two orders of parliament concerning the apprehending of thieves. die veneris, 10 januarii, 1650. england and wales. parliament. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a83537 of text in the english short title catalog (thomason 669.f.15[74*]). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 2 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a83537 wing e2395 thomason 669.f.15[74*] 99870732 99870732 163148 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a83537) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 163148) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 246:669f15[74*]) two orders of parliament concerning the apprehending of thieves. die veneris, 10 januarii, 1650. england and wales. parliament. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed by edward husband and john field, printers to the parliament of england, london : 1650 [i.e. 1651] order to print dated: die veneris, 10 januarii, 1650 [i.e., 1651]. signed: hen: scobell, cleric. parliamenti. reproduction of the original in the british library. eng thieves -england -early works to 1800. great britain -politics and government -1649-1660 -early works to 1800. a83537 (thomason 669.f.15[74*]). civilwar no two orders of parliament concerning the apprehending of thieves.: die veneris, 10 januarii, 1650. england and wales. parliament. 1651 332 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a this text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. 2007-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-11 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-12 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2007-12 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion two orders of parliament concerning the apprehending of thieves . die veneris , 10 januarii , 1650. ordered by the parliament , that such person or persons who shall at any time within the space of one whole year ( viz. ) from the tenth day of january one thousand six hundred and fifty , unto the tenth of january one thousand six hundred fifty and one , apprehend and bring in safe custody before any iustice of peace , or any other officer of iustice , any person that hath committed , or shall commit any burglary , or any robbery on the high-way ; or that hath or shall break open any dwelling house , or enter into any such house , and there use any violence upon any persons or their goods dwelling or residing there ; vpon the conviction of such person apprehended , shall have a reward of ten pounds for every such person so apprehended and convicted . ordered by the parliament , that all and every the sheriff and sheriffs of the respective counties in england and wales , where such apprehension and conviction shall be made and had , be required ( upon the certificate of the iudge , or under the hands of two or more iustices of the peace before whom such conviction shall be made ) to pay unto such person or persons who shall apprehend such offender , the reward aforesaid of ten-pounds for every offender so apprehended and convicted , out of the publique moneys received by him in that county ; and that the same shall be allowed unto him upon his accompts in the exchequer . die veneris , 10 januarii , 1650. ordered by the parliament , that these two orders be forthwith printed and published . hen : scobell , cleric . parliamenti . london , printed by edward husband and john field , printers to the parliament of england , 1650. by the king. a proclamation for quieting possessions proclamations. 1660-06-01 england and wales. sovereign (1660-1685 : charles ii) this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a79319 of text r225521 in the english short title catalog (wing c3397). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 2 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a79319 wing c3397 estc r225521 99897939 99897939 171059 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a79319) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 171059) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2552:14) by the king. a proclamation for quieting possessions proclamations. 1660-06-01 england and wales. sovereign (1660-1685 : charles ii) charles ii, king of england, 1630-1685. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed by christopher barker and john bill, printers to the kings most excellent majesty, london : 1660. at end of text: given at our court at whitehal the first day of june, 1660. and in the twelfth year of our reign. steele notation: scotland whilest often; arms 23. reproduction of original in the henry e. huntington library. eng riots -england -early works to 1800. thieves -england -early works to 1800. public welfare -law and legislation -england -early works to 1800. great britain -history -charles ii, 1660-1685 -early works to 1800. great britain -politics and government -1660-1688 -early works to 1800. broadsides -england a79319 r225521 (wing c3397). civilwar no by the king. a proclamation for quieting possessions. england and wales. sovereign 1660 349 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a this text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. 2008-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-08 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-09 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-09 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion c r diev et mon droit honi soit qvi mal y pense royal blazon or coat of arms by the king . a proclamation for quieting possessions . charles r. charles , by the grace of god , of england , scotland , france , and ireland , king , defender of the faith , &c. to all our loving subjects of our realm of england , and dominion of wales , greeting . we taking notice by the information of the lords and commons now assembled in parliament , that several riots have been committed , and forcible entries made upon the possessions of divers of our subjects , as well ecclesiastical as temporal , who have been setled in the said possessions by any lawful or pretended authority , and that without any order of parliament or legal eviction , to the disturbance of the publick peace , whilest these matters are under the consideration of our parliament . we therefore , by the advice of our lords and commons aforesaid , for prevention of the like riots and forcible entries , and preservation of the publick peace of this our realm , do by this our proclamation , command , publish , and declare , that no person or persons , ecclesiastical or temporal , shall presume forcibly to enter upon , or disturbe the said possessions , or any of them , till our parliament shall take order therein , or an eviction be had by due course of law . and all our justices of the peace , majors , sheriffs , and other ministers of justice , and all other our loving subjects , are hereby required to be aiding and assisting in the execution of this our proclamation , as often as occasion shall require , as they will avoid our royal displeasure . given at our court at whitehal the first day of june , 1660. and in the twelfth year of our reign . london , printed by christopher barker and john bill , printers to the kings most excellent majesty . 1660. [a warning for all wicked livers] by the example of richard whitfield, and m. gibs who were two notorious offenders, and both of one company, which two men made a daily practise, and got their livings by robbing and stealing both on the high-ways, and in any other places where they came, but were at last taken, apprehended and condemned to dye for robbing of a coach, & murdering of a captains man at shooters-hil, in kent, some five or six miles from london, and for that offence and others, gibs was prest to death at maidstone in kent, and whitfield was hanged in chains on shooters-hil, where he did the bloody deed, the 27th. of march, 1655. the manner how shall be exactly related in this ditty. the tune is, ned smith. l. p. (laurence price), fl. 1625-1680? this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription b04826 of text893 in the english short title catalog (wing p3388a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 5 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 b04826 wing p3388a interim tract supplement guide br f 821.04 b49[32] 99887562 ocm99887562 182290 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. b04826) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 182290) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books; tract supplement ; a3:3[34]) [a warning for all wicked livers] by the example of richard whitfield, and m. gibs who were two notorious offenders, and both of one company, which two men made a daily practise, and got their livings by robbing and stealing both on the high-ways, and in any other places where they came, but were at last taken, apprehended and condemned to dye for robbing of a coach, & murdering of a captains man at shooters-hil, in kent, some five or six miles from london, and for that offence and others, gibs was prest to death at maidstone in kent, and whitfield was hanged in chains on shooters-hil, where he did the bloody deed, the 27th. of march, 1655. the manner how shall be exactly related in this ditty. the tune is, ned smith. l. p. (laurence price), fl. 1625-1680? 1 sheet ([1] p.) : ill. (woodcuts). printed for f. grove dwelling on snow hill, london : [1655?] signed: lp [i.e. laurence price]. verse: "of two notorious thieves ..." date of publication suggested by wing. imperfect: cropped and torn affecting title; most of right half wanting. reproduction of original in the british library. eng retribution -early works to 1800. thieves -early works to 1800. b04826 893 (wing p3388a). civilwar no [a warning for all wicked livers] by the example of richard whitfield, and m. gibs who were two notorious offenders, and both of one company l. p 1655 642 11 0 0 0 4 0 794 f the rate of 794 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the f category of texts with 100 or more defects per 10,000 words. 2008-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-06 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-07 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-07 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a warning for all 〈…〉 by the example of richard whitfield , and m. gibs who were two notorious offenders , and both of one company , which two men made a daily practise , and got their livings by robbing and stealing both on the high-ways , and in any other places where they came , but were at last taken , apprehended and condemned to dye for robing of a coach , & murdering of a captains man at shooters-hil , in kent , some five or sin miles from london , and for that offence and others , gibs was prest to death at maidstone in kent , and whitfield was hanged in chains on shooters-hil , where he did the bloody deed , the 27th . of march , 1655. the manner how shall be exactly related in this ditty . the tune is , ned smith . of two notorious théeves , my purpose is to tell , which near fair london town long time did live and dwell . one of their names was gibs , a villain vile and base the other dick whitfield call'd , who ran a wicked race , to rob to theeve and steal , these couple gave their mind , and unto murder men , they daily were inclin'd , so stout and bold they were that they durst fight with ten , and rob them on the way though they were lusty men , sometimes they would disguise . themselves in strange attire , and to do mischief still , was all they did desire . sometimes about the fields they would walk in the night and use much cruelty to them that they did méet . a man could hardly pass . the fields at ten a clock , but they would be sure to have , the cloak from off his back . or if he had no cloak they would his money take , of what they went about they did no conscience make . if they with women met when it was in the night they would strip off their cloaths and leave them naked quite . such unhumanity betwixt them did remain that by their bloody hands good christians have been slain 〈…〉 robberies these bloody villains did , but theft and murder both , long time will not lie hid . sometimes they have béen caught and unto new-gate sent , yet they had mercy shown because they should repent . but though the iudges oft took pitty on those men , as soon as they got loose they would fall too t agen , but now behold and sée ●hat happened at the last , 〈◊〉 they had scap'd through much 〈◊〉 many dangers past . 〈◊〉 ●et a gallant coach 〈…〉 r from greenwich town , 〈◊〉 ●●●●h were gentlemen 〈…〉 ore black-heath down , ●●bs and whitfield both 〈…〉 d themselves to fight 〈…〉 theeves 〈…〉 approach . he ask'd them what they were , quoth they , we mony crave , mony we are come for and mony we must have . their pistols being fixt . their bullets they let fly the captain drew his sword and fought couragiously . and in that dangerous fight the captains man was slain and then they rob'd the rest that did i' th coach remain . and for their bloody déeds and for that robbery they after taken were and suffered certainly . at maidstone town in kent there gibs was prest to death , and whitfield hangs in chains at shooters-hill near black-heath let other wicked men , high and low , great and smal remember and take héed by gibs and whitfields fall . l.p. finis . london printed for f. grove dwelling on snow hill . the speech and confession of mr. richard hannam on tuesday last in the rounds of smithfield, being the 17. of this instant june immediately before his great and fatall leap from off the ladder together with a true and perfect description of his life and death; his several rambles, figaries, exploits, and designs, performed in most parts of europe; especially upon the king of scots, the queen of sweden, the kings of france, spain, and denmark, the high and mighty states of holland, the great turk, and the pope of rome. this is licensed and entred, according to speciall order and command. hannam, richard, d. 1656. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a87069 of text r207281 in the english short title catalog (thomason e882_5). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 6 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a87069 wing h655 thomason e882_5 estc r207281 99866342 99866342 168390 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a87069) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 168390) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 133:e882[5]) the speech and confession of mr. richard hannam on tuesday last in the rounds of smithfield, being the 17. of this instant june immediately before his great and fatall leap from off the ladder together with a true and perfect description of his life and death; his several rambles, figaries, exploits, and designs, performed in most parts of europe; especially upon the king of scots, the queen of sweden, the kings of france, spain, and denmark, the high and mighty states of holland, the great turk, and the pope of rome. this is licensed and entred, according to speciall order and command. hannam, richard, d. 1656. 8 p. printed for g. horton, london, : 1656. in the title the words "being the 17. of this instant june" are enclosed in square brackets. annotation on thomason copy: "june 18". reproduction of the original in the british library. eng hannam, richard, d. 1656. executions and executioners -england -early works to 1800. suicide victims -early works to 1800. thieves -england -early works to 1800. swindlers and swindling -england -early works to 1800. a87069 r207281 (thomason e882_5). civilwar no the speech and confession of mr. richard hannam on tuesday last in the rounds of smithfield, being the 17. of this instant june immediately hannam, richard 1656 1024 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 c the rate of 10 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2008-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-08 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-10 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-10 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the speech and confession of mr. richard hannam on tuesday last in the rounds of smithfield , [ being the 17. of this instant june ] immediatly before his great and fatall leap from off the ladder together with a true and perfect description of his life and death ; his several rambles , figaries , exploits , and designs , performed in most parts of europe ; especially upon the king of scots , the queen of sweden , the kings of france , spain , and denmark , the high and mighty states of holland , the great turk , and the pope o●rome . this is licensed and entred , according to speciall order and command . london , printed for g. horton , 1656. the speech and confession of mr. richard hannam , on tuesday last in the rounds of smithfield , immediatly before his fatall leap from off the ladder , &c. in the days of william the conquerour , we read of one simon lupus , a notable carver , so called by the saxons , who in one half year , had purchased above 3000 l. as the ganters term it ; but not long after , lost both that , and life and all ; for being sentenced at chester to be hanged , he vowed that no man should never do it ; and accordingly being upon the ladder , he desperately leaped off : in like manner , mr. hannam , [ the subject of this discourse ] far exceeding cutting dick , bold peacock , valiant cheyny , and famous hind , hath desperately acted the like theatre ; for note , that upon his first breaking out of newgate , he crossed the sea to amsterdam , and robbed the bank of abundance of rich treasure : from thence he went to the hague , where he robbed the qu. of bohemia also of many rich jewels , rings , and plate : he robd the queen of sweden , he robd the k. of scots ; he robbed the kings of spain and france , and likewise the prince of turks : insomuch , that in one years space , he got above 17000 l. in gold , silver , plate , and jewels all which treasure , was not formidable enough to preserve him from the hand of justice ; but upon his return from his europian rambles , he lodged in bear-binder lane at one mr. chamberlains , and on saturday june 14. towards evening , he , with his father rud , another , and mrs. dale , ( a fidlers wife ) came to mr. laughorns , a victualling-house , went up stairs , called for a cup of beer , pickt open a chest , stole out 8 l. 19 s. in money , which the woman carryed away : but being suspected , two of them was apprehended , hannam escaped out of the house top , and returning about 4 hours after , was taken , carryed to newgate , and from thence to execution , where he made this ensuing speech , viz. mr. sheriffs , although i am a prisoner , and condemned to die ; yet i cannot but retain a favourable construction of your proceedings ( this day ) towards me ; presuming , that you will not deny me that liberty , due to all christians , from christian magistrates , which is , that i may be permitted the freedome of speech , to clear the innocent ( at this my hour of death ) that now lye accused , as being privy to my designs , and confederates with me in my late actions : as for my part , resolved i am to accuse no man : no , no , gentlemen , i abhor the thought , much more detest the action of so horrid and foul a crime ; and on the contrary , am as willing and free , to clear those that are accused for me ; which it seems is my poor landlord and landlady , mr. chamberlain and his wife , whose hard fate , and cruel destiny from my soul i pitty , as much as my own , and do protest their innocency in all respects [ towards me ] whatsoever . however , seeing it is my unhappy fortune , to end my days upon this gibbet , i humbly submit to the divine hand of justice , and desire the prayers of all good christians , to almighty god , earnestly to implore a remission of all my sins , which are many ; and inable me to sayl through this violent storm and tempest , that so at the last i may arrive at the haven of happiness , there to cast my anchor of faith and to lay hold on my lord and saviour jesus christ : and so farewell , farewell unto you all . then turning himself about , mr. clerk the minister of newgate spake unto him by way of exhortation ; and after him , one mr. cudson ; unto whom he was very attentive , and seemed to have a very relenting spirit , &c. but the hour drawing neer , he was commanded up the ladder , where the executioner sate ready to do his office ; and having put the rope about his neck , mr. hannam pulled out a white cap out of his pocket , and giving it to the executioner , he put it on the said hannams head , and after that , his mourning ribbon that he wore about his hat , and so lifting up his hands to heaven , and the executioner laying his hand upon his shoulder , [ which was the sign ] asking if he was ready , he immediatly leaped off on the left side , uttering these words : lord have mercy upon me . finis . to his highness the lord protector, and the parliament of england, &c. chidley, samuel. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a94427 of text r207427 in the english short title catalog (thomason e903_10). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 8 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 3 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a94427 wing t1368 thomason e903_10 estc r207427 99866477 99866477 118752 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a94427) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 118752) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 136:e903[10]) to his highness the lord protector, and the parliament of england, &c. chidley, samuel. 4 p. s.n., [london : 1657] attributed to samuel chidley. caption title. imprint from wing. an address to cromwell, praying him to abolish capital punishment for stealing. printed in red ink. annotation on thomason copy: "march 2d 1656"; [illegible] formerly march 1656". reproduction of the original in the british library. eng capital punishment -england -early works to 1800. thieves -england -early works to 1800. crime -england -early works to 1800. criminals -england -early works to 1800. great britain -politics and government -1649-1660 -early works to 1800. a94427 r207427 (thomason e903_10). civilwar no to his highness the lord protector, and the parliament of england, &c.: chidley, samuel. 1657 1461 91 0 0 0 0 0 623 f the rate of 623 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the f category of texts with 100 or more defects per 10,000 words. 2007-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-05 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-07 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-07 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion to his highness the lord protector , and the parliament of england , &c. mortal gods , the eternal being , without which nothing can be , hath made of one blood all nations of men act. 17. 26. men are the off spring of god , v. 29. and made in his own image , gen. 1. 23. and therefore god said unto our fathers soon after the floud , whoso sheddeth man● blood , by man shall his blood b● sh●d , gen. 9. 6. yea , ( except in some special cases ) bloud must be shed for the bloud of a thief : for he should have lived to make full restitution , exo. 22. 3. and therefore you ought to be more tender of a mans life , then of matter of estate : and all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to y●u , ye should do even so to them , mat. 7. 1. and i have so much charity towards you , to hope that you are not void of all humanity , but have some natural aff●ction ; so that if any of your children or neer relations through poverty should fall to steal , and happen to be hanged for the value of 13 d. ob ( or press'd to death for not ●peaking ) it would touch you to the quick . and think you that other mens children and relations are not as dear and precious to them , as yours are to you ? and this 〈◊〉 say , not that i allow of theft , nor do i know any of my relations guilty thereof ; but only shew unto you the unnatur●lness of the act and fact of putting men to death for simple theft ; that so you may be thorowly sensible and sorrowful , and you hearts may be made better , eccl. 7. ● . you know it 's a common thing to arraign men for stealing horses ; a man is hang'd ordinarily for a mare : for your law values not a man more then a horse : is not this a brutish estimation , o ye heads of great britain ? you have sate now above these 40 days twice told , and passed some acts for transporting corn and cattel out of the land , and against charls stuart's , &c. but ( as i humbly conceive ) have left undone matters of greater concernment ▪ amongst which , the not curbing this over-much justice in hanging men for stealing , is one ; the not supp●●ssing the pressing of men to death for not a 〈…〉 ing against them●elves , is ano●her ▪ and wh●t th●●k 〈◊〉 of tak●ng awa● mans life upon 〈◊〉 single testimo●● ▪ ( especi●lly be●●g for such small m●tte●s c●n you j●stfie the s●me before the great law giver , who is a 〈…〉 e and to destroy ? if you cannot , then be as ●ilig●●t to make a thorow reformation as i have been 〈…〉 e solli●i●●●ion . w●● ye 〈◊〉 also , that it is a general grievance and open di●grace to the nation , that the publick debts are yet unpaid , although you are deeply engaged by art. 39. of this present government ? ye know the laws are executed with great seve●i●y against pick-pockets , petty thieves , and silent malefactors , who are press'd to death for hol●ing their tongues , and are taken pro confesso : but judg in your selves , wh●t●●r are the greater sinners , those who steal for meer ●●●●ssity to supply their present wants , or such as defraud the old soldier of his pay , & the laborer of his hire , and borrow money and not pay again but engage f●ith and promise upon it , give debenters , bills and bonds for it , and establish securities to satisfie it , and afterwards by force or fraud take it , or suffer it to be taken away again ; and yet again binde themselvs by a solemn o●th , as in the presence of god , that the securities given shall remain firm and good , and not be made void or invalid upon any pretence whatsoever ▪ and afterwards neither regard debts nor debtors , but suffer many of them to perish , while justice is bought and sold , and cometh by a drop at a time , and doth not run down as it ought like a mighty stream : and by swearing and lying , and killing and stealing , and committing adultery , men break out , and blood toucheth blood . and for these things doth the land ●ourn , hos. 4. ● . 3. in the land of israel there was s●●●i●l prouision made for the poor , the fatherless and the w●dow 〈…〉 y stranger was ●ot to be forgotten in that land : ●o 〈…〉 theft was much more to be punished ●●●n now , 〈…〉 thieves then were not driven to su●● straits and c●l●mities as many now have been and a●e ●●ill here in england , ( under such rude forms of government ) by ca●ualties , as impotency of body , loss of estates , bad deb●s , like the publick faith and arreres of souldiers , so much undervalued , as if the high & mighty states of england were broken . and god then gave free liberty amongst the jews , for a man to eat his fill of his neighbours field , vineyard , or oliveyard : but by the rustical law of england , men arrest men as tresp●ssers for coming upon their ground , and obtain judgements against them for costs , although there is no damage . such p●actices ●s these disq●iet the land , create combust●o●s , bring confusions , and procure work for a sort of villain 〈◊〉 catchpoles , and employ a company of lascivio●● ▪ lubbers , i mean the lying lawyers , whose h●ads are full of mischief , and their pens dipt in gall and wormwood ▪ their tongues are as sharp arrows , their teeth as swords and spears , and their throats open 〈…〉 ●●vour and swallow up the poor and needy fro● 〈…〉 : these are like a sweeping 〈…〉 leaving them a shilling to be a shield of de●ence ▪ 〈…〉 in their pocket , to encou●●●r with 〈…〉 hunger : and so the poor mens noses are h●ld ●o ●●e grindstone , and their faces ground away , as may be seen by their countenances : and the poor's poverty comes to be their absolute destruction , and swarms of beggers and thieves ingendered in the common wealth by pecunia 〈…〉 s ▪ and the poor mans suit cannot go on currantly w●●●out money , though his cause be never so just , but 〈…〉 e a lawyer may easily be got to speak twenty 〈◊〉 ●●●●●st him for 10 s. and cloak his lyes with pret●●●●s of clyents informations . these things may e●sily be reformed by you , if ye will , o ye men of high degree . and because you are the patrons of englands statutes , and have power to redress the grievances which by your law cannot be redressed without you ; i have presented you with these lines printed in red letters , because , though tophet is p●epared of old for kings , because of their crying crimes ; yet parliaments sins are sins red as scarlet , of a deep and double dye ; and they must be accountable to him by whom their legislative power is limited . repent therefore , o parliament of england , and be not as your predecessors the former parliaments . parliaments have been pillars of popery , panders to the whore of babylon , abominable idolators , propagators of adultery and covetousness in the clergie : parliaments have been murderers of saints and sinners ; parliaments have done and undone their self-denying ordinances , been puff●d up with pride , tyrannous towards their inferiours , slavish to their superiours , submi●ting to force against freedom ; using publike fraud and private fl●ttery , to the destruction of the people . therefore whatsoever heavie bu●dens they bound , and grievous to be born , you must unbinde , loosing the b●nds of wickedness , undoing the heavy burdens , and let●ing the oppressed go free , and breaking every yoke , so much as the putting forth of the finger , or speaking vanity . retsah, a cry against a crying sinne, or, a just complaint to the magistrates, against them who have broken the statute laws of god, by killing of men meerly for theft manifested in a petition long since presented to the common councel of the city of london, on the behalfe of transgressours : together with certaine proposals, presented by col. pride to the right honourable the generall counsell for the army, and the committee appointed by the parliament of england, to consider of the inconveniences, mischiefes, chargeablenesse, and irregularities in their law. chidley, samuel. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a32823 of text r435 in the english short title catalog (wing c3838). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 51 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 13 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a32823 wing c3838 estc r435 12952496 ocm 12952496 95978 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a32823) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 95978) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 733:21) retsah, a cry against a crying sinne, or, a just complaint to the magistrates, against them who have broken the statute laws of god, by killing of men meerly for theft manifested in a petition long since presented to the common councel of the city of london, on the behalfe of transgressours : together with certaine proposals, presented by col. pride to the right honourable the generall counsell for the army, and the committee appointed by the parliament of england, to consider of the inconveniences, mischiefes, chargeablenesse, and irregularities in their law. chidley, samuel. england and wales. parliament. england and wales. army. council. city of london (england). court of common council. 14 [i.e. 24] p. for samuel chidley ..., printed at london : 1652. title partly transliterated from hebrew. all letters signed: samuel chidley. reproduction of original in huntington library. eng crime -england. criminals -england. thieves -england. capital punishment -england -early works to 1800. a32823 r435 (wing c3838). civilwar no retsah a cry against a crying sinne: or, a just complaint to the magistrates, against them who have broken the statute laws of god, by killi chidley, samuel 1652 10087 214 5 0 0 0 0 217 f the rate of 217 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the f category of texts with 100 or more defects per 10,000 words. 2003-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-02 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2004-02 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} a cry against a crying sinne : or , a just complaint to the magistrates , against them who have broken the statute laws of god , by killing of men meerly for theft . manifested in a petition long since presented to the common councel of the city of london , on the behalfe of transgressours . together with certaine proposals , presented by col. pride to the right honourable the generall counsell for the army , and the committee appointed by the parliament of england , to consider of the inconveniences , mischiefes , chargeablenesse , and irregularities in their law . jer. 5.4 , 5 , 6. therefore i said , surely these are poore , they are foolish , for they know not the way of iehovah , nor the iudgement of their god . i will get me unto the great men , and will speake unto them , for they have knowne the way of iehovah , the iudgement of their god but these have altogether broken the yoke , and burst the bonds ▪ wherefore a lion out of the forrest shall stay them , a wolfe of the evenings shall spoyle them , a leopard shall watch over their cities , every one that goeth out thence shall be torne in pieces , because their transgressions are many , their back-sliding are strong . hosea 5.10 , 11 , 12. the princes of judah were like them that removed the bound i wi●● poure out my wrath upon them like water , ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgement , because he willingly walked after the commandement . therefore will i be unto ephraim as a moth , and to the house of judah as rottennesse . hosea 8.12 . i have written to him the gre●t things of my law , but they were counted as a strange thing . printed at london for samuel chidley dwelling in bow lane , at the signe of the chequer . 1652. the preface . this little book reflecteth upon all those who have broken the statute lawes of god , by killing of men me●rly for theft , let such sinners who are the judges , or executioners of such over-much justice , be ashamed , and confounded for defiling the land with bloud ; if they hold on this their wonted course , now the light of lawfull liberty breaketh forth ; will not the land spue them out ? for the earth cryeth against this sin , which cannot be cleansed in an ordinary way without the bloud of him that sheddeth it ; this is one of the abominations of the time , for which the saints ought to mourne . it is long since this following petition was presented to tho. andrewes esquire , the then lord mayor , and to the aldermen , and common counsell , but had they done but their duties , i had no need to print and publish these books in red letters , and present the same to them in the middest of their jollity , and to the learned judges of the land , yea to the commissioners of oyer and terminer , and goale delivery , at the sessions at newgate , before whom i appeared , to put them in minde of their duty , and of the law of god , which they had forgotten , and rested too much upon an arme of flesh ; yea , if they had done what they were bound in conscience to doe , and had observed that most righteous law to which they were sworne , it would have saved me a labour of going to the counsell of state , generall counsell of the army , or the parliament . now seeing little fruit yet appeare , for the establishing of the lawes of god in this nation , ( for the lives of men are taken away meerely for unvaluable trifles ) i am once more pressed in spirit to publish the same in manner and forme following , thus sounding an alarme against the workers of iniquity , that they may rep●●t , and turne from their evill wayes ; so delivering my soule , and clearing my selfe of that bloud-guiltinesse which lyeth upon others , and ●specially upon rich men , who are called to weepe and hewle for the miseries that shall come upon them ▪ for the bread of the needy is the life of the poore , and be that de●rou●eth him of it is a murtherer ; and the scripture saith , thou shall take no ransome for the life of a murtherer that is guilty of death , but he shall surely be put to death : but i hope that some righteous men will take the matt●r into serious con●ideration ; these our indeavours tending not only to the g●od of those transgres●ors who have not deserved death by the lawes of god , but also of those who put them to death unjustly , left the justice of god take hol● upon those who are the causers of it , and that the like ●●nishment he inf●icte● j●stly upon them , which they inflict upon ●ther● unjustly . and indeed i doe admire that men who prof●sse to be governed by gods lawes , and stand against tyranny , s●ould have a ●inger in such a worke ▪ surely such men though they pretend never so much religion ▪ are not f●t to pray , not to be pray●d with ; for when they stretch forth their hands , god will ●ide his eyes , and though they make many prayers , he will not heare them whose hands are full of ●i●ud . to the right honourable the lord mayor , aldermen , and commons in common counsell assembled . the mo●●n●●ll petiti●n of many inhabitants of the city of london , in the ●ehalfe of many thousand transgressors . 〈◊〉 that for as much as the righteous god exacteth no more of sinfull man then his iniquities deserveth , no magistrate is to punish a wicked man for his iniquity beyond the rule of ●quity ; that seeing it is evident that whatsoever is good is of god , and the contrary of abadon , and that no mans will though great is good , unlesse it be correspondent to the will of him who is greater then the greatest nor the law of any authority whatsoever , unlesse it be according to the law of him who is higher then the highest . therefore when great ungodly men have by their owne wils , and inhumaine lawes for many yeares , destroyed not only the righteous for conscience sake , but also the wicked undeservedly , this was iniquity to be punished by the judge , though done by judges themselves , who by their over-much righteousnesse , and over-much wickednesse , the people abetting them , hath brought death and destruction upon this land , and the hand of the lord is stretched out still against this sinfull nation , and unlesse they repent they shall surely perish . that the head of this land is the sinfull city of london , who instead of bringing forth monthly good for the healing of the nation , doth bring forth that which tendeth to the destruction thereof ; gray haires being sprinkled here and there upon them , and they not aware , for they consider not how many are destroyed every month by the law of man , contrary to the law of god , who hath declared , that if a thief be found breaking through ( the sun being risen upon him ) and be smitten that he dye , bloud shall be shed for him , exod. 22 ▪ 3. from whence it appeareth that those are guilty before the lord , who take away the life of any man meerly for stealing , when the lord requireth that he should make ●ull resticution out of his estate , or if he have nothing , that he should be sold for his theft : but contrariwise their lives are taken away meerly for stealing , and commonly many though found notorious theeves , yet have been discharged with little or no punishment either in person or purse , to the great damage of those who have lost their goods , and to the imboldening of the malefactors , and the want of the due execution of the law of god upon them , and not setting them in a way to make restitution to the owners , tendeth to the utter destruction both of their bodies and soules . therefore our desire is , that ye would take these things into serious consideration , and ( in your wisdomes ) take such a prudent and effectuall course , that in the execution of iustice the remedy may not ●e worse then the disease , like those who kill their wounded patients , and wound themselves , but that punishment may be equalized proportionable to the offences , that the prosecutors , or executors of the law ma● have no cause to repent , and that one witnesse may not rise against any man for any iniquity , but that at the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter may be established ; and that ye would by no meanes make the wils of any men , or any humaine lawes whatsoever any rules for you to walk by , further then you see them agreeable to the holy will and word of god , and that ye would according to your power , seek to remove the dishonourable badges of infamy from off your sinful city and nation , though never so antient , familier , common , and customary , and that ye would addresse your selves to the parliament for we obtaining of these things . and your affectionate petitioners shall pray . here followeth a letter written to thomas andrewes , the lord mayor that then was . right honourable : i hope your lordship hath not forgotten our petition in the behalfe of transgressors , christ made intercession to god for transgressors , who were guilty of eternall death before god , we make intercession for men who are not guilty of temporall death before men ; divers petitions have bin promoted in the behalf of saints , and it was a very good and acceptable service , this is for sinners whom it may be god will call eff●ctually , for christ dyed for the ungodly , and received gifts for the rebellious . i have written this inclosed paper to further the petition , i desire that my councel may be acceptable unto your honour , so long as it is agreeable with gods word , and if it be agreeable to your lordships affection , i hope you will assist in it according to your power , and prosecute it with all your might , and make haste and not delay to keep the righteous judgements of the god of judgement , who hath promised to be for a spirit of judgement to him that sitteth in judgement . right honourable , you may be pleased to remember what i said , i know no friend of mine that is guilty of theft , what i have done is in conscience to god , and compassion to my native country , and in tender respect to your honour , that the heavie wrath of god may not fall upon you and the whole nation ; at least that some of the rods of god may be taken away , or that some o● his judgements may be stayed , i desire to be a good example to th● 〈◊〉 ●en , that they may cleare themselves of bloud gu●l●●nes●e ▪ i desire your lordship againe to consider seriously of t●is inclosed writing , i have shewed it to just men and they ●●●●ove 〈◊〉 your lordship in your wisdome may take cou●●●●l of 〈◊〉 men , and of the ancients concerning this mat●●r , and ●●●●te what they say thereunto ; but above all search 〈◊〉 scripture , for whatsoever is not according to that hath no light in it ; and it is a maxime in law , that all lawes which are not according to gods law and pure reason , are v●yd and null , and if so , then not binding to a citizen , or to any other under heaven , and so are no rules for me to walke by ▪ but it is the word of god , which is binding and y●● is not bound . honourable sir , i am your lordships humble servant . samuell chidley . london-bridge iune●5th 16●9 . certaine reasons of weighty consideration in reference to the petitio● to the common councel● in behalfe of transgressors . although there be ground sufficient enough in the petition it selfe to ●ince that no malefactou●s life should be taken away meerly for theft , when the lord requireth ●hat satisfaction should be made out of his estate , and if he have nothing , that he should be sold for his theft , yet because of the ignorance and hardnesse of mens hearts , and thei● cruelty and revenge , i shall for their regulation propose some things to their consideration . to take away the life of any man only for theft as aforesaid , is iniquity , because it is against the rule of equity ; it is not good because not of god , it is not correspondent with his will , it hath no agreement with his most righteous law , but is in humane , bloudy , barbarous , and tyrannicall , and provoketh the god of judgement to execute his judgements upon the nation that abetteth the same ; yea it tendeth to their utter destruction , to destroy men by the lawes of men , contrary to the lawes of god , consider i say , how contrary it is to the rule of equity , the blessed and righteous law of god . according to the rule of equity , there is required life for life , eye for eye , tooth for tooth , hand for hand , foot for foot , burning for burning , wound for woun● , st●ipe for stripe , exod. 21.23 , 24 , 25. it is not life for eye , but eye for eye ; not eye for tooth , but tooth for tooth ; so that if a man require more it is iniquity , prov. 30.6 . therefore if a man put out his neighbours ey● , st●ike out his tooth , and bruise his hand , but doth not kill , he ought not to be killed for this , but must ●oose his eye , and his tooth , and as he ha●h done to his neighbour , so it must be done to him , as it is written , breach for breach ▪ eye for eye , tooth for tooth , as he hath caused a ●lemish in a man , so shall it be done to him againe ; and he that killeth a beast shall rest●re it , and he that killeth a man shall be surely put to death ; and the sam● ▪ lord saith , ye shall have one manner of law as well for the stranger , as for one of your owne c●untry , levit. 