look for the effects of a picifull nature when men are bâ—…come so unnaturall It is said that the King was ignorant of this barbarousnesse and 〈◊〉 at it Offâ—…nded I perswade my self he could not but be unlesse he had totally put off himself and degenerated into a Tyger But for his ignorance I dare not conceive it to be any other then that of Nero an ignorance rather in his eye then understanding Subduxit oculos Nero saith Tacitus jussitque sâ—…lera non spectavil Though the Protestants deserved â—…icti â—…or their disobedience yet this was an execution above the nature of a punishment a misery beyond the condition of the crime True it is and I shall never acquit them of it that in the time of their prosperity they had done the King many affronts and committed many acts of disobedience and insolency which justly occasioned the war against them for besides â—…hose already recited they themselves first broke those Edicts the due execution whereof seemed to have been their only petition The King by his Edâ—…ct of pacification had licenced the free exercise of both Religionâ—… and thereupon permitâ—…ed the Priests and Jesuits to preach in the
penny Had you a purpose to give them unasked their importunity will prevent your speediest bounty After all this impudent begging their ambition reacheth no higher then a Sol he that giveth more out-biddeth their expectation and shall be counted a spend-thrift But the principall ornaments of these Innes are the men-servants the raggedest regiment that ever I yet looked upon Such a thing as a Chamberlaine was never heard of amongst them and good clothes are as little known as he By the habit of his attendants a man would think himself in a Gaol their clothes either full of patches or open to the skin Bid one of them wipe your boots he presently hath recourse to the curtains with those he will perhaps rub over one side and leave the other to be made clean by the guest It is enough for him that he hath written the coppy They wait alwayes with their hats on their heads and so also do servants before their masters attending bare-headed is as much out of fashion there as in Turkey of all French fashions in my opinion the most unfitting and unseeming Time and much use reconciled me to many other things which at the first were offensive to this unreverent custome I returned an enemy Neither can I see how it can choose but stomach the most patient to see the worthyest signe of liberty usurped and profaned by the basest of slaves For seeing that the French paisantrie are such infinite slaves unto their Lords and Princes it cannot be but that those which are their servants must be one degree at the least below the lowest condition Certainly among the antients this promiseuous covering of the head was never heard of It was with them the chief sign of freedome as is well known to those which are conversant with Antiquity The Lacones a people of Peâ—…ponnesus after they had obtained to be made free denizens of Latedemon in signe of their new-gotten liberty would never go into the battail nisi pileati but with their hats on Amongst the Africans as it is written in Alexander ab Alexandro the placing of a hat on the top of a spear was used as a token to incite the people to their liberty which had been oppressed by Tyrants Per pileum in hasta propositum ad libertatem prcolamari But amongst the Romans we have more variety The taking off of the hat of Tarquinius Prisâ—…us by an Eagle and the putting of it on again occasioned the Augur to prophesie unto him the Kingdom which fell out accordingly In their sword playes when one of the Gladiators had with credit slain his adversary they would sometimes honour him with a Palm sometimes with the Hat Of these the last was the worthyer the Palm only honouring the Victor this also enfranchizing the receivers therefore conferred commonly on him which had killed most men in the Theatres Hence the complaints of Tertullian 〈◊〉 de Spectaculis cap. 21. Qui insigniori cuiquam homicidae leonem 〈◊〉 idem gladiatori atroci rudem petat rudis was an other token of enfranchisement pileum praeâ—…ium conferat In their common Forum or Guildhall when they purposed to manumit any of their servants their custome also was after the Lictor or Sergeant had registred the name of the party 〈◊〉 to shave his head and give him a cap whence according to Resinus ad pileum vocare is to set one at liberty 〈◊〉 in his Chiâ—…des maketh the Hat to be the signe of some eminent worth in him that weareth it Pileus saith he 〈◊〉 spectatae virtutis On this he conjectureth that the â—…ing on of caps on the heads of such as are created Doctors or Masters had its originall In the Universities of England this custome is still in force the putting on of the cap being never performed but in the solemn Comitia and in the presence of all such as are either auditors or spectators of that dayes exercise When I was Regent the whole house of Congregation joyned together in a Petition to the Earl of Pembroke to restore unto us the jus pileorum the licence of putting on our Caps at our publick meetings which priviledge time and the tyranny of the Vicechancellors had taken from us Among other motives we used the solemn form of creating a Master in the Acts by putting on his cap and that that signe of liberty might distinguish us which were the Regents from those boyes which we were to govern which request he graciously granted But this French sawcinesse hath drawn me out of my way An impudent familiarity which I confesse did much offend me and to which I still proâ—…esse my self an open enemy Though Jack speak French I cannot endure Jack should be a Gentleman CHAP. III. ROVEN a neat City how seated and built the strength of it St. Katharines mount The Church of Nostre dame c. The indecorum of the Papists in the severall and unsutable pictures of the Virgin The little Chappell of the Capuchins in Boulogne The House of Parliament The precedencie of the President and the Governor The Legend of St. Romain and the priviledge thence arising The language and religion of the Rhothomagenses or people of Roven July the first we set on for Roven In 10 hours our Cart dragged us thither the whole journey being in all six leagues French admirable speed About three of the clock in the afternoon we had a sight of the Town daintily seated in a valley on the River Seine I know not any Town better situate Oxford excepted which indeed it much resembleth I mean not in bignesse but situation It standeth on all sides evironed with mountains the North excepted and hath a large and pleasant walk of meadowes by the river side to the South-east-ward as Oxford hath towards Eveley It is seated on the principall river of France distant from the Metropolis of that Country 50 miles English or thereabouts as Oxford on the Thames and from London Watered also it is with two small rivulets Robee and Renelle as the other with Charwell and Eventode The difference is that Oxford is seated somewhat higher on the swelling of an hill and a little more removed from those mountains which environ it and that the rivers which run through some part of Roven do only wash the precincts of the other The buildings are in some places wood in some stone in other both the houses without juttings or overlets four stories high and in the front not very beautifull The most promising house which mine eye met with was that of Mr. Boâ—…e who being of obscure parents and having raised himself a fortune in the wars against the League here built a receptacle for his age It is fashioned after the manner of new buildings in London composed all of dainty 〈◊〉 stone square and polished On the partition between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ry and the second it hath these words engraven Uâ—… Virtute Martis opus Tentanda via Amore armis a motto sutable to his rising