and so fierce and bloody in their resolutions as they thinke every houre an age before they see it effected All this while our innocent and harmelesse old Palmerius albeit hee have the will but not the power to please his young wife Imperia by night yet by day yea and almost every day hee hath hoth the power and will to bestow some rich gifts and presents on her and to raine downe showers of Gold into her lap as Iove did to his faire Danae and as one way hee held it his felicity to gaze contemplate on the excellency of her pure beautie so againe he made it his delight and glory to see her flant it out in rich and brave apparell and also to provide her the most rarest Viands and dantiest dyet that gold or silver could procure But poore Palmerius all this cost and courtesie of thine to thy Wife notwithstanding I am enforced to write with equall pitty to thee and shame to her little dost thou conceive or thinke what a dangerous Cockatrice or pernitious Viper thou harbourest in harbouring her in thy House thy Bed thy Bosome The dismall night being now come which these foure execrable person have designed and destined for the finishing of this deplorable businesse It is no sooner twelve of the Clocke by Morosini's watch but hee with Astonicus and Donato with their Rapiers and Pistols without any light iffue forth their Lodging and presently trip away to Palmerius house where according to promise they find the street doore a little open and Imperia as a fury of hell there readie to receive them when although it were a time and place farmore fitter for them to tremble than kisse yet so fervent is the fire of Morosini Imperias lascivious and furious affection as they cannot yet refraine from giving each other one or two at least When leaving Donato with his Rapier drawn closewithin the doore to guard and make it good against all opposing and intervening accidents Morosini leades Imperia by her right arme and Astonicus by the left and so for the more securitie purposely leaving their shoes below with Donato and drawing on wollen pumpes they all three ascend the staires when shee with wonderfull silence first conducts them to her owne Chamber which was some two distant from her Husbands where the windowes being close shut and a small waxe candle burning on her table and her prayer booke by it wherein still expecting the houre of midnight shee silently read whiles the Divell held the candle to her shee there gives each of them a pillow to worke this damnable fact having silently given such order that her Husbands Nephew Richardo and all the Servants of the house were gone to bed above three houres before Thus this treacherous Shee-Devill Imperia for I can no more tearme her a woman much lesse a wife and least of all a Christian is the fatall guide to bloody Morosini and Astonicus who brings them first to the doore of her old Husband Palmerius his Chamber which shee had purposly left a little open and then to his bed who is deeply and soundly sleeping in his innocency towards them as they were but too too wide waking in their inveterate malice against him shee keeping the doore and Morosini standing by one side of the bed and Astonicus by the other they there in regard of his impotency and weakenesse doe easily stifle him to death not so much as suffering him either once to cry or screech and then to make sure worke they speedily and violently thrust a small Orenge into his mouth thereby the better to cover and colour out this their villany to the world in making all men beleeve that it was Palmerius himselfe who had put that Orenge into his owne mouth thereby purposely to destroy himselfe when leaving his breathlesse body in his bed they secretly issue forth the Chamber and shee drawes fast the door after her and so descends with them down the staires to the street doore where with much triumphs ioy and thankes betweene them all Morosini giving his Imperia many kisses and shee desiring them all three immediately to repaire to their Lodgings and not to stirre thence till they heare from her which she promiseth Morosini shall be as soone as conveniently and possibly shee can they depart home When she first softly bolting the street doore and then her owne chamber doore shee presently with much security and no repentance betakes her selfe to her bed where vilde wretch that shee is shee no more wakes for griefe at the life but now sleepes for joy at the death of her old doating Husband Palmerius But wee shall not goe farre before we see God convert these her triumphes into teares and this her false joy into true misery and confusion for the same The manner thus Whiles Morosini Astonicus and Donato doe in their lodging for joy of this their bloudy fact carowse the remainder of the night and the next morning keepe their beds till nine of the cloke without once thinking of God or heaven or of fearing either Hell or Satan Imperia putting an Angells face on her divellish heart goes according to her accustomed manner about sixe of the clocke in the morning away with her waiting maid and her prayer booke and beades in hand to heare Masse at Saint Francis which is the gray Fryers Church neere to the Iewes Street with an intent to stay there in her Oraisons till past eight But let the reader judge with what a prophane zeale and prodigious and impious devotion shee doth it as also farther know that God who is the great Iudge of Heaven and Earth in his sacred Iustice is now resolved to bring this lamentable murthering of Palmerius to detection and light and to proclaime and publish it to the sight and knowledge of the world by a way no lesse strange than remarkeable Within lesse than halfe an houre that Imperia went away to Masse to Saint Francis Church an Innekeeper of Loretto who dwelt there at the signe of the Crowne named Antonio Herbas arrives there in Ancona to Palmerius house with a letter for him from his Father Bondino who speaking with his Nephew Richardo hee delivereth and sendeth up the Letter to his Vnckle who then opening the latâ—…h of his chamber doore he no sooner entereth but with his foote hee stumbles at a paire of rich gloves which taking up and knowing them to belong to Seignior Morosini because some two or three daies together he had seene him weare them he with a smile claps them into his pocket and so giving his Uncle the good morow he advanceth up to his bed to deliver him this Letter When withdrawing the curtaines he contrary to his expectation findes him dead and well neere cold in his bed with a whole small Orenge in his mouth wherat he makes so lamentable and sorrowfull an outcry that the noise thereof brings up two Servants of the house to enquire and know what the
his Could time reconcile these difficulties with my reputation my heart would iâ—…stantly command my pen 〈◊〉 signify you that I desire to give you hope and to take away your despaire and withall that Pavia is more pleasing to mee then Cremona sith Christeneta lives in it and Pisani in her I was never heretofore cruell to any neither doe I resolve to bee unkind to you for how can I â—…th I as truely vow to honour you as you professe to love me Live you in this assurance and I will dye in the same PISANI Time with a swift foot vanisheth and passeth away but Christeneta's affection to Pisani cannot she in his Letter perceives a glimmering light of hope breake forth thorow the obscure clouds of her despaire but feare doth as soone eclipse and strangle as propagate and produce it onely despight all apprehension and opposition her thoughts doe still gaze and looke on Pisani as the Needle of the compasse doth to the North so as she can rest in no true tranquillity of minde before she writes to him againe the which some fifteene dayes after she doth to this effect CHRISTENETA to PISANI I May passe the bounds of discretion but will not exceede those of honour I have ever learn'd to retaiue this Maxime that affection which receives end had never beginning If then I live I must breath the ayre of your love as well as this of my life sith it is the prime and sole cause thereof as the Sunne is of the light Your Letter I finde so full of doubts and ambiguities as I know not wherefore to hope or why not to despaire could you dive as deepely into my heart as I have into your merits if nature doe not pitty would informe you that you ought to preferre the love of a Lady before the respect of a Gentleman especially sith he may carry his heart from you and I desire to bring and present mine to you and how can your absence either rejoyce or comfort mee sith your presence will not Thinke what you please either of me or of your selfe onely give me leave to tell you that I finde doubt a step and degree to despaire as despaire is to death I write rather with teares then Inke If you will not live my Saint I must dye your Martyr CHRISTENETA At the receipt of this second Letter which was so sweetly pleasing and pleasingly sweet to his thoughts he found the Bulwarkes and defences of his respect to Gasparino razed and beaten downe and a faire breach made and layd open for Christeneta to enter and take possession of the Castle of his heart so now at one instant hee performes two severall attempts for the farther hee flies from his friend Gasparino the neerer hee approacheth to his Mistresse Christeneta and therefore now wholly imparadising his thoughts in the garden of her pure beauty and taking the chiefest light of his content and felicity from the relucent lustre of her eyes he thinkes it high time no longer to beare out his Flag of defiance but to strike sayle and doe homage to the soveraigne of his thoughts the which he doth in this Letter that he purposely sends her in answer of hers by his Page PISANI to CHRISTENETA YOur vertue and beauty is enough powerfull to prevaile with mee but your affection which addes grace to either and either to it makes me forget my respect to Gasparino to remember my love to Christeneta but that which gives life to this my resolution is that it is impossible for him to hate me as much as you love me and in this hope I both rejoyce and triumph that you shall not be my Martyr but my Mistresse and I will be both your Saint and your servant for as you desire to live in my favour so my chiefest ambition and zeale is to dye in your affection that which heaven makes me affirme earth shall not inforce me denye I will shortly follow and second this my Letter till when you can never so much lament my absence as I desire your presence Let this be your true consolation sith it is my sole delight and chiefest felicity PISANI If Pisani his first Letter overthrew Christeneta's despaire this his second revives and confirmes her hopes so that whereas heretofore she condemned her presumption in writing to Pisani she now not only applauds her resolution therein but also blesseth the houre that she attempted it yea she buildeth such castles of delight and content in her heart and her heart in her soule to thinke that shee should be his Wife and hee her Husband that shee anticipateth the houres and blames the dayes for not presenting her with the sight and presence of her sweet Pisani whom above all earthly contents she chiefely desireth Now if Christeneta were thus perplexed with the absence of her Pisani no lesse is hee with that of his Christeneta for remembring the freshnesse of her youth and the sweetnesse of her beauty hee in conceipt hateth Cremona which before hee loved and now loveth Pavia which before hee hated it is as great a griefe to him to bee with his other affaires without her as it would rejoyce him to bee with her without them yea she runnes so deepely in his thoughts and they on her beauty as if it were not immodesty hee either wisheth himselfe impaled in her armes or shee incloystered in his And now to performe as much as his Letter hath promised hee without thinking or respecting of his old friend Gasparino prepares all things ready to goe see his new Mistresse Christeneta Hee comes to Pavia accompanied with three or foure of his neerest and dearest friends visiteth Christeneta whom hee saluteth and courteth with all kinde of honourable and amorous complements Shee is joyfull yea ravished with his arrivall he doth assure her of his perpetuall affection and reciprocally himselfe of hers yea she so infinitely delights in his presence and he so extreamely in hers that shee now freely gives her selfe to Pisani and he in exchange as absolutely takes himselfe from Gasparino to give himselfe to Christeneta so as she rejoycing in her purchase and he triumphing in his victory they attend the time wherein heaven and earth hath ordayned of two bodies to make them one But it is not enough for Pisani to be possessed of Christeneta's favour for he must likewise obtaine that of her parents before either hee can enjoy his wishes or she her desires and so he goes honourably and secretly to worke with them but he findes them not so tractable as Christeneta hoped or himselfe desired for old Vituri her father preferring wealth before honour and riches before vertues dislikes this motion alledging that Pisani's father dyed exceedingly in debt that his chiefest Lands were ingaged and morgaged that hee had many great Legacies to pay to his sisters but which was worst of all that Pisani himselfe loved the Court better then the Country and that in his expences and apparell hee was extreamely prodigall
History to have served as a grace and ornament thereunto in interlacing my prose with others verses for the better delight and recreation of my Reader But I must justly crave excuse herein for my curiositie sought them though my unfortunacie found them not And because I wholy ayme rather to profit then please my Reader let us forget the shadowes to remember the substance and so looke from the Mappe to the Morall of this History that the foule example of Bertolini's crime of Murther and the justnesse of his punishment may make us lesse bloudy and more compassionate and charitable to our Christian brethren and consequently more pious towards God of whom we all beare the living Image and true and lively character FINIS THE TRIUMPHS OF GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND Execrable Sinne of Murder Expressed In thirty severall Tragicall Histories digested into six Bookes which containe great varietie of mournfull and memorable Accidents Amorous Morall Divine Booke III. Written by IOHN REYNOLDS LONDON ¶ Printed by Iohn Haviland for WILLIAM LEE and are to be sold at his shop in Fleetstreet at the signe of the Turks Head neere the Mitre Taverne 1634. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE AND truly worthy of all honour WILLIAM Earle of Pembroke Lo. Chamberlaine to his Majestie Knight of the thrice Noble Order of the Garter and one of the Lords of his most Honorable Privie Councell RIGHT HONOURABLE IT is not your Dignities but your Vertues not your Greatnesse but your Goodnesse which first conjured my affection then commanded my resolution to direct these forraigne Tragicall Histories to your Honours protection and patronage For whiles others sailing with the corrupt Tyde and Current of the times not only admire but adore the exteriour parts of men their Fortunes I for my part both honour and reverence their interiour qualities and ornaments Pietie Fidelitie Generositie three Daughters of Heaven embleming and personating the three Heavenly Graces on Earth Faith Hope Charitie who transport and convey our Memories as farre as the limits of Time and a degree beyond it and on the wings of Truth mount our Fames â—…rom Earth to Heaven from Envy to Glory and from Mortalitie to Eternitie Not but that I every way respect and honour that blood which is Noble but that I yet more dearly honour and deeply affect those Vertues which have a secret and as I may justly say a sacred power in them to ennoble Nobilitie both which transcendent Privileges finding hand in hand cheerefully to march and really to sympathize in your Ho. sith upon the resplendent lustre of your actions Envie is not capable to insinuate a blemish nor Detraction of power to introduce or inforce a disparagement was the sole prevailing motive of this my Zeale and Ambition And when I consider that the Moralitie Ends and Punishments of these foule and crying sinnes of Murther which my two former Bookes of this Nature have already related and divulged to the world have not only been approved but applauded of our most Excellent and Sacred King as only aiming at Gods glory and our owne reformation and pâ—…ervation I rather hope than despaire that this Third wherein the just revenge of God the Great and Supreme King of Kings is no lesse apparent and conspicuous will be accepted and received of your Ho. Againe it fights against Murther which not only seekes to slay Humanitie but therein to murther Religion which is the Life and Soule thereof It denounceth war against Nature and Grace against the Divine Ordinances of Heaven and the Coactive and penall Lawes of Earth whereby they are established and maintained as being the Cymment and Sinewes the Veines and Arteries of Monarchies and Common weales as also against the Majestie of God and the Crownes and Dignities of Soueraigne Kings and Princes his Royall Deputies and Vice-gerents here on earth sith thereby he loseth soules and these subjects yea so generall and so prodigious a progression doth this scarlet sin of premeditated and wilfull murther make in the universall World and with so bloodie a deluge and inundation it not only washes but as it were drownes the face of the Christian that wee have now far truer cause to cry out and juster reason to exclaime than did Quintus Catulus so many centuries of yeeres since O with whom or where shall wee liue in safetie sith in wars wee kill those who are armed and in Peace who are unarmed Yea your Ho. who with a happy constancie and constant happinesse is still a professed Champion for Charitie against Enuie and a Tutelarie Protector for Vertue against Vice whiles divers great ones of the World make it not only their practice but their glory to performe the contrary will I hope run over these mournfull Histories and the severall accidents they relate with your eye of pittie and spirit of compassion and therein with a religious joy and pious insultation not only admire the Prouidence but applaud and magnifie the Iustice of God in so timely curting off these Monsters of Nature and bloudy Butchers of Mankinde with these their condigne punishments and deserved deaths In which Hope and Confidence this Booke is no more mine but your Honours and no lesse is he who collected and penned it and that my Name may futurely oblige mee to make this present promise of my pen reall Whiles many others in a vertuous emulation contend to deserve the Honour of your Fauour and strive to purchase the felicitie of your Commands none shall doe it with more Integritie and lesse Vanitie than Your Honours truly deuoted IOHN REYNOLDS The Grounds and Contents of these Histories History XI De Salez killeth Vaumartiâ—… in a Duell La Hay causeth Michaelle to poyson La Frange De Salez loves La Hay and because his father Argentier will not consent that he marry her stifleth him in his bed and then takes her to his wife she turnes Strumpet and cuts his throat as he is dying hee accuseth her of this bloody fact and himselfe for murthering his father Argentier so his dead body is hang'd to the Gallowes then burnt La Hay confesseth this murther and likewise that shee caused Michaelle to poyson La Frange she hath her right hand cut off and is then burnt alive Michaelle is broken on the wheele and his dead body throwne into the River History XII Albemare causeth Pedro and Leonardo to murther Baretano and he after marrieth Clara whom Baretano first sought to marry Hee causeth his man Valerio to poyson Pedro in prison and by a letter which Leonardo sent him Clara perceives that her husband Albemare had hired and caused Pedro and Leonardo to murther her first love Baretano which letter she reveales to the Iudge so he is hanged and likewise Valerio and Leonardo for these their bloody crimes History XIII La Vasselay poysoneth her wayting-maid Gratiana because she is jealous that her husband De Merson is dishonest with her whereupon he lives from her In revenge whereof shee causeth his man La Villete
many teares and farre fetched sighes he lastly bids the world farewell when enviting the Executioner to doe his Office he is turned over And such was the vitious life and deserved death of this Execrable Sonne and bloody Villaine Maurice wherein I must confesse that although his end were shamefull and sharpe yet it was by farre too too milde for the foulenesse of his crime in so cruelly murthering his deere Mother Christina whom the Lawes both of Nature and Grace commanded him to preserve and cherish Yea let all Sonnes and Daughters of all ages and ranckes whatsoever looke on this bloody and disasterous example of his with feare and feare to commit the like by the sight of his punishment It is a History worthy both of our meditation and detestation whether we cast our eyes on his drunkennesse or fix our thoughts and hearts on his murther Those who love and feare God are happy in their lives and fortunate in their deaths but those who will neither feare nor love him very seldome proove fortunate in the one never happy in the other and to the rest of our sins if wee once consent and give way to adde that scarlet and crying one of Murther that blood which we untimely send to Earth will in Gods due time draw downe vengeance on our Heads from Heaven Charity is the marke of a Christian and the shedding of Innocent blood either that of an Infidell an Atheist or a Devill O therefore let us affect and strive to hate it in others and so wee shall the better know how to detest and abhorre it in our selves which that we may all know to our comforts and remember to our consolaâ—…itions direct us O Lord our God and so we shall bee directed FINIS THE TRIVMPHS OF GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND Execrable Sinne of Murther Expressed In thirty severall Tragicall Histories digested into six Bookes which containe great variety of mournfull and memorable Accidents Amorous Morall and Divine Booke IV. Written by IOHN REYNOLDS LONDON ¶ Printed by Iohn Haviland for VVILLIAM LEE and are to be sold at his shop in Fleetstreet at the signe of the Turks-Head neere the Mitre Taverne 1634. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE PHILIP EARLE OF PEMBROKE and Montgomery Lo. Chamberlaine to the King one of the Lords of his Majesties most Honourable Privie Counsell and Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter RIGHT HONOURABLE HAving formerly dedicated the third Book of these my Tragicall Histories of Gods Revenge against Murder to your Incomparable Lord and Brother William Earle of Pembroke who now lives with God I therefore held my selfe bound by the double obligation of my duty and your own generous merits likewise to present this Fourth Booke to your Protection and Patronage because as England so Europe perfectly knowes that you are as true an heire to his Vertues as to his Fortunes and to his Goodnesse as to his Greatnesse and that therfore it may properly be said he is not dead because they as well as himselfe do still survive and live in you with equall lustre and glory as having made either a happie Metamorphosis or a blessed Transmigration into your Noble breast and resolutions and therefore as it was my sincere respects and zeale to his Honour that then drew me to that ambition so it is entirely the same which hath now both invited and induced me to this prâ—…sumption to your Lordship having no other ends or object in this my Dedication but that this booke of mine having the honour to be countenanced by so great a personage and the felicity to be protected by so honourable a Mecaenas may therefore encounter the more safely with the various humors it shall meet with and abide more securely the different censures of this our too fastidious age How these Histories or the memorable accidents which they containe and relate will relish with your Lordships palate or judgement I know not Only because you are a Noble Son of Gods Church and an Excellent Servant to your Prince and Countrey I therfore rather hope than presume that your Honor will at least be pleased to see if not delight to know and consider how the Triumphs of Gods Revenge and punishments doth herein secretly and providently meet with this crying and scarlet sinne of premeditated Murther and with the bloudy and inhumane Perpetrators thereof who hereby as so many mercilesse Butchers and prodigious Monsters of mankind doe justly make themselves odious to Men and execrable to God and his Angels God hath deservedly honoured your Lordship with the favour of two great Earthly Kings your Soveraignes as first of our royallKing Iames the father and now of our present most Renowned King Charles his Son and yet this externall Honour and favour of theirâ—… is no way so glorious to you as that maugre the reigning vices of the world you serve the true God of heaven in the purity of your heart and feare and adore him in the integrity of your Soule And to represent you with naked Truth and not with Eloquence or Adulation This Heavenly Piety of yours I beleeve is the prime reason and true Essentiall cause of all this your earthly Honour and sublunary Greatnesse and that this is it likewise which doth so rejoyce your heart and inrich and replenish your House with so numerous and Noble an Issue of hopefull and flourishing Children who as so many Olive branches of Vertue and Syents and Plants of Honour doe both inviron your Bed and surround your Table and who promise no lesse than futurely to magnifie the bloud and to perpetuate and immortalize the Illustrious Name and Family of the Herberts to all Posterity Goe on resolutely and constantly Noble Lord in your religious Piety to God and in your Candide and unstained Fidelity to your Prince and Countrey that your life may triumph o're your death and your Vertues contend to out-shine your Fortunes and that hereafter God of his best favour and mercy may make you as blessed and as glorious a Saint in Heaven as now you are a great Peere and Noble Pillar here on Earth which none shall pray for with more true zeale nor desire or wish with more reall and unfained affection than Your Honours devoted and Most humble Servant Iohn Reynolds The Grounds and Contents of these Histories History XVI Idiaques causeth his sonne Don Ivan to marrie Marsillia and then commits Adultery and Incest with her She makes her Father in Law Idiaques to poyson his old wife Honoria and likewise makes her owne brother De Perez to kill her Chamber-maid Mathurina Don Ivan afterwards kils De Perez in a Duell Marsillia hath her braiâ—… dasht out by a horse and her body is afterwards condemned to be burnt Idiaques is beheaded his body consumed to ashes and throwne into the ayre History XVII Harcourt steales away his brother Vimoryes wife Masserina and keepes her in Adulterie She hireth Tivoly an Italian Mountebanke to poyson La Precoverte who was Harcourts wife
THE TRIVMPHES OF GODS REVENGE Agaynst The Cryinge Execrable Sinne of Willfull premeditated Murther Expressed In Thirtye Severall Tragicall Historyes Digested into Sixe Bookes w ch contayne great variety of Mournefull Memorable Accydents Amorous Morall Divine The whole Worke nowe Compleatlye finished Written By Iohn Reynolds LONDON Printed for W. Lee and are to be sould at the Turks head in Fleetstreet ouer against Fetter Lane THE TRIUMPHS OF GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND EXECRABLE SINNE OF Willfull and Premeditated Murther VVith his Miraculous Discoveries and severe Punishments thereof In Thirtie severall Tragicall Histories Digested into Sixe Bookes committed in divers Countries beyond the Seas never published or Imprinted in any other Language Histories which containe great varietie of mournfull and memorable Accidents Historicall Morall and Divine very necessary to restraine and deterre us from this bloodie Sinne which in these our dayes makes so ample and large a Progression With a Table of all the severall Letters and Challenges contained in the whole sixe Bookes Written by IOHN REYNOLDS PSALME 9. 16. The Lord is knowen in executing Iudgement and the wicked is snared in the worke of his owne hand PROVERBS 14. 27. The feare of the Lord is a well-spring of Life to avoyd the snares of death LONDON Printed for WILLIAM LEE and are to bee sold at his shop in Fleetstreet at the signe of the Turkes Head over against Fetter Lane 1635. TO MY SACRED SOVERAIGNE CHARLES KING OF GREAT BRITAINE FRANCE and IRELAND Defender of the Faith c. SIR AS Rivers though in their passing they fall into many neighbour Currents yet finally empty themselves into the Sea so let these my poore Labours though formerly Dedicated to divers Illustrious Peeres of this your Realme bee suffered at last to terminate in the Ocean of your Princely Greatnesse and Goodnesse whereinto all vertuous endeavours as so many lines in their Centre desire to be united What private respests might challenge of me towards their Honors the same towards your Majesty will claime the publicke Bond of Common Allegiance whereby I am more eminently and more universally obliged I am not so overâ—… weening of my weake Endeavours as to thinke them worthy of your Majesties view much lesse able to adde any thing to your Royall Uertues Rivers adde nothing to the Maine yet thither they naturally send the Tribute of their Streames and if my Loyaltie reach me to doe the like it will not I hope be conceived as done out of an opinion of Merit but onely out of a desire to discharge the Duty of a Subject to your Majestie And I am the rather imboldned to this Confidence because I have formerly adventured the like when to your Princely View being then the Second Hope of this Kingdome I about eleven yeares since presented a Translation of a Worke of Monsieur de Refuges intituled A Treatise of the Court the Gratious and Undeserved Acceptance whereof if it hath inspired me with farther Courage to present You now advanced to a greater State with a greater Increase of mine owne Labour your Majestie will not I hope condemne me of groundlesse Presumption The former three Bookes had the Honour and Happinesse to bee perused by the Iudicious Eye of King IAMES your Renowned Father of happy Memory In whose incomparable Iudgement they failed not of Approbation though Dedicated to Inferiour Names the more am I now incouraged to Inscribe and Intitle the whole Sixe to your Sacred Majesty as being no lesse Heire of His Uertues then of His Crowne and Dignitie And one thing more arising from the Consideration of the Subject it selfe made me thinke it a Present not altogether unworthy of your Regall Estate for the Contents of it being the Execution of Iustice upon the unnaturall Sinne of Murther where can it bee more fitly addressed then to the Great Patron of Iustice among us God's immediate Vicegerent by whose Sword as the Minister of Heaven such odious Crimes are to bee chastised and Innocent Bloud justly expiated with Guilty And it may more fitly sute with your Majesty who as you excell in the carefull Administration of Iustice upon all Offenders so especially upon those most hainous of all others the Violaters of Gods sacred Image in the perpetration of wilfull Murther towards whom Clemencie even changeth her nature and becomes Cruelty to the Weal-publicke Never had any Land lesse cause to complaine of too much Indulgencie this way then ours as may well appeare both by the rarenesse of such Occurrences in your Kingdome and the severe vindication of them whensoever they happen or by whom or howsoever performed These Histories therefore which may serve as a Looking-glasse to all Nations shall to these of Yours be a speciall Ornament and Mirrour of their felicity and set forth and publish Your Praise in the peaceable and quiet Government of your People whose Climate seldome or never affords such Tragedies nor will doe whiles Your Christian resolution shall continue to prevent them in the Spring and to punish the lighter degrees of Bloudinesse with due retaliation The great Author of Iustice who is Goodnesse and Iustice it selfe long preserve your Majesty to Vs and the Happinesse Wee enjoy in your Sacred Person so neere resembling Him whose Authority and Image You beare So prayeth Your Majesties most humbly devoted in all Dutifull Allegiance IOHN REYNOLDS THE AVTHOR HIS PREFACE TO THE READER CHRISTIAN Reader we cannot sufficiently bewaile the Iniquity of these last and worst dayes of the world in which the crying and scarlet sinne of Murther makes so ample and so bloody a progression for we can now searce turne our eare or eye any where but wee shall be enforced either to heare with pitty the mournefull effects or to see with griefe the lamentable Tragedies thereof as if we now so much degenerated from our selves or our hearts from our soules to thinke that Christ were no longer our Shepheard or we the sheepe of his Pasture or as if we were become such wretched and execrable Atheists to beleeve There were no Heaven to reward the Righteous or Hell to punish the ungodly But if we will divert our hearts from Earth to Heaven and raise and erect our soules from Satan to God we shall then not onely see what engendereth this Diabolicall passion in us but also find the meanes to detest and roote it out from amongst us To which end it is requisite wee first consider that our enemies who oppose our tranquillity in this life and our felicity in that to come are neither so few in number nor so weake in power that we should thinke our selves able to vanquish ere we fight with them for wee have to encounter with the bewitching World the alluring Flesh and the inticing Devill not with three simple Souldiers or poore Pigmies but with three valiant and puissant Chief-taines subtill to incampe dangerous to assaile and powerfull to fight The World that it may bewitch us to its
good effects it worketh in their Hearts first to reade with Understanding and then to apply with Charity and Prudence for whose sakes soly I have now added these my three last Bookes of Gods Revenge against the Crying Sinne of wilfull Murther to the three former For I send them to the publicke good whereunto all our Endeavours should tend to the Propagation of Christian Love and Charity among Men whereat all our Enterprises should ayme and to the flourishing Advancement of Gods Honour and Glory to which all the thoughts of our Hearts and Faculties of our Soules should chiefly aspire and levell And because Sealiger affirmes That nothing so soone allures or drawes a Reader to peruse and reade as a strange Theame and Argument Therefore this Path beeing seldome if ever troden or beaten by any other I am so farre from despairing as I am confident at least of thy Acceptance if not of thy Approbation of these my Labours and much the sooner because as thou hast hertofore disburthened my Stationer of the three first of these Bookes so he in contemplation thereof hath now drawne the three last of them from mee to the Presse with a more then common and usuall Importunitie and I shall beare this content to my Grave and I hope from thence to Heaven that in penning of them all I shall leave no pernicious Heire behinde me to infect Youth with Scurrility or corrupt their Manners and Inclinations with Incentives to Lewdnesse and Uanitie which as it is the shame of this our Age so it ought to bee the care of every good man to shunne that which so many of our lewd and lascivious Pamphlets doe not In writing heereof I have consecrated my Pen rather to Instruction then Eloquence and to Charity rather then Curiosity and have made it my chiefest Care Ambition and Conscience to profit thy soule rather then to please thine Eare and to savour more of Heaven then Earth Yea I will affirme with equall Truth and Boldnesse that I have written it with so innocent a Penne that the purest and most unstayned Uirgin shall not need to make her beautifull Cheekes guilty of the least Blush in perusing it all over It is with no small Cost and Labour that I first procured then penned these Histories and have now polished and prepared them to the Presse aswell for the extirpating of that Execrable Sinne of Murther which cryes so loude to Heaven for Uengeance as also to shew thee Gods sacred Iustice and righteous Iudgements in the Vindication of the inhumane Authours thereof to the end that by the knowledge and reading of them thou mayest become more Charitable and more hate Crueltie by their wretched and lamentable Examples having heerein indeavoured as much as in mee lyes to make my Reader a Spectatour first of these their foule and bloudie Crimes and then of their condigne and exemplarie Punishments which as a dismall Storme and terrible Tempest from Heaven fell on them on Earth when they least dreamt or thought thereof And heere to conclude this my Readvertisement to thee I religiously from my Heart intreat thee to respect the Matter not the Wordes and the Importance and Consequence more then the Dressing of these Thirty severall Tragicall Histories whiles I will accompt and esteeme it a farre greater Happinesse for my selfe to learne true Charity and the true Feare of God in writing them then to presume of my Ability to instruct and teach others by reading them because I may justly and truely say with Lipsius That my Aime and Desire in publishing of them Is not that I might bee made greater but better thereby and if it please God others by mee What Spirituall Fortitude or Benefit thou reapest by their Knowledge and Contemplation I exhort thee in steed of giving mee any Thankes to reserve and give them wholly to God Who is the Giver of all Good things yea the Father of Mercie and the God of all Comfort and Consolation to whose Grace I commit thee defiring thee to assist mee with thy favourable Opinion and daily Prayers to His Throne of Grace as I shall ever bee ready to requite thee with mine Thy Christian Friend IOHN REYNOLDS The PRINTER to the Courteous READER THe Author of these Sixe Bookes of Gods Revenge against Murther being absent from the Presse and the Presse running farre swifter then my thoughts it is no marvell if unwillingly I have made my selfe guilty of some Errors therein both of commission and omission but as I despaire of his excuse and pardon for the same so yet I neverthelesse hope of thine because thou knowest that absolute perfection is not to be found in Angels and therefore much lesse to be expected or hoped for in men who for the most part are wholly composed of Errours Those therefore which are materiall and capitall whereof I here present thee a few I pray thee for thine owne content and satisfaction accordingly to correct and reforme in thy Booke with thy Pen before thou attempt the reading thereof And for the Literall ones if my judgement faile me not I am confident that thine will esteeme them to bee every way farre more worthy of thy scorne then of thy care Errata PAg. 5. Lin. 19. for shee might reade how she might pag. 36. lin 2. the beauty Varina reade the beauty of Varina pag. 60. l. 25. for foreleg r. his left foreleg pag. 104. l. 49. for constantly r. consequently pag. 132. l. 8. f. I not owe r. I not onely owe. pag. 198. l. 42. f. pleaded r. pleaded there p. 206. l. 34. for That if hee for r. that for p. 210. l. 42. f. hands r. hand p. 259. l. 22. f. to Benevente r to Alcasero pag. 282. l. 28. f. Summer of his folly r. Summer of his youth in folly p. 312. l. 25. f. as griefe r. as discontented as griefe p. 356. l. 18. f. my misfortune r. or my misfortune pag. 397. lin 28. f. comes to Savona reade comes to Savona no more Hist. 24. for the parish of S. Aignaw r. S. Aignan In the same History for the City of Reimes r. Rennes Next to Page 493. Hist. 24. are 45 Pages omitted Next to the last Page of Hist. 25. which is Pag. 527. are 190 Pages omitted Which the Reader is prayed to remember Pag. 343. l. 26. f. Corsu r. set saile for Corfu pag. 345. l. 15. f. and burne r. and sojourne p. 350. l. 10. f. what a crime is r. not what a crime is pag. 366. lin 49. for of glad r. as glad pag. 382. lin 50. for fast r. passe pag. 386. l. 5. f. though not enough r. though not time enough p. 418. l. 34. f. repundiate r. repudiate TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE GEORGE Lord Marquis of Buckingham c. RIGHT HONOVRABLE ABout some two yeares since I from beyond the Seas presumed to send your Honour two severall pregnant testimonies as well of my affection to your service as of my zeale to your prosperitie not that
the ayre for the first pag. 437. THE TRIVMPHS OF GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND EXECRABLE sinne of Murther HISTORIE I. Hautefelia causeth La Fresnay an Apothecary to poyson her brother Grand Pre and his wife Mermanda and is likewise the cause that her said brother kils de Malleray her owne husband in a Duell La Fresnay condemned to bee hanged for a rape on the ladder confesseth his two former Murthers and sayes that Hautefelia seduced and hired him to performe them Hautefelia is likewise apprehended and so for the cruell Murthers they are both put to severe and cruell deaths IF our contemplation dive into elder times and our curiositie turne over the varietie of ancient and moderne Histories as well Divine as Humane wee shall find that Ambition Revenge and Murther have ever prooved fatall crimes to their undertakers for they are vices which so eclipse our judgements and darken our understandings as we shall not only see with griefe but find wâ—…h repentance that they will bring us shame for glory affliction for content and misery for felicity Now as they are powerfull in men so they are soâ—…etimes implacable in women who with as much vanity as malice delight in these sinnes as if that could adde grace to their bodies that deformes their soules or lustre and prosperity to their dayes that makes shipwracke both of their fortunes and lives It is with griefe and pity yea not with passion but compassion that I instance this in a Gentlewoman who was borne to honour and not to shame had not these three aforesaid vices like so many infernall furies laine her glory in the dust and dragged her body to an untimely and infamous grave It is a History that hath many sorrowfull dependances and which produceth variety of diasasterous and mournefull accidents wherein by the just judgement of God wee shall see Ambition bitterly scourged Revenge sharpely rewarded and Murther severely punished by whose example if all that professe Religion become lesse impious and more truely religious wee shall then lead the whole course of our lives in such peacefull and happy tranquility as arming our selves with resolution to live and die in the favour of Heaven wee need not feare either what earth or hell can doe unto us The History is thus NEere Auxone a strong and ancient Towne upon the frontiers of Burgundy and the free County dwelt an aged grave Gentleman nobly descended and of very faire demaynes named Monsieur de Grandmont who had to his wife a vertuous Lady termed Madammoyselle de Carnye the onely daughter of Monsieur de Buserat a worthy Gentleman of the Citie of Dole this married couple for a long time lived in the greatest height of content that either Earth could afford or their hearts desire for as one way they grew opulent in lands and wealth so another way they were indewed with three hopefull Sonnes Grand Pre Vileneufe and Masseron and with two daughters Madamoyselles de Hautefelia and de Cressye a faire posterity they blest in their Parents and their Parents hoping themselves blest in them so as to the eye of the world this one family promised to make many especially sith the youngest of the five had already attained its tenth yeare but God in his providence ordayned the contrary Grand Pre as the first and chiefest pillar of the house craves leave of his Father that he might serve his apprentiship in the warres under the command of that incomparable Captaine Grave Maurice then Earle of Nassaw since Prince of Orenge Vileneufe delighting in bookes his Father thought fit to send to Pont-au Mousson and thinking to retaine Masseron with him he for his beauty was begg'd a Page by that valorous Marshall of France who so wilfully and unfortunately lost his head in the Bastile of Paris As for their two daughters Hautefelia lived with her Parents and de Cressye they presented to a great Lady of Burgundy who was long since the most afflicted and sorrowfull Wife and Mother to the Barons of Lux Father and Sonne who were both slaine by that generous and brave Lorayne Prince the Knight of Guyse But behold the inconstancie of fortune or rather the power and pleasure of heaven which can soone metamorphose our mirth into mourning our joyes into teares and our hopes into despaire for within the compasse of one whole yeare wee shall see three of these five Children laid in their graves and of three severall deaths for Vileneufe was drowned at Pont-au Mousson as hee bathed himselfe in the River Masseron was killed in a Duell at Fontaine bleau by Rossat a Gascon being Page to the Duke of Espernon and Hautefelia dyed at home of a burning Feaver with her Parents a triple losse which doth not onely afflict their hearts and soules but also seemes to drowne their eyes with a deluge of mournefull and sorrowfull teares Grandmont and de Carny his Wife being thus made unfortunate and wretched by the death of three of their Children they resolve to call home their other two to bee comforts and props to their old age but their hopes may deceive them First from the Baronesse of Lux comes de Cressye who succeeding her sister we must now terme by the name or rather by the title of Hautefelia who hath a great and bloody part to act upon the Theater of this History and after her very shortly comes Grand Pre from Holland where in divers services hee left many honourable and memorable markes of his prowesse and valour behind him Vpon his arrivall to his Fathers house the flowre of all the nobility and gentry of the Country come to condole with him for the death of his brothers and sister as also to congratulate his happy returne an office and complement which expresseth much affection and civility they find Grand Pre a brave compleate Gentleman not in outward pride but in inward generositie and vertue not in the vanity of fashions and apparell but in the perfections and endowments of his mind and body he is wholy addicted to the exercise of warre and not to the art of courting of Ladies his delights are in the campe of Mars and Bellona and not in the Palace of Venus and Cupid well knowing that the one will breed him honour and glory the other shame and repentance his pastimes are not crisping and powdering of his haire quarrelling his taylor for the fashion of his clothes dancing in velvet pumps and tracing the street in a neat perfumed Boote with jangling Spurres yea hee resembleth not young spruce Courtiers who thinke no heaven to brave Apparell nor Paradise to that of their Mistresse beauty for hee onely practiseth riding of great Horses Tilting running at Ring displaying the Colours tossing the Pike handling the Musket ordering of Ranke and File thereby to make himselfe capable to conduct and embattaile an Army and to environ fortifie or besiege a City or Castle or the like yea hee spurnes at the Lute and Viall and
the joy of the parents and the sweet content of their sonnes and daughters are pompously solemnized in Dijon with all variety of feasting dauncing and masking answerable to their degrees and dignities But these Marriages shall not prove so fortunate as is hoped and expected neither was Hymenaeus invited thereunto or if he were he refused to come and therfore Lucina will likewise save her labor because she knowes that neither of these two young married Gentlewomen shall live to make use of her assistance And here before I proceed farther I wish the event of this History would give the lye to this ensuing position that there is no pride nor malice to that of a woman but I have more reason to feare then hope to believe the contrary for no sooner have our two young couples reaped the fruites of Marriage and the felicity of their desires but wee shall see the Sunne-shine of their joy overtaken with a difmall storme of griefe sorrow and misfortune whereby wee may obserue and learne that there is no perfect nor permanent felicity under the Sunne but that all things in this world yea the World it selfe is subject to revolution and change The manner is thus Hautefelia envies her sister in Law Mermanda's advancement and contemnes her own she likes not to give the hand to her whom she knowes is by descent her inferiour and to speake truth preferres a Scarlet Cloake before a Blacke and a Sword-man before a Pen-man these ambitious conceits of hers proceeding from hell wil breed bad bloud and produce mournefull effects yea peradventure strangle her who imbraceth and practiseth them Mermanda is of a gracious and mild nature Hautefelia of an imperious and revengefull never any marryed couple live more contented nor past more pleasant dayes then did Grand Pre and his faiâ—…e Mermanda for the space of one whole yeare wherein she bore her selfe so loving courteous towards him he so kind and pleasant to her as their sweet carriage and honourable and vertuous behaviour was of all the world Hautefelia only excepted highly praysed and applauded But Hautefelia envying Mermanda's prosperity and glory because she could neither parallel the one nor equall the other seeing with no other eyes then those of ambition and envy bethinks her selfe she might act her disgrace and eclipse the splendor of her vertues and glory When remembring that the Baron of Betanford dwelling not farre from Auxone sometimes visited her brother Grand Pre as also that he very lately had done her two unkind offices the one by buying a Iewell from her which shee was in price with of a Gold-smith at Dijon Faire and the other for retayning a little fine white Frizland dog which his Page had stolne from her she thinks to give two strokes with one stone and at one time to be revenged both of the Baron and of her sister in Law Mermanda Iudge Christian Reader what simple reasons and triviall motives this inconsiderate Gentlewoman hath for her malice but she is resolute therein and as she hath layd the foundation so she will perfect the edifice of her malice revenge which to effect she sends a servant of hers purposely nere Auxone to her brother Grand Pre and writes him a letter to this effect She intreats him to come ride over to her for she hath a secret of importance to reveale him which shee holds not fit to commit to penne and withall adviseth him to frame some excuse towards her husband for his suddaine comming Grand Pre arrives at Dijon and is welcomed of his Brother and Sister but he discovers her to bee more sorrowfull then accustomed he is ignorant what these clouds of her discontent import or from whence they arise but he shall know too soone and his curiosity shall pay deare to understand it Supper ended they fetch a walke in the garden and so he is conducted to his Chamber where his brother in Law De Malleray giving him the good night his sister Hautefelia with teares in her eyes informes him that she knowes for certaine the Baron of Betanford is too familiar with his wife Mermanda yea beyond the bounds of honesty the which she must needs reveale him because his honor is hers which as she is bound by nature she wil cherish preserve as her own life Grand Pre amazed at this strange unlooked for newes is like one lunatick or rather stark mad he stamps with his foot throws away his hat now casting himself on the bed then on the floore yea had not his sister prevented him he had killed himselfe with his own sword these are the wretched passions of jealousy which transport our selves beyond our selves our reasons beyond the limits of reason now this vild malicious sister of his more out of policie then charity useth many prayers perswasions brings him again to himself and they conclude to keep it secret from all the world but withal Grand Pre vows to be sharply revengd both of his wife the Baron of Betanford Hautefelia having thus broached her inveterat implacable malice laughing hereat like a Gipsie betakes her selfe to her rest leaving her brother not to sleepe but to drive out the night in watchfulnesse and jealousy who the next morne sooner then his accustomed houre riseth takes his leave of his Brother and Sister and so very pensive and sorrowfull rides home Mermanda findes her husband sad and enquires the cause thereof shee prayes him that if any griefe or misfortune have befalne him shee may participate and beare the one halfe thereof as she doth of his joy and prosperity and as she was wont to doe proffereth to kisse him but hee slights her and with much unkindnesse and disdaine puts her off whereat shee is amazed as not acquainted with such discourtesy After Supper jealousy being his chiefest dish and griefe hers hee makes three or foure solitary turnes in the Court and then sends his Page for his wife who betwixt comfort and gtiefe hope and dispaire presently comes to him He demands of her whether she will walke with him shee answereth that his pleasure shall ever bee hers and that shee will most joyfully and willingly wayt on him where hee pleaseth hee brings her to a solitary Grove and there having choller in his lookes and fire in his tongue hee chargeth her of dishonesty with the Baron of Betanford Poore Mermanda as it were pierced to the heart with the thunderbolt of this newes falls to the ground in a fainting swoone yea Grand Pre her husband hath much adoe to recover her when comming againe to her selfe she with many volleyes of sighes and rivolets of teares purgeth her selfe of that imputation and scandall shee blames his credulity and jealousy tearmes her accusers devills and witches invokes heaven and earth to beare witnesse of her innocency and withall cleares the Baron of Betanford vowing and protesting by her part and hope of heaven that he never attempted nor
matters altered and her greatnesse and power diminished and to her grief sees that she cannot so absolutely domineere as before and which was farre worse her brother in his absence at Dole having smelt and understood her malice and inveterate hatred both to Mermanda the Baron of Betanford De Malleray her husband and likewise to himselfe though nothing suspecting or dreaming of her poysoning humour he is so farre from acknowledging or respecting her for his sister as he will neither indure her company or sight which she making no shew to perceive but like a Fury of hell as she is dissembling her malice and revenge she is still constant and persevers in her humour of bloud and Murther and hath againe recourse to her execrable Apothecary La Fresnay and to the devill her Doctor likewise to make away her brother Grand Pre with poyson as hee had already Mermanda his Wife and gives him three hundred crownes to effect it This damnable Apothecary loving money well and as it seemes the Devill better doth ingage himselfe speedily to performe it and wretched villaine as he is within two moneths he accomplisheth and finisheth it and so as Mermanda ranne equall fortune with him in life hee doth the like with her in death for one deadly Drugge one bloody Sister and one devillish Apothecary gives a miserable and lamentable end to them both And now his blood thirsty sister Hautefelia the authour of these cruell Murthers and Trageedies thinking her selfe freed of all her enemies and of all those who stood in the way of her advancement and preferment shee neither thinking either of her conscience or soule of heaven or hell domineeres farre more then before yea builds castles in the ayre and flatters her selfe with this false ambition that she must now be a Dutchesse or at least a Countesse But she reckons without God We have seene nay we have here glutted our eyes with severall Murthers whereof wee have beheld this wretched Gentlewoman Hautefelia to be the horrible and cruell author and this execrable La Fresnay to be the bloody actor these crimes of theirs and the smoake of these their impious and displeasing sacrifices have pierced the clouds and ascended the presence of God to sue and draw downe vengeance and confusion on their heads for although Murther be for a time concealed yet the finger of God will in due time detect and discover it for he will make inquisition for blood and will severely and sharpely revenge the death of his children But Gods providence and justice in the discovery thereof is as different as miraculous for sometimes hee protracts and deferres it of purpose either to mollifie or to harden our hearts as seemes best to his inscrutable will and divine pleasure or as may chiefly serve and tend to his glory yea somtimes he makes the Murtherer himselfe as well an instrument to discover as hee hath beene an actor to commit murther yea and many times he punisheth one sinne by and in another and when the Murtherer sits most secure and thinks least of it then he heapes coales of fire on his head and suddenly cuts him off with the revenging sword of his fierce wrath and indignation And now that great and soveraigne Iudge of the World who rides on the Winds in triumph and hath Heaven for his Throne and Earth for his foot stoole will no longer permit Hauteselia and La Fresnay to goe unpunished for these their execrable Murthers for the innocent and dead bodies of Mermanda and her husband Grand Pre out of their Graves cry to him for revenge which like an impetuous storme or a terrible Thunder clap doth in this manner suddenly befall and overtake them Some sixe weekes after Grand Pre's funeralls were solemnized whereat his Sister Hautefelia the better to cloke her villany wept bitterly and was observed to bee the chiefest Mourner this hellish Apothecary La Fresnay having gotten his money so easily thought to spend it as prodigally and so on a time being in his cups at a Taverne at Dijon and his braines swilling and swimming with strong Wine as Drunkennesse is the Bawd and Vsher to other sinnes he stealing from the rest of his company committed a Rape upon one Margaret Pivot a girle of twelve yeares old being the Vintners daughter of the Taverne wherein he sate tippling This young girle with millions of teares throwes her selfe to the feet of her Parents and accuseth La Fresnay for the fact who doe the like to those famous Senators of the Court of Parliament so hee is apprehended and being examined with many vehement and bitter asseverations denyeth it he is adjudged to the Racke and at the second torment confesseth it and so he is condemned to be hanged Two Capuchin Fryers prepare him for his end they exhort him not to charge burthen his soule with concealing any other crimes adding that if he reveale and repent them in earth God will remit them in heaven these exhortations of theirs produce good effects for though he have formerly lived like a devill he will now dye like a Christian and so with many teares revealeth that at the instigation of Hautefelia and for the lucre of five hundred crownes which at two several times she gave him he had poysoned Mermanda and her husband Grand Pre. All the world is amazed and the Parliament acquainted herewith they alter their first Sentence and so for his triple villanies condemne La Fresnay to bee broken alive upon the Wheele and there to languish and dye without being strangled which in Dijon is accordingly executed to the full satisfaction of Iustice. A Provost likewise is forthwith dispatched from Dijon to Grandmonts house to apprehend his daughter Hautefelia and God would have it that shee was ignorant of La Fresnay's apprehension and more of his death The Provost findes her dancing in her fathers garden in company of many Gentlemen and Ladies he sets hands on her and so exchangeth her mirth into mourning and her songs into teares she is brought to Dijon and examined by a President and two Counsellors of the Parliament She impudently and boldly denyes both Murders saith La Fresnay is her mortall and professed enemy and therefore not to bee believed But the devill who hath so long bewitched and deluded her either will not or rather now cannot save her with this poore evasion shee is adjudged to the Racke and at the first torment confesseth it The Criminall Iudges of this great and illustrious Parliament in detestation of these her execrable and bloudy crimes of Murther pronounce sentence on her so after shee had repented her sinnes and prepared her selfe to dye her Paps are seared and torne off with red hot Pincers then shee is hanged her body burnt and her ashes throwne into the ayre Now to gather some profit by reading this History or indeed rather by the memory of the History it selfe let us observe nay let us imprint in our hearts and soules how busy the
and frugall in neither which considerations so swayed the judgement and opinion of Vituri that knowing he might every day provide and procure a better match for his daughter hee gives Pisani to understand that as yet hee hath no intent to marry his daughter alledging her few yeares and the like triviall reasons and excuses whereby Pisani might plainely perceive that hee had no intent to give him his daughter This refusall of Vituri doth wonderfully grieve Pisani and afflict Christeneta so as they see their hopes nipt in their blossomes and their desires not in the way to reap such efffects as they expected Pisani distrusting his owne power sets his parents and chiefest friends to draw Vituri to hearken unto reason but his age cannot be deceived in that which his judgement and not his passion suggesteth him they have diverse conferences but every day in stead of bringing hopes produceth more difficulties and despayre and now that Pisani may see that his sure and research is displeasing to Vituri he lookes not on him with so courteous an eye as accustomed and which is worse Christeneta is forbidden his company and he her fathers house This goes to the hearts of our two lovers but they brook it as patiently as they may and hope that time will give end to these their discontents and afflictions In the meane whiles as fire suppressed doth often flame forth with more violence so sith they cannot personally visite one the other they entertaine their affections by their Letters who are so many in number as I hold it fit rather to suppresse then divulge them Thus whiles Pisani comforts himselfe that there are no roses without prickles and that hopes long expected are best welcome but chiefely relying upon the affection and constancie of his Mistresse hee will not staine his valour with this poynt of cowardize to be put off with the first repulse of Vituri but resolveth to continue as constant in his affection as he doth in his refusall and so after he had stayed a month or two in Cremona he bethinkes himselfe of an invention whereby it is not impossible for him to obtaine his Mistresse of her father Pisani being inriched with the treasure of Christeneta's favour and affection writes to her that if shee can obtaine her Mothers consent she peradventure may easily procure that of her husband who hearkening and relishing this advice with much zeale puts it a foote and as in few dayes she gained her Mother so a moneth was not fully past before shee had likewise drawne her husband to approve and consent to this Match So now our Lovers are againe revived and comforted for the rubs being taken away the difficulties removed and the parents of both sides fully satisfyed all things now seeme in so faire a forwardnesse and preparation as if our two Lovers were shortly to injoy each other in marriage or to injoy the fruits of mariage which so earnestly and infinitely both affected and desired To which end that their nuptials might bee solemnized with the greater pompe and glory they provide themselves of variety of rich and sumptuous Apparell the day is appoynted and all the Nobility of Pavia and Cremona as well their kinsfolkes as others are invited to the Wedding but their Parents shall come short of their designes and these our two Lovers of their hopes for this Mariage being not begunne in heaven shall never be finished nor consummated in earth Wee have here so much spoken of Pisani that it seemes wee have quite forgotten Gasparino as if hee had no farther part to act in this History but hee is not so fortunate for this proceeding of Pisani to Christeneta is not so secretly managed but hee hath newes thereof who knowing there can bee no greater treason after that of a subject to his Soveraigne then for a friend to betray his friend hee grieves and is extreamely incensed at Pisani to see he hath betrayed him of his Mistresse the which he takes so bitterly and passionately that hee vowes he will make him repent it Iealousy and Revenge are alwayes bad Counsellers and therefore can never prove good Iudges But such is his love to Christeneta and so deepely is her beauty imprinted and ingraven in his heart as shutting his Judgement to Charity and opening it to Revenge he is resolved at what price soever to call Pisani to a strict account for this affront and disgrace and is resolved rather to dy then live to see himself thus abused by one whom God and nature hath made his inferior Were we as apt to doe good as evill we should bee Angels not men but resembling our selves or rather hearkening too much to the Prince of darkenesse we flye reason to follow rage and many times procure our owne destruction in seeking that of others Gasparino having thus his eyes and senses ore-clouded and vayled with the misâ—… of revenge is transported with such bloudy passions and resolutions as hee is sometimes resolved to pistoll Pisani either in the streete or in his bed and other times to hire two or three Ruffians to murther him the next time hee rides into the Countrey but at last casting his eyes from hell to heaven and from Satan to God hee trampleth those execrable resolutions under his feete and banisheth them from his heart and thoughts esteeming them as unworthy of him as he were of the world if he should commit them and so for that time enters in a resolution with himselfe no more to thinke on Christeneta and lesse to bee revenged of Pisani for betraying her from him Had Gasparino continued in this peaceable and Christian-like minde hee had not exposed himselfe to so many dangers and misfortunes nor given himselfe as a prey tó feede the malice and revenge of his bloody enemies but now understanding that all Cremona and Pavia prattled and laughed at his disgrace in seeing him thus baffled and abused by Pisani hee thinkes that not onely himselfe but his honour is disparaged and wronged herein and that he shall be extreamely condemned of cowardize if in a Duell he call not Pisani to right him and give him satisfaction yea the onely consideration of this poynt of honour which many times is bought and sold at so deare a price as the perill and losse both of body and soule did so violently perswade and prevaile with him that as revenge admits of no opposition nor hearkens to any advice so enquiring for Pisani and understanding him to be in Pavia he the more incouraged and inflamed hereat taking with him a resolute and confident Gentleman and one onely Lackey sets spurres to his Horse and so hyes thither resolving with himselfe to gaine his Honour in the same City where hee had received his disgrace Being arrived at Pavia he is assured that Pisani is in the City and inquiring more curiously after him hee understands that that very instant hee is with his Mistresse Christenea which so galled his thoughts and inflamed his heart as
searched they at last in their hookes bring up some pieces of wrought blacke Taffeta which by the Lackey was affirmed and knowne to be the same his Master Gasparino wore the last time he saw him whereat they were more eagerly encouraged to search againe most exactly which they doe and at last bring up the dead body of Gasparino when stripping off his cloths they find his body pierced with thirteene severall wonuds at the mournefull sight whereof the whole assembly but especially his Lackey cannot refraine from teares and yet all glorify God for finding of his body as also for the discovery of the Murtherers who now they confidently believe are Bianco and Brindoli But see the farther mercies of God for Bianco and Brindoli are but the hands which executed this Murther and not the head which plotted it therefore the Magistrates being sure of them doe now resolve to hye to Prison and to give them double torment thereby to discover out of what Quiver the first arrow of this Murther came But behold the mercy and justice of God! they are eased of this labour and the name of the malefactour brought them by a most miraculous and unheard of accident for when the Magistrates and whole company had often visited Gasparino's naked body and seene nothing but wounds a little boy standing by of some ten yeares of age espyed a linnen cloth in his mouth which hee shewed the company which the Prefect causing to be pulled out found it to be a Cambricke Handkercher and withall a name in red silke Letters in one corner which was the very true name of Christeneta See see the goodnesse O let us stand amazed and wonder at the mercies of God to see what meanes and instruments hee ordayneth for the discovery of Murthers The Prefect and Provost send away speedily to apprehend her shee is taken in the midst of her pleasures and pastimes yea from the arme of her Mother and feete of her Father to whom shee fled for safety but in vaine for shee is instantly committed close Prisoner from whence wee shall not see her come foorth till she come to her condigne punishment on a shamefull Scaffold for this her horrible offence of Murther And now the Prefect and Provost goe themselves to the prison where Bianco and Brindoli are they accuse them peremptorily for the Murther of Gasparino whose body they informe them they have taken up out of the Well but they againe denye it They give them double torment and conjure them to reveale this their Murther but they are so strong of courage or rather the devill is so strong in them as they denye all and neither accuse themselves nor any other The Prefect and Provost although they saw all circumstances concurre that undoubtedly Christeneta had a deepe hand in this Murther yet they examine her fairely and promise her much favour and their best friendship and assistance if shee will reveale it but she as her two confederates denyes all They adjudge her to the Racke whereunto she very patiently permits her selfe to bee fastened but her dainty body and delicate limbes cannot indure the cruelty of this torment and so shee confesseth all that in revenge of Pisani's death shee had caused Bianco and Brindoli to murther him in the Nunnes garden as we have formerly understood And now comes Gods sentence from heaven pronounced against these Murtherers by the mouth of his Magistrates on earth who for reparation and expiation of their horrible crimes of Murther committed on Gasparino adjudge Bianco and Brindoli to have their right handes cut off then to bee hanged and their bodies throwne into the River Po And Christeneta notwithstanding all the sollicitation which her father and friends made for her to be first hanged then burned and her ashes throwne into the ayre Which to the full satisfaction of Iustice before an infinite number of Spectators who assisted at their mournefull ends was accordingly executed who yet could not refraine from teares but as much approved and applauded Christeneta's affection to Pisani as they detested and abhorred her inhumane and bloody revenge to Gasparino Bianco and Brindoli as they lived unrighteously so they dyed desperately and could not be drawn to repent themselves of this their bloudy fact But as I have understood Christeneta was extreamely sorrowfull for her sinnes but especially for this murther whereof at her last breath shee infinitely and exceedingly repented her selfe yea I have beene informed that shee delivered a godly and religious speech upon the Ladder but I was not so fortunate to recover it May all true Christians reade this History with profit and profit in reading it that so God may receive the glory and their soules the eternall comfort and consolation Amen GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND EXEcrable sinne of Murther HISTORIE III. Mortaigne under promise of marriage gets Iosselina with child and after converting his love into hatred causeth his Lackey La Verdure and La Palma to murther both her and her young sonne the jealousy of Isabella to her husband La Palma is the cause of the discovery hereof they are all three taken and executed for the same IT is a just reward for the vanity of our thoughts and a true recompence for the errours of our youth that wee buy pleasure with repentance and the sweetnesse of sinne with the bitternesse of affliction but if wee violate the Lawes of Christianity and abandon our selves to lust and fornication then we shall see with shame that men will not pitty us and finde with griefe that God will punish us It is an excellent vertue in Maydens not to listen to the lewd temptations of men and in men not to hearken to the sugered charmes of the devil for commonly that folly gives the one shame and this madnesse brings the other destruction but if we first forget our selves and then our God by adding and heaping sinne upon sinne as first to perpetrate fornication and after Murther then assuredly our estate is so miserably wretched and so wretchedly miserable as we have no hope left for better fortunes nor place for worse And because Example is both pleasing to our memory and profitable to our judgement this mournefull ensuing History shall make good and confirme it to us therefore let us shut the doore of our thoughts against the power of sinne and that of our hearts against the malice of Hell and wee shall not onely make our fortunes immoveable in this World but our felicity eternall in that to come In the South-east part of France within a dayes journey of the famous City of Lyons at the foote of the Mountaine of Tarara upon the border and bosome of that sweet River Lignon so famoused by the Minion of honour and the darling of the Muses the Marquesse of Vrse in his beautifull and divine Astrea neere Durency a certaine small Village there dwelt a poore Country Farmer named Andrew Mollard who of late burying his Wife had one only child left