24.17 , 18 , 19 , 2● , 21 , 22. the lord of life hath expresly declared ( and it is knowne to all men living ) that the life is more then meat , and the body is more then rayment , luk. 12.22 . if then the life be more then meat , no mans life should be taken away for meat , much lesse for ra●ment , which is inferiour ; and all things necessary for the temporall life and body of man are comprehended in these termes , food and rayment , deut. 10 . 1● . 1 tim. 6.8 . the god of the spirits of all flesh hath declared plainly , in his most just and righteous law , that if a thiefe be found breaking through ( the sun being risen upon him ) and be smitten that be dye , bloud shall be shed for him , exod. 22.3 . and he ●enders this reason , for he should make full restitution , and if he have nothing , he shal be fold for his theft ; and the lord hath not said that he that stealeth food , or rayment , shall be put to death , or that his bloud shall be shed ; but whose sheddeth mans bloud , by man shall his bloud be shed , gen. 9.6 . so then it appeareth , that it is murther by the law of god to kill a man meerly for stealing , when the lord saith he should make full restitution , and if he have nothing , he shall be sold ( not killed ) for his theft ; and amongst his statute lawes hath stated particular cases in this , as well as in other things , and made them so plaine that mean capacities may decide controversies of this nature . and as there is no precept nor consequence in the word of god for this unjust practice , so there is no president in israel , but many in england , the more is their misery : but as their ancient father austin saith , that man is miserable who is not sensible of his misery , which may wel be applyed unto this sinful and miserable nation , who are not sensible of the dangerous consequence of this one deadly evill amongst the rest ; how unjust a thing it is to kill a man for stealing xiiij d. let all men reasonable judge , for so is the law of this land , according to which the people are forced to prosecute the theeves ; but in king salomons time men did not despise a thiefe in some case , prov. 6.30 . and he whō is greater then salomon , even the lord iesus christ who is the prince of the kings of the earth , hath not given the least hint that he● that stealeth food or rayment should be killed , but he that ●ad●th into captivity , shall goe into captivity , and he that killeth with the sword , must be killed with the sword , revel. ●3 . 10 . but concerning these it is said , let them that stole ●●eale no more , he doth not say let him be hanged , but rather let him labour with his hands the thing that is good , that he may have to distribute to him that needeth , ephes. 4.38 . and it is expressely commanded , that he that will not worke , nei●●●r should he eate , 2 thes. 3.10 . many precepts , president● , and propositions may be brought to confirme the premise● , ●ut this is enough at this time . a word to the 〈◊〉 is su●●icient . a letter written the 11. of decemb. 1651. by samuel chidley , to the right honorable , the commissioners of oyer and terminer , and goale delivery of new gate . right ( worshipfull and ) honourable , although i know not any of my acquaintance to bee guilty of theft : yet i seeke to save the lives of the so siner● whom god would have preserved : and i coming downe to this judgement seat , it being as free for me a● another to see justice done ; and observing your proceedings from the beginning hitherto , how in many things you goe against the very letter and equity of the law of the onely law-maker , by whom , and by which your selves must be judged ▪ caused me to call to mind , how that great men are not alwayes wise , neither doe the aged alwayes understand iudgement . right honourable , i am sorry to see you goe on still in your wonted course , of arraiging men for their lives meerly for theft . i have observed that the persons who are arraigned before your honours , are poor labourers , and such creatures who stole things of a small value , peradventure for meer necessity , yet you arraigne them for their lives , when the law of god requireth their preservation in such a way , that they may make satisfaction , and not ( if disabled ) to force them into a necessity of stealing againe , but they are great sinners indeed , who rob men of their precious lives . and the worst of men are such as despise and destroy theeves that steale , meerly to satisfie their hunger : it seems some of the theeves you will presse , for not holding up their hands at your command , or for not answering to that interogatory guil●y ? or not guilty ? consider i pray you , how circumstantiall these things are : the weight of tryals depends not hereupon ( as i humbly con●eive . ) for its possible that a murderer , when he is arraigned may want his hands , and another may be dumb ; yet you may proceed to judgement against him , if sufficient evidence come in , & that the jury , who are judges in matters of fact , ( and if they will , in matters of law ) finde them guilty , surely you must take no ransome for the life of a murderer , though he cannot , or will not hold up his hand at the bar , or say that he is guilty : for by the law no man is bound to a●cuse himselfe , therefore the guilty person is not bound to say he is guilty , and if he should say , not guilty what is he the better ? this is my opinion , which i humbly leave to the serious consideration of this honourable bench : i would to god that you would try such men by the lawes of god , who cast themselves upon god and the country ▪ and oh that you would put the judgements of god in execution ! seeing you are his stewards ; all lawes being subordinate to gods lawes , as the country is to god himselfe , then your tranquillity would be lengthened . consider what i say in the feare of god , for life is above liberty and estate . the jewell of one mans life , all your estates cannot ballance . i tooke notice of a passage of the lord cheife justice rolls , and it was we i observed , how that the theeves are honest before they come in goale , and there they become naught ; and learn to lye , by saying not guilty , when they had confessed it before . if it be so , then great pitty it is that they should not be in such a place , where they may be put in a way , and course , to make satisfaction according to the direction of the wisdome of god , by whom princes and nobles , yea , all the iudges of the earth are said to rule : so leaving these consciencious dictates to your serious thoughts , i subscribe my selfe , your humble servant , devoted to the feare of god , and service of the common-wealth , according to the law of god , and not otherwise ; samuel chidley . sessions 11. decemb. in the year of christ , 1651. this letter was delivered unto the bench about the third houre of the day , where when mr. chidley was called , he made answer , and came to the board , and the letter was there publickly owned by him , as his owne hand-writing , which he would stand by and justifie , it being ( as he said ) a discharging of his conscience , as a testimony before them all , which he left to their serious consideration ; wherupon he was commanded by the bench to depart , and was put out of the court , he speaking in the justification of the statutes of god to be right , and the precepts of men to be wrong , in taking away mens lives for such triviall matters . after he was put out , they gave sentence against the prisoner at the bar , who was arraigned for stealing , and would not hold up his hand , nor plead , but besought them that the letter might be read publickly , that all the bench might hear , and then , saith he , afterwards i will plead whatsoever comes of it , whether i live , or dye ; but they would not hearken unto him but proceeded , and by the recorder m. steele , who was their mouth , gave sentence against him , which was to this effect ; that he should goe from thence to the place from whence he came , and be led into a dark room where there was no light , and should be stript naked , only his privy members covered , & his head covered , & his arms to be stretched forth , both on the one side and on the other , as far as they could be stretched , and that he should be laid along on his back , and have as much weight laid upon him , as he was able to beare , and more ; and the next day he should have only three morse●s of barly-bread , without any drink , and the day following three draughts of the kennel water-running under new-gate , as much as he could drinke , and so to remaine in that condition from day to day till he dyed . psal. 119.126 , 127 , 128. it is time for thee lord to worke for they have made void thy law ; therefore i love thy commandements above gold , yea , above fine gold . therefore i esteem all thy precepts , concerning all things to be right , and i ha●e every false way . to the right honorable the councell of state . the humble petition of samuel chidley . sheweth , that your petitioner setting the feare of the lord of lords before his eyes , and advancing the judgements and lawes of the god of gods in his heart before the precepts of fraile man , was moved in zeale to his most sacred majesty , to discharge his conscience in the best and most peaceable way he could devise , and accordingly hath given testimony of the truth , at the judgement seat before the sessions in the old baily , the eleventh of this month , as may appear unto your honours by the printed relation hereunto annexed ; yet notwithstanding they proceed according to the usuall custome , which is against the law of god , the good things contained in the solemne league and covenant of the nation , the oath of every free-man of london , reason it selfe , the witnesse of conscience well checked , or rightly rectified and the whole creation of god : my humble desire is , that this honourable councell would be pleased in their prudence to take such a speedy course that the condemned persons yet alive ( who are not guilty of death by the lawes of god , nature , or equity ) may be repreeved till the parliament of this commonwealth hath heard and determined the matter ; so shall you find much comfort : iehovah will be with the good . and your petitioner shall pray , &c. samvel chidley . to the right honourable the generall councell for the army , the humble proposals of samuel c●idley . sheweth : that for as much as the lord of lords hath anoynted you to be the heads of the forces , which he hath mustered up , for the destruction of that generation of sinfull men , who are compacted together , as one man , to establish iniquity by ther lawes , which they have set up in direct opposi●ion to the lawes of god , and have made use of the kings of the earth ( as their hornes ) to protect them in the exercise of their bloudy cruelty ; and seeing the lord of hosts hath in a great measure subdued your enemies , and that your swords are not returned empty , it concernes you ( right honourable ) to testifie your thankfulnesse by yeelding obedience unto the statvtes-lawes of god , which at this day in the maine fundamentall parts thereof are trampled upon , by those who have a forme of godlinesse , and deny the power thereof in their practices ; as may appeare by their putting of men to death for triviall matters , contrary to the law of god ; for gods law saith , if a thiefe steale , he shall make restitution ●ut of his estate ; and if he have nothing , he is to be sold for his theft , but not killed . now although my soule abhorres the sinne of th●ft , i● deserving the punishment of eternall death before god ( how much more the crying sin of murder ? ) and though i know not any of them , and ( for ought i know ) not one of them knowes me , yet because i see no man valiant for god , nor stand to make up the gap , i ( for want of a better ) ●m moved in zeal for gods glory , to cry out against the irrationall and irregular proceedings of men , who set up or maintaine a flag or standard of defiance against their owne consciences , and the most righteous lawes of the onely law-maker ; and this i have indeavoured to do in such ● peaceable way , that my transaction of this businesse for god may not savour of any bitternesse of spirit in me , against the persons of those me● or contempt of their lawfull authority , who sit in judgement , and doe erre therein ▪ ( as i humbly conceive ) but seeing god hath said , he will mag●if●e his law , and make it honovrable , and that it hath been a usual course with him to make choyce of weak instruments , to make his truth known ; i therefore upon this account was resolved to put forth my selfe , and ingage my heart in this businesse , the consequence whereof , when accomplished , will be more then i will speake of at this time ; and although i indure some reproaches for it , some saying ; what a theife is this to attempt such a work ? and that none but theeves would do it , ye● i am led forward by such a spirit , as ( i hope ) will so carry me upon the wings of his providence in the managing hereof , that i shall not be discouraged ( notwithstanding humane frailty , ) and because i have a seasonable opportunity to acquaint your honours with this businesse , and to crave your assistance , i desire you in the first place to consider my printed papers , wherein i have shewed my dislike of putting men to death for stealing , and for the further amplification and inlargement thereof , i desire you to consider of these positions . 1. that god is the only law-maker ; and that his law is the ancientest and the best that ever was , or can be possibly invented by any parliament , to which all men are bound under paine of damnation : and that whatsoever lawes and proceedings are opposite thereunto in the smallest measure , are unjust , and the executioners thereof doe sinne ; and by how much the greater the precept is , by so much the more doe they offend , that violate the ●ame . 2. god hath no where given liberty , but hath prohibited , that the life of any man should be taken away for stealing , and hath manifested , he would have their lives preserved , therefore to take away their lives is a sin , a crying sin ; yea , ( i may say ) its a nationall sin , for which , god hath , and will visit them with his arrowes of of indignation ; yea , the people are so blinded with this ●orrupt custome , that they know it not , neither will they understand , but thinke they doe well , and that they shall have peace , though they walke on in darknesse , while the foundations of the earth are out of course . obj. and wereas they object , that it is the law of the land to put theeves to death for stealing to the value of 13d . ob . i answer , that no law is to be observed , if it be against the law of god , especially in the taking away of mens lives ; yea , god was so far from commanding such theeves to be put to death , that he requireth their blood , at the hands of them that shed it , though done in the very act of breaking through , if the sun be risen upon them . 3. the putting them to death is expresly against the law of god , because it disableth them for ever making satisfaction to the owners of the goods , yea , such is the corruption of the lawes and customes of this land , that he that discovers the theif is bound over to prosecute him , though is ●e to the taking away of his life ; and after hee hath done that , the owner shall sustaine damage neverthelesse , and hee can have no more then the life of the theefe ; and some men are so ignorant , cruell , hard-hearted , and revengefull , that they will take away the lives of the pe●tty theeve● in revenge , taking an opportunity upon the advantage of the law to exercise their bloody cruelty upon them . and such is the corruption of the lawes , that if the theife steale to the value of 13 d. ob . he shall be hanged , as judge byron in his cases hath declared ; and sometimes their lives are taken away upon a single evidence , whereas there ou●ht to be two witnesses to prove every fact ; and one witnesse ought not rise up against any man to put him to death ; so god hath said , whose word is a law amongst saints , though sinners cast the same behind their backs . 4. this law of putting poore theeves to death for sealing , that are not able to make restitution out of their estates , is against gods law , because in such case● god hath said they shall be soled for their theft , now though they are worth some what while they are living , yet when they are dead they are worth nothing , yea a living dog , is better then a dead lyon ; men would rather in such cases bury dead men , then buy them , and how unjust a thing it is to put them to death , seeing the apostle saith , let them labour with their hands , let all rationall men judge . the apostle saith , they should labour with their hands , no saith the bench , they shall be hanged , tye up their hands , and he that hath bene●it of clergy , and can read his necke verse , burne him on the hand ; by thi● he is disabled for the present that he cannot labour with his hand ; and if he would , he is forced into a necessity of stealing againe , if no man will set him on worke , which thing men will be cautions to doe , to one that carryeth such a brand of infamy upon him . 5. this murdering law is the cause wherefore many murders are committed by robbers in the act of stealing , for the theeves know its a hanging matter to steale , and it s no more to commit murder , and then for safety of their lives , and 〈…〉 theft they commit murder , for feare least the party should come and witnesse against them , to the taking away of their lives . 6. this law is the cause wherefore many theeves escape , because they find that the remedy would be wo●●● then the disease , for if they prosecute them , they shal be put to a great deal of expence and charge , and peradve●●ure the thief shall lose his life , and the parties their goods , whereas if there were a way for restitution by them , there would be 〈◊〉 prosecution of them . obj. but it is objected , what sh●ll we doe with them ? ans. i answer ; he that hath 〈◊〉 , if the theft be found in his hands , is to forfeit 〈…〉 ; if he have made it away , he is to forfeit four-fold , are his estate i● to be taken to satisfie the debt . obj. but what if he have no estate , it may be he is some poor● rogue that is worth nothing ? ans. i answer , he must be sold for his theft . obj. but who will buy him , no body will be troubled with him ? ans. i answer ; either the party who hath sustained the damage is to take him , or he may be set on worke in our owne country , by land or by water , being chained up , they might worke in mines , heave coal● ▪ and earne three or four shillings a day , or row in gallies , or be put in worke houses , for to punne . hemp , or other servile imployment● . and why cannot we put them to it here , as well as the hollanders there , til they have made satisfaction ) and not put the theeves in such places , which is a hell on earth ; where they learne to be worse then ever they were before , or they may be transported to some of our owne plantations , where some that have been in the like condition transported , have soone become honest , and being very ingenuous have been able to teach the planters , which maketh the merchants to prize the theeves farre above the ordinary vagrants , or other persons that are taken up by the spirits in the 〈◊〉 because they want that ingenuity that the theeves have , for generally the wittyest rogues are the greatest cut-purses . obj. but would not this be great ●yranny , that men should be sold as slaves ? a●s . i answer to that ; they are not sold for ever , but only for their theft , and its a worser slavery , and a great tyranny indeed , to take away their live● . obj. but what if they run away ? ans. then they contract upon themseves a double deb● ▪ obj. but what if they will not worke ? ans. they must not eate , and before such a one will dy● for hunger , doubtlesse he will eate the flesh , of his arme , and before he will eate his owne flesh it may be he will worke , hunger will breake through stone walls , and if any thing f●rce him to worke , this wil , for his bel●y requires it of him ; bu● , if he will perish let him perish , his owne bloud is upon his owne head , and the common-wealth is discharged of it . such c●u●ses as these would be a meanes to terrifye the theeves , and suppresse theft for many of them would rather ●e hanged ; but if a man would be hang'd , he must not have his desire , unlesse the law requireth it , so though theeves cause to dye against the law of god , rather then to live according to it , they must be kept alive notwithstanding , and set hard at worke to earne their bread , and the over-plus must pay for their theft ; and then if any ( as i hope many ) will be converted in this their captive condition , o how will they blesse the time that ever such compulsion was us●d , whereby they learned to know themselves , and to remember their creator : and he that is an instrumentall means of converting one poore sinner , shall have no cause to be sorry for it in the day of accompt . another abuse in the proceedings of the law of this land is that whereas gods law requireth that the witnesses should be executioners of death on their mal●factor , a condemned executioner doth it , who is the notoriousest rogue that can be found , and one that knowes nothing of the businesse , whether he , whom he hangs be an honest man , or a knave ; he will hang a martyr as well as a thiefe , but doubtlesse he hath a check of conscien●e as wel as his masters , else why will he aske them forgivenesse before he turnes them off ? now all that can be alledged , for the hang-man is , he doth but his office , he is but an executioner of the law , and sentence . and the like the judges doe alledge for themselves , alas , ( ●ay they ) what can we doe , we are but the executioners of the law of the land , and till the parliament alter the law , we must observe our ordinary rules ; why doe you come to us ? what would your have us doe ? we have no power ! but iudges ought to be men of courage , fearing god , and hating covetousnesse , and such as will observe gods lawes , and judge according to his statvte booke , and by the lawes of god . no executioner ought to inflict death upon any man , unlesse he in the execution of him be satisfied in his owne conscience , that the man ought to dye , else he is a murderer after a manner , though the offender deserveth deathe ; yet if a man be not convinced of it , he ought not to put him to death , by any command whatsoever , and if the witnesses will not doe it , they must be severely dealt with . this is my opinion , which i humbly submit to the consideration of those who have more understanding then my selfe . ● . another abuse which i finde in the pro●eedings of the law , is in the pressing men to deat● , because they wil not hold up their hands at the barre , or say they are guilty , or not guilty , upon which circumstantiall n●●ety , they condemne them to be prest in such a tyrannicall manner , that the very sentence it selfe is enough to terrifie the poore creatures , and make them op●n their mouthes to confesse their owne guiltinesse , or else to lye against their own● consciences . obj. but t is objected , that they are prest to death within halfe an houre at the most , and that they are not kept in such a lingering condition , according to the sentence ? ans. i answer ; if they put them to death before their t●me , herein they goe bey●nd their commission ; but indeed the executioners do● it ●●t of compassion to the condemned to dispatch him out of his torment ; something like to a phisitian , that will give his patient something in pitty , to rid him out of his paine , because he beleeveth he must dye , and cannot escape his fit of sicknesse , so making more has● then good speed . now the proceedings against such malefactors , who will not hold up their hands , and plead , it without examination of witnesses , yet they will take his life away pro confess● ; b●● by what law i know not , unlesse a law of antichrist ; i am sure such precepts came neither from mount sion , nor mount sinai ; these have out-●tripped h●r●d , and p●ntius pilate , the gentil●s that knew not the law , did not compell men to lye , by saying not guilty , when they were guilty ; nor to goe against the law of nature , to accuse themselves by con●essing their owne g●il● ▪ but of all cruelty there is none li●e that of antichrist , the man of sinne , and that beast with seven heads , and ten hornes , spoken of in revel. 13. and they exercise it upon their owne brethren , even the members 〈◊〉 their church . thus the crowned loenus in the midst o●●gyptian darknesse are a plague to the men of the earth . but the way to try a th●efe is to examine the witnesses , ●nd if they prove matter of fact , the judge is to decla●e ▪ how much he must pay , and to command that law to b● put in execution ; that his estate should be seized , and if it will not satisfie , he must deliver up his person , not so much as to loose a limb , or any member of his body , but to goe immediatly to the work-house , or place where he may be safely kep● with sufficient food , and work enough , as much as he is able to doe , and ply it constantly early and late every day ( lords day excepted and to have sufficient time to sleep and rest ; and when they have wrought out their theft , then to be free● 〈◊〉 if , they steal again to serve them in the same kind : as if the theefe st●ale a 100li . he shoul● pay 20●li . if it be found with him , but if he have spent the money he shall pay 400li . if this course were well followed , tyburne would lose many customers , for it would much abate the number of theev●s , and murderers . my desi●e i● , that your honou●● would move the parliament to put gods law in execution concerning this thing , and what it is i have declared before . it hath been desired tha● lawes should be drawne up from gods word , for the government of this nation , but unlesse the parliament will bee pleased to confirme them , what are wee the better ? ordinary men cannot impose , all they can doe is onely to propose , onely god hath declared , his testimonies must be bound up , and his law sealed amongst his disciples . but others doe take upon them to make lawes besides , and contrary to the lawes of god ; moreover , if the parliament should countenance such a thing that certain men should b● appointed to draw up lawes according to the lawes of god , it will a●ke a great deale of time ; and it is a work that the wisest and holiest men in the world , will find too great for them to undertake to doe without errours , unlesse they were infallibly inspired by the holy ghost . moses was in the mount with god forty day●s and forty nights , and neither eate nor dranke ; and forty daies and forty nights after that likewise ; neither do we read , that he saw sleep with his eyes in all that time ; and after he wrote the lawes and precepts for all israel , with the statutes and iudgem●nts , he was therein guid●d by the immediate direction of the spi●it of god infallibly , and how long he was writing them wee know not , but they are very full and brief , and very sufficient for the government of that nation , neither had any nation such an excellent law as israel had , neither was there so excelle●● a government amongst any people , as amongst the people of the iew● , so long at they forsooke not the law of the lord , nor cast aside the word of the holy one of israel ; their chief city was called the city of righteousnesse , the faithfull city , righteousnesse lodged in it ; their iudges and counsellours were gods , and children of the most high , becaus● the word of god was committed unto them , now it may be it will bee a long time before the parliament wil establish the lawes of god , or give way for lawes to be imposed upon this nation , which are suitable thereunto ; and when such a worke is set upon , it will be long before it be accomplished , for whosoever taketh it upon them , must devote themselves wholly to the worke , and when they have used their best indeavours , a wond●r it will be if the lawes they draw up , with manner of proceedings , will be so perfect that they need no amendments , in respect of matter and form ; and a long time wil be spent in debate , before such a work be admitted to be attempted ; and therefore i humbly conceive , that it is meer , that this businesse concerning the preservation or the petty theeves should be concluded now with al speed , being out of controversie , and afterwards to doe the rest according as time , and opportunity will afford . for this doth concern life which is above person name , liberty , and ●state : and this thing being done will render the antichristian priests and lying lawyers , the basest of men , who have lived upon the souls and bodies of men , and have not bad the fear of god before their eyes , but have made their belly god and their glory is their shame , end shall be destruction and their unlesse they repent . and as a testimony of the truth of god , in this particular , i set to my hand this 31 of decem. 1651. samvel chidley . a letter written to the regulaters of the law , appointed by the parliament , and sent , and presented to that committee . honourable gentlemen : for as much as you are appointed by the parliament to consider of the inconveniencies ▪ mischeifes , chargeablenesse , and irregularit●es in your law , and that you have pro●essed your willingnesse to receive whatsoever persons have to offer in relation thereunto : i hold it meet to present you with these inclosed papers , which p●radventure may be a meanes to shorten your seven yeares tedious worke , and wherein you may observe that i have indeavoured to discharge my conscience before all ▪ witnessing against that hatefull sinne of puting men to death meerely for theft ▪ although the god of nature doth teach a contrary lesson : but who is so blind as those that will not see ? surely covetousnesse is the roo● of all evill , and gifts destroy the heart● , an● blind the eyes of the wise , and pervert the judgement of the righteous , and men in the greatest places , are the greatest unbeleevers , for they have not so much faith as to trust god with their substance , but use indirect meanes to make uncertaine riches certaine ; as may appeare by their putting theeves to death for stealing . now when i found so little fruit in the magistrates of the city of london , as you may see by my printed relations , i was sorry that my indeavours produced no better effect amongst them , whose predecessors have alwayes been very forward to put the lawes of man in execution , though they were never so ridiculous , and contrary to reason and religion . i sent , and went unto others , whom it likewise principally concerned , even to those who are called the learned iudges of the land , and declared my judgement to as many of them as i could meet with , that they migh● not suffer their mouth to cause their flesh to sinne , by pronouncing unjust murdering sentences . i went downe also to the sessions , but i could gather no grapes of thornes . and after i had delivered a letter to the lord president bradshaw , to be presented unto the councell of state ; i remembred that the officers of the army were men professing grea●●hings , for the advancement of gods glory ; so i presented some humble proposals to those honourable gentlemen , which were well resented by them , a copy of which i have sent you here inclosed with this petition , which should have been presented to the house , but some of the members conceived the businesse to be proper for you t● take cognizance of , because you are appointed to consider , and make report of the evils of your law , for reformation thereof ; therefore you ought to cry out against murder b●fore you doe any thing else , for this concerneth mens live● ▪ the best of your actions herein in my judgement having been at the most but a tything of mint , anis , and cummin ▪ and you have neglected mercy , one of the weighty matters of the l●w , for i am verily perswaded , that it was in your powers to have put a stop to the murdering of those men which w●re hanged at tiburne the last sessions , for stealing five shilling● and six pence ; i hoped that you would have gone to the root , and not cropt only the branches of wicked lawes ; i am angry , and grieved at the heart , that you should so dally in gods matters ▪ as not to acquaint the house with such a grosse , unnaturall , inhumane practise of the law , as killing of the petty theeves . i desire the lord to give you repenting and relenting hearts , for doing his worke so negligently , to value mens lives no more ; for it is a sinne , and shame , that the ●and should still be defiled with more bloud , and how you can answer it in the day of accompt , for not pre●enting such mischiefe when you knew how to doe it , and had an opportunity in your hands , i know not ; in my opi●ion , if you follow your worke never so close , if you omit this businesse of weight , you will make a long harvest of a little fruit ; no doubt but the time will be long before you have swimmed through the ocean sea of your troublesome lawes , for what is the chaffe to the corne ? or the heap of ashes to the sparke that 's hid under it ? may not the parliament by the west wind of their legislative power , blow such combustible stubble away ? you sit as refiners , but time is precious , and drosse is not worth the labour of refining , and a leaden law is too heavie for an honest heart , and we ought not to thinke that such a law , because it is a law , will be a sufficient excuse to the executioners thereof , so long as it is idolatrous , prophane , rebellious , bloudy , adulterous , theevish , lying , and covetous ; certainly that law cannot be good , that force●h all men to preferre the meanest thing before the greatest ; ( that is , ) a little wicked mammon with an idolations badge upon it , before a mans precious life ; salomon esteemed m●re of a living d●gge , then those who have killed men meerly for stealing , have ( or had ) of living men . now if god doe touch your hearts , and make you throughly sensible of the abominations of the time , and set you in a thou●●ing posture , that you may bewaile your neglect in suffering the poore theeves to be put to death , when it was in y●ur power to have prevented 〈◊〉 ; then you may the better goe on , like iosiah's men , whom he set to spy out the abominations in the land , and set up a sign , wheresoever you ●inde a bone of haman-gog unburied , and go on , and let the nation know the idolatry , and superstition of their law , and its prophanenesse , and the sabbath-breaking thereof , the rebellion of their law , the murder of their law , the adultery of their law , the thef● of their law , the lying of their law , and the covetousnesse of their law , and lastly , the uncharitablenesse of their law , which is the end thereof , and so i end . yours ( and the common-wealths servant ) in all lawfull things . samuel chidley . from my mothers house in soper lane london , febr. 25. 1651. reader , where are they that are valiant for the truth , and will do the work of the lord diligently ? if thou hast any spark of love or zeal to maintaine the wonderful statutes of god , which my soul keeps ; i charge thee , as thou wilt answer before the tribunal seate of gods eternal vengeance , that thou hinder not the publication of this to all persons who have an eare open to hear , neither conceal this precious truth , which will maintaine him , that maintaineth it , and bring him into more acquaintance with god . for doubtlesse the standing for the statutes and judgements of the holy and blessed god , is a most blessed work , and the establishment thereof in this nation will work a more blessed reformation then ye● hath been , or shall be spoken of at this time . finis . the vvitty rogue arraigned, condemned, & executed. or, the history of that incomparable thief richard hainam. relating the several robberies, mad pranks, and handsome jests by him performed, as it was taken from his own mouth, not long before his death. likewise the manner of robbing the king of denmark, the king of france, the duke of normandy, the merchant at rotterdam, cum multis aliis. also, with his confession, concerning his robbing of the king of scots. together with his speech at the place of execution. / published by e.s. for information & satisfaction of the people. e. s. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a92715 of text r203438 in the english short title catalog (thomason e882_8). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 74 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 28 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a92715 wing s20 thomason e882_8 estc r203438 99863392 99863392 115591 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a92715) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 115591) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 133:e882[8]) the vvitty rogue arraigned, condemned, & executed. or, the history of that incomparable thief richard hainam. relating the several robberies, mad pranks, and handsome jests by him performed, as it was taken from his own mouth, not long before his death. likewise the manner of robbing the king of denmark, the king of france, the duke of normandy, the merchant at rotterdam, cum multis aliis. also, with his confession, concerning his robbing of the king of scots. together with his speech at the place of execution. / published by e.s. for information & satisfaction of the people. e. s. [8], 47, [1] p. printed for e.s. and are to be sold at the greyhound in st. paul's church-yard., london : 1656. annotation on thomason copy: "june 25". reproduction of the original in the british library. eng hannam, richard, d. 1656. brigands and robbers -england -early works to 1800. executions and executioners -england -early works to 1800. last words -early works to 1800. suicide victims -early works to 1800. thieves -early works to 1800. swindlers and swindling -england -early works to 1800. a92715 r203438 (thomason e882_8). civilwar no the vvitty rogue arraigned, condemned, & executed. or, the history of that incomparable thief richard hainam.: relating the several robberi e. s. 1656 13505 13 0 0 0 0 0 10 c the rate of 10 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-04 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-10 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2007-10 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the vvitty rogue arraigned , condemned , & executed . or , the history of that incomparable thief richard hainam . relating the several robberies , mad pranks , and handsome jests by him performed , as it was taken from his own mouth , not long before his death . likewise the manner of robbing the king of denmark , the king of france , the duke of normandy , the merchant at rotterdam , cum multis aliis . also , with his confession , concerning his robbing of the king of scots . together with his speech at the place of execution . published by e. s. for informacion & satisfaction of the people . london ▪ printed for e. ● . and 〈◊〉 to be sold in the greyhound in st. paul's church-yard 1656. to the reader . reader , you have here the life , pranks , and death of one of the most unparallel'd thieves in these our dayes , as it was partly delivered by himself , and partly by others that were conversant with him in his life . i have forborn to tell you his petty thieveries : but because there is one , which being his first , and as it were a prologue to his former actions , i shall insert it here ; and thus it was : being in the market-place , where there sate a woman selling puddings , he spies her , steps unto her , and feigning himself desiring for to buy , asks her the price , she told him ; but speaking to another customer , he in the interim slips as many as handsomely he could into his codpiece , which having done , told the woman , he would not give so much ; and thereupon left her . upon this good success , taking himself to be one of fortunes favourites , he frequently comes to market : insomuch , that by degrees , from robbing of a stall , he comes to rob a shop ; from a shop , to rob a house ; and from a house , even to dare to rob the court : until his doings did at last undoe him . whether it was more for need , or more to covet other mens applause , that thus he lived , i question which . but such is the policy of the devil , that plotting to undermine the frailty of a wretch , he shews him what it is to be admir'd ; this spurs him on with a conceit of acting something that may make him famous : of which he runs the hazard , and at last is taken : for so the custome of the devil is , when he hath brought one in a dangerous way , to leave him in the wolvish jaws of death . thus hath the wings of fame flown away with many , that not onely might have liv'd in the callings wherein they were educated , and contentedly ; but died peaceably , and so have liv'd , as not to fear to die , and took the easier way to heaven , viz. in a feather-bed , and not a s●ring . i shall not stay you any longer at the door , which being open , you may enter , and view the grandest thief in europe : but give me leave , before you wander further , to give you a true account of what he left behinde him on the ladder . the speech and confession of mr. richard hainam , on tuesday last in the rounds of smithfield , immediately before his fatal leap from off the ladder . although i am a prisoner , and condemned to die ; yet i cannot but retain a favourable construction of your proceedings ( this day ) towards me ; presuming , that you will not deny me that liberty due to all christians , from christian magistrates , wch is , that i may be permitted the freedom of speech to clear the innocent ( at this my hour of death ) that now lie accused as being privy to my designs , and consederates with me in my late actions . as for my part , resolved i am to accuse no man ; no , no , gentlemen , i abhor the thought , much less the action of so horrid and foul a crime ; and on the contrary , am as willing and free to clear those that are accused for me ; which it seems is my poor landlord and and landlady , mr. chamberlain and his wise , whose hard face and cruel destiny from my soul i pitty , as much as my own , and do protest their innocency in all respects [ towards me ] whatsoeever . however , seeing it is my unhappy fortune , to end my dayes upon this gibbet , i humbly submit to the divine hand of justice , and desire the prayers of all good christians , to almighty god , earnestly to implore a remission of all my sins , which are many ; and enable me to fail through this violent storm and tempest , that so at the last i may arrive at the haven of happiness , there to cast my anchor of faith , and lay hold on my lord god : and so farewel , farewel unto you all . then turning himself about , mr. clerk the minister of new-gate spake unto him by way of exhortation ; and after him one mr. tuke ; unto whom he was very attentive , & seemed to have a very relenting spirit ▪ &c. but the hour drawing neer , he was commanded up the ladder , where the executioner sate ready to do his office ; and having put the rope about his neck , mr. hainam pulled out a white cap out of his pocket , and giving it to the executioner , he put it on the said hainam's head , and after that his mourning ribbon that he wore about his hat ; and taking out his file which he had hitherto concealed , he gave it to mr. brisco , ( of which you shall hear more hereafter ) and so lifting up his hands to heaven , and the executioner laying his hand upon his shoulder , ( which was the sign ) asking if he was ready , he immediatly leaped off on the left side , uttering these words , lord have mercy upon me . the contents are as followeth . chap. 1. a brief discourse of his life and qualities . 