Читать книгу The Totall Discourse of the Rare Adventures & Painefull Peregrinations. The Long Nineteene Yeares Travayles from Scotland to the most famous Kingdomes in Europe, Asia and Affrica онлайн

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Mine associate and I, were no sooner landed, and perceiving a great throng of people, and in the midst of them a great smoake; but we begun to demaund a Venetian what the matter was? who replied, there was A Gray Frier burned for villanous Lechering.a gray Frier burning quicke at S. Markes pillar, of the reformed order of S. Francis, for begetting fifteene young Noble Nunnes with child, and all within one yeare; he being also their Father confessor. Whereat, I sprung forward through the throng, and my friend followed me, and came just to the pillar as the halfe of his body and right arme fell flatlings in the fire; The Frier was forty [I. 38.]sixe yeares old, and had bene Confessor of that Nunnery of Sancta Lucia five yeares: Most of these young Nunnes were Senators daughters; and two of them were onely come in to learne vertue, and yet fell in the midst of vice.

These fifteene with child, were all re-cald home to their fathers Pallaces; the Lady Prioresse, and the rest of her voluptuous crew, were banished for ever from the precincts of Venice. The Monastery was razed to the ground, their rents were allowed to be bestowed upon poore families, and distressed age, and their Church to be converted to an Hospitall. Most part of all which M. Arthur and I saw, before ever we either eate, drunke, or tooke our lodging in Venice: And I cannot forget, how after all this, we being inhungred, and also over-joyed tumbled in by chance, Alla capello Ruosso, the greatest ordinary in all Venice, neare to which the Friars bones were yet a burning: And calling for a Chamber, we were nobly & richly served: After dinner they layd up our budgets and our burdons, and abroad went we to see the Citie: Night come, we supd, and supd alone: The chiefe Venetian Ordinery.The next morne, I begun to remarke the grandeur of the Inne, and saw it was time that we were gone: I demanded our dependant, what was to pay? he answered, Un scudo all huomo par ciascun ripasto, A Crowne the dyet for each of us, being ten Julets or five shillings starling: Mr. Arthur lookd upon me, and I laughd upon him: In a word our dinner and supper cost us 40. Juletts twenty shillings English; being foure Crownes, whereat my companion being discontented, bad the divell be in the Friars ballocks, for we had payd soundly for his Leachery: many like deaths, for like causes, and worser, have I seene in all my three voyages, if time could permit me to particularize them; But from this thou mayst play the [I. 39.]learned Geometrician till thou findest more.