now no power to speake but to weepe yea if her teares are not words I am sure her words are sighes for being abandoned of Mortaigne and hated of his mother she is so pierced to the heart with the consideration of that cruelty and the remembrance of this disdaine as shee teares her hayre repents her selfe of her former folly and curseth the houre that Mortaigne first saw her fathers house or shee him but this is but one part of her sorrowes and afflictions Lo here comes another that is capable to turne her discontent into despaire her despaire into rage and her rage into madnesse For by this time Calintha understanding by her sonne where Iosselina resided and sojourned she so ordered the matter as when Iosselina least thought thereof shee and her Babe in a darke and cold night is most inhumanely turned out of the house where she was yea with so great barbarisme and cruelty as shee was not suffered to rest either in the Hay-loft Barne or Stable or any other place within doore but inforced to lye in the open field where the bare ground was her bed a Mole-hill her Pillow the cold ayre her Coverlet and the Firmament her Curtaines and Canopie And now it is and never before that her eyes gush foorth whole Rivers of teares and her heart and brest sends foorth many volleyes of deepe-fetched sighes yea having no other Tapers but the Starres of heaven to light her shee lookes on her poore Babe for comfort whose sight God knowes doth but redouble her sorrowes and afflictions because it lyes crying at her brest for want of Milke which poore woman shee had not to give it when being in this miserable case and accompanyed with none but with the Beasts of the Field and the Birds of the aire who yet were farre happyer then her selfe because they were gone to their rest and shee could receive none she after many bitter sighes groanes and teares uttered these speeches to her selfe Alas alas poore Iosselina It is thy folly and not thy fortune that hath brought thee to this misery for hadst thou had grace to use and not to abuse thy beauty thou mightst have seene thy selfe as happy as now thou art wretched and miserable but see what a double losse thou receivest for thy single pleasure for the losse of thy chastity to Mortaigne was that of thy father to thee and now being deprived of both what wilt thou doe or whither canst thou flye for comfort But alas this is not all the misery for as thy losse is double so is thy griefe for now thou must as well sorrow for thy child as for thy selfe yea Iosselina forget to grieve for thy selfe and remember to doe it for thy Babe sith thou hast brought it into the world and hast not wherewith to maintaine it And then not able to proceed farther she takes it up and kisses it and raines teares on it's cheekes though she cannot streame milk in its mouth when againe recovering her speech she continues thus Ay me Iosselina thou art both the Author and the cause of thine owne misery and therefore thou must not blame heaven but thanke thy selfe for it for thy afflictions are so great as wheresoever thou turnest thy thoughts or eyes thou findest nothing but griefe nothing but sorrow for if thou think on Mortaigne he lookes on thee with disdaine if on his mother Calintha she with envie yea thou canst not behold the world without shame thy poore infant without sorrow nor thy selfe without repentance nay consider further with thy selfe what thou hast gotten by casting or rather by casting away thy affection on Mortaigne he found thee a Mayd and hath left thee a strumpet thou hast a child and yet no husband then thou wert so happy as to have a father and now thy sonne is so miserable as he can finde none yea then thou wert a friend to many but now thou findest not one that will bee so to thee and which is worse thou hast not wherewithall to be so to thy selfe Alas alas thou hast no house to goe to no friend to trust to no meat for thy selfe nor milke for thy child therefore poore Iosselina quoth she how happy should we both be if thou wert buryed and he unborne She would have finished her speech but that teares interrupted her words and sighs cut her teares in pieces By this time her Babe falls asleepe but her griefes are so great and her sorrowes so infinite as shee cannot close her eyes nor yet bee so much beholding either to Morpheus or Death to doe it for her which perceiving as also that the Moone was inveloped in a cloud and that the Starres beginne to denye her the comfort and lustre of their sight shee fearing to bee overtaken with raine and perceiving a thicke Wood a pretty way off from her she takes her Babe and as fast as her weake and wearyed legs could performe bitterly weeping and sighing hies thither for shelter but heaven prooves more kinde to her then earth for loe both the Moone and Starres assist and comfort her in this her sorrowfull journey Being come to the Wood which indeed was farther off then she thought she beganne to bee weary and there making a bed of leaves which at that season of the yeare fell abundantly from the Trees shee thereon for awhiles rested her selfe but sleepe shee could not and now if any thing in the world afforded her comfort it was to see that her infant slept prettily though not soundly but here if her eyes craved rest so her stomacke craved meat for it was now mid-night and she had eaten nothing since noone so pulling off her upper coate shee wraps and covers her child as hot as shee could who being fast asleepe and laying it on the bed of leaves shee goes from tree to hedge and gathers Blacke-berries Slowes and wilde Chessnuts wherewith in stead of better Viands she satisfyed her hunger and now she sees her selfe on the top of a Hill at whose foote shee perceived a River and a great stony Bridge over it the which shee knew as also that there was a little Village neere about a mile beyond it which indeede in the midst of her miseries afforded her some comfort So backe she hies to her childe which she findes out by its crying it wanting not onely his nipple but his Nurse and so with many kisses takes it up in her armes and hyes towards the bridge and from thence to the Village which she now remembers is termed Villepont where shee arrives at five of the clocke in the morning and lodged her selfe in a very poore Inne being extremely glad and infinitely joyfull that she had recovered so good a harbour But money she hath none to pay her expences and to lye in Innes upon credit is to be ill attended and worse look'd on so she is inforced yea faine to sell away her Quaives her bands and her upper coate to discharge her present occasions Poore
Iosselina how happy hadst thou beene if thou hadst had as much wit and chastity as beauty or rather more chastity and lesse beauty But it is now too late to remedy it though never to repent it Iosselina knowing Villepont to be but seven leagues from Durency the Parish where she was borne is irresolute whether to stay here or to goe thither Want of meanes perswades her to the first but knowing that Mortaigne's love was turned to hatred and that it was dangerous for her to bee neere his incensed mother shee resolves to stay in Villepont and to write to her kinsfolkes and friends to assiâ—…t her in this her misery and necessity In the meane time shee is inforced to content her selfe with a poore little out-chamber where there is neither chimney nor window but onely a small loope whereinto the Sunne scarce ever entred and yet shee is extreamely well contented and glad hereof But wealth findes many friends and poverty none and yet sith diversity of fortunes is the true touchstone of friendship wee may therefore more properly and truly terme those our friends who assist us in our necessity and not who seeme to pleasure us in our prosperity for those are reall friends but these verball those will performe more then they promise and these promise much and performe nothing But Iosselina is so wretched and unfortunate as shee findes neither the one nor the other to assist her in this her misery yea so farre shee is to receive either meanes or promises as nothing is sent her nor none will see her so as miserable necessity inforceth her to report and divulge the misfortune of her fortune and to complain to all the world of Mortaigne's treachery and of his Mother Calintha's cruelty yea she threatens to send him his sonne sith he will not afford her wherewith to maintaine it This is not so secretly carryed in Villepont but De Vassye and Varina his daughter have newes hereof in La Palisse which occasioneth her to grow cold in her affection and he in his respect to Mortaigne so as all things decline and there is little hope or appearance that this match shall goe forward Mortaigne is two cleere-sighted to be blind herein yea he presently knowes from what point of the Compasse this wind commeth and is fully possessed that Iosselina is the cause of these alterations and stormes hee is exceedingly inraged and inflamed hereat and gives such way to his passion and choller as these obstacles must be removed and he vowes to destroy both Iosselina and her sonne A bloudy resolution not beseeming either a Christian or a Gentleman for was it not enough for him to rob Iosselina of her honour and to put a rape on her chastity and vertue but hee must likewise bereave her of her life and so adde Murther to his lust Alas what a base Gentleman is this yea how farre degenerates he from true Gentility to bee so cruell to her that hath beene so kind to him But the Devill suggesteth to his thoughts and they to his heart that Varina is faire and that there is no way nor hope left to obtaine her before Iosselina and her brat bee dispatched Now if grace could not perswade him from being so cruell to Iosselina yet mee thinkes nature should have with-held him from being so inhumane to his owne sonne but his faith is so weake towards God and the devill is so strong with him that he cannot bee removed or withdrawne from his bloudy resolution onely hee altereth the manner thereof for whereas hee resolved first to destroy the Mother then the child now he will first dispatch the child then the Mother O Heavens why should earth produce so bloudy and prodigious a monster Now the better to dissemble his malice he thinkes to reclaime and pacifie Iosselina and so gives order that shee and her child be lodged in a better Inne in the same village of Villepont and signifies her that he hath gotten a Nurse and hath provided maintenance for his sonne and that shortly he will send his Lackey for him but withall that shee must keepe this very secret because hee will not have his mother Calintha acquainted therwith Iosselina rejoyceth and seemes to be revived at this pleasing newes yea shee beginnes to forget her former misery and flatters her selfe with this hope that fortune will againe smile on her So within three dayes Mortaigne sends his Lackey La Verdure to her for the babe the which with many kisses and â—…eares shee delivereth him hoping that Mortaigne his father would bee carefull of his maintenance and not so much as once dreaming or conceiving that he had any intent to murther it But she shall find the contrary for henceforth she shall never see her babe nor her babe her La Verdure the Lackey following his Masters command is not foure Leagues from Villepont before like a damnable miscreant hee strangles it and wrapping it in a Linnen cloth which hee had purposely brought with him throwes it into the River Lignon but hee shall pay deare for Murthering of this sweete and innocent babe But it is not enough for Mortaigne's divellish malice and revenge will not be quenched or satisfied till he see the Mother follow the fortune of the sonne to which end he agrees with her Oast La Palma and his aforesaid Lackey La Verdure to stifle her in her bed The which for two hundred frankes they performe and bury her in his garden shee being soundly sleeping and poore soule not so much as once dreaming of this her mournefull and lamentable end What Tigers or monsters of nature are these to commit so damnable a Murther as if there were no God in heaven to detect them nor earth nor hell to punish them But we shall see the contrary yea we shall see both the Murther and the Murtherers revealed and discovered by an extraordinary meanes wherin Gods providence and glory will most miraculously resplend and shine As soone as La Verdure and La Palma had Murthered our harmelesse Iosselina they both poast away to Durency aswell to acquaint Mortaigne herewith as also to receive their money whereof the one halfe was payed them and the other due This newes is so pleasing to him as he cheerefully layes downe his promise and so they both frollike it in the village La Verdure making no hast home to his Master Mortaigne not La Palma to his old wife Isabella In the meane time a month being past away Mortaigne hoping the way cleare and al the rubs removed that hindred him from obtaining his faire mistres Varina he procures his father De Coucye and other of his friends to ride to La Palisse hoping to finish the match betwixt La Varina and himselfe But hee and they are inforced to see themselves deceived of their hopes For De Vassy and his daughter having heard that Iosselina and her sonne were conveyed away and could no more be heard of they suspecting and fearing that which
Iosselina but likewise that of her infant sonne whom hee first strangled and then threw into the River Lignon and this said he he did at the request of his Master Mortaigne of whom for his part and labour he received one hundred Frankes Wee have here found two of these Murtherers and now what resteth there but that the third who is the Authour and as it were the capitall great wheele of these bloody Tragedies bee produced and brought to this Arraignement The Procurer and Lievtennant repaire againe to the Prison and charge Mortaigne with these two bloody Murthers hee knowes it is in vaine to denye it sith hee is sure his two execrable agents have already revealed it therefore he ashamed at the remembrance of his cruell and unnatural crimes doth with many teares very sorrowfully and penitently confesse all It is a happinesse for him to repent these Murthers but it had beene a farre greater if hee had never contrived and committed them yea the Iudges are amazed to heare the cruelty hereof and the people to know it and both send their prayses and thankefulnesse to God that hee hath thus detected and brought them to light on earth And now comes the Catastrophe of their owne Tragedies wherein every one of these Malefactors receives condigne punishment for their severall offences La Palma is condemned to bee hanged and burnt La Verdure to bee broken on the Wheele and his body to bee throwne into the River Lignon and Mortaigne though the last in ranke yet the first in offence to be broken on the Wheele his body burnt and his ashes throwne into the aire which Sentence in the sight of a great multitude of Spectators was on a Market day accordingly executed and performed in La Palisse And this was the bloody end of Mortaigne and his two hellish instruments for murthering innocent Iosselina and her silly and tender infant May all Maydens learne by her example to preserve their chastities and men by La Verdures and La Palma's not to be drawne to shed innocent blood for the lucre of wealth and money and by Mortaignes to bee lesse lascivious inhumane and bloody thereby to prevent so execrable a life and so infamous a death One thing I may not omit La Palma on the Ladder extreamely cursed the malice of his wife Isabella who he said was the author of his death and no lesse did La Verdure on the Wheele by his Master Mortaigne but both of them were so desperately irreligious as neither of them considered that it was their former sinnes and the malice of the Devill to whom they gave too much eare that was the cause thereof And for Mortaigne after he had informed the world that hee extreamely grieved that his Iudges had not given him the death of a Gentleman which was to haue beene beheaded he with many teares bewayled his infinite ingratitude cruelty and unnaturalnesse both towards Iosselina as also his and her young sonne yet he prayed the world in generall to pray that God would forgive it him and likewise requested the Executioner to dispatch him quickely out of this life because hee confessed hee was unworthy to live longer Now let us glorifie our Creatour and Redeemer who continually makes a strict inquisition for blood and a curious and miraculous inquiry for Murther yea let us both feare him with love and love him with feare sith hee is as impartiall in his justice as in distributing his mercies GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND EXEcrable sinne of Murther HISTORIE IV. Beatrice-Ioana to marry Alsemero causeth de Flores to murther Alonso Piracquo who was a sutter to her Alsemero marries her and finding de Flores and her in adultery kills them both Tomaso Piracquo Challengeth Alsemero for his Brothers death Alsemero kills him treacherously in the field and is beheaded for the same and his body throwne into the Sea At his execution hee confesseth that his wife and de Flores Murthered Alonso Piracquo their bodies are taken up out of their graves then burnt and their ashes throwne into the ayre SIth in the day of Iudgement we shall answer at Gods great Tribunall for every lewd thought our hearts conceive and idle words our tongues utter how then shall we dare appeare much lesse thinke to scape when we defile our bodies with the pollution of adultery and taint our soules with the innocent bloud of our Christian brethren when I say with beastly lust and adultery we unsanctifie our sanctified bodies who are the receptacles and Temples of the holy Ghost and with high and presumptuous hands stabbe at the Majesty of God by Murthering of man who is his Image This is not the Ladder to scale heaven but the shortest way to ride poast to hell for how can we give our selves to God when in the heat of lust and fume of Revenge we sell our hearts to the Devill But did we ever love God for his Mercy or feare him for his Iustice we would then not onely hate these sinnes in our selves but detest them in others for these are crying and capitall offences seene in heaven and by the Sword of his Magistrates brought forth and punished here on earth A lamentable and mournefull example whereof I here produce to your view but not to your imitation may wee all read it to the reformation of our lives to the comfort of our soules and to the eternall glory of the most Sacred and Individuall Trinity IN Valentia an ancient and famous City of Spaine there dwelt one Don Pedro de Alsemero a Noble young Cavallier whose father Don Ivan Alsemero being slaine by the Hollanders in the Sea fight at Gibralter hee resolved to addict himselfe to Navall and sea actions thereby to make himselfe capeable to revenge his fathers death a brave resolution worthy the affection of a sonne and the Generosity of a Gentleman To which end hee makes two voyages to the West-Indies from whence he returnes flourishing and rich which so spread the sayles of his Ambition and hoysted his fame from top to top gallant that his courage growing with his yeares he thought no attempt dangerous enough if honourable nor no honour enough glorious except atchieved and purchased by danger In the actions of Alarache and Mamora he shewed many noble proofes and testimonies of his valour and prowesse the which he confirmed and made good by the receit of eleven severall wounds which as markes and Trophees of Honour made him famous in Castile Boyling thus in the heate of his youthfull bloud and contemplating often on the death of his father he resolves to goe to Validolyd and to imply some Grando either to the King or to the Duke of Lerma his great favorite to procure him a Captaines place and a company under the Arch-Duke Albertus who at that time made bloudy warres against the Netherlanders thereby to draw them to obedience But as hee beganne this sute a generall truce of both sides laid aside Armes which by the mediation of England
giving over his sute to her as hee continueth it with more earnestnesse and importunity and vowes that hee will forsake his life ere his Mistresse but sometimes wee speake true when wee thinke wee jest yet hee findes her one and the same for although shee were not yet acquainted with Alsemero yet shee made it the thirteenth Article of her Creed that the supreame power had ordained her another husband and not Piracquo yea at that very instant the remembrance of Alsemero quite defaced that of Piracquo so that shee wholly refus'd her heart to the last of purpose to reserve and give it to the first as the sequell will shew Now by this time Vermandero had notice and was secretly informed of Alsemero's affection to his daughter and withall that shee liked him farre better then Piracquo which newes was indeed very distastefull and displeasing to him because hee perfectly knew that Piracquo's meanes farre exceed that of Alsemero Whereupon considering that hee had given his consent and in a manner ingaged his promise to Piracquo hee to prevent the hopes and to frustrate the attempts of Alsemero leaves his Castle to the command of Don Hugo de Valmarino his son and taking his daughter Beatrice-Ioana with him hee in his Coach very sodainely and secretly goes to Briamata a faire house of his tenne leagues from Alicant where hee meanes to sojourne untill hee had concluded and solemnized the match betwixt them But hee shall never bee so happy as to see it effected At the newes of Beatrice-Ioana's departure Alsemero is extreamely perplexed and sorrowfull knowing not whether it proceed from her selfe her father or both yea this his griefe is augmented when hee thinkes on the suddennesse thereof which hee feares may bee performed for his respect and consideration the small acquaintance and familiari y hee hath had with her makes that hee cannot condemne her of unkindnesse yet sith hee was not thought worthy to have notice of her departure hee againe hath no reason to hope much lesse to assure himselfe of her affection towards him hee knowes not how to resolve these doubts nor what to thinke or doe in a matter of this nature and importance for thus hee reasoneth with himselfe if hee ride to Briamata he may perchance offend the father if he stay at Alicant displease the daughter and although he be rather willing to run the hazzard of his envy then of her affection yet hee holds it safer to bee authorised by her pleasure and to steere his course by the compasse of her commands Hee therefore bethinkes himselfe of a meanes to avoyd these extreames and so findes out a Channell to passe free betwixt that Sylla and this Carybdis which is to visit her by letters hee sees more reason to embrace then to reject this invention and so providing himselfe of a confident messenger his heart commands his pen to signifie her these few lines ALSEMERO to BEATRICE-IOANA AS long as you were in Alicant I deemed it a beaven upon earth and being bound for Malta a thousand times blessed that contrary winde which kept mee from embarking and sayling from you yea so sweetly did I affect and so dearely honour your beauty as I entered into a resâ—…lution with my selfe to end my voyage e're I beganne it and to beginne another which I feare will end mee If you demand or desire to know what this second voyage is know faire Mistressâ—… that my thoughts are so honourable and my affection so religious that it is the seeking of your favour and the obtayning of your selfe to my wife whereon not onely my fortunes but my life depends But how shall I hope for this honour or flatter my selfe with the obtaining of so great a felicity when I see you have not onely left mee but which is worse as I understand the City for my sake Fâ—…ire Beatrice-Ioana if your cruelty will make me thus miserable I have no other consolation left me to sweeten the bitternesse of my griefe and misfortune but a confident hope that death will as speedily deprive mee of my dayes as you have of my joyes ALSEMERO I know not whether it more grieved Beatrice-Ioana to leave Alicant without taking her leave of Alsemero then shee doth now rejoyce to receive this his Letter for as that plunged her thoughts in the hell of discontent so this raiseth them to the heaven of joy and as then shee had cause to doubt of his affection so now she hath not not onely reason to flatter but to assure her selfe thereof and therefore though shee will not seeme at first to grant him his desire yet shee is resolved to returne him an answere that may give as well life to his hopes as praise to her modestie Her Letter is thus BEATRICE-IOANA to ALSEMERO AS I have many reasons to bee incredulous and not one to induce mee to beleeve that so poore a beautie of mine should have power to stop so brave a Cavallier as your selfe from ending so honourable a Voyage as your first or to perswade you to one so simple as your second so I cannot but admire that you in your Letter seeke mee for your Wife when in your heart I presume you least desire it and whereas you alledge your life and fortunes depend on my favour I thinke you write it purposely either to make tryall of your owne wit or of my indiscretion by endeavoring to see whether I will beleeve that which exceeds all beliefe now as it true that I haue left Alicant so it is as true that I left it not any way to afflict you but rather to obey my father for this I pray beleeve that although I cannot be kinde yet I will never bee cruell to you Live therefore your owne friend and I will never dye your enemy BEATRICE-IOANA This Letter of Beatrice Ioana gives Alsemero much dispaire and little hope yet though hee have reason to condemne her unkindnesse hee cannot but approve her modestie and discretion which doth as much comfort as that afflict him so his thoughts are irresolute and withall so variable as hee knowes not whether hee should advance his hand or withdraw his penne againe to write to his Mistresse But at last knowing that the excellencie of her Beautie and the dignitie of her Vertues deserve a second Letter he hoping it may obtaine and effect that which his first could not calls for paper and thereon traceth these few lines ALSEMERO to BEATRICE-IOANA YOu have as much reason to assure your selfe of my affection as I to doubt of yours and if Words and Letters Teares and Vowes are not capable to make you beleeve the sinceritie of my zeale and the honour of my affection what resteth but that I wish you could dive as deeply into my heart as my heart hath into your beautie to the end you might bee both Witnesse and Iudge if under heaven I desire any thing so much on earth as to bee crowned with the felicitie to see Beatrice-Ioana my
yield and render up to the Kings lawes and justice but hee is resolute to defend himselfe They threaten him with their Pistols but their sight doe as little amaze him as their report and bullets So they alight from their Horses and environ him with their Swords and having hurt two of them and performed the part of a desperate Gladiator the third joyning with him they breake his Rapier within a foote of the Hilt whereat hee yields himselfe Alsemero thus taken is the same night brought backe to Alicant in whose Gates and Streets a wonderfull concourse of people assemble to see him passe who as much pitty his person as execrate and condemne his fact The Senate is assembled and Alsemero brought to appeare who considering the hainousnesse of his treacherous and bloudy fact which the Devill had caused him to commit hee stayes for no witnesses but accuseth himselfe of this Murther the which from point to point hee confesseth and so they adjudge him to lose his head but this is too honourable a death for a Gentleman who hath so treacherously and basely dishonoured and blemished his Gentility As hee is on the Scaffold preparing himselfe to dye and seeing no farther hope of life but the image of death before his eyes knowing it no time now either to dissemble with God or to feare the Law hee to the amazement of all the world tells the people that although he killed Don Thomaso Piracquo yet hee had no hand in the Murther of his brother Don Alonso whom hee sayd De Flores at the instigation of his wicked and wretched wife Beatrice-Ioana had murthered and buryed in the East Casemate of the Castle and withall affirmed that if hee were guilty in any thing concerning that Murther it was onely in concealing it which hee had done till then and whereof hee sayd he now most heartily repented himselfe as being unwilling any longer to charge his soule with it sith hee was ready to leave this world and to goe to another and so besought them all to pray unto God to forgive him whose sacred Majesty hee confessed hee had highly and infinitely offended and wished them all to beware and flie the temptations of the Devill and to become better Christians by his example The Iudges advertised hereof cause his head to be strucken off for murthering of Don Thomaso Piracquo and his body to be throwne into the Sea for concealing that of Don Alonso which was accordingly executed and from the place of Execution they immediately goe to the Castle and so to the East Casemate where causing the stones to be removed they find the mournfull murthered body of Don Alonso Piracquo which they give to his kinsfolkes to receive a more honourable Buriall according to his ranke and degree and from thence they returne to the Churches where the Bodies of De Flores and Beatrice-Ioana were interred after they were brought backe from Valentia the which for their horrible Murther they at the common place of Execution cause to bee burned and their ashes to be throwne into the ayre as unworthy to have any resting place on earth which they had so cruelly stayned and polluted with innocent bloud Loe here the just punishment of God against these devillish and bloudy Murtherers at the sight of whose executions all that infinite number of people that were Spectatours universally laud and prayse the Majesty of God for purging the earth of such unnaturall and bloudy Monsters GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND EXEcrable sinne of Murther HISTORIE V. Alibius murthereth his Wife Merilla hee is discovered first by Bernardo then by Emilia his owne daughter so he is apprehended and hanged for the Fact HOw farre are they from having peace with God and all his creatures when they lay violent hands on their owne wives yea when they murther them in their beds in stead of reposing their secrets and affections in â—…heir bosomes These are hellish resolutions and infernall stratagems that nature neither allowes nor grace approves For besides the Vnion betwixt God and his Church there is none so absolute and perfect on earth as is that of Man and Wife for as this world hath made them two persons so God hath conjoyned and made them one and therefore what madnesse nay what cruelty is it to be so cruell to those who if not our selves are at least our second selves Charity the daughter of heaven teacheth us to love all the world but especiâ—…lly those who are our kinsfolkes or friends Religion the mother of Charity steps a degree farther and injoyneth us to love those who hate us yea these likewise are not onely the rules of nature but the precepts of grace therefore to kill those who love us and to depâ—…ive those of life who did occasion present are ready to sacrifice theirs for the preservation of ours it must needs proceed rather from a monster then a man or rather from a devill then a monster but such devills and such monsters are but too rife and common in these our sinfull times And amongst others I here produce one for exâ—…mple who for that cruell and inhumane fact of his by the justice of God was justly rewarded with a halter And may all those who perpetrate the like crime partitipate of the same or of a worse punishment IN the Parish of Spreare some fifteene miles distant from the beautifull and noble City of Brescia in the Territories of the Venetians there dwelt a poore countrey man termed Alibius who could vaunt of no other wealth left him by his deceased parents but that hee was a man of a comely stature and proportion and withall that they were of an honest fame and reputation so if his vertues had answered theirs his poverty had never proved so pernicious and fatall an enemy to him as to ruine his fortunes with his life and his life with his fortunes or had the vices of his soule not contaminated or stayned the perfections of his body my pen had slept in silence and his History layne raked up in the dust of his grave but sith his actions have exceeded the bounds both of nature and grace yea sith hee hath learned of the Devill to imbath his hands in poyson and to imbrue them in innocent bloud I incouraged by the connivencie and silence of others not out of any want of charity to the memory of dead Alibius but in detestation of his bloudy resolution and actions and chiefely and especially to the comfort and instruction of the living who may abhorre his crime by the sight of his punishment I have adventured and resolved to give this a place among the rest of my tragicall Histories that Italie as well as Brescia and Spreare and peradventure the whole Christian world with Italie may understand thereof This Alibius as soone as he had attained the age of five and twenty yeares marryed an honest Mayden termed Merilla being a Farmers daughter of the same Parish of Spreare with whom he had but small
a disobedience in her as it was a cruelty in him to Murther her mother She is a long time in esolute either to advance or retire in this her purpose and enterprise and here shee consults betwixt nature and grace betwixt the Lawes of Earth and heaven what shee should doe or how she should beare her selfe in a matter of so unnaturall a nature It grieves her to bee the meanes of her fathers death of whom shee had received her being and yet shee sorroweth not to reveale the murtherer of her mother of whom shee enjoyed her life But though sense and nature cannot yet Reason and Religion will reconcile and cleere these doubts yea evaporate those mists and disperse these clouds from our eyes and makes us see cleere that Earth may not conceale Murther sith God receives glory both in the detection and punishment thereof Some will say this daughter did ill to accuse her father But who will not affirme that he did farre worse to Murther her mother Neither was it a delight but a torment to her to effect it for shee enters into this resolution with teares and persevereth therein with sighes and lamentations but if shee were at first resolute herein this resolution of hers is exceedingly confirmed when shee sees her father so suddainely married and her mother in law ready to lay downe her great belly especially when shee heareâ—… the reports of his suspicion bruted in Brescia So now shee can no longer containe her selfe but goes to the next Corrigador and reveales him that her father Alibius was the Murtherer of her mother Merilla The Corrigador being a wise and grave Gentleman wondering at this lamentable newes retaines Emelia in his house and writes away to the Podestate of Brescia hereof who receives this news on a Saturday at night The Sunday morning he acquaints the Prefect and chiefest Senators therof who repayre to his house The probabilities and circumstances are strong against Alibius So they all conclude to imprison him he is at the doore ruffling in his garded gown and velvet cap with his silver wand in his hand as if hee were fitter to checke others then to be controuled himselfe wayting to conduct the Podestate to the Domo Alibius little dreames how neere hee is to danger or danger to him hee is by an Isbiere or Serjeant called in to speake with the Podestate and although his conscience inwardly torment him yet hee puts a good or at least a brazen countenance on all and so very cheerefully comes before him at his first arrivall his velvet cap and silver wand those dignified markes of honour and justice are taken from him and consequently his office because these are rewards onely proper to vertue and not to vice hee is examined by those worthy Magistrates who beare gravity in their lookes wisedome in their speeches and justice in their actions Alibius hath many smooth words for the defence of his crime which with the ayd and varnish of his gracefull gesture hee strives to extenuate and palliate but in vaine for hee hath to doe with those Magistrates who cannot bee deluded or carried away either with the sugar of a lye or the charme of an evasion So they commit him close prisoner where hee hath both time and leasure to thinke on the foulenesse of his fact and the unnaturalnesse and barbarisme of his cruelty The Munday following the Corrigadors of Spreare send Emelia to Brescia where the next day the Podestate Prefect and Senators examine her they first exhort her to consider that shee speakes before God and although Alibius bee her earthly father yet he is her heavenly they conjure and sweare her to speake the truth and no more and because they see her a simple illiterated woman they informe her what the vertue and nature of an oath is When Emelia falling on her knees wringing her hands and stedfastly looking up towards heaven she bitterly weeping sighing for a pretty while had not the power to utter a word The Prefect with milde exhortations and speeches encourageth her to speake when with many teares and inrerrupted sighes she at last proffereth these words My father hath often beaten my Mother and even layne her for dead and at other times hee hath given her poyson and hee it is and no other that hath now Murthered her One of the Senators some say it was the Podestate who as much favoured Alibius as hated his crime bade Emelia looke to her conscience and her conscience to God and withall to consider that as Merilla was her Mother so Alibius was her Father Whereat shee bitterly weeping againe said that what she had already spoken was true as shee hoped to injoy any part of heaven So they binding her to give evidence at the great Court of the Province which some foure moneths after was to be held in the Castle of their Citie they dismisse her In which meane time Alibius is visited in prison by divers of his acquaintance yea some of the chiefest Senators themselves afford him that honour and charity they deale with him about his crime but in vaine for hee takes heaven and earth to witnesse that hee is innocent yea hee seemes to bee so religious and conscionable in his speeches as hee drew many of inferiour ranke and understanding to beleeve that his accusation was not true and his imprisonment unjust and false But God will shortly unmaske his hypocrisie and to his shame and confusion lay open and discover to the whole World his unnaturall and bloudy cruelty And now the time is come that the Duke and Seigniory of Venice are used to depute and send forth Criminall Iudges to descend and passe thorow the provinces of their territories and dominions to sit upon all capitall malefactors and to punish them according to their deserts A custome indeed held famous not onely in the Christian but in the whole universall world and whereby the Venetian Sate doth undoubtedly receive both glory vigour and life sith it not onely preserveth their peace and propagateth their tranquillity but also rooteth out and exterminateth all those that by their lewd and dissolute actions seeke to impugne and infringe it Thus these high and Honourable Iudges being in number two for every division having dispatcht their businesse or rather that of the Seigniories in Padua Vincensa Virona and Bergamo are now arrived in Brescia in the Castle whereof which is both beautifull and conspicuous to the eye they keepe their Forum and Tribunall And because this Citie is exempted from the Province as being particularly indowed with a peculiar jurisdiction and honoured with many honourable priviledges and prerogatives therefore Merilla being Murthered in the Province Alibius is fetched out of his first prison and by one of the chiefest and gravest Senators deputed for that purpose by the Podestate and Senate conducted and conveyed to the Castle there to bee arraigned by those two great Iudges and although this aforesaid Senator was so wise and religious as
broth and poyson she gave her Master Shee bitterly sighing and weeping confesseth the broath but denies the poyson vowing by hâ—…r part and hope of heaven shee never touched nor knâ—…w what poyson was and desired no favour of them if it were found or proovâ—…d against heâ—… withall she acquaints them that she feares it is a tricke of malice and revenge clapt on her by her Lady Victoryna for the discovery of Sypontus his letter And to speake truth the Iudges in their hearts partly adhere and concurre with her in this opinion they demand her whether her Lady Victoryna touched this broath either by the fire or the bed Shee according to the truth answers that to her knowledge or sight she touched it not nor no other but her selfe So they send her againe to prison and returâ—…e speedily to Fassino his house where committing Victoryna to a sure guard they ascend her chamber and closet search all her trunkes caskets and boxes for poyson but find none and the like they doe to Felicia's trunkes which they breake open shee having the key and in a boxe find a quantitie of the same poyson whereby it was apparant shee absolutely poysoned her Master Fassino The Iudges having thus found out and revealed as they thought the true author of this murther they descend againe examine Victoryna and so acquit her Poore Felicia is advertised hereof whereat shee is amazed and astonished and thinkes that some witch or devill cast it there for her destruction Shee is againe sent for before her Iudges who produce the poyson found in her trunke she denies both the poyson and the murther with many sighs and teares so they adjudge her to the racke whâ—…ch torment she suffereth with much patience and constancie notwithstanding her Iudges considering that shee made and gave Fassino the broath that none touched it but her selfe that hee dyed of it and that they found the remainder of the poyson in her trunke they thinke her the murtherer so they pronounce sentence that the next morne shee shall bee hanged at Saint Markes place Shee poore soule is returned to her prison she bewailes her misfortune thus to die and be cast away innocently taxing her Iudges of injustice as her soule is ready to answere it to God All Venice pratleth of this cruell murther committed by this yong Gentlewoman but for her Lady Victoryna shee triumphs and laughs like a Gypsey to see how with one stone shee hath given two strokes and how one poore drug hath freed her this day of her husband Fassino and will to morrow of Felicia of whom she rejoyceth in her selfe that now shee hath cryed quittance for the discovery of Sypontus his Letter which procured his death but her hopes may deceive her or rather the devill will deceive both her and her hopes too How true or false righteous or sinfull our actions bee God in his due time will make them appeare in their naked colours and reward those with glory and these with shame The next morne according to the laudable custome of Venice the mourners of the Seigniory accompany our sorrowfull Felicia to the place of execution where she modestly ascendeth the ladder with much silence pensivenesse affliction at the sight of whose youth and beautie most of that great infinitie of Spectators cannot refraine from teares and commiserating and pitying that so sweet a young Gentlewoman should come to so infamous and untimely a death when Felicia lifting up her hands and erecting her eyes and heart towards heaven she briefly speaks to this effect Sheetakes Heaven earth to witnesse that she is innocent of the poysoning of her Master Fassino and ignorant how that poyson should bee brought into her Trunke that as her knowledge cannot accuse so her Conscience will not acquit her Lady Victorina of that fact onely she leaves the detection and judgement thereof to God that being ready to forsake the world siâ—…h the world is resolved to forsake her shee as much triumphs in her innocencie as grieves at her misfortune and that she may not only appeare in Earth but be found in Heaven a true Christian shee first forgives her Lady Victorina and her Iudges and then beseecheth God to forgive her all her sinnes whereunto shee humbly and heartily prayes all that are present to adde their prayers to hers and so shee begins to take off her band and to prepare her selfe to die Now Christian Reader what humane wisdome or earthly capacitie would here conceive or thinke that there were any sublunary meanes left for this comfortlesse Gentlewoman Felicia either to hope for life or to flatter her selfe that she could avoid death But loe as the children of God cannot fall because he is the defender of the innocent and the protector of the righteous therefore we shall see to our comforts and finde to Gods glory that this innocent yong Gentlewoman shall be miraculously freed of her dangers and punishment and her inveterate arch enemy Victoryna brought in her stead to receive this shamefull death in expiation of the horrible murthers of her two husbands which God will now discover and make apparant to the eyes of the world for as the Fryers and Nunnes prepare Felicia to take her last farewell of this world and so to shut up her life in the direfull and mournfull Catastrophe of her death Behold by the providence and mercie of God the Apothecarie Augustino of whom this ouâ—… Historie hath formerly made an honest and religious mention arrives from Cape â—…stria and having left his ship at Malmocco lands in a Gondola at Saint Markes stayres when knowing and seeing an execution towards he thrusts himselfe in amongst the crowd of people where beholding so young and so faire a Gentlewoman ready to die he demaunds of those next by him what shee was and her crime when being answered that her name was Felicia a wayting Gentlewoman to the Lady â—…orina who had poysoued her Master Fassino at the very first report of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Victoryna and her husband Fassino Augustino his blood flasheth up in his face and his heart began to beat within him when demanding if no other were accessary to this murther hee was informed that her Lady Victoryna was vehemently suspected thereof but she was cleared and onely Felicia this young Gentlewoman found guiltie thereof which words were no sooner delivered him but God putting into his heart and remembrance that this Lady Vectorina would have formerly seduced him for three hundred Zeckynes to have poysoned her husband Fassino hee confidently beleeving this young Gentlewoman innocent heereof with all possible speed as fast as his legges could drive hee runnes up to the Southeast part of the corner of the Gallery of the Dukes Palace where the Officers sit to see execution done the which he requesteth for that time to stop because he hath something to say concerning the murther of Signiour Fassino Whereupon they call out to the Executioner to forbeare which bâ—…ed infâ—… admiration
joyfull to Berinthia onely it nipt Catalina's hopes because shee could not understand by him any certaine resolution or assurance of his Masters comming thither Diego hath no sooner saluted his Ansilva but as his more important businesse hee seekes meanes to speake with Berinthia which shee her selfe proffereth him he delivers her his Masters tokens and letter which shâ—…e very joyfully receiveth and so trips away to her chamber where opening the seales shee therein finds these words ANTONIO to BERINTHIA IT is impossible for my penne to expresse the joyes my heart received at the reading of thy Letter and as I dispraise not thy obedience to thy Father so I infinitely both praise and prize thy affection to mee a thousand times I kissed thy lines and as often blest the hand that wrote them and although they gave mee hope for despaire yet not to dissemble these hopes have brought mee doubt and that doubt feare not that thou lovest mee for that were to disparage â—…y judgement in seeking to prophane thy affection but that thou wilt not please to accept of my promise nor to returne mee thine wherein if thou weigh the fervencie of my love I hope thou wilt not taxe the incredulitie of my feare for till I am so happie not onely to hope but to assure my selfe that Berinthia will bee Antonio's as Antonio is alreadie Berinthia's I must needs feare and therefore cannot truely rejoyce I have left Lisbone to reside at Elvas therefore faire and deare Lady I beseech thee destinate mee dispose my service and commaund both I long to enjoy the felicitie of thy presence for I take heaven to witnesse thy absence is my hell upon earth ANTONIO Berinthia having read this Letter shee approoves of Antonio's feare and attributes it to the fervencie and sinceritie of his affection shee esteemes her selfe infinitely happy in her good fortune and choyce of so brave a Cavalier for her servant whom shee hopes a little time will make her husband to which end shee will no longer feed him with delayes but now resolves by his Page Diego at his returne to signifie him so much and in a word to send him her heart as shee hath already received his But shee knowes not what the Interim of this time will bring forth Passe wee from Berinthia to her Sister Catalina whose affection is likewise such to Antonio as by this time shee hath perswaded and induced her Father Vilarezo to write him a Letter in her behalfe by Diego thereby to draw his resolution whether hee intend to seeke her for his wife or no or at least to invite him to Avero And although his affection to her sister Berinthia be kept from her yet she not onely suspects but feares it Glad shee is of the opportunitie of Diego his being there to convey her Fathers Letter to his Master and yet that joy of hers is soone dissolved into griefe because all this time he never vouchsafed to write to her her affection to him flattreth her still with hope and yet her judgement in her selfe still suggesteth her despaire for shee hath alwayes the image of this conceit in her imagination that Antonio loves her Sister Berinthia and not her selfe her suspicion makes her subtill and so shee deales with Ansilva to draw the truth heere of from Diego who having learned his lesson acteth his part well and I know not whether with more fidelitie or discretion flatly denies it but loe here betides an accident which bewrayes the whole mysterie and History of their affections On a Sunday morning when Berinthia was descended to the garden to gather flowers against her going to Church with her Father and Mother her Sister Catalina rusheth into her Chamber to seeke the Historie of Cervantez which the day before shee had lent her and not finding it either on the Table or the Window seekes in the pocket of her gowne that shee wore the day before and there unwittingly and unexpectedly finds the last Letter that Antonio had sent her whereby shee perceived it was in vaine for her to hope to enjoy Antonio sith shee now apparantly saw that hee was her sister Berinthia's and shee his Catalina is hereat both sorrowfull and glad sorrowfull that shee should lose Antonio and glad that shee had found his Letter And now to shew her affection to him and her malice to her sister shee will trie her wits to see whether shee can frustrate Berinthia and so obtaine Antonio for her selfe The passions of men may easily be found out and detected but the secrets and malice of women difficultly To which end Catalina shewes this letter to her Father who exceedingly stormes hereat and with many checkes and frownes curbes Berinthia of her libertie and resolves in his first letter to Antonio to forbid hiâ—… his house and her company except hee will leave Berinthia and take Catalina and suspecting that his Page Diego's courting of Ansilva was but onely a policie and colour thereby to convey Letters betwixt his daughter Berinthia and his Master he once thought to give him his Conge and prohibit him his house had not Catalina prayed the contrary who would no way displease her wayting-Gentlewoman Ansilva because she was to use her aid and assistance in a matter of great importance the unlocking and dilating whereof is thus Catalina her affection to Antonio and consequently her malice to her sister Berinthiâ—… is so violent that as her father hath bereaved her of a great part of her libertie so she is so bloudy and cruell as she vowes to deprive her of her life a hellish resolution iâ—… any woman but a most unnaturall and damnable attempt of one Sister to another but wanting Faith which is the foundation and bulwarke and Religion which is the preservative and Antidote of our soules she runnes so wilfully hood-wink'd from God to the devill as she will advance and disdaines to retire till her malicious and jealous thirst be quenched with her sisters blood to which end she perswades and bribes Ansilva with a hundred duckets to poyson her sister Berinthia and promiseth her so much more when she hath effected it whereunto this wretched and execrable yong waiting Gentlewoman consenteth and in briefe promiseth to performe it But God hath otherwise decreed and ordained To which end she sends into the City for some strong poyson by an unknowne messenger which is instantly brought her in a small galley pot But let us heere both admire and wonder at Gods miraculous discovery and prevention thereof For that very night when Ansilva had determinately resolved to have poysoned the Lady Berinthia Diego seekes out his Mistresse Ansilva and finds her solitarily alone in one of the close over-shadowed Bowers of the garden whom hee salutes and entertaine with many amorous discourses and more kisses in the middest whereof his nose fell suddenly on bleeding whereat hee admired and shee grie ved till at last having bloodied all his owne handkerchiefe Ansilva rusheth hastily tâ—… her pocket
Murther and with many teares repents herselfe of it adding withall that her affection to Antonio led her to this revenge on her brother and therfore beseecheth her Iudges to have compassion on her youth But the foulenesse of her fact in those grave and just personages wipes off the fairenesse of her request So they consult and pronounce Sentence against her That for expiation of this her cruel murther on the person of her brother she the next morne shall bee hanged in the publike Market place So all praise God for the detection of this lamentable Murther and for the condemnation of this execrable Murtheresse and those who before looked on her youth and beauty with pitty now behold her foule crime with hatred and detestation and as they applaud the sincerity of her former affection to Antonio so they farre more detest and condemne this her inhumane cruelty to her owne brother Sebastiano But what griefe is there comparable to that of her Father and Mother whose age content and patience is not onely battered but razed downe with the severall assaults of affliction so as they wish themselves buryed or that their Children had beene unborne for it is rather a torment then a griefe to them that they whom they hoped would have beene props and comforts to their age should now prove instruments and subjects to shorten their dayes and consequently to draw their age to the miseries of an untimely and sorrowfull grave But although they have tasted a world of griefe and anxiety first for the death of their Daughter Catalina and then of their onely Sonne Sebastiano yet it pierceth them to the hâ—…rt and gall that this their last Daughter and Child Berinthia should passe by the passage of a halter and end her dayes upon so ignominious and shamefull a Stage as the Gallowes which would adde a blemish to the lustre of their bloud and posterity that time could never have power either to wipe off or wash away which to prevent Vilarezo and his wife Alphanta use all their friends and mortall powers towards the Iudges to convert their Daughters Sentence into a lesse shamefull and more honourable death So although the Gallowes bee erected Berinthia prepared to dye and a world of people yea in a manner the whole people of Avero concurr'd and seated to see her now take her last farewell of the world yet the importunacie and misery of her parents her owne descent youth and beauty as also her endâ—…ered affection and servent love to her Lover Antonio at last obtaine compassion and favour of her Iudges So they revoke and change their former decree and sweeten the rigour thereof with one more honourable and milde and lesse sharpe bitter and shamefull and definitively adjudge her to be immured up betwixt two walls and there with a slender dyet to end the remainder of her dayes And this Sentence is speedily put in execution whereat her parents friends and acquaintance yea all that knew her very bitterly grieve and lament and farre the more in respect they cannot be permitted to see or visit her or shee them onely the Physicians and Divines have admittance and accesse to her those to provide earthly physicke for her body and these spirituall for her soule And in this lamentable estate she is very penitent and repentant for all her sinnes in generall and for this her vile murther of her Brother in particular yea a little imprisonment or rather the spirit of God hath opened the eyes of her faith who now defying the Devill who had seduced and drawne her hereunto shee makes her peace with God and assures her selfe that her true repentance hath made hers with him So unaccustomed to bee pent up in so strait and darke a Mew the yellow Iaundies and a burning Feaver surprise her and so she ends her miserable dayes Lo these are the bitter fruits of Revenge and Murther which the undertakers by the just judgement of God are inforced to tast and swallow downe when in the heat of their youth and height of their impiety they least dreame or thinke thereof by the sight of which great effusion of bloud yea by all these varieties of mournefull and fatall accidents if wee will divorce our thoughts from Hell to Earth and wed our contemplations and affections from Earth to Heaven wee shall then as true Christians and sonnes of the eternall God runne the race of our mortality in peace in this world and consequently bee rewarded with a glorious Crowne of immortall felicity in that to come GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND EXEcrable sinne of Murther HISTORIE VIII Belluile treacherously murthereth Poligny in the street Laurieta Poligny's Mistris betrayeth Belluile to her Chamber and there in revenge shoots him thorow the body with a Pistoll when assisted by her Wayting-Mayd Lucilla they likewise give him many wounds with a Ponyard and so murther him Lucilla flying for this fact is drowned in a Lake and Laurieta is taken hang'd and burnt for the same IT is an infallible Maxime that if wee open our hearts to sinne we shut them to godlinesse for as soone as wee follow Satan God flies from us because we first fled from him but that his mercie may shine in our ingratitude hee by his servants his holy Spirit and himselfe seekes all meanes to reclaime us as well from the vanitie of our thoughts as from the prophanenesse and impuritie of our actions but if wee become obstinate and obdurate in our transgressions and so like Heathens fall from vice to vice whereas wee should as Christians grow up from vertue to vertue then it is not hee but our selves that make ship wracke both of our selves and soules of our selves in this life of our soules in that to come then which no misery can bee so great none so unfortunate and miserable It is true the best of Gods children are subject to sinne but to delight and persevere therein is the true way as well to hell as death All have not the gift of pure and chaste thoughts neither can wee so conserve or sanctifie our bodies but that concupiscence may and will sometimes assayle us or rather the devill in it but to pollute them with fornication and to transforme them from the Temples of the holy Ghost to the members of a harlot this though corrupt Nature seeme to allow or tolerate yet Grace doth not onely deny but detest But as one sinne is seldome without another either at her heeles or elbow so too too often it falles out that Mâ—…rther accompanieth Fornication and Adulterie as if one of these foule crimes were not enough to make us miserable but that in stead of going wee will needs ride poast to hell A woefull President and lamentable and mournfull Example whereof I heere produce to the view of the world in three unfortunate personages in a lascivious Ladie and two lewd and debosht young Gentlemen who all very lamentably cast themselves away upon the Sylla of Fornication and the
Charybdis of Murther for they found the fruits and end of their beastly pleasures farre more bitter then their beginning was sweet yea and because at first they would not looke on repentance at last shame lookes on them and they when it is too late both on a miserable shame and a shamefull misery May we all reade it to Gods glory and consequently to the reformation of our lives and the consolation and salvation of our owne soules IN the beautifull Citie of Avignion seated in the Kingdome of France and in the Province of Provence being the Capitall of the Dutchie of Venissa belonging to the Pope and wherein for the terme of welneere eightie yeeres they held their Pontificall See there dwelt a young Gentlewoman of some twentie yeeres of age tearmed Madamoyselle Laurieta whose father and mother being dead was left alone to her selfe their onely childe and heire being richer in beautie then lands and indued with many excellent qualities and perfections which gave grace and lustre to her beautie as her beautie did to them For shee spake the Latine and Italian tongue perfect was very expert and excellent in singing dancing musicke painting and the like which made her famous in that Citie But as there needs but one vice to eclipse and drowne many vertues so this faire Laurieta was more beautifull then chaste and not halfe so modest as lascivious It is as great a happinesse for children to enjoy their Parents as a miserie to want them For Laurieta's Father and Mother had been infinitely carefull and curious to traine her up in the Schoole of Vertue and Pietie and wherein her youth had during the terme of their lives made a happie entrance and as I may say a fortunate and glorious progression But when God the great Moderator and soveraigne Iudge of the world had in his eternall Decree and sacred Providence taken them out of this world then Laurieta was left to the wide world and to the vanitie thereof without guide or governour exposed to the varietie of the fortunes or rather the misfortunes of the times as a Ship without Pilot â—…r Helme subject to the mercy of every mercilesse winde and wave of the Sea yea and then it was that shee forgot her former modestie and chastitie and now began to adore the Shrines of Venus and Cupid by polluting and prostituting her body to the beastly pleasures of lust and forâ—…cation wherein it grieves mee to relate shee tooke a great delight and felicitie But shee shall pay deare for this bitter-sweet vice of hers yea and though it seeme to begin in content and pleasure yet wee shall assuredly see it end in shame repentance and misery for this sinne of Whoredome betrayes when it seemes to delight us and strangleth when it makes greatest shew to imbrace us so sweet and pure vertues are modestie and chastitie so foule and fatall vices are concupiscence and lust But hee with whom shee was most familiar and to whom shee imparted the greatest part of her favours was to one Monsieur de Belluile a proper yong Gentleman dwelling neere the Citie of Arles by birth and extraction noble but otherwise more rich then wise who comming to Avignion no sooner saw Laurieta but hee both gloried in the sight of her singular and triumphed in the contemplation of her exquisite and incomparable beautie making that his best content and this his sweetest felicitie that his soveraigne good and this his heaven upon earth so as losing himselfe in the labyrinth of her beautie and as it were drowning his thoughts in the sea of his concupiscence and sensualitie hee spends not onely his whole time but a great part of his wealth in wantonizing and entertaining her a vicious and foule fault not onely peculiar to Belluile but incident and fatall to too many Gallants as well of most parts of Christendome in generall as of France in particular it being indeed a disasterous and dangerous rocke whereon many inconsiderate and wretched Gentlemen have suffered shipwrack not only of their reputations healths and estates but many times of theiâ—… lives In the meane time Laurieta more jealous of her same then carefull to preserve her chastitie is advertised that Belluile is not content to cull the dainties of her beautie and youth but hee forgets himselfe and his discretion so farre as to vaunt thereof by letting fall some speeches tending to the blemish and disparagement of her honour so as vaine and lascivious as shee is yet the touching of this string affords her harsh and distastfull melodie For shee will seeke to cover her shame by her hypocrisie and so resolves to make him know the foulenesse of his offence in that of his basenesse and ingratitude To which end at her first interview and meeting of him shee not onely checks him for it but forbids and banisheth him her company which indeed had been a just cause and opportunitie for him to have converted his lust into chastitie and his folly into repentance But hee is too dissolute and vicious to bee so happily reclaimed from Laurieta and therefore hee is resolved not onely to justifie his innocencie but thereby also to persevere in his sinne Hee is acquainted with many Gentlemen who forgetting themselves conceive a felicitie and glory to erect the trophees of their vanities upon the disparagement of Ladies honours yea he seemes to be so farre from being guiltie of this errour as hee taxeth and condemnes others in being guiltie or accessary thereunto So although his Mistresse Laurieta remaine still coy strange and haggard to him yet hee persevereth in his affection to her who at last judging of his innocencie by his constancie and of that by his many letters and presents which hee still sent her as also observing that she had no firme grounds nor could produce any pregnant or valable witnesses of this report shee againe exchangeth her frownes into smiles and so receives and intertaines him into her favour onely with this premonition and caution That if ever heereafter shee heard of his folly or ingratitude in this kinde shee would never looke him in the face except with contempt and detestation So these their dis-joynted affections as well by oathes as protestations are againe confirmed and cimented but such lustfull contracts and lascivious familiarities and sympathies seldome or never make prosperous ends Now to give forme and life to this Historie Not long after a brave young Gentleman of Mompillier named Monsieur de Poligny having some occasion comes to Avignion who frequenting their publike Balles or Dancings no sooner saw our faire and beautifull Laurieta but hee falls in love with her and salutes and courts her and from thencefoorth deemes her so fayre as hee useth all meanes to become her servant but not in the way of honour and Marriage rather with a purpose to make her his Courtezan then his Wife But hee sees himselfe deceived in the irregular passion of his affection for Laurieta is averse and will not bee
purpose if need should require which Lucilla promiseth Now this night as Belluile could not sleepe for joy so could not Laurieta for revenge who is so weighed downe to malice and murther as she wisheth the houre come for her to reduce her devillish contemplation into bloody action But this houre shall come too soone for them both for as Lovers are impatient of delayes so Belluile hath no sooner dined but taking his horse and two Lackeyes hee sayes he will take the aire of the fields that afternoone but will first call in and see his Mistresse Laurieta So hee alights at her doore and without the least feare of danger or apprehension of death very joyfully ascends Laurietâ—…'s chamber who dissembling wretch as shee is very kindly meets and receives him and the better to smother and dissemble her murtherous intent is not onely prodigall in taking but in giving him kisses Belluile like a dissolute and lascivious Gentleman whispers Laurieta in her eare that hee is come to receive the fruits of his hopes and of her promise and curtesie when considering that his horse and two Lackyes were at doore she returnes him this in his eare that she is wholly his and that it is out of her power to denye or refuse him any thing onely shee prayes him to send away his Lackeyes because their familiarity needed no witnesses Thus whiles hee calls them up to bid them carry away his horse to the gate that leades to Marseilles and there to awayt his comming Laurieta steps to her Wayting-mayd Lucilla and bids her make ready her Ponyard and stand close to her for now quoth she the houre is come that I will be revenged of Belluile for my Poligny's death the which she had no sooner spoken but Belluile returnes to her when redoubling his kisses hee little or rather not at all fearing he was so neere death or death him being ready to retire himselfe to a withdrawing Chamber which Laurieta treacherously informed him she had purposely provided for him he takes his Pistoll and layes it on the Table of the outer Chamber wherein they then were which shee espying as the instrument she infinitely desired to finger takes it in her hand and prayes him to shew her how to shoote it off so taking it from her he told her if shee pleased hee would discharge it before her for her sake Why quoth she is it charg'd Yea replyes Belluile with a single bullet Nay then quoth Laurieta put in one bullet more and if you can espye any Crow out of the window either on the house or Church top if it please you I will play the man and shoot at it for your sake When poore Belluile desirous to please her in any thing looks out the window and espies two Crowes on the crosse of the Augustine Fryers Church which he very joyfully relates Laurieta and so at her request claps in a second bullet more for quoth â—…he if I strike not both I will be sure to pay one and so prayes him to leane out at window to see how neere shee could feather them which miserable Gentleman he performing the Pistoll being bent shee behind him dischargeth it directly in his own reines Whereat he amazedly staggering Lucilla seconding her bloody Mistresse steps to him and with her Ponyard gives him five or sixe wounds thorow the body so as without speaking or groaning he falls dead at their feet Whereat Laurieta triumphing and leaping for joy uttereth these bloudy and prophane speeches O Poligny whiles thou art in heaven thus have I done in earth for thy sake and in revenge of thy cruell death Which having performed they more cruelly then cruelty her selfe drag his breathlesse carkasse reeking in his bloud downe the stayres into a low obscure Cellar where making a shallow grave they there bury him in his clothes and so pile up a great quantity of Billets on him as if that wooden monument had power to conceale their Murther and his body from the eyes and suspicion of all the world Good God! what devills incarnate and infernall Furies are these thus to imbrue their hands in the blood of this Gentleman But as close as they act and contrive this their bloody and inhumane Murther on earth yet heaven will both detect and revenge it for when they least dreame thereof Gods wrath and vengeance will surprise them to their utter confusion and destruction and it may be sooner then they are aware of For the two Lackeyes having stayed at the City gate with their Masters horse till night they returne and seeke him at Laurieta's house where they left him Laurieta informes them hee stayed not an houre after them and since shee saw him not which newes doth infinitely afflict and vexe them But they returne to his lodging and like duetifull and faithfull servants betwixt hope and feare awayt his returne that night and all the next day but in vaine And now they beginne to be amazed at his long and unaccustomed absence and so consult this important businesse to some Gentlemen their Masters confident and intimate friends who together with them repayre to Laurieta's house and againe and againe demand her for Mounsieur de Belluile but they finde her constant in her first answer and yet guided by the finger and providence of God they bewray a kinde of perturbation in her lookes and discover some distraction and extavagancie in her speeches whereupon calling to their mindes her former discourtesie to him for Poligny's sake and his fighting with him on the Bridge for hers as also this sudden and violent suspected murther of him they suspect and feare there is more in the winde then as yet they know and so acquaint the Criminall Iudges herewith who as wise Senatours having severally examined both her and her Mayd Lucilla and Belluile's Lackeyes they conclude to imprison Laurieta which is instantly performed whereat she is extreamly amazed and terrifyed but howsoever she is resolute to deny all and constant to stand upon her justification and innocencie So her Iudges adjudge her to the torments of the Racke which with a masculine yea with a hellish fortitude shee indureth without revealing the least shaddow either of feare or guiltinesse but they detaine her still prisoner and hope that God will make time discover the Murther of Belluile for eight dayes being now past they are become confident that hee is not in this world but in another In the meane time her bloudy Wayting-mayd Lucilla hath continuall recourse to her Lady Laurieta in prison where like impious and prophane wretches they interchangeably sweare secrecie each to other sith on eithers discovery depends no lesse then both their deaths Whiles this newes is generally divulged in Avignion Provence Daulphine and Langueâ—…k and no newes at all to be had or gathered of Belluile La Palaisiere who shined with as many vertues as Lâ—…urieta was obscured with Vices out of compassion and Christian charity some three weeks after visiteth Laurieta in