2. how he rob'd the earl of pembroke . 3. how he rob'd a merchant in rotterdam . 4. how he cheated the same merchant of 400 l. 5. how he rob'd the portugal ambassador of a silver-table . 6. how he was imprisoned at paris , but escaped . 7. how he was again retaken ; and the manner of his strange escaping . 8. how he rob'd the king of france . 9. how he rob'd a gold-smith in bristol . 10. how being taken , he attempted to break prison , but was prevented . 11. how he desperately gets away , and cunningly deceives the watch . 12. how he takes a lodging in essex . 13. how he was again apprehended , and the manner of his escaping . 14. how he rob'd a poor man , and delivered him his moneys again . 15. how he cheated a gold-smith in cheapside . 16. how he seized on an english ship , and sold it in another country for 1700 l. 17. how he cousned a gentleman of ●our jewels . 18. how it was afterwards known that hainam had the jewels . 19. how he being pursued , notably escapes , and puts a trick upon his wench . 20. how he was secured in germany , and got away . 21. how he rob'd the duke of normandy of 700 l. 22. how he rob'd mr. marsh at hackny of 400 l. 23. how he rob'd alderman hancock at the grey-hound tavern in fleet-street . 24. how he cousned a merchant of 300 l. 25. how he cheated a draper in gracious-street . 26. how he returned to england , was taken ( and afterwards hang'd ) for robbing an ale-house in st. swithins-lane . 27. how he had almost escaped again . 28. how he was executed in smithfield-rounds , with a brief account of his dying words . the vvitty rogue arraigned , condemned , and executed : or , the history of that incomparable thief , richard hainam . chap. i. being a brief discourse of the life and qualities of richard hainam . he was by birth an english-man , descended from an ancient family , and instructed in the rudiments of learning ; insomuch , that at the latine speech he proved a good proficient : and had likewise gain'd a smack of divers languages . his discourse was pleasant , savouring much of scholarship and wit ; so that whoever saw him , if they had a breast that ▪ harbour'd any christian thoughts , would either pity his condition , or admire his parts . he was ever in his childhood thus addicted , counting it a greater credit to be thought wise enough to cheat , then honest enough to hate it : and when maturity of yeares had made him capable of a greater game , he findes acquaintance ; which if ill , like tarre , stick where they touch ; or , as it is reported of the mermaids , sings a man into a trance , till he dances into the mouth of dangers . thus stepping from one degree of mischief to another , he comes to be acquainted with one allen , and , as i suppose , with hinde ; which allen , being a master thief , and an ingenious villain , would oftentimes rob on the high-way in his coach , who would there sit in the habit of a bishop , while his men , which were the actors , making his coach their store-house , because unsuspected , either escape , or putting on a livery , ride by his side in the nature of his servants : with which man when hainam came to be acquainted , having before lost the conscience , he now resolves to finde out all the customes of a sinful life : and for his better education , jonis himself to a band of other villains ; who seeing him a forward man , and stout , were as much desirous of his company , as he was before ambitious of enjoying theirs . with these having now accompanied in some exploits , it was as difficult to fall back , as it was facile to begin ; but not so much through their means , by forcing his continuance , but by his own ; who having tasted of the devils bait , and prov'd the pleasure that he found in sin , could neither by intreaties of his friends , nor the instigations of abundance more , be disswaded from his wicked courses . nay , had he seen the torments of a damned soul pictured before his face , or if it might be possible , the gates of their infernal habitations opened to him , where he might behold the usurer choak'd with his molten gold ; the fornicators , and those wretched souls , that have worn out sheets of lawless lusts , upon the rack of steel ; the murtherer , which before was fill'd with blood , now crying , water , water , to quench his parched thirst ; or the thief , with nothing left him but his miseries : i say , had he beheld all these , they would have seem'd but fancies to him , and no more have touch'd him , or to as little purpose , as a lighted match does powder when 't is wet . notwithstanding , he was a man compleat in parts and person ; had he had grace equal to his other endowments , he had been the mirrour of the age . but it so pleaseth the almighty wise creator to disperse his blessings , to some vvit , and to others vertue ; without which , a mans wisdome is but a deceiving guide , which leads him to the fatal pit , as it did this man , helping him , as we may too truly say , to a dead lift , and only served for a varnish to his villanies , teaching him how to glory in his shame ; as if it were a maxime to be learned , that he that feareth not to sin , may never fear to shew it : from which indeed he would not be retarded : nor could any perswasions be so prevalent with him , as to prove an obstacle to his nimble tongue : insomuch that he would often boast , that all the prisons in england , holland , and elswhere , were far too weak to hold him ; as you shall more plainly perceive in the narration here ensuing . chap. ii. how richard hainam robbed the earl of pembroke . having by his wyles screw'd himself into the acquaintance of mr. herbert , one of the lords servants : for his several courtesies ( which as a prologue to his villanies ) he bestowed on the said herbert , he was in requital invited to meet him at his lords ; at which time hainam so insinuated himself into his favour , that a while after , nothing could be done without the others advice : insomuch , that coming to be sensible each of the others minde , it was suddenly resolved of , that hainam should appear the next day at the lords outward hall , where he assuredly should finde herbert , to the end he might receive instructions for the conveying away of the plate after dinner . now was the sop fallen into the honey-pot ; it fell out as pat , as a pudding for a friars mouth . hainam had his desire , and herbert his . the prefixt time , when come , hainam very gallantly attires him , not varying half an hour from the time agreed upon , but repairs to the earl's house ; where he had not long continued , but it was notified unto him , that the earl had dined , and was walking from one end of the dining-room to the other , till the servants had dispatched , who were then taking off the wrinkles from their bellies ; and moreover , that the cloth whereon the earl dined , was taken away , and the voider wherein the plate was usually put , was set upon the cup-boards-head . hainam having received this intelligence , ascends the stairs , which conducted him to the room where the plate stood , and where the earl was walking ; who seeing a gentleman in such goodly equipage , and supposing him to be a friend to some gentleman belonging to the house , he courteously salutes him with a conjee ; in which silent complement , hainam returns the like , and continued walking in the room . the servants seeing a gentleman walking there , supposed him to be some nobleman that came to give the earl a visit . in this manner both parties were mistaken , and hainam watching for the lords return to the other end of the room ( which was somewhat long ) he nimbly whips the voider full of plate under his cloak , to the value of fourscore pounds and upwards , and went away , taking his journey to the side of the bank , where he presently melted it into one great masse . the butler , according to his custome , comes to fetch the plate , which he found missing . then every one was questioned , but in vain , no tidings could be had , neither of the plate nor thief : then the steward gets some bills presently printed , wherein he discovered the lords arms , with other marks which was thereon , and caused them to be carried to most goldsmiths in london , and elswhere , but to no purpose ; insomuch that ( to verifie the proverb , he that hath once stollen , will steal again ) the former thief was induced to a further progresse , relying much upon his former fortune ; so that not long after , more goods were wanting : and whether heaven pointed out the author , i leave to you to judge ; but the servants having some suspition of mr. herbert , caused him to be severely questioned , who was so ingenious as to frame no other answer , but a just confession ; which he thus enlarged , telling them , that he had a sum of money of hainam , for informing him of the customes of the house : whereupon , hainam was apprehended , but in a short time following , by leaping over a wall , made his escape , taking his leap from london to rotterdam . chap. iii. how richard hainam robbed a merchant in rotterdam . after his villanies had made england too hot a place for him to stay his foot on , he journeys to rotterdam ; where being arrived in fashion of a gallant , he visits an eminent merchant , with an intent seemingly to wooe his daughter . the merchant having the qualities of a gentleman , thought he could not in civility but give him the welcome , if not of a son , yet a friend , or a gentleman ; and to that end , with many complements on both sides , urged him to chuse no other habitation then his own ; and being a stranger , he said , it would redound much as well to his benefit as conveniency . after many denyals , which seemed barely of a complement , he entertain'd the proffer ; but alledging , nothing could more disswade him , then the small hopes he had of his gratuity , or his insussiciencies of requital . having been now entertained , rather like a prince then a picaro , with all the dainties of a furnish'd table , he feigned himself inclinable to sleep , and seemed desirous to take his rest ; and to that end , was conveyed to his chamber , where he lay considering of his intentions , till the folks were bedded : of which being by the deadnesse of the night informed , he softly descends the stairs , and ransacks those rooms where he discovered the richest prizes ; and having made up a weighty pack , in the morning betimes he forsakes the house , puts on another sute of apparel , and in that case passed unsuspected . the next day , every one , when up , betakes himself to his usual occupation , not discovering the losse of any thing , till the day was half-way spent : then was there calling from one to another , where is this thing , and where is that ? who saw the silver-tankerd ? who saw my mistresse best scarf , or my masters gold hatband ? every one had his answer ready tuned , not i , sayes one ; nor i , sayes another ; nor i , sayes a third : which sounded basely in the master's eares . but at eleven of the clock , every one admiring at the gentleman 's long tarriance in his chamber : the merchant sends a servant to enquire his health ; who when he was at the door , having no acquaintance with his name , uses no other phrase then sir ; which after his often pronouncing , he found no eccho : he assays the chamber , which he findes in a bare condition , not onely destitute of its new-come-guest , but the very sheets whereon he lay , which were no mean ones : which when he had observed , he acquaints his master with , who needed then no spurs to post him on ; he presently pursues him , by the description of his habit : but hainam had made a shift to change that , before they had cloath'd them with their own ; and having notice that he was pursued , thought the best shelter was the merchants own house , for there none would seek him or mistrust him . thither he goes in his new-chang'd habit , pretending he had some commodities to sell which he had brought from england , and would desire him to give them house-room , for which he would content him ; not-so-much for that he wanted money , and would therefore sell them , but because he esteemed an inne no secure place to lay them in , by reason it was free to all comers , and the people unknown to him , as well as the merchant ; but having a good opinion of him , he would wholly relie upon his worth and honesty . to this the merchant willingly consented : so he left him . chap. iv. how he cheats the same merchant of four hundred pounds . the next day he sends one of his companions to this merchant , whom when he saw , he told him , his business to him was about his son , a youth which then he had with him , who he would desirously have to reside with him in the condition of a servant : and having intelligence of his good disposition , and the trade he drove , he would not spare any moneys to give with him , that he thought might in reason content him . the merchant greedy of gain , desired him to leave his son , that they might have some experience of one anothers humours ; which he did , and went his way . about a week after , hainam sends for this youth , and inquires of him what rich commodities his master had in his warehouse ; who having narrowly espied , gives him a punctual information ; and for the better surety , brings with him his masters shop-book , wherein he noted what he usually received : the which book hainam peruses , and finding a note of several commodities , which one had lately left with the merchant , to the value of four hundred pounds , he writes underneath in the book , this is mine . and having an excellent faculty in counterfeiting of hands , he writes sutably to the merchants own fist , as followeth , left with me by such a one ( framing an english name ) on such a day , such and such wares , delivered in the presence of f. m. and p. d. which f. m. and p. d. were the one the merchants man , the other hainams ; both of which under-write their hands ; and moreover , makes a small note in a piece of loose paper , expressing the same words : which note he orders the youth at his best opportunity to convey into his masters cabinet ; and with some other instructions he took his leave . the youth return'd with the book to his masters home , where he had not long been , but hainam comes and enquires for his master , who being then within hearing , runs out to him , as supposing he had brought those things he told him of : but contrariwise , hainam demands of him some of those commodities he left with him about a week since : the merchant was amazed , and asked him what he meant : he answered , to have his goods . quoth the merchant , i have no goods of yours in my hands . no ▪ quoth hainam , sure you have , sir ; you cannot forget so soon . quoth the merchant , you were with me , and told me that you had goods , and would send them in , but i received none : no ? quoth he , this shall not suffice , i have my witnesse of it : therefore let me have my goods by fair means , or i shall publish your knaveries , to the cracking of that little credit you have in other places . but the merchant still persisted , crying , he saw not his goods : insomuch that hainam fetcheth officers , endeavouring to force them from him . when the officers were come , the neighbors likewise crowded in , every one giving a fair character of the merchant . but after pro and con a long while , nothing could be done , the one pleading as ignorantly , as the other impudently . then they examine witnesses , who both confirm'd it : the merchants man said , that he by his masters order set his hand to such a bill ; so said hainams servant . then did the merchant stamp as if he was mad , swearing they had a plot to rob him ; and were they examined , he feared he should finde some of them guilty of his late losse , occasioned by the subtile trick of his counterfeit son-in-law . but hainam having now the voyce of all the people there , who cryed , he was the owner , it was plain ; he sends for one of the chief men in authority , to whom they stated the case , who admired at the merchants stubbornnesse , that was so lately reputed such an honest men ; and willed hainam to open what chests he pleased ; and if in case he would not deliver the keyes , to force them open . nay , quoth hainam , for a further confirmation , view his day-book , where if he hath not cross'd it out , you shall see his own hand , his servants hand , and my servants ; so that were he the veriest knave in the world , there could be no shifting of it : so reaches the book over , which he looks , and at last findes the wares written in a hand which the merchant could not deny but he should know , but avowed he was ignorant of its coming there . then the witnesses were asked , whether they knew those hands ? who both answered , they were their own : insomuch that they wanted little of either making the man mad , or perswaded him he had been so . and further , says hainam , if you will please to cause this desk to be opened , i question not but you shall finde another bill of the wares , which , if i mistake not , he lock'd therein . the merchant in a rage replies , he should be hang'd for a cheating rogue , ere he should look in his cabinet or desk ; he would not open it : whereupon , the officers broke it open , and turning over some papers , finde this same bill : then did they all rail upon him extreamly ; who , poor man , could hardly make any thing audible but his tears ; but with much ado would cry , pray secure him , for i know he hath a familiar : this must needs be the devils work . and not being able any longer to withstand the authority of the officers , he suffered all the goods to be carried away , and with them discharged his house of such an unworthy person as his servant , who he sent away to his father , and never heard of him after . chap. v. how he robbed the portugal ambassador of a silver table . hainam with his full bags thought it now high time to be gone : whereupon taking ship , he comes to london ; where having some notice of the rich attendance , with the appurtenances belonging to the portugal ambassador then resident in london , he fits himself to repair unto his lodgings ; where , discerning a small table of pure silver , which served onely as an ornament to the room wherein it stood , he presently contrives his plot to steal it , and never wanted some to assist him : he sends a discreet young man into the room , to speak with a gentleman which was there walking ; which man was to pretend some occasional businesse , as he did : but what it was , i am ignorant of . the man being entred the room in a gay sute , gallant-like , salutes the gentleman , and begins to frame his discourse , which he continued , walking with him from one end of the room to the other ; who had no sooner turned his back , but hainam following of him , nimbly conveys the silver table under his cloak , and stands at the door as he did formerly : his companion seeing the table gone , and walking on that side whereon it stood , shadowed the vacant place thereof ( from the gentlemans sight ) with his body as he walked ; and being come to the door where hainam stood with the table , he steps forth , pretending to have somewhat to say to hainam concerning their discourse , and willed the gentleman to step forth with him . not many words passed , till hainam watching his fit time , tells them he would go call his friend which waited without for their return : but when he was half way down , his companion calls after him by a devised name ; and meeting on the middle of the stairs , they both call to the gentleman whom they found walking , who not knowing but that they might have some real business with him , goes unto them ; and being come , they joyntly tell him , that about an hour after that time , he might expect their return , and then a fuller account of their business . having thus said , they leave him , who returned to his former walk ; and immediately missing the silver table , did mistrust them for the thieves that had stollen it : but before he could get down stairs , they were gotten clearly out of sight ; and taking ship for paris , could never be afterwards heard of , not returning to finish their discourse , which they left so abruptly , that the gentleman did say , it was the pitifull'st tale that ever he had heard . chap. vi . how he was imprisoned at paris , but escaped . hainam being for some exploits in paris imprisoned in the common goal ; and because his fact was great , as for robbing a french lord , he was guarded with a load of iron , and having a great chain about his middle , was fastened to a stake , which for the said purpose was drove into the ground : but hainam , with his file and other tools , being his arts-master , easily shook off all his shackles , and by main force , like a second samson , rooted up the post from out the ground , which having done he easily escapes . chap. vii . how he was again re-taken ; with the manner of his strange escape . but after a strict inquiry and search after him , he was found in the chimney of a neighboring house , into which he gets , having not time to make a further flight : so being again in custody , he was suddenly tryed , and was in a short time to be executed at the mill . and that he might not then make use of shifts , he had a guard of men , and was in chains : but having vowed himself a prisoner to his guard , and that he would not stir , but onely use his mirth and frolicks with them ; he gives them drink and money , of which he had no want , nor they , so long as he continued with them : but having one time made them drunk , his chains he soon unknit ; which he with ease would do , and put them on again : he takes three screws , with which he used to ascend a house , by thrusting them into any wall of stone or brick ; which so easily enter'd , that in a short time he would end his purpose . one of these screws he takes , and windes it into the prison-wall ; then taking another , with which he does the same a step above the former , and so a third ; and by these screws got up unto the top : the undermost of which he pulleth forth , and setteth it above the others . being almost at his journeys end , and earger to have his name divulg'd , that he might ride upon the wings of fame , he calls unto the guard ; one of which with much ado he wakes , but to so little purpose , that being drunk , he could hardly see him ; but hearing of a noise , cryed out in french , lye still , you drunken rogue : but hainam , not taking his advice , he makes his entrance through the top , and that night leaves the city . chap. viii . how he robbed the king of france . having been at the charge of a long imprisonment , where he had nothing to do , but to do nothing : let us now take him in his wants ; he was no other then a rogue in rags : but having an itching desire to a better estate , he thus bethinks him , that the king of france had an exchequer , wherein they laid several great sums of all coyns throughout the world , to the end that any ambassadors , either from or to him , might be furnish'd with such as their necessities should crave . hainam having now received a taste of this same honey , thought it long until he had his fill ; and having provided a small screw , with which he could lift any thing under the weight of twenty hundred , he thus repairs to court , and straightway fell to action ; and with such efficacy , that in a short space he became master of more then he could master : for having unhing'd six doors , he found his entrance into the exchequer : but one of his companions , thinking it a christian resolution , to be contented with a little , if got by a frugal honesty , in hopes of a reward , betrays the plot : whereupon , hainam was search'd for , who taking up a bag of some french crowns , casts it to the other end of the room , leaving the mouth of the bag something loose , which in the fall made such a noise , that the searchers supposed the thief to be there ; and that they might not miss him , ran earnestly to the place where they judged the thief was , who standing in a corner near the door , stole forth , escaping onely with the gain of 100 pistolets , and the loss of abundance more he might have had : by the help of which , he , with some others , got a speedy transportment unto bristol . chap. ix . how he robb'd a merchant in bristol . vvhere he , with some of his companions , perceiving a goldsmiths glass which stood upon the stall , to be well-furnish'd , watched their opportunity to steal it , which one night they thus effected : the shop being open somewhat beyond the hour , by reason of a gentlemans stepping in just when the youth was going to remove the glass ; which gentleman was purposely sent by hainam to cheapen rings , and to pretend he had some gold to change : while they two were talking , in comes hainam , and asks the apprentice , if he had any silver buttons : which he had no sooner said , but , says he , pointing to the young mans face , you have a spot of dirt upon your nose ; and therewithall throws a handful of beaten pepper in his eyes : which while the young man was wiping out , away goes he in the shop with the box of rings , and hainam with the box which stood upon the stall . all which , when the youth recovered his sight , he presently missed ; and calling to the neighbors , ran to overtake them , that way which by the noise of their running he supposed they might take , but never overtook them , nor heard he either of them or the goods . chap. x. how being taken , he attempted to break prison , but was notably prevented . hainam having hitherto escap'd the sword of justice ( which hung over his head , and was ready to cut the thread of his mortality ) dared even god himself , as if heaven were too high , and earth too low for his imperious minde . having sail'd through many dangers , and once more driven on the rock that split his fortunes , he was safely cast upon the shore at newgate ; but not without jeopardy of life : for his accusations tumbled in , as fast as he was loose ; so that it was a desperate game , and doubtful , nothing to be expected , but the favour of a speedy death . but in the nick of time , when he had almost shook hands with the world , his active brain conceived some sparks of hope , arising from his keepers sudden visit , with whom he stood , whether to discourse with him , or with his keyes , the sequel will inform you . but so it was , no sooner was his keeper gone , but he having kept a strong remembrance of the wards , discharg'd his head of that same toyl , and wrought the forms in some few ends of candles lying by him ; which he had no sooner done , but delivered it to a friend , to procure a key sutable to his patern ; which accordingly he did , and delivered it unto him , by the help of which he attempted to force the prison locks ; and had opened some , insomuch that he assayed to the last of all , where being discovered by the keeper , he was unfortunately prevented , and with greater care secured for the future . chap. xi . how he desperately got away , and cunningly deceives the watch . but all the care which could be used or thought on , nor all the locks and bars which could be made , were strong enough to hold him , so subtile was he in his tricks and slights , that he would break the iron chains like thread , as lately was too manifest : for having forc'd his way through many barricadoes , he gets him to the leads , and by vertue of his coat or cloak , which he tears , and fastens like a cord , conveyed himself upon the neighboring houses , and by a leap from thence into the street ; in which adventure he shrewdly hurt his leg : but dissembling of his hurt , he takes him to the gate , thorow which he was to enter , where being come , he calls unto a watchman , and in the best drunken phrase he had , desired him to wait upon him home , and for his pains a shilling should reward him . the vvatchman then ambitious of the office , not onely caused the vvicket to be opened , but supposing him to be much in drink , leads him towards his place of habitation , which he informed them was on holborn-hill ; and having reach'd the conduit , there salutes him two or three of his companions , who to the vvatchman seemed to be sparks ; but having entertained a short discourse , they offer to assist him on his way , and to that end liberally discharge his former guard ; who seeing that they knew him , went his way , not doubting any thing : but no sooner was the watchman gone , but hainam was conducted to a place where there was a horse provided for him , on which he mounts , rides to st. albans , and was by a surgeon there , cured of the burthen of a useless leg. chap. xii . he takes a lodging in essex . having , as you heard , escaped out of newgate , he leaves s. albans , and journeys into essex ; where he there takes his lodging at an alehouse : standing at the door one day , when his landlady was gone to lees about some business , a gentleman coming by , took cognizance of him ; but hainam fearing lest he would betray him , presently runs to his chamber ; the door of which being lock'd , and the key missing , he breaks it open , and taking out 400 l. in gold , which he had thither brought , he left a shilling and a pound of sugar on the table to satisfie his landlady , and departed . chap. xiii . how he was again apprehended , and the manner of his escape . to prevent the designs of an evil fortune , he thought it no policy to stand at his lodging to consider which way to steer his course ; therefore hies him to a private place not far off , where he resolved to remove to redriff ; where he had not long been , but by the constable and some others he was guarded up to london , as farre as to warwick-lane : where being , at the end , within sight of the fatal colledge , he made a proffer to escape ; to prevent which , they catch hold of his cloak , which he suddenly unbuttoned ; and leaving his cloak in their hands , very fairly escaped . chap. xiv . how he robbed a poor man , and delivered him his money again . residing now in london , he was informed , that a certain man at newington had in his house some moneys lately delivered unto him , which he attempted to seize , and did , by breaking in in the night : but understanding that the man was poor , and the sum not being much , he returns it him again ( after the good mans hard intreaties ) and with these words left him , there honest man , take your moneys , i come not to rob the poor . chap. xv . how he cheated a goldsmith in cheapside . another time he provided himself of rich clothes , which when he had put on , he comes to a goldsmiths in cheap-side , and desired to see some rings , and of the best , by reason it was for a special friend ; giving them to understand by the dumb expressions of his smiling signes , that it was to be bestowed on his lady , and therefore would desire him to shew him the best he had , for which he should have what content he asked . the goldsmith then shews him divers choyce ones , but above all , one very rich , which he valued at the rate of 18 l. this hainam pitch'd upon , and calling for a candle and some wax , having a letter ready writ , he pretends to send it by a friend , who that night was to leave the city . a candle was brought him , and he having a counterfeit ring in his pocket , pulls it out , and wraps it in the letter , leaving the true one in its place ; and having sealed the letter , gives it to the young man of the shop , desiring his master to let him carry it home with him , to the end he might there receive his money , which was in pauls church-yard ; which was without any suspition easily granted : so forth he struts , with the goldsmiths man following him ; who being come to mr. corbets the cooks in the church-yard , quoth hainam , come in friend ; and being in the house , he called for a cup of beer , which was brought ; he drank to the goldsmith , and when done , tells him he will go up to his chamber and fetch his money : the youth thought he was safe enough , so long as he had the ring ; but he in stead of going for the money , slips out of door , and was never heard of after . a long while the young man waited , but no man nor money could be heard of ; insomuch that he began somewhat to fear , and inquiring of the house for him , they cryed , they knew him not : then was he assured of his loss , and returning home , opened the letter , wherein he found the brass ring , and no other writing , but set this to the account of your constant customer . chap. xvi . how he seized an english ship , and sold it in another countrey for 1700 l. there being a knot of these blades of about sixteen in number met together , whereof hainam and one martin were the chief : which martin put it to the vote amongst them , whether they should then seize on such a ship as then lay in the river ; which , it being resolved on , and to that purpose hearing the ship was bound for france , they in two dayes time coming one by one , and not taking any cognizance one of another , they agree with the master to land them on some part of france , who promised he would : but having lanched forth , and the night over-shadowed the deep , when most of the mariners were asleep , excepting one or two which stayed upon the deck , who upon some excuse they send belowe ; who were no sooner down , but the sixteen appear at a watchword among them , and locking all the seamen under-deck , carry the ship to france ; where disburthening it of the men , and such goods as there was , they in a short time following sell it for seventeen hundred pounds ; and having shared the moneys , take their leaves , some for spain , some for denmark , and some for england : where , in process of time , martin , and two or three more were apprehended , and for the fact , five or six years since bequeathed their souls to god , and their clothes to the common executioner at tyburn . chap. xvii . how he cozened a gentleman of four jewels . hainam having in his voyages gotten some acquaintance with a gentleman , to whom he seemed to owe abundance of respect , was by this gentleman accidentally met in the street ; and that they might renew their former knowledge , was by the gentleman invited to a dinner . hainam having the mischievous engine of his brain in continual action , needed no double invitation , but promises to see him the next day ; and to spend some time with him , in the relating of such passages , which in his travels his eyes could bear him witness of . the next day , when come , hainam goes to the gentlemans house , where he was entertained in a plenteous manner , with dishes of all sorts ; and after dinner , the gentleman shewed him the relicks of his travels : which several toyes , with some jewels which he had brought with him ; four of which jewels hainam in a trice conveyed between the two crowns of his hat , which he had made for such like purposes : the gentleman little mistrusting him , but thought he had pull'd off his hat by reason of the heat of the season . but going to lay every thing in its proper place , the jewels were soon mist , and no body being there but the gentleman and hainam , it was clear enough that one must have them : but hainam rages at the sudden losse , and freely himself urges to be search'd ; and for better satisfaction , was search'd : but though the jewels could not be found , the gentlemans countenance shewed , that he conceived a jealousie of hainam ; which hainam taking heinously , would needs be gone , and without any more words , then ( farewel you and your jewels too ) he left him . chap. xviii . how it was afterwards known , that hainam had the jewels . the gentleman despairing of ever finding them , being confident that none but hainam could convey them thence , gets some printed bils , which he stuck about the streets , and left at goldsmiths shops ; by the which he came to hear of one , and consequently of all the jewels : for a gentleman , to whom hainam proffered to make sail of one of the jewels , bought it at an easie rate ; and seeing those bills , which directed to the loosers house , he hyes him thither , and shewing the jewel , it prov'd the right ; so that the gentleman very honestly returns it for the same price it cost him ; and after the description of the thief appeared evidently to be hainam , who was then pursued . chap. xix . how he being pursued , notably escapes , and puts a trick upon his wench . being one day at an alehouse with his wench , it so fell out , that the gentleman which bought the jewel of him came by , and seeing him , went and fetched officers to apprehend him : he not thinking any hurt , was towards dallying with his wench ; and for her cut-lemmon , agreed to give her one of those jewels which he then shewed her ; which bargain was soon finish'd ; he gives her the jewel , upon which while she was looking , in comes the gentleman with the officers , who when they saw the lasse having the jewel in her hand , tended the burthen of their business rather towards her then hainam ; who in the interim slips aside , and by leaping into another body's house , currantly escaped , leaving his true jewel and his crack'd one behinde him ; who ( that we may not digresse from the point in hand ) we leave in the custody of a trusty prison . chap. xx . how he was secured in germany , and got away . having now , as it were , fetters upon his legs , and so much a prisoner to the world , as not to know in which part thereof to inhabit , his wandring thoughts carried him to germany , where he found , that though god hath leaden feet , he quickly overtook him , and made him likewise know , that he had iron hands : for having played some prank there , he was apprehended and committed to prison ; where , having continued about a fortnight , he goes to three prisoners more , and told them , that that night he intended to procure a way for the escaping of them all ; whereupon they are mighty jovial , till the time came they were escape ; at which time hainam , and two of the others got out , leaving the third , that in their mirth , had made himself so drunk , that he not power to stand , much less to run away ; and was the next assizes , for coyning and other misdemeanors , hanged at the common place of execution . chap. xxi . how he robb'd the duke of normandy . having , as you have heard , broken prison again , he betakes himself to normandy , where having accommodated himself with a habit befitting some honourable person , and attendance sutable to the same ; which when he had done , after he had enquired into the affairs of the duke of normandy's court , he in person visits it : where he found the duke at dinner in his dining-room : in which room there stood a cupboard of plate to a great value ; together with two standing cups beset with diamonds , to the value of four thousand pounds , which he attempted to make prize of ; but missing his opportunity , was smoak'd , and onely pinch'd the cully of a casket of jewels of seven hundred pounds . chap. xxii . how he robb'd justice marsh at hackney of four hundred pounds . being desirous once more to see his native countrey , he takes shipping in an english ship ; whither when he was arrived , having notice that at such a place there was a booty for him , he undertakes to gripe it ; and in the night , having broke into the house where it was , after a serious searching , found a chest , in the bowels of which , when he had untomb'd it , he found in silver and gold to the value of four hundred pounds , and a small cabinet , wherein were divers writings ; which when he came to open , after his perusal , he found them to be of some concernment to the gentleman , he fairly parts stakes , keeps the moneys , and by a messenger of trust , returns the gentleman his writings . chap. xxiii . how he robb'd alderman hancock at the greyhound tavern in fleetstreet . after he was convicted for robbing of alderman hancock , concerning which , being desired by some ministers and friends to clear his conscience , he confessed in the presence of one of the aldermans kinsmen , the day before he dyed , that he broke open the door ; and being supposed the stoutest of the company , was left to defend the same , in case any tumult should arise without . but after they had finisht what they went for ; and when return'd , informed him , that they had wounded the alderman , he denyed to share of their booty ; protesting , that above all things , he abhorred the shedding of blood . chap. xxiv . how hainam and his complices cozened a merchant of london of 300 l. hainam taking occasion to visit a merchant in marke-lane , under pretence of some businesse he had with him from a merchant at cullen , from whence he lately came . the merchant being somewhat busie in his counting house , desired by his man , that the gentleman who attended to speak with him , would be pleased to come to him thither , who imediately was conducted by the merchants servant to his master ; where after some ceremonies , hainam took a seat , and so they fell to discourse ; but hainam who had setled his fancy upon something more pleasing to him then the discourse , which was three bags of money which lay upon the table ( every one containing 100 l. a piece ) and eying them very exactly , perceived them to be sealed all with one seal ; and leaving no stone unturned to gain his enterprise , made with his eye a diligent search to finde the seal lying anywhere in the counting house , but not perceiving any , began to draw to a conclusion of his discourse , and pretended he had forgot some earnest businesse which he should have done with another merchant a neighbour of his from the same merchant at cullen ; desires to be excused at that time , that he must so abruptly break off their discourse , and he would wait upon him at some other time ; the merchant being unwilling he should part without the civility of his house , desired him with many complements to stay and drink a glasse of new wine , which with a great many complements he refused , but at last yeelded , if that he would be pleased to honour him with his company to the antwerp tavern behind the exchange , where he had appointed to meet with the neighbour merchant . at last they both concluded so to do ; but hainam pretended he had some other businesse with some other gentlemen at another place , which he would only write a line or two to them , not to expect his coming at that time , but would give them directions how to finish their businesse themselves ; and so desired that he would be pleased to favour him with a piece of paper , and a pen and inke , with which he was presently accommodated ; wherein he took occasion to write to one of his men that waited on him , his full mind about the premises , which when he had finished , he desired the merchant to lend him his seal to seal it , which he presently took out of his pocket ( it being a seal ring ) which hainam well observed to be the same impression with the seals on the bags of money , with which he was well pleased , then he made presently another excuse to make a postscript to his letter of some thing which then came in his mind ; which he did , adding his mind further how he had projected to deceive the merchant of 300 l. which when he had done , he sealed his letter and gave to one of his attendants , and bid him make hast with it , and bring him an answer to the antwerp tavern behind the exchange . so the merchant having received his seal put it on his finger , and left his cashkeeper in his counting-house , and to the antwerp they went ; where they had not long been , but falling into discourse of divers businesses , came at last to businesses of merchandizing , and so by degrees fell to praising of divers rare inventions and curious workmanship , that at last the merchant came to praise the rare workmanship of his ring , it being presented him from the indies rarely graved ; which was the thing hainam principally aimed at to discourse of . humbly desired him he would be pleased to let him see it , which the gentleman willingly assented to , and seriously viewing of it , praised the rare invention of the graver , that had exprest an angell ascending into the heavens , threatning vengeance ( as was expressed by a flaming sword in her hand ) to a man underneath her , adoring the godesse pecunia , which hainam exceedingly admired how rarely it was exprest ; in the midst of this admiration , his man whom he had sent with the pretended letter came in and desired to speak privately with him ; in which conference hainam gave his man an account of what he should do for the gaining the three bags of money . which was thus neatly done , sir , said hainam , i cannot but admire the rare invention of the graver which hath done it so exquisitly that no hand in the world could mend it , nay equall it . sirah franck , sayes hainam to his man , do you know mr. richeson the stonecutter , that has the stone a cutting for me which the queen of bohemia gave me ; yes and please your honour answers his man ; pretheee go to him and bid him come hither presently , i shall and please your honour . away went the man ( and by and by coming again , as before the plot was laid ) told his master he was at home , but had taken physick that day , and was in no capacity to go abroad . i am sorry for that , sayes hainam , but i will request so much favour of this gentleman as to lend me his ring to send to him , to have him cut mine exactly the same impression as is this , so much sayes he , i am pleased with the fancy . which the gentleman readily did ; and so hainam bid him make hast , and go into mark-lane and bid mr. t. h. come to him presently , for he had waited there two houres for him , and bid the graver take an exact impression , but bid him not grave his stone till he spake with himself . away went his man , being not a little pleased to see that he was like to possess the merchants silver ; comes to the merchants house , and enquires for the cashkeeper , which when the cashkeeper saw him , knew him to be the gentlemans man that went out with his master , desired to know his businesse , he told him his master was at the antwerp tavern behind the exchange , and had sent for the 300 l. upon the table in the counting-house sealed with his masters seal , and there was his seal ; which when the man saw , he presently delivered the money and sent his master the ring again . and the man for fear the merchants man should profer to go along with him to carry the money , told him , his master desired him to perfect ▪ the account he was making up as soon as he could , and desired to know where he might have a porter to carry the money ; one was called , so away they went together into birtchir-lane , and there he left the money and discharged the porter , and so went to his master and carried the merchant his ring , and told his master all things should be done according to his mind ; and also that the merchant he sent him to , was gone to the pie tavern at aldgate with some other gentlemen of his acquaintance , and desired he would be pleased presently to come to him thither , which he seemed to be angry at , and so with many complements at the last called for a reckoning , which the merchant would needs pay , and so parted . so hainam and his man went into birtchin-lane , and took the money between them and away they went , leaving the merchant to the protection of his angry angell , while hainam himself adored and imbraced the goddesse pecunia . chap. xxv . how hainam cheated a draper in gratious-street , never heard of nor ever owned by the draper , but confest by hainam to a friend of his in newgate . hainam having pincht the cully on london bridge of a small piece of plate , conceived he was pursued , hearing some noise behind him , which was occasioned by two butchers dogs in eastcheap fastening one of the other , marched forward in no small hast ; but perceiving ( by casting his eye into a drapers shop ) the master of the shop telling forth of a considerable sum of money , stept into the shop , and presently without speaking to any one , set himself down on a stool by the counter side , and by and by lookt out of the door , his fear of being pursued being over , cast in his thoughts how he might be possessed of those glistering faces ; but before the gentleman of the shop had done telling of his money , he cast his eye on his customer that stood attending , desiring he would be pleased to give an account of his businesse . sir , sayes hainam , i am loath to trouble you till you have done your businesse , lest you in minding my businesse , you should commit an error in telling your money , which would put you to a double labour to tell it over again ; but so it fell out , the gentl●man did mistake and so was fain to tell it over again , which hainam eyed very diligently ; insomuch that he took an exact account ( by his telling ) how much there was ; and also it fell out , that there was a parcell of about 14 thirteenpence halfpennies which he put in a paper by themselves , and noted on the paper how many there was , which hainam observed , and when the gentleman had done , he put the rest of the money in the bag , and also the paper of odd monies , which hainam well noted ; and afterwards the gentleman took a piece of paper and writ upon it the value of it , which was 70 and odde pounds , and he being going forth of town , left a direction upon the bag who he would have it payed to ; which he easily observed by leaning on his elbow ; and also observed where he laid the money . after he had so done , hainam began to speak to him , sir , if you have finished , i shall give you an account of my businesse , which is this , sir i have a parcell of calicoes lately come from the indies , which indeed i can sell more then an ordinary penniworth , by reason we had them freed of custome and excise , and i desire to deal with no better chapman then your self , being acquainted with your worth and ability ; being directed to you by mr. r. b. a broaker upon the exchange , to whom i addrest my self unto being newly come into england , who advised me to your self ; and so it fell out for him that the gentleman knew the broaker he named very well , and had spoke to him about some calicoes , the gentleman was extreamly desirous to drink a pint of wine with hainam , but he refused it , in that he would not be so uncivill as to hinder his journey upon so small an account ; but at last to the kings-head in fishstreet they went , where after some discourse they began to treat of their bargain , and the gentleman desired to know their finenesse , and about what prices they were of : sir , sayes hainam , i come not sir to make you a price of them here , but sir be pleased to come to one mr. harris a merchant , well known in little more-fields , and there you shall hear of me , my name is denham , and you may see the commodities which for mine own part i have no great judgment in , but your friend and mine mr. r. b. has seen them , and i parted from him but even now at a friend house here hard by , and but for incivility to leave you alone , i would step and call him : the gentleman answers his complement with a desire to step for him . hainam presently steps out and goes to the drapers shop , and goes to one of the servants and desires him to deliver him the bag of money in such a place , marked with so much money , and directed for mr. t. s. by the same token there is 14 thirteenpence halfpennies in a piece of printed paper in the bag , which the fellow opened and found it so as he had said , delivered him the bag . hainam telling him he met the gentleman that was to have the money at the tavern , and so desired him to fetch it by that token . hainam having gotten the prize safe , went towards f●shstreet a pace , and going along pretended to make water at the counduict , only to look back to see if any of the men followed him ; and casting his eye suddenly back , perceived one of the youths to stand at the door looking that way , which hainam perceiving after he had done , marched forward his usuall pace , but presently started back again , and goes to the shop again , and perceiving customers in the shop buying of cloth , tels the man that stood at the door , he had forgot one thing , which was , that he should go up into his masters chamber , and in the window he should finde a writing sealed , which he should bring to his master presently at the kings-head , and that he was in the room called the crown , and if he found it not in the window , he should find it somewhere else about the chamber ; presently the boy went to look the writing , which with much search he could not find ; he went to his master , telling him he could not finde the writing he sent for ; the master wondring what the boy meant , at last the boy telling him the story , the master perceived he was pincht , went home with a heavie heart ; and charged his men ( after some correction for their too much credulity ) never to divulge it to any person whatsoever ; so much he was ashamed the world should take notice how nea●ly he was cheated . chap. xxvi . how he returned to england , was taken ( and afterwards hanged ) for robbing an alehouse in st. swithins-lane . having now sufficiently lined his purse against the inundations of a winters day , he strikes up sail for england , where when he was arrived , he meets with his father in law mr. rudd , one more , whose name i know not , and the wife of thomas dales a fidler , whose came to mr. langhornes a small victualling house , at the kings-head in st. swithins-lane , and desired a room above stairs , which was shewed them ; they call for a cup of bear , which they drank , and the party returned that brought it up ; then fall they to their work , which was to pick open a chest wherein they were informed monies lay . the woman having occasion to go to her chest for money , perceived them at it ; retires privily , and by warrant from the next justice , apprehended two of them , which as it afterwards appeared , had taken out 8 l. 19 s. in money , with other goods which the woman conveyed away ; and hainam likewise making his way thorow the house top , left his father in law , and the other to the mercy of the law . but not contented with this fair escape , but being sent by heaven to be punished for his villanies on earth , he in three or four hours returns ( having shifted his apparell at his lodging hard by , in the house of one chamberlayne a box-maker and an alehouse-keeper in beer-binder lane neer lumbardstreet ) and supposing that the master of the house mr. langhorne knew him , with a dagger which for that purpose he brought with him , he stab'd mr. langhorne in the back and twice thorow the arme , intending to have killed him ; and again made his escape over the houses till he came into sergeant probyes yard , whose man having some businesse at that time there , espies him coming towards him with two daggers in his hands , whereupon he runs for a rapier which he had not far off , and engaged with him ; sergean proby having by this time heard or seen something , comes with another weapon to the assistance of his man , with which he valiantly encountred hainam , and wounded him in the thigh , but was himself suddenly after stabbed in the belly by hainam ; yet having the more right on his side , he took the greater courage , and put the more confidence in his might , by the power of which hainam was held in play till it so fortuned that a gentleman of 23 or 24 years of age coming by , perceived the fray , and discerning desperate wounds arising from their blowes , he drawes his sword , and with that in his hand , forceth entrance at the door , which hainam perceiving to open , runs at , endevouring to escape , but the gentleman starting back wounds him on the leg , and with another blow he cut him in the head , and following his blow closely , he sals within him , so that hainam had neither time nor power to use his daggers or his two pistols which at that time he had about him in his pocket . being thus overmatched , he was attended to the counter , where it was found he had 7 l. about him ; at the taking away of which he vowed , they did him a great displeasure , for he intended the day following to be drunk therewith . but his intentions thus crossed , he was the next morning being june 15. 1656. guarded by six men with clubs and daggers to the prison of newgate . chap. xxvii . how he had almost escaped again . notwithstanding the privy search that was made as well for weapons as for monies , and other mischievous imployments , he had concealed a small file , which he hid in a place made fit for it in his cloathes , to the intent that when he should be fettered in newgate ( which he was assured he should be , having been formerly condemned ) he might with that work himself out of bondage . this file was of such a nature that should you stand in the room where it was filing off a thick iron bar , yet you could not hear the noise . with this file had he disrobed himself of most of his fetters , and wanted little of proving himself a loose man ; but being discovered sooner by his keepers eyes then his eares , he was at that time prevented , and more carefully lookt unto for the future ; yet was the file undiscovered , and so continued till he was challenged to the field to answer at his death for several abuses performed by him in his life . chap. xxviii . the execution of richard hainam in smithfield-rounds , with a brief account of his dying words . the next day his keepers ( through the fear they conceived of his escaping , which they well do , there having been one formerly hanged on the same account ) they sent to the maior and court of aldermen , desiring a speedy dispatch ; otherwise they feared their prisoner would pay his ransome with some of their lives , as he formerly had done . whereupon it was immediately concluded on , that he should be hanged in the rounds of smithfield , june 17. 1656. being tuesday . which day being come , he was accordingly carryed in a cart unto the place of execution , apparelled in a stuffe suit laced in the seames with a small silver lace , a most pure rough hat , a black cloak with things sutable thereto ; all which upon the ladder he bequeathed to the hangman . he said but little , and that little tended to the clearing of his landlord and landlady chamberlayne where he lay , who were both at that time in custody . he said , that he came thither in the condition of a working goldsmith , and they knew no other but that every day when he went forth , he went about his lawfull occasions , he pretending that he wrought a broad . and for his father in law , he hardly knew him , so lately were they acquainted , but for his wife and some others , if they deserved ought , he would not save them , nor would he accuse them . he denyed that he robbed the king of scots , and said he would rather have parted with a thousands pounds then have been so asperst . his confession was but small , alleadging it a point of p●pery to give an account to mortals , or to any one but god . moreover , he denyed the messias , and said he ought to pray only to the father and not to the son , as not believing he was yet come , but that he would come . having disburdened his mind of what he then delivered , he puls forth ( or caused it to be pulled forth ) his file , and delivered it to mr. brisco who belongs to newgate , and with a jumpe from the ladder , as the ep●logue of his exploits , we leave him taking his last swing . thus courteous readers you have his imprimis , his items , totals , and at last his finis . a true relation of the unjust accusation of certain french gentlemen (charged with a robbery of which they are most innocent) and the proceedings upon it, with their tryal and acquittance in the court of kings bench in easter term last published by denzell lord holles. holles, denzil holles, baron, 1599-1680. 1671 approx. 84 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 24 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-11 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a70251 wing h2480 estc r28675 10736551 ocm 10736551 45583 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a70251) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 45583) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1404:13 or 1558:43) a true relation of the unjust accusation of certain french gentlemen (charged with a robbery of which they are most innocent) and the proceedings upon it, with their tryal and acquittance in the court of kings bench in easter term last published by denzell lord holles. holles, denzil holles, baron, 1599-1680. [2], 44 p. printed by j. darby for richard chiswel, london : 1671. this item is found as wing h2480 on reel 1404:13 and as t3064 on reel 1558:43. wing number t3064 cancelled in wing (cd-rom, 1996). reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng thieves -england. great britain -history -restoration, 1660-1688 -sources. 2003-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-09 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2004-09 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a true relation of the unjust accusation of certain french gentlemen , ( charged with a robbery , of which they were most innocent ) and the proceedings upon it , with their tryal and acquittance in the court of kings bench , in easter term last . published by denzell lord holles , partly for a further manifestation of their innocency , ( of which , as he is informed , many do yet doubt ) and partly for his own vindication , in regard of some passages at that tryal , which seemed very strongly to reflect upon him . london , printed by j. darby , for richard chiswel , at the two angels and crown in little-britain , 1671. conceiving my self under some necessity , not onely to make known the innocency of a couple of young gentlemen of the french nation , whom a curiosity of seeing other countries besides their own had brought into england , and who , by a great deal of art and malice , had been drawn into danger by a robbery laid to their charge , of which they were as free as the child new born ; and also to vindicate my self of some blemish , which was endeavoured to be cast upon me at the tryal of those gentlemen in the kings bench , as if something had been done by me , not fair nor justifiable , in the carriage of that business , and some harsh usage which i received in court : these considerations have induced me to make publick the whole proceeding from the beginning to the end . but by the way , let me answer one thing which may be objected , why i have staid so long to set out this narrative , it being now almost a twelve month since these transactions were , which gave the occasion for it ? to which i say , that it was still my desire , before i made it publick in print , to be judicially cleared in my reputation ; and before i did apply my self to any higher power either king or parliament to be so cleared , to do my self first that right , to declare the truth of all passages , whereby the clearness of my proceedings might appear , i still being in the same capacity , and upon the same level , as i was , when those indignities were put upon me , and when such a disguise was put upon the whole business as the truth could not appear , that was , to give a full and true account of all in an ordinary court of justice , which i would have done then in the kings bench , but could not be suffered , and for which i knew i should have an opportunity , when those gentlemen should bring their action against the persons who had so falsly and malitiously accused them , as they have since done in the court of common pleas , and there i did them and my self that right , to lay open the whole matter , with which the court and jury were so well satisfied , that they had a verdict for four hundred pounds dammages against them ; and after that , i immediately made my complaint in the house of lords for what concerned my self , where i have received that justice , which hath abundantly satisfied me , ( my honour being the only thing dear unto me , which before had been blemished , and was there cleared ) and now i come to present it all to the publick view , and shall do it as succinctly as i may , with all candor and sincerity . these two gentlemen , one , a youth of about 17 years of age , called valentine simon chevalier de hoeville ( that is , knight of hoeville , according to the french stile , he being destinated ( it seems ) by his parents to be a knight of malta , when they use to give them the appellation of knights , even while very young before their going thither to take upon them the vow and the habit : ) the other , his name is adrian lampriere sr des mezieres , young also , but nineteen years old , and of a good family in normandy as well as the other , both of them neighbours to my wife , and to her estate in those parts . these two young men , younger brothers , but with money in their purses , came hither , not to rob upon the high-way , but to see fashions , and have seen one with a witness not very well to be liked by them : they landed at ratcliff , the second or third of november ; and having a recommendation to lodge at master sedgewick's house , a barber , in the strand , they came thither , and there they continued , till forced to lie in a prison against their wills. though they were neighbours , and their parents of acquaintance and friends to my wife , yet she heard not of them , till they were made to cry to her out of the goal of hartford ; they excused it afterwards that they would not see her , till they had put themselves into black clothes , as most wore at that time . they kept in their lodgings , and scarce ever went out , but to their dinners and suppers at an ordinary ( as several credible witnesses made it out at their tryal ) from the day of their coming to london , until the thursday sennight after , which was the 11th of november . that day , they and three others of their countreymen ( whom they had fallen acquainted with here ) agreed to go see a merchant about barnet , with whom they had some business ; missing of him , they resolved to go see hatfield house . one of their company onely spake english , whose name was beauuais , themselves not one word , and the other two as little . for this journey they hired horses , in two or three places , from several persons , the best horse not worth above three pounds . these horses were brought to their lodgings upon the thursday morning , their landlord's wife passing her word for them . one of the company had no boots , a young youth , whose father is a rich merchant in paris , his name boutandon ; he lay in long-acre , and took horse there ; and it is said , they had much adoe to get him upon his horse , having scarce ever been upon one before , and boots it is certain he had none at all , nor they say never had any : and not a pistol among all five . in this equipage they began their voyage , how like to be high-way men , let any man judge , especially having no language , nor no knowledge of the countrey , or of one foot of the way in it , and horses that could scarce go out of a way when they were in it . they came to hatfield upon the market day , went into the market , saw hatfield house , and coming back to their inn , the town did rise upon them , and apprehended them for thieves , that had robbed four butchers , whose names were robert simons , robert bellingham , edward lawrence , and solomon grace , upon totternol hill in bedfordshire the monday before , being the eighth of november , between three and four of the clock in the afternoon . those butchers among the rest came , and viewed them , and having seen them , one or two of them ( as i have been told ) were very doubtful of accusing them ; solomon grace by name , saying ( as one murrel a chirurgion who did then reside in hatfield , and was present , hath assured me ) that he would not for the world say , they were the men that did the robbery : onely two of the butchers said , they thought they were them , and going into the stable , said , they thought they knew one of the horses . they kept them there all the thursday , trying to get the money from them which the butchers had lost , about 27 pound , upon which condition , they said they would let them go , and not carry them before a justice . but they refusing it , they then upon the friday morning carried them before sir francis butler : he examined them , and heard the accusation of the four butchers , without giving them their oath ; and upon the bare saying of three of them , one , that those men were like those he saw upon the road , the other two , that they did believe them to be those that robbed them : he made his mittimus , and sent them to the goal at hartford , whither they were compelled to walk on foot : and when they came thither , were presently put into irons , and laid in a low damp room , with scarce any light to it , no bed , and only straw to lie upon ; and so they lay from friday the twelfth of november , till the sunday fortnight after , seventeen dayes , more like dogs then persons of any quality : and no body at london had known what had become of them , if that murrel , whom i named before , hearing them tell where they lodged in london , had not of himself come and given notice at that house , that their guests were in hartford goal . the examination and the mittimus follow verbatim . the examination of solomon grace , drover ; robert simmons , robert bellingham , and edward lawrence , butchers , all of the parish of edmondton in the county of middlesex , taken before me , one of the justices of peace for the county of hartford , upon the 12 th of november , 1669. solomon grace saith , that he riding on the road near totternol , saw five young men afoot , with their horses in their hands ; he suspecting them , made haste from them ; and being got at a good distance , stayed to let his horse drink , b●● seeing them coming towards him , he galloped away , and heard one of them say , farewel old man ; and looking about , saw them all turn back towards totternol hill , which was about a mile distance from him ; and saith , that the persons apprehended are very like those he saw upon the road. robert simmons saith , that on monday , being the eighth of november , 1669. about three or four of the cl ck in the afternoon , upon totternol hill , in the parish of totternol , he was robbed , and had 27 pounds taken from him , and believes the persons now apprehended , are the men which robbed him . robert bellingham , as to time and place , agreeth with robert simmons , and further saith , that he and robert simmons , and edward lawrence , riding together , espied five men coming towards them , which they judged to be thieves , and therefore putting spurs to their horses , thought to escape them by riding , but two of them overtaking him , one of the two clapt a pistol to his breast ; they searched him , and finding no money , they took his bridle and his girdle , and the other three pursued robert simmons , and he verily believes that the black man , which calls himself adrian lamperiere , is the man that pulled the bridle off his horse . edward lawrence saith , he was in company with robert simmons and robert bellingham , on the forementioned day , time , and place , and saw the five men , which they suspected to be thieves , but being well horsed , escaped . the examination of paul bovey , adrian lamperier , iohn boudandon , valentine chivalier , and guinet chateuneuf , all french men , taken before me , one of his majesties justices of the peace for the county of hertford , upon the 12 th day of november 1669. paul bovey saith , that he is a servant to one of my lord chamberlains sons , mr. edward montacute , but that he lodgeth at mr. munduglas his house , in george lane in kings-street , westminster . he saith he came to hatfield upon the 11th of november 1669. with four of his friends , to see the earl of salisburies house , and that on monday before , he and one of his friends dined at the scottish ordinary in bedfordbury , and on tuesday they all five dined in the same place . adrian lamperier saith , that he came into england the second of this instant , and that he lodgeth at one sedgwick's a barbers , over against the maypole in the strand . john boudandon saith , he came into england the 15th of august last , and lodgeth in long-acre , at a semstress house over against the castle ; and that he tradeth in merchandize . valentine chevalier lodgeth with adrian lamperier , and came into england with him . guinet chateauneuf lodgeth with paul bouey , which monsieur bouey hired all the five horses , upon which they rode to hatfield . sedgwick past his word for three of the horses , who lives in the strand over against the may-pole ; and all but bouey affirm , they were not out of london since they came thither , until the fore-mentioned 11th of november . the mittimus . to the keeper of his majesties gaol for the county of hertford . i herewithall send you the bodies of paul bouey , adrian de lamperier , john boutandon , valentine chevalier , and guinet chateauneuf , brought this day before me , and charged with the felonious taking away twenty seven pounds from robert simmons of edmondton , and rifling robert bellingham upon totternol-hill , on the 8th day of this instant november , between three and four of the clock in the afternoon : these are therefore on the behalf of our sovereign lord the king , to command you to receive the forenamed paul bouey , adrian lamperier , john boutandon , valentine chevalier , and guinet chateauneuf , and them safely to keep in your gaole until they shall be thence delivered by due order of law : hereof fail not . given under my hand and seal at hatfield-woodhall this 12th of november 1669 , in the 21th year of his majesties reign . francis boteler . mr. sedgwick their landlord presently sent his son to hertford to them , and with him their servant , whom they had left in london ; and that servant they sent back , with a letter to my wife , to let her know who , and where they were : with which she acquainted me upon the monday-morning , i being at that time sick in bed . whereupon i sent for sedgwick , who came to me immediately , and brought with him the men of whom they had hired the horses , and his son , and ( as i remember ) a servant of his . he gave me an account of those gentlemen , assuring me they had not been out of london from the time of their coming thither , till that thursday ; and that he believed them to be very honest men , they having carried themselves very civilly in his house : and however , that he would take his oath , they had not committed any robbery upon monday the 8th of november , for he knew they were all that day in london ; which his son and servant likewise affirmed ; and the men of whom the horses were hired , said , they had them but that thursday . and he offered himself to be bayl for them , but said he could not possibly go thither to bayl them till the wednesday ; upon which day i sent one with him to joyn in the bayl ; they first went to sir francis boteler , the justice that had committed them , told him who those gentlemen were whom he had committed ; that they were persons known unto me so far , as that i would answer for them , being very well assured that they were not guilty of that robbery , as having not stirred out of london all that day on which the robbery was done in bedfordshire , at thirty miles distance from thence , nor had been out of london from the time of their arrival thither out of france , till the day before he committed them to hertford-gaol , which was three dayes after the robbery , when they went from london to see hatfield-house ; and that therefore i had sent them to him , to be their bayl : but all this would not prevail with sir francis boteler , who bade them go to some other justice , saying , it was not fit for him who had sent them to prison , to take bayl for them to let them out . he was then desired , they might not lie in irons : but he would not meddle with that neither , saying , he left that to the gaoler , who knew how to keep them . so they left him , and went to seek some other justice at hertford , and when they came thither , they found a letter there from mr. justice morton , that then they could not be bayled . the letter was directed to the gaoler of hertford as follows . sir , there being information given to my lord chief iustice and my self , that there are five high-way robbers apprehended in hertfordshire , and committed to the goal , i am desired by my lord chief iustice to require you to look carefully to them , that they do not escape out of your custody , and to iron them well : and withall to write up unto us by what names they are committed to you , and what their true names are , if you have or can discover the same ; because we are informed , that they refuse to declare what their true names are ; and the return thereof you are to send by this bearer , and to be very careful that they may not escape , or be bayled without our special order : and this we require you to perform at your utmost peril . chancery-lane , nov. 15. 