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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Which if to his desert, such fortune came,

A Princely service, might his merit clayme.

Where wishing both his fate, and worth to be

I’le Venice leave, and visit Lombardie.

In the time of my staying here, I went forth to Lombardy, and visited the famous Cities of Padua, Verona, and Ferrara. The commendation of which is celebrated in these verses:

Extollit Paduam, juris studium, & medicinæ.

Verona, humanæ dat singula commoda vitæ.

Exhaurit loculos ferrarea ferrea plenos.

In Padua I stayed three moneths learning the Italian tongue, and found there a Countrey Gentleman of mine, Doctor John Wedderburne a learned Mathametician, but now dwelling in Moravia, who taught me well in the language, and in all other respects exceeding friendly [I. 43.]to me. Padua is the most melancholy City of Europe, the cause onely arising of the narrow passage of the open streets, and of the long galleries and dark-ranges of pillars, that goe alwhere on every hand of you, through the whole streets of the Towne: The Schollers here in the night commit many murthers against their privat adversaries, and too often executed upon the stranger and innocent, and all with gun-shot or else stilettoes: for beastly Sodomy, it is as rife here as in Rome, Naples, Florence, Bullogna, Venice, Ferrara, Genoa, Parma not being exempted, nor yet the smallest Village of Italy: A monstrous filthinesse, and yet to them a pleasant pastime, making songs, and singing Sonets of the beauty and pleasure of their Bardassi, or buggerd boyes.