with many fearefull imprecations and asseverations stands peremptorily in her innocencie and out of the heat of her malice and choller termes them devills or witches that are her accusers But her Iudges who can no longer be deluded with her vowes nor will no more give eare to her perfidious oaths command to have her Paps seared off with hot burning Pincers thereby to vindicate the truth of her cruell murther from the falsehood of her impious and impudent denyall thereof Whereat amazed and astonished and seeing this cruell torment ready to bee inflicted and presented her God was so indulgent to her sinnes and so mercifull to her soule as the devill flying from her and she from his temptations shee rayning downe many rivolets and showres of teares from her eyes and evaporating many volleyes of sighes from her heart throwing her selfe downe on her knees to the earth and lifting up her eyes and handes unto Heaven with much bewayling and bitternesse shee at last confesseth to her Iudges that shee and her Wayting-mayd Lucilla were the murtherers of Belluile and for the which shee sayd that through her humble contrition and hearty repentance shee hoped that God would pardon her soule in the life to come though shee knew they would not her body in this Whereupon the Iudges in horrour and execration of her inhumane and bloudy crime pronounce sentence of death upon her and condemne her the next day after dinner first to be hanged then burnt in the same street right against her lodging Monsieur de Richcourts house and likewise sith Lucilla was both an accessary and actour in this bloudy Tragedy that her body should be taken up out of her Grave and likewise burnt with hers in the same fire which accordingly was executed in the presence of an infinite number of people both of the Citizens and adjacent neighbours of Avignion Laurieta uttering upon the Ladder a short but a most Christian and penitent speech to the people tending first to disswade them all by her example from those foule and crying sinnes of whoredome revenge and murther and then to request and perswade them that they would assist her with their religious and devout prayers in her soules passage and flight towards Heaven yet adding withall that as her crime so her griefe was redoubled because as she had killed Belluile for Poligny's sake so she was sure that Belluile had killed Poligny for hers And thus Christian Reader were the dissolute lives and mournefull deaths of these two unfortunate Gentlemen Poligny and Belluile and of this lascivious and bloudy Curâ—…izan Laurieta and her Wayting-mayd Lucilla A tragicall History worthy both of our observation and detestation and indeed these are the bitter fruits of Lust Whoreâ—…ome and Revenge and the inseparable companions which infallibly awayt and attend them the very sight and consideration whereof are capable not onely to administer consolation to the righteous but to strike terror to the ungodly O therefore that wee may all beware by these their fatall and dangerous sinnes for this is the onely perfect and true way to prevent and avoyde their punishments GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND EXEcrable sinne of Murther HISTORIE IX Iacomo de Castelnovo Iustfully falls in love with his daughter in law Perina his owne sonne Francisco de Castelnovo's Wife whom to injoy he causeth Ierantha first to poyson his owne Lady Fidelia and then his said son Francisco de Castelnovo in revenge whereof Perina treacherously murthereth him in his bed Ierantha ready to dye in travell of child confesseth her two Murthers for the which she is bang'd and burnt Perina hath her right hand cut off and is condemned to perpetuall imprisonment where she sorrowfully languisheth and dyes WEe need not send our curiosity or our curiosity us to seek Tygers and Monsters in Africa for Europe hath but too many who are so cruell and inhumane not only to imbrue but to imbath themselves in the innocent bloud of their Christian brethren And as Religion prohibites us to kill and commands us to love our enemies with what audacious and prophane impiety dare wee then murther our friends nay those of our owne bloud and who are the greatest part of our selves And although Italy have lately afforded many tragicall presidents and fearefull Examples of this nature wheâ—…of I have given some to my former and reserved others to my future bookes yet in my conceipt it hath produced none more bloudy and inhumane then this whether we respect the Murthers or the persons For here wee shall see a wretched and execrable old man so besotted in lust and flaming in malice and revenge as being both a husband and a father hee by a hellish young Gentlewoman his strumpet poysonâ—…th both his owne wife and his owne sonne It was his vanity which first inkindled the fire of his lust it is then his Impiety which gives way to the Devill to blow the coales thereto and so to convert it into Murther O that Sinne should so triumph o're Grace and not Grace o're Sinne O that Age and Nature should not teach us to bee lesse bloudy and more compassionate and charitable And alas alas by Poyson that drug of the Devill who first brought the damnable invention thereof from hell to be practised here on earth onely by his agents and members Wee shall likewise see him killed by his daughter in law for formerly poysoning of her husband Lust seduced him to perpetraâ—…e those Affection or rather bloudy Revenge drew her on to performe this and consequently to her punishment due for the same Had they had more Grace and Religion they would not have beene so inhumane but falling from that no marvell if they fell to be so wretched and miserable for if we die well we seldome live ill if live ill we usually never die well for it is the end that crowns the beginning not the beginning the end Therfore if we will be happy in our lives and blessed in our deaths we must follow Vertue and flie from Vice love Chastity and Charity and hate Lust and Envie preferre Heaven before Earth our Soules before our Bodies and defie Satan with a holy resolution both to feare and love God SAvoy is the Countrey and Nice the City seated upon the Mediterraneâ—…m Sea being the strongest Bulwarke against France and the best Forâ—…resse and Key of Italy where the Scene of this insuing Tragicall History is layd the which to refetch from the Head-spring and Fountaine of its originall it must carry our curiosity and understanding over those famous Mountaines the Alpes and from thence to the City of Saint Iohn de Mauriena where of late and fresh memory dwelt an aged Gentleman of rich revenues and great wealth named Seignior Antonio de Arconeto who had newly by his deceased Wife the Lady Eleanora de Bibanti two Children to wit a Son and a Daughter that named Seignior Alexandro and this the Lady Perina a little different in yeares for he was eighteen and
she but fifteen but more in qualities and conditions for he was by nature perverse and chollericke but she milde courteous and gracious Againe they differed much in the lineaments and proportion of their bodies for Alexandro like his Father was short crook-backt and hard-favour'd and Perina resembling her mother tall straight-wasted and faire so as it being a principle and Maxime in Nature that parents for the most part love those Children best who best resemble them as the mother Eleanora preferr'd Perina in her affection before Alexandro so contrariwise their father Arconeto did Alexandro before Perina But as God had called Eleanora out of this life and left her husband Arconeto to survive her so Alexandro's joy prov'd his sister Perina's miseâ—…y and affliction for he was so happy to see himself tenderly cherished and affected and she so unfortunate to perceive her selfe slighted and disrespected of her father wherein as I praise Arconeto's intimate love to his sonne so I cannot but discommend and withall pitty his immerited and unnatural neglect to his daughter wherein as Alexandro triumphed in the one judge judicious Reader if Perina had not cause enough to grieve and lament at the other But as the drift and scope of this History looks another way so for my part who have uâ—…dertaken to pen it it is the least of my intent 〈◊〉 purpose to give instructions and direction how parents should beare themselves in their affections towards their children onely because I may not here too palpably bewray mine ignorance in my silence I hope nay I am confident that with as much truth aâ—… safety I may conclude it is a happinesse both for parens and children where parents beare their affâ—…ctions equally to their children for loving one and hating another the joy of the one proves oftentimes the others sorrow and in giving that too mucâ—… hope we many times administer this too much cause of despaire or if the inclinations and affâ—…ctions of parents be more narrowly tyed and strictly linked to preferre and love one child above the other yet sith they are the equall issue of their loynes and wee the onely parents of their youth wee should bee as well cautious in the distribution of our favors a in the demonstration of our disrespects towards them But enough of this digression and now againe to our Hâ—…story As Alexandro growes up in yeares so he doth in ambition and ostentation for if he play the Bravâ—…sho abroad among Gentlemen and Ladies so authorizd by his fathers hatred of his sister he at home becomes a petty tyrant to her yea his carriage is so sterne and imperious towards her as if she were rather his slave then his sister or his laundres and hand-mayd then any part of himselfe which notwithstanding it was both a daily griefe to her heart and a continuall torment to her thoughts yet Perina's sweet perfections and gracious vertues and behavior make her digest and brook all with wonderfull constancie and an admirable patience for wel she knowes that if she should complain 〈◊〉 her father of her brothers unkindnes towards her she should thereby reape no other remedy and redresse but this that the one would laugh and the other triumph thereat and that the issue therof would proove her complaints to be the May game of the one and mocking-stock of the other But God hath ordayned briefly to ease her of a great part of her undeserved discontents and afflictions for lo her brother Alexandro debauching and surfeting at a Banquet at Susa returnes home surprised of a hot pestilent Fever which notwithstanding the care of his Father or the art of his expertest Physicians hee in three dayes is taken out of this life And now guided by the light of nature and the instinct of common sense and reason who would not surmise or thinke but that Arconeto having buryed his sonne Alexandro should now love his onely daughter and child Perina farre dearer and tenderer then before But alas nothing lesse for hee is not so kinde and therefore shee cannot be so happy yea which is worse although his words be her commands and his pleasure her law yet hee contemnes both her and her obedience and never lookes on her with love and affection but still with disdaine and envie yea in a word his distast is so extreame and bitter against her as hee is never best pleased then when shee is furthest from him so as her absence may delight and content him but her presence cannot Which unnaturall disrespect and unjust cruelty of her father towards her doth so nip the joyes of her youth and the blossomes of her health and beauty as poore young Gentlewoman she becomes infinite melancholly and extreme weake and sickly which being observed and pittyed of all her kinsfolkes and friends as being her Fathers onely child and heire to all his Lands and Riches an Aunt of hers being her mothers sister and likewise her God-mother termed the Lady Dominica a Widow-woman of the same City workes so with her brother in law Arconeto that hee is content to permit his daughter Perina to reside and dwell with her whereat as the Aunt is not a little glad so the Neece beyond measure infinitely rejoyceth and triumphs thereat both hoping that her absence may and will procure her fathers affection which her presence could not and that having more liberty and lesse bondage shee might againe in a short time recover her former health and content or else that God out of his divine providence and pleasure in heaven might call and allot her out some gallant Husband here on earth with whom in the contents and pleasures of Marriage shee might end her future dayes in as much tranquillity and felicity as she had formerly lived in discontent and affliction and indeed the events though not in the first yet in the two last poynts answereth their expectations The Lady Dominica hath formerly contracted a Daughter of hers named Dona Bertha to a Cavallier of the City of Nice termed Seignior Bartholomeâ—… Spelassi by descent noble and of good revennues and wealth And now the appoynted time is come for their Marriage to which end up comes Spelassi from Nice to Saint Iohn de Mauriene assisted and followed by many gallant young Gentlemen of his kinsfolks and friends and in a word with a Trayne well befitting his ranke and quality where these Nuptialls are solemnized with great variety of pompe and pleasure as Feasting Dancing Masks Running at the Ring and the like for in these amorous and Court-like Revels the Savoyards as participating both of the French and Italian humours take a singular delight and felicity But as many times one Wedding occasioneth and produceth another so Fortune or to speake more properly and truely God ordayned that the Lady Dominica appoynted her Neece Perina to conduct the Bride-groome her Sonne in law Spelassi to the Church and hee had allotted one of the noblest and eminent Cavalliers that came with him named
Seignior Francisco de Castelnovo to performe the same ceremonie to his Bride the Dona Bertha being a Knight of Malta native of the City of Nice and son and heire to Seignior Iacomo de Castelâ—…o a very anâ—… feâ—…t and rich Baron of Savoy Now as Perina was a most beautifull and â—…aire young Lady so was our young Castelnovo a very proper and gallant Cavallier and sith the occasion of this Marriage and the fortunacie and opportunity of their united office by a kinde of destinated and happy priviledge authorized each to be familiar in the others company and presence so as Lovers beginne to court first in jest then in earnest the hearts and brests of this sweet young couple are in the end equally surprised with the flame of affection yea his personage and dancing and her beauty and singing mutually inkindle this fire of love in their thoughts and contemplations which either imagineth and both perceive and understand by the dumbe Oratorie and silent Rhetoricke of their eyes Which Castelnovo knowing her descent and quality answerable to his hee intends to seeke her in Marriage When not any longer to surpresse or conceale their affections they after dinner dancing in company of divers others in the garden he singleth the Lady Perina his new Mistresse apart in a Bower closely overvail'd with Vines Cicamores and Cypres Trees and there 'twixt sighs and words reveales his deepe affection to her But to avoyd the prolixious relation of this their Garden enteâ—…view and conference although at first Perina's modesty the sweetest ornament and vertue of a Lady was such as shee not onely kept her selfe but likewise her affections to her selfe yet her courteous and thankefull answeres wayted and seconded by many delicious blushes and amorous sighes although not publikely yet privately inform'd her I over Castelnovo that shee likewise loved him so as during the tearme of fifteene dayes which Spelassi and hee remayned in Saint Iohn de Mauriene hee never lâ—…ft courting her till hee had obtayned her affection and consent to bee his wife drawne thereunto by these two attractive and seducing reasons First that Castelnovo was a gallant and proper Cavallier as also her equall in descent and meanes and then that shee should live in Nice with a Husband who dearely loved her and no longer in Saint Iohn de Mauriene with a Father who extremely hated her Neither can these our young Lovers beare their affections so secret but the whole company especially the Lady Dominica her Aunt perceives it and deeming it a fit Match for her Neece rejoyceth thereat Castelnovo secretly acquaints her therewith and intreates her best assistance therein towards her brother Arconeto which shee promiseth and forthwith attempteth when Castelnovo taking time at advantage seconds her in his suite for the Daughter to her old Father Now her Father Arconeto degenerating from the naturall affection of a Father towards his Daughter is so willing to depart with her to any Husband that hee may no more see her nor bee troubled with her presence as thinking a farre worse Match good enough hee thinkes this infinitely too good for her and so at the least shaddow of the very first motion consents thereunto which not onely banisheth Perina's old griefe but confirmeth Castelnovo's new joyes yea they like two sweete and vertuous Lovers so extremely rejoyce and triumph thereat as he riding home poast to Nice to acquaint his owne Father Seignior Iacomo de Castelnovo therewith and swiftly returning againe to Saint Iohn de Mauriene with his consent and approbation this Marriage of Castelnovo and Perina is there almost as soone solemnized as that of Spelassi and Bertha though indeed more obscure and with farre lesse pompe and bravery in respâ—…ct of the perversenesse and distast of her froward old Father Arconeto So fifteene dayes being expired since Spelassi and Castelnovo their first departure from Nice they leave Saint Iohn de Mauriene to returne and conduct their Brides home to Nice robbing that to inrich this City with two such beautifull and gallant Ladies as were Bertha and Perina Now the better to adde life and forme to this History or rather to approch the more materiall and essentiall parts thereof we must here leave to speake of Spelassi and Bertha and wholly tye our thoughts and curiosity to Castelnovo and Perina two principall and unfortunate Personatours who both have mournefull parts to act upon the Stage and Theater of Nice for this Marriage of theirs is not begunne with the tenth part of so many joyes as wee shall shortly see it wayted and attended on yea dissolved and finished both with teares and bloud Castelnovo having brought home his faire and deare Perina to Nice she is very honourably welcomed and courteously received and entertayned of his old Father Seignior Iacomo de Castelnovo and of the Lady Fidelia his Mother and so are all her kinsfolkes and friends who accompany her yea there wants no feasting nor revelling in Nice to testifie how much they congratulate and rejoyce at their sonnes good fortune and happines And for Castelnovo and Perina themselves why they are so ravished in the content and drowned in the joyes and delights of Marriage as though they have two bodies yet they have but oâ—…e heart desire and affection yea they are so extreamely in love each with other as they believe there is no Heaven upon earth to that of each others presence But they shall be deceived herein for there are Tragicall stormes arising to trouble the serenity of this Marriage and the felicity and tranquillity of these affections For it is both with griefe and shame that I must bee so immodest and therefore unfortunate to relate that the old Baron Iacomo de Castelnovo aged of some threescore and eight yeares hath so farre forgotten his God and himselfe his conscience and his soule grace and nature religion and humanity as gazing on the fresh and delicious beauty of our sweete Lady Perina his owne sonnes wife hee gives the reignes both of his obscene desires and inordinate affections to lust after her O how my heart trembles to thinke how he that is white with the snow of a venerable age should now lasciviously idolatrize to beauty how he that hath as it were one foot in his grave should lustfully desire to have the other in his Sonnes bed how hee that hath his veines dryed up and withered and nothing living in him but desire should yet of all the beauties of the world desire onely to enjoy that of his Sonnes wife how hee that hath scarce any time left him to bee repentant and sorrowfull for his old sinnes will now anew make himselfe guiltie of these foule sinnes of Adultery and I may in a manner say of Incest how hee that hath not given the flower of his youth will yet still lasciviously and wilfully refuse to bestow the branne of his age on his God! Alas miserable Castelnovo wrerched old man or rather lubritious and beastly Lecher thus to
discretion and to hate and disdaine jealousic she beares this as patiently as shee may till at last seeking and finding out a fit opportunity shee both with teares in her eyes and griefe in her speeches very secretly checks him for these his inordinate and lascivious desires towards the young Lady Perina their Daughter in law But as it is the nature of sinne so to betray and inveagle our judgements that wee flatter our selves with a false conceit none can perceive it in us so this old lecher her Husband thinking that hee had danced in a net from the jealousie and suspicion of all the world in thus affecting his Sonnes wife hee like a lewd and wretched old varlet is so farre from rellishing these his old wifes speeches and exhortations or from being reclaymed thereby as hee disdayneth both them and her and from henceforth is so imperious and withall bitter to her as hee never lookes on her with affection but envie which neverthelesse she as a modest wife and grave Matrone holds it a part not onely of her love but of her duety by sweete speeches and soft meanes of perswasion to divert him from this fond and lascivious humour of his But observe the vanity of his lasciviousnesse and the impiety of his thoughts and resolutions for all her prayers and perswasions serve only rather to set then rebate the edge of his lust and rather bring oyle to increase then water to quench the flame of his immodest and irregular affection so as seeing that she stood in the way of obtayning his beastly pleasures he like a prophane and barbarous Husband termes her no more his wife but his Medea and which is worse hee out of the heat both of his lust and choller vowes he will soone remove her from this world to another And here the devill ambitious and desirous of nothing so much as to fill up the emyty roomes of his vast and infernall kingdome by miserable and execrable degrees takes possession first of his thoughts then of his heart and lastly of his soule so as being constant in his indignation and choller and resolute in this his impious and bloudy revenge hee meanes to dispatch and murther her who for the terme of forty two yeares had beene his most loving wife and faithfull bed-fellow but withall hee will act it so privately as not having as yet discovered his affection to his daughter Perina hee will therefore conceale both from her and all the world the Murther of this his wife Fidelia except only to those gracelesse and execrable Agents he meant imploy in this mournefull and bloudy businesse To which end with a hellish ratiocination ruminating and revolving on the manner thereof hee having runne over the circumstances of many violent and tragicall deaths at last resolves to poyson her and deemes none so fit to undertake it as her owne Wayting-gentlewoman Ierantha the which authorized by his former lascivious dalliance with her as also in favour of five hundred Ducats that he will give her hee is confident shee will undertake and finish neither doth hee faile in his bloudy hopes For what with the honey of his flattering speches and the sugar of his Gold she like an infernall Fury and a very Monster of her sexe most ingratefully and inhumanely consents thereunto so as putting poyson into Whitebroth which some mornings she was accustomed to make and give her Lady it spreading into her veines and exhaling the radicall humour of her life and strength within eight dayes carries this aged and vertuous Matrone to her Grave and her soule to Heaven But her Murtherers shall pay deare for this her untimely end The Lady Perina and all the Lady Fidelia's kinsfolkes and friends infinitely lament and bewayle her death and indeed so doth the whole City of Nice where for her descent and vertues shee is infinitely beloved and affected but all these teares of theirs are nothing in comparison of those of her wicked and execrable Husband Castelnovo who although he inwardly rejoyce yet he outwardly seemes to bee exceedingly afflicted and dejected But as hee hath heretofore acted the part of a Murtherer and now of an hypocrite yet have we but a little patience and we shall see that detected this unmasked and both panished Whiles this mournefull Tragedy is acted in Nice the mediation of the French King and Pope reconcile the differences give end to the Warres and conclude peace betwixt Spaine and Savoy So home returnes the Duke of Feria to Millan the noble Duke of Savoy and the generous Princes his Sonnes to Turin the Marshall de Desdiguieres and the Baron of Termes into France and consequently home comes our Knight Castelnovo to Nice where thinking to rejoyce with his young wife hee is so unfortunate to mourne for the death of his old mother but God knowes that neither of them know the least sparke or shadow of her cruell and untimely Murther and lesse the cause thereof Now for his lascivious and bloudy father albeit to cast a vaile before his thoughts and his intents and actions hee publikely mournes for his wifes death and rejoyceth for his Sonnes returne yet contrariwise hee privately mournes for this and rejoyceth for that But to leave the remembrance of Fidelia to assume that of our Perina I know not whether shee grieved more at her Husbands absence or rejoyce at his presence sith her affection to him was so tender and fervent as in her heart and soule shee esteemed that as much her hell as this her heaven upon earth but these joyes of hers are but fires of straw or flattering Sun-shines which are suddenly either washed away with a showre or eclipsed and banished by a Tempest for whiles her hopes flatter her beliefe of her Husbands continuall stay and residence with her her Father in lawes lust to her foreseeing and considering that it was impossible to thinke to obtaine her at home e're her Husband his Sonne were againe imployed and sent abroad makes all his thoughts aime and care and industry tend that way as if time had no power to make him repent the former murther of his wife or Grace influence to renounce the future defiling and dishonouring of his Daughter in law But hee is as constant in his lust to her as resolute in his dispatching and sending away of him onely hee must finde out some pregnant vertuous and honourable pretext and colour for the effecting of his designe and resolution because he well knowes his Sonne Castelnovo is as wise and generous in himselfe as amorous of his beautifull young Lady Perina but his lust which is the cause of his resolution or rather his vanity which is the authour of his lust at one time suggests him these two severall imployments for his Sonne either to send him into France with the Prince Major who was larely contracted and shortly to espouse MadameChristiene the Kings second Sister or else under the insinuation of some great Pensions and Offices that were shortly to
depaint them yet I should infinitely wrong thee in my selfe and my selfe in thee if I informe thee not by this my Letter the secret Ambassadour of my heart that my affection deserves and mine honour requires thy speedy returne to me I would unlocke thee this mystery and make it more obvious and apparant to the eye of thine understanding but that mine owne modesty and anothers shame commands my pen to silence herein And againe my teares so confusedly and mournfully interrupt my sighes they my teares and both my pen as although I have the will yet I wanâ—… the power to inlarge thee 〈◊〉 Onely my deare Castelnovo if ever thy Perina were deare to thee make her happy with thy sight who deemes her selfe not onely miserable but accursed in thy absence For till Nice be thy Malta Heaven may Earth cannot rejoyce me PERINA Having written this her Letter shee findes a confident and intimate friend of her husbands a Gentleman named Seignior Benedetto Sabia who undertakes the safe conveyance and secret delivery thereof into Malta to Castelnovo so giving it him with store of gold to defray the charge of his journey as also a paire of gold bracelets for a token to her Knight and husband he imbarkes for Genoua so to Naples and from thence in a Neopolitan Galley arrives in short time to the renowned and famous I le of Malia the inexpugnable Bulwarke of Christendome and the curbe and bridle of audacious insulting Turky where finding out the Knight Seignior Francisco de Castelnovo hee effectually and fairely delivers him his Ladies letter bracelets and message who withdrawing himselfe to a window hath no sooner broken up the seales and read the letter but hee is at first much perplexed at the unexpected newes thereof hee reades it o're againe and againe and findes it so obscure as hee cannot gather or conceive her meaning therein but at last construing it onely to bee a wile and fetch of her affection to re-fetch and call him home to Nice to her hee loath as yet to lose and abandon his hopes of preferment in that Iland which now the great Master hath promised him dispatcheth Sabia backe for Nice and plucking off a rich Emerauld from his finger delivers it him for his Lady Perina as a token of his deare and fervent affection and with it a letter in answer of hers In the Interim of Sabia his absence to Malta our old lascivious Baron Castelnovo is not idle in Nice in still seeking to draw our Lady Perina to his adulterous desire and will yea hee is become so obscene in his requests and speeches as they not onely exceed chastity but civility so as shee poore Lady can finde no truce nor obtaine any intermission from these his beastly sollicitations but resolving still to preserve her honour with her life her pure chastity shines cleerer in the middest of these his impure temptations then the Sunne doth being invironed and incompassed with many obsâ—…e clouds but shee thinkes every houre a yeere before shee see her Knight Casâ—… safely returned from Malta when lo Sabia arriving at Villafranca trips over to Niâ—… and understanding Perina privately bolted up in her Chamber he repaires to her and there delivers her her Knight Castelnovo's Ring and Letter although not himselfe when tearing off the Seales she therein findes these words CASTELNOVO to PERINA MY faire and deare Perina the knowledge of thy sighes and teares the more affliict and grieve mee in respect I am ignorant whence they proceed or what occasioned them 't is true thy affection deserves my returne and the preservation of thine honour not onely to request bâ—… to require and command it but I am so assured of that and so confidem of this â—…s I know thâ—… wilt carry the first to thy grave and the second to heaven So if any one since my departure have salne in love with thy beauty thou must not finde it strange much lesse grieve theraâ—… sith the excellencie thereof hath power not onely to captivate one but many yea the consideraâ—…on thereof should rather rejoyce then afflict thee sith whatsoever hee bee the shaâ—… in the end will remaine his and the glory thine But deare and sweet Lady I thinke thine honour is onely the pretexâ—… and thy affection the cause so earnestly to desire my returne whereunto I would willingly consent but that the dayly expectance of my prefermenâ—… must a liâ—…le longer deâ—…aine mee heere â—…nely this is my resolution and I pray let iâ—… bee thy assuraance I will dispaâ—…ch my affaires here with all possible expedition and shall never thinke â—…y selfe happy till I re-iâ—…barke from Malta and land at Nice CASTELNOVO Having o're-read her Letter shee the better to dissemble her secret passions and griefes very courteously conferres with Sabia of whom having for that time thankfully taken her leave shee for meere sorrow and affliction throwes her selfe on her bed from thence on the floore to see her hopes deceived of her husbands returne and now shee knowes neither what to say or doe in this her misery and perplexity for she sees that her father in lawes obstinacie and consequently her sorrowes grow from bad to worse that hee is so farre from reclayming as hee is resolute in his lascivious and beastly sollicitations So that seeing his faire speeches and entreaties cannot prevaile with her hee exchangeth his resolution and former language and so addes threats to his requests and frownes to his smiles as if force should extort and obtaine that which faire meanes could not yea and sometimes he intermingleth and administreth her such heart-killing menaces as shee hath now reason not onely to doubt of his lust but also to feare his revenge which considering shee as well to preserve her honour as to provide for the safety of her life will once againe prove the kindnesse of her owne unkinde father Arconeto and so determineth to leave Nice and to flye unto Saâ—…nt Iohn de Mauriene now to assist her and accompany her in this her secret escape she thinkes none so fit as Sabia who for her husbands affection and her owne vertues willingly consenteth to her so shee preparing her apparell and he her traine they in a darke night when pale faced Cynthia inveloped her selfe in a multitude of black and obscure clouds purposely to assist and favour her in this her laudable and honourable flight take horse and so with great expedition passe the Mountaines and recover Sainâ—… Iohn de Mauriene where though shee bee not truely welcome to her owne father Arconetâ—… yet her honour and her life are truely secured from the lust and revenge of heâ—… lascivious father in law Castelnovo neverthelesse the cause and manner of her escape but chiefly the consideration of her husbands absence in the passage of this businesse doth still so bitterly afflict her as shee is become pale and sickely whereupon shee is resolute once againe to send backe Sabia to Malta to her knight and husband with
second letter in hope it may effect and procure his returne which her first could not and so calling for pen and paper she traceth thereon these few lines PERINA to CASTELNOVO SIth thou wilt not leave Malta to see Nice for my sake I have left Nice to live or rather to dye in Saint Iohn de Mauriene for thine 't is true my affection hath desired thy returne which thou hast not granted mee 't is as true that one to whom Nature hath given a prime and singular interest in thee and thee in him hath sought the defloration of mine honour which my heart and dutie have denied him Thou art confident of my affection to thee if thiâ—… had beene so faithfull and sâ—…rvent to my selfe neither sea nor land had had power to seperate 〈◊〉 If any prefermens bee dearer to thee then my life stay in Malta or if my life be dearer theâ—… it then returne to Saint Iohn de Mauriene where thou mayest finde mee for in Nice I will not bee found of thee Hadst thou not purposely mistaken the cause for the pretext in my importunitie of thy returne I would have digested it with farre more content and lesse affliction but sith neither â—…y â—…tion or honour hath power to â—…ffect it at least let the regard of my life sith that will not accompany mee if thou any longer absent thy selfe from mee make therfore haste to see thy Peâ—…ina if ever thou thinke to see her againe and let her beare this one content to her grave that shee may disclose thee a secret which but to thy selfe shee will conceale from all the world PERINA Whiles Sabia is againe speeding toward Malta with Perina's second Letter to her husband Castelnovo wee will a little speake of old Castelnovo the father who seeing his daughter in law Perina fled and consequently his hopes with her hee is extremely perplexed and afflicted hereat All the house and City is sought for her and hee himselfe breakes off the lockes of her Chamber doore where hee findes the nest but the bird flowne away her bed but not her selfe so as his thoughts doubly torment and astonish him first to be frustrated of his hopes and desires to injoy her then because shee will bewray his lascivious suite and affection to her Husband his sonne which of all sides will procure him not onely shame but infamy yea now it is although before he would not that he sees his errour and vanity in attempting to make shipwrack of her honour and chastity which is the Glory and should be the Palladium of Ladies but it is too late to recover her againe And therefore although hee know how to repent yet he is ignorant how to remedy or redeeme it sith his attempt and enterprise was not onely odious to God but infamous to men opposite to Grace and repugnant and contradictory to Nature Besides this his lustfull folly proceeding from himselfe lookes two wayes and hath a double reflection first on Perina the wife then on Castelnovo her husband and his owne sonne who he is assured will bee all fire hereat yea this crime of his is of so high and so beastly a nature as hee knowes not what to say to him or how to looke him in the face when he shall arrive from Malta which his guilty conscience tells him will bee shortly neither doth the Calculation or Arithmetick of his feare deceive him for by this time is Sabia againe arrived at Malta where hee delivers Castelnovo his wife's second Letter the which doth so nettle and sting his heart to the quicke at the bitter and unexpected newes it relates as hee esteemes himselfe no longer himselfe because hee is not with his deare wife who is the one halfe yea the greatest part of himselfe Wherefore admiring who in Nice yea in his fathers house should bee so impudently laseivious to seeke to blemish his honour in that of his Ladies hee making her sighes and teares his with all expedition and haste provides for his departure from Malta and yet his love his feare or both conducing and concurring in one makes him instantly resolve to dispatch and returne Sabia as the harbinger to proclaime his comming the which he doth and chargeth him with this Letter to his faire wife and deare Lady Perina CASTELNOVO to PERINA THy sudden departure from Nice to Saint Iohn de Mauriene doth equally afflict and amaze mee I burne with desire to know as well the Authour as the Cause thereof that I â—…ay likewise know how to right thee in revenging my selfe of him I have thought it fit to reâ—…rne Seignior Sabia againe to thee as soone as hee arrived to mee being ready within two dayes to imbarke as timely as himselfe so that if winde and Sea hate me not too much in more â—…ving and favouring him I am confident to bring and deliver thee my selfe as soone as hee shall bee this my Letter and judge whether I speake it from my heart and soule sith the estimation â—…f thy love and the preservation of thine honour make mee already deeme minutes moneths â—…nd houres yeares till my presence bee made happy with thine I come faire Perina sweet wife â—…nd deare Lady I come and if Heaven proove propitious to my most religious prayers and â—…sires here on Earth â—…ur meeting shall bee shortly as sweete and happy as our parting was bitter â—…d sorrowfull CASTELNOVO So according to this his Letter as first Sabia imbarkes from Malta to Nice before him so he likewise arrives at Genoua the day after he did at Nice from whence poasting o're the Mountaines hee arrives at Saint Iohn de Mauriene where at his father in law Arconeto's house he findes his deare and sweet Lady Perina who every minute of time with much impatient longing and desire expected his arrivall as having the night before received his second and last Letter by Sabia which advertised her thereof so like true and faithfull Turtle Doves esteeming each others presence their most soveraigne felicitie they fall to their billing and kisses to informe themselves how sweet this their happy meeting was each to other And here our Knight Castelnovo cannot bee so curious or hasty to inquire as his Lady Perina was to relate the cause of her sudden departure from Nice to Saint Iohn de Mauriene occasioned by the unnaturall lust and lasciviousnesse of his Father as wee have formerly understood the which with many sighs and teares shee depaints forth to him in all its circumstances and colours Hee is amazed at this strange and unexpected newes and farre the more to think that his owne father should in the winter of his age attempt or seeke to defile his honour and bed in the person of this his faire and chast Lady Perina he wondereth to see so little grace in so many yeares and that if Nature had not yet Religion should have had power to banish these lascivious thoughts from his heart and memory so with out-spred armes he tenderly
imbraceth and kisseth her highly extolling her chastity and applauding the discreet carriage of her escape being himselfe resolute to stay in Saint Iâ—… de Mauriene with her father Arconeto and not to returne to Nice to his owne father Castelnovo But hee shall as soone infringe as make this his resolution for by this time his father understanding of his Sonnes returne from Malta to Saint Iohn de Mauriâ—… and knowing that his Lady Perina had not fail'd to bewray him his lascivious suit and desire attempted against her honour as also grieving at the remembrance of his forâ—…er folly and future shame in knowing what a foule seandall both it and his sonnes absenâ—… would procure and ingender him he resolves to confesse his crime and so by the mediation of a perswasive and satisfying Letter to indeavour to reclaime them againe frâ—… Saint Iohn de Mauriene to Nice when calling for pen and paper hee writes these seâ—… insuing lines and sends them his Sonne by a Gentleman of his CASTELNOVO to his Sonne CASTELNOVO I Am as glad of thy arrivall from Malta as sorrowfull for thy absence from Nice and fâ—… to denye is to redouble our errors and imperfections I will not goe further then my selfe to fiâ—… the cause thereof sith I know that my lascivious and gracelesse attempt against the honour of 〈◊〉 chast Lady hath drawne thee to this resolution but now I write it to my future comfort 〈◊〉 much as I conceived it to my former shame that Grace hath vanquished Nature and 〈◊〉 gion lust in mee so as I am at present not onely sorrowfull but repentant for that crime of miâ—… which I no more remember but with horrour nor thinke of but with detestation My soule 〈◊〉 made my peace with God and my heart desires to recontract it both with thy selfe and her 〈◊〉 as I hope hee will forget it so I beseech you both to forgive it mee being ready to confirme 〈◊〉 my reconciliation as well with my tongue as pen Wherefore sith thou art the sole prop of my 〈◊〉 and comfort of my life make mee not so unfortunate or miserable to bee tax'd with the scaâ—… of my shame and thy absence but bring backe thy Lady with thee for here I professe beâ—… Heaven and Earth that I will henceforth as much honour her for her chastity as heretosâ—… lasciviously sought to betray and violate it CASTELNOVO This vertuous and religious Letter of the Father prevailes with the Sonne and his faire and chast Lady so as their secrecies and discretions hush up this businesse in silence and within eight dayes they both returne from Saint Iohn de Mauriene to Nice where they are conrteously welcomed and respectively received and entertayned of their father whose contrition for his former folly is outwardly so great as hee hath teares in his eyes at the remembrance thereof so as making good the promise of his Letter he very penitently and sorrowfully implores their pardon and remission which they instantly graunt him with as much willingnesse as alacrity So the report and thought hereof is obscured and vanished as if it had never been and all things and parties so reconciled as to common sense nothing in the world is capable to trouble the tranquillity of this reconciliation and atonement But alas alas we shall very briefly see the contrary For old Castelnovo the Father notwithstanding all these religious promises and sincere shewes of repentance and teares is so far from being the man he seemes to be as although hee have made his peace with his sonne and Daughter yet ay mee I write it with griefe he hath not with his conscience nor his conscience with God for although he have a chast and religious tongue yet he still retaineth a lascivious and adulterate heart yea hee is so farre from conversion and reformation as the new sight and review of the Lady Perina's fresh and delicate beauty doth revive those sparkes and refresh those flames of his lust which seemed to be raked up in the embers of her absence And what is this but to be a Christian in shew and a miscreant in effect to hide a foule soule under a faire face and to make Religion and Hypocrisie a fatall and miserable cloke for his villany But though he dissemble with God yet wee shall see and hee finde that God will not dissemble with him and in thinking to bâ—…tray God Satan in the end will betray him The manner is thus As he resumes his old suit and newly burnes in love and lustfull desire to erect the Trophees of his lascivious and incestuous pleasures upon the ruines of his Daughter in lawes chastity and honour so he likewise sees it impossible to thinke to performe or hope to accomplish it as long as his sonne her husband lives and therefore losing his judgement either in the Labyrinth of her beauty or in the turbulent Ocean of his owne concupiscence and lust hee contrary to the rules of Grace and the lawes and principles of nature swaps a bargaine with the Devill to poyson him To which end to shew himselfe the monster of men and the bloudiest president of a most degenerate Father which this or many precedentages ever produced or afforded he hath againe recourse to his Hellish Agent Ierantha in favour of five hundred Ducats to send the Sonne into Heaven after the Mother and to make him equall with her as in nature so in the dissolution thereof death A bloudy designe and mournefull project which wee shall presently bee inforced to see acted upon the Theater of this History But Ierantha is at first so repentant for the death of the Mother as shee will not consent to that of the Sonne And had shee continued in this religious resolution shee had lived more fortunately and not dyed so miserably and shamefully as wee shall briefely see For our old Lecher Castelnovo her Master seeing his Gold could not this second time prevaile with Ierantha being equally inflamed as well with lust to Perina as with malice and revenge to his Sonne Castelnovo her husband hee is so implacable therein as hee promiseth to marry her if shee will attempt and performe it So although his first battery fayled yet his second doeth not For the Devill had â—…ade her so ambitious of Greatnesse and Honour that of a simple wayting Gentlewoman to become a great Lady she consents heereunto and which is a thousand pitties to report within lesse then sixe dayes performes it when God knowes the innocencie of this harmelesse young Gentleman his sonne never dreamt or suspected it At the sight of this his sudden death his Lady Perina is ready to dye for griefe yea to drowne her selfe in the Ocean and deluge of her teares tearing her haire and striving to deface the excellencie of her beautie with a kinde of carelesse neglect as if shee were resolute not to survive him And if the Lady Perina bewrayed many deplorable demonstrations of sorrow for the death of her husband no
and memory and doubt not but a few weekes will make us at happy as wee are now miserable STVRIO Paulina in the middest of her forrowes and sickenesse receives this Letter from her best and dearest friend Sturio and although shee rejoyce to heare of his health and wel-fare in Caprea yet she is more glad that the extremity of her-sickenesse and weaknesse informe her shee shall shortly dye in Rome for vanquished with afflictions and overcome with variety of griefe and discontents shee in conceit already hath left this world and is by this time halfe way in her progresse and pilgrimage towards Heaven yet in love to her deare Sturio who wrote her this kinde Letter she will not be so unkinde but will kisse it for his sake that sent it her and peradventure if she had been so happy that hee might have beene the bearer and deliverer thereof himselfe or that he had borne and delivered himselfe to her in stead of his Letter hee might then have given some comfort to her sorrowes and some consolation to her discontents and afflictions whereas now seeing him exiled and mewed up in Caprea without any apparance of returne shee sees shee hath more reason to flye to her old despayre then to any new hope and so wisheth the desired houre were at last come wherein shee might give her last farewell to this world but againe perusing and over reading his Letter shee findes it full fraught with love and affection towards her and therefore disdayning to proove ingratefull to any especially to Sturio who is so kinde and courteous to her calls for pen and paper and by his owne conveyance returnes him this Answer PAVLINA to STVRIO I Cannot rightly define whether the receipt of thy Letter made me more glad or the contents sorrowfull for as I infinitely rejoyced to understand thou wert living so I extremely grieved to heare there was no certainty of thy releasement and returne Whether or no Caprea be thy Purgatory I know not but sure I am Rome is my Hell sith I cannot bee there with thee nor thou here with me and as I lamented with sighs I could not dye with my Brother so I grieve with teares that I cannot live with thee but why write I of living when his mournefull Tragedy and thy disastrous exile hath made mee more ready to dye then live or rather not fit to live but dye for despayring of thy returne how can I hope for comfort sith it onely lived in thy presence as my heart and joy did in thee As for Bertolini's folly to mee and crime to my Brother if thy Sword punish him not Gods just revenge will and wishing this as a woman as a Christian I pardon and forgive him and so I pray doe thou for my sake if thou wilt not that of my dead Brothers Could prayers or wishes have effected thy returne to mee my teares had long since been thy Hellespont and Mediterranean Sea and my sighes had fill'd the Sayles of thy desires and resolutions to have past Ostia floated up Tiber and landed at Rippa to mee But alas alas here in remembring Hero's felicity and joy I cannot forget my sorrowes and afflictions for as Leander liv'd in her armes so I cannot bee so fortunate either to live or dye in my Sturio's and if now as a skilfull Mercury thou couldst inveagle the eyes both of thy Fathers malice and Guardians jealousie yet that happinesse would come too late and out of season for mee for before thou shalt have plotted thy flight and escape from Caprea to Rome I shall have acted and finished mine from Rome to Heaven I would send thee more lines but that my weake hand and feeble fingers have not the power though the will any longer to retaine my pen. Heaven will make us happy though Earth cannot therefore my deare Sturio let this bee our last and best consolation as these joyes are temporary and transitory so those will bee permanent and eternall PAVLINA This Letter of Paulina to Sturio meets with a speedy passage from Rome to Caprea who receiving it and thinking to have found her in her true and perfect health with much joy and affection breakes up the seales thereof when contrary to his hope and expectation understanding of her sickenesse and approach to death hee tenderly and bitterly weepes at his owne misfortune in her discontent and disaster yea he passionately and sorrowfully bewayles his Fathers cruelty in thus banishing him from her sight and presence from the contemplation of whose beauty and from his innate affection to her the Fates and Destinies cannot banish him But alas unfortunate Sturio the newes of thy Paulina's sickenesse is but the Prologue to the insuing sorrowes and afflictions that are ready to befall and surprise thee for the newes of her death shal shortly follow her Letter and if that drew teares from thine eyes this shall drowne thine eyes in the Ocean of thy Teares neither shall he stay long to feele the miserable impetuosity 〈◊〉 â—…is mournefull Storme For scarce twenty dayes are past after the writing of her Letter to Sturio but Paulina languishing with Griefe Despaire Sorrow and Sicknesse as a female Love-Martyr takes her last leave and farewell of this world in Rome it being not in the power or affection of her parents any longer to divert her from paying this her last due and tribute unto Nature sith wee all have our Lives lent not given us and therefore as we receive so must we repay them to our Creatour and Redeemer of whom we have first received them Old Sturio is as glad in Rome for the death of Paulina as her Parents grieve thereat and now it is that he intends to be as happy and joyfull in his Sonnes presence as hee hath formerly made himselfe sorrowfull in occasioning his absence whereupon with all expedition hee dispatcheth a Servant of his to Caprea with a Letter to signifie his Son thereof and consequently to recall him This newes of Paulina's Death-infinitely afflicts and torments our Sturio for shee being the Queene of his affections and the soveraigne Goddesse of his delights and desires he resembleth himselfe and so like a true Lover as hee is acteth a wonderfull mournefull part of sorrow for her unwished and unexpected Death he is no longer himselfe nay such was his living affection to Paulina and such is his immoderate sorrow for her death as hee will not bee himselfe because she is gone who was the greatest and chiefest part of himselfe But as wounds cannot be cured ere searched so passion transporting his thoughts beyond reason and revenge beyond passion he for the time present forsakes the effect to follow the cause and so hath no other object before his eyes and thoughts but that of Bertolini's killing of her Brother Brellati and this of his Fathers unkinde banishing of him from Rome to Caprea wherefore that he may out-live his sorrowes and apply a Lenitive to his Corrosive he vowes to revenge both
resolution notwithstanding although hee knew that Madamoyselle La Frange had many noble Suitors who sought her in mariage yet relying upon his ancient acquaintance and familiaritie with the President de Clugny as also that that daughter of his and this his Son were of both parties their onely children Hee taking time at advantage breakes with him about this match whereunto De Clugny hearkens rather with delight than distast for if there were any disparitie in the dignitie of their Offices he well knowes that Argentiers blood and wealth did at least equalize if not exceed his or if hee conceited any scruple in his thoughts which impugned or imposed it it was onely because De Salez was a Souldier and not a Lawyer and consequently delighted to use his Sword before his Pen and to weare and preferre a Scarlet cloke before a Blacke But then againe these repugnant and averse reasons were as soone buried as borne and defaced as conceived and ingraven in him when hee considered that hee himselfe in his adolescency was of the same humor and inclination and therefore that Experience had made him a President to himselfe that Time was both the reformer and refiner of manners and that in all well borne and well bred spirits the Precepts of a father and the sweet conversation and counsell of a wife had power to metamorphose the conditions of a young husband whereupon the old fathers often meet and consult hereon and so being fully agreed on all conditions they likewise appoint a solemne meeting for their children but the effect and issue of this their enterview will not corespond and answer their desires La Frange as we have formerly said being deformed and crook-backt was no way agreeable but displeasing to De Salez but he being a tall and neat timbred Gentleman of a faire and feminine complexion she instantly most tenderly affected and dearely loved him In a word I must request the curiositie of the Reader briefly to be informed and advertised that as shee beheld him with the eyes of Love and Desire so did he her with those of contempt and disdaine she building castles of content in the aire of her thoughts and hopes that Heaven would make him her husband and hee rasing both her and her memory out of that of his contemplations vowing that Earth should never make her his wife Thus though the Parents have already shut up the Contract yet their children shall never live to celebrate the Nuptials for we shall see diversity of tragicall accidents which are providing and almost ready to oppose and impugne it Parents thinke to be the causes but God will still bee the Authour of Marriages for if his sacred and divine Majesty make them not first in Heaven they shall never see them solemnized nor consummated on Earth And heere to make an orderly progression in this History thâ—… Reader must likewise understand that of all other of La Franges Suitors none sought her with so much importunity and impatiency as the Baron of Vaumartin whose chiefest house and lands lay betwixt Aigue-mortes and Narbone a Nobleman of some thirty yeeres old who like many others of his stampe and ranke had spent the greatest part of his youth and meanes in Paris in lasciviously debaushing and revelling with the Parisian Ladies and Dames so that the vanitie of his pleasures and expences making his lands fly away peece-meale and the devasting and fall of his trees and woods making the rest of his Mannors shake an example and president for all other debaushed Gallants to observe and beware of he leaves Paris with curses and his bitter-sweet sinnes with repentance and so to repayre his errors and to redeeme his lost time decayed estate he comes home to Langueâ—…oc where hearing in Tholouse of the President de Clugny's great wealth which he must solely leave to his onely childe and daughter La Frange who was now marriageable he resolves to set all his other businesse and designes apart and so to lay siege and seeke her of her father and selfe in marriage Now to take the better direction and observation of this History wee must likewise understand that this Baron of Vaumartin was of a swart complexion a dwarfe of stature and every way as crook-backt as La Frange which the more slattered him in his hopes and egged him on in his pursute hoping indeed though with as much Vanitie as Ignorance that this their corporall resemblance would the sooner induce and draw her to affect him but his Arithmetique or rather his Iudgement will deceive him for it is conformitie of Humors and Inclinations and not of faces and bodies which breeds and inflames a sympathy in affections But he is resolute in his research and so better loving the fathers wealth than the daughters Beautie he well assisted and followed with a traine and equipage worthy of his birth and her merits first seekes the daughter of her father then her selfe of her selfe As for the old President de Clugny he hath heard of his debaushed pranks and ryots in Paris and therefore vowes that his wealth gotten with wisedome and purchased with providence study and care in his Age shall never pay for the obscene pleasures and vitious prodigalities of his Youth and so with many verball complements resolving that he shall never triumph in the conquest of his daughter he in generall tearmes puts him off As for La Frange her selfe the sweetnesse of De Salez complexion and personage is so deeply imprinted in her heart and thoughts that it is impossible for Vaumartin to find any admittance or entrance for shee speakes of none but de Salez thinkes of none but of de Salez nor wisheth her selfe with any but with de Salez Againe she wonders at Vaumartins simplicitie in seeking her for his wife for if she hate deformitie in her selfe how is it either likely or possible that she can love it in her husband No no though de Salez will not love La Frange yet La Frange must and will love de Salez and none but him and therefore sith de Salez his sweet feature is a pearle in her eye needs must Vaumartin be an eye-sore to her yea and if modesty will permit mee to speake or write an immodest truth her heart doth so burne and flame in love to de Salez that both day and night shee many times with sighes sometimes with teares wisheth her selfe either impaled in his armes or he encloystred in hers Now by this time Vaumartin hath full notice and advertisement of her affection devoted to none but to de Salez as also his sleighting and disdaining her Whereupon encouraged by this and dishartened by that he leaves no cost care or curiosity either in gifts dancing musicke or bankets unattempted to crowne his wants rather than his desires and pleasures with this though deformed yet rich heire La Frange so leaving him to his vaine sute in courting her speake wee a little of de Salez that sith he will
the foule and enormious vices of La Hay with the sweet and resplendant vertues of La Frange he as much disdayning that match as desiring this for his sonne very hastily sends for him into the Arbor where purposely attending him he with lightning in his lookes and thunder in his speeches layes before him the simplicity and the sottishne sse of his resolution in preferring La Hay before La Frange a strumpet before a virgin and a Pedlers brat before a rich gentlemans onely daughter and heyre shewes him the infamy of the first and the glory of the last match there his unavoydable misery here his assured happinesse in the first his utter ruine and shipwracke and in the last his infallible prosperity and felicity and so intermixing threats with teares with a passionate paternall affection he endeavoreth to perswade him to leave La Hay and to marry La Frange or if not hee vowes and sweres wholly to disinherit him and from thence-forth never repute or esteeme him for his sonne But de Salez his foolish vanity and vaine affection in himselfe towards his new contracted Love La Hay is so great and consequently his filiall obedience to his father so small as not withstanding this his wholesome advise and counsell he is still resolute and constant to preferre La Hay before La Frange the beauty of the one before the deformity of the other his owne content before his fathers and Soulanges estate and byrth before the great wealth and noble extraction of De Clugny but this rashnes indiscretion and ingratitude of his will cost him deare Now if Argentier have perfect intelligence and curious notice of his sonnes familiarity with that faire yet lewd Courtezan La Hay no lesse hath la Frange who poore soule is so deeply enamored of de Salez as the very first newes and conceyt that another should enjoy him and not her selfe for very grife and sorrow shee seemes to drowne her selfe in the deluge of her teares His father is chollerick thereat she mournfull he incensed she afflicted he inraged she perplexed and tormented his passions and anger proceeds from suspition that he shall so soone find a daughter in law in la Hay her sighes and teares from feare that she shall so soone loose her Love though not her Lover his sonne de Salez Againe the argument of his choller is la Hayes unchastitie and povertie and the cause of her disconsolation de Salez his wealth and vertues likewise she sees that Argentier hath no reason to hope that his sonne will marry her selfe such is her deformitie and againe that he hath all the reasons of the world as well to doubt as feare that hee will wed la Hay such is her beauty But sith de Salez will beare no more respect to his father nor affection to la Frange leave we therefore his father Argentiers passions and la Franges perplexities to be appeased and qualified by Time or rather by God the Authour and giver of Time who out of his all-seeing providence and sacred pleasure onely knowes in Heaven how best to dispose and manage the actions of earth and so come wee to other unexpected occurrents and events which like so many enterjecting and intervening poynts are contained within the circumference of this History I have so long insisted on the affections of de Salez and la Hay as but to the judicious and temperate Reader it would seeme to appeare that the Baron of Vaumartin hath wholly forgotten to remember his to his Lady La Frange But to put that doubt out of question and this question out of doubt we shall see him returne too too soone to act a part not so religious and honourable as bloody upon the Theatre of this History For by this time both his creditors and his debts are growne so clamorous and his reputation and lands so neere forfeited for want of disingaging as to secure the one and provide for the other hee knowes no other invention not meanes but to gaine La Frange to his wife when as it were provoked and precipitated on by the necessity of this exigent his thoughts leave heaven to fly to hell and consequently fly from God to Sathan to consult how either by the bye or the maine hee may obtaine her yea though with the perill and hazard of his owne life to cut off theirs who seeke therein to prevent his desires and designes In which hellish ratiocynation he as devoyd of Reason as that is exempt either of Grace or Piety thus reasoneth with himselfe De Clugny hates me for seeking to marry his daughter and that time may remedy for me but which is worst of all she loves De Salez and seekes and desires to marry him and this I must remedy in time if I ever expect to obtaine or enjoy her and so resolves to make him away but is as yet irresolute how to perpetrate and in what manner to finish so execrable a businesse But this is not onely the voice of his malice but the sentence of his revenge that De Salez must die wretched Vaumartin unworthy to beare the name of a man much lesse of a Baron but least of all of a Christian in that because De Salez hates La Frange and she loves him that therefore thou wilt not love but hate him or because she loves him and not thy selfe that therefore thou wilt kill him that she may love thee See see rash and inconsiderate Nobleman how treacherously the Devill hath hood wink'd yea inveigled thy judgement and besotted thy senses to kill one that loves thee to kill I say a Gentleman who hath not offended thee but is every way thy friend no way thine enemy or if thou thinke it wisdome that covetousnesse must redeeme thy former prodigality alas alas canst thou yet be so cruell to thinke it either lawfull or religious that future murther should either occasion or authorize it But the Devill hath so farre prevailed with his impious resolutions that againe he resolves De Salez must die and yet thou thinkest poyson as unworthy of him as he is worthy of thy sword so had thy last resolution been answerable to thy first assure thy selfe thou hadst made thy selfe more happy and not so miserable for as poysoning was the invention of the devill and is practised by none but his agents so this dishonourable point of honour to fight Duels was never instituted by God nor professed by those who really professe his Gospell yea it is not only truely to dishonour God in seeking falsly to preserve our own Honour and reputation but we assuredly stab at the Majesty of the Creator in seeking to deface man his creature and to use but a word as it is repugnant both to Nature and Grace so though it begin in the heat of passion and pleasure it many times terminates in Repentance but still in true Infamy and misery But Vaumartins faith being so strong with Sathan and so weake with his Saviour he will not take