1669. postscript ▪ i pray you , that the bearers hereof be admitted to view the prisoners , and to confer with them . so sedgwick , and he that went with him to bayl them , returned next day to london , re infecta , brought me copies of the examination , mittimus , and of judge mortons letter : with which i presently went to serjeants-inn to the judge , and discoursing the matter with him , made it appear they could not be thieves : so he said , they should be bayled , but that he must speak first with the chief-justice , because the letter had been written by his advice , and he would give me an account of it the next day in the lords house : he came accordingly , and then told me the case was altered , since he had seen me , for that the butchers had now been with the lord chief-justice , and positively charged them with the robbery upon their oaths , so as now they were not baylable . i replied , i thought it strange , that first a justice of peace should send men to prison without any oath against them , of so much as suspition , keep them so long in irons , so hardly used ; and after several dayes lying so , their accusers to be sent for to swear to their accusation , when they had not done it before ; so to make good a posteriore , what upon their commitment before was not good . ( for certainly their imprisonment , and all the duress they had suffered , without an accusation upon oath , and to refuse bayling them , was unjust and illegal : ) and i said ; the king should be acquainted with it : which he was , and the chief-justice was sent for , and i commanded by his majesty to attend at the same time , which was the monday after in the morning : when we came thither , the chief-justice telling the king they were highway-men , and i affirming they were not , and that i would undertake for them body for body : his majesty said , they should then be bayled , and commanded the chief-justice accordingly to do it , who said he would ; but yet was it a whole week after , ere i could get them brought to the kings-bench bar to be bayled ; for just that day sennight after , upon the monday , they were brought thither , and there i entered into a recognizance of two thousand pounds for their appearance at the next assizes at bedford : and all that week they had lain in irons in their nasty hole at hertford : nay , i am credibly inform'd , that when they were brought to the side-barr in westminster-hall in the morning before the court sate , the chief-justice was angry , because they had not irons on ; which was a very great severity to poor young gentlemen , strangers , whom the king had commanded to be bayled , and whom ( if i may say it without vanity ) a peer of the realm had undertaken for , in the presence of his majesty . at bedford lent-assizes they appeared , and were indicted , but their tryal was by the king's command removed by certiorari into the king's-bench . and the first day of easter term they appeared there : whither i went not my self with them , because the small-pox was in my house , which made me keep within doors , but i sent my son , bade him do my service to my lord chief-justice , tell him the occasion why i came not , and that he was there to perform what was to be done for the bayling of those gentlemen : now it seems the use is upon such a kind of bayl , after an indictment upon a certiorari , to require four persons to answer for the prisoner body for body : so my son offered himself , and mr. sedgwick the landlord to these gentlemen , ( a substantial man , worth at least two or three thousand pounds ) and two other men , french-men , but house-keepers , and that live in a good fashion , to be the bayl : the chief-justice asked those two , what estate they had , and if they would swear , that all their debts paid , they were worth three hundred pounds , which they refusing to do , he put them by , and would not accept of them for bayl ; which i am told is not usual to be requied of such kind of bayl , that undertake body for body for a prisoners being forthcoming . well bayled they were not , but to prison they went , and there they continued until their tryal upon wednesday the 11th of may , at which i was present in court. that day they were brought to the barr , and the four butchers came , their accusers , and were sworn in court , of whom three charged them with the robbery ; and solomon grace was one of the three , who had refused to swear against them , when they were first seized on at hatfield , and afterwards at london when the lord chief-justice sent for him ; and i am very certain that he said afterwards in my house in my hearing , and of several of my servants , that he had not sworn against them , nor would for all the world ; ( the occasion of his coming to my house i shall hereafter relate : ) the fourth man , edward lawrence said , he saw the five thieves at a distance , but he rode for it and escaped , and could not say it was those five men at the barr. a fift man was produced , one george pettiford , who said that he rode in company with beauuais within half a mile of totternel-hill about two of the clock in the afternoon that day that the robbery was , but could not say any thing to the robbery : the butchers said also , that two of the horses which they rode upon , when they robbed them , viz. that which adrian lampriere had , a bay with a white face and white feet , and that which beauuais had , a gray , were taken with them at hatfield ; where , upon the hue and cry all the five men were apprehended . simmons said further , that beauuais was the man , that took his money from him : and bellingham said , that the black man , ( who was adrian lampriere ) when he overtook him , held a pistol to his breast , and swore to him dam-me what money hast thou about thee ? and then rifled him , and finding nothing , took his girdle , and pulled his bridle off his horses head . and the same bellingham some-while after being again asked and put to it , to repeat what lampriere said , and in what language he spake , when he came to him ; he then answered , that he said dam-me , and jabberd to him , but he knew not well what he said : so would not stand to what he had positively said before of lamprieres asking him , what money he had in his purse : and i dare affirm that at that time mr. lampriere could not have spoken so much english to have gotten thereby all the money in england ; of which one pinson ( that teacheth strangers the english tongue ; whom he hath since had to teach him ) will take his oath . this was the charge . then the prisoners being required to answer to it , mr. lampriere began to give an account of himself , what he was , and what had brought him into this kingdom ; that he was a gentleman , and came not hither to robb upon the high-way : that his friends would rather wish him a thousand times dead , than to be branded with such an infamy ; and so was going on , when the chief-justice interrupted him , and bad him speak particularly to the matters of his charge ; ( and certainly what he was saying was much to the purpose , to shew in the first place the improbability of his being guilty of such a fact , by being a gentleman , a stranger in this country , and whose friends would detest him if he had committed that fact ; ) he then only named some persons , and desired they might be heard , to prove , that he could not be guilty of that robbery , for that he was in london all that monday the 8 th of november , when the robbery was committed upon totternol-hill in bedford shire . and first , one mr. richard compton , an ancient gentleman , and ( as i am informed ) a justice of peace in his country , was produced , who said , that he lodged in the same house with the two gentlemen at the barr , at mr. sedgewick's the barber , that he saw them there , and spake with them the saturday , understanding french a little , and saw them and spake with them the monday , which was the 8 th of november , first in the morning , and then at two of the clock in the afternoon , and again at five of the clock the same evening : ( so then if he said true , it was impossible they should be that day robbing at totternoll-hill ; and a grave person of that quality affirming a thing in such a solemn assembly , in a court of justice is certainly more to be believed , then those butchers , even upon their oathes , who as it appears cared no more to hang men with taking a false oath , then to have knockt one of their calves in the head , and accordingly it seems the jury did believe him , ) he said further , that he saw them also the wednesday , and thought he saw their horses on thursday , which they rode on to hatfield . the chief-justice asked him , how he came to take so good notice of his seeing them the monday ? he answered , that when he heard they were taken as highway-men , and to have done a robbery such a day , he had recollected his memory , how he had seen them at times all that day in london , and had set it down in a paper , with the day of the month , and pointing to the two gentlemen at the barr , to shew he meant them , the chief-justice bad him name them , he said , he knew not their names , which the chief-justice presently laid hold on , and asked him , how then he could give such a testimony of them ? he answered , that they had told him their names , but he had forgotten them , and called them still only monsieurs . next thomas doughty , an antient man likewise , a sollicitor , was called : he said , he saw those two gentlemen in mr. sedgwick's house , saturday the 6 th of november , and the monday being the 8 th at three of the clock in the afternoon ( just the hour of the robbery ) and saw them also there the tuesday , and the wednesday ; the chief-justice asked him , how he came to take so much notice of them ? he answered , that he followed business for mr. sedgewick , and so had occasion to come often to the house , where he saw them . then mr. sedgewick was heard , who said , that those two gentlemen , viz. mr. lampriere , and the chevali er , came to his house the 2 d of november , being then newly arrived out of france , and recommended by some body , that had told them there were some in it that spake french ; and that from the time of their coming to london , till the thursday sennight that they went to hatfield , they had not been out of his house above two hours at a time , and then only to their dinners and suppers at an ordinary in swan-alley : and that particularly upon monday the 8th of november , they were in his house all the morning till about eleven a clock , and then went out to dinner to the ordinary , and came back about one or two , and staid within till supper time , and then went to the ordinary , and came back after supper : the chief-justice asked him , where they dined upon the sunday before , he said they dined with him at his house : and that the tuesday and wednesday following they were within both forenoon and afternoon , only going out to their meals : that thursday they took horse at his door to go to barnet , with a resolution to see hatfield-house before their return . mris sedgwick ( his wife ) said , that those two french-gentlemen came to their house upon the 2 d day of november about ten of the clock in the forenoon , brought thither by a waterman , to whom ( they having no english money ) she gave a crown for them : that they went out to dinner to the ordinary , and afterwards came back , and lay upon their beds , and she saw them no more till the next day , when she changed some french gold for them ; that from the 2 d to the 11 th of november that they went to barnet , they were not above two hours at a time out of doors : that mr. beauuais went with them , because he spake english : that they said if they found not their merchant at barnet , they would go to hatfield : that she passed her word for their horses ; and not seeing them come home again on thursday , she much wondred at it , and on friday in the evening one came to tell them , they were in hertford gaol : that they sent letters to the lord holles , who knew them : that three of them took horse at their door about nine or ten of the clock in the forenoon , and were to meet the two others in drury-lane : and that the horses were so bad , as they said it would be a shame to be seen upon them . i must note here that upon the naming of me , and mentioning the letter , that should be written to me , the chief-justice seemed to be moved , and said some thing which i did not well hear , whereupon i stood up , and said , my lord , i shall give you an account how i came to be concerned , and so began to tell , that they were gentlemen , neighbours to my wife in normandy , who came over hither to see the country , and falling into this misfortune , writ a letter to my wife to acquaint her with it , not to me , ( which was a mistake in the witness ; ) and so was going on to relate what i knew of the business ; but his lordship was pleased in a very angry peremptory manner to interrupt me , first asking if i was to give evidence , then bidding me forbear , and saying i must not interrupt the court. i replied , that i hoped it was not to interrupt the court ; nor to do them any wrong to inform them as as much as was possible of all passages , that they might the better understand the whole truth of the business : he answered again very angrily , my lord , you wrong not the court , but you wrong your self : and it is not the first time you have been observed to appear too much for strangers . so i was snubb'd , and sate down again . but i must say , it was a language , i had not been used to , nor i think any of my condition , that have the honour to serve the king in the quality i do of a privy-counseller . then sedgwick the son was called , who said he knew those two , viz. mr. lampriere , and the chevalier , that they came to lodge at their house , the 2 d of november , and their continued till the 11 th . that the day before they went their journy all five met at their shop ; and that in the morning , three of them ( their two lodgers and beauvais ) took horse there , and said they should meet the other two in their way , and so go to barnet : that upon monday the 8 th of november , he saw the two ( the chevalier and the other ) at home about ten of the clock , and again about two in the afternoon ; and that they staid within till the evening ; and the same account he gives of them for tuesday and wednesday . his sister mary sedgwick confirms what was said of their assiduous and constant being at home ; only adds this , that upon monday morning the 8 th she carried up a landress to them to their chamber , and that the little man , meaning the chevalier , was in his bed about ten or eleven of the clock : and that every day after until thursday she saw them in her shop , she keeping a sempstress shop . philip lemmon a poulterer saith , that as he was watering his horse in the white-hart yard upon the wednesday , mr. lampriere , the chevalier , and beauvais coming by , beauvais asked him , if he had any horses to let ? and he said , he had but one : so they went , and he with them , to one hooper , who had but one neither , and asked 3 s. for his hire , and they proffered half a crown : he said that his horse was a bay , with a white face and four white feet , hoopers was a little gray nag , and that there was a gray mare besides hired of another man : and said , that one capt. hill had hired his horse on the monday before to go to brickhill , and kept him till the wednesday : it is to be noted , that this was the horse , which the butchers swore , lampriere had under him when he robbed them , whereas it appears by this mans testimony , that one captain hill had him that day , and full two days after , for he brought him back to london but the wednesday , the day before these gentlemen hired him . mary hooper , wife to him that let out one of the horses , saith , that she sent the little gray nagg on thursday morning to mr. sedgwick's house , and that on the wednesday before she saw those three men with her husband hiring that horse of him : and note , that this was the other horse , which the butchers swore that beauvais ridd upon when he robbed them ; whereas it appears , that none of them had this horse till three dayes after that robbery , when they went to hatfield , nor was it beauvais who had himthen , but mr. lampriere ; so they swore falsly , for it appears , neither he nor the horse were there . william wood master of the victualling-house in swan-alley , witnessed , that mr. lampriere and the chevalier dined and supped at his house monday the 8 th of november . the chief-justice asked him , how he came to take notice , that they were there just that day ? he answered , that there was a writing sealed between two persons at his house that day , and he had since looked upon the date of it , and found it to be the 8 th of november , and he very well remembred that those two gentlemen were then present . the chief-justice then asked him , where they dined upon the sunday ? he said , at his house . whereupon mr. sedgwick was presently called , and asked again , where the gentlemen dined on sunday ? and he ( as he had done before ) said , at his house . of this the chief-justice took notice , shewing how the witnesses contradicted one another , which he said took off their whole testimony ( or some words to that effect ; and by the way let me say , that i would not be understood to take upon me to repeat still the very identical words that were spoken by any , but i am very confident , that i do not vary a tittle from the sense of what every one said . ) the same wood also testified that they had dined and supped at his house the tuesday , and the wednesday following ; so as it appears , they continued still in london until the thursday . then charles walrond came into the court and confessed , that himself , du-val , ashenhurst , cassels , and mac-guy were the five men that committed that robbery upon the butchers at totternol-hill upon monday the 8 th of november ; that they robbed them about the middle of the hill ; that himself rode upon a brown gelding . that it was ashenhurst that took the money from the butcher , about 22 l. odd money : the chief-justice then stopt him , and said , that he knew he would say what ever he was bid to say ; and then asked him , if he had been indicted for this robbery ? he said , no ; and the chief-justice replyed , now sirrah you have confest enough , and you shall be indicted , or you may be indicted , one of the two i am sure he said , but which i will not positively affirm . he had said in the account he gave , that one of the butchers breaking from them and galloping away , he followed him over some plowed-lands ; and the butcher affirming it was stubble he rode over , the chief-justice made a great matter of it , insinuating , as if walrond had said false , and that he was not there at all , but meerly took this robbery upon himself at my sollicitation , upon hope of his pardon ; yet another of the butchers confessed there was both plowed-land and stubble : and what was it material which it was ? it had been no wonder , if neither could have told ; and that both had been mistaken : for hardly doth either he that rides away from a thief as fast as his horse will carry him , and sufficiently frighted withal , or the thief that rides as fast after him to overtake him , mind the ground they ride over . then sir george charnock was called in to testifie what du-val and mac-guy had confessed concerning this robbery : but first i must tell , how the butchers ( and bellingham chiefly ) had a little before given information , that they had been sent for up to london by the lord holles his warrant , and carried to du val at newgate , where du-val , mac-guy , and they were examined by two men , who pretended themselves to be justices of peace , and who after they had examined du-val , carried him to mac-guy , but first went in themselves , and staid with him half an hour , and when they came into the room they took him aside again , and spake with him in private a good space , acquainting him ( as bellingham said he conceived ) with what du-val had confessed , and promising him his pardon ; and that then mac-guy said the same things with du-val , and took the robbery upon him , as du-val had done before : i must note , that upon bellingham's saying they were sent for by me , i stood up and said , that it was done by the king 's express command . the chief-justice asked , who were those justices , and what were their names ? and used some expression to this sense , that those justices deserv'd to be sent to the gaol themselves ; and withal cast his looks upon me , and by his gesture and countenance seemed to mark out me , as the setter and contriver of a foul practice , to send those justices thither to make those condemned persons own the robbery , and acquit the french-men ; so as all the standers-by took notice of it , and looked upon me , as well as did the judge ; yet i sate still and would not say any thing in the court to vindicate my self , because i would not give any interruption to their proceedings , as the chief-justice had before told me that i did , and i believed he might again have said the same . but truly if i had done any unworthy thing even to have saved their lives , or had any design of suborning , or in any unfitting way perswading any body to do or speak for them , or had contributed any thing to the effecting of such a design ▪ i should abhor my self for it . and after i shall have gone through with all the witnesses , i shall then give an account , and a very true one , of all my transactions in that business : and will now go on with the testimony of sir goarge charnock . he said , that himself and mr. andrew blackwell counsellor at law , and mr. william sedgwick , and one of his majesties messengers , were sent by me , together with bellingham and other the prosecutors , to du-val to newgate just before his going to execution : that they found him in a room , which was not very dark , and yet had also a candle in it , so as du-val , and the butchers mighteasily discern one another , and he asked them whether they knew one another ? du-val confessed that he and his camerades had committed the robbery upon those men , and named walrond , ashenhurst , cassels , and mac-guy to have been those that were then with him at that robbery ; that bellingham thereupon swore , by god he was not the person that robbed them : and du-val upon that said , friend be cautious how you swear and prosecute innocent persons ; for men of your profession , butchers , care not what you swear against any man ; and instanced in a robbery in surry committed by him , and others , upon some butchers , which they had charged peremptorily upon other persons that were innocent . and then said further to bellingham , you may remember it was i , by the same token , that you fled from me over the plowed-lands , and my horse tired , so , as i left following you , and walked back with my horse in my hand ; and sir george charnock said , that he then asked bellingham what he said to that , and that bellingham was startled at it , and confessed it to be true , that he did ride away from them towards layton . and so was going on with his testimony , when the chief-justice interrupted him , and required him to answer a question which he would propose , which was , to know how long he had been with mac-guy before the butchers saw him ? to which he answered , that he desired his lordship he might first give a full account of what du-val had confessed , and that then he would tell all that had passed with mac-guy : but his lordship would not suffer him , but said , pray you sir george go on no further , but answer this question . whereupon he told him , that he was a little while with mac-guy , but not alone , for mr. blackwell and young sedgwick were there as well as he , and that he asked mac-guy if he was one of the persons which had committed such a robbery ? and he denyed it ; whereupon he sent for the butchers into the room , and desired them to look upon mac-guy , and see if they knew him ; which they said they did not . the chief-justice then asked him , if he took not mac-guy aside the 2 d time ? he said he did , but mr. blackwell and young sedgwick still present , and that it was only to make him discharge his conscience and tell the truth , which he conceived it to be his duty to do , and so was going on to relate all passages ; but the chief-justice stopt him , and with much sharpness reproved him , saying , sir george you have gone too far , and have done too much already : here hath been a foul contrivance , it would be examined by what authority you have done it : and would hear him no further , nor suffer him to read du-val and mac-guy's examinations which he had in his hand and shewed unto him , notwithstanding that both sir george and my self had just before told him , that all had been done by the kings express command . then the masters mate of the ship , iohn burdick , who brought over the two gentlemen into england , was called : he said , that he took in those two gentlemen viz. mr. hoeville and mr. lampriere , and one servant of theirs aboard his ship at roven , upon the 27 th of october ; that he landed them at ratcliff upon the third of november ; that they went into london that day , and came back and lay that night on shore in ratcliff , and the next day they went again to london , and came no more ; and he sent a seaman along with them to carry their things : the chief-justice then asked him , if he was sure , that he landed them the 3 d of november ? he answered yes , for that he had set it down in writing and had it ready in his hand to shew . then sedgwick the father was presently called , and asked again , what day those two came to his house ? he said ( as before ) the second of november : and sharp reflections were made upon this faltering in his testimony , as if the stress of the matter had lain in this , whether the second or third of november was the day of their landing ? which no man will say could signifie any thing , to prove , whether or no they had been robbing upon totternol-hill the eighth . and so ended the tryal of those two gentlemen , hoeville and lampriere : then paul beauvais was called upon to answer for himself ; and he desired only that his witnesses might be heard , to prove his being in london the day of the robbery . and first sir steven fox was called , who being in court , affirmed upon his salvation , that he saw beauvais at a french play that very day from three of the clock in the afternoon untill seven ; ( note , this was the very time of the robbery . ) the chief-justice asked him , how he came to take notice that it was that very day ? of which sir stephen gave this account , that his wife and himself , and his daughter , and a gentlewoman that waited on his daughter , were that monday at the french play , and his daughter sitting before him in the box , looked over into the pit , and saw beauvais there , and turned back to him , saying , father , paul beauvais is not gone into france , i see him here : whereupon he said he looked over also into the pit , and did see him there ; and saw him also , and spoke to him at the end of the play , about seven of the clock : he said also , that he was then to go into france to his mother , and that he thought him gone : and for his taking such particular notice of him , and his being there that very day , monday the eighth of november , ( for that was asked of him as well as of others ) he gave this reason , that hearing so presently after , within four dayes , that beauvais was taken with some others , and committed to hertford gaol for a robbery done that day , he easily recollected himself and remembred his being that day at the french play : and this upon his salvation he declared to be true . his wife the lady fox , and their daughter , and the waiting-gentlewoman confirmed all that sir stephen had said . then one mac-don ( as i remember his name , who in beauvais's examination at hatfield is called mr. munduglas ; but whether mistaken there or here , or in both i know not ) a scotch-man , at whose house beauvais lodged , was called , who said that beauvais , and guinet the other prisoner with him , were at his house the said monday , and after dinner they went into holburn ( as themselves said ) to a barber there . and that barber he came and said , that they were at his house about two of the clock in the afternoon that day , and that guinet cut his ( the said barber 's ) hair , and afterwards that they went both of them from his house , and said they would go to a play. i must not omit one passage more upon the testimony given by a woman ( whose name i have forgot ) produced on the behalf of the prisoners , she saying she had upon the wednesday hired out a gray mare to carry one of them to hatfield , and the butchers having said that one of the thieves that robbed them the monday before on totternol-hill was upon a gray mare : the chief-justice ( to shew the colour was the same , and that so it might be thought to be the same mare ) would have the woman repeat it again , and therefore asked her , what colour her gray mare was of ? which having moved some laughter , he put it of with a jest , mentioning the old saying , that the gray mare is the better horse . and so the examination of witnesses for the prisoners ended ; for the judges said , there was not evidence against the other two prisoners , viz. guinet and boutandon , wherefore there was no need of hearing any more witnesses on their parts . and then calling the jury , the chief-justice applied himself to them , and to the summing up of the evidence , which had been given pro and con , for the prisoners and against them . in which to be short , i shall only say , that he insisted much upon the contradictions which he said he had observed in the evidence brought on the prisoners behalves , the witnesses thwarting and contradicting one another , which took off much from the credit of their testimony , and that three men had positively charged them with that robbery upon their oaths ; only he acknowledged something to have been said materially by sir stephen fox for the clearing of beauvais , and so would have differenced his case from that of the two young gentlemen whom i had appeared for , and bayled ; and what ground there was for it , let any indifferent man judge , that reades this narrative : but so he left it to the jury . the jury then went together from the bar , and after some two hours stay returned , and delivered in their verdict , not guilty : upon which mr. justice morton ( as i am informed , for i was then gone out of the court , ) said to them , gentlemen you have done well ; and if i had been of the jury , i should have done the same thing that you have done . and so the tryal ended . and now i shall give an account what hand i had in taking the confessions of du-val and mac-guy , and likewise of walrond . i was from the beginning as certain , as i could be of any thing that i had not seen with my own eyes , that the two french gentlemen were most innocent of the robbery which was laid to their charge : and i did verily believe , that du-val , who likewise was a french-man ( but spake as good english as any natural-born english-man ) had done the feat , and that the butchers might be deceived , taking one french-man for another , and really think themselves in the right , accusing those they did , and so be guilty of false swearing without knowing it : wherefore when du-val was apprehended , i did within a day or two after , take a gentleman with me , ( one mr. hull of dorsetshire ) and went to newgate to speak with him ; and when i came thither , i did send for him into the hall , which was full of people as it could hold , come out of curiosity it seems to see him , though i knew none of them except mr. charles bartue brother to the earl of linsey , who with twenty more heard all i said to du-val , and i doubt not but he will testifie the truth of what i here say , which is this , that when du-val came to me , i said this to him , mr. du-val , i am sorry that you have brought your self into this bad condition , it hath been your own fault ; and the best counsel i or any man can give you , is , to make your peace with god almighty , and make way for his mercy ; and one good help to it will be , to do all the good you can before you dye , that is , by preventing mischief as much as in you lies , discovering those persons who have joyned with you in committing of robberies , that they may be apprehended , and rob no longer ; and confessing the robberies that have been done by you , that innocent persons may not suffer for them : then i asked him if he had not done that robbery at totternol-hill , for which some country-men of his were questioned ? he then stood still a good while , with his head down , and his finger upon his mouth , musing , and said at last , that he was within three miles of the place where those french-men were apprehended , at the time of their apprehension . but i prest him again to speak to the robbery : and then he denyed it , and said he was not there : to which i replyed but this , i have no more to say to you ; god forbid you should take it upon your self if you be not guilty . this i will be deposed was the summe of all i said to him ; and so i came away , and thought no more of it , till two dayes before his execution , that one of the two french-gentlemen came and told me , that now du-val had cleared them , and confessed , that he and others had committed that robbery ; and i asked him to whom he had confessed it ; to an englishman or a french-man ? he said , to an english-man : i asked him then , if that english-man would tell me so much ? he answered , that he thought he would , and that he would bring him to me ; which i desired might be the next morning : accordingly he did bring him to me the next morning , and that man did tell me , that du-val had confessed to him , that he and four others , whom he named to him , had committed that robbery at totternol-hill ; those four he said were mac-guy , ashenhurst , cassels , and walrond : i asked him , if du-val would declare so much to any other person that should be sent to him ? he answered , that he was confident he would , for he had not revealed it to him in confession ; which made me believe him to be a romish priest ; but i took no notice of that , only said , that it would be worth the while ; and that perhaps i should use some means that his examination should be taken before he suffered . it was upon a councel-day , and i was then going to councel , where i acquainted the king with what had been told me that morning , and said besides , that i thought it would be very well , if that the butchers that had accused those french-men were sent for to be confronted with du-val before he dyed ; things might be set right , innocent persons might be freed , and the butchers themselves be disabused , that they should not , by mistaking one french-man for another , persist in their false oathes . his majesty answered , i think it will be very well , let them be sent for , and accordingly bade me call mr. secretary trevor to him , who was in the room , to whom he gave order to send for the butchers . after the rising of the councel i returned home ; and soon after one of the messengers of the chamber came to me from mr. secretary to know the place of the abode of those butchers , mr. secretary having forgot it ; and the messenger , after i had informed him of it , went his way . that afternoon sir george charnock came to my house , ( as he used to do many times ) and i told him what i heard that du-val had confessed , and what was done upon it , and asked him , if he could be at leasure to go to newgate to hear what du-val and the butchers would say one to another ? he said he would . and then considering whom i should joyn with him , i pitch'd upon mr. blackwell , a counsellor at law , who being an acquaintance of mr. sedgwicks , and using much to his house , had been with me once or twice for the business of those two french-gentlemen , i sent to him to desire him , that he would give himself the trouble of that employment , and he accepted of it . these two were utterly unknown the one to the other , and had never seen one another before ; so it had been a very weak part in me to have together engaged them in a foul contrivance , nor is it likely they would have trusted one another to have together undertaken it . that night very late , as i was going to bed , one of my servants came and told me , that the messeng er was come with the butchers , and said that mr. secretary had given him order to bring them to me : whereupon i sent for them all into my chamber , and asked them if they were the men that were robbed at totternol-hill ? they said they were ; and i told them , that it seems it was du-val that robbed them . bellingham ( who was the forward man ) presently said , no , he would swear it was those frenchmen that were taken at hatfield : i bad him take heed how he did swear , for if it was not they , he would be forsworn ; but he stood to it , that they were the men : then i asked the rest , what they said to it ? simmons , who was the man robbed , was nothing so positive as bellingham ; lawrence said , he could not swear who it was , for he rode away before they came so near as that he could discern them to know them again ; solomon grace , said these words , my lord , i have not sworn against them , nor will for the world ; they used me well whoever they were , for i rode with them a good way , and had fourscore pounds about me , and they meddled not with me , but when they left me and rode back , they bade me farewel . ( yet did this man at their tryal swear as lustily as bellingham himself ; but how he came to do so , let them give an account who perswaded him , and no question they will do it one day . ) i said only this to them , well friends , it is the king's pleasure you should see du-val , and he you , therefore if you will be here to morrow morning betimes , i shall send some with you who shall bring you to him ; and i bade my servants , who were in the room , have them down to the buttery and make them drink , where discoursing again of the business , solomon grace , in the presence of three or four of my servants ( who will be deposed of it ) said again the same thing that he had said to me in my chamber , that he had not sworn against them , nor would for the world. bellingham still obstinate , and in such a rage , as my servants afterwards told me , that he would taste neither beer nor wine . in the morning , sir george charnock and mr. blackwell , and with them mr. sedgwick's son came to my house , where they met the butchers and the messenger , and all together went to newgate : and sir george charnock and his company came back at noon , and gave me an account of their negotiation , which was this ; they told me they were first with du-val and examined him , who had fully confessed the robbery , and told the butchers of many particulars , which the butchers themselves had acknowledged true , yet would not be convinced ; but that one of them especially ( which was bellingham ) still persisted , saying , that the other men did the robbery . what du-val said , they had put down in writing , and they three had signed it ; but du-val being presently to be carried out to execution , they said , they had not put him to sign it . they afterwards asked if mac-guy was still in prison ? and because du-val had named him to have been one of the company , they would examine him , and went up to him ; and first it seems they three went up by themselves ( which yet i do protest i knew not , till i heard it said at the tryal in the king's-bench , though i do not understand that they did ill in so doing , to see what temper he was in , being a condemned man , before they would bring the butchers to him ) they do all three say , that they did not acquaint him with any of the particulars that du-val had declared , till he had acknowledged himself an actor in the robbery , confessed the whole business , and of himself told them many of the same passages which du-val had told before , he not knowing what du-val had said . it seems he was unwilling at the first to confess any thing , and said , he did not know the butchers : and they said the like that they knew not him ; but upon their pressing him a second time to discharge his conscience , he then confessed all , which they took in writing , and he put his hand to it . both their confessions ( du-vals and his ) i shewed to his majesty , and they are inserted here verbatim . the examination and confession of du-val , prisoner in newgate , taken by sir george charnock knight , mr. andrew blackwel , and william sedgwick , immediatly before his execution , being the 21 th of ianuary 1666 / 7 , in the presence of solomon grace , robert simmons , robert bellingham and edward lawrence , all of the parish of edmondton in the county of middlesex , butchers ; concerning a robbery committed on them at totternol in the county of bedford , by the foresaid du-val , with walrond , ashenhurst , cassels , and mac-guy . when and where the said du-val confessed and said , that the said robbery was committed by him and his above-named companions ; and more particularly , that solomon grace aforesaid being shewen unto him , did ride with them about a mile , till coming to two little houses at the bottom of the hill , they left the said solomon grace watring his horse , and returned up the hill , where they met with the other three butchers , one whereof fled upon the plowed-lands , whom the said du-val pursued upon a little gray nag , but could not overtake him , because of the weakness of his horse , which he was forced to lead in his hand afterwards at least the space of twelve-score : in the mean while ashenhurst robbed simmons of twenty seven pounds , or thereabouts , part whereof was in odd money : and that from the other nothing was taken , but a girdle , and the bridle pulled off his horses head : which circumstances of the action the aforesaid simmons and bellingham did then acknowledge to be true . and he further confesseth , that after this robbery committed as aforesaid , he did perceive one of the two persons that were robbed , to ride hard towards layton , which by the acknowledgment of bellingham was himself . and the said du-val at the time of his confession aforesaid did advise the afore-named butchers , to be cautious how they prosecuted innocent persons ; declaring , that men of their trade did not care how they swore against any man : for , a robbery was committed by him on some other butchers , and they had peremptorily changed it upon another person . and in the conclusion of his confession he put on his perriwig , affirming , that he was present at the robbery in the same perriwig so tyed up , and asked bellingham if he knew him now ? signed by us , g. charnock . andr. blackwell . william sedgwick . the examination and confession of patrick mac-guy , prisoner in newgate , taken by sir george charnock knight , mr. andrew blackwell gent. and william sedgwick citizen , the 21 th of ianuary 1669 / 70 , concerning a robbery committed by him , with the aforesaid du-val , walrond , ashenhurst , and cassels , in the parish of totternol in the county of bedford . patrick mac-guy confesseth , and saith , that he was with the aforesaid du-val , walrond , ashenhurst and cassels , at totternol-hill in the foresaid county , where they met with three persons , one whereof they robbed of about twenty seven pounds , of which twenty one pounds odd money was in a wallet , which was taken by ashenhurst , and had in it about thirty or forty shillings in ninepences and thirteen-pence-half-pennies : the other which he took out of his pocket ashenhurst never discovered . one man made his escape , and the other had nothing taken from him . the time of the day , about three of the clock in the afternoon . that bellingham had a green rugg upon his saddle : which be the said bellingham confesseth . simmons likewise confesseth , that there was odd money in the sum , but remembers not the quantity ; and that likewise in the wallet there was twenty pounds odd money ; and that above five pounds was taken out of his pocket . mac-guy further declares , that an old man kept them company about a mile to the foot of the hill , where he watered his horse ; and that they bid him good night old man : which circumstance solomon grace and the other three acknowledged to be true , they being acquainted with it when the said grace came to them . and the said mac-guy declared , he never was in other robbery , but this and my lord grandison's . he asked bellingham if he did not remember , that he told them , that he was a poor grasier , and had no money ? and bellingham at first replied , no , he remembred no such thing ; but recollecting himself , told them , he said , he was a poor man , and had no money . signed by us , g. charnock . andr. blackwell . william sedgwick . signed , patrick magee . i appeal now to every mans conscience that shall read these confessions , if it can be believed , that any other , but these men that knew all these particulars , could be guilty of this robbery ; and if it was possible that sir george charnock should have put all this into mac-guy's mouth , who did not only say the same things that du-val had said , but enlarged and confirmed them with many other circumstances , which the butchers themselves confessed and acknowledged to be true , and which sir george charnock could not know : as the money taken , to have been , some in a wallet , some in simmons pocket , and that the broken money was part of that in the wallet : this du-val had not specified , yet it is a great confirmation of what he had said : then one man to escape , which was lawrence . that bellingham had a green rugg upon his saddle , which bellingham could not deny , but acknowledged to be true . that solomon grace watering his horse at the foot of the hill , they should say to him , good night old man , which du-val had not said : so to tell what bellingham said to them , which he acknowledged so far , as to confess , that he said , he was a poor man , and had no money , though not that he was a poor grasier , as mac-guy had said : which was no great mistake . certainly none but they that were present and did the fact , could discover these particularities . i shall now give an account of my transactions with mr. walrond , whom i thought fit to examine , after i had seen what the other two had said : and therefore went to the gate-house , and spake with him there in the kitchin , where the lady broughton , ( who hath the keeping of the prison ) and the turn-key were present , and heard all i said to him ; i asked him , if he knew any thing of the robbery commited such a day at totternol-hil : of which i desired him but to tell me the truth ? his answer to me was this , my lord , no body as yet hath come against me to accuse me , so i have not been indicted ; and if i should accuse my self , i might bring my self into trouble , and i have not yet my pardon , which i hope i shall obtain of the kings mercy . i replied , mr. walrond , this i will promise you , that whatsoever you say to me shall not rise in judgment against you , it shall do you no hurt i do assure you ; i desire but to know the truth : for some persons are accused of that robbery , who i know are very innocent : ( and whether or no i told him so much , as that du-val had confessed it , i do protest i do not remember , they may be asked that were present , the lady and the turn-key ( i have not spoken to them since , nor will i ) but i think i did not ; however if i had , i know not that any thing would have been amiss in it , if in general i had told him , that du-val had confessed it : ) his answer to me was , my lord i will cast my self upon you and tell you all , and then did confess to me the whole matter , and told me many particulars . then indeed i did say to him , that he had done well , and had told me but what i knew before , for both du-val and mac-guy had confessed the same things ; and as to his pardon i did again assure him , that it should be no prejudice to it , happily it might be an advantage , for that i would endeavour all i could to help it forward : he afterwards at my desire put down in writing what he had said ; and i did move his majesty for his pardon , and got it passed for him , which i did for two ends ; one out of charity , he had no money to pay for it , and he deserved it for the discovery which he had made of that knot of thieves du-val and his companions , some of whom were taken , and the knot thereby broken by his means : the other end was , that he might be rectus in curia , and appear a competent witness , to discover the truth of that robbery ; but he was so terrified at the tryal with being threatned and told he had now confessed enough to be endicted for it , and perplexed with questions , that he knew not almost what he said , and left an impression ( i verily believe ) with most of the standers-by , that he was gained by me to take this robbery upon him , meerly to save the french men at the bar , himself not at all guilty of it . but how undeservedly that could be imputed to me , let my greatest enemy be judge , if this my narrative be true , as i take the god of truth to witness , that it is true , i mean for matter of fact , and for what i relate here , as said or done by me , and for my intention , that it was just and honest , without any trick or design , and all above-board , meerly to preserve