and counsell and to send it him by the ordinary Carrier of Tholouse which was then in that Cittie bound thither from Paris his letter spake thus 〈◊〉 to DE SALEZ IT is out of a fatherly and as I may say a religious care of thy good that I now send thee these few ensuing lines for thy Youth cannot see that which my Age knowes how many miseries are subject to wait and attend on Vice and how many blessings on Vertue if La Frange be not faire yet she is comely not contemptible but sith her defects of Nature are so richly recompensed with the Ornaments of Fortune and the excellencies of Grace why should thy affection preferre La Hay before her who hath nothing but a painted face to overvaile the deformity of her other vices If thou wilâ—… leave a Saint to marry a strumpet then take La Hay and forsake La Frange but if thou wilt forsake a strumpet to take a Saint then marry La Frange and leave La Hay for looke what difference there is betweene their births thou shalt finde ten times more betweene the chastity of the one and the levity of the other If thou espouse the first thou shalt find Content and Honour if the second shame and repentance â—…or I know not whether La Frange will bring thee more happinesse or La Hay misery This letter shall serve as a witnesse betwixt God myselfe and thee that if thou performe me not thy promise and oath I will deny thee my blessing and deprieve thee of my lands ARGENTIER De Salez having received this his fathers letter in Tholouse exceedingly grieves to see him disgrace his mistresse by the scandalous name of a strumpet which hee knowes she is not and therefore will never beleeve it yea he vowes that if it were any other in the world who had offered him that intollerable affront hee would revenge it though with the price and perill of his life La Hay perceives this discontent and alteration of mirth in him but from what point of the Compasse this wind proceeds she neither knowes nor as yet can conceive but withall determineth to make the discovery thereof her greatest Ambition and not her least Care which she now well knowes it behooves her to doe sith she finds De Salez lesse free and more reserved and pensive in her speeches than accustomed But when in vaine she had hereunto used many smiles and feâ—…ches loâ—… here falls out an unlook't for accident which bewrayes her the very pith and quintescence of the Mistery For on a time when hee lay slumbering on the table shee as accustomed diving into his pockets for sweet meats or rather for gold of both which he many times went well furnished she finds his fathers aforesaid letter which she knew by the direction and so flying into another chamber and bolting the doore after her she there reads it both with griefe and choller when stunge to the quicke and bitten to the heart and gall to see her reputation and Honour thus traduced and scandalized by the father of her pretended husband she with teares and interjected sighes and grones flies backe to De Salez and holding the letter in her hand like a dissembling and impious strumpet as she was there shewes it him takes Heaven and Earth to beare witnesse of her innocency and of the irreparable and extreame wrong his father hath offered her in seeking to ecclips the Glory of her chastity which she sweares she will beare pure and unspotted not onely to his bed but to her owne grave But Alas alas these are the effects and passions of dissimulation not of truth of her prophanenesse not of her piety which time will make apparent to De Salez though now her beauty and teares be so predominate with his judgement and folly as he cannot because he will not see it So being still as constant in his â—…ottishnesse as she in her hypocrisie he gives her many sweet kisses and with a Catalogue of sugred words seekes to appease and comfort her whom he hath farre more reason to excerate and curse But for her part her heart is not so afflicted for remembring her selfe still her â—…its are her owne and so remembring the conclusion of the letter and fearing that De Salâ—…z his promise and oath to his father might infringe and contradict his to her she tels him that her love is so fervent and infinite towards him as shee can give no intermission nor truce to her teares before he reveale her his oath and promise which his fathers letter informed her he had formerly made him De Salez seeing himselfe put to so strict an exigent and push doth both blush for shame and againe looke pale for anger when for a small time irresolute how to beare himselfe in a matter of this different Nature wherein hee must either violate his obedience to his father or infringe his fidelity and honour to his mistris hee at last consenting with folly not with discretion and with Vanity nor with Iudgement doth so adore her beauty and commiserate her teares as he sottishly reveales her his oath given his father Verbatim as we have formerly understood it adding withall that she hath far more reason to rejoyce than grieve hereat That a little time shall cancell his said late promise and oath to his father and confirme his former to her For sweet La Hay quoth he come what come will two moneths shall never passe ere I marry thee when sealing his speaches with many kisses our hypocriticall afflicted Gentlewoman is presently againe come to her selfe and in all outward appearance her discontents are removed her choller pacified her teares exhaled and her sighes evaporated and blowne away But all this is false like her selfe and treacherous like her beauty For this letter of Argentier to his sonne and his promise and oath to his father hath acted such wonders in her heart and imprinted such extravagancies in her thoughts as she cannot easily remove or supplant it nor difficultly forget or deface it whatsoever she speake or make shew of to the contrary for thus she reasoneth with her selfe That 〈◊〉 whoredomes are already revealed to Argentier and for any thing she knowes â—…y likewise be discovered to his son how closely soever she either act or conceale them That La Franges descent wealth and vertues will in the end overprise and weigh downe her meane extraction poverty and beauty and in the end that the wisdome of the father will infallibly triumph ore the folly of the sonne except her pollicy interpose and her vigilency prevent it which to prevent and effect she sees no other obstacle to her content nor barre to her preâ—…erment but only La Frange for quoth she if La Frange shine in the firmament of De Salez affection La Hay must set or if La Hay will shine La Frange must set againe if she fall not I cannot stand and if she stand I must needs fall and as the skie is
not capable of two suns so both of us cannot shine in the Horison of his heart and thoughts at once except thus that La Hay may live to see La Frange his wife and her selfe his strumpet when burning with false zeale to De Salez and true inveterate malice to La Frange she forgetting God swaps a bargaine with the devill that La Frange must first goe to her grave ere La Hay come to his bed and soe resolves to sacrifice her as a Victime to her malice and jealousie and to send her out of this world in an untimely and bloody Coffin Hellish Aphorisâ—…es Infernall Posâ—…ions odious to Earth and execrable to Heaven For wretched and impious strumpet wilt thou needs not onely gallop but fly to hell and so redouble thy crimes purposely to redouble thy torments as first of whoredome then of murther Wretched yea thrice wretched woman how darest thou see earth or thinke of heaven when thy acted crimes are so odious and thy pretended ones so monstrous as thou deservest to be shut foorth of the one and spewed out of the other For alas consider what this poore Gentlewoman hath done to thee that thou shouldest doe this to her She beares the image of God and wilt thou therefore beare that of the devill to destroy her Ah me where is thy religion thy conscience thy soule that thou wilt thus hellishly imbathe thy hands in her blood and imbrue thy heart in her murther If it be not that her vertues cry fie on thy Vices thou hast no reason in Nature and lesse in Grace to attempt a deed so Tragicall an act so inhumane and execrable But rest assured that if thou proceed and finish this infernall and bloody stratagem of thine although thou chance goe unpunished of men yet the Lord in his due time will find thee out and both severely scourge and sharpely revenge and chastice thee The effects of malice and revenge in men are finite in women infinite theirs may have bounds and ends but these none or at least seldome and difficultly for having once conceived these two monsters in their fantasies and braines they long till they are delivered and disburthened of them and so to bring their abortive issue to perfection they for the most part are sharpe and severe in their designes and sudden and malicious in their executions hating all delayes so it be not to do evil So this our bloody and viâ—…ious Strumpet La Hay is resolute to advance and not to retyre in this dyabolicall businesse of hers Of all kind of violent deaths she thinks none either so sure and secret as poyson whether she consider the manner or the matter If the Devill himselfe had not invented this unparaleld cruelty his agents and members had never knowne how to have administred and practised it But having resolved on the drug and ingredient she now bethinks herselfe of some hellish Empericke or Factor of Hell to apply and give it her and her inveterate and implacable hatred making her curious in the research and inquiry thereof she is at last advertised that there is an old Italian Empericke in Mompellier tearmed S. Brnardâ—… Michaele who is his Arts master in that infernall profession when wholly concealing this mystery and businesse from De Salez she by a second meanes with promise of store of gold sends away for Michaele from Mompellier who in hope thereof packs up his drugs and trinkets and within three dayes arrives at Tholouse where she thinkes no where so fit and secret as the Church to consult and resolve on this bloody busines the houre is eight the next morne and the place the Cordeliers or Gray Friâ—…s Church appointed and agreed on betwixt them where they both meet but she the better to disguise her selfe and to bleare the eyes of the world wraps her selfe about in a great furred cloake and muffles her selfe up with a large coyfe of velvet and a rich taffata scarfe over it as if she were some grave and reverend old Matron so being brought to each others presence they being both on their knees he to his Booke and she to her Beads she proposeth him the poysoning of La Frange daughter to the President de Clugny for the which she promiseth to give him three hundred crownes of the Sunne to performe it whereof he shall now have one in hand and the other two when he hath dispatched her Michaele like a limbe of the Devill being deepely in love and allured with this gold undertakes it when swearing secrecy and withall to performe it within ten daies she gives him the hundred crownes tyed up in her handkercher and so for that time they part Good God what prophane Christians what monsters of Nature and Devils incarnate by profession are these thus to pollute and defile the Church ordain'd for prayer with the price and sale of innocent blood a most prodigious and hellish impiety since there is no sinne so odious or execrable to God as that which is masked with piety and overvayled with the cloke of sanctity And what a damnable young strumpet and old villaine are they in so holy a place to treate and conclude so hellish a businesse But beware for the sword and arrow of Gods just revenge and revenging Justice threatens yee with no lesse then utter confusion and destruction La Hay infinitely glad of this agreement returns from the Church and Michaele as glad of her gold being informed of La Franges deformity and to lose no time trips away towards President de Clugny his house taking that for a fit occasion to assay to make his daughter become his Patient and he her Empericke who fleeringly insinuating and skrewing himselfe into his knowledge and acquaintance in which profession the Empericks and Mountebanks of Italy come no way short but rather exceed all other Nations of the world he proffers him his best service and skill to redresse and reforme the body of the young Lady his daughter adding withall thereby to adde the more beleefe and credit to his speeches that hee is so farre from dispairing or doubting as hee is very confident thereof and in the phraises and mysteries of his profession gives him in outward appearance many inward and plausible reasons to induce him to beleeve it The good old President who preferring the cure of his daughter before any other earthly respect having heard of Michaâ—…les fame begins to relish his reasons and yet not ignorant that the Mountebankes and Charletans of Italy are Cousin Germans to the Alcumists of France who promise to make gold of drosse and yet only bring forth drosse for gold hee holds it fit to take a consultation of the learnedst Physicians and expert Chirurgions of the City whereunto Michaele willingly consents so they sit being six in number Michaele delivers them his reasons to redresse the deformity of this young Ladies body the President her father being present whose reasons are heard and controverted of all sides betwixt them the
conclusion is foure are of opinion that this cure is repugnant to the grounds of Physicke and the principles of Chirurgery and therefore impossible to be effected the other two are of a contrary judgement and held it feasable and that many times God blesseth the Art and labours of a man not onely beyond expectation but also beyond hope and reason so De Clugny seeing that these two with Michaele were three against foure hee in respect of the tender care and affection he bore his daughter resolves to imploy him and gives him an hundred double Pistollets in hand to attempt it with promise of as much more when he hath performed it whereof this miscreant and hellish Empericke Michaele being exceedingly glad he betakes himselfe to this businesse visits the young Lady who promiseth him to reduble her fathers summe if he make her body straight when to reduce his impious contemplation into infâ—…rnall action he outwardly applieth playsters and seare-clothes to her body and inwardly administreth her pills and potions and O griefe to write it therein infuseth deadly poyson which hee knowes at the end of ten dayes will assuredly make a divorce betweene her body and soule and so send that to the death of this world and this to the life of that to come So this sweete and innocent Lady wishing good to her selfe and hurt to none in the worâ—…d first finds a giddinesse and swimming in her head and within some six dayes after in which time the poyson had dispersed it selfe throughout all the veines and pores of her body many sharpe gripes and bitter throwes and convulsions whereat her father grieves and she weepes onely that gracelesse villaine her Empericke bids them be of good comfort and that the more paine and griefe she suffered the better and speedier hope there was of her cure but yet inwardly in his devillish heart knowes that the poyson effectually operated and wrought with her as hee desired and expected and that by these infallible signes and simptomes his patient drew neere towards the period of her end Whereupon hee repaires secretly to La Hay and bids her provide the rest of his mony for that La Frange could not possibly live two dayes to an end whereat she triumphing and rejoycing with much alacrity againg promiseth it him and indeed the hellish Art of this execrable Empericke doth not now deceive him though in the end the malice of the devill his Doctor will For just as the tenth day was expired this harmelesse sweet yong Lady dyes to the incomparable and unspeakable grief of the good old President her father for that she was the staffe of his age and the chiefe and onely comfort of his life who disconsolatly and mournfully seemed to drown himselfe in his teares hereat cursing the houre that he first saw this accursed Empericke Michaele who had robbed him of his only joy and delight of his deare and sweet daughter La Frange But this murdrous Michaele having learnt of the devill to feare no colours meanes not to step a foot from Tholouse and so sends privately for Lâ—… Hay of whom he craves the performance of her promise for that quoth he he had performed his Why quoth La Hay is that crookbackt dwarfe La Frange dead She is gone quoth Michaele to her eternall rest when La Hay not able to retaine her selfe for excesse of joy runs to him gives him the other hundred crownes together with many kisses which take quoth she as a pledge of my continuall good will towards thee when again swearing secresie they both take leave each of other and part The newes of La Franges death ratlâ—…th and resoundeth over all Tholouse her kinsefolkes grive at it her frinds lament it and all who eyther know her or her fame bewayle it onely De Salez and execrable La Hay excepted who knowing her to have beene the onely stop and hinderance of their mariage they are so ravished with joy heereat as they seeme to contest and envy each other who shall first bring the newes hereof each to other yea the excesse of De Salez his joy is as boundlesse as that of La Hayes delight so that he seemes to flye to her to her fathers house where she with out-spread armes receives and entertaines him and there they mutually congratulate each other for this her death he affirming and she beleeving that La Frange being gone to heaven it shall not bee long ere the Church make them man and wife on earth In the meane time he being wholly ignorant of her poysoning and yet the olde President her father and the rest of her friends suspecting it they cause her body to be opened and although they find no direct poyson yet remarking a little kind of yellow tincture on her heart and liver as also some show thereof through her frozen veines They cause Michaele to be apprehended and imprisoned and so procure a Decree from the Parliament to have him rack'd At the newes whereof La Hay is extreamely tormented and perplexed as well foreseeing and knowing that her life lay at the mercy of his tongue wherefore to fortifie his secrecie and thereby to secure her owne feare and danger she by a confident friend of his sends him a hundred French crownes more and promiseth him to give him a rich Diamond worth as much againe who as before being extreamely covetous and the Devill resembling himselfe still haâ—…ping to him on that string which most delights him his heart is so devillishly obdurated and his fortitude so armed and prepared as his patience and constancy not onely endures but outbraves the crueltie of his torments and so he is acquited of this his pretended crime but he hath not as yet made his peace with God And now is De Salez resolved to make a Journey to Paris to draw his fathers consent that he may marry La Hay but the wisedome of the father shall anticipate the folly of the Sonne for he having heard in Paris of La Franges death and still fearing that because of his frequent familiarity with that strumpet La Hay he will in the end marry her He in Paris buyes a Captaines place for him in the Regiment of the Kings Guard and likewise dealt with a very rich Counsellour of that Court of Parliament named Monsieur de Brianson that his sonne may marry his eldest daughter Madamoyselle de Plessis a very sweet and faire yong Gentlewoman and the old folkes are already agreed on all conditions onely it rests that the young sees and loves To which end Argentier writes away with all speed to Tholouse for his sonne De Salâ—…z to come up to him who before he had received his fathers letter as wee have formerly understood was ready to undertake that Journey La Hay infinitly fearefull and jealous to lose her pray with Crocodile teares in her eyes and Hyena aspects in her lookes informes De Salez that she feareth that his father hath provided a wife for him in Paris
but he vowes and sweares to her that neither his father nor the whole world shall make him marry any other than her selfe and so after many embraces and kisses he takes horse and leaves Tholouse Being arrived at Paris his father very joyfully bids him welcome and referres to conferre with him till the next morning but such is De Salez rashnesse and folly as hee hath no sooner supped in company of his father but hee prayes to speake with him When the servants voyding the chamber he earnestly and humbly beseeching him sith that La Frange is dead hee will now be pleased that hee may marry La Hay whom quoth he I onely affect and love before all the maides of the world His father exceedingly incensed hereat vowes that he had rather see him fairely buried in his grave and that of all the females of the world he shall not marry La Hay and so for that night they betake themselves to their beds the father grieves with his sonnes folly the sonne with his fathers aversenesse The next morne Argentier calls for his sonne When the doores shut hee bids him shut his eyes to his foolish familiarity with La Hay and now to open them to the preferment he hath purchased him and so relates him how hee hath procured him the honour of a Captaines place in the Regiments of the Kings Guard as also a very faire young Gentlewoman for his wife tearmed Madamoyselle de Plessis the eldest daughter of Monsieur de Brianson one of the richest Counsellours of Paris But De Salez having his eyes and thoughts wholly fixed on La Hay with a discontented looke returnes his father this perverse and disobedient replie That he will not accept of the Captaines place nor once see De Plessis but that hee is constantly resolved either to wed La Hay or his grave whereat his father is so extreamely incensed as with much passion and choller he commands him henceforth not to dare so much as to name him La Hay swearing by his Saviour that if hee for his obstinacy and disobedience hee will disinherite him as indeed hee might having himselfe purchased three parts of his lands and revenewes through his care and industry in his profession and so much discontent and cholleâ—… leaves in his Coleagues of Tholouse who are already wayting and attending his comming De Salez is all on fire at this his fathers bitter resolution against him and stormes and fumes not only beyond the bonds of reason religion and humanity but also beyond himselfe For sith La Hay is his sole delight and joy and that his father hath vowed he shall never marry her his affection to her makes him resolve to dispatch his father yea his head conceives such murtherous thoughts and his heart atracts and assumes such degenerate and devillish blood against him that like an execrable wretch and a hellish sonne disdayning to take Counsell from God and therefore taking it from the devill his bloody Tutor and Abettor he vowes he will forthwith rid his hands of his father and that he will therfore send him into another world because he would give him no content in this Oh wretched monster of Nature Limbe of the devill nay a very devill thy selfe thus to resolve to take his life from him that gave thee thine Foule staine of mankind bloody Paracydious miscreant can no respect either of thy naturall and filliall obedience to thy kind and deere father or of his white haires and venerable old age restraine thee or no consideration of thy consceince or thy soule of heaven or hell deterre thee from this bloody inhumane and damnable designe of thine in laying violent hands on him O me where are thy thoughts where thy senses where thy heart thy soule to act so execrable and infernall a Tragidie on him with whom thou hadst not been on thy father whom by the laws of Heaven and Earth thou oughtest both to love honour reverence and obey But De Salez being resolute in this inhumane rage and implacable malice and furie watcheth how he may take time at advantage to effect and finish this his bloody businesse and one a night after supper hearing his old father complaine that he found himselfe not well and commanding his Clarke De Buissie very earely in the next morning to carry his water to Doctor Salepin a famous Physician whose chamber was farre off in the place Maubert he himselfe lying in Grennelles street De Salez thinks this a fit opportunity to dispatch his father the which O a thousand griefes and pitties to speake off he accordingly performeth For the morne appearing his father having sent away his Clarke with his water and betaking himselfe to sleepe till his returne His watchfull and murtherous sonne having purposely made himselfe ready and through the key hole and cranies of his Chamber doore espying his father sleeping he intends that this shall be his last sleepe When softly stealing into his Chamber he incouraged and animated by the divell and approaching his bed as exempt of feare or grace without any more delay or circumstance stifles his father betwixt tow pillowes when leaving him breathlesse in his bed his face exposed to the ayre and the doore shut goes downe gives the master of the house the good morrow and so trips away as fast as he can to the signe of the swan within Saint Honnoryes Gate and from thence rides away to Saint Clow two leagues distant from Paris to see Gondyes gardens fountaines and house wherein that execrable and damnable Iacabine Frier Iaques Clement murthered Henry the third king of France but with an intent to returne to his fathers lodging immediatly after dinner and to plead ignorance of the fact and withall if occasion serve to stand upon his innocency and justification as indeed he did Now his fathers Clarke De Buissye returning in the morning from Doctor Salepin entering his masters chamber finds him starke dead and almost cold in his bed whereat he makes many bitter outcries and grievous exclamations the man of the house hereat ascends the chamber infinitly laments grieves at this sorrowfull accident and spectacle Vowes to De â—…uissye that hee saw none whosoever in his house much lesse in his masters chamber and that his sonne Mounsieur De Salez departed assoone as he himselfe they search his body and find it no way wounded so they beleeve and resove that some angue hath carried him away Yet they hold it rather wisedome than folly to acquaint the Lievtenant Cryminall therewith fearing lest hee might after suspect either violence or poyson So hee comes conferres with his sonne De Salez with his Clarke De Buissye and with the man of the house hee visites the deadbody findes onely his head somwhat swollen which his Physicions affirme may be his striving and strugling with death When the Lievtenant out of his zeale and integrity to Justice having informed himselfe of Doctor Salepin of De Buissyes being with him as also from
at life see what bitter fruits and sharpe ends ever attend upon Whoredome and Murther it is a lively Example for all kinde of Empericks and Drugstâ—…rs whatsoever to consider how severely God doth infallibly revenge and punish the poysoning of his Saints and children In a word it is a Lesson and Caveat for all people and for all degrees of people but especially of Christians who professe the Gospell of Christ not only to detest these foule sins of Revenge and Murther in others but to hate and abhor them in their selves which that all may endeavour to practice and performe grant good God who indeed art the only giver of all goodnesse GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND Execrable Sinne of Murther HISTORY XII Albemare causeth Pedro and Leonardo to murther Baretano and hee after marriah Clara whom Baretano first sought to marry Hee causeth his man Valereo to poyson Pedro in Prison and by a letter which Leonardo sent him Clara perceives that hâ—… husband Albemare had hired and caused Pedro and Leonardo to murther her first Baretano which letter she reveales to the Iudge so he is hanged and likewise Valerio and Leonardo for these their blody crimes WIth what face can we presume to tread on the face of Earth or dare lift up our eyes to that of Heaven when our thoughts are so rebellious to conspire and our hearts and resolutions so cruell to embrue our hands in the innocent blood of our harmelesse and Christian brethren Thoughts they are which in seeming to please our senses poyson our hearts and doe therefore truely poyson our soules because they so falsly please our senses Resolutions they are which we cannot conceive or attempt with more inhumanity than finish with misery Sith in thinking to send them to their untimely graves wee assuredly send our selves to our owne miserable and infamous ends whereof in this ensuing History we shall find many wofull Presidents and mournefull examples in divers unfortunate and wretched persons who were borne to happinesse not to infamy to prosperity not to misery If they had so much Grace to secure their lives as Vanity and Impiety to ruine them It is a History purposely pâ—…duced and penned for our detestation not for our imitation Sith it is a point of true and happy wisdome in all men to beware by other mens harmes Read it then with a full intent to profit thy selfe thereby and so thou mayest boldly and safely rest assured that the sight of their sinnes and punishments will prove the reformation of thine owne FRuitfull and faire Lombardy is the Countrey and the great populous and rich City of Millan the Capitall of that Dutchie the place where the Scene of this mournefull and Tragicall History is layen where perpetrated The which to refetch from its first spring and Originall thereby the more truely to informe our curiosity and instruct our knowledge We must then understand that long since the Duke of Feria succeeded the Count De Fuentes as Vice-roy of that potent and flourishing Dutchie for King Philip the third of Spaine his master There was native and resident in that City an ancient Nobleman tearmed Seignior Leonardo Capello who in his younger yeares had married a Spanish Lady and brought her from Spaine to Millan tearmed Dona Maria de Castiana He exceeding rich and noble and shee as noble and faire he by his fathers side allied to Cardinall Charles Barromeo since Sainted by Pope Paul V. she by her mother to the present Duke of Albucurque hee infinitly honoured for his extraction and wealth shee no lesse beloved and respected for her beautie and vertues and although there are but few marriages contracted between the Millaneses and Spaniards and those very seldome prove successefull and prosperous in respect of the antipathy which for the most part is hereditary betwixt the commands of the Spaniards and the subjection of the Millaneses yet it seemed that this of Capello and Castiana was first instituted in heaven ere consummated on earth for so sweetly did their yeeres humours and affections conjoyne and sympathize as although thy were two persons yet I may truely affirme and say they had but one heart affection and desire which was mutually to please and reciprocally to affect and love each other And as Marriages cannot bee reputed truly happy and fortunate if they be not blessed and crowned with the blessings of children which indeed is not onely the sweetest life of humane content but also the best and sweetest content of our humane life so they had not beene long married ere God honoured them and their nuptiall bed with a beautifull and delicate and young daughter tearmed Dona Clara the onely childe of their loynes and heire of their lands and vertues being indeed the true picture of themselves and the joyfull pledge and seale of their intire and involuable affections who having overpast her infancy and obtained the eighteenth yeare of her age she was so exquisitely adorned with beauty and so excellently endued and enriched with vertues as distinctly for either or joyntly for both she was and was truely reputed the Paragon of Nature the pride of Beauty the wonder of Millan the glory of her Sex and the Phenix of her Time And because the purity and perfection of her beauty deserves to be seene through this dimme Perspective and the dignity of her vertues knowne of the Reader in this my impollished relation For the first she was of stature indifferently tall but exceeding streight and slender her haire either of a deepe Chesnut colour or rather of a light blacke But to which most adhearing and inclyning fancy mought but curiosity could difficultly distinguish her complexion and tincture rather of an amorous and lovely browne than of a Roseat and Lilly die but yet so sweetly pure and purely sweet and withall rather fat than leane that no earthly object could more delight and please the eye or ravish the sense And for her cies those two relucent lamps and startes of love they were so blacke and piercing that they had a secret and imperious influence to draw all other eyes to gaze and doe homage to hers as if all were bound to love her and shee so modest as if purposely framed to love none but her selfe Neither did her Front Lippes Necke or Paps any way detract but every way to adde to the perfection of her other excellencies of Nature For the first seemed to be the Promâ—…ntory of the Graces the second the Residence of delight and pleasure The third the Pyramides of State and Majesty And the fourth the Hills and Valley of love But leave we the dainties of her body now to speake of the rarities and excellencies of her mind which I cannot rightly define whether the curiositie and care of her parents in her education or her owne ingenious and apt inclination to Vertue and Honour were more predominant in her for in either or rather in both she was so exquisite and excellent that in Languages Singing
her resolution Whiles thus Albemare in the way of marriage seekes our faire and sweet Clara publikely no lesse doth Baretano privately and although with lesse vanity and ostentation yet hee hopes with farre more fortunacie and successe as grounding his hopes upon these reasons That in heart and soule Clara is onely his as both in soule and heart he is hers so hee entertaines her many times with his Letters and yet not to shew himselfe a novice in discretion or a coward in affection hee makingher content his commands as shee did his desires her felicity hee in remote Churches and Chappels for whose number Millan exceeds Rome hath both the happinesse and honour privately to meet her where if they violate the sanctity of the place in conferring and cherishing their affections yet they sanctifie thir affections in desiring that some Church or Chappell might invest and crowne them with the religions honour and holy dignitie of marriage For having jested of Love heretofore now like true Lovers they henceforth resolve to love not in jest but in earnest and as of their two hearts they have already made one so now they meane and intend to dispose of their bodies thereby to make one of two And this is their sole desire and this and onely this is their chiefe delight and most pleasing'st desires and wishes But as it is the nature of Love for Lovers to desire to see none but themselves and yet are seene of many so this their familiarity and frequent meeting is againe reported to her father and mother whereat they murmure with griefe and grieve with discontent and affliction and now not to substract but to adde to their vexation it is resolved betweene our two yong amorous Turtle Doves Baretano and his faire Clara that he should publikely motion them for her in marriage which he in wonderfull faire tearmes and orderly Decorum as well by his friends as himselfe performeth When contrary to his wishes but not his expectation they give him so cold entertainment and his suite such poore and sharpe acceptance as they in affection and zeale to Albemare not onely deny him their daughter but their house an answer so incivill and therfore so injust as might give a testimony of some way of their care yet no way of their discretion to themselves or affection to their daughter And here I must confesse that I can difficultly define whether this resolution and answer of Capello and Castiana more delighted Albemare discontented Baretano or afflicted Clara who although in the entrance of their Loves their hopes seem'd to be nipt and their desires crost by the frownes of their parents yet they love each other so tenderly and dearly as these discontents notwithstanding they will not retire but are resolute to advance in the progresse of this their chast and servent affections and although their commands endevour to give a law to her obedience in not permitting her to be frequented of Baretano yet her obedience is so inforced to take a more stronger of her affection as dispight her parents malice and jelosie towards them when they are sweetly sleeping in their beds then is their daughter Clara waking with Baretano and he with her oftentimes walking and talking in the Arboures and many times kissing and billing in the close galleries of the garden which they cannot conceale or beare so closely but her father and mother have exact notice and intelligence thereof by some of their trusty servants whom they had purposely appointed as Sentinels to espie and discover their meetings Whereupon as much in hatred to Baretano as in affection to Albemare knowing that if the cause be once removed the effect is subject soone to follow and ensue they very suddenly and privately send away their daughter from Millan to Modena by Coach there to be mewed and pent up with the Lady Emelia her Aunt and besides her waiting Gentlewoman Adriana none to accompany and conduct her but only Albemare hoping that a small time his presence and importunate solitations would deface the memorie of Baretano to engrave his owne in the heart and thoughts of his sweet Clara. Who poore soule seing her selfe exiled and banished from the society of her Baretano's sight and company wherein under heaven shee chiefly and onely delighted she hereat doth as it were drowne her selfe in the Ocean of her teares storming as well at the cruelty of her parents as at her owne affliction and misfortune and no lesse doth her Baretano for the absence of his sweet Saint and deare Lady Clara for as their affection so their afflictions is equall now mourning as much at each others absence as formerly they rejoyced and triumphed in their presence But although the jealousie of Capello and Castiana were very carefull to watch and observe Baretano in Millan and the zeale and affection of Albemares safety to guard and sweetly to attend on Clara and Modena Yet as fire surpressed flames forth with more violence and rivers stopped overflow with more impetuosity so despight of the ones vigilancie and the others jealousie though Baretano cannot be so happy and blessed to ride over to Modena to see and salute his Clara yet love which is the refiner of inventions and wit and the polisher of judgement cannot yet deraine him from visiting her with his letters the which in respect of the hard accesse and difficult passage to her hee is enforced to send her by subtill meanes and secret messengers and the better to overshadow the curiosity of his Arts and the Art of his affection herein hee among many others makesuse of a Frier and a Hermite for the conveyance of two letters to Modena to his Lady which as fit agents for such amorous employments they with more cunning and fidelity than zeale and Religion safely delivered her and likewise returned him her answers thereof And because the servency of their affections and constancies each to other are more lively depainted and represented in these two than in any other of their letters therefore I thought my selfe in a manner bound here to insert them to the end to give the better spirit and Grace to their History and the fuller satisfaction and content to the curiosity of the Reader That which Baretano sent Clara upon her departure from Millan to Modena by the Frier spake thus BARETANO to CLARA HOw justly may I tearme my selfe unfortunate Sith I am enforced to bee miserable before I know what belongs to happinesse For if ever I found any content or Heaven upon Earth it was onely in thy sweet presence which thy sudden abscence and unexpected exile hath now made at least my Purgatory if not my Hell Faire Clara judge of thy Baretano by thy selfe what a matchlesse griefe it is to my heart and a heart-killing terrour to my thoughts to see thee made captive to my rivall and that the Fates and thy Parents seeme to bee so propitious to his desires and so inexorable and cruell to mine That I must
bravery are very solemnly married But this marriage of theirs shall not prove so prosperous as they expect and hope For God in his all-seeing Providence hath decreed to disturbe the tranquility and serenity thereof and to make them feele the sharpe and bitter showres of affliction and misery which briefly doth thus surprise and befall them Albemare and Clara have hardly beene married together a yeare and quarter but his hot love begins to wax cold and frozen to her yea albeit she affected him truly and tenderly yet hee continually neglecting her and no longer delighting in the sweetnesse of her youth and the freshnesse of her beauty his lustfull eyes and thoughts carry his lascivious selfe abroad among Curtezans when they should be fixed on her and resident at home with his chaste and faire Lady so as his infidelity proving her griefe and torments and his vanity and ingratitude her unspeakable affliction and vexation she with infinite sighs and teares repents her matching him and a thousand times wisheth shee had beene so happy and blessed to have died Baretano's Martyr and not so unfortunate and accursed to live to see her selfe Albemares wife and yet were there any hope of his reformation she could then prefixbounds to her calamities and sorrowes But seeing that his vices grew with his age and that every day he became more vicious and unkinde to her than other her hopes are now wholly turned into despaire her mirth into mourning yea her inward discontents so apparantly bewray themselves in her outward sorrowfull complexion and countenance that the Roses of her cheekes are metamorphosed into Lillies and her heart so wholly taken up with anguish and surprised with sorrow as shee wisheth that her bed were her grave and her selfe in Heaven with God because shee could finde no comfort here on Earth with her husband But beyond her expectation God is providing to redresse her griefe and to remedy her afflictions by a very strange and unlooked for accident The Providence and Iustice of God doth now againe refetch bloudy Pedro to act another part upon the Stage and Theater of this History For having spent that money lewdly which he before got damnably of Albemare his wants are so great and his necessity so urgent as having played the murtherer before hee makes no conscience nor scruple now to play the theefe and so by night breaks into a Jewellers shops named Seignior Fiamata dwelling in the great place before the Domo and there carries away from him a small Trunke or Casket wherein were some uncut Saphyrs Emralds with some Venice Chrystall pendants for Ladies to weare in their eares and other rich commodities but Fiamata lying over his shop and hearing it and locking his doore to him for feare of having his throat cut gives the out-cry and alarum forth the window which ringing in the streets makes some of the neighbours and also the watch approach and assemble where finding Pedro running with a Casket under his arme he is presently hemb'd in apprehended and imprisoned and the Casket tooke from him and againe restored to Fiamata when knowing that he shall die for this robbery as a just punishment and judgement of God now sent him for formerly murthering of Baretano he having no other hope to escape death but by the meanes of Albemare he sends early the next morning for his man Valerio to come to the prison to him whom he bids to tell his Master Albemare from him that being sure to be condemned for this robbery of his if he procure him not his pardon he will not charge his soule any longer with the murther of Baretano but will on the ladder reveale how it was he who hired himselfe Leonardo to performe it Valerio reporting this to his Master it affrights his thoughts and terrifies his conscience and courage to see himselfe reduced to this misery that no lesse than his life must now stand to the mercy of this wretched Varlet Pedro's tongue But knowing it impossible to obtaine a pardon for him and therfore high time to provide for his owne safety by stopping of Pedro's mouth he resolves to heave Ossa upon Pelon or to adde murther to murther and now to poyson him in prison whom he had formerly caused to murther Baretano in the street to the end he might tell no tales on the ladder thinking it no ingratitude or sinne but rather a just reward and recompence for his former bloudy service so to feed Pedro with false hopes thereby to charme his tongue to silence and to lull his malice asleepe he speedily returnes Valerio to prison to him who bids him feare nothing for that his master had vowed to get him his pardon as he shall more effectually heare from him that night whereat Pedro rejoyceth and triumpheth telling Valerio that his Master Albemare is the most generous and bravest Cavalier of Lombardy But to nip his joyes in their untimely blossomes and to disturbe the harmony of his false content that very day as soone as hee hath dined he is tryed and arraigned before his Judges and being apparantly convicted and found guilty of this robbery hee is by them adjudged to be hanged the next morne at a Gibbet purposely to be erected before Fiamata's house where he committed his delict and crime which just sentence not only makes his joy strike saile to sorrow but also his pride and hopes let fall their Peacocks plumes to humility and feare But his onely trust and comfort yea his last hopes and refuge is in Albemare who hearing him to be condemned to be executed the next morning he is enforced to play his bloudy prize that night and so in the evening sends Valerio to prison to him with a Capon and two Fiascoes or bottles of Wine for him to make merry informing him that he hath obtained his pardon and that it is written and wants nothing but the Viceroyes signe to it which he shall have to morrow at breake of day But the wine of the one of the bottles was intermixed with strong and deadly poyson which was so cunningly tempered as it carried no distastefull but a pleasing relish to the pallate Valerio like an execrable villaine proving as true a servant to his Master as a rebellious and false one to his God he punctially performes this fearefull and mournfull businesse and having made Pedro twice drunke first with his good newes and then with his poysoned wine he takes leave of him that night and committing him to his rest promiseth to be with him very early in the morning with his pardon When this miserable and beastly prophane wretch never thinking of his danger or death of God or his soule of Heaven or Hell betakes himselfe to his bed where the poyson spreading ore his vitals parts soone bereave him of his breath sending his soule from this life and world to another Now the next morning very early as the Gaoler came to his chamber to bid him prepare to his
shee throwes her selfe on the floore and weepes and sighs so mournfully as the most obduratest and flintiest heart could not chuse but relent into pitie to see her for sometimes shee lookt up to heaven and then againe dejecting her eyes to earth now wringing her hands and then crossing her armes in such disconsolate and afflicted manner as Adriana could not likewise refraine from teares to behold her when after a deepe and profound silence she bandying and evaporating many volleyes of farre fetched sighs into the ayre shee commanding Adriana forth the doore shut with the two extremities of passion and sorrow shee alone utters these mournfull speeches to her selfe And shall Clara live to understand that her Baretano was murthered for her sake and by her unfortunate husband Albemare and shall she any more lie in bed with him who so inhumanely hath layen him in his untimely and bloudy grave And Clara Clara wilt thou prove so ungratefull to his memory and to the tender affection he bore thee as not to lament not to seeke to revenge this his diastrous and cruell end when againe her teares interrupting her words and her sighs her teares she entring into a further consultation with her thoughts and conscience her heart and her soule at last cotinues her speech in this manner O but unfortunate and wretched Clara what speakest thou of revenge for consider with thy selfe yea forget not to consider Baretano was but thy friend Albemare is thy husband the first loved thee in hope to marry thee but thou art married to the second and therefore thou must love him and although his ingratitude and infidelity towards thee make him unworthy of thy affection yet yee two are but one flesh and therefore consider that malice is a bad advocate and revenge a worse Judge But here againe remembring what a foule and odious crime murther was in the sight of the Lord that the discovery thereof infinitely tended to his glory and honour and that the poore Foole was doubtlesse inspired from heaven to affirme that God sent the Letter she knowes that her bonds of conscience to her Saviour must exceed and give a law to those of her duty towards her husband and therefore preferring Heaven before Earth and God before her Husband shee immediately cals for her Coach and goes directly to Baretano's Vnkle Seignior Giovan de Montefiore and with sighs and teares shewes him the letter who formerly though in vaine had most curiously exactly hunted to discover the murtherers of his Nephew Montefiore first reads the letter with tears then with joy and then turning towards â—…he Lady Clara he commends her zeale and Christian fortitude towards God in shewing her how much the discovery of this murther tended to his glory and so presently sends away for the President Criminell who immediately repairing thither he acquaints him therewith shewes him the Letter and prayes him to examine the Lady Clara thereon which with much modesty and equity he doth and then returne with her to her house and there likewise examineth the Foole where he had the Letter who out of his incivilitie and simplicity takes the President by the hand and bringing him to the Cupboard tels him Here God sent the Letter and here I found him when Valerio being present and imagining by his Ladies heavie and sorrowfull countenance that this Letter had perhaps brought her into some affliction and danger he looking on the direction of the Letter as also on the Seale he reveales both to the President and his Lady that hee received that Letter from one whom hee knew not and that hee left it purposely on the Cupboard for his Master against his comming The President being fully satisfied herein admires at Gods providence revealed in the simplicity of this poore harmlesse Foole in bringing this Letter which brought the murther of Baretâ—… to light when knowing thâ—… God doth many times raise up the foolish and weake to confound the wise and mighty things of the world hee presently grâ—… out a Commission to apprehend â—…lbemare who being then found in bed with Mâ—…ina one of the most famous Beauties and reputed Curtezans of Millan Hee both astonished and amazed by the just judgements of God is drawne from his beastly pleasures and adulteries to prison where being charged to have hired Pedro and 〈◊〉 to have 〈◊〉 thered Baretano he stoutly denies it But Leonardo's Letter being read him 〈◊〉 theâ—… adjudged to the Racke his Soule and Conscience ringing him â—…ny 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of terrour â—…ee there at large 〈◊〉 it when for this 〈◊〉 and bloudy fact of his he the same afternoone is condemned to be hanged the next morning at the common place of Execution which administreth matter of talke and admiration throwout all Millan when Serjeants are likewise sent away to Pavia to bring Leonardo to Millan who not so much as once dreamt or thought that ever this his letter would have produced him this danger and misery And now Albemare advertised of the manner how this letter of Leonardo was brought to light without looking up to Heaven from whence this vengeance justly befell him for his sinnes hee curseth the cruelty of his wife the simplicity of the foole but most bitterly exclaimeth against the remisnesse and carelesnesse of his servant Valerio in not retaining and keeping that letter which is the onely cause of his death yea he is so farre transported with choller against him as although he have but a few houres to live yet hee vowes he will assuredly cry quittance with him ere he die Now the charity of his Judges send him Divines that night in prison to prepare and cleare his conscience and to confirme and fortifie his soule against the morne in his last conflict with the world and her flight and transmigration to heaven who powerfully and religiously admonishing him that if he have committed any other notorious offence or crime hee should now doe well to reveale it He likewise there and then confesseth how hee had caused his man Valerio to poyson Pedro with wine in prison the verynight before he was executed whereupon this bloudy and execrable wretch according to his hellish deserts is likewise apprehended and imprisoned And now Gods mercy and justice brings this unfortunate because irreligious Gentleman Albemare to receive condigne punishment for those his two horrible murthers which he had caused to bee committed on the persons of Baretano and Pedro who ascending the ladder in presence of a world of spectators who flocked from all parts of the City to see him take his last farewell of the world The sight and remembrance of his foule crimes having now made him not onely sorrowfull but repentant he briefly delivered these few words He confessed that hee had hired Pedro and Leonardo to kill Baretano in the street and seduced his servant Valerio to poyson Pedro in prison whereof with much griefe and contrition he heartily repented himselfe and besought the Lord to forgive it him he likewise
besought Leonardo and Valerio to forgive him in respect he knew he was the cause of their deaths because he was sure they should not long survive him He likewise forgave his foole as being assured that it was not hee in the Letter but God in him that had revealed the Letter for his just punishment and confusion And lastly he with many teares forgave his wife and Lady Clara whom hee affirmed from his heart was by farre too vertuous for so dissolute and vilde a husband as himselfe He blamed himselfe for neglecting to love her and cursed his Queans and Curtizans as being the chiefe cause of all his miseries when requesting all that were present to pray for his soule he was turned off But his Judges seeing that hee had added murther to murther they held it Justice to adde punishment to his punishment and so he is no sooner cut downe but they cause his body to be burnt and his ashes to be throwne into the aire which is accordingly performed Now because the Lord in his Justice will punish as well the Agents as the Authors of murther whiles Albemare is acting the last Scene and Catastrophe of his Tragedy His wretched hireling Leonardo and his execrable servant Valerio are likewise aâ—…ed found guilty and condemned to bee hang'd for their severall murthers oâ—… 〈◊〉 and â—…ro and so the very same afternoone they are brought to their Executioners where Leonardo his former life and profession having made him know better how to sinne than repent he out of a souldier-like bravery or rather vanity thinks rather to terrifie death than that death should terrifie him he begging pardon for his sinnes in generall of God and the world and then bidding the hang-man doe his office he takes his last adiew of the world When immediately Valerio ascends the ladder who having repentance in his heart and griefe and sorrow in his looks as neare as could be observed and gathered spake these words That being poore both in friends and means the only hope of preferment under his master made him at his request to poyson Pedro in prison That many times since he hath heartily grieved for it and now from his very soule repents himselfe of it and beseeching the Lord to forgive it him That hee was as guilty of this murther as innocent of Baretano's yea or of the knowledge thereof before his Master was imprisoned for the same and that as this was his first Capitall crime so sith he must nowdie he rejoyced it was his last and so praying all servants to beware by his miserable example not to be seduced to commit murther either by their masters or the devill and beseeching all that were present to pray for his soule he resigning and commending it into the hands of his Redeemer was likewise turned off And these were the miserable yet deserved ends of these bloudy murtherers and thus did Gods justice and revenge triumph over their crimes and themselves by heaping and raigning downe confusion on their heads from heaven when the devill falsely made them beleeve they sate secure yea when they least dreamt thereof on earth Oh that the sight and remembrance of their punishments may restraine and deterre us from conspiring and committing the like crimes so shall we live fortunate and die happy whereas they died miserably because they lived impiously and prophanely And here fully to conclude and shut up this Historie and therein as I thinke to give some satisfaction to the curiosity of the Reader who may perchance desire to know what became after of the faire and vertuous Clara. Why her sorrowes were so infinite and her quality and Nature so sorrowfull as being wearie of the world and as it were weighed downe with the incessant vanities crosses and afflictions thereof she notwithstanding the power and perswasions of her parents assumes her former resolution to retire sequester her selfe from conversing with the world and so enters into the Nunnery of the Annuntiation so famous in Millan where for ought I know or can since understand to the contrary she yet lives a pensive and solitary sister GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND Execrable Sinne of Murther HISTORY XIII La Vasselay poysoneth her waiting maid Gratiana because she is jealous that her husband De Merson is dishonest with her whereupon he lives from her In revenge whereof shee causeth his man La Villete to murther him in a Wood and then marries him in requitall The said La Villete a yeare after riding thorow the same Wood his horse fals with him and almost kils him when he confesseth the murther of his master De Merson and accuseth his wife La Vasselay to be the cause thereof So for these their bloudy crimes he is hanged and she burnt alive HOw falsly nay how impiously doe wee tearme our selves Christians when under that glorious and sanctified Title wee seeke to prophane and deface the glory of Christ in cruelly murthering our brethren his members effects not of Zeale but of Rage not of Pietie but of Madnesse invented by the Devill and perpetrated by none but by his Agents lamentable effects yea I say bloudy and infernall crimes which still ruine those who contrive and confound those who finish them For let us but looke from Earth to Heaven from Satan to God from Nature to Grace and from our Hearts to our Soules and wee shall assuredly finde it very difficult for vs to define whether Charitie be a sweeter Vertue or Malice a fouler Vice whether that be more secure or this pernicious fatall dangerous whether that be a more apparant testimony of Gods saving Grace towards us or this of our owne inevitable perdition and reprobation And as it is an odious sinne and displeasing sacrifice in the sight of God for a stranger to kill another O then how much more execrable and diabolicall must it be for a Gentlewoman to poyson her Waiting-maid and for a servant to pistoll his master to death at the instigation of the same Gentlewoman his wife for murthers no lesse ingratefull and cruell doth this subsequent History report and relate wherein we shall see that God in the Triumphs of his revenging Iustice and out of his sacred secret providence hath in all points made their punishments as sharpe and severe as their crimes were bloudy and deplorable May we then reade it to Gods glory and our owne consolation which we shall assuredly performe if we hate the like crimes in others and detest them in our selves IN the faire and pleasant City of Mans being the chiefe and Capitall of the Province of Maine in France in the very latter yeares that the Marshall of Boys-Daulphin was Governour thereof under the present King Lewes XIII his master there dwelt a Gentlewoman aged of threescore and three yeares termed La Vasselay being well descended and left very rich as well in lands as moveables by her late deceased husband Monsier Froyset who was slaine in the behalfe of the Queene
passe his time that Winter partly hoping that his father will discharge his debts in his absence but more especially to become acquainted with the beauties of that City thereby to obtaine some rich young heire or old widdow for his wife whose estate and wealth might support his pride and maintaine his excessive prodigality and voluptuousnesse and indeed although the two former of these his hopes deceive him yet he shall shortly finde and see that the third and last will not Living thus in Mans the bravery of his apparell and equipage the freenesse of his expences his comely talke personage blacke beard and sanguine complexion makes him as soone acquainted and affected as knowne of many Ladies and Gentlewomen and farre the more because they know his father De Manfrelle to bee a very ancient and rich Gentleman of that Countrey of Maine and although hee is not his heire yet in regard hee is his second sonne as also a Traveller he was the more honoured and respected of all those he frequented so that the very fame and name of Monsier de Merson beganne to bee already divulged and knowne in the City yea and because hee was a great Balladine or Dancer there was no solemne assembly either publike or private but still De Merson made one and there was not a reputed beauty or supposed courteous Lady in Mans or thereabouts but such was his vanity as hee soone wrought and insinuated himselfe into her acquaintance and familiarity the which he made not onely his delight but his glory And although that in a small time the wiser sort of the Gentlemen and Ladies of the Citie found his wit and experience to come infinitely short of his brave apparell yet the more illiterate ignorant of them who esteeme all men by their lustre not by their brave worth as preferring gay apparell and the comelinesse of the body before the exquisite endowments and perfections of the mind they hold him in so high a repute esteeme as they thinke him to be the most absolute Gallant not onely of Mans but of all the Country of Maine so easie it is to captivate the conceits and judgements of those who onely build their judgements in their conceits and not their conceits in judgement And of this ranke and number was our old widow La Vasselay who having many times heard of De Mersons fame and comely personage and seene him once at a Sermon and twice at two severall Nuptiall feasts where his skill and agility proved him to be one of the prime dancers she is so farre in love with him as in her thoughts and heart she wisheth she had given halfe her estate dowrie conditionally that she were his wife and he her husband yea she is so ravished with the comelinesse of his feature and the sweetnesse of his complexion and countenance as all the world is not halfe so deare to her as De Merson nor any man whatsoever by many thousand degrees so delicious to her eye and pleasing to her heart and soule as himselfe And although she be in the frozen Zone of her age yet her intemperate lust makes her desires so youthfully intemperate as forgetting reason and modestle that the best vertue of our soule and this the chiefest ornament of our body she a thousand times wisheth that either De Merson were impalled in her armes or she incloystred in his But doting yea I may well neere truly say dying old Gentlewoman is this a time for thee to thinke of a young husband when one of thy old feet is as it were in thy grave 〈◊〉 being in thy 〈◊〉 yeare of threescore and three art thou yet so fraughted with levity and exempt of continency as thou wilt needs seeke to marrie one of five and twenty Foolish La Vasselay if it be not now time yea high time for thee to sacrifice thy desires to continencie when will it be if ever be Didst thou resolve to wed a husband neere of thine owne age and so to end the remainder of thy dayes with him in chaste and holy wedlocke that resolution of thine were as excusable as this in desiring so young a one is worthy not onely of blame but of reprehension and I may say of pitie Consider consider with thy selfe what a preposterous attempt and enterprise is this of thine that when thou shouldest finish thy dayes in devotion and prayer thou then delightest to begin them in concupiscence and lust O La Vasselay mocke at those rebellious and treacherous pleasures of the flesh which seeme to mocke at thee yea to betray thee and if there be yet any sparke of thy youth which lies burning under the embers of thy age why if thy chaste thoughts cannot yet let modesty or at least piety extinguish them God hath already given thee two husbands is it not now therfore time yea more than time for thee to prepare to give thy selfe to God Hitherto the chastity of thy youth hath made thee happy and wilt thou now permit that the lust of thine age make thee unfortunate or peradventure miserable and that the purity and candeur of that be distained and polluted by the foulnesse and obscenity of this Alas alas incontinent inconsiderate Gentlewoman of a grave Matron become not a youthfull Gigglet or if thou wilt not suffer the eyes of thy body at least permit those of thy soule to look from thy painted cheeks to thy snow-white haire who can informe and tell thee that thou art far fitter for Heaven than earth sith those pleasures are transitory and these eternall for God than a husband sith he onely can make thee blessed whereas in reward of thy lascivious lust this peradventure may be reserved to make thee both unfortunate and wretched But the vanity of this old Gentlewomans thoughts and desires doe so violently fix and terminate on the youth beauty of young and as she immodestly tearms him faire De Merson as the only consideration of her delight and pleasure weighes downe all other respects so that neither reason nor modesty advice nor perswasion can prevaile with her resolution to divert her affection from him but love him she doth and which is repugnant as well to the instinct of Nature as to the influence of modesty and rules of civility seeke him for her husband shee will yea she is already become so sottish in her affection and so lasciviously fervent in her desires towards him that her heart thinks of him by day her soule by night that admires him as the very life of her felicity and thus adores him as the onely content and glory of her life shee will not see the greatnesse of her owne estate and wealth nor consider the smallnesse of his meanes and hopes in that he is not an heire but a second brother she will not enquire after his debts and vices to know what those may be what these are she will not thinke what a preposterous disparity there is betwixt the
decayed age and what more reeling and fickle than the constant inconstancy of his lacivious youth which make my thoughts justly feare and my heart truly presage and apprehend that repentance not pleasure affliction not joy misery not prosperity is at the heeles to attend and follow these their Nuptials As marke we the sequell and it will briefly informe us how De Merson hath not been married two whole moneths to La Vassellay but he begins to repent himselfe that ever he matched her for he now sees though before he would not that it is imposible for youth to fedge and sympathise with her age he sees that she hath a discrepit sickely and decayed body and that she is never free of the Cough and Rheume as also of an Issue in her left arme which is not only displeasing but loathsome to him Yea when she hath taken off her ruffe and head attier and dighted her selfe in her night habilements then he vowes he is afraid of her Lambe-skin furred cap and wast-coate and takes her withered face for a Vizard or a Commet which yeelds no delight but terror to his eyes swearing that he serves onely for a bed-pan to heat her frozen body which of it selfe is farre colder than a Marble Statue Yea he is so farre out of love with her because to write the truth he never truely loved her that her sight is a plague to him her presence by day a Purgatory and her company by neight a very Hell But deboshed and dissolute Gentleman these vitious and impious conceits of thine come immediatly from Hell and Sathan and are no way infused in thy thoughts by Heaven much lesse inspired in thy heart by God Consider consider with thy selfe that if La Vasselay be old yet she is now thy wife and that whatsoever De Praneau or her selfe informed thee of fiftie yeers yet thou knowest she could not be lesse than sixtie three and more she is not In which regard marriage the holy Institution of Heaven having now made you of two one if thou wilt not love her age at least thou shouldest reverence it or if thou canst not affect her thou shouldest not hate her Hath she imperfections what woman in the world lives without them or is shee Pestered with diseases who can be either exempted from them or prevent them Thou hast vowed in the Temple of the Lord and in the presence of him and his people not onely to love but to honour her and is thy inconstancy and impiety already such as forgetting that promise and vowe of thine thou dost now not onely dishonour but despise and contemne her and that thou onely madest that vow purposely to breake it O De Merson if thou art not capable of Counsel yet do but beleeve the truth and thou wilt find that if thou wilt not love her because she is too old to be thy wife yet thou shouldest respect and regard her because she is old enough to be thy Grandmother for as it is incivility not to reverence Age so it is impietie to disdaine and maligne it and if in any man towards a meere stranger how much more a husband to his owne wife And because it is easier to espy our wives imperfections than to finde out or reforme our owne if thy wife La Vasselay bee guiltie of any fault towards thee it is because shee loves thee too well and affects thee too dearely We have scene De Mersons distaste of his wife La Vasselay Let us now see how she likes or rather why she so soone dislikes him for he beares himselfe so strangely and withall so unkindly towards her as her desires of his youth comes farre short both of her expectation and hopes for if he lye with her one night hee wanteth six from her is still abroad and seldome or never at home with her yea hee is of such a gadding humour and ranging disposition as his thoughts and delights are transported elsewhere not at home with other young Dames of Mans not with herselfe and the vanity of his pleasures doe so farre surprize and captivate him that hee is already become so vitious as he makes day his night and night his day living rather like a volutupous Epicure than a temperate or Civill Christian Neither quoth she is it Iealousie but truth which makes her prie so narrowly into so lewd and lacivious actions wherein the further she wades the more cause she finds both of griefe and vexation which makes her wish that shee had beene blind when she first saw him and either he or her selfe in Heaven when they so unfortunately marryed each other here upon Earth How now fond and foolish olde Gentlewoman are thy joyes so soone converted into sorrowes and thy triumphs into teares why thou hast just cause to thanke none but thy selfe for these thy crosses and afflictions sith thy lustfull and lacivious desires were not onely the author but the procurer of them for hadst thou beene more modest and lesse wanton thou mightest have apparantly seene and providently fore-seene that De Mersons youth was too young for thy age because thy age was too old for his youth so that hadst thou beene then but halfe so stayed and wise as now thou art sorrowfull thou needest not now grieve for that which thou canst not redresse nor repent for that which is out of thy power to remedy But rash and inconsiderate woman how comes this to passe that thou art ready to entertaine jelousie when death stands ready to entertaine thee Could all the course of thy former youth be so happy not to be acquainted with this vice and doth now thy frozen age thinke it a vertue to admit and imbrace it Ay me I grieve to see thy folly and lament to understand thy madnesse in this kinde for what is Ielousie but the rage of our thoughts and braines the disturber of our peace and tranquility the enemy of our peace and happinesse the traitour of our judgement and undestanding the plague of our life the poyson of our hearts and the very bane and Canker of our soules Ielousie why it is the daughter of frenzie and the mother of madnesse it is a vice purposely sent from hell to make those wretched on earth who may live fortunate and happy and yet will not yea it is a vice which I know not whether it bee more easie to admit or difficult to expell being admitted But La Vasselay expell it thou must at least if thou thinke to live fortunate and not to die miserable Wert thou as young as aged thy Ielousie might have some colour and excuse in meeting with the censures of the world whereas now not deserving the one it cannot receive the other And as those women are both wise and happy who winke at the youthfull escapes of their husbands so thy Ielousie makes thee both meritorious and guilty of thy afflictions because thou wilt be so foolish to espy and so malicious to remember these of thine
question she after a world of sighes and teares tearmes her accusers devils and witches vowes by her part in heaven and upon the perill of her owne soule that she is innocent of that crime whereof she accused her and that neither indeed or thought she was ever dishonest or unchast with any man of the world much lesse with her Master But this will not satisfie incensed La Vasselay neither are these speeches or teares of Gratiana of power to passe current with her jealousie but reputing them false and counterfeit shee cals in her chamber-maid and cookemaid when shee had purposely led there and bids them unstrip Gratiana naked to her wast and to bind her hand and foot to the bed post which with much repyning and pitty they are at last inforced to do When commanding them forth the chamber and bolting the doore after them she not like a woman but rather as a fury of hell flies to poore innocent Gratiana and with a great burchen rod doth not onely raze but scarifie her armes backe and shoulders when harmelesse soule she though in vaine having no other defensive weapons but her tongue and her innocency cries aloud to heaven and earth for succour But this old hag as full of malice as jealousie hath no compassion of her cries nor pitty of her sighes yea neither the sight of her teares or blood which trickling downe her cheekes and shoulders doth both bedew and ingraine her smocke are of power to appease her fury and envy untill having spent three rods and tyred and wearied both her armes shee in the heat of her choller and the height of her revenge delivers her these bitter and scoffing words Minion this this is the way yea the onely way to coole the heate of thy courage and to quench the fire of thy lust When calling in her two maids she commands them to unbinde Gratiana and to helpe on her clothes When triumphing in her cruelty she furiously departs and leaves them who cannot refraine from teares to see how severely and cruelly their Mistris hath handled this her poore Gentlewoman Gratiana the better to remedy these her insupportable and cruell wrongs holds it discretion to desemble them and so providing herselfe secretly of a horse and man she the next night steales away rides to La Ferte and from thence to her father at Nogent le Retrou where he was superintendant of the Prince of Condes house and Castle in that Towne and where the Princesse Dowager his mother built vp the greatest part of her sorrowfull residence whence whiles he was detained prisoner in the Castle of Boys de Vincennes neere Paris La Vasselay grieves at this her sudden and unexcted departure the which she feares her husband De Merson and her father Mounsieur De Bremay will take in ill part wherein shee is no way deceived for the one grieves and the other stormes thereat yea when De Merson through flattery and threats had drawne from the Chamber-maid and Cooke-maid the truth of his wives cruell whipping of Gratiana as also the cause thereof her jealousie He justly incensed and inraged flies to this his sottish and cruell wife tells her that jealousie comes from the devill whose part he affirmes she hath acted in acting this upon innocent Gratiana then whom there lives not a chaster maid in the world That although she were poore yet that she was aswell descended as her selfe In which regard if she did not speedily right and redeeme her wrongs and seeke meanes to pacifie and recall her that he would forth-with leave her yea and utterly forsake her which cooling card of his to his wife makes her looke on her former erronious cruelty towards Gratiana rather with outward griefe than inward repentance But seeing that her jealousie must now stoope and strike saile to her husbands Choller and that to enjoy his company she must not be exempted and deprived of hers she contrary to her desires and will which still retaines the fumes and flames of jealousie as that doth of revenge is inforced to make a vertue of necessity and so to beare up with the time feigning her selfe repentant and sorrowful for what she had formerly done to Gratiana she to reclaime her buyes her so much wrought black Taffety for a Gowne and so much Crimson Damaske for a Petticoate and with a bracelet of Pearle which she accustomed to weare upon her right arme she sends it to Nogent to her by La Vilette a Gentleman of her husbands and accompanieth it with a letter to her father Mounsieur de Bremay which contained these words LA VASSELAY to DE BREMAY HAving vindicated Truth from Error and metamorphosed Iealousie into Iudgement I find that I have wronged thy daughter Gratiana where at I grieve with contrition and sorrow with repentance sith my husbands vowes and oathes have fully cleared her Honour and Chastity which my foolish incredulity and feare rashly attempted both to ecclips and disparage In which regard praying her to forgive and thy selfe to forget that wrong I earnestly desire her speedy returne by this bearer and yee both shall see that I neuer formerly hated her so much as henceforth I will both loue and honour her I have now sent her some small tokens of my affection and ere long she shall find greater effects and testimonies thereof for knowing her to be as chast as faire In this De Bremay I request thee to rest confident that as she is now thy daughter by Nature so she shall be henceforth mine by adoption LA VASSELAY De Bremay having received this letter and his daughter Gratiana these kind tokens from her Mistris La Vasselay his choller and her griefe and sorrow is soone defaced and blowne away so hee well satisfied and she content and pleased he sends her backe from Nogent to Mans by La Villette by whom he writes this ensuing letter to his Mistris La Vasselay in answer of hers DE BREMAY to LA VASSELAY THy Letter hath given me so much content and satisfaction as thy undeserved cruelty to my daughter Gratiana did griefe and indignation And had shee beene guilty of that crime whereof thy feare made thee jealous I would for ever have renounced her for my daughter and deprived her of my sight for as her Vertues are her best wealth and her Honour her chiefest revenew so if shee had failed in these or faltered in this I should then have joyned with thee to hate her as I doe now to love her But her Teares and Oathes have cleared her innocencie and in hers thy husbands In which regard relying vpon her owne merits and thy professed kindnesse shee forgetting and I forgiving things past I now returne her thee by thy servant La Villette hoping that if thou wilt not affect her as thy adopted Daughter yet that thou wilt tender her as thy obedient and observant handmaid DE BREMAY Gratiana's hopes and her fathers credulity of La Vasselaye's future affection towards her as also
consummared far within the tearm of six moneths after For the curious wits of these Citties and Countryes considering what a preposterous course and resolution thiâ—… was for her to marry her husbands man and withall so soone as also that there was none other present but himselfe when his Master De Merson was murthered it is umbragious and leaves a spice of feare and sting of suspition in their heads that there was more in the wind then was yet knowne and therefore knowing no more they deferre the detection thereof to the providence and pleasure of God who best yea who only knowes in Heaven how to conduct and mannage the actions here below on Earth and now indeed the very time is come that the Lord will no longer permit these their cruell and bloody murthers to bee concealed but will bring them foorth to receiue condigne punishment and for want of other evidence and witnesses they themselves shall be witnesses against themselves And although La Vaâ—…elay's poysoning of Gratiana and La Villette pistolling of his master De Merson were cunningly contrived and secretly perpetrated yet we shall see the last of these bloody murthers occasion the discovery and detection of the first and both of them most severely and sharpely punished for these their bloody crimes and horrible offences The manner is thus These two execrable wretches La Villette and La Vasselay have not lived married above some seaven or eight monthes but he being deepely in Law with Mounsieur De Manfrelle his Predecessors father for the detention of some lands and writings hee takes an occasion to ride home to his house of Manfrelle to him to conferre of the differences and by the way falls into the company of some Merchants of Lavall and Vittry who were returning from the faire of Chartres when riding together for the space of almost a whole dayes journey the secret providence and sacred pleasure of God had so ordained that La Viâ—…ettes horse who bore him quietly and safely before on a Sunday first goes back-wards in despight of his spur or swich and then â—…anding an end on his two hind legges falls quite backe with him and almost breakes the bulke and trunke of his body when having hardly the power to speake his breath fayling him and hec seeing no way but death for him and the hideous image thereof apparantly before his eyes the Spirit of God doth so operate with his sinnefell soule as hee there confesseth how his wicked wife La Vasselay had caused him to murther his master De Merson whom he shot to death with his Pistoll that shee first seduced him with a thousand Crownes to performe it which he refused but then her consent to marry him made him not onely attempt but finish that bloody businesse whereof now from his very heart and soule he repented himselfe and beseeched the Lord to forgive it him But here before the Readers curiosity carry him further let me in the name and feare of God both request and conjure him to stand amazed and wonder with me at his sacred providence and inscrutable wisdome and judgement which most miraculously concurres and shines in this accident and especially in three essentiall and most apparant circumstances thereof For it was on the very same horse the same day twelve moneth and in the very same wood and place where this execrable wretch La Villette formerly murthered his master De Merson Famous and notorious circumstances which deserve to be observed and remarked of all the children of God yea and to be imprinted and ingraven in their hearts and memories thereby to deter vs from the like crimes of murther Now these honest Merchants of Lavall and Vittry as much in charity to La Villettes life as in execration of that confessed murther of his Master De Merson convey him to an Inne in Sâ—…int Gorges when expecting every minute that he would dye in their hands they send away post to advertise the Presidiall Court of Mans hereof within whose Iurisdiction Saint Gorges was who speedily command La Villette to 〈◊〉 â—…ght thither to them alive or dead But God reserved him from that natural to 〈◊〉 more infamous death and made him live till he came thither where againe he confesseth this his foule murther of his master De Merson and likewise accuseth La Vasselay to bee the sole instigator thereof as we have formerly heard and understood Whereupon he is no sooner examined but this bloody old Hagge is likewise imprisoned who with many asseverations and teares denies and retorts this foule crime from her selfe to him But her Iudges are too wise to beleeve the weakenesse and invalidity of this her foolish justification So whiles they are consulting on her De Breâ—… having notice of all these accidents but especially of La Vasselay's imprisonment he still apprehending and fearing that she undoubtedly was the death of his daughter Gratioâ—…a takes Poste from Nogent to Mans where hee accuseth her thereof to the Cryminell Iudges of the Presidiall Court who upon these her double accusation adjudge her to the Racke when at the very first torment thereof shee at last preferring the life of her soule before that of her body confesseth her selfe to be the Actor of her first crime of Murther and the Author of the second when and whereupon the Iudges resembling themselves in detestation and for expiation of these her foule crimes condemne him to be hangd and she to be burnt alive which the next day at the common place of execution neere the Halles in Mans is accordingly executed in the presence and to the content of a world of people of that City who as much abhorre the enormity of these their bloody crimes as they rejoyce â—…nd glorifie God for this their not so severe as deserved punishments As for La Villette he like an impious Christian said little else but that which he had formerly spoken and delivered in the wood at the receiving of his fall onely hee said That he had well hoped that his great wealth which hee had with La Vasselay would have sheltred and preserved him from this infamous death for murthering her Husband and his master De Merson But as for this bloody Beldam and wretched old Fury La Vasselay she was content to grieve at Gratiana's death though not to lament or pity that of her Husband De Mersons yea and although she seemed to blame her jealousie towards her yet her age was so wretchedly instructed in piety as she could not find in her heart either to make an Apologie or any way to seeme repentant for her inhumane cruelty towards him For as she demanded pardon of De Bremay for poysoning his daughterso she spake not a word tending that way to Manfrelle for causing his sonne 〈◊〉 pistoll'd only in particular tearmes she re quested God to forgive the vanity of her youth and in generall ones the world to forget the offences and crimes of her age And so conjuring all old
Coach which hee had purposely caused to bee brought thither and so accompanied with all the Gentlemen returnes with it to Otranto where all the whole City lament and bewaile his tragicall disaster and because these dead corps of theirs have received wrong in being so long above ground Alcasero that night gives them their due burials interring Fiamento decently and his father honourably according as the necessity and strictnesse of the time would permit him It is now Alcasero's curiosity and care to seeke out the murtherers of his Father and for his sisters they are so irreligious and wretched as they thinke to mocke God and delude the world with their immoderate yet counterfeit mourning but it proceeds not from their hearts much lesse from their soules The morrow after their Fathers buriall they are all three informed that Monte-leone and his Laquay Anselmo are drown'd as they past the River Blanquettelle whereat he wonders and his two sisters rejoyce and triumph especially Caelestina who now sees herselfe freed not onely of the Captaine her father whom shee hated but also of the Knight Monte-leone her Sutor whom she could not love Shee is so impious and gracelesse as shee doth rejoyce but will neither repent nor pity at these accidents yea shee so sleightly and trivially passeth over the remembrance of her fathers untimely and bloudy death as if murther were no sinne 〈◊〉 that God had ordained no punishment for it Shee weares her mourning attire and weeds more for shew than sorrow for her father was no sooner laid in hiâ—… grave but she builds many Castles of pleasure in the aire of her extravagant anâ—… ambitious thoughts vowing that ere long she will have a Gallant of her own chusing to her husband but she may come too short of her hopes and perchance finâ—… a halter for her necke before a wedding Ring for her finger As for her brotheâ—… Alcasero his thoughts are roaving and roaming another way for he finds it strangâ—… that the Baron of Carpi comes not to condole with him for his father and 〈◊〉 continue his sute and affection to his sister Fidelia whereat hee both admires and wonders and not onely takes it in ill part but also beginnes to suspect and to cast many doubts and jealousies thereon and what the issue thereof will bee or what effects it will produce wee shall shortly see But a moneth or two being blowne away Carpi hearing no suspition or talke of him and thinking all things in a readinesse for him to be assured and contracted to his Lady and Mistris Fidelia hee takes a new Laquay and apparelling him in a contrary Livery sends him secretly to Otranto with this Letter to her CARPI to FIDELIA THere are some reasons that stay me for not comming to Otranto to condole with thee for the death of thy Father which what they are none can better imagine thâ—…n thy selfe when thy sorrowes are overblowne I will come to thee in hope to be as joyfull in thy presence as thy absence makes me miserable I have given thee so true and so reall a proofe of my affection as thou shouldest offer mepalpable injustice and to thy selfe extreme injurie to doubt thereof For what greater testimony canst thou futurely expect than to beleeve I will ever preferre thy love before mine owne life if thy constancy answer mine Heaven may but Earth cannot crosse our desires I pray signifie me how thy brother stands affected to our affections thy answers shall have many kisses and I will ever both honour and blesse that hand that writ it CARPI The Laquay comes to Otranto and findes out Fidelia to whom with much care and secrecie hee delivers his Masters Letter and commends and requesteth an answer Fidelia receives the one and promiseth the other but shee is perplexed and troubled in minde Here her thoughts make a stand and consult whether shee shall open this Letter or no. Her Conscience hath heretofore yeelded to the death of her Father and now Religion beginnes to worke upon the life of her Conscience which indeed is that of her Soule Had shee persevered in this course of pietie her repentance might have pleaded for her disobedience and her contrition redeemed her crime but shee forsakes the Helme that might have steered her to the Port of happinesse and safety and so fills the sayles of her resolutions with the wind of despaire which threaten no lesse than to split the Barke of her life on the rockes of her destruction and death Shee now beginnes to hate company which before shee loved and to love solitarinesse which before shee hated yea the living picture of her dead Father doth so haunt her thoughts and frequent her imaginations that wheresoever shee is it is present with her Remorse as a Vulture gnawes at her heart and conscience yea though nothing doe feare her yet shee feares all things Shee sees no man running behinde her but she thinks he purposely followes her to dragge her to prison shee is afraid of her owne shadow and thinks that not onely every tower but every house will fall upon her she will not come into any Boat nor passe any River Brooke or Well for feare of drowning This despaire of hers causeth her to be cold in her Religion and frozen in her Prayers which should be both the preservative and Antidote of the soule her speeches for the most part are confused and distracted and her looks sullen fearefull and ghastly the proper signes symptomes of despaire Carpi's Laquay having stayed two daies in Otranto for his answer holds it his duty to importune Fidelia to be dispatched the which that night she promiseth him and now in a sad melancholly humour she breaks off Carpi's Letter and peruseth it which not onely renewes but revives the remembrance of her fathers death whereat she enters into so strange and so implacable a passion as she once had thought to haue throwne his Letter into the fire and her selfe after Now shee is resolued to write backe to Carpi and then presently shee changeth her resolution and vowes she will answer him with sâ—…lence But the Devill is as subtill as malicious and so shee cals for Pen and Inke and out of the dregs of discontent and the gall of despaire writes and returnes him this answer FIDELIA to CARPI MY Fathers death hath altered my disposition for I am now wholly addicted to mourning and not to marriage I pray trouble not thy selfe to leaue Naples to câ—…me to condole with me in Otranto for the best comfort that I can receive is that it is impossible for me to receive any I never doubted of thy affection nor will give thee any just cause to suspect much lesse to feare mine If this will not suffice rest assured I have resolved that either my grave or thy selfe shall bee my Husband How my brother stands affected to thee is a thing difficult for me to understand or know sith I am only his Sister not his Secretary but
in all outward appearance I thinke he neither loves thee for my sake nor my selfe for thine Live thou as happy as I feare I shall die miserable FIDELIA What a fearefull Letter is this either for Fidelia to send or Carpi to receive but her distempered and distracted spirits can afford no other and therefore shee dispatcheth away the Laquay with this And now as if her thoughts transported her to hell shee cannot bee alone for the Deuill is still with her hee appeares to her in the shape of an Angell of Light and profers her mountaines of Wealth and Worlds of Honour if shee will fall downe and adore him To rebell against God is a sinne but to perseuere in our rebellion is not onely a contempt but a treason in the highest degree against God The best of Gods people are commonly tempted but those are and prove the worst who are overcome with temptation Fortitude is a principall and soueraigne vertue in Christians and if wee vanquish the Deuill it is good for vs that he assaulted us sith those Victories as well spirituall as temporall are ever most glorious and honourable which are atchieved with greatest danger Had Fidelia followed the current of this counsell and the streame of this advise shee had never beene so weake with God nor so unfaithfull to her selfe as to destroy her selfe but forsaking God and contemning prayer which is the true way to the truest felicity what can shee hope for but despaire or expect but destruction Her brother Alcasero and many of her kinsfolks neighbours and friends with their best zeale and possible power endevour to perswade and comfort her they exhort her to read religious bookes and continually to pray Shee hearkneth to both these counsels but neither can or will not follow either Her sleepes are but broken slumbers and her slumbers but distracted dreames and ever and anon it seemes to the eyes of her minde and body that the Captaine her father doth both speake to her and follow her In a word she is weary both of this world and of her life yea despaire or rather the Devill hath reduced her to this extreme misery and miserable extremity that she is ready to kisse that hand that would kill her or that Death which would giue her death Shee never sees a knife in the hands of another but shee wisheth it in her owne heart her Conscience doth so terribly accuse her and â—…r thoughts give in such bloudy evidence against her conscience and selfe for occasioning her fathers murther that she resolves she must die and therefore disdaines to live And now comes her sister Celestina to her to perswade and conferre with her but she will prove but a miserable comforter Fidelia sees her with hatred and detestation and when shee begins to speake very peremptorily and mournfully cuts off her speeches thus Ah sister would we had slipt when wee plotted our fathers death for in seeking his ruine we shall assuredly finde out our 〈◊〉 Provide you for your safety for I am past hope of mine and so get you out of my sight I know not whether the beginning of this her speech savoured more of Heaven then the end thereof doth of Hell for sure If we passe hope we come too short of salvation and if we forsake that this infallibly will forsake us This poore or rather this miserable Gentlewoman having alwayes her murthered father before her eyes which incessantly haunts her as a ghost and yet shee enforced to follow it as her shaddow is powerfully allured and provoked by the instigation of the Devill in what manner or at what rate soever to dispatch her selfe being so wretchedly instructed in faith and piety and shee addes and beleeves that the end of her life will prove not onely the end of her afflictions but the beginning of her joyes But O poore Fidelia with a thousand pities and teares I both pitie and grieve to see thee beleeve so infernall an Advocate for what joyes either will he or can he give thee Why nothing but bondage for liberty torments for pleasures and tortures for delights or if thou wilt have me shew thee whereat his flattering oratory or sugred insinuation tendeth it is onely to have thee destroy thy body in earth that as a triumph and Trophee to the enlargement of his obscure kingdome he may dragge thy body and soule to hell fire But Fidelia is as constant in her sinne as impious in her resolution and so all delayes set apart shee seekes the meanes to destroy her selfe shee procures poyson and takes it but the effect and operation thereof answers not her desires I know not whether shee be more impatient to live than willing to die We never want invention seldome meanes to doe evill a little pen-knife of hers shall in her conceit performe that which poyson could not shee seeks it and now remembers it is with her paire of knives in the pocket of her best gowne she flies to her Ward-robe and so to her pocket but finds not her knives onely she finds her Naples silke girdle in stead thereof The Devils instruments are never farre to seeke she thinks it as good to strangle her throat as to cut it And here comes her mournfull and deplorable Tragedy she returnes swiftly to her chamber bolts the doore and so which I grieve and tremble to relate fastens it to the reaster of her bed and there hangs her selfe and as it is faithfully reported at that very instant and for the space of an houre it thundred and lightned so cruelly as if Heaven and Earth were drawing to an end that not onely the chamber where she hung but the whole house shaked thereat The thunder being past and the skies cleared dinner is served on the Table and Alcasero and Caelestina ready to sit they call for their sister Fidelia but she is not to be found One goes to her chamber and returnes that her key is without side and the doore bolted within and yet shee answers not They both flie from the Table to her chamber and call and knocke but no answer Alcasero commands his men to breake open the doore which they doe and there sees his sister Fidelia hanging to the bed-steed starke dead They cry out as affrighted and amazed at this mournfull and pitifull spectacle and with all speed take her downe but she is breathlesse though not cold and they see all her face and body which were wont to be as white as snow now to be coale blacke and to stinke infinitely These are the wofull effects and lamentable fruits both of Despaire and Murther O may Christians of all ranks and of hoth sexes take heed by Fidelia's mournfull miserable example and withall remember that murther will still be revenged and punished especially that which is perpetrated by Children towards their Parents a sinne odious both to God and man sith it not onely opposeth Nature but Grace Earth but heaven No sooner with griefe and mourning
hee will die his faithfull servant But wee shall see him have more grace than to keepe so gracelesse a promise Carpi flattering himselfe with the fidelity and affection of his Laquay resolves to stay in the City but hee shall shortly repent his confidence Hee was formerly betrayed by Fiesco which mee thinks should have made him more cautious and wise and not so simple to entrust and repose his life on the incertaine mercy of Lorenzo's tongue but Gods Revenge drawes neare him and consequently he neare his end for he neither can nor shall avoid the judgement of Heaven Lorenzo on the gallowes will not charge his soule with this foule and execrable sinne of murther but Grace now operating with his soule as much as formerly Satan did with his heart hee confesseth that hee and the Baron of Carpi his Master together with the Knight Monte-leone and his Laquay Anselmo murthered the Captaine Benevente and his man Fiamento and threw them into the Quarrie the which hee takes to his death is true and so using some Christian-like speeches of repentance and sorrow he is hanged Lorenzo is no sooner turned over but the Criminall Iudges advertised of his speeches delivered at his death they command the Baron of Carpi his lodging to be beleagred where he is found in his study and so apprehended and committed prisoner where feare makes him looke pale so as the Peacocks plumes both of his pride and courage strike saile He is againe put to the Racke and now the second time hee reveales his foule and bloudy murther and in every point acknowledgeth Lorenzoes accusation of him to be true So he is condemned first to have his right hand cut off and then his head notwithstanding that many great friends of his sue to the Viceroy for his pardon The night before he was to die the next morne one of his Judges was sent to him to prison to perswade him to discover all his complices in that murther besides Monte-leone and his Laquay Anselmo yea there are likewise some Divines present who with many religious exhortations perswade him to it So Grace prevailes with Nature and Righteousnesse with Impiety and sinne in him that he is now no longer himselfe for contrition and repentance hath reformed him hee will rather disrespect Caelestina than displease God whereupon he affirmes that she and her deceased sister Fidelia drew him and Monte-leone to murther their father and his man Fiamento and that if it had not beene for their allurements and requests they had never attempted either the beginning or end of so bloudy a businesse and thus making himselfe ready for Heaven and grieving at nothing on Earth but at the remembrance of his foule fact he in the sight of many thousand people doth now lose his head This Tragedy is no sooner acted and finished in Naples but the Judges of this City send away poast to those of Otranto to seize on the Lady Caelestina who in the absence of her husband for the most part lived there A Lady whom I could pitie for her youth and beauty did not the foulenesse of her fact so foulely disparage and blemish it She is at that instant at a Noblemans house at the solemnitie of his daughters marriage where she is apprehended imprisoned and accused to bee the authour and plotter of the Captaine her fathers death neither can her teares or prayers exempt her from this affliction and misery She was once of opinion to deny it but understanding that the Baron of Carpi and his Laquay Lorenzo were already executed for the same in Naples shee with a world of teares freely confesseth it and confirmes as much as Carpi affirmed whereupon in expiation of this her inhumane Paracide she is condemned to have her head cut off her body burnt and her ashes throwne into the ayre for a milder death and a lesse punishment the Lord will not out of his Justice inflict vpon her for this her horrible crime and barbarous cruelty committed on the person of her owne father or at least seducing and occasioning it to be committed on him and it is not in her husbands possible power to exempt or free her hereof Being sent backe that night to prison she passeth it over or in very truth the greatest part thereof in prayer still grieving for her sinnes and mourning for this her bloudy offence and crime and the next morne being brought to her execution when she ascended the scaffold she was very humble sorrowfull and repentant and with many showres of teares requested her brother Alcasero and all her kinsfolkes to forgive her for occasioning and consenting to her fathers death and generally all the world to pray for her when her sighs and teares so sorrowfully interrupted and silenced her tongue as she recommending her soule into the hands of her Redeâ—…mer whom she had so heynously offended shee with great humility and contrition kneeling on her knees and lifting up her eyes and hands towards heaven the Executioner with his sword made a double divorce betwixt her head and her body her body and her soule and then the fire as if incensed at so fiery a spirit consumed her to ashes and her ashes were throwne into the ayre to teach her and all the world by her example that so inhumane and bloudy a daughter deserved not either to tread on the face of this Earth or to breathe this ayre of life She was lamented of all who either knew or saw her not that she should die but that she should first deserve then suffer so shamefull and wretched a death and yet shee was farre happier than her sister Fidelia for shee despaired and this confidently hoped for remission and salvation Thus albeit this wretched and execrable young Gentlewoman lived impiously yet she died Christianly wherefore let vs thinke on that with detestation and on this with charity And here wee see how severely the murther of Captaine Benevente was by Gods just revenge punished not onely in his two daughters who plotted it but also in the two Noblemen and their two Laquayes who acted it Such attempts and crimes deserve such ends and punishments and infallibly finde them The onely way therefore for Christians to avoid the one and contemne the other is with sanctified hearts and unpolluted hands still to pray to God for his Grace continually to affect prayer and incessantly to practise piety in our thoughts and godlinesse in our resolutions and actions the which if wee be carefull and conscionable to performe God will then shrowd us under the wings of his favour and so preserve and protect us with his mercy and providence as we shall have no cause to feare either Hell or Satan GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND Execrable Sinne of Murther HISTORY XV. Maurice like a bloudy villaine and damnable sonne throwes his Mother Christina into a Well and drownes her the same hand and arme of his wherewith he did it rots away from his body aad being discrased of
then and there dreamt that her Mistris Christina was cast into the well and drowned the which shee affirmed with many words and more sighes out-cries and teares which piercing into the eares and thoughts of the Bayliffe and Servants and into the very heart and Conscience of this our execrable Maurice they looke pale with griefe and amazement and he straineth the highest key of his Art and pollicy to keepe his cheekes from blushing for shame thereat and the better to hood winke their eyes and judgements from the least sparke or shaddow of this his guiltinesse herein he with many showres of hypocriticall teares prayes the Bayliffe that upon Hesters dreame and report the Well may be searched adding withall that it was more probable then impossible that those theeves who robbed his Mothers house might likewise bee so devillishly malicious to murther her and throw her into the Well which the Bayliffe seriously considering as first the maides dreame then the Sonnes request and teares hee instantly in presence of all those of the house as also of many of the next neighbours whom hee had purposely assembled Caused the Well to bee searched and sounded where the hooke taking hold of her cloathes they instantly bring up the dead body of his Mother and their Mistris Câ—…ristina the skull of whose head was lamentably broken and her braines pittifully dashed out with her fall All are amazed her servants greeve and her hellish Sonne Maurice weepes and cryes more then all the rest at this mournefull spectacle The Bayliffe carefully and punctually againe examines Hester if God in her dreame revealed her not the manner how and the persons who had thus throwne her Mistris into the Wel She answereth negatively according to the truth that she had already delivered as much as shee knew of that mournefull businesse When Maurice to shew his forwardnesse and zeale for the detection and finding out of his Mothers murtherers he pretends that he suspects Hester to be accessary and to have a hand herein But the Bayliffe common Councell of Morges having neither passion nor partiality to dazle and inveagle the eyes of their judgement finding no reason or ground of probability to accuse her or which might tend or coâ—…duce that way They free herwithout farther questioning her and so as it hath beene formerly remembred they all concurring in opinion that the theeves who robbed her had undoubtedly throwne her into the Well They give leave to Maurice to bury his breathlesse mother which hee doth with the greatest pompe and decency requisite as well to her ranke and quality as to his affection and duty and the better to fanne off the least dust or smoake of suspition which might any way fall upon the lustre of his Innocency hee at her Funerall to the eye of the world sheds many rivolets of teares But alas what is this to this his foule and execrable sinne of murthering his mother for although it bleere the eyes and inveigle the judgements of the Bayliffe and his associates the Criminall Judges of Morges yet God the Great and Soveraigâ—…e Judge of Heaven and Earth will not bee thus deluded cannot be thus deceived herein No no for albeit he be mercifull yet his Divine Majesty is too Just to let crimes of this hellish nature goe either undetected or unpunished We have seene this execrable sonne so bloudy hearted and handed as with a devillish rage and inhumane and infernall fury to drowne his owne deare and tender Mother and with as much cruelty as ingratitude to throw her from the world into a Well who with many bitter gripes and torments to the hazard and perill of her life threw him from her wombe into the world and the providence and Justice of God will not lead the curiosity of the Reader farre before we see this miserable miscreant overtaken with the impetuous stormes of Gods revenge and the fiery gusts and tempests of his just indignation for the same notwithstanding that his subtill malice and malicious subtilty have so cunningly contrived and so secretly acted and compacted it with the devill that no earthly person or sublunary eye can any way accuse much lesse convict him thereof as marke the sequell and it will briefly and truly informe thee how As soone as he hath buried his Mother his blacke mourning apparell doth in his heart and actions worke such poore and weake effects of repentance and sorrow for her untimely death as where divers others lament and grieve he contrariwise rejoyceth and triumpheth thereat and by her decease being now become Lord and Master of all he like a gracelesse villaine fals againe to his old carrowsing companions and veine of drunkennesse wherein hee takes such singular delight and glory as he makes it not onely his pastime and exercise by day but his practise and recreation by night And as God hath infinite meanes and wayes to scourge and revenge the enormity of our delicts and crimes so we shall shortly see for our instruction and observe for our reformation that this ungodly and beastly vice of drunkennesse of his which is his most secret bosome and darling sinne will in the end prove a ravenous Vulture to devoure and a fatall Serpent to eat out the bowels first of his wealth and prosperity and then of his life for it not onely takes up his time but his studie in so much as I may as truly averre to my griefe as affirme to his shame that hee levelleth at nothing more than to make it his felicity which swinish excesse and intemperancy as a punishment inseparably incident infallibly hereditary to that sin doth within three months make him sell away all his Lands yea and the greatest part of his plate and houssholdstuffe so his drunkennesse first but then chiefly Gods Justice and revenge pursuing his foule and inhumane crime of drowning his Mother makes him of being left rich by her within a very short time become very extreame poore and miserable so as he runnes deeply into debts yea his debts are by this time become so exceedingly urgent and clamorous as contrary to his hopes and feares when hee least dreames thereof hee is imprisoned by his Mercer and Draper for the blacks of his Mothers Funerall to both whom he is indebted the summe of three hundred crownes which is farre more than either his purse can discharge or his credit and Estate now satisfie When abandoned of all his friends his meanes spent and consumed and nothing left him to exercise his patience in Prison but Despaire nor to comfort him but the â—…rrours of his bloudy and guilty Conscience Hee is 〈◊〉 into a stinking Vault or 〈◊〉 where in horrour and detestation of his bloudy criâ—… the gloriâ—… 〈◊〉 of Heaven the Sun disdaines to send his radiant and glittering beames to comfort him so as he who was before accustomed to faâ—…e deliciously and as it were to swill and drowne himselfe in the best and most curious Wines now hee must content himselfe
both accuseth 〈◊〉 condemneth himselâ—… for the same For the very Image of that conceit 〈◊〉 his 〈◊〉 â—…s his feaâ—… did his phrensie and madnesse hee in thâ—… 〈◊〉 of those fiâ—…s aâ—… the height of that Agony and Anxietie driâ—… out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my Mâ—…ther in the Well I have drowned 〈…〉 he suffer you to hang me I speake it on Earth and by my part of Heaven what 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is true Which words 〈◊〉 sooner esâ—…aped his 〈◊〉 â—…ut he â—…nstantly â—…nes againe to his out-cries of phreâ—… and madnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…d the rest 〈◊〉 â—…ed at these fearefull 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which 〈◊〉 that they attribute to madnesse yet they lead him to the Hospitall he still raving and crying as hee passeth the streets But oh Let us here farther admire with wonder and wonder with admiration at the providence and mercy of God here againe miraculously made apparent and manifested in this execrable wretch Maurice for he who outragiously cryed in his prison and licentiously raved in the street is no sooner entred into the Hospitall but the pleasure of God had so ordained it as his Madnesse fully fals from him and he absolutely recovereth againe his wits and senses in such firme and setled manner as if he had never formerly beene touched or afflicted therewith His Gaolers make report to the Magistrates first of his confession of drowning his Mother and then of his sudden and miraculous recovering of his perfect memory judgement and senses as soone as hee set foot within the Hospitall Whereupon they as much astonished at the one as wondring at the other doe instantly repaire thither to him and there arraigne and accuse him for that inhumane and bloudy fact of his whereof his owne Evidence and Confession hath now made him guilty But they take him for another or at least hee will not be the same man He denies this horrible and bloudy crime of his with many oaths and asseverations which they maintaine and affirme he hath confessed sayes that they either heard a dreame or saw a Vision whereof hee neither dreamt not thought of and that hee was ready to lose all the bloud and life of his body to finde out and to be revenged of the murtherers of his mother But the Magistrates are deafe to his Apologie and considering the violence of his madnesse by its sudden abandoning him as also his free and uninforced confession of drowning his Mother they conceive that Gods providence and Justice doth strongly operate in the detection of this foule and inhumane murther and therfore contemning his requests and oaths in the vindication of his innocency they cause him to bee refetched from the Hospitall to the Prison and there adjudge him to the Racke when although his heart and soule bee terrified and affrighted with his apprehension and accusation Yet the devill is so strong with him as he cannot yet finde in his heart to relent much lesse to repent this foule and inhumane crime of his but considering that he acted it so secretly as all the world could not produce a witnesse against himselfe except himselfe hee vowes he will bee so impious and prophane in his fortitude and courage as to disdaine these his torments and to looke on them and his Tormentor with an eye rather of contempt than feare But God will be as propitious and indulgent to him as he is rebellious and refractory to God for here we shall see both his Conscience and resolutions taught another rule and prescribed a contrary Law yea here we shall behold and observe in him that now Righteousnesse shall triumph over Siâ—…e Grace over Nature his Soule over his Body Heaven over Hell and GOD over Satan for at the very first sight of the Racke the sight and remembrance of his bloudy crime makes him shake and tremble extremely when his soule being illuminated by the resplendant Sun beames of Gods mercy and the foggie mists of Hell and Satan expelled and banished thence he fals to the ground on his knees first beats his brest and then erecting his eyes and hands towards Heaven he with a whole deluge of teares againe confesseth that hee had drowned his mother in the Well from and for the which he humbly craveth remission both from Earth and Heaven And although there bee no doubt but God will forgive his Soule for this his soule murther yet the Magistrates of Morges who have Gravity in their lookes Religion in their hearts and speecheâ—… and Justice in their actions will not pardon his body so in detestation of this his fearefull crime and inhumane parracide they in the morning condemne him that very after-noone to be hanged At the pronouncing of which sentence as he hath reason to approve the equity of their Iustice in condemning him to die so he cannot refraine from grieving at the strictnesse of the time which they allot him fot his preparation to death But as soone as wee forsake the devill we make our peace with God All Morges and Losanna rings of this mournefull and Tragicall newes and in detestation of this mournefull inhumane and bloody crime of our execrable Maurice they flocke from all parts and streets to the place of execution to see him expiate it by his dearh and so to take his last farewell of his life The Divines who are given him for fortifying and assisting his soule in this her flight and transmigration from Earth to Heaven have religiously prevailed with him so as they make him see the foulenesse of his crime in the sharpenesse of his contrition and repentance for the same yea hee is become so humble and withall so sorrowfull for this his bloody and degenerate offence as I know not whether hee thinke thereof with more griefe or remember it wirh detestation and repentance At his ascending the Ladder most of his Spectators cannot refraine from weeping and the very sight of their teares prooves the Argument of his as his remembrance of murthering his Mother was the cause Hee tells them hee grieves at his very soule for the foulenesse of his fact in giving his Mother her death of whom he had received his life He affirmes that Drunkennesse was not onely the roote but the cause of this his beggery and misery of his crime and punishment and of his deboshed life and deserved death from which with a world of sighes and teares hee seekes and endevours to divert all those who affect and practise that beastly Vice He declares that his Mother was too vertuous so soone to goe out of the world and himselfe too vitious and wirhall too cruell any longer to live in it that the sinnes of his life had deserved this his shamefull death and although he could not prevent the last yet that he heartily and sorrowfully repented the first Hee prayed God to be mercifull to his soule and then besought the world to pray unto God for that mercy when speaking a few words to himselfe and sealing them with
confident that it is his old Mother who hath diverted him from her whereat shee is exceedingly enraged When seeing this old Letcher so open and plaine with her shee foothing him up with many kisses tels him that this old Beldam his wife must first be in heaven before he can hope to enjoy her or she his Son here on Earth when being allured and provoked by the treacherous suggestions and bloody temptations of the Devill she proffers him to visit her and so to poyson her which hee opposeth and contradicteth and contrary to all reason sense and repugnant to all Humanity and Christianity yea to Nature and Grace as a Husband fitter for the Divell than for this good old Lady his Wife hee undertakes and promiseth her speedily to performe it himselfe yea the Divell is now so strong with him and he with the Divell that because hee loves Marsillia therefore hee must hate his owne deare wife and vertuous Lady Honoria and because he hates her therefore he must poyson her A lewd part of a man a fouler one of a Christian but a most hellish and bloody one of a Husband to his owne wife who ought to be neere and deere unto him as being his owne flesh and blood Yea the other halfe of himselfe Hee cannot content himselfe to seeke to abuse and betray his Sonne but hee must also murther the mother So wanting the feare of God before his eyes and repleate with as much impiety and Cruelty as hee was devoyd of all Grace he is resolute in this his hellish rage and malice against her and so to please his young Strumpet hee will send this good old Lady his wife to Heaven in a bloody Coffin so without thinking of Heaven or Hell or of God or his soule hee procures strong poyson and acting the part of a fury of Hell and a member of the Devill he as a wretched and execrable Husband administreth it to her in preserved Barbaries which he saw her usually to love and eat whereof within three daies after she dies to the extreame griefe and sorrow of her Sonne Don Ivan who bitterly wept for this his mothers hasty and unexpected death but the manner thereof he knowes not and indeed doth no way in the world either doubt or suspect thereof His Father Idiaques makes a counterfeit shew of sorrow and mourning to the world for the death of his wife but God in his due time wil unmaske this his wretched hypocrisie and detect and revenge this his execrable and deplorable murther Now as soone as Marsillia is advertised of the Lady Honoria's death she not able to containe her Ioyes doth infinitely triumph therear and within lesse than two moneths after her buriall Idiaques and Marsillia worke so politiquely with Don Ivan as hee marries Marsillia although his mothers advise to him in the garden doe still runne in his mind and thoughts and now hee brings home his lustfull Spouse and Wife to his lewd and lascivious Fathers house at Sentarem where I write with horrour and shame hee most beastly and inhumanly very often commits Adultery and Incest with her and they act it so close that for the first yeare or two his Sonne Don Ivan hath no newes or inkling thereof and now Marsillia governeth and rules all yea her incontinency with her Father Idiaques makes her so audacious and impudent as shee commands not onely his house but himselfe and domineeres most proudly and imperiously over all his Servants Her waiting maid Mathurina observes and takes exact and curious notice of her young Ladies lustfull and unlawfull familiarity with her Father in Law Idiaques the which her mistris understanding shee extreamely beats her for the same and twice whippes her starke naked in her Chamber and dragges her about by her haire although this poore young Gentlewoman with a world of teares and prayers beggs her to desist and give over God hath many wayes and meanes to set forth his glory in detecting of Crimes and punishing of offenders yea he is now pleased to make vse of this young maidens discontent and choller against her insensed Lady and Mistris for we shall see her pay deare for this cruelty and tyranny of hers towards her for Mathurina being a Gentlewoman by birth she takes those blowes and severe vsage of her Lady in so ill part and lodgeth it so deepely in her heart and memory as she vowes her revenge shall requite part of that her cruelty and tyranny towards her Whereupon with more haste then discretion and with more malice then fidelity she in her hot blood goes to Don Ivan her young master tels him of this foule businesse betwixt his young wife and old Father to the disgrace and shame of nature and makes him see and know his owne dishonour in their brutish and beastly adultery and incest Don Ivan extreamely grieves hereat yea hee is both amazed and astonished at the report of this unnaturall crime as well of his young wife as aged Father Hee cannot refraine from choller and teares hereat to see himselfe thus infinitely abused by her beauty and betrayed by his lust and if it be a beastly yea a prophane part for one man and friend to offer it to another how much more for a father to offer it to his owne yea to his onely Sonne Hee expected more goodnesse from her youth and grace from age but as his wife hath hereby infringed her vow and oath of wedlocke so hath his wretched father exceeded and broken those rules and precepts of Nature yea he is so netled with the report and inflamed with the considetation and memorie hereof that he abhorres her infidelity and in his heart and soule detesteth his inhumanitie so as the knowledge hereof doth so justly incense him against her and exasperate himselfe against him that resolving to right his owne honour as much as they have blemished and ruined it and there in their owne he scornes to be an eye-Witnesse much lesse an accessary of this his shame and their infamy So he here enters into a discreet and generous consultation with himselfe how to beare himselfe in this strange and dishonourable accident when perceiving and finding that both his wife and father had by this their beastly Adultery and Incest made themselves for ever unworthy of his sight and companie he here for ever disdaining henceforth to see her or speake with him very suddenly upon a second conference and examination of Mathurina who stood firmely and vertuously to her former deposition and accusation against them takes horse and rides away from Santarem to Lisbone where providing himselfe of monies and other necessaries hee takes poast for Spaine and there builds up his residence and stay at the Court at Madrid where wee will for a while leave him to speak of other accidents which fall out in the course of this History Idiaques seeing the sudden departure of his Sonne and Marsillia of her Husband Don Ivan and being both assured that he
and fidelity towards her which shee would never forget nor leave unrecompenced and yet all this while neither Harcourt nor Masserina were any way suspitious that it was their man Noell which gave La Precoverte intelligence of their residence in Geneva Harcourts Letter to his wife was in these tearmes HARCOVRT to LA PRECOVERTE DOe not rashly and unjustly torment thy selfe with jealousie at my absence for thou shalt finde as much joy thereof at my returne as now thou beleevest and fearest the contrary I have vowed to accompany my sister in law Masserina to our Lady of Loreto which is the best Saint of the best Countrey of the world Italy where we are now setting forwards from this towne of Geneva to which holy Lady and blessed Saint her Oraisons for her Husband and mine for thee are and shall be as repleat of pure affection and pietie as thou imaginest they are of iniquity and prophanesse True it is I committed an errour in not acquainting thee with my departure which I perceive thou esteemest a crime but when shortly I shall be so happy to enjoy thy sweet company and presence then my just reasons will justly enforce thee both to know and acknowledge that that pretended crime of mine is lesse than an errour and this errour lesse than nothing And if thou wilt yet be farther inquisitive why or from whence our journey was first derived I pray let these generall tearmes content thy feare and satisfie thy jealousie that it was her devotion and conscience to God not my desire or affection to her which gave life and birth to it therefore I hold it rather an unmerited cruelty than a condign penance either for my heart to be tied to aske forgivenesse of thee or my soule of God for this thy pretended crime of mine whereof I am as innocent as thy feare and jealousie deemes me guilty Therfore I allow of thy piely I accept of thy prayers yea and I rejoyce in thy affection to entertaine and thy resolution to welcome me home with thy smiles and kisses when I come the which shall be if not so shortly as thou expectest or I desire yet as soone as reputation and good speed shal permit HARCOVRT Masserina's Letter to her sister in law carried these lines MASSERINA to LA PRECOVERTE MY departure and absence hath neither wronged mine owne Husband nor abused thine for it is my pure zeale to God and not any lascivious lust in my selfe which drew me to this devotion to see Loretto and him through his goodnesse to the resolution honourably to accompany me thither and therefore my heart defies that foule sinne of Adultery and my soule detests that odious one of Incest whereof I am farre more innocent than thou thinkest me guiltie I am sorry for thy griefe and I grieve for thy affliction and am so farre from triumphing in the one or glorying in the other as I have given that to my thoughts with passion and this to my minde with compassion although I confesse I have small reason to place it so neere me in regard thy jealousie is the sole authour and my fidelity and chastity no way the cause thereof wherefore I am so farre from fearing as I love Gods justice because as in other sinnes I have offended his Divine Majestie so I am sure that in this I have noway incurred or merited his indignation and doe most freely referre my fortunes and reputation to his sacred pleasure but not to thy secret discontent and ill grounded choller from which by the plea of a just proviso I have all the reasons of the world to appeale as also from that foule scandall and infamous Epithite of a Strumpet which I thought thee too vertuous once to conceive much lesse to name but least of all for one sister in law without cause or reason to give to another But thou art La Precoverte therefore I forget this ingratefull crime of thine and I am Masserina therefore I freely and absolutely forgive it and to doe thee as much right as thou hast done me wrong I will silence it in eternall obscurity and oblivion MASSERINA And is it not worthy of our observation or rather of our detestation to see how impiously these prophane wretches deny this their Adultery towards God and also to La Precoverte whom they have so hainously offended therewith and which to Heaven and Earth to God and his Angels and to their owne hearts and consciences are neverthelesse as apparant as the Sunne in his brightest Meridian yea had they not wilfully fled from God and presumptuously abandoned themselves to Satan to contrive such irreligious excuses and to frame such ungodly Apologies for these their foule crimes and offences and so to make Hypocrisie the veile of their Adultery and the cloake to cover it from the light and sight of the world And is it not a resolution worthy of a halter in this world and of Hell fire in that to come to attempt mariage when the wife of the one and the Husband of the other are in perfect strength and full of life and health especially Masserina's Husband Vimory as but right now to theit shame not to their glory they understand by La Precovertes Letters to them To the Magistrates of Geneva they are firme Protestants and as they pretended so they then as they constantly affirmed intended to live and die To La Precoverte in their Letters they are sound Roman Catholikes and in the sublimity and singularity of their zeale travelling towards the Lady of Loreto in devotion O wretched Christians or indeed rather O miserable wretches thus with your hypocrisie to think to deceive God when therein you onely deceive your owne selves and soules For can there be a greater misery found by us on earth or sent us by the devill from hell to make Religion which of it selfe is a precious and soveraigne Antidote to become a fatall drugge and a pernitious ingredient to poyson not to preserve our soules and so only to delight our earthly humours and affections and to please our carnall desires and concupiscences Of all sorts of men after the Atheist and the murtherer the Hypocrite is the veriest devill upon earth and hee is so much the more wretched and execrable in that he guilds over his speeches life and actions with the seeming shew of piety and devotion when God and his ulcerated conscience know that he is nothing lesse To be lukewarme in religion is to bee prophane not religious And as wine mixt with water is neither wine nor water so he that is of two religions is of neither For God who is still jealous of his owne honour and of our salvation will not onely have our soules but our hearts to serve him and not only our hearts but also our tongues to glorifie him that is to say all our actions and all our affections not a peece of our heart but he will have our whole heart and not an angle or corner
of our soule but our whole soule For in matters of his divine worship and service which consists in that of our faith and of his glory he will not admit of any Rivall or Competitor nor bee served in any other manner than as he hath taught us by his sacred Word and Commandements and instructed us by his holy Prophets and blessed Apostles But againe to Harcourt and Masserina whose lascivious hearts and lewd consciences not permitting them to rest in assurance or reside in security any where the very day after they had dispatched the messenger with their Letters to La Precoverte holding Geneva no place for them nor they for Geneva they trusse up baggage and so with much secrecie leave it and direct their course to the great and famous Citie of Lyons some two and twenty leagues thence and which is the frontier Towne of France and there they thinke to shrowd themselves among that great affluence and confluence of people which inhabite and aboord there from divers parts and they make choice to live in this frontier Citie because it is neere to Savoy where if any danger should chance to betide or befall them they might speedily and safely retire themselves there and so lay hold on the law and priviledge of Nations which is inviolable throughout all the world At their arrivall at Lyons they take their chambers and residence neere the Arsenall though for the two first nights they lie in Flanders-street They have not beene in Lyons fifteene dayes but there befell them an accident very worthy both of our observation and of their remembrance which was thus A Gentleman of the City of Tholouse named Monseiur De Blaise having some five dayes before treacherously killed his elder brother Monseiur De Barry in the high way as they travelled together upon a quarrell which fell out betweene them for having deboshed and clandestine stollen away his said elder brother De Barry's wife from him and conveyed and transported her away with them There was a privie search then made in Lyons when that same night Harcourt and Masserina were upon suspition apprehended for them and laid in sure keeping But the next morning before the Seneschall and Procureur Fiscall they justified their innocencie by many who knew De Blaise and so were cleared but yet it gave them both a hot Camisado and fearfull Alarum and left an ominous impression in their hearts and minds whereof for the conformity of the circumstances of this action with their owne had they had the grace to have made good use they had not hereafter made themselves so famously infamous nor consequently this their History so prodigiously deplorable Harcourt and Masserina whiles they stay here in Lyons as guilt is still accompanied with feare doe seldome goe forth their lodgings and when they doe they for their better safety disguise themselves in different apparell and for her part shee goes still close masked and muffled up in her Taffeta coyffe Yea both of them make it their practise to frequent the fields often but the Churches and streets seldome as if their foule crime of Adultery had made them unworthy the communion of Gods Saints and consequently all good company too worthy for them He exceedingly feares his brother Vimory's silence and revenge and she highly envieth and disdaineth her sister in law La Precovertes jelousie and still that disgracefull word of Strumpet which she upbraided her with and obtruded to her in her Letter strikes sincks deeply in her heart and remembrance in such sort that it so possesseth her thoughts with malice and takes up her minde with choller fierce indignation as she vowes to her selfe not thus to let it passe in silence or to vanish and die away in oblivion quite contrary to that which her late Letter to her sister La Precoverte promised and spake And here it is that the devill first begins to take possession of her heart and by degrees to seize upon her soule and to make her wholly to forsake God For knowing La Precoverte to be wife to her brother in law and lover Harcourt whom she affects a thousand times dearer than her owne Husband yea than her owne life shee is therefore so great a beame to hereye so sharpe a thorne to her heart and so bitter a corrasive to her content as shee not onely assumes bad thoughts but bad bloud against her For vowing that none shall share with her in his affection shee forgetting her Conscience and Soule Heaven and God is speedily resolved to cause her to be poysoned her inraged malice being capable of no other excuse or reason but this that it is impossible she can reape any perfect felicity or content in earth till she have dispatch't and sent her to Heaven To which end she insinuates her selfe into the acquaintance of two Apothecaries of that City and deales with them severally and secretly to effect this hellish businesse for the which she promised either of them a hundred crownes of the summe in hand and as much more when they have effected it and fifty more to defray the charge of their journey But the devill hath made her so crafty and subtile as she still retaines from them the name Masserina and the place Troyes where the party dwelt There are good and bad men of all countryes faculties and professions these two Apothecaries are as honest as she is wretched and as religious and charitable as shee is prophane and bloody so the one denies her request with disdaine and choller and the other with charity and compassion alleaging her many pious considerations and reasons to divert and disswade her from this foule and bloody act the execution whereof though tacitely yet infallibly threatneth saies hee no lesse than the utter subversion of her fortunes and the ruine and confusion of her life in this world if not likewise of her soule in that to come So shee being hereat a little galled and stung in Conscience to see that this great City of Lyons affoords poyson but no poysoners to act and finish this her bloody project The devill hath yet notwithstanding made her so curious in her malice and so industrious and resolute in her revenge as enquiring whether there were any Italian Empericke or Mountebancke in that City whom she thought might bee made fit and flexible to her bloody desires and intents she is advertised that there departed one hence some eight daies since who is gone to reside this spring of the yeare at the Bathes at Pougges a mile from the city of Nevers his name being Signior Baptista Tivoly whom I conjecture may derive his surname from that pleasant small towne of Tivoly some twenty small miles from Rome wherein there are many Cardinalls country Pallaces or houses of pleasure being very skilfull in Mineralls and in attracting the spirits and quintessence of divers other vegitives Of a vaine glorious and ambitious humour and disposition and yet of a very poore estate and
meanes and such a one as indeed Masserina holdes every way a fit agent and instrument for her turne and purpose She is glad of this advertisement and will neither give nor receive any truce from her heart or her heart from her revenge before she have seene and spoken with Tivoly The which to effect shee to Harcourt pretends a sodaine ach in her right arme and so upon good advise tells him that she is very desirous to goe to the Bathes of Pougges by Nevers there to stay some fifteene or twenty dayes at farthest Harcourt no way once dreaming of her inveterate malice and farre lesse of her revengefull and bloody intents towards the safety and life of his wife La Precoverte approves of her resolution and journey but intreats her to be wonderfull carefull of her selfe her health and safety and proffereth to accompany her himselfe she with many kisses deerely thankes him for his care of her and affection to her herein answereth him that his stay in Lyons will make her journey the more safe short so she accepts of the man for the master and only takes Noell along with her who respects her so well as he cares not for her sight much lesse for her company She arrives at Nevers and impatient of all delay the next morning findes out Tivoly at Pougges being a very tall man of a cole blacke beard and of a wanne and sullen countenance shee by his Phisiognomie judgeth that her hopes will not be deceived of him The second day she breakes with him about het hellish businesse and findes him tractable to her devillish intents They proceed to this lamentable bargaine and shee is to give him one hundred Crownes in hand and a faithfull promise of a hundred and fiftie more when he hath effected it as also fiftie Crownes for the Charge of his journey the which she limits at fifteene dayes so having settled this her businesse she now names the party to Tivoly whom she will have him to poyson La Precoverte to be the woman who resides and dwels with her Father Monseiur La Vaquery a poore Gentleman in the Citie of Troyes in Champagne and shee a young Gentlewoman of some twentie yeares of age of a flaxen haire and very sickly When giving him a small Saphir Ring from her Finger she therewith sweares him both to the performance and to the secrecie of this murther the which armed by the Divell hee doth When being exceeding glad of this his bloody imployment which brings him store of gold the which hee esteemes the Elixar of his heart and the felicitie and glory of his life and which indeed was the maine businesse that brought him on this side the Alpes from Italy to France Thus without any feare of God or thought of Heaven or Hell these murtherous and damnable miscreants have concluded and shut up this their bloody bargaine Our poore sweet La Precoverte having received her Husbands Letter from Geneâ—… and considering the contents thereof as also that of her Sister in Law Masserina she knowes not what to thinke either of their Letters or of themselves she sees her letter to promise much zeale and devotion to God and his much affection to her and yet remembring his former unkindenesse I may say crueltie towards her as also the manner of their base and clandestine departure then she thinks the first to be false and the second feigned and rherfore conceives she hath far more reasons to dispaire than to hope either of their Innocencie or their returne But this is her resolution Harcourt is her Husband therefore shee will still love him dearely She is his wife and therefore shee will for ever pray for him and his prosperitie religiouslie Thus hoping and many times with many heavie sighes and bitter teares wishing and desiring his happy returne and vertuous reformation she in his absence lives pensively and sorrowfully with her Father rather as a widdow than a wife and such is her miserable Estate and poore and sorrowsull fortune that she well knowes not whether she may more grieve or reioyce that God hitherto hath given her no Childe For ah me she is so invironed with afflictions so incompassed with calamities so assaulted with sicknesse and so weighed downe with sadnesse and disconsolation as shee reputes her life worse than death and either wisheth her Husband athome with her or her selfe in Heaven with God But Alas alas deere sweet young Gentlewoman little doest thou thinke or dreame now thou desirest death what a hellish plot there is contrived and intended against thy life by these two bloody Factors and Agents of the Devill Tivoly and thy Sister Masserina O Masserina Masserina the disgrace of thy name the infamy of thy family the shame of thy time and the scandal of thy sexe O how I want words not teares to condemne thy cruell rage and to execrate thy infernall malice and fury thus to resolve to imbrue thy guilty hands in the innocent blood of thy chast and vertuous Sister in Law La Precoverte for was it not sinne and lust enough for thee to have heretofore bereaved her of the love and presence of her Husband but that thou wilt now be so wretched and inhumane as likewise to rob her of her life O griefe O shame O pittie that thou shouldest once dare to thinke thereof much lesse to attempt it I meane so lamentable a crime and so bloody a fact which assure thy selfe as there is a God in Heaven will never goe long unpunished in Earth But I must proceed in this our sad and mournefull History and rherefore with an unwilling and trembling resolution I am enforced to declare that this limbe of the Divell Tivoly rides away to Troyes where he speedily and secretly makes profession of his Empery When understanding that Monseiur de la Vaquery is constantly in the Citie he with an Italian impudence and policy soone skrewes and insinuates himselfe into his Company And as it is the vanitie of our times and the weakenesse and imbecility of our Iudgements in any profession whatsoever still to preferre and respect strangers before our owne Countreymen so Monseiur de la Vaquery hearing this Italian to devoure Latine at his pleasure and rather to vomit than utter forth whole Catalogues of phisicall phrases which hee had stollen not learnt from Aristotle Galen and Parecellsus His ignorance beleeves him to be very learned and therefore hee holdes him a most fit Phisitian to cure his Daughter La Precoverte of her consumption whereinto as before she was deeply and dangerouslie fallen by the unparalleld griefes and sorrowes which she conceived for her husbands former unkindnesse to her but more especially for his present absence and flight with his lascivious Sister Masserina So in a most unhappie hower Her Father La Vaquery mentioneth it to Tivoly Which being the only occasion and opportunitie hee gaped for he freely promiseth him his best art and skill for her recovery and the next