innocency , and that in strangers , that wanted language , friends , and all other support and help to make their innocency appear . i have always heard , that the judge should be of counsel with the prisoner ; and that is one reason given , why he needs no other counsel , and that the law allows him none ; for the judge upon the bench ought to help him with his advice and direction , that he run not into any inconvenience , by his ignorance of the law , and of the forms of proceeding , and to take care that he be not circumvented and ruined by the malice , art , and cunning of his prosecutors , or by the weakness and simplicity of such witnesses , as are produced to justifie and clear his innocency , who many times have not wit nor elocution to tell their tale so , as to make his innocency and the truth to appear . and certainly it is the duty of a judge , and justice is as much concerned , to preserve and deliver an innocent person , that is falsly accused and unjustly prosecuted , as to condemn and punish one that is really criminous ; and that of the two is the more acceptable , and well-pleasing both to god and man. these two gentlemen were strangers , that understood not the language , either what was said to them by their judges , or against them by their accusers , or for them by their witnesses ; and they had an interpreter given them , a young student that was there in court , who did need an interpreter himself : for no body understood a word he said , scarce when he spake english , he spake so low and unintelligibly , so as they were never the nearer to understand any thing that passed , though so much concerning them , even their lives ; nor was there any care taken that they should understand any thing , the interpreter not once bid to ask them a question upon what was urged against them , to know what they would say to it . and commonly a judge will call for the examination taken upon the first commitment of a felon , and begin there ; but not a word of that , for that examination would not have been authentick , not being taken upon oath , nor they positively charged by those butchers , who only said , one of them , that they were like the men whom he saw upon the road ; simmons , that he believed they were the men that robbed him ; and bellingham himself no more but this , that he verily believed adrian lampriere was the man that pulled the bridle off his horse-head : this was well known to be no sufficient ground for the justice to send them to gaol , clap irons upon them , and put them into a room without light , with a little straw to lie upon , more like dogs , then men , especially gentlemen and strangers : nay , the second examination was not produced neither , that which the lord chief-justice took himself four or five dayes after , when he sent for those butchers to london : for though two of them indeed had there taken their oaths , and charged them positively , yet solomon grace , who at this tryal in the kings-bench swore as stoutly as any , would not swear then . and another particular i observed , that the butchers said in their evidence , that these men were taken upon the hue & cry at hatfield ; and it is very usual for a judge upon a bench , when felons are apprehended upon such a warrant , and brought to their tryal , to call for that warrant , to see the description there given of the persons pursued and apprehended upon it , whether or no it agrees with the prisoners at the bar , which gives a great light to discover if they be the men , and probably would have shewed that these were not ; nothing of this neither , but with what intention neglected , i judge not . it is certain that the prisoners were far from receiving any favour , the younger of the gentlemen , mr. hoeville , who understood not any thing of all was done or said against him , and i believe not apprehending of what concernment it was to him , out of a childish innocency hid his face and smiled a little , to see such a stir about him ; the chief-justice espyed it , and fell upon him severely for it , telling him he must not laugh there , and put the poor youth past laughing , who yet understood not what he said , only saw he was angry . the other gentleman , mr. lampriere , when he was asked , what he had to say for himself , to what the butchers had laid to his charge ( which yet was not interpreted and made known to him , nor did he at all know what it was , and yet was now to speak to it for his life ) began in his language in french , to give some account of himself ; the chief-justice stopt him , and would not let him go on , but bade him answer to the particulars , and yet took no care to let him know what they were ; which was a great disheartning to him . and usually when any man , that is not known , is suspected of a crime and tryed for it , the judge will in the first place inform himself what the man is , and whence , and of what conversation of life , and learn all particulars that concern him , as much as is possible ; which will be a great leading to his judgment of him , and of the matters that are brought against him ; but here neither the prisoner could be permitted to give an account of himself , nor no body else must do it for him . and i think there was as much reason now to proceed with circumspection , and to hear and examine , and well weigh all , for and against those prisoners , as for any that had been tryed at that bar of a great while ; there were persons of quality appeared in their behalfs , undertook largely for them ; that they were not men to do such an act , being of good families in their own country , strangers , newly arrived here to see this country , no wayes in need of money , bringing with them sufficient to defray the charge of their travels , so most unlikely they should begin here with robbing upon the high-way : but further , there were those of good credit , that did affirm upon their credits , some upon their salvation , and all of them ready to be deposed , that they could not be guilty of that fact , for that they saw them , and spake to them here in london that day , and in that instant of time , that the robbery was committed above thirty miles off in bedfordshire ; so there was an impossibility of their being guilty of it . and who accused them ? three mean fellows , of no very good lives nor conversation ; and they butchers , of no commendable occupation to have to do with mens lives , either as jury-men or accusers ; and one of these as bold an impudent fellow as ever i saw with my eyes , that is bellingham : and more than all this , it was well known , that even his majesty himself had a strong perswasion of their innocency , and was desirous that all just favour should be shewed unto them , and had himself done all towards it depending upon him , and the rather because they were strangers , who were newly come into his kingdom , and so had put themselves under his protection ; and his majesty had well considered the consequence , both as to the reputation abroad of his royal justice and good government , and likewise for the safety and freedom of of his subjects in forreign parts , who must have expected the same measure there . certainly , all this laid together , me-thinks should have made one cautious how he entertained a prejudicate opinion against them , and not to take advantage upon any mistake , especially in circumstances not at all material , as whether the gentlemen landed and came to london the second , or the third of november ? where they dined the sunday before the day of the robbery ? whether it was plowed-land , or stubble that the butcher rode over , when he ran away from the thieves , and they followed ? and because there was some disagreement in these particulars , which signified nothing to prove them either innocent or guilty , yet this was blown up to such a magnitude of contradiction , that the whole testimony of those witnesses must be overthrown by it . to say the truth , there was not the least colour of guilt upon them . therefore it is well , that their tryal received so fair an issue , answerable to their innocency ; and that they were at last delivered from the unjust and malicious prosecution of those butchers : for had that malice prevailed , and innocency been oppressed ; and strangers , who by the law of nations are to receive favour and protection , in lieu thereof had found here ▪ injustice and undeserved ruine , what would have followed upon it ? our government , and our administration of justice would have been a reproach and a hissing to forreign nations , and especially to our neighbours of france , who would have hated and derided us for it , and perhaps have made the next english-man , that should come amongst them , pay for this piece of injustice shewed to their country-men : and what evil more might have ensued , how many unconcerned innocent persons have smarted for it , no man knows . but this i know , that even these two gentlemen , however they may have seemed mean and despicable here , oppressed as they were , and persecuted in a strange country , and put to a vast charge and expence , have yet friends and kindred in their own country , who have courage enough to resent , and very likely it is that they would have resented such an injury done to their kinsmen here , and would have revenged it upon the next of the english whom they had found in france ; and as one mischief brings on another , who can tell but it might have brought on a national quarrel at last ? but god be thanked , there is now no cause to apprehend these ill consequences ; justice hath prevailed , innocency hath found protection , and all machinations and contrivances against both justice and innocency , have been defeated , and the parties wronged have received some reparation for the injuries , which were then offered unto them . for those gentlemen have since brought their action against the butchers for their unjust and malicious prosecution of them , and have recovered four hundred pounds dammages in the court of common-pleas before the lord chief-justice vaughan : and i have made my complaint to the house of peers of the lord chief-justice keeling his ( as i thought ) unfitting expressions and carriage in relation to me , particularly for laying to my charge a foule contrivance in the carriage of this business , ( as i then understood it , and i do believe all that heard him when those words were uttered by him ; but he hath since denied that he meant it of me , so i am satisfied : ) and their lordships have called him before them , and after hearing us both , have adjudged him to make me a satisfaction , ( which he hath accordingly made ) as is expressed in their order of friday the 10 th of march 1670 , entred upon record in their journal-book , with which i shall conclude . the record is as followeth : dié veneris , decimo martii , 1670. this day the lord holles produced several witnesses to be examined concerning his complaint ( in his petition ) of several indignities put upon him by the lord chief-iustice of the court of kings-bench , at the tryal of some french-gentlemen in the said court of kings-bench , who were there falsly accused of a robbery by four butchers in easter-term last ; after the hearing of which witnesses , the lord chief-iustice made his defence , and denyed , that he intended any thing against the lord holles , when he spake those words at the said tryal , [ that it was a foule contrivance &c. ] as in the petition is set forth : to which defence the lord holles made a short reply , and then voluntarily withdrew himself , and the lord-chief-iustice withdrew himself also . upon which the house took the whole matter into serious consideration , and ordered , that the lord chief-iustice should be called to his place as a iudge , and openly ( in the presence of the lord holles ) the lord-keeper should let him know , that this house is not satisfied with his carriage towards the lord holles in this business , and therfore hath ordered , that he should make this acknowledgment , which is to be read by the clerk , as followeth , that he did not mean it of the lord holles when he spake those words , [ that it was a foul contrivance ] and that he is sorry that by his behaviour or expressions he gave any occasion to interpret those words otherwise ; and asks the pardon of this house , and of the lord holles . then the lord chief-iustice of the court of king's-bench was called to his place ( the lord holles being also present ) the lord-keeper performed the directions of the house , and the lord chief-iustice read the acknowledgment abovesaid , onely changing the style into the first person . john browne , cleric . parliamentorum . and this being the true state of the whole business , i do appeal to all mankind to judge , if there was any colour of truth in that accusation of the french-gentlemen by these butchers , if in the least degree they were deserving such a prosecution , and much less the thing aimed at by that prosecution , the taking away of their lives ; and if i , by endeavouring ( as i did ) their assistance and preservation , deserved any blame either for the matter or manner of it . finis . a true relation of the unjust accusation of certain french gentlemen (charged with a robbery, of which they were most innocent) and the proceedings upon it, with their tryal and acquittance in the court of kings bench, in easter term last published by denzell lord holles, partly for a further manifestation of their innocency, (of which, as he is informed, many do yet doubt) and partly for his own vindication, in regard of some passages at that tryal, which seemed very strongly to reflect upon him. holles, denzil holles, baron, 1599-1680. 1671 approx. 83 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 24 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-07 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a63732 wing t3064_variant estc r28675 17351047 ocm 17351047 106402 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a63732) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 106402) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1105:26) a true relation of the unjust accusation of certain french gentlemen (charged with a robbery, of which they were most innocent) and the proceedings upon it, with their tryal and acquittance in the court of kings bench, in easter term last published by denzell lord holles, partly for a further manifestation of their innocency, (of which, as he is informed, many do yet doubt) and partly for his own vindication, in regard of some passages at that tryal, which seemed very strongly to reflect upon him. holles, denzil holles, baron, 1599-1680. [2], 44 p. printed by j. darby for richard chiswel ..., london : 1671. reproduction of original in the huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng thieves -england. great britain -history -restoration, 1660-1688. 2003-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-05 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2003-05 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a true relation of the unjust accusation of certain french gentlemen , ( charged with a robbery , of which they were most innocent ) and the proceedings upon it , with their tryal and acquittall●● in the court of kings bench , in easter term last . published by denzell lord holles , partly for a further manifestation of their innocency , ( of which , as he is informed , many do yet doubt ) and partly for his own vindication , in regard of some passages at that tryal , which seemed very strongly to reflect upon him . london , printed by j. darby , for richard chiswel , at the two angels and crown in little-britain , 1671. conceiving my self under some necessity , not onely to make known the innocency of a couple of young gentlemen of the french nation , whom a curiosity of seeing other countries besides their own had brought into england , and who , by a great deal of art and malice , had been drawn into danger by a robbery laid to their charge , of which they were as free as the child new born ; and also to vindicate my self of some blemish , which was endeavoured to be cast upon me at the tryal of those gentlemen in the kings bench , as if something had been done by me , not fair nor justifiable , in the carriage of that business , and some harsh usage which i received in court : these considerations have induced me to make publick the whole proceeding from the beginning to the end . but by the way , let me answer one thing which may be objected , why i have staid so long to set out this narrative , it being now almost a twelve month since these transactions were , which gave the occasion for it ? to which i say , that it was still my desire , before i made it publick in print , to be judicially cleared in my reputation ; and before i did apply my self to any higher power cither king or parliament to be so cleared , to do my self first that right , to declare the truth of all passages , whereby the clearness of my proceedings might appear , i still being in the same capacity , and upon the same level , as i was , when those indignities were put upon me , and when such a disguise was put upon the whole business as the truth could not appear , that was , to give a full and true account of all in an ordinary court of justice , which i would have done then in the kings bench , but could not be suffered , and for which i knew i should have an opportunity , when those gentlemen should bring their action against the persons who had so falsly and ma●itiously accused them , as they have since done in the court of common pleas , and there i did them and my self that right , to lay open the whole matter , with which the court and jury were so well satisfied , that they had a verdict for four hundred pounds dammages against them ; and after that , i immediately made my complaint in the house of lords for what concerned my self , where i have received that justice , which hath abundantly satisfied me , ( my honour being the only thing dear unto me , which before had been blemi●hed , and was there cleared ) and now i come to present it all to the publick view , and shall do it as succinctly as i may , with all candor and sincerity . these two gentlemen , one , a youth of about 17 years of age , called valentine simon chevalier de hoeville ( that is , knight of hoeville , according to the french stile , he being destinated ( it seems ) by his parents to be a knight of malta , when they use to give them the appellation of knights , even while very young before their going thither to take upon them the vow and the habit : ) the other , his name is adrian lampriere s t des mezieres , young also , but nineteen years old , and of a good family in normandy as well as the other , both of them neighbours to my wife , and to her estate in those parts . these two young men , young●r brothers , but with money in their purses , came hither , not to rob upon the high-way , but to see fashions , and have seen one with a witness not very well to be liked by them : they landed at ratcliff , the second or third of november ; and having a recommendation to lodge at master sedgewick's house , a ba●●●r , in the strand , they came thither , and there they continued , till forced to lie in a prison against their wills. though they were neighbours , and their parents of acquaintance and friends to my wife , yet she heard not of them , till they were made to cry to her out of the goal of hartford ; they excused it afterwards that they would not see her , till they had put themselves into black clothes , as most wore at that time . they kept in their lodgings , and scarce ever went out , but to their dinners and suppers at an ordinary ( as several credible witnesses made it out at their tryal ) from the day of their coming to london , until the thursday sennight after , which was the 11th of november . that day , they and three others of their countreymen ( whom they had fallen acquainted with here ) agreed to go see a merchant about barnet , with whom they had some business ; missing of him , they resolved to go see hatfield house . one of their company onely spake english , whose name was beauuais , themselves not one word , and the other two as little . for this journey they hired horses , in two or three places , from several persons , the best horse not worth above three pounds . these horses were brought to their lodgings upon the thursday morning , their landlord's wife passing her word for them . one of the company had no boots , a young youth , whose father is a rich merchant in paris , his name boutandon ; he lay in long-acre , and took horse there ; and it is said , they had much adoe to get him upon his horse , having scarce ever been upon one before , and boots it is certain he had none at all , nor they say never had any : and not a pistol among all five . in this equipage they began their voyage , how like to be high-way men , let any man judge , especially having no language , nor no knowledge of the countrey , or of one foot of the way in it , and horses that could scarce go out of a way when they were in it . they came to hatfield upon the market day , went into the market , saw hatfield house , and coming back to their inn , the town did rise upon them , and apprehended them for thieves , that had robbed four butchers , whose names were robert simons , robert bellingham , edward lawrence , and solomon grace , upon totternol hill in bedfordshire the monday before , being the eighth of november , between three and four of the clock in the afternoon . those butchers among the rest came , and viewed them , and having seen them , one or two of them ( as i have been told ) were very doubtful of accusing them ; solomon grace by name , saying ( as one murrel a chirurgion who did then reside in hatfield , and was present , hath assured me ) that he would not for the world say , they were the men that did the robbery : onely two of the butchers said , they thought they were them , and going into the stable , said , they thought they knew one of the horses . they kept them there all the thursday , trying to get the money from them which the butchers had lost , about 27 pound , upon which condition , they said they would let them go , and not carry them before a justice . but they refusing it , they then upon the friday morning carried them before sir francis butler : he examined them , and heard the accusation of the four butchers , without giving them their oath ; and upon the bare saying of three of them , one , that those men were like those he saw upon the road , the other two , that they did believe them to be those that robbed them : he made his mittimus , and sent them to the goal at hartford , whither they were compelled to walk on foot : and when they came thither , were presently put into irons , and laid in a low damp room , with scarce any light to it , no bed , and only straw to lie upon ; and so they lay from friday the twelfth of november , till the sunday fortnight after , seventeen dayes , more like dogs then persons of any quality : and no body at london had known what had become of them , if that murr●l , whom i named b●fore , hearing them tell where they lodged in london , had not of himself come and given notice at that house , that their guests were in hartford goal . the examination and the mittimus follow verbatim . the examination of solomon grace , drover ; robert simmons , robert bellingham , and edward lawrence , butchers , all of the parish of edmondron in the county of middlesex , taken before me , one of the justices of peace for the county of hartsord , upon the 12th of november , 1669. solomon grace saith , that he riding on the road near totternol , saw five young men afoot , with their horses in their hands ; he suspecting them , made haste from them ; and being got at a good distance , stayed to let his horse drink , but seeing them coming towards him , he galloped away , and heard one of them say , farewel old man ; and looking about , saw them all turn back towards totternol hill , which was about a mile distance from him ; and saith , that the persons apprehended are very like those he saw upon the road. robert simmons saith , that on monday , being the eighth of november , 1669. about three or four of the clock in the afternoon , upon totternol hill , in the parish of totternol , he was robbed , and had 27 pounds taken from him , and believes the persons now apprehended , are the men which robbed him . robert bellingham , as to time and place , agreeth with robert simmons , and further saith , that he and robert simmons , and edward lawrence , riding together , espied five men coming towards them , which they judged to be thieves , and therefore putting spurs to their horses , thought to escape them by riding , but two of them overtaking him , one of the two clapt a pistol to his breast ; they searched him , and finding no money , they took his bridle and his girdle , and the other three pursued robert simmons , and he verily believes that the black man , which calls himself adrian lamperiere , is the man that pulled the bridle off his horse . edward lawrence saith , he was in company with robert simmons and robert bellingham , on the forementioned day , time , and place , and saw the five men , which they suspected to be thieves , but being well horsed , escaped . the examination of paul bovey , adrian lamperier , john boudandon , valentine chivalier , and guinet chateuneuf , all french men , taken before me , one of his majesties justices of the peace for the county of hertford , upon the 12th day of november 1669. paul bovey saith , that he is a servant to one of my lord chamberlains sons , mr. edward montacute , but that he lodgeth at mr. munduglas his house , in george lane in kings-street , westminster . he saith he came to hatfield upon the 11th of november 1669. with four of his friends , to see the earl of salisburies house , and that on monday before , he and one of his friends dined at the scottish ordinary in bedfordbury , and on tuesday they all five dined in the same place . adrian lamperier saith , that he came into england the second of this instant , and that he lodgeth at one sedgwick's a barbers , over against the maypole in the strand . john boudandon saith , he came into england the 15th of august last , and lodgeth in long-acre , at a semstress house over against the castle ; and that he tradeth in merchandize . valentine chevalier lodgeth with adrian lamperier , and came into england with him . guinet chateauneuf lodgeth with paul bouey , which monsieur bouey hired all the five horses , upon which they rode to hatfield . sedgwick past his word for three of the horses , who lives in the strand over against the may-pole ; and all but bouey affirm , they were not out of london since they came thither , until the fore-mentioned 11th of november . the mittimus . to the keeper of his majesties gaol for the county of hertford . i herewithall send you the bodies of paul bouey , adrian de lamperier , john boutandon , valentine chevalier , and guinet chateauneuf , brought this day before me , and charged with the felonious taking away twenty seven pounds from robert simmons of edmondton , and rifling robert bellingham upon totternol-hill , on the 8th day of this instant november , between three and four of the clock in the afternoon : these are therefore on the behalf of our sovereign lord the king , to command you to receive the forenamed paul bouey , adrian lamperier , john boutandon , valentine chevalier , and guinet chateauneuf , and them safely to keep in your gaole until they shall be thence delivered by due order of law : hereof fail not . given under my hand and seal at hatfield-woodhall this 12th of november 1669 , in the 21th year of his majesties reign . francis boteler . mr. sedgwick their landlord presently sent his son to hertford to them , and with him their servant , whom they had left in london ; and that servant they sent back , with a letter to my wife , to let her know who , and where they were : with which she acquainted me upon the monday-morning , i being at that time sick in bed . whereupon i sent for sedgwick , who came to me immediately , and brought with him the men of whom they had hired the horses , and his son , and ( as i remember ) a servant of his . he gave me an account of those gentlemen , assuring me they had not been out of london from the time of their coming thither , till that thursday ; and that he believed them to be very honest men , they having carried themselves very civilly in his house : and however , that he would take his oath , they had not committed any robbery upon monday the 8th of november , for he knew they were all that day in london ; which his son and servant likewise affirm● 〈…〉 men of whom the horses were hired , said , they 〈…〉 but that thur●day . and he off●red himself to 〈…〉 , but said he could not possibly go thither to 〈…〉 till the wednesday ; upon which day i sent one with him to joyn in the bayl ; they first went to sir ●●●ncis bot●ler , the justice that had committed them , told him who ●●●se gentlen w●●e whom he had committed ; that they were persons known unto me s● far , as that i would answer for them , being very well assured that they were not guilty of that robbery , as having not stirred out of london all that day on which the robbery was done in bedfordthire , at thirty miles distance from thence , nor had been out of london from the time of their arrival thither out of france , till the day before he committed them to hertford-gaol , which was three dayes after the robbery , when they went from london to see hatfield-house ; and that therefore i had sent them to him , to be their bayl : but all this would not prevail with sir francis boteler , who bade them go to some other justice , saying , it was not fit for him who had sent them to prison , to take bayl for them to let them out . he was then desired , they might not lie in irons : but he would not meddle with that neither , saying , he left that to the gaoler , who knew how to keep them . so they left him , and went to seek some other justice at hertford , and when they came thither , they found a letter there from mr. justice morton , that then they could not be bayled . the letter was directed to the gaoler of hertford as follows . sir , there being information given to my lord chief justice and my self , that there are five high-way robbers apprehended in hertfordshire , and committed to the goal , i am desired by my lord chief justice to require you to look carefully to them , that they do not escape out of your custody , and to iron them well : and withall to write up unto us by what names they are committed to you , and what their true names are , if you have or can discover the same ; because we are informed , that they refuse to declare what their true names are ; and the return thereof you are to send by this bearer , and to be very careful that they may not escape , or be bayled without our special order : and this we require you to perform at your utmost peril . chancery-lane , nov. 15. 1669. postscript . i pray you , that the bearers hereof be admitted to view the prisoners , and to confer with them . so sedgwiek , and he that went with him to bayl them , returned next day to london , re infecta , brought me copies of the examination , mittimus , and of judge mortons letter : with which i presently went to serjeants-inn to the judge , and discoursing the matter with him , made it appear they could not be thieves : so he said , they should be bayled , but that he must speak first with the chief-justice , because the letter had been written by his advice , and he would give me an account of it the next day in the lords house : he came accordingly , and then told me the case was altered , since he had seen me , for that the butchers had now been with the lord chief-justice , and positively charged them with the robbery upon their oaths , so as now they were not baylable . i replied , i thought it strange , that first a justice of peace should send men to prison without any oath against them , of so much as suspition , keep them so long in irons , so hardly used ; and after several dayes lying so , their accusers to be sent for to swear to their accusation , when they had not done it before ; so to make good a posteriore , what upon their commitment before was not good . ( for certainly their imprisonment , and all the duress they had suffered , without an accusation upon oath , and to refuse bayling them , was unjust and illegal : ) and i said , the king should be acquainted with it : which he was , and the chief-justice was sent for , and i commanded by his majesty to attend at the same time , which was the monday after in the morning : when we came thither , the chief-justice telling the king they were highway-men , and i affirming they were not , and that i would undertake for them body for body : his majesty said , they should then be bayled , and commanded the chief-justice accordingly to do it , who said he would ; but yet was it a whole week after , ere i could get them brought to the kings-bench bar to be bayled ; for just that day sennight after , upon the monday , they were brought thither , and there i entered into a recognizance of two thousand pounds for their appearance at the next assizes at bedford : and all that week they had lain in irons in their nasty hole at hertford : nay , i am credibly inform'd , that when they were brought to the side-barr in westminster-hall in the morning before the court sate , the chief-justice was angry , because they had not irons on ; which was a very great severity to poor young gentlemen , strangers , whom the king had commanded to be bayled , and whom ( if i may say it without vanity ) a peer of the realm had undertaken for , in the presence of his majesty . at bedford lent-assizes they appeared , and were indicted , but their tryal was by the king's command removed by certiorari into the king's-bench . and the first day of easter term they appeared there : whither i went not my self with them , because the small-pox was in my house , which made me keep within doors , but i sent my son , bade him do my service to my lord chief-justice , tell him the occasion why i came not , and that he was there to perform what was to be done for the bayling of those gentlemen : now it seems the use is upon such a kind of bayl , after an indictment upon a certiorari , to require four persons to answer for the prisoner body for body : so my son offered himself , and mr. sedgwick the landlord to these gentlemen , ( a substantial man , worth at least two or three thousand pounds ) and two other men , french-men , but house-keepers , and that live in a good fashion , to be the bayl : the chief-justice asked those two , what estate they had , and if they would swear , that all their debts paid , they were worth three hundred pounds , which they refusing to do , he put them by , and would not accept of them for bayl ; which i am told is not usual to be requied of such kind of bayl , that undertake body for body for a prisoners being forthcoming . well bayled they were not , but to prison they went , and there they continued until their tryal upon wednesday the 11th of may , at which i was present in court. that day they were brought to the barr , and the four butchers came , their accusers , and were sworn in court , of whom three charged them with the robbery ; and solomon grace was one of the three , who had refused to swear against them , when they were first seized on at hatfield , and afterwards at london when the lord chief-justice sent for him ; and i am very certain that he said afterwards in my house in my hearing , and of several of my servants , that he had not sworn against them , nor would for all the world ; ( the occasion of his coming to my house i shall hereafter relate : ) the fourth man , edward lawrence said , he saw the five thieves at a distance , but he rode for it and escaped , and could not say it was those five men at the barr. a fift man was produced , one george pettifo●d , who said that he rode in company with beauvais within half a mile of totternel-hill about two of the clock in the afternoon that day that the robbery was , but could not say any thing to the robbery : the butchers said also , that two of the horses which they rode upon , when they robbed them , viz. that which adrian lampriere had , a bay with a white face and white feet , and that which beauvais had , a gray , were taken with them at hatfield ; where , upon the hue and cry all the five men were apprehended . simmons said further , that beauuais was the man , that took his money ftom him : and bellingham said , that the black man , ( who was adrian lampriere ) when he overtook him , held a pistol to his breast , and swore to him dam-me what money hast tho● about thee ? and then rifled him , and finding nothing , took his girdle , and pulled his bridle off his horses head . and the same bellingham some-while after being again asked and put to it , to repeat what lampriere said , and in what language he spake , when he came to him ; he then answered , that he said dam-me , and jabberd to him , but he knew not well what he said : so would not stand to what he had positively said before of lamprieres asking him , what money he had in his purse : and i dare affirm that at that time mr. lampriere could not have spoken so much english to have gotten thereby all the money in england ; of which one pinson ( that teacheth strangers the english tongue , whom he hath since had to teach him ) will take his oath . this was the charge . then the prisoners being required to answer to it , mr. lampriere began to give an account of himself , what he was , and what had brought him into this kingdom ; that he was a gentleman , and came not hither to robb upon the high-way : that his friends would rather wish him a thousand times dead , than to be branded with such an infamy ; and so was going on , when the chief-justice interrupted him , and bad him speak particularly to the matters of his charge ; ( and certainly what he was saying was much to the purpose , to shew in the first place the improbability of his being guilty of such a fact , by being a gentleman , a stranger in this country , and whose friends would detest him if he had committed that fact ; ) he then only named some persons , and desired they might be heard , to prove , that he could not be guilty of that robbery , for that he was in london all that monday the 8 th of november , when the robbery was committed upon totternol-htll in bedford shire . and first , one mr. richard compton , an ancient gentleman , and ( as i am informed ) a justice of peace in his country , was produced , who said , that he lodged in the same house with the two gentlemen at the barr , at mr. sedgewick's the barber , that he saw them there , and spake with them the saturday , understanding french a little , and saw them and spake with them the monday , which was the 8 th of november , first in the morning , and then at two of the clock in the afternoon , and again at five of the clock the same evening : ( so then if he said true , it was impossible they should be that day robbing at totternoll-hill ; and a grave person of that quality affirming a thing in such a solemn assembly in a court of justice is certainly more to be believed , then those butchers , even upon their oathes , who as it appears cared no more to hang men with taking a false oath , then to have knockt one of their calves in the head , and accordingly it seems the jury did believe him , ) he said further , that he saw them also the wednesday , and thought he saw their horses on thursday , which they rode on to hatfield . the chief-justice asked him , how he came to take so good notice of his seeing them the monday ? he answered , that when he heard they were taken as highway-men , and to have done a robbery such a day , he had recollected his memory , how he had seen them at times all that day in london , and had set it down in a paper , with the day of the month , and pointing to the two gentlemen at the barr , to shew he meant them , the chief-justice bad him name them , he said , he knew not their names , which the chief-justice presently laid hold on , and asked him , how then he could give such a testimony of them ? he answered , that they had told him their names , but he had forgotten them , and called them still only monsieurs . next thomas doughty , an antient man likewise , a sollicitor , was called : he said , he saw those two gentlemen in mr. sedgwick's house , saturday the 6 th of november , and the monday being the 8 th at three of the clock in the afternoon ( just the hour of the robbery ) and saw them also there the tuesday , and the wednesday ; the chief-justice asked him , how he came to take so much notice of them ? he answered , that he followed business for mr. sedgewick , and so had occasion to come often to the house , where he saw them . then mr. sedgewick was heard , who said , that those two gentlemen , viz. mr. lampriere , and the chevalier , came to his house the 2 d of november , being then newly arrived out of france , and recommended by some body , that had told them there were some in it that spake french ; and that from the time of their coming to london , till the thursday sennight that they went to hatfield , they had not been out of his house above two hours at a time , and then only to their dinners and suppers at an ordinary in swan-alley : and that particularly upon monday the 8th of november , they were in his house all the morning till about eleven a clock , and then went out to dinner to the ordinary , and came back about one or two , and staid within till supper time , and then went to the ordinary , and came back after supper : the chief-justice asked him , where they dined upon the sunday before , he said they dined with him at his house : and that the tuesday and wednesday following they were within both forenoon and afternoon , only going out to their meals : that thursday they took horse at his door to go to barnet , with a resolution to see hatfield-house before their return . mris sedgwick ( his wife ) said , that those two french-gentlemen came to their house upon the 2 d day of november about ten of the clock in the forenoon , brought thither by a waterman , to whom ( they having no english money ) she gave a crown for them : that they went out to dinner to the ordinary , and afterwards came back , and lay upon their beds , and she saw them no more till the next day , when she changed some french gold for them ; that from the 2 d to the 11 th of november that they went to barnet , they were not above two hours at a time out of doors : that mr. beauuais went with them , because he spake english : that they said if they found not their merchant at barnet , they would go to hatfield : that the passed her word for their horses ; and not seeing them come home again on thursday , she much wondred at it , and on friday in the evening one came to tell them , they were in hertford gaol : that they sent letters to the lord holles , who knew them : that three of them took horse at their door about nine or ten of the clock in the forenoon , and were to meet the two others in drury-lane : and that the horses were