day goes home to his house with him visiteth his daughter He findes her to be weake leane and pale the which serves the better for his turne to coulour out this his bloody purpose to her When if there had been any humanity in his thoughts any Grace in his heart or any sparke of religion or pietie in his Soule the very sight of this sweet this harmelesse this beautifull young Gentlewoman would have moved him to compassion and not with hellish crueltie to resolve to poyson her But his sinnefull heart his seared Conscience and his ulcerated and virulent soule had in favour of gold made this compact with the Divell and therfore hee will advance and not retire in this his infernall resolution Hee feeles her pulse casts her estate in an Vrinall receives thirty Crownes of her Father for her cure and so bidding her to be of good comfort he administreth her two pills three mornings following whereof harmelesse sweet Gentlewoman within three dayes after shee sodainly dyes in her bed by night Tivoly affirming to her sorrowfull Father and Friends that before hee came to her the violency and inveteracy of her consumption had turned all her blood into water and exhausted and extenuated all the radicall humours of her life which opinion of this base and bloody Italian Mountebanke past current with the simplicitie of his beliefe and their Iudgements So he burieth his daughter and with her his chiefest earthly delight and ioy Within three daies after that this sorrowful and lamentable tragedy was acted This monster this Divell incarnate Tivoly leaves Troyes and poasts away to Nevers where he ravisheth Masserina's heart with the joyfull newes and assurance of La Precovertes death and buriall of whom he receives his other hundred and fifty Crownes the which according to her promise shee failes not presently to pay him downe And heere againe they solemnely sweare secrecie each to other of this their bloody fact Wretched Masserina feasting her heart with joy and surfeiting her thoughts with content to see the rivall and competitor in her loves La Precoverte thus dispatched and sent for heaven Shee now thinking to domineere alone in her Harcourts heart and affection esteemes her selfe a degree neerer to him in marriage that so of his Sister shee may become his Wife For this is the felicity and content whereat her heart aymeth and the delectation and ioy wherein her desires and wishes terminate But her Husband Vimories life doth dash these ioyes of hers in peeces as soone as she conceives them and strangles them if not in their birth yet in their cradle She finds Nevers to bee a pleasant Citie and Pougges a delightfull little place to live in and when the Spring is past and the great confluence of people retired and gone home to bee a place of farre more safety for them than Lyons Yea and shee affects and loves it farre the better because here it was she first heard and understood of La Precovertes death which as yet for a time she closely conceales to her selfe Wherefore shee sends Noell her man to Lyons to his Master and by her letter prayes him speedily to come and live with her at Nevers which shee affirmes to him is a pleasant City and that there she attends his arrivall and company with much affection and impatiencie Harcourt to please his Sweet-heart-Sister Masserina leaves Lyons and comes to her at Nevers where with thankes and kisses she ioyfully wellcomes him telling him that these bathes of Pougges have perfectly freed her of her ache but in her heart and mind shee well knowes it is the death of La Precoverte and not those bathes which hath both cured her doubts and secured her feares They have not lived in Nevers and Pougges above three weekes since his arrivall untill they there but by what meanes I know not understand of La Precovertes death whereat hee seemes nothing sorrowfull but she extreamly glad and ioyfull And by this time which is at least a whole yeare since their flight and departure from Saint Simplician and Sens they in their Travells and other gifts and expenses have consumed â—…nd expended a prettie Summe of their money In all which time wee must understand that Vimory hates his wife and Brother so exceedingly as hee in contempt of their crymes and detestation of their trecherous ingratitude scornes either to looke or send after them but the only revenge which he useth towards him in his absence he pretends a great Summe of money to bee due to him from him and in compensation thereof seizeth upon the remainder of his lands and by Order of Iustice gathereth up and collects his rents from his Tenants to his owne use and behoofe Which extreamely grieves Harcourt and afflicts Masserina who by this time seeing in what obscurity and considering in what continuall feare and eminent danger they live in As their lascivious affections so their irregular desires and irreligious resolutions looke one and the same way which is to send her Husband and his Brother Vimory to Heaven after his wife La Precoverte yea so resolute are they in this their bloody intentions and desires as they wish and pray for it with zeale and desire it with passion impatiency And now their malice is growen so resolute and their resolution so gracelesse in the contemplation and conceiving of this bloody 〈◊〉 as they bewray it each to other Masserina vowes to him that she can reape no true content either in her life or conscience before of his sister he make her his wife Nor I replies Harcourt before my brother Vimorie be in Heaven and I marry thee be thy husband here in earth When as a bloody Courtisan and Strumpet she gives him many thanks and kisses for this his affection to her and malice to his Brother Vimory for her sake when working upon the advantage of time occasion and opportunity Shee tells him that in her opinion the shortest and surest way is to dispatch him by poison Harcourt dislikes her judgement and plot as holding it no way safe in taking away his brothers life to entrust and hazard his owne at the coâ—…rtesie of a stranger at which speech of his shee blusheth and palleth as being conscious and memorative of what she had lately caused to be perpetrated by Tivoly Therfore he thinks to acquaint and imploy his owne man Noell in this bloudy businesse and proâ—… him two hundred Crownes and fortie more of yeerely pension during his life if hee will pistoll his Brother Vimory to death as he iâ—… walking in the fields But Noell is too honest a man and too good a Chriâ—… to stabbe at the majesty of God iâ—…â—…ling man his creature and Image and so absolutely denies his Master and although he be a poore man yet he rejects his offer as resolving never to purchase wealth or preferment at so deere a rate as the price of innocent blood whereat his Master bites his lip for discontent and
two Duellists having first thanked him for his noble Courtesie towards them but otherwise they are exceedingly grieved to see the victory puld out of their hands for the vanity and impiety of either of them flattered and bounded their hopes with no lesse ambition and felicity then each their owne life and either of them the death of his adversary But as they are gratefull to the Earle of Lucerni for this his honourable courtesie towards them yet they are so irreligious as they looke not up to Heaven nor once have the Grace to thinke of God much lesse to thanke his divine Majesty for now so mercifully and so gratiously withdrawing them as it were from out the very Iawes of death but still they retaine their malice and cherish and foment their revenge each to other especially Borlary to Planeze for it is a Continuall private griefe and a secret Corrasive to his content and minde to see that hee is inforced to weare the willow Garland and that Planeze must beare away his faire and beautifull Mistres Felisanna from him But we will for a little time leave them to their thoughts and their thoughts to God and so againe speake of Romeo the Laquey of Borlari who as a wretched and most execrable villane comes now to act a bloody and wofull part in this History For we must here understand that this lewd Laquey Romeo is so extreamly incensed with Choller and inraged with malice against the Lady Felisanna for the losse of his eare as being seduced and encouraged by the Devill hee was once of the minde to have murthered her in the street the very first time he had met or seene her but then againe respecting his master Borlari whom he knew affected her tenderly and deerely hee forsooke that opinion of his and resolved to wreake his wrath and indignation upon her-three servants who were the Actors of cutting off his eare as he was the Author therof But then againe remembring that he knew them not nor any of them for that they were all purposely masked and disguised He then swaps a bargaine with the devill and the devill with him that the storme of this his malice and revenge should assuredly fall on Radegonda her Chambermaid from whom it originally proceeded and from this resolution hee is so execrably prophane and bloudy as he vowes that neither Heaven or Earth God or man shall divert him But as Envy cannot prove so pernitious an enemy to others as to her selfe so Revenge will in the end assuredly make us as miserable as first it fasly promised to make us happy Romeo continueth still resolute in his rage and implacable in his revenge towards Radegonda and yet poore innocent harmelesse soule shee was not so much as guilty of a badde thought muchlesse of a bad action or office towards him and therefore least deserving this his revenge when waiting many Nights for her as shee issued forth in the street in her Ladies errands hee at last in a darke night found her and there slew her with his rapier giving her foure severall wounds whereof he mought have spared the three last because the verie first was mortall and thereuppon betooke himselfe to his heeles and fled through the streets where the people flocked together at the report and knowledge of this lamentable Murther but God is so exasperated at this foule and lamentable fact of his as in his Starre-chamber of Heaven he hath ordained and decreed that Romeo shall instantly receive condigne punishment for the same as not deserving to survive it for running through the streets to provide for his safety and life He at last tooke the river of Addice neere the old castle where thinking to swimme over to the other side or to hide himselfe in some of the mill-boates hee was discovered by the sentinells for the watch was already set and the newes of this murther was by this time resounding and ecchoing in all parts of the City The Souldiours of the Castle suspected him to bee the murtherer they send a boat after him and apprehend him so by the criminall Iudges he is committed to prison for that night and being the next morning accused by Seignior Miniata by way of torture and by the Lady Felisanna his daughter by legall order for the murthering of her Chambermaid Radegonda he without any thought of feare or shew of sorrow or repentance freely confesseth it for the which he is presently condemned to bee hanged and the same day after dinner hee was accordingly dispatched and executed notwistanding that his master Borlari used his best friends and power yea and proffered two hundred zechines to save him Thus wee see there was but one poore night betweene Romeoes taking away of Radegondaes life and losing of his owne and betweene her murthering and his hanging At his execution hee spake not a word either of the losse of his eare by the Lady Felisanna or of that of Radegondaes haire by his master Borlari whereat both of them exceedingly rejoyce and no lesse doth Planeze But for the other speeches which this bloudy footman delivered on the ladder at this execution they were either so ungodly or so impertinent as the relation thereof no way deserves my pen or my Readers knowledge And here to leave the dead Servant Romeo returne wee againe to speake of his living Master Borlari who after he had spent much time and labour and as I may say ran his invention and wit out of breath to seeke to prevent that Planeze mought not marry the fayre Felisanna hath notwithstanding to his matchlesse griefe and unseparable sorrow sees that it is al bootlesse and in vaine for by this time she through the importunity of her teares and prayers hath obtained her father Miniataes consent to take and enjoy Seignior Planeze for her Husband when to both their hearts delight and content they are solemnely married in Verona and in that height of pompe and bravery as is requisite to their noble ranke and quality When Planeze the more to please his new wife leaves Mantova and wholly builds up his residence in Verona with her and in her father Miniataes house who never hated him so much heretofore as now he deepely affects and loves him and to say and write the truth hee well deserved that affection of the father and this love of the daughter sith the lustre and vertue of his actions made it apparant to all Verona yea to all Italy that hee proved a most kinde and loving Husband to the one and a most obedient and respective sonne in law to the other Now although Felisanna bee thus marryed to Planeze yet the affection of Borlari to her is still so far from fading or withring thereat as it reâ—…iveth and flourisheth at the sight of her pure and delicate beauty for those golden tresses of her haire those splendant raies of her sparkling eyes and thosedelicious lilies and Roses of her cheekes doe act such wonders in his heart and his heart
in his resolutions that his lust ecclipsing his judgement and outbraving his disdiscretion he cannot he will not refraine to trie if he can yet procure and get her to be his friend though not his wife and so futurely to obtaine that curtesie from her by the eye which formerly he knew it impossible for him to get by the maine To which end his affection or rather his folly giving no truce to his thoughts nor peace to his minde because both the one and the other were still ranging and ruminating on Felisannaes sweet Idea and delitious feature Hee enters into a consideration and consultation with himselfe whether hee should bewray his amorous flame to her by himselfe or by some other or either by his penne or his tongue when after hee had proposed and exchanged many poore reasons and triviall Motives Pro and Con hee at last resolves on the last which is to doe it by letters when hying himselfe to his closet he traceth her these lines which by a confident friend of his he forth with sends her BORLARY to FELISANNA I Will crave no other witnesse but thy selfe of my fervent love and constant affection to thee for none can better testifie how I alwaies made it my chiefest Care and Ambition to make the dignity of my zeale answerable to that of thy beauty and that this mought be as truely Immortall as that is devinely rare and rarely excellent which to confirme I have sealed it with some bloud but with more teares so that although thou hast given thy affection from mee to Planeze yet my heart and soule tells me it is impossible to give mine to any but to the Lady Felisanna And because thou canst not bee my wife therefore I pray be pleased to resolve to live my friend as in requitall I doe dye thy Servant I confesse I am not worthy of thy affection much lesse to enjoy the sweet fruit thereof thy sweet selfe yet because I cannot be more thine then I am therefore I pray thee make thy selfe as much mine as thou mayest be Thy heart shall not be a truer Secretary to our affections then my tongue and for the times and places of our meetings I wholly referre it to thy will and pleasure which mine shall ever carefully attend and religiously obey I send the my whole heart inclosed in this Letter and if thou vouchsafe to returne me a peice of thine in exchange Heaven may but Earth cannnot crosse our affection BORLARY The Lady Flisanna receives this letter with much wonder and ore reades it with more Contempt and Choller for if she disdained Borlari and his affection when she was a maid much more doth shee now when God and her Husband have made her a wife Once shee was of opinion to have throwne this his Letter into the fire and have answered it with disdaine and silence But then againe considering the vainity of his thoughts and the obscaenity of his desireâ—…â—…hee conceived he mought peradventure repute her silence to a degree of consent and therefore though not in affection to him yet in discretion and love to her honour she resolves to returne him an answer when knitting her browes with anger dipping her pen in gall and vinegar and setting a sharp edge of contempt and Choller on her resolutions she hastily frame her Letter and gives it to his owne Messenger to deliver it to Borlari whose heart steering his course betwixt hope and feare till hee receive it he first kissing it and then hastily breaking up the seales thereof findes that it speakes this language FELISANNA to BORLARY IF thou want any witnesses of thy folly not of thy affection thy obstinate and vaine perseverance herein of one makes me capable to serve for many And if thou hadst beene as truely carefull and ambitious of thine owne honour as thou falsâ—… pretendest to be of my poore beauty thou wouldest not so often have sacrificed thy shame to my glory nor so sottishly have cast away thy bloud or teares on my contempt How thou intendest to dispose of thy self I neither desire to know nor care to understand But as I have given my soule to God so God hath given my heart to my husband Planeze from whom neither the malice of Sathan or power of hell shall withdraw it and therefore as I am Felisanna I detest thy lustfull sute and as Planezes wife I deâ—…ie both it and thy selfe And thus to bee thy friend thou shalt finde mee thy friend but for such servants as thy selfe I leave them to their owne proper Infamy and Repentance I make God the Secretary of my â—…ctions and my husband of my affections therefore it shall please me well when I understand that thy tongue wil recant thy folly I repent thy indiscretion towards me in seeking to erect the Trophees of thy lascivious lust upon the ruines of my pure and candid honour And I assure thee that if hereafter thou inspire and fortifie not thy heart with more religious and lesse sinfull desires and affections that Earth can and Heaven will make thee as truely miserable as now thou falsly thinkest thy selfe fortunate FELISANNA Borlari at the reading of this Letter of Felisanna is so galled with griefeand netled with sorrow to see his refusall sent him in her disdaine as he knows not to what passion to betake himselfe for ease or to what Saint for comfort for the consideration of her coynesse and cruelty makes his dispaire to gaine so much on his hopes that once he was minded absolutely to forsake her and to court her affection no more but then againe his lustfull heart and desires remembring the freshnesse of her beauty and the sweetnesse of her youth hee held himselfe a coward every way unworthy to enjoy so faire a Lady and so sweet an Angell if hee retyred upon her first denyall especially because as those Citties and Castles so those Ladies and Gentlewomen who entertaine a pearle are already halfe wonne In which consideration because it many times proves an errour in Nature but still in judgement to flatter our selves most with that which we most hope for and desire He therefore once more resolves to hazard another letter to her as having some reasons to beleive that his second may perchance obtaine that from her which his first could not for that he knowes that most ladies and gentlewomen pride themselves with this felicity to be often sought and importunately sued unto by their lovers wherfore resolving once more to try his fortune and her courtesie hee by his former messenger greets her with these lines BORLARY to FELISANNA THy sweet and excellent beautie hath enkindled so fervent a flame in my heart that thy late disrespect and contempt of me in thy Letter is not sufficiently prevalent to make mee or so soone or so sleightly forsake thee For although thou terme my loue folly and my affection obstinacy yet untill thou cease to bee faire finde it â—…t strange if it be impossible for
saw or knew them May wee reade this their History first to the honour of God and then to our owne Instruction and reformation That the sight and remembrance of these their punishments may deterre us from the impiety and inhumanity of perpetrating the like bloudy crimes Amen GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND Execrable sinne of Murther Lorenzo murthereth his wife Fermia Hee some twenty yeares after as altogether unknowne robbeth his and her sonne Thomaso who likewise not knowing Lorenzo to be his father doth accuse him for that robbery for which he is hanged THose who by the pernitious instigation and fatall temptation of Sathan doe wilfully imbrue their hands in innocent bloud and so make themselves guilty of murther are no longer men but have prodigiously metamorphosed themselves into the nature and quality of devils And as after this their crime they are worthy of all true christians detestation so most commonly without Gods saving grace and mercy their hearts are so obdurated with impenitency of security and their soules seared up and abandoned to all kinds of atheisticall prophannesse and impiety that they are so far from thinking of God as they beleeve there is no God and so far from fearing of his judgements and punishments as they are desperately confident they have not deserved any But because their hearts and actions are as transparent to Gods eyes and knowledge as Gods decrees and resolution are invisible to theirs therefore despight this their blindnesse and the devils malice and subtilty to obscure and conceale it this world will affoord them no true peace nor this life produce them any perfect tranquility But wheresoever they goe or live their guilty thoughts and consciences as so many hellish bloudhounds will incessantly persue and follow them till in the end they drag them to condigne shame misery and confusion for the same which this subsequent history will verifie and make good to us in a wretched and execrable personage whom it mournefully presents to our view and consideration Let us read it in the feare of God that we may weigh that benefit by it which becomes good Christians to make IT is not the meannesse of the personages but the greatnesse and eminence of Gods Judgements which hath prevailed with me to give this History a place among my others The which to draw from the head-spring and originall we must understand that in Italy the Garden of Europe as Europe is that of the whole world and in the City of Genova seated upon the Mediterranean Sea which the Italians for the sumptuousnesse and statelinesse of her buildings doe justly stile and entitle proud Genova neare unto the Arsenall upon the Key there dwelt of late yeares a proper tall young man of a coale blacke haire some twenty five yeares old named Andrea Lorenzo who by his trade was a Baker and was now become Master of his profession and kept forth his Oven and shop for himselfe wherein he was so industrious and provident that in a short time he became one of the prime Bakers of that City and wrought to many Ships and Galleyes of this Estate and Seigniory He in few yeares grew rich was proffered many wives of the daughters of many wealthy Bakers and other Artificers of Genova but he was still covetous and so addicted to the world as he could fancy none nor as yet be resolved or perswaded to seeke any maid or widdow in marriage sith hee knew it to be one of the greatest and most important actions of our life and which infallibly drawes with it either our chiefest earthly felicity or misery But as marriages are made in heaven before consummated on earth So Lorenzo going on a time to the City of Savona which both by Sea and Land is some twenty little miles from Genova and heretofore was a free City and Estate of it selfe but now swallowed up in the power and opulencie of that of Genova he there fell in love with a rich Vintners daughter her father named Iuan Baptista Moron and shee Firmia Moron who was a lovely and beautifull young maiden of some eighteene yeares of age being tall and slender of a pale complection and a bright yellow haire but exceedingly vertuous and religious and endowed with many sweet qualities and perfections who althouhh she were sought in marriage by divers rich young men of very good families of that City with the worst of whom either for estate or extraction Lorenzo might no way compare yet shee could fancie none but him and hee above all the men of the world she secretly in her heart and minde desired might be her Husband Lorenzo with order and discretion seeks Fermia in mariage of her father Moron who is too strong of purse and to high of humour to match his daughter to a Baker or to any other of a mechanicall profession and so gives him a flat and peremptory deniall But Lorenzo finds his daughter more courteous and kinde to his desires for she being as deeply enamoured of his personage as he was of her beauty and vertues after a journey or two which he had made to her at at Savona she consents and yeelds to him to be his wife conditionally that hee can obtaine her fathers good will thereunto but not otherwise which Lorenzo yet feared and doubted would prove a difficult taske for him to compasse and procure for her father knowing Fermia to be his owne and onely childe and daughter and that her beautie and vertuous education together with the consideration of his owne wealth and estate made her every way capable of a farre better husband than Lorenzo As also that his daughter in reason and religion and by the lawes of heaven and earth was bound to yeeld him all duty and obedience because of him she had formerly received both life and being therefore he was resolute that Lorenzo should not have his daughter to wife neither would he ever hearken to accept or consent to take him for his sonne in Law Lorenzo having thus obtained the heart and purchased the affection of his sweet and deare Fermia he now out of his fervent desire and zeale to see her made his wife and himselfe her husband makes it both his ambition and care according to her order to drawher father Moron to consent thereunto wherein the more importunate humble and dutifull he both by himselfe friends is to Moron the more imperious averse and obstinate is he to Lorenzo as disdaining any farther to heare of this his suit and motion for his daughter But Lorenzo loves the daughter too tenderly and dearly thus to be put off with the first repulse and deniall of her father and so notwithstanding hee againe persevereth in his suit towards him with equall humility and resolution Hee requesteth his consent to their affections with prayers and his daughter Fermia having formerly acquainted her father with her deare and inviolable love to Lorenzo she now prayes him thereto with teares But as one who
Thomaso the Goldsmith after this infamous and scandalous death of his Father hee could no longer content himselfe to live in Rome but returned to Savona to his Grandfather Moron who received him with many demonstrations of Ioy and affection and after his death made him sole heire to all his wealth and Estate To God be all the Glory FINIS Decemb. XII 1633. Recensui hunc librum cui titulus The fourth Booke of Gods Revenge against the crying and execrable sinne of wilfull and premeditated Murther unâ cum Epistola Dedicatoriâ ad Honoratissimum Dominum Philip Com. Pemb. Montgom qui quidem liber continet paginas 93. in quibus nihil reperio sanae doctrinae aut bonis moribus contrarium quo minus cum utilitate publicâ imprimatur ita tamen ut si non intrá decem menses typis mandetur haec licentia fit omnino irrita Guilielmus Haywood Archiep. Cant. Capellanus domesticus THE TRIUMPHS OF GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND Execrable Sinne of Murder Expressed In thirty seuerall Tragicall Histories digested into six Books which containe great varietie of mournfull and memorable Accidents Amorous Morall and Divine Booke V. Written by IOHN REYNOLDS VERITAS TEMPORE PATET OCCVLTA RS LONDON Printed for WILLIAM LEE and are to bee sold at his shop in Fleetstreet at the signe of the Turkes Head neere the Mitre Taverne 1634. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE AND TRVLY NOBLE FRANCIS Lord RVSSELL Baron of Thornehaugh and Earle of Bedford RIGHT HONOVRABLE WHEN I had the honour to referre to that Valiant Wise and Honest Nobleman Arthur Lord Chichester Baron of Belfast whose sublime merits doe here justly deserve and challenge this Testimonie from my Duety That hee was too good for Earth and therefore is now so soone crowned a Saint in Heaven I then had first the happinesse to know and to be knowne of your Honour at your Cheswicke In whom because I ever hold it a farre lesse crime to speake the truth then either to silence or dissemble it I then found so many prints and stamps of true honour and Characters of ancient Goodnesse and Nobilitie that with a pleasing content and delectation I was enforced to be againe and againe enamoured of Vertue and Honour for your sake and reciprocally to love and respect your Lordship for both their sakes Since when out of your generositie not my expectation or deserts your Honour was pleased to conferre a favour on me the which though you forget yet the remembrance thereof I will with equall Zeale and Ambition strive to make as eternall as I know my selfe to be mortall and transitorie You are a Religious Christian and a true hearted Englishman and therefore as it is your glory so it is our happinesse that you are both a constant Lover of God and his Church and a firme and faithfull honourer of your Prince and Countrey and you are now Lord Lieutenant under our Royall and Gracious Soveraigne of that famous County of Devon and faire and honourable Citie of Excester to which I owe my nativitie and in both which the Russels Earles of Bedford your Noble Ancestors have condignely left behind them many honourable Trophees of their Valour and sweet and precious perfumes of their Vertue These premises being so powerfull in truth and so considerable and prevalent in Reason I therefore flatter my selfe with this hope that your Honour will attribute it rather to Dutie then Presumption in me If I now publikely attempt to profer and sacrifice up something to the Honour of your Illustrious Name and to the Dignity of your resplendent Vertues Missing therefore of that desired happinesse by some rare or elaborate peece sufficiently to testifie to your Lordship and to the whole world what you are to mee in the height of Honour and what I am and desire to bee found of you in the lownesse of Observance and Humilitie It will therefore bee no lesse my Felicitie then your Goodnesse If you vouchsafe to accept and patronize this my Fift Booke of foraigne Tragicall Histories and also please to permit them to travell and seeke their Fortunes abroad in the world under the auspitious Planet and authenticall Passeport of your Noble Protection wherein you may behold and see how soundly how sacredly the Iustice of God meets with this crying and scarlet Sinne of Murther which in these our depraved and sinfull times in contempt of the Lawes of Heaven and Earth make so lamentable and so prodigious a progression and how sharpely and severely it deservedly punisheth those Butchers and Monsters of Nature the perpetrators thereof And if I may borrow for I desire not to usurpe any part of your Lordships houres of leisure to give first to the Knowledge and then to the Contemplation of these Histories and the severall Accidents which they report and relate I shall then triumph in my good fortune as having obtayned that Honour and Favour which I ingenuously acknowledge I am farre more capable to desire then deserve I come now to implore pardon of your Honour for this my Presumption in inscribing and adventuring so meane a worke to your noble acceptance And I have ended this my Epistle as soone as began to assure you That I will ever religiously pray unto God to accumulate all prosperities and blessings on your Honour as also on your most Vertuous Countesse and successively on your Honourable and Flourishing Posteritie who now promise no lesse then a happy and famous perpetuitie to your thrice Noble Name and Family Your Honours in all Dutie and Service IOHN REYNOLDS THE GROVNDS AND CONTENTS OF THESE HISTORIES HISTORIE XXI Babtistyna and Amarantha poyson their Eldest Sister Iaquinta after which Amarantha causeth her servants Bernardo and Pierya to stiffle her elder Sister Babtistyna in her Bed Bernardo flying away breakes his necke with the fall off his Horse Pierya is hanged for the same so likewise is Amarantha and her body after burnt Bernardo being buried his body is againe taken up and hanged to the Gallowes by his feete then burnt and his ashes throwen into the River HISTORIE XXII Martino poysoneth his Brother Pedro and murthereth Monfredo in the streete He afterwards growes mad and in confession reveales both these his murthers to Father Thomas his Ghostly Father who afterwards dying reveales it by his Letter to Cecilliana who was Widdow to Monfredo and Sister to Pedro and Martino Martino hath first his right hand cut off and then is hanged for the same HISTORIE XXIII Alphonso poysoneth his owne Mother Sophia and after shoots and kils Cassino as he was walking in his Garden with a short Musket or Carabyne from a Window Hee is beheaded for those two murthers then burnt and his ashes throwne into the River HISTORIE XXIV Pont Chausey kils La Roche in a Duell Quatbrisson causeth Moncallier an Apothecary to poyson his owne Brother Valfontaine Moncallier after fals and breakes his necke from a paire of staires Quatbrisson likewise causeth his Fathers Miller to murther and
strangle Marieta in her Bed and to throw her body into his Mill-Pond Pierot the Miller is broken alive on a wheele and Quatbrisson first beheaded then burnt for the same HISTORIE XXV Vasti first murthereth his Sonne George and next poysoneth his owne Wife Hester and being afterwards almost killed by a mad Bull in the Fields hee revealeth these his two murthers for the which he is first hanged and then burnt THE TRIVMPHS OF GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND EXECRABLE sinne of Murther HISTORIE XXI Babtistyna and Amarantha poyson their Eldest Sister Iaquinta after which Amarantha causeth her servants Bernardo and Pierya to stifle her Elder Sister Babtistyna in her bed Bernardo flying breakes his necke with the fall off his Horse Pierya is hanged so likewise is Amarantha and her body afâ—…er burnt Bernardo being buried his body is again taken up hanged to the Gallowes by his feet then burnt and his ashes throwne into the ayre THe Golden times being past what doth this Iron or flintie age of ours produce but Thornes for Roses and Brambles for Lillies I meane bloudy and barbarous actes in stead of deedes of Compassion and workes of Charitie Not but that Christianitie as a faire and glorious vayle covereth the face of Europe as the firmament of Heaven doth that of Earth and that by the mercie of God there are now great variety of learned and godly Preachers who by the sanctity of their lives and the purity of their Doctrine spend the greatest part both of their time and of themselves to propagate Vertue and Pietie in us and consequently to roote out vice and Sinne from among us But it is the vanity of our thoughts the corruption of our depraved Natures the infirmity of our Iudgements the weakenesse of our Faith the coldnesse of our Zeale and our neglect of prayer which sometimes O that I might not say too too often transporteth our selves beyond our selves and our resolutions and actions beyond the bounds of reason yea and violently carrieth us to desperate and inhumane attempts which this next deplorable History will so apparantly and perspicuously verifie vnto us that we shall difficultly reade it without sighes nor understand it without teares at least if wee have but the sparkes of so much Charitie in our hearts and Pietie in our Soules as the unfortunate authors and miserable actors hereof wanted IF Tuscany be the beauty glory of Italy then Florence the capital Citie thereof must needs be that of Tuscany or else it could not so justly and generally deserve that true and excellent Epithite of faire It is a Citie which hath given both life and being to the Illustrious family of the Medicis or as some affirme they to it The worst grounds about it are Vâ—…eyardes and the best are dainty Meadowes and delicate Gardens or rather their Gardens are Meadowes for their spaciousnesse and their Meadowes are Gardens for their fertility beauty It is divided and crossed in two parts by the famous River Arno and that river againe by two stately Bridges curiously embelished and adorned with many Marble and Alabaster Statues The streetes hereof are well paved broad and long the buildings for the most part rather Palaces then private houses and the Temples for sumptuousnesse and beauty nothing inferiour to the best and richest of Italy especially the two most sumptuous and unparalleld Chappels of the Babtistaria and Saint Lorenzo as also the Domo and Campanella which is the Tower thereof it being a most magnificent and stately Cathedrall Church which not onely catcheth our eye with wonder but surpriseth our thoughts with admiration as all our English Noblemen and Gentlemen Travellers doe peradventure know farre better then my selfe I say in this rich and fayre Citie of Florence neere the Church of the Dominican Fryers in the latter dayes of the great Duke Ferdinand there dwelt an ancient vertuous and generous Cavallier named Seignior Leonardo Streni descended of a Noble family neere to the Citie of Pistoia where his Auncestors left him many fayre demeanes and a very rich Patrimony the which through his Frugality Vertue and Wisedome the true foundation of most of the chiefest houses and best familyes of Italy hee managed and improved so well that within the space of twenty yeares he became exceeding rich and oppulent but neere about this time that the sweetnesse of his content might receive some checke of bitter affliction to shew him that man is subject to God and that there is no perfect or permanent felicity heere on Earth his Lady Alcydina dyed which brought him much sorrow and affliction having onely yet this joy and consolation left him that he had by her in marriage three proper young Ladyes to his Daughters named Iaquinta Babtistyna and Amarantha who albeit he hoped would prove the stayes and comforts of his Age yet they will futurely afoord him farre lesse felicity and more misery then he can expect or my Readers as yet any way conceive or imagine the which to approve and verifie they are by me prayed to understand and remember that these two youngest Daughters Babtistyna and Amarantha are wonderfull fayre and beautifull of a reasonable tall stature very streight and slender But Iaquinta the eldest Daughter is of a browne complexion short and Crooke-backd but shee hath this sleight that her Taylors art serves to overvayle the defects and to cover the deficiencie of her Nature and she her selfe hath the skill to put on fresh tincture and complexion on her face vices which the puritie and simplicity of former Ages were not acquainted with or else purposely disdained and hated although the pride and vanity of these our times doe ambitiously allow and practise them Againe Iaquinta is proud and stately Babtistyna chollericke sullen and revengefull and Amarantha to the eye and judgement of the world pleasant and courteous Have we but a little patience and we shall shortly see each of these three Sisters appeare in their true coulers and in very different wayes to act their severall partes upon the Stage and Theater of this their History Streni seeing himselfe a widdower not so much favoured of God to have any Sonne to enjoy his name and Landes and all his three Daughters to be now capable of marriage He as a provident and loving Father holds it a great poynt of affection and discretion in him now to leave his Mannor house of Cardura neere Pistoia and to betake himselfe to live and reside in Florence hoping thereby with lesse difficulty and farre more advantage to looke out and provide fit Husbands for his daughters answerable to their ranke and degree which disposition and resolution of his pleased them well and administred them cause of great content and joy siith it is now growne to a custome and a habit that young Ladyes and Gentlewomen doe infinitely desire to live in great Townes and Cities where they may see and be seene and especially in those of Italy more then in any Country of
so odious as Nature cannot excuse and so diabolicall as no Clemencie can pardon And yet this age and this world is but too plentifull and fertile of such bloudy Tigers and inhumane Monsters and Butchers of mankinde as if they had not a Conscience within them to accuse them a God above them to condemne them and a Hell below them to punish them or as if they had not the sacred Oracles of Gods eternall Word I meane the Law and the Gospell and the blessed Precepts and Doctrine of the holy Prophets and Apostles yea of Christ Iesus himselfe the great Shepherd and sacred Bishop of our soules to teach us the rules of Mercie Meekenesse and Long-suffering whiles wee live in this vale of misery here below and that wee must imbrace and follow Peace and Charity with all men if ever wee thinke to participate of the true felicity and joyes of Heaven above But neverthelesse yea directly contrary hereunto this insuing History will produce us one who though sufficiently instructed in the rules of Piety and Charity yet hee wilfully abandoned the first and contemned the second by cruelly and unnaturally imbruing his hands in innocent bloud for the which wee shall see that hee in the end suffereth a severe and shamefull death May we reade this History to the glory of God and the instruction of our selves THe Scene of this History is layd in Spayne in the famous Province of old Castile and in the faire and ancient City of Burgos where lately dwelt a noble and rich old Gentlewoman termed Dona Catherina Aâ—…z a Sirname much knowne and famous in that City Province and Kingdome who had by her deceased Husband Don Roderigo de Ricaldo two sonnes Don Pedro and Don Martino and one Daughter named Dona Cecilliana Her eldest sonne Don Pedro was a gallant Cavallier of some eight and twenty yeares of age tall and well-timbred by complexion and hayre blacke and of a swart and martiall countenance who for the space of seven yeares served as a voluntary Gentleman under that wise and valiant Commander Don Gonsalez de Cordova in Germany and against the Lords States of the Netherlands and since in the Voltoline and Millane against the Grisons and French In both which warres he left behind him many memorable testimonies of his prowesse and purchased divers honorable trophees of true valour and generosity but for any other intellectuall endowments of the minde hee was no scholler and but of an indifferent capacity yet very honest courteous and affable particularly to his friends and generally to all the world His Brother Don Martino was of some foure and twenty yeares of age short of stature very slender but crooke-back'd of an Aubrun hayre a withered face a squint eye of inclination extreamely sullen and of disposition and nature envious and revengefull as desirous rather to entertaine a night-quarrell in the street then a day-combate in the Field but as God is many times pleased to countervaile and reward the defects of nature in the body with some rich gifts and perfections of the mind so though not by profession yet by education he was an excellent Scholler of an active and sharpe wit a fluent tongue and singularly able either to allure or divert to perswade or disswade according as the streame of his different passions and affections led him Vertues enough relucent and excellent to build a fame and sufficient to rayse an eminent fortune if his former vices doe not too fatally eclipse the one and deface the other Their Sister Cecilliana aged of some twenty yeares was of an indifferent height but growing to corpulencie and fatnesse of a blacke hayre an amiable browne complexion a big rolling eye and the ayre of her countenance rather beautifully amorous then modestly beautifull Shee was of a nimble wit of humour pleasant and facetious yet so reserved in the externall demonstration thereof that through her Mothers pious and austere education of her shee in all outward semblance seemed rather to bee fit for a Nunnery then a Husband and more proper to make a Saint then a Wife but as the face proves not still a true Index of the heart nor our lookes and speeches still a true Sybile of our soules so how retired soever her Mother kept her from the company of men yet her wanton eye conspiring with her lascivious heart made her the more desirous thereof and farre the more licentiously in regard shee was strictly forbidden it so as not to contradict or dissemble the truth I am here inforced to relate and affirme that shee imparteth her favours upon two or three young Gentlemen of that Citie of her private acquaintance and is more familiar with them then modesty can well warrant or chastity allow of But there is a young Gallant of this City likewise more noble by birth then rich in estate and meanes named Don Balthazar de Monfredo who deeming Cecilliana as famous for her chastity as for her beauty beares a singular affection to her yea his heart and thoughts are so fervently intangled in the snares of her delicious beauty that in publicke and private in his desires and wishes and in his speech and actions he proclaimes her to bee his Mistresse and himselfe her servant and if hee affect and desire Cecilliana for his Wife no lesse doth shee Monfredo for her Husband so that they many times by stealth meet and conferre privately in remote Churches and Chappell 's it being rather a prophane then a religious custome of Spaine wherein Heaven is too much made to stoope to Earth and Religion to Impiety for men to court their intended wives and which is worse many times their Courtizans and Strumpets Cecilliana oftentimes warranted by her Mothers indisposition can no sooner take Coach to injoy the pleasure and benefit of the fresh ayre abroad in the fragrant fields but Monfredo assuredly meets her where leaping from his Coach into hers and leaving his Page to accompany her Wayting-gentle woman in his own they at first familiarly kisse and confer and in a few of these meetings at last effectually resolve to give themselves each to other in the sacred bonds of marriage so he gives her a rich Diamond ring and she reciprocally returnes him a paire of Gold bracelets in token of marriage and they then and there calling God to witnes very solemnly contract themselves man and wife yet for some solid reasons and important considerations which conduce to the better accomplishing of their desires they for a time conclude to beare it secretly and silently from all the world and it is concluded and agreed betweene them that a moneth after and not before hee shall attempt to seeke her publikely in marriage both of her Mother the Lady Catherina as also of her two Brothers Don Pedro and Don Martino So when this moneth is past over which to these out two Lovers seemes to be many ages Monfredo very fairely and orderly seekes her of her Mother in marriage and
and conceipt of Don Pedro Cecilliana cannot refraine from blushing nor Monfredo from smiling for looking each on other with the eyes of one and the saâ—… tender affection and constancie hee smiles to see her blush and shee againe blusheth to see him smile hereat here shee tells her brother Don Pedro plainely and hâ—… lover Monfredo pleasantly that shee will deceive her mothers hopes and her brother Don Martino's desires in thinking to make her a cloystered Sister when 〈◊〉 gaine metamorphosing the snow-white lillies of her cheekes into blushing damaâ—… roses shee with a modest pleasantnesse directing her speech to Monfredo who then lovingly led her in the Garden by her arme tells him that his house should bee the Nunnery his armes the Cloyster and himselfe the Saint to whom till death shee was ready to profer up and sacrifice both her affection and her selfe that as shee did not hate but love the profession of a Nunne in others so for his sake shee could not love but hate it in her selfe adding withall that for proofe and confirmation hereof if it were his pleasure shee was both ready and willing to put her selfe into his protection and to repose her honour in the confidence of his faithfull affection and integrity towards her Monfredo first kissing her then infinitely thankes her for this true demonstration of her deare and constant affection to him when againe intermixing kisses with smiles and smiles with kisses hee sweares to her in presence of God and her brother Don Pedro that if the Lady her mother wholly abandon her or resolve to commit her to a Nunnery he will receive and entertain her in his poore house with delight and joy and preserve her honour equally with his owne life and that in all things as well for the time present as the future hee will steere his actions by the starre of her desire and the compasse of her present brother Don Pedro's commands for which free and faithfull courtesie of his Cecilliana thankes him and no lesse doth Don Pedro who in requitall hereof makes him a generall and generous tender of his best power and service to act and consummate his desires and so for that time and with this resolution they part each from other leaving the progresse of their affections and the successe thereof partly to time but chiefely to God whom they all religiously invocate to blesse their designes in hand Leave wee them for a while and come wee now againe cursorily to speake of their mother Dona Catherina and of Don Martino their brother who being the oracle from whom shee derives and directs all her resolutions shee is still constant to her selfe and therfore still vehemently bent against her son Don Pedro her daughter Cecilliana and Monfredo swearing both solemnely and seriously that shee will rather dye then live to see him her sonne in law and yet whatsoever Don Martino doe say or can alledge to her to the contrary shee yet loves Don Alonso Delrio so well and her daughter Cecilliana so dearely that before she will attempt to cloyster her up in a Nunnery shee hoping to reclayme him to affect her and to revive his sute of marriage doth by a Gentleman her servant send him this Letter CATHERINA to DELRIO I Am wholly ignorant why thou thus forsakest thy affection and sute to my Daughter Cecilliana whereof before I am resolved by thee I have many reasons to suspect and thinke that it was as feigned as thy promises and oaths pretended it to befervent Sure I 〈◊〉 that as Envie cannot eclipse the fame of her vertues towards the world so Truth dare â—…t contradict the sincerity of my well wishes and affection towards thee in desiring to make thee her Husband and her thy Wife Her poore beauty which thou so often sworest thy â—…art so dearely admired and adored hath lost no part of its lustre but is the same still and 〈◊〉 am I who have ever wished and ever will faithfully desire that of all men of the world â—…y selfe onely may live to injoy it If thou thinke her affection bee bent any other way 〈◊〉 dost her no right but offer a palpable wrong to thine owne judgement and to my knowledge Or if thou imagine the Portion be too small which I promised to give and thou to â—…ceive with her in marriage thou shalt command that augmentation from me which none 〈◊〉 thy selfe shall eyther have cause to request or power to obtayne yea thou shalt finde that for the finishing and consummating of so good a worke which thou so much deservest and I so much desire I will willingly bee contented to inrich her fortunes with the impoverishing of mine owne If thou send me thine Answer hereunto I shall take it for an argument of thy unkindnesse but if thou bring it thy selfe I will esteeme it as one of thy true respects and affection to mee CATHERINA Don Martino being solicited and charged by his Lady mother likewise to write effectually to Delrio to returne to seeke his sister Cecilliana in marriage yet notwithstanding drawne thereunto for his owne covetous ends secretly to desire and wish that hee might never marry her but shee a Nunnery hee therefore to that effect writes and sends him a most dissembling and hypocriticall Letter by the same messenger to accompany hers but hee is so reserved and fine as hee purposely conceales the sight and reading thereof from his mother This Letter of his which was as false and double as himselfe reported this language MARTINO to DELRIO MY duety ever obliging mee to esteeme my Mothers requests as commands I therefore adventure thee this Letter as desiring to know who or what hath so suddainly withdrawne thee or thy affection from my Sister Cecilliana Thou canst not bee ignorant of my hearty well-wishes and love to thee in obtayning her to thy wife and yet it is not possible for thee to conceive much lesse believe the hundreth part of the bitter speeches which I have beene inforced to receive and packe up from her and my Brother Don Pedro for desiring and wishing it I know that inforced affections prove commonly more fatall then fortunate and more ruinous then prosperous therefore I am so farre from any more perswading thee to seeke her in marriage that I leave each of you to your selves and both unto God And to the end thou mayst see how much the Lady my Mother affects thy sute and distastes that of Monfredo to my sister she upon thy forbearance and absence hath vowed unto God that if thou bee not hee shall not but a Nunnery must bee her Husband My Mother is desirous to see thee and my selfe to speake with thee but because Marriages ought first to bee made in Heaven before consummated in Earth therefore thou knowest farre better then my selfe that in all actions especially in Marriage it is the duety of a Christian to wait on Gods secret Providence and to attend his sacred pleasure with patience MARTINO Delrio receives and
reades these two Letters and consulting them with his judgement findes that they looke two different wayes for Dona Catherina the mother would marry her daughter to himselfe but not to Monfredo and her sonne Martino aymes and desireth to have her marryed to a Nunnery and not to himselfe wherein wealth and covetousnesse are the chiefest ends and ambition of them both without having any respect to the young Ladies content or regarâ—… to her satisfaction and although the speech which Don Pedro delivered him iâ—… the Cordeliers or Gray Friers Church have so much wrought with his affection and so powerfully prevailed with his resolution that hee will no fartheâ—… seeke Cecilliana in marriage yet in common courtesie and civility hee holds him selfe bound to answer their two Letters the which hee doth and returnes theâ—… by their owne messenger That to the Lady Catherina had these words DELRIO to CATHERINA THough you suspect my sincerity yet if you will believe the truth you shall finde that the affection which I intended the Lady Cecilliana your daughter was fervent not feigned and because you are desirous to know the reasons why I forbeare to seeke her in marriage I can give you no other but this that I know shee is too worthy to bee my wife and believe that I am not worthy enough to bee her husband so though envie should dare to bee so ignorant yet it cannot possible bee so malicious either to eclipse the lustre of her beauty or the fame of her vertues sith the one is so sweete a grace to the â—…ther and both so precious ornaments to her selfe that infinite others besides my selfe hold it as great a prophanenesse not to adore the last as a happinesse to see and admire the first For your affection in desiring my selfe hers and shee mine in marriage I can give you no other requitall but thankes for the present and my prayers and service for the future How your daughter hath or will dispose of her affection God and her selfe best know and therefore I shall doe her right and your knowledge and my judgement no wrong rather to proclaime my ignorance then my curiosity herein but this I assure you that if hers to mee had equallized mine to hers I should then thankfully have taken and joyfully received her with a farre lesse portion then you would have given mee with her To your selfe I wish much prosperity and to the Lady your daughter all happinesse I must returne you this mine answer by mine owne servant and whether you make it an argument of my unkindnesse 〈◊〉 affection in pleasing your selfe you shall no way displease mee DELRIO His Letter to Don Martino spake thus DELRIO to MARTINO I Have by my Letter given the Lady thy mother the reasons why I desist from any farther seeking thy sister Cecilliana in marriage and because I know shee will acquaint thee therewith therefore I hope they will suffise both for thee and her I am as thankefull to thee for thy well wishes to have obtained her for my wife as I grieve to understand that thou hast received any bitter speeches either from her or thy brother don Pedro for my sake It rejoyceth mee to see thee of the opinion that inforced marriages proove commonly fatall and ruinous in which beliefe and truth if thou and thy mother persevere I hope you will espouse your sister to don Monfredo and not to a Nunnery because if I am not misinformed her affections suggest and assure her that shee shall receive as much content from the first as misery from the second As thy mother is desirous to see mee so am I to serve her and likewise thy selfe and as thou writest religiously and truely that Marriages should first bee made in heaven ere solemnized in earth so doubtlesse God hath reserved thy sister for a farre better husband then Delrio and him for a â—…rre worse wife then Cecilliana And thus as a Christian I recommend her with â—…ale to the Providence and my selfe with Patience to the Pleasure of Almighty God DELRIO When in regard of his former affection and future respect devoted to the â—…eautie and vertues of Cecilliana and seeing her selfe her Mother and Brother Don Martino bent to dispose otherwise of her in marriage he will yet be so jealous of her good and so carefull of his owne honour and reputation as hee holds himselfe obliged to take his leave of her by Letter sith not in person and so to recommend her and her good fortunes to God the which he doth and gives his Letter to the same bearer but with a particular charge and secret instructions to deliver it very privately into the Lady Cecillianas hands without the knowledge either of her mother or brother don Martino which hee faithfully promised to performe His said Letter to her was charged with these lines DELRIO to CECILLIANA BEing heretofore informed by your brother don Pedro of your deare affection to don Monfredo and your constant resolution to make him your husband I held my selfe bound out of due regard to you and firme promise to him to surcease my sute to you and because the shortest errours are ever best no more to strive to make impossibilities possible in persevering to seeke you in marriage whom I see heaven and earth have conspired another must obtaine and injoy And when I looke from my age to your youth and from that to Monfredo's I am so farre from condemning your choyce as I both approve and applaud it praying you to bee as resolute in this confidence as I am confident in this resolution that my best prayers and wishes shall ever wish you the best prosperities And to the â—…d you may perceive that my former affection shall still resplend and shine to you in my future respect I cannot I will not conceale the knowledge of this truth from you that by Letters which right now by this bearer I received from the Lady your mother and brother don Martino they have some exorbitant and irregular designe in contemplation shortly to reduce into action against the excellencie of your youth and beautie and the sweetnesse of your content and tranquillity which howsoever to your selfe and the world they seeme to shadow and overvaile with false colours yet although they make religion the pretext you if you speedily prevent it not will in the end finde that their malice to your lover Monfredo is the true and onely cause thereof God hath indued you with a double happinesse in giving you an excellent wit to second and imbellish your exquisite beauty whereunto if in this businesse you take the advice of your best friend Monfredo and follow that of your noble brother Don Pedro you will then have no cause to doubt but all the reasons of the world to assure your selfe that your affections and fortunes will in the end succeed according to my prayers and your merits and expectation DELRIO The Messenger first publikely delivereth the two former Letters to
affection to Monfredo and therefore with frownes in her lookes and anger in her eyes she thunders out a whole Catalogue of disprayses and recriminations against him and because yet shee despayreth to prevaile with her hereby shee now thinking it high time resolves to divert and change the streame of her affection from him to God and so at last to mew and betake her to a Nunnery whereon her desires and intentions have so long ruminated and her wishes and vowes aymed at to which end calming the stormes of her tongue and composing her countenance to patience and piety she with her best art and eloquence speakes to her thus That in regard she will not accept of don Delrio for her husband with whom shee might have injoyed prosperity content and glory but will rather marry Monfredo from whom she can and must expect nothing but poverty griefe and repentance shee therefore out of her naturall regard of her and tender affection to her hath by the direction of God bethought her selfe of a medium betweene both which is to marry neither of them but in a religious and sanctifyed way to espouse her selfe to God and his holy Church when thinking to have taken time by the forelocke shee depainteth her the felicity and beatitude of a Nunnes profession and life so pleasing to God and the World to Heaven and Earth to Angels and Men When her daughter Cecilliana being tyred and discontented with this poore and ridiculous oration of hers shee lifting up her eyes to Heaven with a modest boldnesse and yet with a bold truth interrupts her mother thus that God hath inspired heâ—… heart to affect Monfredo so deerely and to love him so tenderly as shee will rather content her selfe to beg with him then to live with Delrio in the greatest prosperity which either this life or this world can afford her that although shee had no bad opinion of Nunnes yet that neither the constitution of her body much lesse of her minde was proper for a Nunnery or a Nunnery for her in which regard shee had rather pray for them then with them and honour then imitate them when the Lady her mother not able to containe her selfe in patience much lesse in silence at this audacity and as shee thought impiety of her daughter she with much choller and spleene demands her a reason of these her exorbitant speeches When her daughter no way dejecting her lookes to earth but rather advancing and raysing them to heaven requites her with this answer That it is not the body but the minde not the flesh but the soule which is chiefly requisite and required to give our selves to God and his Church that to throw or which is worse to permit our selves to be throwne on the Church through any cause of constraint or motion of distaste or discontent is an act which savoureth more of prophanenesse then piety and more of earth then heaven that as Gods power so his presence is not to bee confined or tyed to any place for that his Centre is every where and therefore his circumference no where that God is in Aegypt as well as in Palestyne or Hierusalem and that heaven is as neere us and wee heaven in a Mansion house as in a Monastery or Nunnery that it is not the place which sanctifyeth the heart and soule but they the place and that Churches and Cloysters have no priviledge or power to keepe out sin if we by our owne lively faith and God by his all-saving grace doe not Which speech of hers as soon as she had delivered and seeing that the Lady her mother was more capable to answer her thereunto with silence then reason she making her a low reverence and craving her excuse departs from her and leaves her here alone in the Garden to her selfe and her Muses Her mother having a little walked out her choller in seeing her daughters firme resolution not to become a Nunne shee leaves the garden and retires to her Chamber where sending for her sonne Martino she relates him at full what conference had there past betweene his sister and her selfe who likewise is so much perplexed and grieved hereat as putting their heads and wits together they within a day or two vow to provide a remedy for this her obstinacie and wilfulnesse As for Cecilliana shee likewise reports this verball conference which had past betweene her mother and her selfe to her brother Don Pedro and Monfredo when according to promise they met that afternoone in the Augustines garden who exceedingly laugh thereat and yet againe fearing lest the malice of their brother Don Martino towards them mought cause his mother to use some violence or indurance to her and so to make force extort that from her will which faire meanes could not they bid her to assume a good courage and to be cheerefull and generous promising her that if her mother attempted it that Monfredo should steale her away by night and that hee as hee is don Pedro her brother will assist her in her escape and flight whereon they all resolve with hands and conclude with kisses Neither did their doubts prove vaine or their feare and suspicion deceive them herein for her incensed mother being resolute in her will and wilfull in â—…er obstinacie to make her daughter a Nunne shee shuts her up in her Chamber makes it no lesse then her prison and her brother don Martino her Guardian or â—…ather her Goaler Poore Cecilliana now exceedingly weepes and grieves at this â—…ruelty of her mother and brother don Martino which as yet her deare brother don â—…dro cannot remedy by perswading or prevailing with them to release her hee acquaints Monfredo herewith and they both consulting finde no better expedient to free her from this domesticall imprisonment then counterfeitly to give her mother to understand and believe that her daughter hath now changed her mind and that by Gods direction shee is fully resolved to abandon Monfredo and so to spend and end her dayes in a Nunnery but contrariwise they resolve to fetch her away by night and without delay Accordingly hereunto Cecilliana acts her part well and pretends now to this spirituall will and resolution of her mother sa before she was disobedient Her mother infinitly rejoyceth at this her conversion and no lesse or rather more doth her brother don Martino who to fortifie and confirme her in this her religious resolution they send some Friers and Nunnes to perswade her to appoynt the precise day for her entrance into this Holy house and Orders which with her tongue shee doth but in her heart resolves nothing lesse or rather directly the contrary The mother now acquaints both her sonnes with this resolution of their sister which is the next Sunday to give her selfe to God and the Church and to take holy Orders when don Pedro purposely very artificially seemes as strongly to oppose as his brother don Martino cheerefully approves thereof now extolling her devotion and piety as farre as the
and loved don Martino farre better then him so his death did not much afflict or grieve her and farre lesse his brother don Martino But for his sister Cecilliana as soone as shee understood and heard hereof shee is so appalled with griefe and daunted with sorrow and despayre that shee sends a world of sighes to heaven and a deluge of teares to earth for the death of this her best and dearest brother Her husband don Monfredo for henceforth so wee must call him likewise infinitely laments don Pedro's death as having lost a constant friend and a deare and incomparable brother in law in him and yet all the meanes which hee can use to comfort this his sorrowfull wife hath will but not power enough to effect it for still shee weepes and sobs and still her heart and soule doe prompt and tell her that it is one brother who hath killd another and that her brother don Martino is infallibly the murtherer of his and her brother don Pedro but she hath onely presumption no proofes for this her suspicion and therefore shee leaves the detection and issue hereof to time and to God Now by this time wee must understand that dona Catherina hath perfect newes that it is Monfredo who hath stolne away her daughter Cecilliana and keepes her at his house of Valdebelle in the Countrey but as yet shee knowes not that hee hath marryed her wherefore being desirous of her returne not for any great affection which shee now bore her but onely to accomplish her former desires in frustrating her marriage with Monfredo and in marrying her to a Nunnery shee againe still provok'd and egg'd on by the advice of her sonne don Martino sends him to Valdebelle to crave her of Monfredo and so to perswade and hasten her returne to her to Burgos but writes to neither of them Don Martino arrives thither and having delivered don Monfredo and his sister Cecilliana his mothers message for her returne to Burgos hee then vainely presumes to speake thus to them from himselfe Hee first sharpely rebukes her of folly and disobedience in flying away from his and her mother and then with more passion then iudgement checkes him of dishonour to harbour and shelter her that this was not the true and right way to make her his wife but his strumpet or at least to give the world just cause to thinke so and if he intended to preserve her prosperity and honor and not to râ—…ine it that hee should restore his mother her daughter and himselfe his sister and no longer retayne her but speakes not a word of his brother don Pedro's death much lesse makes any shadow to mourne or shew to grieve or sorrow for it His sister Cecilliana at his first sight is all in teares for the death of her brother don Pedro and yet extreamly incens'd with him for these his base speeches towards her and her Monfredo she once thought to have given him a hot and chollericke reply but at last considering better with her selfe as also to prevent Monfredo whom she saw had an itching desire to fit him with his answer she then in generall termes returnes him this short reply That shee is now accomptable to none but to God for her actions who best knowes her heart and resolutions and therefore for her returne to her mother at Burgos or her stay here at Valdebelle shee wholly referres it to don Monfredo whose will and pleasure therein shall assuredly bee hers because shee hath and still findes him to bee a worthy and honourable Gentleman when before shee conclude her speech to him shee tells him that shee thought his comming had beene to condole with her for the death of their brother Don Pedro but that with griefe shee is now enforced to see the contrary in regard his speeches and actions tend to afflict not to comfort her and rather to bee the argument of her mourning than the cause of her consolation But Monfredo being touched to the quicke with these ignoble and base speeches of Don Martino both to himselfe and Cecilliana he is too generous long to digest them with silence and therefore preferring his affection to her before any other earthly respect and her reputation and honour dearer than his life hee composing his countenance to discontent and anger returnes him this answere That if any other man but himselfe had given him the least part of those unworthy speeches both against his honour as also against that of his sister Cecilliana his Rapier not his tongue should have answered him That his affection and respects to her are every way vertuous and honourable and that shee is and shall be more safer here in Valdebelle than the life of his noble brother Don Pedro was in his mothers house at Burgos That as the young Ladie his sister is pleased to referre her stay or returne to him so reciprocally to requite her courtesie doth hee to her and for his part hee is fully resolved not to perswade much lesse to advise her to put her selfe either into her Mothers protection or his courtesie for that hee is fearefull iâ—… not confident in this beliefe that the one may proove pernitious and the other fatall and ruinous to her And so with cold entertainment and short ceremonies Don Martino is enforced to returne to Burgos to his Mother without his Sister where assoone as hee is arrived hee tells his Mother of his Sister Cecilliana's constant resolution from whence hee thinkes it impossible to draw or divert her because he finds Monfredo of the same opinion but whether hee have married her or no hee knowes not neither could he informe himselfe thereof And here yet Don Martino is so cautious to his Mother as he speakes not a word or syllable of any speech or mention they had of the death of his brother Don Pedro. But as soone as hee had left his Mother and retyred himselfe to his chamber then hee thinkes the more thereof yea then hee againe and againe remembers what dangerous speeches he publikely received from his Sister Cecilliana and Monfredo concerning that his sudden death whereby they silently meant and tacitely implied no lesse than murther Wherefore hee is so helliâ—…h and bloudy minded that hee resolves shortly to provide a playster for this sore and hee knowes that to make their tongues eternally silent hee cannot better or safer performe it than by murthering them whereof hee sayes the reason is apparantly and pregnantly true for as long as that suspition lives in them hee therefore can never live in safetie but in extreame danger himselfe But because of the two Monfredo seemed to intend and portend him the greatest choller and the most inveterate rage therefore as a limbe of the Devill or rather as a Devill incarnate himselfe hee resolves to begin with Monfredo first and as occasions and accidents shall present then with his sister Cecilliana after without ever having the grace to thinke of his Conscience or Soule or of
cautious in his malice and subtill in his revenge that hee imployed no other Minister nor used no other agent or assistant herein but himselfe so being deprived of any witnesse either to accuse or make him guiltie heereof God I say out of the immensitie of his power and profundity of his providence will make himselfe to become a witnesse against himselfe and wanting all other meanes will make himselfe the onely meanes both to detect and destroy himselfe The manner thus As there is no felicitie to peace so there is no felicitie or peace comparable to that of a quiet and innocent conscience It is a precious Iewell of an inestimable â—…alue and unparalelld price yea a continuall Feast than which Heaven may but Earth cannot afford us either a more rich or delitious and the contrary it is where the heart and conscience have made themselves guiltie of some foule enormous crimes and especially of Murther wherein we can never kill Man the creature but we assuredly wound God the Creator for then as those so this with lesse doubt and more assurance gives in a heavy and bloody evidence against us and which commonly produceth us these three woefull and lamentable effects Dispaire Horrour Terrour the which wee shall now see verified and instanced in this bloody and miserable wretch Don Martino who as I have formerly sayd hath not fully past over the tearme of three moneths in externall mirth jollitie and braverie thereby to cast a cheerefull countenance and varnish on those his bloody villanies but God so distracted his wits senses struck such astonishment to his thoughts and amazement to his heart and Conscience as it seemed to him that both by night and day the ghosts of his harmelesse brother Don Pedro and of innocent Don Monfredo still pursue him for revenge and justice of these their murthers And now his lookes are extravagant fearefull and ghastly which are still the signes and symptomes either of a distempered braine a polluted conscience and soule or of both Hee knowes not to whom or where or where not to goe for remedy herein but still his heart is in a mutinie and rebellion with his Conscience and both of them against God He is afraid of every creature he sees and likewise of those who see him not If he looke backe and perceive any one to runne behinde him he thinkes 't is a Sergeant come to arrest him and if he chance to be hold any Gentleman in a scarlet cloake comming towards him he verily beleeves feares 't is a Iudge in his scarlet Robes to arraigne and condemne him He hath not the grace to go into a Church nor the boldnesse to looke up to the Tower therof for feare lest the one swallow him up alive and the other fall on him and crush him to death If hee walke in any woods fields or gardens and see but a leafe wagge or a bird stirre hee is of opinion there some furies or executioners come to torment him or doth he heare any Dog howle Cat crie or Owle whoot or screech he is thereat so suddenly appalled and amazed as hee thinkes it to bee the voyce of the Devill who is come to fetch him away Hee will not passe over any bridge brooke or River for feare of drowning nor over any planke gate or style lest hee should breake his necke The sight of his shadow is a corosive to his heart and a Panique terrour to his thoughts because he both thinkes and beleeves that it is not his owne but the hang-mans and when any one out of charitie or pitie come to see and visite him hee flyes from them as if Hell were at his backe and the Devill at his heeles The very sight of a Rapier stabs him at his heart and the bare thought or name of Poyson seemes to infect and kill his soule and yet miserable wretch and miscreant that he is all this while he hath not the goodnesse to looke downe into his heart and Conscience with contrition nor the grace to lookeup to Heaven and to God with repentance The Lady Catherina his Mother is wonderfully perplexed and grieved hereat and so are all his kinsfolkes and friends in and about Burgos who cause some excellent Physicians and Divines to deale with him about administring him the meanes to cure him of this his lunacie and distraction But God will not permit that either the skilfull Art of those or the powerfull perswasions of these doe as yet prevaile with him or performe it Two Moones have fully finished their Celestiall course whiles thus his phrensie and madnesse possesseth him and in one of the greatest and most outragious fits therof hee without wit or guide runnes to Saint Sebastiano's Church finds out Father Thomas his Confessor and in private and serious confession reveales him how he hath poysoned his brother Don Pedro and also murthered Don Monfredo adding withall that God out of his indulgent mercie would no longer permit him to charge his soule with the concealing thereof and then beggs his absolution and remission for the same His Confessor being a religious Church-man much lamenting and wondring at the foulnesse of these his Penitents two bloody facts although hee finde more difficultie than reason to grant his desire yet enquiring of him if there were any other accessary with him in these murthers and Don Martino freely and firmely acknowledging to him there was none but the Devill and himselfe hee after a serious checke and religious repremendo in hope of his future contrition and repentance gives him a sharpe and severe penance though no way answerable to his crimes and so absolves him and yet for the space of at least a whole moneth after his lunacie by the permission of God still followes him when for a further triall of his comportment and hope of his repentance God is againe pleased to slacke the hand of his judgement and so frees him from his madnesse and distraction to see whether he will prove Gold or Drosse a Christian or a Devill Not long after this his Confessor Father Thomas being Curate of one of the neighbouring parishes falls extreame sicke of a Piurisie and so dangerously sicke that his Physician despairing of his life bids him prepare his body for death and his soule for Heaven and God Who then revoking to minde what hee hath heard and seene how grievously and sorrowfully the Lady Cecilliana takes the Deaths of her Brother and Husband and the more in that she is ignorant who are their Murtherers he is no longer resolved to burthen his conscience and soule with concealing thereof but to write it to her in a Letter the which he chargeth and conjureth his owne Sister Cyrilla to deliver into her owne hands some three dayes after his buriall the which we shall see her shortly performe for the Priest Father Thomas her brother lived not three weekes after In the meane time come we to the Lady Dona Catherina the Mother who having outwardly wept
for the death of her eldest Sonne Don Pedro for the disobedient flight and clandestine Marriage of her Daughter Cecilliana to Monfredo who is now murthered but by whom shee knowes not and seeing her sayd Daughter thereby made a sorrowfull Widdow shee as an indulgent and kinde Mother forgâ—…ng what she had formerly done and beene and now desirous to comfort her and to bee comforted of her againe sends her sonne Don Martino to Valdebelle to solliciâ—…e his Sister to returne and to live with her in Burgos Who detesting this pâ—…ject and resolution of his Mother is very sorrowfull thereat but seeing that shee will be obeyed he rides over to Valdebelle to his Sister and there delivereth his Mothers will and message to her but in such faint and cold tearmes as shee thereby knowes hee is farre more desirous of her absence than her presence and of her stay than her returne yea and to write the truth of her minde his very sight strikes such flames of feare into her heart and of suspicion into her thoughts that shee still assumes and retaines her old opinion and confidence that hee is the absolute Murtherer of her brother Don Pedro and her husband Don Monfredo but herein shee now holds it discretion to conceale her selfe to her selfe and so gives him kinde and respective entertainment shee prayes him to report her humble duety to her Mother that she will consider of her request and either send or bring her 〈◊〉 resolution shortly but inwardly in her heart and soule she intends nothing lesse than either to hazard her content upon the discontent of her Mother or which is worse her life on the inveterate malice of her brother Don Martino And now we approch and draw neere to see the judgements and justice of God overtake this our wretched Don Martino for these his two most lamentable and bloudy Murthers And now his sacred Majestie is fully resolved to detect them and his Arrow is bent and Sword whetted to punish him for the same for wee must understand that the very same day which her brother Don Martino was last with her at Valdebelle his Confessor Father Thomas dyed and some three dayes after his Sister Cyrilla according to his dying order rides over to the Lady Cecilliana and delivereth her the Priest her brothers Letter at the receipt whereof Cecilliana findes different emotions in her heart and passions in her minde 〈◊〉 going into the next roome she breaks up the seales and finds therein these Lines FATHER THOMAS to CECILLIANA WEll knowing that the Lawes of Heaven are farre more powerfull and sacred than those of Earth as I now lye on my Death-bed ready to leave this life and to flie into the Armes of my Saviour and Redeemer Christ Iesus I could not goe to my Grave in peace before I had signifyed unto thee that very lately thy brother Don Martino in Saint Honoria's Church delivered unto me in confession That he had first poysoned thy brother Don Pedro with a paire of perfumed Gloves and then after murthered thy husband Don Monfredo with his Rapier in Burgos And although I must and doe acknowledge that he was in his Fit of Lunacie and Madnes when he thus made himselfe a witnes against himselfe hereof yet no doubt the immediat finger and providence of God led him to this resolution as an act which infinitly tends to his sacred Honor and Glory I send thee this Letter by my Sister Cyrilla whom I have strictly charged to deliver it to thee three dayes after my buriall because I hold it most consonant to my Profession and Order that not my Life but my Death should herein violate the seale of Confession and thou shalt shew thy selfe a most religious and Christian Lady if thou make this use hereof that it is not my selfe but God who sends thee this Newes by mee FATHER THOMAS Cecilliana having o're-read this Letter and therein understood and found out that her brother Don Martino is the cruell Murtherer both of her brother Don Pedro and her husband Don Monfredo her griefe thereat doth so farre o'resway her reason and her malice and revenge her religion as once shee is of the minde to murther him with her owne hand in requitall hereof but then againe strangling that bloudy thought in its conception shee vowes that if not by her owne hand he shall yet infallibly dye by the hand of the common Executioner When Love Pitty Nature Reason Griefe Sorrow Rage and Revenge acting their severall parts upon the Stage of her heart shee findes a great combate in her heart and reluctancie in her soule what or what not to doe herein when with many teares and prayers by the Advice and Counsell of God shee enters into this consultation hereon with her selfe Ahlas unfortunate and sorrowfull Cecilliana It is upon no light presumption or triviall circumstances that I believe my brother Martino to be the inhumane murtherer of my brother Don Pedro and husband Monfredo for besides that God ever prompted my heart and whispered my soule that this was true yet now here is his owne Confession to his Ghostly father and his Ghostly Fathers owne Letter and Confession to mee to the same effect Evidences and Witnesses without exception as cleere as noone day and as bright as the Sunne in his hottest and brightest Meridian that hee and onely he was the Murtherer of them both but Oh poore Cecilliana quoth shee to what a miserable estate and perplexity hath these his bloudy facts and crimes now reduced mee for he hath murthered my brother and husband shall I then permit him to live but withall he is likewise my brother and shall I then cause him to dye True it is I cannot recall their lives but it is likewise as true that I may prevent his death for as the first lay not in my power to remedie yet all the world knowes that the second meerely depends of my pity courtesie and compassion to prevent but Ahlas saith she the tyes of heaven are and ought to be infinitly more strong than those of earth and the glory of God to be far preferred before all our naturall affections and obligations to our best Friends or neerest or dearest Kinsfolkes whosoever Therefore as to detect these Murthers of his thou art no friend to Nature so againe to conceale them thou thereby makest thy selfe an enemy to Grace for assure thy selfe unfortunate Cecilliana that God will never bee appeased nor Iustice satisfyed untill their innocent blood be expiated and washed away in his who is guilty thereof because as by detecting Murther wee blesse and glorifie God so by concealing it we heap a fatall Anatheâ—…a and curse upon our own heads As Clouds are disâ—…pated and blowne away when the Sun ariseth and moâ—…teth in his Verticall lustre and glory so Cecilliana having thus ended her consultation with her selfe and now began her resolution with God she leaves Valdebelle takes her Coach and dispeeds away to Burgos where in steed of
and may well be called the Fortresse of Christian piety against the tentations of Sathan so by the contrary wee expose and lay open our selves to the treacherous lures and malice of the Devill For if by Faith wee doe not first beleeve then pray unto God for our owne preservation it will bee no hard matter for him to tempt us in our choller to quarrell with our best friends and in our malice and revenge to murther even our neerest and dearest Kindred O Faith the true foundation of our soveraigne felicitie O Prayer the sweet preservative and sacred Manna of our soules how blessed doe you make those who embrace and retaine you and contrariwise how miserable and wretched are they who contemne and reject you Of which last number this insuing Historie will produce us one who by his debauched life and corrupt conversation trampled those two heavenly Vertues and Graces under his feet without thinking of God or regarding much lesse fearing his judgements But how God in the end requited him for the same this Historie will likewise shew us May we therefore reade it to Gods glory and to our owne instruction IN the Citie of Verceli after Turin one of the chiefest of Piedmont bordering neere to the Estate and Dutchy of Millan there lately dwelt a rich Cannon of that Cathedrall Church named Alosius Cassino who had a daintie sweet young Gentlewoman to his Neece named Dona Eleanora whose mother being sister to Cassino named Dona Isabella Caelia lately died and left this her onely daughter and â—…ild her heire very rich both in demeanes and moneys when her Vncle Cassino â—…eing neerest her in blood takes Eleanora and her Estate into his protection and â—…ardship and is as tender of her breeding and education and as curious of her â—…omportment and cariage as if shee were his owne daughter for there is no sweet â—…alitie nor exquisite perfection requisite in a young Gentlewoman of her ranke and extraction but he caused her to become not superficiall but artificiall therein as in Dancing Musicke Singing Painting Writing Needling and the like wherof all the Nobility and Gentry of Verceli take exact notice and knowledge yea her beautie grew up so deliciously with her yeares that she was and was justly reputed to be the prime Flower and Phenix of the Citie Cassino considering that his house was destiâ—…te of a Matron to accompany and oversee this his Neece Eleanora that his age was too Stoicall for her youth and that his Ecclesiasticall profession and function called him often to preach and pray hee therefore deeming it very unfit and unseemely in the Interims of his absence to leave her to her selfe and to be ruled and governed by her owne fancy and pleasure shee being now arrived to twelve yeares of age He therefore provides her new apparell and other pertinent necessaries and giving her a wayting-mayd and a man of his owne to attend her hee sends her in his Coach to the Citie of Cassall in the Marquisat of Montferrat to the Lady Marguerita Sophia a widdow Gentlewoman lâ—…ft by her deceased husband but indifferently rich but endowed with all those ornaments of Art and Honour which made her famous not onely in Piedmont and Lombardie but also to all Italy and to her he therefore writes this ensuing Letter to accompany his Neece and chargeth his man with the delivery thereof to her CASSINO to SOPHIA TO satisfie your courteous Requests and my former promise I now send you my Neece Eleanora to Cassall whom I heartily pray thee to use as thy daughter and to command as thy Hand-maid She hath no other Vncle but mee nor I any other acquaintance but thy selfe with whom I would entrust her for her Education and recommend her for her Instruction Shee is not inclined to any vice that I know of except to those imperfections wherein her youth excuseth her ignorance and it is both my order and charge to her that she carefully and curiously adorne her selfe with vertues in thy example and imitation without which the privileges of Nature and Fortune as Beauty and Wealth are but only obscure shadowes and no true substances because there is as much difference betwixt those and these as betweene the puritie of the soule and the corruption of the bodie or betweene the dignitie and excellencie of Heaven and the invaliditie and basenesse of Earth I am content to lena her to you for a few moneths but doe infinitely desire to give her to thy Vertues for ever In which my voluntary transaction and donation thou wilt conferre much happinesse to her and honour to mee and consequently for ever bind both her Youth and my Age to thee in a strict obligation of thanks and debt What apparell or other necessaries thou deemest her to want thy will shall be mine God ever blesse her in his feare and you both to his glory CASSINO The Lady Sophia receives this sweet young Virgin with much content and joy yea shee sees her tender yeares already adorned with such excellent beautie and that beautie with such exquisite vertues that it breeds not only admiration but affection in her towards her whom shee entertaineth with much respect and care as well for her owne sake as also for her Vncle Cassino's whose letter shee againe and againe reads over highly applauding his vertuous and honourable care of this his Neece whom in few yeares she hopes will prove a most accomplished gracious Gentlewoman when Cassino's Coach-man after a dayes stay deeming it high time for him to returne to Verceli to his Master he takes his leave of his young Mistris Elianora who out of her few yeares and tender affection and dutie to her Vncle with teares in her eyes prayes him to remember her best service to him at his comming home and the Lady Sophia by him likewise returnes and sends him this letter in answere of his SOPHIA to CASSINO I Know not whether you have made mee more proud or joyfull by sending me Eleanora wherein you have given mee farre more honour than I deserve though farre lesse than she meriteth and who henceforth shall be as much my Daughter in affection as shee is your Neece by Nature and if I have any Art in Nature or Iudgement in Inclinations her vertues and beautie doe already anticipate her yeares for as the one is emulous of Fame and the other of Glory so as friendly Rivals and yet honourable friends they already seeme to strive and contend in her for supremacie to the last of which as being indeed the most precious and soveraigne if my poore capacitie or weake endeavors may adde any thing I will esteeme it my ambition for your sake and my felicitie for hers But if you resolve not rather to give her to mee for some yeares than to lend her to mee for a few moneths you will then kill my hopes in their buds and my joyes in their blossomes and so make me as unfortunate in her absence as I shall
it presently invited the people of the house below to see what had befallen above to this Gentleman where finding him groveling and gasping for life they by Gods immediate direction doe thinke that hee hath there shot and murthered himselfe when devesting him of his apparell and laying him in bed to search for his wounds they find none but yet it is an houre before they perceive any motion or action of life in him And then opening his eyes he with a distracted looke and amazed countenance deeming himselfe upon the very point of death and that for his murthering of Cassino the Lord in his judgement had infallibly strucken him with suddaine death he finding this foule and bloody act of his to lie heavie upon his soule and conscience in this last Scene as he then thought of his life he rather raving then speaking in the heate of his madnesse and distraction cryes out againe and againe that he had murthered Cassino The which the people of the house are exceedingly astonished to understand And now by this time Cassino is found dead in his Garden and shot thorow with a brace of bullets So his Neece â—…leanora is all in teares hereat and all Vercelie resounds of this his lamentable murther When Cassino's friends and servants make speedy search for the Murtherer and finding a horse tyed to this little Taverne doore they find the Man Wife and Servants thereof in out-cryes and amazement So they ascend the staires find Alphonso in bed with his Carabine by him on the bench and his clothes on the Table and examining the people of the house they report to them this suddaine accident of his swooning and therein of his confession of the murthering of Cassino so they all praise and glorifie God in that they have so soone and so readily found out the inhumane Authour and Actor of this bloody Murther But here before I proceed farther I in the name and feare of God doe request and invite the Reader to take notice of another remarkeable I may say miraculous circumstance of Gods mercy and glory which likewise appeares in this detection and confession of Alphonso to be the cruell Murtherer of this innocent harmelesse Gentleman Cassino for he being no better then distracted of his wits before God had caused and brought him to confesse it which else hee had never done but that in the agonie and anxiety of his stupified spirits hee as I have formerly said thought himselfe on the point and brinke of death and no shaddow of hope left him either of this life or this world Then I say as soone as hee had confessed it God in his good pleasure and providence presently restored him againe to his perfect health strength and memory so that being put in mind and againe remembring his confession and seeing the eminencie of his danger by the presence of Cassino's friends and servants who were there present about his bed to apprehend and carry him away to prison for the same he now with teares and bitter oaths and curses declines and recants what he hath formerly spoken thereof and rather as a Devill then a Christian in lofty and proud speeches stands upon the termes of his Iustification alleadging and affirming to them farther that what he had formerly confessed or said to them concerning the Murther of Cassino proceeded from the destemperature of his heart and braines in that of his distraction or else from the delusions and temptations of the Devill and no otherwise But his owne confession the testimony of those of the house who heard it and the rest of the presumptions and circumstances are so pregnant and apparant that he is the undoubted Murtherer of Cassino as they beleeve not what he now sayes in his owne behalfe and Apologie or that it is any way the delusions of the Devill but the good pleasure of God which brought him to this detection and conviction of himselfe for the same So they being deafe to his requests and oathes they enforce him to draw on his apparell and then by order of the criminall Iudges they that night commit him to prison where the Devill having brought him he now leaves him to himselfe and to his owne misery and confusion which it is to be beleeved that the Lord hath ordained shall speedily befall him The next morning this Monster of nature Alphonso is called to his araignment where being by his Iudges charged with this foule Murther the Devill hath as yet so obdurated his heart as hee not onely denies it but contests against it with vehemencie and execrations So the Vintner and his wife and servants are produced against him as witnesses who acknowledge and confesse his owne confession thereof as also the report of his Carabine and the vicinitie of their house and prospect from the Chamber wherein hee was to Cassino's Garden wherein as he was walking he was shot to death When the mournefull and sorrowfull young Lady Eleanora is likewise brought forth as a witnesse against him who informes his Iudges that Alphonso was a most importunate Suter to her both in his Mothers house at Cassall as also at her deceased Vncles house here in Vercelie adding withall that in her heart and soule shee verely beleeves him to bee the Murtherer of her said Vncle. But still he denies it with choler and indignation whereupon the presumptions and circumstances hereof being more apparant to his Iudges then the knowledge of this truth they adjudge him to the Racke where at his very first torments thereof he with teares confesseth it and God is now so mercifull to his soule as hee seemes to be very sorrowfull and repentant thereof so they seeing him guilty pronounce sentence against him the next day to have his head cut off for the same and that night the Iudges out of their honourable zeale to charitie and pietie send him some Friers to Prison to him to direct his soule to Heaven who willing him to disburthen his conscience and soule of any other capitall crime which hee mought have committed in all the course of his life to the end that it mought not hinder her passage and transmigration from Earth to Heaven Hee then and there reveales them how hee had also formerly poysoned his owne Mother the Lady Sophia at Cassall for the which he likewise craved absolution both of them and of God Whereat his Iudges are exceedingly amaz'd and astonished to see a Gentleman so degenerate inhumane and bloody as to be the death of his owne Mother of whom formerly hee had received his life The day following according to his sentence Alphonso is brought to the place of execution clad in a blacke sute of silke Grograine and a falling band where ascending the scaffold and drawne to much humility and contrition by his secular Priests and Friers hee in presenee of a great concourse of people there made this short speech That these two murthers of his and especially that of his owne Mother the Lady Sophia were so
of the deare affection and tender respect which I beare you will then fall on my knees to my Father to hasten his consent to our marriage that in seeking my content you may therein find your owne and this is my resolution wherewith if yours concurre and sympathise Heaven may but Earth shall not crosse our desires LA PRATIERE Valfontaine receives this second Letter from his Mistris with smiles and frownes with smiles to see her inviolable constancie and affection with frownes to behold his brother Quatbrissons continuall malice and treacherie towards him the which considering as also because it so neerely concernes him hee resolves to taxe him thereof and to see whether by faire requests and perswasions hee may reclaime him from affecting his faire and deere La Pratiere and so to give over his sute to her but first hee knowes himselfe indebted and obliged to returne her an answer to this her last Letter the which he doth in these termes VALFONTAYNE to LA PRATIERE IT is every way your affection no way your duty sweet La Pratiere which againe advertiseth me of my Brother Quatbrissons perseverance in his treachery towards mee by seeking to betray and bereave mee of your selfe in whom my heart and thoughts imparadise their most soveraigne earthly felicity and your resolution in nipping his hopes and your Fathers will by electing me or your grave for your Husband doth so ravish my heart with joy and so rap my conceits in an extasie of sweet content as I am confident God hath reserved La Pratiere to bee Valfontaines sweet Wife and he to bee her deare Husband But as I know not whether my unkind and treacherous Brother will yet farther bewray you his folly in exercising your patience with his importunity so to save you that labour and penance which for my sake and love you are ready to impose to your selfe I am both ready and resolved not onely to fall on my knees to your Father but also to your sweet selfe that our marriage be hastned for as your resolution herein is and ever shall be mine so our hearts and thoughts sympathising in these wishes I hope that both Heaven and Earth have resolved not to crosse but shortly to consummate and finish our desires VALFONTAINE He having thus dispatched and sent away his Letter to his sweet and faire Mistresse hee now resolves to have some conference with his unkind Brother to see what a brazen face hee either will or can put upon this his ingratitude and treachery But Quatbrissons policie will anticipate and prevent him for he having his heart and contemplations deepely fixed on La Pratieres beauty and having ranne over all the inventions of his art and affection how to make her forsake he coynesse and so how to obtaine her for his wife hee at last resolves to faine himselfe sicke and so then to reveale to his brother Valfontaine that it is his deare and fervent affection to La Pratiere which is the cause thereof To which purpose hee keepes his bed and in his perfect health is twice let blood thereby to looke ill when sending for his brother to his Chamber and exempting all other company thence he acquaints and informes him That since he first saw La Pratiere hee still most tenderly loved her and that hee must now die because she will not affect and love him He prayes and conjures him by vertue of all the same blood which equally streames in both their bodies for the saving and preserving of his life that hee will now abandon his affection from her and so yeeld him up all the power and interest that hee hath or pretends to have in her and that in requitall thereof if occasion require hee shall still find him ready not onely to expose all his meanes but his dearest blood and life at his command A request so unjust and a proposition so devoid of common sense and reason as Valfontaine observing it and therein seeing his brothers impudencie now growne to the height of basenesse and folly hee exceedingly incensed thereat with a disdainefull looke returnes him this sharpe and bitter yet deserved reply Was it not enough that I understood your treachery by my faire and deare La Pratiere in seeking and attempting to bereave me of her but that thou art thy selfe become so sottish to â—…ake thy tongue the Advocate as well to plead and apologise thy treachery to me as to publish thy shame to thy selfe and to the whole world in seeking and desiring me to surcease my affection to her and to renounce my interest of her to thy selfe No no base Quatbrisson for henceforth I highly disdaine to terme or esteeme you my brother I give thee to understand and know that in heart and in honour she is mine and I hers and therefore you shall die and damne before I will permit thee to inrich thy selfe with my losse of her whom I affect and prise a thousand times dearer then my selfe or then all the lands and treasures of the world when without any other farewell he hastily and chollerickly flings forth his Chamber from him Quatbrisson seeing his brothers furious departure and remarking his peremptory and incivill answer to him hee in his heart and thoughts vowes revenge and in his resolutions sweares to make him repent it To which effect forsaking his bed and abandoning his counterfeit sicknesse his choller hardly affording his patience three dayes to recover his blood and strength but knowing his brother to be now at Nantes with their Vncle De Massy hee seekes out a deare and intimate friend of his named Monsieur La Roche whom ingaging to be his second in a Duell against his owne brother Valfontaine they ride over to Nantes when comming to 〈◊〉 small Parish termed Saint-Vallerge within a league of the Citie he writes a Challenge delivers it to La Roche and so dispeeds him away with it to his broâ—…r La Roche comes to Nantes finds out Valfontaine at the President his Vncles â—…use being in the company of a very intimate friend of his of that Citie naâ—…ed Monsieur de Pont Chausey and delivereth him his brothers Challenge fast sealed â—…e which hee hastily breaking open and perusing hee finds that it speakes this â—…guage QVATBRISSON to VALFONTAINE â—…N regard it is impossible for both of â—…s to enjoy the faire La Pratiere to wife therefore it is fit that one of us dye that the other may survive and live to be enriched with so â—…ious a treasure and crowned with so inestimable a blessing and felicity which considering as also because my modest requests have undeservedly met with thy incivill carriage and beene requited with thy malicious execrations Therefore find it not strange to see affection give a Law to Nature and mine honour to contemne thy contempt and malice in enviting thee and thy Second to meet me and mine with your single Rapiers to morrow twixt two or three after dinner in a faire meddow at the East end of
of the stinch thereof but they hardned by their feare and encouraged by their affection doe willingly rush towards it but cannot as yet discerne what she was by reason the fishes had almost eaten away all the flesh from her bones which therefore no way satisfying their curiosity and enquirie they then fall to wash away the mud and oze from her clothes hoping to draw some information and light from them as alas they now instantly doe for they find the Wast-coat and two Petty-coats that of ash colour serge and these of greene and red bayes to be the very same which their Daughter Marieta wore when she either fled or was stolen from them whereat crossing their armes and sending their sighes to heaven and their teares to earth this poore afflicted Father and Mother cry out that it was the dead body of their faire and unfortunate Daughter Marieta and doubtlesse that either Monsieur Quatbrisson or Pierot the Miller or both of them were her Murtherers whereat all the people admire and wonder every one speaking thereof as their severall fancies led them and as they stood affected or disaffected to Quatbrisson and the Miller But Pont Chausey rides presently to Vannes leaving the other three Gentlemen his friends to guard the Miller in his mill and advertiseth the Seneshall and the other two Iudges of this deplorable fact so they send for this Miller to Vannes and the next day being brought before them they examine and accuse him for thus murthering of Marieta but having learnt his answer and resolution of the Devill hee with many bitter oathes and curses denies it deposing and swearing that he never knew her nor saw her but this false answer and counterfeit coine of his will no way passe current with his Iudges but they forthwith ordaine him to the Racke Our wretched Miller Pierot is amazed and terrified at the sight hereof yea now his courage begins to faile him as fearing it to be the true Prologue and fatall Harbinger to his death so he endures the single torment reasonable well but feeling the pinches and tortures of the second and well knowing that his heart Ioints and patience can never endure it hee then and there confesseth to his Iudges that he was the only Author and Actor of this murther and that he strangled her in his Mill and then suncke her in his Pond because she would never consent or yeeld to be his wife but speakes not a word of Quaâ—…brisson or that hee had any way seduced or hired him to commit it but fed his exorbitant thoughts and erroneous hopes with the ayre of this vaine beleefe That when he was condemned to die here in Vannes that hee would then appeale thence to the Court of Parliament of Rennes where he knew his young master Quatbrisson then was and where he presumed he had so many great and noble friends as he should not need to feare his life But contrary to these his weake and poore hopes the very next morning when hee expected to heare the sentence of death pronounced against him his Iudges againe adjudge him to the torments of the Scarpines to know if Monsieur Quatbrisson or any other were accessary with him in this murther when they cause his left foote to be burnt so soundly as hee will not endure to have his right touched and so confesseth that his young master Quatbrisson seduced and hired him to strangle Marieta in her bed in his Mill and promised him the Fee Simple or Lease thereof to performe it that he it was who likewise threw her into the Pond and that he also beleeves she was quick with child by his said master All Vannes wonder and talke of Quatbrissons base ingratitude and cruelty towards this silly and harmelesse young countrey maiden Marieta yea this foule and lamentable murther administreth likewise talke in all the adjoyning Townes and Parishes So this execrable Miller Pierot is by the Seneshall condemned to be broken alive on the Wheele but yet in regard of the necessitie of his confrontation they deferre his execution till Quatbrisson be apprehended in Rennes where the Seneshall and Kings Atturney Generall of Vannes doe by post send away his accusation to that famous Court of Parliament where whiles hee is prauncing in the streets of that Citie on his great Horse and ruffling in his scarlets and sattins with three Lackies richly clad at his heeles the height of this his pompe and bravery makes his shame the more apparant and his crime the more foule and notorious For then when he thought himselfe to bee farthest from danger loe the Iustice and Providence of God brings him neerest to it for hee is now here by a band of Huysiers or Pursâ—…vants taken off from his horse apprehended and imprisoned by the command of the Lieutenant Criminall of that great Court who yet vainely reposing on the fidelitie and secrecie of Pierot his Fathers Miller hee seemes to be no way dismaid or daunted thereat But when he heares his accusation and enditement read that Marieta's murthered body was found in the Pond that Pierot the Miller was apprehended and imprisoned for the same and that he had confessed him to bee the Author and himselfe the Actor of this her cruell murther then I say hee is so appalled and daunted and so farre from any hope of life as he utterly despaires thereof and palpably sees the Image of death before his eyes When with a few teares and many sighes he here to his Iudges confesseth himselfe to be the Author of this foule fact and so begs pardon thereof of God for from these his grave and incorruptible Magistrates hee is assured and confident to find none Whereupon although foure of the Councellors and one of the Presidents were resolved in regard of this his inhumane and base crime to have him hanged yet the rest of that wise and honourable Senate knowing him to bee Sonne and Heire to a very ancient Gentleman nobly descended they ore sway and prevaile with the others and so they adjudge him the very next day to have his head cut off although this his sorrowfull aged Father Monsieur de Caerstainge offred the one halfe of his lands to save his life and likewise was a most importunate Suppliant to the Duke of Tremoville who then and there preceded at the Estates for the Nobility to intercede with that Farliament for his reprivall and with the King for his pardon but in vaine For that noble Duke considering the basenesse and enormity of this his inhumane fact was too wise to attempt the one and too honourable and generous to seeke the other So the very next morning Quatbrisson apparalled in a sute of blacke Sattin trimmed with gold Lace is brought to the Scaffold at the common place of execution which is in the midst of the Citie where a very great concourse of people of all sorts resort and flocke to see him take his last farewell of this world of whom the greatest part
inestimable valew which to expresse the truth in one word bred much admiration in my thoughts but no veneration at all in my heart So I leaue Loretto and returne againe to our History which was the onely Relique that I brought thence The two first dayes our three Venetian Gallants visit this holy Chappell with much solemnity and devotion where not to Iesus the Sonne but to Marie the Mother they offer up their prayers and pay their vowes of thankfulnesse for their deliverance from the late storme which put them and their Ship in safety at Ancona But the third day there betides an unexpected accident to Morisini which will administer matter and life to this History Hee leaves his two friends and companions in bed and steales away to the holy Chappell where being on his knees to his devotion hee neere to him sees a sweet young Gentlewoman likewise on her knees at her devotion and orisons very rich in apparell but incomparably faire and beautifull He curiously markes her Roseat Lilly Cheekes her piercing Eye the Amber Tresses of her Haire her Alablaster Necke and Paps and her streight and slender wast all which made her to bee the Pride and Glory of Nature At whose sight and contemplation his minde is so sodainely inflamed with affection to her that hee who heretofore could not possibly bee drawne to love any Gentlewoman or Mayden now despight of himselfe and of his contrary inclination and resolution hee at first sight is inforced to love her and only her For the more hee sees her the more hee affects her which engendereth such strange motions and sodaine passions in his heart that the sweetnesse of this sweet object enforced his eyes incessantly to gaze on her both with affection and admiration Our Morosini would faine have boarded and saluted her there but that hee would not make Heaven so much stoope to Earth nor prophane the holinesse of his affection and of this place with such impietie But at last seeing her to rise from her prayers and so to depart the Chappell hee could not hee would not so leave her nor forsake the benefit of this sweet opportunity to make himselfe knowne to her When withdrawing his Devotion from the old Lady of Loretto to give it to this his young Lady and pretended Mistris in Loretto hee trippes away after her into the body of the Church where seeing her only attended by a well clad Boy and her young waiting Gentlewoman after salutes on both sides performed hee there profereth her his service in these generall Tearmes Moros I know not sweet young Lady whether I may terme my selfe happy or unfortunate in being this morning honoured with the sight of so beautifull a Nymph and Virgin as your selfe because in thinking to gaine my soule I feare I have lost my heart in the amorous extasies of that delitious Object and Contemplation therefore I beseech you thinke it not strange that having received my wound from your Beautie I flie to your Courtesie for my cure and remedy thereof and that seeing you so weakely guarded I presume to request the favour of you that you will please to accept of my Company to reconduct you to your home This young Lady seeing her selfe so much gazed on by this unknowne Gentleman in the holy Chappell and now so courteously saluted by him in the Church shee could not refraine from dying her Lilly Cheekes with a Vermillian blush when having too much beautie to bee too unkinde and yet too much coynesse and modestie at first to prove too courteous to him shee brooking her name well returnes him this answer Imp. Sir you being so happie to have given up your Soule this morning in your devotion to the blessed Lady of this place I doe not a little wonder that you so soone prophane it by endevoring to make mee believe that you have lost your heart in the contemplation of so poore and so unworthie a beautie as mine For herein as you prophane your zeale to her so doe you your affection to me sith that should bee more sacred and this not so much faigned or hypocriticall But such wounds still carry their cures with them and therefore as my beauty was not capable to occasion the one so shall not my courtesie be guilty in granting the other If my weake guard bee not strong enough to conduct mee to my home my Innocency and Chastity are as also to defend mee from the snares and lures of those Gentlemen whose best Vertue consists more in their tongues then their soules and more in their complements then their actions Of which number fearing and taking you to be one and my Fathers house being so nigh I shall not want your company because as I deserve so I desire it not and therefore I will leave you and yet not without leaving my thankes with you for this your proffered favour and unexpected courtesie Although Morosini could not refraine from smiling at this her sharpe and wittie answer yet hee seeing his complement retorted and his courtesie returned with a refusall hee could not yet refraine from biting his Lip thereat But againe considering her to bee exceeding faire and vertuous and hoping withall that her father might likewise prove rich hee would not disgrace his breeding nor make himselfe a Novice in Love to bee put off with this her first repulse but againe sounds her in these tearmes Moros My devotion to the Mother of our Saviour doth not prophane but I hope blesse and sanctifie my affection to you and therefore if it bee not the custome of the young Ladies and Gentlewomen of Loretto to use strangers with this discourtesie I cannot believe that you would purposly thus exercise your wit in my patience by inflicting on mee this your unjust refusall As for your feigned shewes of Hipocrisie I am as innocent of them as you suspect and tearme mee guiltie and have no more snares or lures in proferring you my affection and service than that which your pure beautie and chast vertues give mee Neither am I of the number of those Gentlemen whom you please to traduce and disparage because their hearts and tongues agree not or for that their actions prove not their speeches and complements reall because I as much disdaine as you condemne them Therefore if you cannot give me the courtesie I pray at least lend me the favour that I may waite on you to your Fathers house whom I shall ever bee readie to serve with as much humility for your sake as to cherish and obey your selfe with affection for mine owne This answer of Morosini makes this young Gentlewoman whose name he and wee shall anon know as sweetly calme as right now shee was unkindlie passionate so that looking stedfastly on him and composing her countenance rather to smiles than frownes she rejoynes with him thus Imp. It is the custome of the Ladies and Gentlewoman of Loretto to use Strangers rather with too much respect than too little favour
joy as hee transported himselfe from thee with bitter teares and unfained sorrows in the meane time my hopes and heart tell mee that thy affection to mee shall surmount thy Fathers tyranny to thy selfe and that thy beaâ—…y and meritt are so incomparably resplendent that though Palmerius â—…ee the fayle yet Morisini shall live and dye the Diamond of thy love and the Love of thy Heart as God iâ—… of thy Soule O then my deere and sweet Imperia repute it 〈◊〉 ingratitude much lesse a oâ—…ime in mee to send thee this letter of excuse in steed of bringing thee my selfe for I spâ—…ke it in presence of God and his Angels that as thou art my other halfe so I am wholly thine and that thou canst not bee the thousand part so sorrowfull aâ—… I am â—…serable in this our short yet too long sequestâ—…tion â—…well 〈◊〉 the only Saâ—… of my heart and Goddesse of my affections and assure thy selfe that no mortall man whatsoeuer is or can bee so much thy faithfull Servant and Slave as MOROSINI Our Imperia kisseth this Letter a thousand times for her Morisini's sake who wrote and sent it her and againe as often weepes to see that hee loved Honor and profit better then her selfe and Turkie better than Italy so whereas shee formerly hoped now shee begins to despaire of his speedy returne and esteemes herselfe as miserable without him as shee thought to have beene happy with him Shee reades over his Letter againe and againe and then weepes as fast as shee reades at the very perusall and consideration thereof shee would faine draw comfort from any part or branch of it but then his intended stay affords her nothing but disconsolation and sorrow in stead thereof Shee blames her owne misfortune as much as his unkindnesse and then againe imputes this impatiencie of hers more to her fathers crueltie than to Morosini's discourtesie shee loves him as much as shee hates Palmerius and hates her selfe because Morosini will not love her more and Palmerius lesse But Morosini is so firmly seated and enthronized in her heart that she is constantly resolved to stay his returne and rather to dy his victim and martyr than to live Palmerius his wife And here her affection acts a great part in passion as this passion doth in Love she cannot refraine from enquiring of Mercario how Morisini lives and how he looks who performes the part of a friend to his friend and tells her that hee lives in great pompe and reputation and is the properest and bravest young Gallant either of Venice or Italâ—… which hee saw in Constantinople at the report whereof shee could not refraine from blushing and smiling as if her delight and ioy thereof were such as shee could not receive or heare it without these publike expressions and testimonies of her private zeale and interiour affection to him But all this notwithstanding wheresoever shee goes or turnes her selfe her Father as her shadow and Palmerius as her spirit are never from her but still follow her in all times and places without intermission It is a wonder to see and consider their obstinacy to make it a match and her resolution and refusall against it as if they were wholly composed and made of commands and shee of denialls In which interchangeable comportment and different carriage of theirs Wee must allow sixe moneths time more past and slidden away where in despight of Palmerius his importunities and her fathers power shee still remaines inflexible to them constant to her Morosini and true to her promise But at last this old lustfull Lover Palmerius who was fitter to kisse an image in the Church then so sweet and faire a yong Lady as Imperia in her bed seeing that hee had consumed and spent so long time in vaine by courting her and that shee sleighted him and his sute as much if not more now than when hee first meant and intended it to her hee bethinkes himselfe of a new poâ—…icy and proposition to gaine her which love can not so much excuse as discretion iustly condemne in him Hee goes tâ—… her father Bondino and proffers him that if his daughter will become his wife that he will infeoffe and endow her with the one halfe of his lands and give all the rest of his Estate and wealth into his hands and custody for him to purchase her more Which great and unexpected proffer of his doth solely and fully weigh downe her covetous father to Palmerius his will and desire as hee constantly tells him that in lieu of this his great affection and bounty to his daughter hee will speedily use all his power and authority with her fullâ—… to dispose her to aâ—…ect and content him To which end Bondino goes to his daughter Imperia acquaints her with this great gift and voluntary proffer of Palmerius to her if shee will marry him Hee lyes before her how infinitly it will import his content and her owne good and reputation and that few Gentlewoman of Loretto or Ladies of the whole Marca of Anconitana doe enioy such rich Fortunes that his wisdome and wealth is farre to be preferred to the vanitie and prodigallity of Morosini and that the first will assuredly bring her much content and prosperitie but the second nothing else but poverty ruine and misery and therefore hee most importunately conjures and commands her to cut and cast off all delayes and so forthwith to dispose her selfe to love and marry Palmerius or else hee vowes for ever to renounce her for his Daughter and no more to acknowledge him selfe for her Father A crueltie which in my opinion and judgement ought to bee admired with pittie and pittied with admiration and not to serve for a precedent and Example to other Parents because this of Bondino's was grounded on farre more passion than reason and covetousnesse than vertue and which Nature hath all the reasons of the world rather than to tearme tyranny then Providence or fatherly affection in him Our Imperia is as it were strucke dead with griefe and sorrow at the thunderbolt of these her Fathers cruell speeches towards her so that shee cannot speake nor yet weepe for sighing and sobbing but at last encouraged by her owne Vertue as much as shee was daunted and dismayed by her fathers severitie and crueltie towards her shee casting her selfe at his feete with a trembling heart and faltering voice returnes her heart and minde to him in these tearmes Honoured Sir although my afflictions and sorrowes are such and so infinit that I am farre more capable to weepe and sigh then to breathe or speake them forth to you yet I hold it my dutie not my disobedience to acquaint you that because marriages are first made in heaven before contracted or consummated in Earth therefore being so happie first to love Morosini before I was so unfortunate as to see Seignior Palmerius I hope it is the pleasure of God that hee hath ordained the first to bee my Husband and consequently
courteously prayed them to be no strangers to him and his house whiles the contrary winds kept them here in Ancona which they readily and thankfully promise him they for this time take leave each of other Astonichus and Donato highly applauding the beauty of Imperia and Morosini infinitely condemning and contemning the simplicity and age of her old Husband Palmerius But this is not all for that very after-noone Morosini out of the intemperate heat and passion of his love by a confident messenger sends to pray Imperia to meet him at three of the clocke in her Garden which was a pretty way distant from her house the which shee joyfully grants him and here it is where they meet and where I am enforced to say that in the pavillion or banquetting house of this Garden these our two youthfull lovers after a thousand sweet kisses and embraces first received each of other those amorous delights and pleasures which modesty will not and chastity and honesty cannot permit mee to mention as also for that these pils of sugar are most commonly candide in bitter wormwood and gall and but too frequently prove honey to the palate but poyson to the heart and soule And here in this her Garden I say againe was the very first time and place where our faire Imperia who was so famous in Loretto and Ancona for her piety and chastity forgetting the first made shipwracke of the last and where of a Gentlewoman of honour shee lost her honour by committing this her beastly sinne of sensuality and Adultery When the winds which were contrary to Morosini's voyage proved so favourable and propitious to his lustfull desires that he thinks of nothing lesse than of his returne to Venice nor of any thing so much as of his stay here in Ancona with his faire and sweet love Imperia who likewise finds lesse content and pleasure in the company of her Husband Palmerius than she hoped for and now farre more in her deare friend Morosini than she either dreamt or expected In which triviall regard and sinfull consideration shee in a manner abandons the first and gives her selfe wholly over to the will and pleasure of the second and so turning the custome of these their lascivious daliances into a habit and that into a second nature both in her Garden and her owne house shee very often both by day and night commits this bitter-sweet sinne of Adultery with Morosini whereof a subtill young Nephew of Palmerius of some eighteene yeares old who was his sisters sonne and termed Richardo takes exact and curious notice and once among the rest hee peeps in at the key-hole of his Aunts chamber doore and there sees her and Seignior Morosini on the bed together and in no lesse familiarity than was requisite or could be expected betwixt his Unkle her Husband Palmerius and her selfe whereupon secretly envying and hating her because he was afraid shee should beare away all or at least the greatest part of his said Unkles Estate and wealth from him who for want of children hoped that he therefore should be his adopted heire he therefore malitiously beares the remembrance of this object accident in his mind with an intent that when occasion should hereafter present the report and knowledge thereof to his said Unkle might justly cause him wholly to heave and raze her out of his good opinion affection As for Morosini and Imperia they notwithstanding all this doe still strongly endeavour to bleare the eyes of her Husband Palmerius who thinking his wife to be as chaste as faire and rather a Diana than a Lais out of his good nature doth sometimes in his house feast Morosini and his two Consorts Astonicus and Donato But they will prove pernitious and fatall guests to him for ere long we shall see them require this hospitality and courtesie of his with a prodigious and treacherous ingratitude In which meane time all Ancona resounds of the great expence and profuse prodigality of Morosini and his two associates for they here revell it out in the best Tavernes and companies of the City and not onely exceed others but also themselves in the richnesse and bravery of their apparell but most especially Morisini whose apparell is every way fitter for an Italian Nobleman than a Venetian Merchant Our lustfull and lascivious Imperia is never well contented or pleased but in his presence and her Husbands absence and here to relate the truth of her heart Morosini is more her Husband than Palmerius or rather Palmerius is but the shadow and Morosini the essentiall substance of her Husband and therefore I desire the Reader to know and remember that in that regard and consideration I have purposely entituled this History not to be of Palmerius and Imperia but of Morosini and Imperia Morosini Astonicus and Donato in their lodging and chambers have many times many private speeches and conferences what pity it is that so sweet and faire a young Gentlewoman as Imperia should by the constraint of her unkinde and cruell father thus bee clogged and chained in mariage to so old a dotard as Palmerius for a more favourable Epithite their vanity and folly could not afford to give him and Morosini in the dumbe eloquence and Logicke of Imperia's sighs and teares apparantly beleeves that in her heart and soule she infinitely desireth and wisheth that Palmerius were in Heaven and himselfe now her Husband here on earth in his place He reads as much in her looks and countenance and is therefore confident that her heart and ambition aspire to no sweeter earthly felicity Hee hath not lost his wit in his affection nor wholly drowned his judgement either in the fresh Roses and Lillies of her beauty or in the resplendent lustre of those sparkling Diamonds and starres her eyes He knowes that his Estate is farre inferiour to his birth and extraction and yet that his prodigalities and expences both in Turkie and Italy are farre superiour and above his Estate He would faigne therefore finde out the meanes to beare up his port and consequently to preserve his reputation with the whole world the which he esteemes equall to his life if not above it Hee knowes that Imperia is already more his Wife than her Husbands and is very confident that he can make her apt for any impression and capable of any designe which may advance his owne fortunes and confirme both their contents whereunto conjoyning the sweetnesse of her beauty the excellencie of her feature and the exceeding great wealth of her old Husband hee adding all these considerations together they here weigh him downe to Hell Satan by terminating his thoughts and fixing his heart upon this hellish resolution to send him speedily to Heaven in a bloudy winding sheet and no other charitable thought or Christian consideration can divert him from this inhumane and bloudy project neither can hee possibly reape any truce of his thoughts or peace of his heart before hee
opinion to seize on their ship which is at anchor in the Roade termed the Realto of Venice a name I thinke derived and taken from the marchants Exchange of that ciâ—…ty tearmed the Realto or else from the Realto Bridge which for one Arche is doubtlesse the rarest fairest and richest Bridge of the world which ship was of some three hundred Tonnes and bore some twenty peeces of Ordinance and then presently after to seize on themselves in their Lodging But upon more mature deliberation they resolve to abandon this their opinion and so to seize on their persons but not to arrest or make stay of their Ship and although their reale to justice and hast for their apprehension be very great yet Mercario out of his respects to Imperia and affection to Marosini tripped on through the by Streetes and neerest way to the Key so swiftly as hee had allready secretly related him and his two consorts the sorrowfull newes which Imperia sent them by him Whereat with feare in their hearts and courages and amazement in their lookes and countenances they all three leape from their beds to their swords discharge their Inne packe up their Truncks and bagage and resolve with all possible speed to flie to their ship and then if not with yet against the windes to put into Sea and for their safetie to leave Ancona and saile for Venice But yet here Morosini's heart is perplexed with a thousand Torments to understand of his Imperia's eminent and apparant danger and with many Hels in stead of one to see that hee must now thus sodainly leave her deere sight and company which hee every way esteemes no lesse then either his earthly felicity or his Heaven upon earth But here againe violently called away by the importunate cries of Astonicus and Donato and yet farre more by the consideration of his owne proper feare and danger Mercario is no sooner stollen away from them but they all three with their swords drawne rush downe the stayres with equall intents and resolution to exchange their Inne for their Ship and thereby to metamorphose their danger into security But they shall see that these weake and reeling hopes of theirs will now deceive them For they finde all doores of their Inne lockt within â—…ide and surrounded and beleagured without with many armed Serjeants Soldiours and Citizens for their apprehension And although Morosini Astonicus and Donato were so inflamed with their youthful bloud and courage as they were once generously resolved to sell their lives deerely and with their Pistolls and Swords to prefer an honourable to an infamous death yet being farre overmastered with numbers and therefore enforced to take a Law of the stronger Whereunto they the sooner hearken and consent in regard the Serjeants and officers doe politickly cry out to them and pray them to yeeld as affirming that to their knowledg their resolution and feare doth far exceed the danger of their offences They make a vertue of necessity and unlocking the doores of their In and chambers do cheerfully yeeld up their persons pistolls and swords to the Popes Officers of Iustice who as soone conveigh them all three to the common prison of that Citty which was the same wherein our not so sorrowfull as unfortunate Imperia was already entred and where to her unexpressible griefe and Morosini's unparalel'd affliction disconsolation such exact charge was given of the Podestate and such curiousheed observed and taken of the Goaler that he could not possibly be permitted either to see or speak with her or she with him the which indeed they conceived to be farre more sharp than their crime and infinitly more bitter than the consideration either of their feare or danger Now the newes of these lamentable Accidents being speedily posted from Ancona to Loretto our Imperia's cruell Father Bondino no sooner is ascertained thereof But seeing his sonne in law Palmerius murthered in his bed and his wife and his own only daughter Imperia with her Ruffian Morosini and his two consorts to be imprisoned as the Authors and actors thereof hee for the love hee bore to her life and the tender pitty and sorrow hee felt of the infamy of her approaching death sodainly falls sicke and dies Wherof his imprisoned Daughter Imperia understanding shee in regard of his former severity towards her is so much passionate and so little compassionate as shee rather rejoyceth than lamenteth at it Onely shee prayes God to forgive his soule of that crueltie of his in enforcing her to marry Palmerius which shee knowes to bee the the originall cause and fatall cloud from whence have proceeded alâ—… these dismall stormes of affliction and tempests of untimely death which shee feares must very shortly befall both her selfe and her second selfe Morosini Whiles thus Astonicus and Donato grieve at their hard fortune and danger and Morosini and Imperia doe reciprocally more lament and sorrow for their separation then for their imprisonment and that the Podestate and other officers of Iustice of Ancona are resolved first to informe the Pope and then to expect his holinesse pleasure for the arraignment and punishment of these foure prisoners it pleased God exceedingly to visit the towne of Loretto and especially the Cittie of Ancona with the Plague wherof many thousands in a few moneths were swept away so by speciall commission and order from Rome they in company of divers other Prisoners are conveyed to the citty of Polegnio two small dayes journey from Ancona and there to be arraigned and tried upon their lives and deaths At which time as they past by the old little Citie of Tolentino where I then in my intended travells towards Rome lay upon my recovery of a burning feaver When I say the nature of their crimes and the quality of their persons made my curiosity so ambitious as to see and obserue them in their severall chambers of the Inne where they that night lay which was at the signe of the Popes armes as for Astonicus and Donato I found them to be rather sad than merry Morosini to be farre more merry then wise and Imperia to bee infinitly more faire than fortunate and all of them to bee lesse sorrowfull for their affliction and danger than for the cause thereof Within three houres of their arrivall to Foligâ—…io they are all foure convented before the two criminall Judges who are purposly sent from Rome thither and are there and then severally charged with this foule murther of stifling to death the old Signior Palmerius in his bed which all and every one of them apart doe stifly deny Notwithstanding that Fundt the hoast and Richardo the Nephew give in evidence of strong presumption against them and also notwithstanding of Morosini's gloves and Bondino's letter written to his Sonne in law Palmerius and delivered by Herbas as we have formerly understood But these two grave and prudent Iudges yet strongly suspecting the contrary they will not be deluded with the airy words and
doth therefore verily hope and pray that hee may speedily die in his house or else hee hath already swapt a bargaine with the Devill to murther him thereby to make up the breaches and tuines of his poore and totteri gestate He finds it a worke not onely of difficulty but of impossibility to know what rich stuffe hee hath in his Casket and Cloak-bagge because hee still keeps it under his pillow and yet gathering and wresting from him that hee is a Goldsmith of Dijon and that hee came now from Franckford Mart he therefore beleeves that he hath store of Gold and Jewels about him His poverty and his covetousnesse gives the switch to the Devill and the Devill gives the spur to him to raise his uncharitable contemplation into bloudy actions and his thoughts and resolutions as so many lines runne to terminate in this one onely Centre which is that of De Lauriers death He sets his wits and invention on the Tenter-hooks to discover this imagined Indies but he finds him to be as cautious and secret in concealing as hee himselfe is curious to bewray it Hee purposly keeps all company from him and will not so much as permit his Physitian or Apothecary to speake a word with him but hee will still bee present to heare and understand it Hee with oylie words and silken speeches pryes into his deepest secrets and purposly endevoureth to insinuate and screw himselfe into his familiarity But De Laurier doth rather feare than love him and so esteemes the revealing of his Cold to be the accelerating of his danger to which end with many colourable excuses and evasions he puts him off the knowledge thereof But hee is so miserable to see his miseries approach because the violence and impetuosity of his Feaver doth every way advance no way retire and now it is that his hopes of the recovery of his health doe fade not flourish and rather quaile than prosper Hee resolves to bee as Religious as hee is sicke and therefore prayes his Hoast Adrian to bring him a Priest to give him the Sacrament Adrian performes his request but brings him a Priest named father Iustiniâ—…n of his owne humour and complexion and who loves Whores and Wine better than he doth either Heaven or God so this unspirituall Father gives him the extreame Unction and prepares him for his journey and transmigration from Earth to Heaven His continuall vanities and prodigalities hath likewise made him poore so being equall with Adrian both in Vice and Poverty he is likewise equall and sympathizeth with him in hope and desire to repaire his Indigence and to enrich himselfe by the supposed treasure and death of De Laurier But as this deboshed Priest is malitious in this his policy so he is also polititike in this his malice for imagining that Adrian levels and aimes with him at the same Butt and marke he dares but yet will not acquaint him with his bloudy purpose to contract a hellish league and confederation with him for the violent dispatch and inhumane and untimely dispeeding of him away from Earth to Heaven Whiles thus De Lauriers sicknesse and weaknes encreaseth and his Priest and Adrians covetousnesse begins wholly to weigh downe their soules and resolutions to hasten his deplorable death as the Priest is ready to breake his minde to Adrian how and in what manner they should finish and compasse this bloudy businesse Adrian contrariwise yea and directly contrary to the rules of Nature and Lawes of Grace breaks his minde hereof to his vertuous and Religious wife Isabella whom he seeks to draw in as an Actor in this mournfull and as an Agent in this cruell Tragedy He is as gracelesse as impudent in this foule and fatall attempt of his for he sets upon her with the sweetest speech and smoothest perswasions that either Art could suggest or the malice of the Devill invent or dictate to him and therein ever and anon leaves not to conveigh and distill in her minde yea and to imprint in her memory their fore-past wealth their present poverty and misery and the undoubted great riches of Gold and Jewels which De Laurier had with him in that as formerly we have observed he very carefully day and night kept his Casket under his pillow and in a hellish eloquence represents unto her the facility of this fact either by Ponyard or poyson adding withall that the danger thereof would infallibly die with him with a thousand other damnable alluring speeches conducing and looking that way which I am farre more inclinable to silence than expresse But wretched Villaine and execrable miscreant that hee is hee speaks not a word no not a syllable of God or his Justice of Heaven or Hell or of the foulnesse of that fact or the just revenge and punishment incident and due thereunto His vertuous wife Isabella is amazed and astonished at this bloudy and inhumane proposition of her Husband and all trembling with sighs and teares receives it from him with no lesse true affliction and sorrow than he delivered it her with cruelty and impiety Her cheeks were as red for shame as his were pale with envie thereat when God infusing as much goodnesse into her heart and tongue as Satan had cruelty into his soule and resolutions she fell on her knees to his feet and with her eyes and hands erected towards Heaven delivered him this vertuous and Religious speech That it was with infinite griefe and amazement that shee understood this his bloudy position to her which he knew she could derive from none but Hel and Satan She represents to him with much griefe and passion that as punishment is ever the reward of sinne so that of all sinnes murther was the foulest and the most pernitious and diabolicall She tels him farther that covetousnesse is the root of all mischiefe that for her part she is as thankfull to God as he is displeased with himselfe for their povertie and that shee would ever choose rather to live in want than to dye in shame and misery and which is worst of all either to live or dye in the horrours and terrours of a guilty and ulcerated Conscience That it is a prophane and prodigious impiety to violate the lawes of Hospitality but a fearefull yea a horrible crime to kill any one under our owne roofe and who in the right of humanity and christianity comes to us for shelter and protection When rising againe from her knees shee takes him about the neck and bedewing his cheekes with her teares conjures and prayes him by the remembrance of her youth and beautie which had formerly beene so deere and pretious to him by the memory of their sixteene yeares sweet cohabitation and conversation together in the holy Estate of Wedlocke yea for his owne sake for his soules sake and for Gods sake that hee would defie this divell which thus with his two bitter sweet pills of Covetousnesse and Murther mocked and sought to betray him and that