so bad , as they said it would be a shame to be seen upon them . i must note here that upon the naming of me , and mentioning the letter , that should be written to me , the chief-justice seemed to be moved , and said some thing which i did not well hear , whereupon i stood up , and said , my lord , i shall give you an account how i came to be concerned , and so began to tell , that they were gentlemen , neighbours to my wife in normandy , who came over hither to see the country , and falling into this misfortune , writ a letter to my wife to acquaint her with it , not to me , ( which was a mistake in the witness ; ) and so was going on to relate what i knew of the business ; but his lordship was pleased in a very angry peremptory manner to interrupt me , first asking if i was to give evidence , then bidding me forbear , and saying i must not interrupt the court. i replied , that i hoped it was not to interrupt the court ; nor to do them any wrong to inform them 〈◊〉 as much as was possible of all passages , that they might the better understand the whole truth of the business : he answered again very angrily , my lord , you wrong not the court , but you wrong your self : and it is not the first time you have been observed to appear too much for strangers . so i was snubb'd , and sate down again . but i must say , it was a language , i had not been used to , nor i think any of my condition , that have the honour to serve the king in the quality i do of a privy-counseller . then sedgwick the son was called , who said he knew those two , viz. mr. lampriere , and the chevalier , that they came to lodge at their house , the 2 d of november , and their contiuned till the 11 th . that the day before they went their journy all five met at their shop ; and that in the morning , three of them ( their two lodgers and beauvais ) took horse there , and said they should meet the other two in their way , and so go to barnet : that upon monday the 8 th of november , he saw the two ( the chevalier and the other ) at home about ten of the clock , and again about two in the afternoon ; and that they staid within till the evening ; and the same account he gives of them for tuesday and wednesday . his sister mary sedgwick confirms what was said of their assiduous and constant being at home ; only adds this , that upon monday morning the 8 th she carried up a landress to them to their chamber , and that the little man , meaning the chevalier , was in his bed about ten or eleven of the clock : and that every day after until thursday she saw them in her shop , she keeping a sempstress shop . philip lemmon a poulterer saith , that as he was watering his horse in the white-hart yard upon the wednesday , mr. lampriere , the chevalier , and beauuais coming by , beauvais asked him , if he had any horses to let ? and he said , he had but one : so they went , and he with them , to one hooper , who had but one neither , and asked 3 s. for his hire , and they proffered half a crown : he said that his horse was a bay , with a white face and four white feet , hoopers was a little gray nag , and that there was a gray mare besides hired of another man : and said , that one capt. hill had hired his horse on the monday before to go to brickbill , and kept him till the wednesday : it is to be noted , that this was the horse , which the butchers swore , lampriere had under him when he robbed them , whereas it appears by this mans testimony , that one captain hill had him that day , and full two days after , for he brought him back to london but the wednesday , the day before these gentlemen hired him . mary hooper , wife to him that let out one of the horses , saith , that she sent the little gray nagg on thursday morning to mr. sedgwick's house , and that on the wednesday before she saw those three men with her husband hiring that horse of him : and note , that this was the other horse , which the butchers swore that beauvais ridd upon when he robbed them ; whereas it appears , that none of them had this horse till three dayes after that robbery , when they went to hatfield , nor was it beauvais who had himthen , but mr. lampriere ; so they swore falsly , for it appears , neither he nor the horse were there . william wood master of the victualling-house in swan-alley , witnessed , that mr. lampriere and the chevalier dined and supped at his house monday the 8 th of november . the chief-justice asked him , how he came to take notice , that they were there just that day ? he answered , that there was a writing sealed between two persons at his house that day , and he had since looked upon the date of it , and found it to be the 8 th of november , and he very well remembred that those two gentlemen were then present . the chief-justice then asked him , where they dined upon the sunday ? he said , at his house . whereupon mr. sedgwick was presently called , and asked again , where the gentlemen dined on sunday ? and he ( as he had done before ) said , at his house . of this the chief-justice took notice , shewing how the witnesses contradicted one another , which he said took off their whole testimony ( or some words to that effect ; and by the way let me say , that i would not be understood to take upon me to repeat still the very identical words that were spoken by any , but i am very confident , that i do not vary a tittle from the sense of what every one said . ) the same wood also testified that they had dined and supped at his house the tuesday , and the wednesday following ; so as it appears , they continued still in london until the thursday . then charles walrond came into the court and confessed , that himself , du-val , ashenhurst , cassels , and mac-guy were the five men that committed that robbery upon the butchers at totternol-hill upon monday the 8 th of november ; that they robbed them about the middle of the hill ; that himself rode upon a brown gelding . that it was ashen●urst that took the money from the butcher , about 22 l. odd money : the chief-justice then stopt him , and said , that he knew he would say what ever he was bid to say ; and then asked him , if he had been indicted for this robbery ? he said , no ; and the chief-justice replyed , now sirrah you have confest enough , and you shall be indicted , or you may be indicted , one of the two i am sure he said , but which i will not positively affirm . he had said in the account he gave , that one of the butchers breaking from them and galloping away , he followed him over some plowed-lands ; and the butcher asfirming it was stubble he rode over , the chief-justice made a great matter of it , insinuating , as if walrond had said false , and that he was not there at all , but meerly took this robbery upon himself at my sollicitation , upon hope of his pardon ; yet another of the butchers confessed there was both plowed-land and stubble : and what was it material which it was ? it had been no wonder , if neither could have told , and that both had been mistaken : for hardly doth either he that rides away from a thief as fast as his horse will carry him , and sufficiently frighted withal , or the thief that rides as fast after him to overtake him , mind the ground they ride over . then sir george cbarnock was called in to testifie what du-val and mac-guy had confessed concerning this robbery : but first i must tell , how the butchers ( and bellingham chiefly ) had a little before given information , that they had been sent for up to london by the lord holles his warrant , and carried to du-val at newgate , where du-val , mac-guy , and they were examined by two men , who pretended themselves to be justices of peace , and who after they had examined du-val , carried him to mac-guy , but first went in themselves , and staid with him half an hour , and when they came into the room they took him aside again , and spake with him in private a good space , acquainting him ( as bellingham said he conceived ) with what du-val had confessed , and promising him his pardon ; and that then mac-guy said the same things with du-val , and took the robbery upon him , as du-val had done before : i must note , that upon bellingham's saying they were sent for by me , i stood up and said , that it was done by the king 's express command . the chief-justice asked , who were those justices , and what were their names ? and used some expression to this sense , that those justices deserv'd to be sent to the gaol themselves ; and withal cast his looks upon me , and by his gesture and countenance seemed to mark out me , as the setter and contriver of a foul practice , to send those justices thither to make those condemned persons own the robbery , and acquit the french-men ; so as all the standers-by took notice of it , and looked upon me , as well as did the judge ; yet i sate still and would not say any thing in the court to vindicate my self , because i would not give any interruption to their proceedings , as the chief-justice had before told me that i did , and i believed he might again have said the same . but truly if i had done any unworthy thing even to have saved their lives , or had any design of suborning , or in any unfitting way perswading any body to do or speak for them , or had contributed any thing to the effecting of such a design , i should abhor my self for it . and after i shall have gone through with all the witnesses , i shall then give an account , and a very true one , of all my transactions in that business : and will now go on with the testimony of sir goarge charnock . he said , that himself and mr. andrew blackwell counsellor at law , and mr. william sedgwick , and one of his majesties messengers , were sent by me , together with bellingham and other the prosecutors , to du-val to newgate just before his going to execution : that they found him in a room , which was not very dark , and yet had also a candle in it , so as du-val , and the butchers mighteasily discern one another , and he asked them whether they knew one another ? du-val confessed that he and his camerades had committed the robbery upon those men , and named walrond , ashenhurst , cassels , and mac-guy to have been those that were then with him at that robbery ; that bellingham thereupon swore , by god he was not the person that robbed them : and du-val upon that said , friend be cautious how you swear and prosecute innocent persons ; for men of your profession , butchers , care not what you swear against any man ; and instanced in a robbery in surry committed by him , and others , upon some butchers , which they had charged peremptorily upon other persons that were innocent . and then said further to bellingham , you may remember it was i , by the same token , that you fled from me over the plowed-lands , and my horse tired , so , as i left following you , and walked back with my horse in my hand ; and sir george charnock said , that he then asked bellingbam what he said to that , and that bellingham was startled at it , and confessed it to be true , that he did ride away from them towards layton . and so was going on with his testimony , when the chief-justice interrupted him , and required him to answer a question which he would propose , which was , to know how long he had been with mac-guy before the butchers saw him ? to which he answcred , that he desired his lordship he might first give a full account of what du-val had confessed , and that then he would tell all that had passed with mac-guy : but his lordship would not suffer him , but said , pray you sir george go on no further , but answer this question . whereupon he told him , that he was a little while with mac-guy , but not alone , for mr. blackwell and young sedgwick were there as well as he , and that he asked mac-guy if he was one of the persons which had committed such a robbery ? and he denyed it ; whereupon he sent for the butchers in t o the room , and desired them to look upon mac-guy , and see if they knew him ; which they said they did not . the chief-justice then asked him , if he took not mac-guy aside the 2 d time ? he said he did , but mr. blackwell and young sedgwick still present , and that it was only to make him discharge his conscience and tell the truth , which he conceived it to be his duty to do , and so was going on to relate all passages ; but the chief-justice stopt him , and with much sharpness reproved him , saying , sir george you have gone too far , and have done too much already : here hath been a foul contrivance , it would be examined by what authority you have done it : and would hear him no further , nor suffer him to read du-val and mac-guy's examinations which he had in his hand and shewed unto him , notwithstanding that both sir george and my self had just before told him , that all had been done by the kings express command . then the masters mate of the ship , john burdick , who brought over the two gentlemen into england , was called : he said , that he took in those two gentlemen viz. mr. hoeville and mr. lampriere , and one servant of theirs aboard his ship at roven , upon the 27 th of october ; that he landed them at ratcliff upon the third of november ; that they went into london that day , and came back and lay that night on shore in ratcliff , and the next day they went again to london , and came no more ; and he sent a seaman along with them to carry their things : the chief-justice then asked him , if he was sure , that he landed them the 3 d of november ? he answered yes , for that he had set it down in writing and had it ready in his hand to shew . then sedgwick the father was presently called , and asked again , what day those two came to his house ? he said ( as before ) the second of november : and sharp reflections were made upon this faltering in his testimony , as if the stress of the matter had lain in this , whether the second or third of november was the day of their landing ? which no man will say could signifie any thing , to prove , whether or no they had been robbing upon totternol-hill the eighth . and so ended the tryal of those two gentlemen , hoeville and lampriere : then paul beauvais was called upon to answer for himself ; and he desired only that his witnesses might be heard , to prove his being in london the day of the robbery . and first sir steven fox was called , who being in court , affirmed upon his salvation , that he saw beauvais at a french play that very day from three of the clock in the afternoon untill seven ; ( note , this was the very time of the robbery . ) the chief-justice asked him , how he came to take notice that it was that very day ? of which sir stephen gave this account , that his wife and himself , and his daughter , and a gentlewoman that waited on his daughter , were that monday at the french play , and his daughter sitting before him in the box , looked over into the pit , and saw beauvais there , and turned back to him , saying , father , paul beauvais is not gone into france , i see him here : whereupon lie said he looked over also into the pit , and did see him there ; and saw him also , and spoke to him at the end of the play , about seven of the clock : he said also , that he was then to go into france to his mother , and that he thought him gone : and for his taking such particular notice of him , and his being there that very day , monday the eighth of november , ( for that was asked of him as well as of others ) he gave this reason , that hearing so presently after , within four dayes , that beauvais was taken with some others , and committed to hertford gaol for a robbery done that day , he easily recollected himself and remembred his being that day at the french play : and this upon his salvation he declared to be true . his wife the lady fox , and their daughter , and the waiting-gentlewoman confirmed all that sir stephen had said . then one mac-don ( as i remember his name , who in beauvais's examination at hatfield is called mr. munduglas ; but whether mistaken there or here , or in both i know not ) a scotch-man , at whose house beauvais lodged , was called , who said that beauvais , and guinet the other prisoner with him , were at his house the said monday , and after dinner they went into holburn ( as themselves said ) to a barber there . and that barber he came and said , that they were at his house about two of the clock in the afternoon that day , and that guinet cut his ( the said barber 's ) hair , and afterwards that they went both of them from his house , and said they would go to a play. i must not omit one passage more upon the testimony given by a woman ( whose name i have forgot ) produced on the behalf of the prisoners , she saying she had upon the wednesday hired out a gray mare to carry one of them to hatfield , and the butchers having said that one of the thieves that robbed them the monday before on totternol-hill was upon a gray mare : the chief-justice ( to shew the colour was the same , and that so it might be thought to be the same mare ) would have the woman repeat it again , and therefore asked her , what colour her gray mare was of ? which having moved some laughter , he put it of with a jest , mentioning the old saying , that the gray mare is the better horse . and so the examination of witnesses for the prisoners ended ; for the judges said , there was not evidence against the other two prisoners , viz. guinet and boutandon , wherefore there was no need of hearing any more witnesses on their parts . and then calling the jury , the chief-justice applied himself to them , and to the summing up of the evidence , which had been given pro and con , for the prisoners and against them . in which to be short , i shall only say , that he insisted much upon the contradictions which he said he had observed in the evidence brought on the prisoners behalves , the witnesses thwarting and contradicting one another , which took off much from the credit of their testimony , and that three men had positively charged them with that robbery upon their oaths ; only he acknowledged something to have been said materially by sir stephen fox for the clearing of beauvais , and so would have differenced his case from that of the two young gentlemen whom i had appeared for , and bayled ; and what ground there was for it , let any indifferent man judge , that reades this narrative : but so he left it to the jury . the jury then went together from the bar , and after some two hours stay returned , and delivered in their verdict , not guilty : upon which mr. justice morton ( as i am informed , for i was then gone out of the court , ) said to them , gentlemen you have done well ; and if i had been of the jury , i should have done the same thing that you have done . and so the tryal ended . and now i shall give an account what hand i had in taking the consessions of du-val and mac-guy , and likewise of walrond . i was from the beginning as certain , as i could be of any thing that i had not seen with my own eyes , that the two french gentlemen were most innocent of the robbery which was laid to their charge : and i did verily believe , that du-val , who likewise was a french-man ( but spake as good english as any natural-born english-man ) had done the feat , and that the butchers might be deceived , taking one french-man for another , and really think themselves in the right , accusing those they did , and so be guilty of false swearing without knowing it ; wherefore when du-val was apprehended , i did within a day or two after , take a gentleman with me , ( one mr. hull of dorsetshire ) and went to newgate to speak with him ; and when i came thither , i did send for him into the hall , which was full of people as it could hold , come out of curiosity it seems to see him , though i knew none of them except mr. charles bartue brother to the earl of linsey , who with twenty more heard all i said to du-val , and i doubt not but he will testifie the truth of what i here say , which is this , that when du-val came to me , i said this to him , mr. du-val , i am sorry that you have brought your self into this bad condition , it hath been your own fault ; and the best counsel i or any man can give you , is , to make your peace with god almighty , and make way for his mercy ; and one good help to it will be , to do all the good you can before you dye , that is , by preventing mischief as much as in you lies , discovering those persons who have joyned with you in committing of robberies , that they may be apprehended , and rob no longer ; and confessing the robberies that have been done by you , that innocent persons may not suffer for them : then i asked him if he had not done that robbery at totternol-hill , for which some country-men of his were questioned ? he then stood still a good while , with his head down , and his finger upon his mouth , musing , and said at last , that he was within three miles of the place where those french-men were apprehended , at the time of their apprehension . but i prest him again to speak to the robbery : and then he denyed it , and said he was not there : to which i replyed but this , i have no more to say to you ; god forbid you should take it upon your self if you be not guilty . this i will be deposed was the summe of all i said to him ; and so i came away , and thought no more of it , till two dayes before his execution , that one of the two french-gentlemen came and told me , that now du-val had cleared them , and confessed , that he and others had committed that robbery ; and i asked him to whom he had confessed it , to an englishman or a french-man ? he said , to an english-man : i asked him then , if that english-man would tell me so much ? he answered , that he thought he would , and that he would bring him to me ; which i desired might be the next morning : accordingly he did bring him to me the next morning , and that man did tell me , that du-val had confessed to him , that he and four others , whom he named to him , had committed that robbery at totternol-hill ; those four he said were mac-guy , ashenhurst , cassels , and walrond : i asked him , if du-val would declare so much to any other person that should be sent to him ? he answered , that he was confident he would , for he had not revealed it to him in confession ; which made me believe him to be a romish priest ; but i took no notice of that , only said , that it would be worth the while , and that perhaps i should use some means that his examination should be taken before he suffered . it was upon a councel-day , and i w●● then going to councel , where i acquainted the king with what had been told me that morning , and said besides , that i thought it would be very well , if that the butchers that had accused those french-men were sent for to be confronted with du-val before he dyed ; things might be set right , innocent persons might be freed , and the butchers themselves be disabused , that they should not , by mistaking one french-man for another , persist in their false oathes . his majesty answered , i think it will be very well , let them be sent for , and accordingly bade me call mr. secretary trevor to him , who was in the room , to whom he gave order to send for the butchers . after the rising of the councel i returned home ; and soon after one of the messengers of the chamber came to me from mr. secretary to know the place of the abode of those butchers , mr. secretary having forgot it ; and the messenger , after i had informed him of it , went his way . that afternoon sir george charnock came to my house , ( as he used to do many times ) and i told him what i heard that du-val had confessed , and what was done upon it , and asked him , if he could be at leasure to go to newgate to hear what du-val and the butchers would say one to another ? he said he would . and then considering whom i should joyn with him , i pitch'd upon mr. blackwell , a counsellor at law , who being an acquaintance of mr. sedgwicks , and using much to his house , had been with me once or twice for the business of those two french-gentlemen ; i sent to him to desire him , that he would give himself the trouble of that employment , and he accepted of it . these two were utterly unknown the one to the other , and had never seen one another before ; so it had been a very weak part in me to have together engaged them in a foul contrivance , nor is it likely they would have trusted one another to have together undertaken it . that night very late , as i was going to bed , one of my servants came and told me , that the messeng er was c●me with the butchers , and said that mr. secretary had given him order to bring them to me : whereupon i sent for them all into my chamber , and asked them if they were the men that were robbed at totternol-hill ? they said they were ; and i told them , that it seems it was du-val that robbed them . bellingham ( who was the forward man ) presently said , no , he would swear it was those frenchmen that were taken at hatfield : i bad him take heed how he did swear , for if it was not they , he would be forsworn ; but he stood to it , that they were the men : then i asked the rest , what they said to it ? simmons , who was the man robbed , was nothing so positive as bellingham ; lawrence said , he could not swear who it was , for he rode away before they came so near as that he could discern them to know them again ; solomon grace , said these words , my lord , i have not sworn against them , nor will for the world ; they used me well whoever they were , for i rode with them a good way , and had fourscore pounds about me , and they meddled not with me , but when they left me and rode back , they bade me farewel . ( yet did this man at their tryal swear as lustily as bellingham himself ; but how he came to do so , let them give an account who perswaded him , and no question they will do it one day . ) i said only this to them , well friends , it is the king's pleasure you should see du-val , and he you , therefore if you will be here to morrow morning betimes , i shall send some with you who shall bring you to him ; and i bade my servants , who were in the room , have them down to the buttery and make them drink , where discoursing again of the business , solomon grace , in the presence of three or four of my servants ( who will be deposed of it ) said again the same thing that he had said to me in my chamber , that he had not sworn against them , nor would for the world. bellingham still obstinate , and in such a rage , as my servants afterwards told me , that he would taste neither beer nor wine . in the morning , sir george charnock and mr. blackwell , and with them mr. sedgwick's son came to my house , where they met the butchers and the messenger , and all together went to newgate : and sir george charnock and his company came back at noon , and gave me an account of their negotiation , which was this ; they told me they were first with du-val and examined him , who had fully confessed the robbery , and told the butchers of many particulars , which the butchers themselves had acknowledged true , yet would not be convinced ; but that one of them especially ( which was bellingham ) still persisted , saying , that the other men did the robbery . what du-val said , they had put down in writing , and they three had signed it ; but du-val being presently to be carried out to execution , they said , they had not put him to sign it . they afterwards asked if mac-gay was still in prison ? and because du-val had named him to have been one of the company , they would examine him , and went up to him ; and first it seems they three went up by themselves ( which yet i do protest i knew not , till i heard it said at the tryal in the king's-bench , though i do not understand that they did ill in so doing , to see what temper he was in , being a condemned man , before they would bring the butchers to him ) they do all three say , that they did not acquaint him with any of the particulars that ' du-val had declared , till he had acknowledged himself an actor in the robbery , confessed the whole business , and of himself told them many of the same passages which du-val had told before , he not knowing what du-val had said . it seems he was unwilling at the first to confess any thing , and said , he did not know the butchers : and they said the like that they knew not him ; but upon their pressing him a second time to discharge his conscience , he then confessed all , which they took in writing , and he put his hand to it . both their confessions ( du-vals and his ) i shewed to his majesty , and they are inserted here verbatim . the examination and confession of du-val , prisoner in newgate , taken by sir george charnock knight , mr. andrew blackwel , and william sedgwick , immediatly before his execution , being the 21 th of january 1669 / 70 , in the presence of solomon grace , robert simmons , robert bellingham , and edward lawrence , all of the parish of edmondton in the county of middlesex , butchers ; concerning a robbery committed on them at totternol in the county of bedford , by the foresaid du-val , with walrond , ashenhurst , cassels , and mac-guy . when and where the said du-val confessed and said , that the said robbery was committed by him and his above-named companions ; and more particularly , that solomon grace aforesaid being shewen unto him , did ride with them about a mile , till coming to two little houses at the bottom of the hill , they left the said solomon grace watring his horse , and returned up the hill , where they met with the other three butchers , one whereof fled upon the plowed-lands , whom the said du-val pursued upon a little gray nag , but could not overtake him , because of the weakness of his borse , which he was forced to lead in his hand afterwards at least the space of twelve-score : in the mean while ashenhurst robbed simmons of twenty seven pounds , or there abouts , part whereof was in odd money : and that from the other nothing was taken , but a girdle , and the bridle pulled off his horses head : which circumstances of the action the aforesaid simmons and bellingham did then acknowledge to be true . and he further confesseth , that after this robbery committed as aforesaid , he did perceive one of the two persons that were robbed , to ride hard towards layton , which by the acknowledgment of bellingham was himself . and the said du-val at the time of his confession aforesaid did advise the afore-named butchers , to be cautious how they prosecuted innocent persons ; declaring , that men of their trade did not care how they s●re against any man : for , a robbery was committed by him on some other butchers , and they had peremptorily charged it upon another person . and in the conclusion of his confession he put on his perriwig , affirming , that he was present at the robbery in the same perriwig so tyed up , and asked bellingham if he knew him now ? signed by us , g. charnock . andr. blackwell . william sedgwick . the examination and confession of patrick mac-guy , prisoner in newgate , taken by sir george charnock knight , mr. andrew blackwell gent. and william sedgwick citizen , the 21 th of january 1669 / 70 , concerning a robbery committed by him , with the aforesaid du-val , walrond , ashenhurst , and cassels , in the parish of totternol in the county of bedford . patrick mac-guy confesseth , and saith , that he was with the aforesaid du-val , walrond , ashenhurst and cassels , at totternol-hill in the foresaid county , where they met with three persons , one whereof they robbed of about twenty seven pounds , of which twenty one pounds odd money was in a wallet , which was taken by ashenhurst , and had in it about thirty or forty shillings in ninepences and thirteen-pence-half-pennies : the other which he took out of his pocket ashenhurst never discovered . one man made his escape , and the other had nothing taken from him . the time of the day , about three of the clock in the afternoon . that bellingham had a green rugg upon his saddle : which he the said bellingham confess●th . simmons likewise confesseth , that there was odd money in the su●● but remembers not the quantity ; and that likewise in the wallet there was twenty pounds odd money ; and that above five pounds was taken out of his pocket . mac-guy further declares , that an old man kept them company about a mile to the foot of the hill , where he watered his horse ; and that they bid him good night old man : which circumstance solomon grace and the other three acknowledged to be true , they being acquainted with it when the said grace came to them . and the said mac-guy declared , he never was in other robbery , but this and my lord grandison's . he asked bellingham if he did not remember , that he told them , that he was a poor grasier , and had no money ? and bellingham at first replied , no , he remembred no such thing ; but recollecting himself , told them , he said , he was a poor man , and had no money . signed by us , g. charnock . andr. blackwell . william sedgwick . signed , patrick magee . i appeal now to every mans conscience that shall read these confessions , if it can be believed , that any other , but these men that knew all these particulars , could be guilty of this robbery ; and if it was possible that sir george charnock should have put all this into mac-guy's mouth , who did not only say the same things that ' du-val had said , but enlarged and confirmed them with many other circumstances , which the butchers themselves confessed and acknowledged to be true , and which sir george charnock could not know : as the money taken , to have been , some in a wallet , some in simmons pocket , and that the broken money was part of that in the wallet : this du-val had not specified , yet it is a great confirmation of what he had said : then one man to escape , which was lawrence . that bellingham had a green rugg upon his saddle , which bellingham could not deny , but acknowledged to be true . that solomon grace watering his horse at the foot of the hill , they should say to him , good night old man , which du-val had not said : so to tell what bellingham said to them , which he acknowledged so far , as to confess , that he said , he was a poor man , and had no money , though not that he was a poor grasier , as mac-guy had said : which was no great mistake . certainly none but they that were present and did the fact , could discover these particularities . i shall now give an account of my transactions with mr. walrond , whom i thought fit to examine , after i had seen what the other two had said : and therefore went to the gate-house , and spake with him there in the kitchin , where the lady broughton , ( who hath the keeping of the prison ) and the turn-key were present , and heard all i said to him , i asked him , if he knew any thing of the robbery commited such a day at totternol-hil : of which i desired him but to tell me the truth ? his answer to me was this , my lord , no body as yet hath come against me to accuse me , so i have not been indicted ; and if i should accuse my self , i might bring my self into trouble , and i have not yet my pardon , which i hope i shall obtain of the kings mercy . i replied ; mr. walrond , this i will promise you , that whatsoever you say to me shall not rise in judgment against you , it shall do you no hurt i do assure you ; i desire but to know the truth : for some persons are accused of that robbery , who i know are very innocent : ( and whether or no i told him so much , as that du-val had confessed it , i do protest i do not remember , they may be asked that were present , the lady and the turn-key ( i have not spoken to them since , nor will i ) but i think i did not ; however if i had , i know not that any thing would have been amiss in it , if in general i had told him , that du-val had confessed it : ) his answer to me was , my lord i will cast my self upon you and tell you all , and then did confess to me the whole matter , and told me many particulars . then indeed i did say to him , that he had done well , and had told me but what i knew before , for both du-val and mac-guy had confessed the same things ; and as to his pardon i did again assure him , that it should be no prejudice to it , happily it might be an advantage , for that i would endeavour all i could to help it forward : he afterwards at my desire put down in writing what he had said ; and i did move his majesty for his pardon , and got it passed for him , which i did for two ends ; one out of charity , he had no money to pay for it , and he deserved it for the discovery which he had made of that knot of thieves du-val and his companions , some of whom were taken , and the knot thereby broken by his means : the other end was , that he might be rectus in curia , and appear a competent witness , to discover the truth of that robbery ; but he was so terrified at the tryal with being threatned and told he had now confessed enough to be endicted for it , and perplexed with questions , that he knew not almost what he said , and left an impression ( i verily believe ) with most of the standers-by , that he was gained by me to take this robbery upon him , meerly to save the french men at the bar , himself not at all guilty of it . but how undeservedly that could be imputed to me , let my greatest enemy be judge , if this my narrative be true , as i take the god of truth to witness , that it is true , i mean for matter of fact , and for what i relate here , as said or done by me , and for my intention , that it was just and honest , without any trick or design , and all above-board , meerly to preserve innocency , and that in strangers , that wanted language , friends , and all other support and help to make their innocency appear . i have always heard , that the judge should be of counsel with the prisoner ; and that is one reason given , why he needs no other counsel , and that the law allows him none ; for the judge upon the bench ought to help him with his advice and direction , that he run not into any inconvenience , by his ignorance of the law , and of the forms of proceeding , and to take care that he be not circumvented and ruined by the malice , art , and cunning of his prosecutors , or by the weakness and simplicity of such witnesses , as are produced to justifie and clear his innocency , who many times have not wit nor elocution to tell their tale so , as to make his innocency and the truth to appear . and certainly it is the duty of a judge , and justice is as much concerned , to preserve and deliver an innocent person , that is falsly accused and unjustly prosecuted , as to condemn and punish one that is really criminous ; and that of the two is the more acceptable , and well-pleasing both to god and man. these two gentlemen were strangers , that understood not the language , either what was said to them by their judges , or against them by their accusers , or for them by their witnesses ; and they had an interpreter given them , a young student that was there in court , who did need an interpreter himself : for no body understood a word he said , scarce when he spake english , he spake so low and unintelligibly , so as they were never the nearer to understand any thing that passed , though so much concerning them , even their lives ; nor was there any care taken that they should understand any thing , the interpreter not once bid to ask them a question upon what was urged against them , to know what they would say to it . and commonly a judge will call for the examination taken upon the first commitment of a felon , and begin there ; but not a word of that , for that examination would not have been authentick , not being taken upon oath , nor they positively charged by those butchers , who only said , one of them , that they were like the men whom he saw upon the road ; simmons , that he believed they were the men that robbed him ; and bellingham himself no more but this , that he verily believed adrian lampriere was the man that pulled the bridle off his horse-head : this was well known to be no sufficient ground for the justice to send them to gaol , clap irons upon them , and put them into a room without light , with a little straw to lie upon , more like dogs , then men , especially gentlemen and strangers : nay , the second examination was not produced neither , that which the lord chief-justice took himself four or five dayes after , when he sent for those butchers to london : for though two of them indeed had there taken their oaths , and charged them positively , yet solomon grace , who at this tryal in the kings-bench swore as stoutly as any , would not swear then . and another particular i observed , that the butchers said in their evidence , that these men were taken upon the hue & cry at hatfield ; and it is very usual for a judge upon a bench , when felons are apprehended upon such a warrant , and brought to their tryal , to call for that warrant , to see the description there given of the persons pursued and apprehended upon it , whether or no it agrees with the prisoners at the bar , which gives a great light to discover if they be the men , and probably would have shewed that these were not ; nothing of this neither , but with what intention neglected , i judge not . it is certain that the prisoners were far from receiving any favour , the younger of the gentlemen , mr. hoeville , who understood not any thing of all was done or said against him , and i believe not apprehending of what concernment it was to him , out of a childish innocency hid his face and smiled a little , to see such a stir about him ; the chief-justice espyed it , and fell upon him severely for it , telling him he must not laugh there , and put the poor youth past laughing , who yet understood not what he said , only saw he was angry . the other gentleman , mr. lampriere , when he was asked , what he had to say for himself , to what the butchers had laid to his charge ( which yet was not interpreted and made known to him , nor did he at all know what it was , and yet was now to speak to it for his life ) began in his language in french , to give some account of himself ; the chief-justice stopt him , and would not let him go on , but bade him answer to the particulars , and yet took no care to let him know what they were ; which was a great disheartning to him . and usually when any man , that is not known , is suspected of a crime and tryed for it , the judge will in the first place inform himself what the man is , and whence , and of what conversation of life , and learn all particulars that concern him , as much as is possible ; which will be a great leading to his judgment of him , and of the matters that are brought against him ; but here neither the prisoner could be permitted to give an account of himself , nor no body else must do it for him . and i think there was as much reason now to proceed with circumspection , and to hear and examine , and well weigh all , for and against those prisoners , as for any that had been tryed at that bar of a great while ; there were persons of quality appeared in their behalfs , undertook largely for them ; that they were not men to do such an act , being of good families in their own country , strangers , newly arrived here to see this country , no wayes in need of money , bringing with them sufficient to defray the charge of their travels , so most unlikely they should begin here with