Here they cease to pursue the Wolfe and because neither of them knew this poore and miserable dead carkase they therefore step to the other end of the Orchard and there consult what is fit to bee done in this lamentable businesse and accident But their opinions as so many lines concur and terminate in this centre that absolutely this dead body was cruelly murthered and there by the murtherers privately and silently buried They farther vehemently suspect and beleeve that because it was buried in Adrians Orchard that therefore it was apparantly probable it was hee with his wife and Servants who had murthered and buried him there wherefore to keepe these suspected bloody birdes in their Cages they as wise and juditious Gentlemen place a strong guard of their Servants and Peasants to watch the doores and windowes of Adrians house that none issue forth thence and they themselves goe presently to the Criminall judges of the Towne and acquaint them with this lamentable object and accident In the mean our harmelesse and vertuous Isabella hearing these loud shouts and outcries at her doores so soone in the morning shee in the absence of her Husband who lay forth of his house that night deboshing and revelling with his cups and Queanes fearing that all was not well and therefore her amazed and sorrowfull heart not willing to know that whereof shee was infinitely desirous to bee ignorant shee lay still bitterly sighing and weeping in her bed because her thoughts and mind her suspitions and feares told her that this unseasonable alarum and noise might descend and reflect from some fatal newes which had betided De Laurieâ—… and if this storme and tempest fell not on her yet alas shee extreamely feares and doubts it would fall on Adrian her husband whom shee vehemently thought and feared had imbrued and imbathed his hands in the innocent blood of this honest man As for Thomas her Ostler and Gracetta her maid although this unaccustomed noise made them sodainly forsake their beds and apparell themselves to receive their mistris commands how they should beare themselves in this hurly burly yet because they were white with innocency yea so innocent as they knew no hurt or thought of danger they only deemed that it was either some unlawfull assembly of Peasants or else some cast and disbanded souldiers from Flanders who came to rob their masters house or poultry in his absence wherfore meere feare hereof kept them from either opening the doores or looking out at windowes By this time the Gentlemen hunters bring the criminall Iudges on the place to view this dead body and with them come a great number of the Neighbours and Inhabitants of Salynes to doe the like and amongst the rest the Physitian La Motte of whom this History hath already made mention and he of all the rest knowes the dead body and therefore with much passion and sorrow cries out that it was a Gold-smith of Dijon named Monsieur De Laurier who lay long sicke in Adrians house and that hee had formerly given him Physicke there and so hee said and affirmed that hee perfectly knew him to be the same and verily imagined that he was brought to some untimely end and so buried there but by whom he knew not The Iudges therefore beleeving the report of this honest Physitian La Motte they cause the remainders of the flesh of this dead body to be searched and visited the which they finde without any wounds And yet neverthelesse deeming both Adrian his wife Isabella and their Servants to bee the murtherers of this honest man they breake open the doores and missing Adrian they seize on his wife Isabella as also on her Ostler Thomas and his maide Graceta and then bring them to the sight of this dead body with whose murther they flatly charge them and enquire what is become of Adrian himselfe At this unexpected sorrowfull newes and object Isabella is all in Teares yea shee is so extreamly perplexed and afflicted as wanting all other assistance and comfort shee implores that of God Shee tells them that her Husband Adrian lay not at home with her the last night and freely and plainely affirmes to them that that dead body was Monsieur De Laurier a Gold-smith of Dijon who lay long sicke in her house as he came from Frankford Mart but how he came to his end or by whom shee takes heaven and earth to witnesse shee knowes not and with this her deposition doe her Ostler and maid concurre and agree in all proofes and circumstances The Iudges likewise causing a curious search to be made in Salynes for Adrian it was found out that that night he lay in father Iustinians house the Priest and two whores in their Company drinking and revelling all night and upon the very first report they heard of De Lauriers unburiall by a Wolfe they both galled with guilty consciences betake themselves to their heeles and left both their two Strumpets to their repentance Their flight proclaimes their guiltinesse of this murther to all the world especially to the Iudges Who upon knowledge thereof to finde out the truth of this deplorable disaster they adjudge Isabella Thomas and Graceta to the racke As for Thomas and Graceta their innocency makes them brooke their torments with admirable patience and constancy for they can never bee drawne to reveale that of which they are ignorant not to accuse themselves of that wherof they are not guilty But for Isabella the incessant prayers and importunate requests and solicitations of many of her honest neighbours doth ingrave such deep impressions of her vertues and piety and of her sweet inclination and disposition in the hearts of the iudges as they change their resolutions against her and so dispence with her for that torture When sending every way abroad to pursue Adrian and father Iustinian they content themselves to keepe the Mistris the man and the maid close prisoners They are so advised in their iudgments and so juditious in their advise as they speedily send away Poast to Dijon to acquaint Du Pont the Sonne with this disasterous accident which had betided his father De Laurier here in Salynes who at the first alarum of this sad unexpected newes seemes now to drowne himselfe in his teares thereat and so thereupon rather to flye than poast away from Dijon to Salynes where hee confers with the criminall Iudges of that Town who report to him the flight of father Iustinian and Adrian as also of their imprisoning of his wife Isabella of her maid Graceta and her Ostler Thomas in whose house his father lay sick So Du Pont visits the dead stinking mangled body and findes it to be that of his father wherat nature and duty prescribe him so powerful a Law as at the sight thereof he bursts forth into many bitter teares and lamentable cries and passions When giving him a decent and solemn burial in the next Church he then informes the Iudges that to his knowledge his father
hee being once dead undoubtedly the faire Dominica will fall for his share and wife So hee is resolute in this his bloody and damnable designe and consults with himselfe whether hee should doe it by himselfe or by some second instrument but finding it dangerous to effect it by another beeause he must then commit his life to his courtesie and seeing that his Gout had now forsaken him hee therefore resolves to doe it by himselfe But first hee thinkes it not improper rather pertinent for him to write Roderigo a letter the which hee doth in these tearmes and sends it him by one of his owne confident Servants HIPPOLITO to RODERIGO WErt thou informed but of the hundred part of my deere affection to the faire young Lady Dominica and reciprocally of hers to me thou wouldst if not out of honour yet out of Iudgement surcease thy suite to her and not make thy obstinacie ridiculons by thinking to obtaine her to thy Wife and although shee feede thee with the sugar oâ—… many sweet protestations and promises to the contrary yet if I have any eyes in my head or thou judgement in thine to discerne the truth hereof thou hast farre more reason to rely upon the integrity of my age than the Vanity and inconstancy of her youth And wert thou not a Gentle â—…an whom I love for thine owne and honour for thy Fathers sake I had not so long permitted thee to frequent her company nor so often to converse with her to the prejudiâ—…e of my content and thy discretion and if this friendly Ambassador of my heart my Letter will not yet induce thee to leave her to mee whom Heauen and Earth God and her Mother have given mee I will then either by thy Father or by the usuall course of Iustice take that order with thee therein as shall redâ—…d as much to my honour and fame as to thy infamy and disreputation HIPPOLITO Roderigo having received and read this Letter of Hippolito hee cannot refraine from smiling and laughing to see his sottish errour and ridiculous ignorance herein for he perfectly knowes that both Dominica and the Lady Cervantella her mother are long since resolved to heare no more either of him or of his sute and therefore hee holds it more worthie of his laughter than of his observation likewise to see that this old dotard when nature is ready to wed him to his grave that his lust should yet bee so forward to desire to marry so young and beautifull a Lady as Dominica The which considering once hee thought to returne him no other answer but silence but at last respecting his age and Quality more than his indiscretion or power after he had shewne his letter to Cervantella to Dominica and her brother Don Garcia who all concur in opinion with him to make it the publike object as both it and himselfe were the private cause of their generall laughter hee calles for pen and paper and rather with contempt than choller by Hippolito's owne servant returnes him this answer RODERIGO to HIPPOLITO I Have as small reason to doubt of thy affectiâ—…n to the young Lady Dominica as to beleeve that hers is reciprocally so to thee and therefore I see no just cause in honour or solid ground in Iudgement to surcease my sute towards â—…er much lesse to deeme my obstinacy ridiculous in hoping to obtaine her to my Wife And although it bee in thy pleasure yet it is not in thy power to make mee doubtfull of her fairewords or to call in question or suspition her sweet promises and protestations to mee sith that were to prophane the purity of my zeale to her and of her true and sincere affection to mee the which yet to doe thee a courtesie I will rather excuse than condemne in thee because I am consident it exceeds thy knowledge though not thy feare and in this behalfe and assurance thine eyes cannot so much prevaile with my Iudgement but that I will more rely upon the integrity of her youth than the vanity of thy Age. As for thy love to mee or honour to my Father when I finde it so I will acknowledge it to bee as true as now I conceive iâ—… feigned but for thy threates to mee in thinking thereby to make mee forsake the conversation and company of that faire and vertuous young Lady I doe rather pitty than esteeme them and every may moré contemne than care for them assuring thee that I cannot possibly refrâ—… from laughter to see thee so devoid of common sence as to thinke to bee able either to scarre mee with the power of the Law or to daunt me with the prerogative and authority of my father in making mee to forsake her whom in life and death I neither can nor will forsake resolve therefore henceforth to prevent thy infamy and disreputation for I will bee left to my selfe to establish mine owne content and honour as I please RODERIGO Hippolito upon the receit and consideration of this peremptory letter of Don Roderigo is so inflamed and incensed against him to see that perforce he will make him weare a Willow Garland as without any more delayes or expostulations understanding him to bee that very same night which hee received his Letter with his Lady Dominica at her mothers house the Devill causeth him to gather all his malice wits and strength together about him that night to murther him as he issueth forth to goe home which bloody stratagem of his to effect and finish hee chargeth a pistoll with three bullets and hee waites his comming thence but Don Garcia accidentally issuing forth all alone privately to goe visit a friend of his not farre off this wretched old villaine Hippolito taking him to bee Roderigo lets flye at him and all three bullets pierce his body so hee falles downe dead to the ground The blow is heard and the breathlesse body of Don Garcia is found reeking in his blood whose mother sister and Don Roderigo are amazed and astonished at this deplorable disaster and ready to drowne themselves in their teares for sorrow thereof So Roderigo leaving some Neighbours to comfort them hee takes order to finde out the murtherers and goes himselfe speedily throughout the street to that effect When the good pleasure and providence of God directs his course to finde out this old execrable wretch Hippolito going lirping and limping in the street having throwne away his Pistoll and only holding his darke lanthorne in his hand which then the better to collour out this damnable fact of his hee opened to light him Roderigo measuring things past by the present and finding Hippolito there in the streets all alone at this undue and unseasonable houre of the night God prompts his heart with this suspition that hee in likelyhood was the murtherer of Don Garcia and so layes hold of him and causâ—…th him to be committed to the prison notwithstanding all the entreaties meanes and friends which hee could then possibly make to the
but not hee her and wee shall not goe far till we likewise see what effects these their different affections will produce Whiles Vrsina is assured of Sanctifiores love to her Bertranna contrariwise by her selfe and her friends makes it her chiefest care and ambition to perswade and draw him to forsake Vrsina and to love and marry herselfe but shee will find more opposition and difficulty therein than shee expects True it is that although the Baron of Sanctifiore doe continually frequent Placedos house and his daughter Bertrannas company yet understanding and considering with himselfe that Vrsina honoured him with her constant love and affection hee therefore held himselfe in a manner bound sometimes to see and visit her although indeed it was every way more to content and please her than himselfe where albeit that her policy to her selfe and her affection to him gives him many quips and jerkes of his Mistris Vrsina yet his reputation and discretion makes him comport his actions and speeches so equally towards Bertranna that although hee give her little cause to hope yet he gives her none to despaier of his love and affection to her in requitall of hers to him and upon these and no other tearmes stand Sanctifiore and Bertranna But as for Vrsina her hopes and heart of Sanctifiores affection to her sayls on with a more pleasing and joyfull gale of wind for shee loving him as deeply as hee doth her dearly she accounts her selfe his and he hers as we may the more particularly and perfectly perceive by foure love-letters of theirs which secretly and interchangeably past betweene them the which for the Readers better satisfaction I thought good here to insert and publish whereof his first to her spake thus SANCTIFIORE to VRSINA THe Sweetnes of thy beauty and the excellencie of thy Vertues have so fully taken up my thoughts and so firmely surprised and vanquished my heart that I am so much thine hoth by conquest and duty as I know not whether I doe more affect or honour or more admire or adore thee Wherefore if thou art as courteous as faire and as loving to me as I am faithfull to thy selfe then returne mee thy heart as I now give and send thee mine and assure thy selfe that my affection is so infinite and entire to thee that I love and desire theeâ—… thousand times more than mine owne life and will esteeme my death both sweet and happy if thou wilt henceforth live mine by Purchase as I am now thine by Promise Thy will shall be my law and as there is a God in Heaven so Vrsina hath not so fervent a lover or constant a servant on earth as her SANCTIFIORE Vrsinas answer hereunto was couched in these tearmes VRSINA to SANCTIFIORE IF thy heart be as full of affection as thy letter is of flattery to mee I should then have as just cause thankfully to beleeve that as now I have to suspect and feare this For the iniquity of our times and the misery of many former examples doe prompt and tell mee that most men love more with their tongues than with their hearts and that they all know far better how to professe than preserve their affections and fidelities to their Mistresses As for mee judge with thy selfe how courteous and loving I am to thee for if I perfectly knew that thy Letter were the true Ambassadour and unfeigned Eccho of thy heart I would both say and promise thee that I would love thee and none but thee Make my selfe thy wife when and as soone as thou wilt please to bee my Husband for in life and death I here now promise thee to bee more thine than mine owne Resolve mee of this doubt and free mee of this feare and then manage this affection and favour of mine with discretion and requite it with fidelitie to thy VRSINA The Baron of Sanctifiores second letter to her contayned this language SANCTIFIORE to VRSINA AS I am not guilty so I am not answerable for other mens crimes of infidelity but doe as justly detest and scorne as you unjustly feare them in mee That my affection is pure and sacred and shall bee inviolable to thee bee God my Iudge and my heart and conscience my witnesses Therefore to resolve thy doubt and to free thy feare thereof I vow by the purenesse of thy beauty and by the dignity of thy vertues that both my former letter and also this are the true Ambassadours and Ecchoes of my heart and which is more of my soule I will shortly kisse thee for thy love to mee then love thee for thy kisses and after embrace and thanke thee for both and when I faile of my affection and fidelity to thee may God then faile of his Grace and mercy to my selfe I will make my selfe thy deere Husband and thee my sweet wife when thou pleasest to crowne and honour mee with that sweet joy and to ravish my heart with this desired felicity SANCTIFIORE Vrsinas answer hereunto was traced in these tearmes VRSINA to SANCTIFIORE RElying on the Purity of thy affection and the preservation and performance of thy constancy to mee for the which thou hast invoked God for Iudge and thy heart and Conscience as witnesses thereof I now freely acknowledge my selfe to bee thy wife by Purchase and thou to bee my Husband by Promise and doe therefore wholly take me from my selfe eternally to give my selfe to thee I desire the enjoyance of thy company and presence with as much impatiency as thou longest for mine and thou shalt find that I will make it my chiefest care and ambition to love thee and my greatest glory to honour and obey thee and let both of us beware of infidelity each to other for God will assuredly punish it with justice requite it with revenge and revenge it with misery on the Delinquents and Offenders VRSINA By the perusall and consideration of these foure precedent Letters wee may plainly perceive what a firme promise and secret contract there was past betweene the Baron of Sanctifiore and the Lady Vrsina and how servently and sweetly they had given themselves each to other in the promise and assurance of mariage so not contented to have gotten the Daughters good will hee in very honourable fashion and tearmes likewise seekes her Father Seignior Placedos consent thereto whom though for some few Monethes hee found to bee averse and opposit to his desires therein yet upon Sanctifiores importunate intreaties and his Daughter Vrsinas frequent teares hee at last consenteth to this their mariage only he delayed the consummation thereof for some secret reasons and considerations best knowne to himselfe the which I cannot publish because I could never gather or understand them Whiles thus the Baron of Sanctifiore remaines in Naples his long stay great trayne prodigall expenses there and his absence from Capua where his lands and meanes lay made him bee in some distresse and want of mony and not knowing how to procure it
owne pressing wants hee now seemes to affect and court a thousand times more familiarly and tenderly than before whereof shee is infinitly glad joyfull For having a long time loved him in her heart and mind and therefore desiring nothing so much under heaven as to see him her Husband here on earth and having to that end her secret eyes and spies every where abroad upon his life and actions she is at last advertised that there is some great distaste and difference fallen out betweene him and the Lady Vrsina as also that being farre from his home hee wanteth monyes to defray his Port and expences in Naples shee being of a sharp wit and deepe judgement thinkes that the last of his defects was the cause of the first and that peradventure Sanctifiore having attempted to borrow some money of her father Seignior Placedo and received the repulse hee therefore was fallen out and become displeased and discontented with his daughter And although her conceit and judgement missed of the truth herein yet the better to estrange Sanctifiore from Vrsina and consequently the more powerfully and strongly to unite and tye him to her selfe shee well knowing that her owne father De Tores exceedingly loved him and desired him for his sonne in law as much as shee did for her Husband shee therefore as much in love to him as in disdaine and malice to Vrsina doth under hand deale so politickly and yet so secretly with her Father to lend Sanctifiore some monyes that hee meeting him the very next day in his house hee takes him aside in his study and told him that in regard of his absence from Capua and his long stay and great expences here in Naples it was rather likely than impossible that hee might want some monyes and therefore hee freely lent and then and there laid him downe 500 double pistolls adding withall that if hee needed more hee should have what hee pleased and repay it him againe when hee pleased and that if hee would honour him so much as to marry his daughter hee would give him all the lands and wealth hee had This great courtesie of De Tores to the Baron of Sanctifiore hee held was redoubled to him in the value in that hee lent it to him so freely and undemanded as also for that it came so opportunely and fitly to pay his debts and satisfie his wants as after a long and respective complement betweene them Sanctifiores necessitie so easily prevailes with his modesty that hee most thankfully takes this gold of De Tores and likewise gives him more hope than despaire to his motion of marrying his daughter the Lady Bertranna wherewith the one rests well satisfied and the other exceeding well contented This point of courtesie being thus performed betweene them Sanctifiores joy thereof was so great I may say so boundlesse as he presently finds out his new Mistris Bertranna and with a frolick countenance and cheerfull voice relates her how much her father had obliged him and from point to point what had past betweene them and immediately after no lesse doth her father the musick of which newes was so pleasing to her mind and so sweet to her heart and thoughts that she hereupon flatters her selfe with a confident hope that hee will shortly marry her and in this hope doth hee still feed and entertaine her being seldome or never from her but ever and anon both together billing and kissing drowning his judgement so wholly in her company and his heart ranging and dreaming so fully on her youth and beauty and on her fathers great wealth and estate that hee hath not the grace no nor which is lesse the will or good nature once to thinke of his poore desolate and forsaken Vrsina of whom in her turne I come now to speake Wee have formerly understood with sorrow and our sorrowfull and unfortunate Vrsina hath to her griefe too too soone seene how unkindly Sanctifiore hath used and how basely and treacherously abused her in the points of her honour and his infidelity and yet all this notwithstanding her love and affection is still so deare and constant to him and her hopes so confident of him that all this discourtesie of his to her is only but to try her patience and that considering what familiarity hath past betweene them it is impossible for him to bee so cruell hearted towards her as in the end not to marry her She hath likewise acquainted him that she is with child by him and when all other reasons and persuasions faile shee hopes this will prevaile to reclaime his affection to her and to induce him to take pitty of her and compassion of his unborne babe within her But to resell and dissipate all these her flattering and deceitfull hopes and which is worse to make her lose all hopes of this her desired happines and good fortune from him his new contracted and incessant familiarity betweene him and the Lady Bertranna is not so privatly carried and hushed up in silence betweene them but shee hath secret and sorrowfull notice thereof which so inflames her mind with hot jelousie and likewise afflicts her heart with cold feare and apprehension that shee hath seduced and drawen his affection from her to himselfe as also that hee will utterly forsake her to marry Bertranna that shee fully beleeves that the wind of his discourteous absence from her proceedes from this point of the compasse Wherefore fearing that which shee already knowes but far more that which shee knowes not of this their familiarity betweene them all her hopes of Sanctifiore are almost vanished and banished and her heart is as it were wholly depressed and weighed downe with bitter griefe and sorrow thereof She dares acquaint no body with her disgrace much lesse her Father and her looking on her great belly doth but infinitely augment her sorrowes and increase her afflictions in regard that that which should have beene the cause of her joy and glory shee now knowes will shortly prove the argument of her shame and misery A thousand times a day yea I may truly say as many times an houre shee wisheth shee had beene more chaste and lesse faire and not so easily to have hearkned to Sanctifiores sugred oathes and temptations as to have lost her honour and fortunes in seeking to preserve them in her affeâ—…tion to him shee would faine draw comfort from all these â—…er calamities or from any one of them and yet shee knowes not from whom except from her Sanctifiore when presently shee checks her folly and reproves her ambition for tearming him hers when shee beleeves she hath far more cause to feare than reason to doubt that hee already is or shortly will bee Bertrannas husband And yet againe because the excesse of her sorrowes hath more eclipsed her joyes than her judgement and more dulled and obscured her heart than her understanding therefore judging it a master peece of her policy if shee can sequester and reclaime
Aunt Mellefanta her Father Seignior de Tores whose age contentment and joy lived chiefly in the youth prosperity and health of this his only child and daughter makes her will and desire herein to be his when not knowing any thing of the distast that had past betweene his daughter and the Baron of Sanctifiore or of his affection to the Lady Bertranna hee demanded of her when you are at Putzeole what shall become of the Baron of Sanctifiore to whom rather from her apâ—…strings than her heart she returnes this witty and speedy answer if Sanctifiore love me hee will then sometimes leave Naples and visit mee or if hee doe not I will not love him which reply of hers pleased her father so well that hee causeth her to fit up her apparell and bagage and within three daies after attended on by a chamber maid and a man of his sends her away to Putzeole in his coach to his sister Mellifanta where being arived shee speedily and privatly acquaints her aunt with this great secret of her great belly which so much imports her reputation or disgrace and also with all the circumstances thereof and so prayes her best love and assistance to her herein the which shee faithfully promiseth her adding withall that because shee is of her owne blood shee will regard and love her as her owne child telling her that shee highly commended her policy for thus blinding the eyes of her father and for leaving Naples to come lay downe her great belly with her in Putzeole yet shee could not chuse but blame her for the cause thereof in suffering her selfe to bee thus abused and betrayed by so base a Nobleman as the Baron of Sanctifiore but then againe shee excuseth that errour of this her neece upon the freshnes of her youth and beauty and bids her feare nothing but to resolve to bee here cheerfull couragious and merry with her Here we see our beautifull Vrsina safe at Putzeole under the wings and protection of her aunt Mellifanta and far of from the eyes of the knowne or suspected rejoycing enemies of her disgrace lodged in a dainty house a delicate a yre having variety of curious sweet gardens and dainty ranckes and groves of orenge and lemon trees to walke in well attended on and fâ—…ing most delitiously and who therefore would beleeve that shee would not now quite abandon her former sorrowes and teares and wholly reject and cast of that base Baron of Sanctifiore who so ingratfully had ruined and so treacherously had first forsaken and rejected her but here in Putzeole wee shall see her performe nothing lesse for although she yet hold him to bee intangled in the lures of Bertrannas beauty and the temptations of her father de Tores wealth yet judging his heart and affections by her owne and measuring him by her selfe shee still loves him so dearely that she neverthelesse beleeves hee cannot hate her so deadly as to reject and repundiate her to marry the said Bertranna when the more to fortifie her beleefe and resolution thereof she very often againe reads over his two former letters which wee have heard and seene and therein finding that by his conscience and soule and by heaven and by God hee had bound himselfe to marry her and to love and die her faithfull husband shee then beleeves that no man much lesse a Nobleman and least of all a christian will bee so prophane and impious without any cause or reason to violate all these his great oathes and promises so deeply made and so religiously attested unto God wherefore although this Baron of Sanctifiore were absent from her yet seeing him still present in her eyes and heart shee therefore in consideration of the promises doth yet continually so plead for him against her selfe and for his affection and fidelity to her against her suspition and disfidence of him that she yet flatters her selfe with a conceit that in the end his conscience will so call home his thoughts and God his conscience that hee will marry her selfe and none but her selfe Againe consiâ—…ng him to be the Father of her unborne babe shee thinkes her selfe a very unkind and unnaturall mother if shee should not love him for her childs sake as well as for his owne and that God would neither blesse her nor her burthen it shee should any way neglect or omit him upon the foundations of which reasons truely and courteously laid by her but so falsly and treacherously by him shee thinkes it a good way and an excellent expedient for her to seeke to reclaime him to her by a letter the proofe whereof since his defection from her she had not as yet practised or experienced but as shee began to fall on this resolution her hope and despaire of Sanctifiore and yet her love and affection to him make her meet and fall on a doubtfull scruple whether shee should write kindly or cholerickly to him but at last her affection to him declining and excusing his infidelity to her and her love and courtesie giving a favourable construction to his cruelty towards her shee holds it more behouefull for her desire his returne to write to him passionately and effectually but not harshly or severely and so to take the sweet and faire way which shee desired but not the sharp and bitter which hee deserved when flying to her closet she full of griefe and teares writes him this ensuing letter the which without the knowledge of her Aunt Mellifanta shee sends him to Naples by her trusty menssenger Sebastiano her Fathers coachman VRSINA to SANCTIFIORE TO preserve thine honour and prevent mine owne disgrace and shame I have left Naples to sojourne here for a time in Putzeole with the Lady Mellifanta mine aunt where thy presence will make mee as truly joyfull and happie as I feele and know my selfe infinitly miserable without it For although of late but for what cause or reason God knowes I knowe not it hath pleased thee to excercise my affection and patience in thy discontent yet in regard I am thy wife by purchase sith thou art my Husband by promise whereof the copies of thy former letters will informe and remember thee that thou madest God the judge and the soule and consciences the witnesses I cannot beleeve that thou art so irreligious or that thou bearest mee so little love or so much malice to make thy selfe guilty of such foule infidelity to mee and impiety towards God and I appeale to them all if my tender untainted affection to thee have not every way deserved the contrary at thy hands Againe as in hoping to marry thee I gave thee my heart so in assurance and counfidence thereof thou didest likewise bereave mee of my honour and therefore if the conterpane of that contract doe anyway fade or dye in thy memory yet rest confident that the Originall lives still in Heaven as the pledge and seale thereof doth now in my unhappie wombe here on earth mistake mee not
hackney coach speedily flying to Putzeole to her aunt Mellefunta for protection and Sanctuary so these fierce and mercilesse sergeants doe presently divert and alter their course yea they furiously and suddainely rush upon them apprehend and constitute them close prisoners in the common goale of thaâ—… cittie placing them in two severall chambers to the end they should not prattle or tell tales each to other where they shall finde more leasure than time both to remember what they have done and likewise to know what hereafter they must doe Whiles thus all Naples generally resound and talke of this mournfull fact and deplorable accident and Seignior Placedo particularly grieves at these his daughters unexpected crosses and calamities as also of those of his coachman Sebastiano the which hee feares hee can far sooner lament than remedy our sorrowfull widdow Bertranna with the assistance of her father De Tores gives her husband the Baron of Sanctifiore a solemne and stately buriall in the Fueillantes Church of Naples correspondant to his noble degree and qualitie And then within two daies after at her earnest and passionate solicitation to the judges Vrsina and her coachman Sebastiano are severally convented before them in their chiefe Forum or tribunall of justice and there strongly accused by her and charged to bee the authors and actors of this cruell murther committed on the person of the Baron of Sanctifiore her husband the which both of them doe stoutly deny with much vehemency and confidence and when the little boy Bartholomeo is face to face called into the court to give in evidence against them hee there maintaines to the judges what hee had formerly deposed to them in the fields but saies hee thinks not that this Lady was that frier nor can hee truly say that this was the coachman who carried him although when his cloake was shewed him hee could not deny but it was verie like it but Bertranna having now secretly intimated and made knowen to the judges all the passages that had formerly past betweene Vrsina and her husband Sanctifiore as his getting of her with child and then contrarie to his promise refusing to marry her they doe therefore more than halfe beleeve that it was her discontent which drew her to this choler her choler to this revenge and her revenge to this murthering of him as also that in favour of some gold shee had likewise seduced and drawen her coachman Sebastiano to bee consenting and accessary herein with her whereupon the next day they will begin with him and so they adjudge him to the racke the torments whereof hee endures with a wonderfull fortitude and patience so that remembring his oath of secrecy to his Lady Vrsina hee cannot thereby bee drawen to confesse any thing but denies all whereof shee having secret notice doth not a little rejoyce and insult thereat now the very next ensueing morning Vrsina her selfe is likewise adjudged and exposed to the racke the wrenches and torments whereof as soone as shee sensibly feeles God proves then so propitious and mercifull to her soule that her dainty body and tender limbes cannot possibly endure or suffer it but then and there shee to her judges and tormentors confesseth herselfe to bee the sole author and actor of pistolling to death the Baron of Sanctifiore in the same manner and forme as wee have already understood in all its circumstances but in her heart and soule shee strongly affirmes to them that her coachman Sebastiano was not accessary with her herein upon which apparent and palpable confession of hers her judges in honour to sacred justice and for expiation of this her foule crime doe pronounce sentence of death against her that shee shall the next morning bee hanged at the place of common execution notwithstanding all the power and teares of her father and kinsfolkes to the contrary So she is returned to her prison where her father not being permitted to see her that night sends her two Nuns and two friers to prepare and direct her soule for heaven whom in a little time through Gods great mercy and their owne pious perswasions they found to bee wounderfull humble repentant and sorrowfull She privately sends word to her coachman Sebastiano that shee is thankfull to him for his respect and fidelity to her on the racke and wills him to bee assured and confident that shee being to die to morow her speech at her death shall no way prejudice but strongly confirme the safety and preservation of his life Thus grieving far more at the foulnes of her crime than at the infamy and severity of her punishment shee spends most part of the night and the first part of the morning in godly praiers and religious meditations and ejaculations when although her sorrowfull old father Seignior Placedo by his noble kinsman the Prince of Salerno made offer to the Viceroy the Duke of ossuna the free gift of all his lands to save this his daughters life yet the strong solicitation of the first and the great proffer of the last proved vaine and fruitlesse for they found it wholly impossible to obtaine it So about ten of the clocke in the morning our sorrowfull Vrsina is betweene two Nuns brought to her execution clad in a blacke wrought velvet gowne a greene sattin petticoate agreat laced ruffe her head dressed up with tuffes and roses of greene ribbon with some artificiall flowers all covered over with a white ciffres vaile and a paire of plaine white gloves on her hands when ascending the ladder shee to the great confluence of people who came thither to see her take her last farwell of this life and this world with a mournfull countenance and low voice delivered them this sorrowfull and religious speech Good people I want words to expresse the griefe of my heart and the anxiety and sorrow of my soule for imbruing my hands in the innocent blood and death of the Baron of Sanctifiore although not to dissemble but to confesse the pure truth hee betraied his promise to mee of marriage and mee of my honour and chastity without it whereof I beseech Almighty God that all men of what degree or qualitie soever may hereafter bee warned by his example and all Ladies and gentlewomen deterred and terrified by mine I doe likewise here confesse to heaven and earth to God and his Angells and to you all who are here present that I alone was both the author and actor of this foule murther and that my coachman Sebastiano is no way consenting or accessary with mee herein and that albeit I once promised and proffered him a hundred double pistolls of Spanish gold to performe it yet hee honestly and religiously refused both me and it and strongly and pathetically disswaded me from it whose good and wholesome councell I now wish to God from the depth and center of my soule I had then followed for then I had lived as happie as now I die miserable And because it is now no
time but bootlesse for mee either to paliate the truth or to flatter with God or man the worst of his crime he being my servant was the least courtesie hee owed to mee I being his mistris which after with mine owne hands I had committed that deplorable fact was to bring mee home from the fields to my fathers house and for assisting mee to cast the friers frocke the false beard and haire the almes box breviary and two pistolls into the next deepe pit or precipice thereunto adjoining where as yet they still lie for this my heinous offence the very remembrance whereof is now grievous and odious unto mee I aske pardon first of God then of mine owne deare father and next of the Lady Bertranna and if the words and prayers of a poore dying gentlewoman have any power with the living then I beseech you all in generall and every one of you in particular to pray unto God that hee will now forgive my sinnes in his favour and hereafter save my soule in his mercy the which as soone as shee had said and uttered some few short prayers to her selfe shee often making the signe of the crosse takes leave of all the world when pulling downe her vaile in comly sort over her eies and face and erecting her hands towards heaven shee was turned over now as some of her spectators rejoyced at the death of so cruell and bloody or female monster so the greatest part of them in favour of her birth youth and beautie did with aworld of teares exceedingly lament and pittie her but all of them doe highly detest and execrate the base ingratitude infidelity and treachery of this ignoble Baron of Sanctifiore towards her which no doubt was the prime cause and cheifest motive which drew her to these deplorable and bloody resolutions As for her honest coachman Sebastiano although his owne torments on the racke and now this solemne confession of his Lady Vrsina at her death had sufficiently proclaimed and vindicated his innocency in this murther of Sanctifiore yet such was his widdow Bertrannas living affection to her dead husband and her deadly malice to living Sebastiano for thinking him to bee guiltie and accessary hereunto with his Lady Vrsina that her power and malice so far prevailed with the integrity of the judges for the further disquisition of this truth as they now againe sentence him to the double torments of the racke the which hee againe likewise endureth with a most unparalleld patience and constancy without confessing any thing the which his judges wondering to see and admiring to understand and having no substantiall proofes or reall and valable evidences against him they now fully absolve and acquit him of this his suspected crime when being moved in charity justice and conscience to yeeld him some reward and satisfaction for thus enfeebling his body and impairing of his health by these his sharpe and bitter torments they therefore adjudge the plaintiffe widdow Bertranna to give him three hundred duckatons whereof shee cannot possibly exempt or excuse her selfe And thus lived and died our unkind Baron Sanctifiore and our cruell hearted young Lady Vrsina and in this manner did the sacred justice of God requite the one and condignly revenge and punish the other Now by reading this their history may God of his best favour and mercy teach us all from our hearts to hate this Barons levitie and from our soules to abhorre and detest this Ladies cruelty and impiety AMEN GODS REVENGE AGAINST THE CRYING AND Execrable Sinne of Murther HISTORY XXX De Mora treacherously kills Palura in a duell with two pistolls His Lady Bellinda with the aid of her gentleman usher Ferallo poysoneth her husband De Mora and afterwards shee marrieth and then murthereth her said husband Ferallo in his bed so shee is burnt alive for this her last murther and her ashes throwen into the aire for the first IN the generall depravation of this age it is no wonder that many sinfull foules are so transported by Sathan and their owne outragious passions to imbrue their guilty hands in the innocent blood of their christian brethren and it were a great happines and felicity to most countries and kingdomes of Europe if they were not sometimes infected with the contagion of this bloody and crying sinne which with a presumptuous hand seemes to strike at the majestie of God himselfe in killing man his creature but because wishes availe little and for that examples are more powerfull and prevalent and prove the best precepts to the living therefore I here produce a lamentable one of so inhumane a condition that by the knowledge and consideration thereof wee may know how to detest the like and avoid the temptations in our selves IN the famous kingdome of Portugall and within a very little league of Stremos one of the sweetest and fairest cities thereof there within these few yeares dwelt a noble gentleman of some fifty six yeares old named Don Alonso De Mora Issued and discended from one of the best and famous houses of that kingdome as being Nephew to that great and wise Don Christopher de Mora of whom the histories of Spaine and Portugall make so often and so honourable mention and although hee were by his ancestors and parents left very rich in lands and possessions yet his ambition and generosity caried him to serve his king Phillip third of Spaine in his warres of Africa and Flanders wherein hee spent the greatest part of his time and of himselfe wonne many renowned laurells and martiall trophees of honour and as an excellent cavalier left behinde him many approved markes and testimonies of his true valour and magnanimity But as all men are naturally constant in unconstancy and subject and co-incident to mutations and that the world still delights to please us with changes and to feed our fancies and affections with different enterprises and resolutions so our De Mora at last calls home his thoughts and himselfe from warre to peace and resolves to spend the remainder of his age in as much ease pleasure as formerly hee had done the heate and strength of his youth in tumults and combustions hee now sees that there is no life nor pleasure comparable to that of the country for here the sweetnesse of the imbalmed aire the delicacy of the perfumed and enamelled fields the unparalleld pastime of hauking and hunting and the free and uninterrupted accesse which wee have to arts in our study and to God in religious praiers and meditations makes it to bee no lesse than either an earthly paradise or a heaven upon earth For the campe despite of commanders abounds with all kinds of insolencies and impieties the cittie despite of magistrates with all sorts of vice deceit covetousnes and pride and the court despite of good kings and Princes too often with variety of hippocrisie perfidiousnes and vanity To his owne great mannor house neere Stremos therefore is our De Mora retired with a resolution
for ever there to erect and build up his residence making it his greatest delight to have his hounds and graihounds at his heeles and to see his hauke on his fist Now the Alarums of warre no longer take up his thoughts and time neither doe the drums and trumpets or the ratling peales of thunder of muskets and cannons distract his day pleasures or cut his nights sweet sleepes and slumbers in peeces Hee is not addicted to women but hates them as much as they love men hee spurnes at love and in a disdainfull contempt thereof tearms venus a whore and her sonne cupid a boy and which is worse a bastard in a word hee professeth himselfe to be as great and as mortall an enemy to beauty as beauty is many times to chastity and never thinks himselfe happie but either when hee is out of womens company or they not in his Hee is so far from any affecting marriage as hee pittieth it in others and foreuer abjures and detests it in himselfe Hee compares single life to roses and lilies and wedlocke to briars and thistles and therefore in the highest and sublimest degree scornes to have any wife or mistris in his house to over master him But it is not for men to presume to point out their owne destinies and fortunes sith wee are but the slaves of time as time is the servant of God and therefore in this regard our actions are subject to heaven not to earth to Gods appointment rather than our purposes or to presupose or think the contrary is a presumption every way unworthy of a man but far more of a christian sith nature is subject to grace and our earthly passions and resolutions must still stoope to a sacred power and ever submit and prostrate themselves to a divine providence and supernaturall predominancy it is therefore follie not wisdome and simplicitie not discretion in De Mora generally to proclaime hate to women for that hee is the sonne of a woman or to maligne and disdaine marriage in regard hee is the fruit and off-spring of marriage for thus to violate and pull downe the temples and alters of love is obstinatlie to oppose nature and prophanely to subvert the institution of God himselfe in paradice but hee shall not continue long in the clouds of this errour In a cleere and sweete morning as soone as Aurora lept from the watry bed of Thetis and purposely retired her selfe to give way to approaching Phoebus who in his fiery chariot with his glistering beams began to salute guild the tops of the highest woods mountaines De Mora attended by halfe a dozen of his domesticke servants goes into the fields to hauke and hunt where having kild one hare and set up another all his servants left him alone and with the hounds pursue the hare who tripping through the launes and thickets the hills and valleies at last leads them such a dance that in lesse than an houre his servants and his doggs were a little league out of his sight whereat being exceedingly offended and angrie and far the more for that hee was left all alone hee not knowing how to passe or delude away the tediousnes of the time sate himselfe downe on the side of a faire hill at the foot of a pleasant grove of beech and chesnut trees whose curled tops sheltred him from the scorching raies of the sunne and there takes delight to behold how many frequent windings and turning meanders the neighbouring chrystall river made in that pleasant valley as also to see how sweetly the troops of snow-white feathered swans proudly ruffled their plumes and disported themselves therein in their majesticall and stately bravery how many malitious Fowlers both in boates and on the banks of that sweet river were curiously watching with their fierie peeces to murther these innocent watry guests who frequented there and also how the patient Anglers with their treacherous hookes and baits betraied many harmelesse fishes to their undeserved deaths When De Mora impatient of his solitarines listning with his eare if hee might either heare the loud crie and voices of his hounds or else the shrill rebounding ecchoes of his servants hunting hornes hee looking up towards the skie beheld a heron softlie soaring and proudly hoovering over his head as if she came purposely to bid defiance to De Mora and his goshauke which hee held on his fist and consequently to dare and challenge it to an airie combat whereat De Mora being exceeding glad and disdaining that his hauke and himselfe should be thus outbraved by so ill shaped and unmannerly a sea fowle hee speedily riseth up and betwixt choler and pleasure le ts flie his hauke at her but the heron stretcheth her pinnions and packs on her feathered sailes so nimbly and proudly that sometimes soaring aloft in the aire sometimes descending and still looking backe with scorne on the goshauke as if shee puposely tooke delight and sport to see what infinite toile and paine this malitious and ravenous hauke tooke to surprise and devour her so the swifter the heron flew from the hauke the swifter the hauke redoubled her flight and tugged away after her when it being impossible for De Mora to reclaime his hauke either with his hola's or lure at last both hauke and heron flew quite out of his sight and which is worse hee was so unfortunate as never after hee could see either of them againe De Mora being first highly displeased and offended for the absence of his servants and hounds hee is now doubly inraged with griefe and choler for the losse of his goshauke and therefore curseth the heron for thus seducing and betraying her away from him when wearying himselfe to run from hill to vale to have newes of her and in the end seeing both his labour and his hauke lost hee betakes himselfe to the aforesaid grove and with much discontent and choler first casting his hat and lure to the ground hee then likewise casts himselfe thereon to repose him still attending and expecting his hunters Hee hath not remained there above halfe an houre but close by him passeth an aged country gentleman indifferently well apparalled with a very beautifull young gentlewoman following him clad in a crimson taffetaâ—… peticoate wastcoate trimmed with silver lace with a large cut worke plaine band her flaxen haire adorned with many knots of white crimson ribbon covered with a black ciffres vaile having a roling amarous eye the true index of desire and lust her snow white panting breasts open but only a little hidden and overvailed with curious tiffney whose white puritie her pure white paps enterveined with azure infinitely outbraved and excelled She had her waiting maid attending on her and hee a serving-man bearing his cloake and rapier after him who that morning were come some three leagues from his owne house to take the fresh aire in that pleasant and delitious grove without the hedge whereof hee had left his coach this countrie
and her usher Ferallo so that he as soone beleeves as understands this their adultery without ever making a stand either to consider the truth or to examine the circumstances thereof whereupon to make short worke and to provide a speedy remedy for this unfortunate disaster and disease hee without speaking word of it either to his Lady Bellinda or to Ferallo suddainely casheereth him from his house and service and in such disgracefull manner as hee will not so much as permit him to know the reason hereof or to see or take leave of his Lady and mistris and from thence forth De Mora lookes on her with infinite contempt and jealousie For it galles him to the heart first to remember her dishonour and dishonesty with Palura now far more to know that she is doubly guilty thereof with her owne domesticke servant and Gentleman-usher Ferallo wherefore he againe restraines her of her liberty and his jealousie so far exceeds the bounds of judgement and the limmits of reason as hee will difficultly permit her to see any man or any man to see her but as rivers stopped doe still degorge with more violence and overflow with more imperuositie so Bellinda takes this new jealousie of her old husband and this suddaine exile and banishment of Ferollo her lover and Gentleman-usher in extreme ill part and after shee hath wept and sighed her fill thereat shee then beleeves the prime and originall cause therof to proceed from the malice and jealousie of her waiting Gentlewoman Herodia wherefore being infinitly despighted and incensed against her shee in her deare love and affection to Ferallo to requite her husbands courtesie very discourteously turnes her away and for ever banisheth her her house and service and to write the truth Ferallo likewise inhatred malice to Herodia will from thence forth neither see nor speake with her more But to verifie the English proverb that love will creepe where it cannot goe although De Mora banisheth Ferallo from his house and restraineth his Lady Bellinda of her liberty in his house yet sometimes by day many times by night they by the assistance of some secret agents or Ambassadours of love doe in the arbours of the gardens and in some other out romes of the house very amorously meet and most lasciviously kisse and embrace together They hold many private conferences on their unlawfull affections and many secret consultations upon their unjust discontents so at last both of them joining in one wicked heart and mind and as matters are still best distinguished by their contraries finding each others company sweet and their sequestration and seperation bitter they so much forget their selves and their soules and so much fly from heaven and God to follow Sathan and hell as both of them beleeve and resolve they can have no true or perfect content on earth before De Mora be first sent to heaven now upon this bloody designe they agree and upon this hellish plot they fully resolve only the gordian knot which must combine and linke fast this foule busines is that De Mora being dead Bellinda must shortly after marry her Gentleman-usher Ferallo whereunto with as much joy as vanity shee cheerfully consenteth when they are so prophane as they seale this their ungodly contract with many oathes and ratifie and confirme it with a world of kisses and then of all violent deaths they resolve on that drugge of the devill poyson so without either the feare or grace of God they of Christians metamorphose and make themselves devils and Ferallo buying the poyson Bellinda very secretly and subtilly in diet drink and broath admmistereth it unto her Lord and husband De Mora which being of a languishing vertue and opperation hee within lesse then foure moneths dies thereof when with much cost and a wonderfull exteriour shew of griefe and sorrow shee gives him a stately funerall every answerable to the lustre of his name and the quality of his dignity and honoâ—…r but God in his due time will pull off the maske of this her monstrous hippocrie and infernall prophanesse Our jealous old Lord de Mora being thus laied and raked up in the dust of his untimely grave his joyfull sorrowfull widdow the Lady Bellinda according to her promise to the griefe of her father Cursoro to the wonder of Stremos and the admitation of all Portugall marries with this her Gentleman-usher Ferallo but such lustfull and bloody marriages most commonly meet with miserable ends For six moneths together Ferallo day and night keeps good corespondancy in the performance of his affections to his old Lady and mistris and now his new wife Bellinda and although they are unequall in birth and ranke yet marriage having now made them equall they mutually kisse and imbrace with as much content as desire but at the end of this small parcell of time satiety of his uxorious delights and pleasures makes him neglectfull and which is worse contemptible thereof a base ingratitude but to often subject to men of his inferiour ranke and quality and which the indiscretion of Ladies of honour very often paies deare for as buying it many times with infamy but still which repentance so that for ten nights and sometimes for fifteene together hee never kissed or imbraced her which unkind ungratitude of his and respectlesse unvaluation of her youth and beauty as also of her ranke meanes makes the Lady Bellinda his wife to be as hot in choler towards him as he is cold in affection love towards her But to ascend to the head-spring of this his discourtesie towards her and so to fetch and derive it from its owne proper originall wee must know that Ferallo was so vitious inconstant and base as now hee is deeply in love with a new waiting Gentlewoman of his Ladies named Christalina a sweet young maiden of some eighteene yeares of age tall of stature and slender of body and whose beauty was every way as cleere and pure as her name and yet whose maidenhead with a few rich presents and many poore flattering oaths and false promises hee had secretly purchased and gotten from her yea his affection was so fervent to her that part of the day could not content his lustfull desires but hee forgets himselfe so far as before his Ladies nose and almost in her sight hee must lye with her whole nights and which is worse almost every night without so much as once thinking of his owne wife the Lady Bellinda or either loving what shee cared for or caring for what shee loved But Bellinda esteemes her selfe too good a Gentlewoman and too great a Lady to be thus outbraved and disgraced by a Taylors sonne for so was Ferallo and therefore consequently her heart is too well lodged and too high fixed and seated in the degree of her high discent thus to receive suffer an affront by a man of so low a beginning so ignoble a quality and extraction as he was and whom she had
to heaved for this her bloody and unnaturall crime was so odious to men and so execrable to God that shee could hope for no pardon of her life from her judges although her sorrowfull old father Cursoro with a world of teares threw himselfe to their feet and offered them all his lands and meanes to his very shirt to obtaine it for her All Stremos and the country there abouts resound and talke of this cruell murthering of Ferallo as also of his Lady Bellinda's condigne condemnation to death for the same and the next morning at eight of the clocke they all repaire under the castle wall to see this execrable and unfortunate Lady there in flames of fire to act the last scoene and catastrophy of her life she is conducted thither by a Saint Claires Nun on her right hand and a Saint Francis Frier on her left who jointly charge her upon perill of damnation to disburthen her conscience and soule before shee dye of any other capitall crime whereof shee knowâ—…s 〈◊〉 selâ—… guilty the which shee solemnly and religiously promiseth them about nine of the clocke shee is brought to the stake where she sees her selfe empalled and surrounded first with many fagots and then with a very great concourse and confluence of people here shee is so irreligious in her vanity that shee had cast of her blackes and mourning and purposely dighted her selfe in a rich yellow sattin gowne wrought with flowers of silver a large set ruffe about her necke and her head covered over with a pure white tiffney vaile laced and wroâ—…ht with rich cut-worke as if shee cared more for her body than her soule as if her pride and bravery would carry her sooner to heaven than her prayers and repentance or as if the prodigall cost and lustre thereof were able to diminish either her crime or her punishment in the eyes and opinions of her spectators But contrariwise the very first sight of her sweet youth and pure and fresh beauty and then the consideration of her foule crime for murthering her owne husband doe operate and worke differently upon all their affections and passions some pittying her for the first but all more justly condemning her for the second When as soone as their clamorous sobs and speeches were past and blowen over and that both the Frier and Nun had tane their last leave of her then after she had shed many teares on earth and sent and evaporated many sighes to heaven shee wringing her hands whereon shee had a paire of snow white gloves and casting up her eyes towards God at last with a faltring and fainting voice spake thus It is my crime and your charity good people which hath conducted you hither to see mee a miserable Gentlewoman here to dye miserably And because it is now no longer time for me to dissemble either with God or the world therefore to save my soule in heaven though my body perish here in earth I with much griefe and infinite sorrow doe truly and freely confesse both to God and you that I am not only guilty of one murther but of two for as I now lately cut my second husband Ferallo's throat so I was so vild wretched heretofore as to poyson my first Lord and husband De Mora. At which report and confession of this execrable Lady Bellinda in regard of the greatnes of her Lord De Mora's descent Nobility all this huge concourse of people who are sensibly touched with griefe and sorrow make a wonderfull noise and out-cry thereat and now in regard of this soule and double crime of hers they looke on her with far more contempt and far lesse pittie than before But shee being as patient as they are clamorous hereat and seeing their cries now againe cried downe and welâ—…nigh drowned and hushed up in silence recollecting her thoughts and againe composiing her countenance shee againe very sorrowfully continueth her speech to them thus I well know and indeed I heartily grieve to remember that these two foule and cruell murthers of mine make mee unworthy either to tread on the face of earth or to looke up to that of heaven and yet in the middest of these my miseries I have this consolation left mee that in favour of my true confession and religious repentance thereof to God that God can bee as indulgent and mercifull to mee as I have beene impious and sinfull to him the which that I may obtaine I beseech you all who are here present to joyne your prayers with mee and to God for mee and this is the last charity which I will begge and implore of you Now because example is powerfull no example so strong and prevalent as the words of the dying to the living therefore to Gods glory and mine owne shame give mee leave to tell you that two things especially brought and induced mee to commit these foule â—…ers as they have now justly brought mee â—…er to suffer death for committing them first my neglect of prayer and omission to serve and feare God duly as I ought to have done Secondly the affecting and following of my lascivious and lustfull pleasures which I ought not to have done The neglect of the first proved the bane of my soule and the performance and practice of the last the contagion and poyson of my life and both these two sins conjoined and lincked together enforce mee now here to dye with as much misery and infamie as without them I mâ—…ght have lived and peâ—…chance lived longâ—… in earthly happines and prosperity O therefore good people beware by my woefull example let my crime bee your integrity my fall your rising and my shipwracke your safety As I beare not hypocrisie in my tongue so I will not beare malice in my heart Therefore from my heart I forgive Roderigo for telling Gaspar de Mora hee saw mee cast some bloody linnen in the pond I also forgive Gaspar de Mora for informing the Corigâ—…dores thereof and they for so justly condemning mee to death I also pray my father parents to forgive mee these my foule crimes and both to pardon forget the dishonour and scandall which the infamy of my death may reflect and draw on them And now I recommend you all to Gods best favour and mercy and my soule to receive salvation in his blessed kingdome of glory The Lady Bellinda having finished this her speech the hearing and consideration thereof engendred much pittie and compassion in the hearts and caused a world of teares in the eyes of the beholders and now shee prepares her selfe for death Here she takes off her rings from her fingers her pearle bracelets from her armes and as a token of her love gives them to her waiting Gentlewoman Hellena who is present and not far from her most bitterly sobbing and weeping because shee can weepe no more for the death of this her deare Lady and mistris who now repeates many private prayers Ave Maries to her selfe when
taking a solemne and sorrowfull farwell of all the world shee puls downe her vaile over her snow-white cheekes and then often crossing her selfe with the signe of the crosse and saying her last in manus â—…ua the executioner with a flaming torch sets fire to the straw and fagots whereof shee presently dies and in lesse than an houre after her body is there consumed burnt to ashes at which all that great concourse of people and spectators in favour to her youth and beauty as much affecting the piety of her death as they hate and detest the cause thereof I meane the infamy and crueltie of her life doe with far more sorrow than joy give a great shout and out-cry When the judges of that cittie now upon knowledge of this Ladies first horrible crime of poysoning her first Lord and husband Don Alonsâ—… De Mora they in detestation thereof being not able to adde either worser infamy or more exquisite and exemplary torments to her living body they therefore partly to bee revenged on her dead ashes doe cause them curiously to bee gathered up and so in the same place by the common hang-man before all the people to bee scattered and throwen in the aire where at they rejoyce and praise God to see the world so fairly rid of so foule and bloody a female monster And thus was the untimely and yet deserved end of this lascivious and cruell hearted Lady Bellinda and in this sharp manner did the Lord of heaven and earth triumph in his just revenge and punishments against her for these her two foule and inhumane crimes of murthering her two husbands May God of his best and divinest mercy make this her history and example to serve as a chrystall mirrour for all men and especially for all women of what condition and qualitie so ever And now Christian reader having by Gods most gratious assistance and providence here finished this entire and last volume of my six bookes of tragicall histories if thou find that thou reape any profit or thy soule any spirituall benefite by the reading and perusall thereof then in the name and feare of God I beseech thee to joyne thy prayers and piety with mine that as in Christian religion and duty wee are bound so for the same wee may jointly ascribe unto God all possible power might Majesty thanksgiving dominion and Glory both now and for ever Amen Amen FINIS Augusti XVIII 1634. REcensui hunc librum cui titulus The sixt booke of the triumphs of Gods revenge upon Murther qui quidem liber continet folia 99 aut circiter in quibus exceptis quae delentur nihil reperio sanae doctrinae aut bonis moribus contrarium quò minus cum publicâ utilitate imprimi queat sub eà tamen conditione ut si non intrà annum proximè sequentem typis mandetur haec licentia sit omnino irrita Guilielmus Haywood Capell domest Archiep. Cant. a Psal 23. 1. b Psal. 100. 3. c Mat. 25. 34. 41 d 1 Ioh. 2. 16. e Col. 3. 5. f 1 Pet. 5 8. g Revel 12. 9. h Ioh 12. 31. Ephes. 6. 12. i 2 Cor. 11. 14. k Luk. 4. 6. 7. l Gen. 1. 27. Psal. 115. 6. m Ioh. 10. 21. 11. 25. o Gen. 2. 7. p Gen. 1. 28. q Isay. 43. 21. r Heb. 13. 14. s Psal. 102 3. Isay 40. 7. t Psal. 39. 5. u 1 Cor. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 x Coloss. 3. 〈◊〉 y Ephes. 6. 〈◊〉 b Rom. 5. 3. c Iames 1. 2. d Iam. 1. 13 14. e Psal. 73. 23. f Psal. 9. 10. g Psal. 18. 2. h Hos. 6. 1. i Iames 1. 12. k Psal. 125. 1. l 1. Ioh. 2. 11. m 1 Ioh. 4. 10. n Ephes. 4. 26. o 1 Pet. 3. 9. p Coloss. 3 13. r Psal. 145. 8. s Gen. 4. 8. t 2 Sam. 11. 17. u 2 Sam. 3. 27. x 1 Kin. 21. 13. y 2 Kin. 21. 1. z Psa. 7. 14 15 a Iam. 5. 13. b Psal. 61. 8. c Exod. 15. 15 c Deut. 30. 20. d Psal. 104. 31