robbing upon the high-way : but further , there were those of good credit , that did affirm upon their credits , some upon their salvation , and all of them ready to be deposed , that they could not be guilty of that fact , for that they saw them , and spake to them here in london that day , and in that instant of time , that the robbery was committed above thirty miles off in bedfordshire ; so there was an impossibility of their being guilty of it . and who accused them ? three mean fellows , of no very good lives nor conversation ; and they butchers , of no commendable occupation to have to do with mens lives , either as jury-men or accusers ; and one of these as bold an impudent fellow as ever i saw with my eyes , that is bellingham : and more than all this , it was well known , that even his majesty himself had a strong perswasion of their innocency , and was desirous that all just favour should be shewed unto them , and had himself done all towards it depending upon him , and the rather because they were strangers , who were newly come into his kingdom , and so had put themselves under his protection ; and his majesty had well considered the consequence , both as to the reputation abroad of his royal justice and good government , and likewise for the safety and freedom of of his subjects in forreign parts , who must have expected the same measure there . certainly , all this laid together , me-thinks should have made one cautious how he entertained a prejudicate opinion against them , and not to take advantage upon any mistake , especially in circumstances not at all material , as whether the gentlemen landed and came to london the second , or the third of november ? where they dined the sunday before the day of the robbery ? whether it was plowed-land , or stubble that the butcher rode over , when he ran away from the thieves , and they followed ? and because there was some disagreement in these particulars , which signified nothing to prove them either innocent or guilty , yet this was blown up to such a magnitude of contradiction , that the whole testimony of those witnesses must be overthrown by it . to say the truth , there was not the least colour of guilt upon them . therefore it is well , that their tryal received so fair an issue , answerable to their innocency ; and that they were at last delivered from the unjust and malicious prosecution of those butchers : for had that malice prevailed , and innocency been oppressed ; and strangers , who by the law of nations are to receive favour and pro●ectoin , in lieu thereof had found here injustice and undeserved ruine , what would have followed upon it ? our governmenr , and our administration of justice would have been a reproach and a hissing to forreign nations , and especially to our neighbours of france , who would have hated and derided us for it , and perhaps have made the next english-man , that should come amongst them , pay for this piece of injustice shewed to their country-men : and what evil more might have ensued , how many unconcerned innocent persons have smarted for it , no man knows . but this i know , that even these two gentlemen , however they may have seemed mean and despicable here , oppressed as they were , and persecuted in a strange country , and put to a vast charge and expence , have yet friends and kindred in their own country , who have courage enough to resent , and very likely it is that they would have resented such an injury done to their kinsmen here , and would have revenged it upon the next of the english whom they had found in france ; and as one mischief brings on another , who can tell but it might have brought on a national quarrel at last ? but god be thanked , there is now no cause to apprehend these ill consequences ; justice hath prevailed , innocency hath found protection , and all machinations and contrivances against both justice and innocency , have been defeated , and the parties wronged have received some reparation for the injuries , which were then offered unto them . for those gentlemen have since brought their action against the butchers for their unjust and malicious prosecution of them , and have recovered four hundred pounds dammages in the court of common-pleas before the lord chief-justice vaughan : and i have made my complaint to the house of peers of the lord chief-justice keeling his ( as i thought ) unfitting expressions and carriage in relation to me , particularly for laying to my charge a foule contrivance in the carriage of this business , ( as i then understood it , and i do believe all that heard him when those words were uttered by him ; but he hath since denied that he meant it of me , so i am satisfied : ) and their lordships have called him before them , and after hearing us both , have adjudged him to make me a satisfaction , ( which he hath accordingly made ) as is expressed in their order of friday the 10 th of march 1670 , entred upon record in their journal-book , with which i shall conclude . the record is as followeth : die veneris , decimo martii , 1670. this day the lord holles produced several witnesses to be examined concerning his complaint ( in his petition ) of several indignities put upon him by the lord chief justice of the court of kings-bench , at the tryal of some french-gentlemen in the said court of kings-bench , who were there falsly accused of a robbery by four butchers in easter-term last ; after the hearing of which witnesses , the lord chief-justice made his defence , and denyed , that he intended any thing against the lord holles , when he spake those words at the said tryal , [ that it was a foule contrivance &c. ] as in the petition is set forth : to which defence the lord holles made a short reply , and then voluntarily withdrew himself , and the lord-chief-justice withdrew himself also . upon which the house took the whole matter into serious consideration , and ordered , that the lord chief-justice should be called to his place as a judge , and openly ( in the presence of the lord holles ) the lord-keeper should let him know , that this house is not satisfied with his carriage towards the lord holles in this business , and therfore hath ordered , that he should make this acknowledgment , which is to be read by the clerk , as followeth , that he did not mean it of the lord holles when he spake those words , [ that it was a foul contrivance ] and that he is sorry that by his behaviour or expressions he gave any occasion to interpret those words otherwise ; and asks the pardon of this house , and of the lord holles . then the lord chief-justice of the court of king's-bench was called to his place ( the lord holles being also present ) the lord-keeper performed the directions of the house , and the lord chief-justice read the acknowledgment abovesaid , onely changing the style into the first person . john browne , cleric . parliamentorum . and this being the true state of the whole business , i do appeal to all mankind to judge , if there was any colour of truth in that accusation of the french-gentlemen by these butchers , if in the least degree they were deserving such a prosecution , and much less the thing aimed at by that prosecution , the taking away of their lives ; and if i , by endeavouring ( as i did ) their assistance and preservation , deserved any blame either for the matter or manner of it . finis . the sonne of the rogue, or, the politick theefe with the antiquitie of theeves : a worke no lesse curious then delectable / first written in spanish by don garcia ; afterwards translated into dutch, and then into french by s.d. ; now englished by w.m. de sordenada codicia de los bienes agenos. english garcía, carlos, doctor. 1638 approx. 188 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 141 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a01433 stc 11550.4 estc s4312 24135992 ocm 24135992 27231 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a01433) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 27231) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1817:5) the sonne of the rogue, or, the politick theefe with the antiquitie of theeves : a worke no lesse curious then delectable / first written in spanish by don garcia ; afterwards translated into dutch, and then into french by s.d. ; now englished by w.m. de sordenada codicia de los bienes agenos. english garcía, carlos, doctor. w. m. (william melvin) [10], 253 [i.e. 271] p. printed by i.d. for michael sparkes and are to [be] sold in green-arbor, london : 1638. translation of: desordenada codicia de los bienes agenos. translated by william melvin. signatures: a⁶(-a1) b-m¹² n⁴. numerous errors in paging. title in ornamental border. imperfect: print show-through and tightly bound with slight loss of print. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english 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characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng thieves -fiction. rogues and vagabonds -fiction. 2003-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-12 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-01 olivia bottum sampled and proofread 2004-01 olivia bottum text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the sonne of the rogve , or the politick theefe . with the antiqvitie of theeves . a worke no lesse curious then delectable ; first written in spanish by don garcia . afterwards translated into dutch , and then into french by s. d. now englished by w. m. london , printed by i. d for michael sparkes and are to sold in green-arbor , 1638 the preface to the reader . mens naturall inclination is alwayes prone and addicted to so great rashnesse , that though vice of it selfe is so abominable & blame-worthy , notwithstanding there be too many who openly praise it , and account it their honour to practise it . thence it cōmeth to passe that theft , being a pernicious vice and forbidden by the lawes , doth not cease to be followed by many , who to defend themselves from the reproaches which may be laid against them , alleage that the lacedemonians a people very severe and just , permitted the use thereof to their youth ; that the aegyptians held those for able men that could steal best . that for the same subject the poets in their writings have bragged of the subtilty of mercurius , and of the cunning of the goddesse laverna who was the theeves patronesse . briefly , that this profession is made commendable by the crafty trickes of many that have exercised it , such as were prometheus the father of deucalion , cacus and autolicu● , the one the son of vulcan and the other of mercurie , arsaces king of the par●hians , denis tyrant of sici●ie , the emperour nero , leo sonne of constantine copronimus , fulvius , flaccus censor , ninus king of aegipt , to whom iustin ascribeth the invention of so fine a trade , and a great many others with wh● the books of authors are filled . to which we may adde , that even the most understanding men are not free from this vice , 〈◊〉 it be eertaine ( as saith simplicius ) that the prince of the peripatetiques ( aristotle ) stole that which he hath from the most excellent of those that went before him . that virgil drew all his richest inventions from homor , hesiod and theocritus , and that cicero boldly furnish● himselfe with the doctrine of the stoiques academiques and epicures . but for all this , it cannot be but that naturall reason must put downe all these vaine opinions , because according to aquinas , theft is quite cōtrary to that love which we owe to our neighbours , and with-all to gods law and mans law. and to this effect beside that in exodus and leviticus it is expresly forbidden , it is yet also detested by the apostle s. paul , where speaking to the ephesians he saith , let him that stole steale no more : but let him rather labour and worke with his hands . also the people of old taking notice of this truth ordained against theeves severall● sorts of punishments , especially the grecians & the athenians , as ludovicus vives doth very we● observe , who saith that the emperor frederick the third was the first that condemned them to the gallies : ovid speakes to this purpose that scyron one of the renowned theeves of his time was thrown head-long into the sea by theseus , procrustes kill'd by hercules and sysiphus cut in peeces . virgil that pedant balista was stoned for his thefts ; and the divine arious , that the king agrement caused brunellus the cunningest thiefe that ever was to be hang'd for having boldly stollen ang●licus ring and scripants horse . i passe all the other examples that i might alleage : to tell you in a word , good reader , that this booke discourseth not here so much of the antiquitie of theeves and of their cunning slights , as to teach thee to eschew them , for if it be true that he wounds of darts which are foreseene from farre , are not so hurtfull as those which are shot at us unawares . i assure my selfe that the reader will use it as an instrument to avoide the snares which leud fellowes ordinarily lay for honest men , farewel . the antiqivtie of theeves chap. i. in which the author compareth the miseries of prison to the paines of hell. the terror of hell which is set forth to us in holy writings , doth so resemble to us the miseries which are endured in prison , that if this had not that hope which th' other wanteth we might attribute unto it the title of a true hell , seeing that in this which is most proper to them , the one and the other haue a mutuall and full correspondence , which maketh me to wonder much at the vnprofitable diligence with which some late writers distill their brain 's to finde the meanes how they may properly represent unto the world the horrour of that terrible mansion , when they might have attained to the end of their purpose in shewing onely the desperate life which people suffer in prison , which shall be perfitly knowne with its extreame miserie , if first of all we particularly treate of the torments which are perpetually exercised in hell. the authors , who write upon this subject , bring the paines of hell to two points ; the first and chiefe of which is their depriving from the essence of god , which they call essentiall paine , it being that , which properly containeth all the torments that can be imagined in hel. and that same is so extreame and so cruell , that if the soule had in the other world as many pleasures and contentments as the thought of man could imagine , being deprived of god , it could not have any thing which had one onely shadow of comfort . because that god being the roote and the fountaine of all goodnesse , and all contentments and delights , which are in ●he world being stored up in him alone , it is evident that with him the soule shall have all consolation which is possible to be imagined and that without him it shall be plunged into a bottomlesse depth of sorrow & confusion , with which and with the certainty that it hath , that its griefes shall never be ended , it curseth its being , its birth and its life . the other paine which the damned suffer in hell is the accidentall paine , so called because it is joyned to the former as an accident , which serveth to make the apprehension of the damned more sensible , throwing them headlong into the bitter sight of their miserie . to this is joyned the detestable companie of divells , the horrible and frightfull lodging , the● severall kindes of torments , the continuall lamentations , the disorder , the confusion , the fire , the brimstone , the darkenesse and a thousand other afflictions , of which , and of the depriving of gods being and presence , that wretched and perpetuall hell is composed . and as touching the varietie of officers , that beare rule in this darke dungeon ; wee know already that in that great battell which saint michael th' archangell had against lucifer , for the throne and the glory of the creator , not onely the same lucifer fell from heaven , and from the highest of his perfection to the lowest and hollowest gulfes of hell ▪ but also a great number of evill angells with him , who were copartners with him in his rash and accursed purpose . and these although they do equally partake with him in the paine essentiall , which is being deprived of god , have neverthelesse some difference amongst themselves : whether it be that everyone is of one kind , as saith a doctor of the church , or whether for that they had more or lesse consent in his malice . because that without doubt those who obstinatly defended the pride of lucifer fell with him into the deepest place of the earth which is the center of the the world where divines doe place hell. and those who were not so vehement ; but onely approved his purpose with a certaine and determinate fellow-liking , fell not so low : i will say that the accidentall paine of them was not so great as that of these others . and of this sort the accidentall paine of these spirits was made severall according to the degrees of the malice which they had in their sinne . and though that in hell there is no order , as iob saith ; there is notwithstanding a certaine government and order among these spirits vnder-placed and divided into severall companies with diverse degrees and qualities . so as the good angells in the heavenly ierusalem are divided by their order into angells , archangells , thrones , powers , cherubins , seraphins , and other holy dignities . all the legions of divel● which fell from heaven remained subject to the arch-angell michael , who hath commandement and empire over them all . as also according to some mens opinions , every good angell of princes hath commandement over one legion . and beside the obedience which all of them owe to saint michael , as to their captaine generall vnder god , they have also among them their prince of malice , to whom they are subject and obey , and upon him depend diverse liev●tenants and governors , who wholly divide the governement of all the hellish malice , every one of them having vnder his charge the disposing and good order of his band . neither lesse nor more than in a well ordered campe , where there is a great multitude of souldiers , the body of the armie is divided into severall regiments , as are the generall , the camp-master , captaines , ensignes , sergeants ; corporalls and others of this sort , who order the souldiers and the armie . and as there are sundry offices of these , some being foot● ▪ others horse , some musqueters , others pikemen , and finally of severall employments : there are also among the evill spirits severall offices and places , some tempting by covetousnesse , others by riotousnesse , others by ambition , and finally● every particular sinne hath its appointed and determinate officers , having all of them equally ; one onely end and scope to carrie soules to hell. in this divellish armie there are some div●ls , that never come out of hell , but are evermore shut up within it , receiving the soules which enter in thither , and giving to them a place and kinde of torment which their sinnes deserve . there are others who are ever wandring , c●mpassing the earth to and fro , and searching for soules to carrie them into hel. neverthelesse let no man thinke that these have any power o● authoritie to beare away one soule to hell , nor these others to shut up in their darke dennes , vnlesse it be by the expresse commandement and particular commission of god. and so much concerning these hellish officer● . as for its largenesse , it is such , that all sorts of sinfull soules enter into hell , and it is ordinarily full fraughted and peopled with blasphemers , perjur'd persons , murtherers , adulterers , envious persons , and to conclude with all sorts of evill-doers : who although they have in common the essentiall paine , which is the wanting of god , and are all of them in hell , yet they have severall roomes and torments according to everie ones deserving , sithence it is certaine that the paine of him that oweth little shall not be so great at all as the paine of him that oweth much , and that the just iudge chastiseth and recompense●h every one according as he deserveth . to all this varietie is added the extreme confusion of hell , the disorder , the vnquietnesse , the vnrulie cariage , and con●in ualagitation , with which they are alwaies tormented , seeing it is evident , that where rage and despaire reigneth , there can be no friendly fellowship nor agreement . this estate , practise & disposition of the horrible pit of this hellish lodging is the lively pourtraict of that desperate life , which men suffer in prison , in which the beholder shal find so in tire & so mutuall a correspondence that there is not almost any other difference between them but in the name . because that first to the essentiall paine of hel , which is the depriving of gods powerful presence , the want of liberty hath correspondence , which with a just ●i●le we may cal a paine essentiall , for so much as it is the queen of al the apprehēsions & motives of sorrow , which are able to afflict a good wit. and as in that , the soule being deprived of god , it is also deprived of all worldly pleasures , even so in this ( to wit in prison ) it enjoyeth not any thing which hath the least shadow of content . because that although a prisoner were clothed with purpurple , served as a king , fed with the most delicate vitailes of the world , his chamber hang'd with cloth of gold , that hee were entertained with all sort of musicke , visited by his parents and friends , all this , nor all that could be desired more could bring him any kinde of comfort . on the contrary he should have lesse , because that all things availe nothing but to awaken his appetite and make him desire that which others enjoy , and to which he cannot attaine . whenceproceedeth the increasing of his want ( of libertie ) and consequently his paine . the harshnesse and force of depriving ( of libertie ) may be easily , known by its contrarie , this being infallible that the depriving of one thing shall be by so much evill as the possession of it shall be good . and libertie being the most precious iewell of the soule , and the greatest perfection , which the vnbounded author of this , hath engrafted in the reasonable creature ; it is certaine that the depriving thereof shall be the most crosse and vnsufferable of all others . that libertie is that which guideth and directe●h mans actions to diverse ends , without enforcing them and with pleasure , choosing , and commanding , experience teacheth this , in which the supreme work-master would distinguish man from other living creatures , whose end obtaineth by a naturall instinct , which leadeth them , as by a bridle , to the appetite and delight in it , and that it is so powerfull , and maketh man so absolute , that his vnderstanding having proposed the good , the perfect , the honest and the delectable , he may resolve with himselfe to love it or not to love it at all , sith that none but god may aske a reason of this so absolute commandement , naturall philosophie telleth it . whence and from many other reasons , which i could bring , it is clearely perceived that there is not any thing in the world , to which the essentiall paine of hell can more properly be compared , than to the depriving of libertie , seeing it bringeth man to such extremitie , that he abhorreth himselfe , his being , his ranke , and his estate . he knoweth well this truth which i write , who hath sometimes beene in prison , laded with chaines and with irons , subject to the rage of that terrible abode , cursing ( though noble and well borne ) his being , his condition and noblenesse , grieving to be that which he is , and wishing to be a great deale meaner . in midst of which despaire hee envieth the peaceable condition and tranquillity , of the commons , and could wish to have beene borne of the most base dregs of the people . he curseth his actions and his studies , the points of honour which his parents taught him , the vnderstanding which he hath , thinking with himselfe , that if he were a privat man , he should not at all see himselfe in so miserable and so extreame a perplexitie , and that this would not be litle enough for him , if despaire left him amongst the folke of that same sort and nature : but it goeth on refining and consuming him in the fire of impatience , in such sort , that it draweth him out of his reasonable being , and bringeth him to that of a brute beast , and to the most base and infinite kindes of them , that groaning for libertie , he envieth the bird that flieth , the dog that barketh , the pismire that travelleth , and desireth to be one of them . and the venome of this fierce beast stayeth not there , for tying harder the cords of a poore prisoner , it draweth him out of the ranke and file of living creatures , making him desire to be a tree , an image or a stone , bringing him to nothing , and making him bewaile that ever hee was borne in the world . by which it is clearely seene that the want of liberty making so unhappy a change in man , as to throw him headlong from the highest & most perfect of his inclination and appetite , to the basest and lowest , and from the image and likenesse of god , to nothing ; this is the most strong and most rigorous paine that can be imagined , and that which truely doth better represent the essential paine of hell. to the accidentall paine doe correspond the innumerable afflictions and calamities , which follow the depriving of libertie , amongst which are the stinke of the prison , the disorderly frame of the buildings , the defamed companie , the continuall and huge lewd voices , the diversitie of nations , the differing humors , the shame , the persecution , the difgrace , the mocquerie , the crueltie , the blowes , the torments , the poverty and the miseries without number , which are suffered in prison , of the which , and of other depriving of libertie the lively patterne of hell is framed and composed . as touching the executioners and officers , no man will deny but that all the earth is full of incarnat divells , more obstinate and more accursed in their kinde than those of hell , the most part of them being fallen , as lucifer and his followers , from the heaven of honour . i will say that for the deserving , and sinnes which they have committed , the angell saint michael , who is the iustice , hath drawne them from the fellowship and dwelling of the good , and they seeing themselves beaten downe and dishonoured , have taken vpon them the office of divels , to avenge themselves of the poore innocent soules , running day & night thorow the streets , markets and publike places of the citie , smelling out and searching for people to lay them in prison . and these are they who commonly are called sergeants , who drag a poore man to prison with such rage and tyrannie , as these in the perpetuall hell could not utter more . and if we be able to find any difference betweene them , it is this , that the divells of hell fly from the signe of the crosse ; but those of the prison love , reverence and adore that happy signe , in such sort , that hee who would deale well with them , and somewhat turne their rigour into a litle pitie , it is necessarie that hee have alwayes the crosse in his hands , for at what time hee shall leave it , they will torment him ten times more than his sinne can deserve : but they having met with him , they say a pater noster for the soule which they take , untill they come to da nobis bodie , and they goe not at all any further . these divells are those who walke commonly through the streetes , and places of the citie , seeking for soules in the most secret corners , the multitude and trade of whom is so great , that i doe n●● thinke there are more legions of divels in hell , than there be sergeants in the common-wealth . amongst them there be some that goe on horsebacke , who have charge to travell into the countrey , unto places farre remote from the citie , and to bring men into prison from places most solitarie and quiet . these , for that they being of a more haughtie nature than the others , we may call orientalls from the region of fire , and these are called archers or messengers , the legion or companie of whom hath for their chieftaine or captaine a great divell whom they call provest . there are other divels in this hell , the i●feriors of the aforenamed , who goe ordinarily by tens or twenties in a companie , disguised and masked , to spie if they can catch one poore soule by treacherie , they are so cowardly so effeminate and dastardly , that they meete sometimes to the number of fortie and all to take one man , and yet they dare not adventure to take him their selves alone , without the assistance and aide of a divell with a long gown , who vsually accompanieth them . they goe alwayes atter'd , torne and naked , and this is the lowest and most infinite legion of all as the hob-goblins vnder ground , whom the people have beene accustomed to call apparitors . every legion of these divells have an infinite number of halfe-divells who goe disguised and covered through the citie , taking notice of all that is done there , with great subtiltie and craft . they take and change every day a thousand formes and shapes , shewing themselves in every companie in a severall manner ; at one occasion going like countrey-men , in an other like strangers , by & by of one profession , and by and by of another . these are they who with great sleight and subtiltie discover the price , after the same manner as the lying dogs doe the partridges , bringing the aforesaid divels to the proper place of the soule , which they would take , and pointing it out as with the finger : and these we call spies , and amongst them they are called recorders . there be other divels , who are esteemed more noble and more courteous , whose office is to repeale penalties , commissions , requests , to baile a soule , and to take the burthen on themselves , answering for it every time that the iudge asketh for it . and though it be in their keeping , they give it alwayes time and place to solicite its owne affaires , to visite its iudges , and to pleade its cause , vsing with it some pitie and friendship . finally they have a nature mingled with goodnesse and malice , and they are betweene divels and angels , whom by reason of the familiaritie which they have with man , wee may call them airie divells ; and these the common people call doore-keepers . all these aforesaid divels , & others whom i leave to mention for avoiding prolixitie , are found in the world , every one of whom goeth severall waies , leading soules into the hell of prison , & all of them , after the manner of evil spirits are divided into divers legions and troopes . yet notwithstanding they torment not the soules because they enter not into hell themselves , onely they deliver them to lucifers lievetenant the iayler , & returne incontinent vnto their walke ; for to give up their account to their captaine , of the tentations which they have practized that day , and of the number of soules which they have carried that day to prison , every one of them reckoning up the inventions & wiles which he hath practized in his hellish office. there be also other divells which never go out of the prisō , nor have any other imployment , but to torment the poore soules which enter in thither . and those are so tyrannous , so cruel & so wicked , that they satisfie not their inraged hunger but by sucking the bloud , & the life of the poore captive that fals among their hands : albeit they suffer him to breath so long ; while they have emptied his purse . and these be the under porters & servants of the iayler , who , as a president of that dreadfull dwelling , receives the prisonner from the hands of the sergeant and writes in his booke the day of his entring , his accusation , his name and the name of that divell that hath taken him . these shut-up divells have no power nor authoritie to torment a soule which the others do bring in , nor these others to take them , but by the command of iustice declared by some honourable officer , who with reason and truth by a signed writing chargeth these uncleane spirits to take such a soule . as for the rest it may well be proved that every sergeant hath power to leade a man to prison , even so as every divell may beare a soule to hell , seeing that there ordinarily entreth thither an infinite number of prisoners , and every one imprisoned by his severall iudge : some answer before a iudge with a long gown , others before one with a short gown , without reckoning , many other officers of iustice , who as good angels have authoritie and power to exercise it , who have their appointed and praticular divels , who execute their commandment and will. as touching the diversitie of the lodgings and places of their abode , the curious shall see many differing in the prison , every one fitted for the prisoners delight . for hee who is not criminall , and who is noble is usually lodged in the lightsomest chambers and neatest contrived : but understand that the noblenesse of a prison consisteth in a good purse . those that be of a meaner qualitie & deserving are fitted in certain darke & black chambers , where smoke and cinders continually bearesway . the prison hath yet this property of hel , to take in all sort of sinners & criminals , being usually peopled , and full of theeves , russians , cut-purses , panders , whoores , murtherers , perjured men , bankrupts , cheaters , usurers , & sorcerers , in as great varietie as the living creatures that entered into noahs arke , so that entry is not denied nor the gate shut against any . of this remarkeable variety the confused multitude of a prison is composed with a thousād other circumstances which accompanie it , which because it is altogether disorderly & without bounds i shal not be able to reduce it to one terme or name , nor to give it a definition which universally comprehendeth all the miseries of this dreadfull dwelling , if the curious reader will not be contented with the analogie and proportion which it hath with the perpetuall hell. the which being supposed as a thing most proper to a prison , we shall be able to describe it by its properties & by experience , saying , that a prison is no other thing but a land of calamitie ▪ a dwelling of darkenes , a habitation of miserie or an eternall horrour inhabited without any kind of order . it is a confused chaos without any dis●inction , it is a bottomles pit of violence which hath nothing that is in its own center , it is a tower of babylon where all speake and none heare , it is a medley against nature , in which is seene the peace and agreement of two contraries , mingling the noble with the infamous , the rich with the poore , the civill with the criminall , the sinner with the just , it is a communaltie with agreement ; one whole by accident , a composition without parts , a religion without orders or lawes , and a body without a head . the prison is the grave of noblenesse , the banishment of courtes●e , the poyson of honour , the center of infamie , the quintessence of disparagement ; the hell of good wits , the 〈◊〉 of pretences , the paradise of cousenage , the martyrdome of innocence , the cloude of truth , the treasure of despaire the fining-pot of friendship , the wakener of rage , the baite of impatience , the mine of treasons , a den of foxes , the refuge of vengeance : the punishment of force , and the headsman of life . there he that yesterday was great , to day is meane ; hee that was happy in the city , now starveth there ; he that was richly clad , is starke naked , he that commanded , obeyeth ; he that had his court full of caroches and rich saddles , findeth not now one more to visite him . there civilitie is turned into insolence , courage to subtiltie ▪ ●●amelesse outfacing into vertue , blasphemie into valour , flattery into eloquence lyes to truth , silence to noise modestie to boldnesse , knowledge to ignorance , and order to confusion : and to end the miserie of that unluckie place : i conclude in saying that it is a forrest full of wilde beasts , in which the one teareth the other , eating his heart and drinking his bloud , so that no scruple of conscience , feare of god , suspition of love , compassion or other respect whatsoever which can have any shadow of vertue or of goodnesse is able to hinder them . there one weepeth and another singeth , one prayeth and another blasphemeth , one sleepeth , another wal●●eth , one goeth out , another commeth in , one is condemned , another absolved , one payeth , another demandeth , and finally one shall hardly finde two of one exercise and will. one will be eating in a corner , another will pisse behind him : and in the middle of them another shall pull off his shirt and strip himselfe starke naked . every one is imployed in his particular exercise , they not having any other houre or time appointed for that save their will , which being disordered , free in its actions , produceth them without any let or shame . in that which concerneth the sustenance of life , there is no order kept there among them , because that hunger is their appetite , their time of meales alwayes , their table the bare board , their sawce the nastinesse and filthy stinke , and their musicke sneesing and belchings . the hangings of their chambers are all mourning , with some borders of spiders-cloth ( cobwebs ) , their seates the ground or some stone greased with two inches of fat bacon . the dishes where they eate are alwayes enemies to cleanlinesse , to serve for a pot-lid and other vses more base , and for spoones they are served with five fingers spotted like iasper , and having their nailes of a huge length . as for their drinke , the industrie of man teacheth them to make a pit in the top of their hat , and to drinke in it more grease than wine . and if peradventure there be found among them a pot or kettle , it shall be , according to the order and custome of the prison , batter'd without a handle , nor without vernish , and hath past the first yeare of apprentiship , and hath beene vsed in the most base offices , serving for a pisse-pot , for a flagon , for a vineger bottle , for an oile-pot and a bason . as for napkins , they take their skirts , or the outside of their breeches , and for a table-cloth the wrongside of a poore old cloake , threed-bare and fuller of beasts than that linnen cloth which s. peter saw in da●ascus . in their garments they keepe a great uniformitie , going all of them clothed after the manner of lent , and with s. austins habite , but so tatter'd and pucker'd , and so fitted to the passions and necessities of their bodies , so that without breaking their cod-piece point they want not a perpetuall loosenesse to satisfie their flux of the belly . they live apostollically , without scrip without staffe and without shooes , having nothing superfluous nor double : contrariwise there is so great simplicitie that they cover all their body with one only shirt , whereof many times they have no more save the sleeves , and they never leave it off till it can go alone of its owne accord . if momu● should come into the prison he could finde nothing to reprove them for , because one may see them to the very intralls . the combe , tooth-pickers , brush , handkerchiefe , looking-glasse , sope-balls are banisht from this place : of which povertie groweth so great an abundance that in their head , beard , stomack & flanck●s a camell might be hidden . we cannot say that there is any kinde of vices in the prison , because that idlenesse the mother of them hath no entrie there , because they are all carefull and watchfull to search for that which is necessarie for life : and their overplus time they spend in exercising themselves on diverse instruments of musicke having the itch for the mistresse of that vertue . they have also their appointed houres for the military art , in the which they fight with their bodily enemies , whence they retire evermore with the victorie , bearing continually for triumph & trophees the bloud on their nailes . they live in evangelicall hope never troubling themselves with the care of that which they should eate or drinke to morrow . their ordinarie comfort is the faith and hope which they have to come out of prison one day , and put an end to their miseries . with this comfort they live , ever dying , putting cataracts and deceiveable imaginations before the eyes of their reason . and if by chance the time of their imprisonment endeth , and iustice giveth assent that some one of them goe forth , then the divell is so carefull and so watchfull troubling and quelling his libertie , that it seemeth to him there are no gates through which hee can get out . one withholds him asking a debt thirtie yeares old , another the succession of one of his grandfathers , and another sheweth a band more ancient than the deluge . and when his diligence and meanes have delivered him from his enemies without , these within doores begin to thunder out another song , for one demandeth of him five shillings which he lent him eleven months ago , another that should pay for a pot which he brake to him , another draweth forth a bill of reckoning , asking him for ten eggs and a sallet which he paid for him . this man demandeth that he should pay him the good-morrow's which he hath given him , another the good nights , one askes his cap , another his doublet , another his shooes and all lay hold upon him . and when he escapeth this importunate swarm of bees , these tunes begin to deafe his eares ; the iayler demands of him the rights of the prison , his entrance , his going forth , and the time that he hath tarried there , for his sleeping , his talking , his eating , his sneesing and his coughing , and all the time that he hath lived within there , making more scores in his booke than an astrologer on the erecting of an horoscope . and when he hath given him that which he demands of him without reason , he askes his gloves , his iayle fees , his slippers , his old shooes and a coife for the maide-servant . the dog askes him to pay for his watching and barking that he hath kept for him while he slept , the cat for the paines she hath taken to cleare his chamber from mice and rats , one pulls him on this side and another on that , and all catch hold of him like briers , while they have left him dry , pluckt bare , throng'd and as naked as his mother bare him . this in briefe termes , is the miserable practise of thi●● living patterne of hell , with all its circumstances , in every one of which there 〈◊〉 matter enough to make 〈◊〉 long and profound discourse ▪ that the reader may be● thinke himselfe hereof , that being affrighted at the hardnesse thereof , he may avoide the dangerous inconveniences which are presented every day to a man as long as he is at libertie : for if he fall once into the divels hands , and beforced to passe through the wicket of hell , though his cause were his protector , he should waite for s. michael ; and if iustice were his protector , he should ever remaine burnt with the marke of hell , into which who so once entereth , hee leaueth the best thing that he hath amongst pluto's hands . and albeit that hee enter there fuller and richer than the queene of saba when she came to see king salomon , he shall come forth more lanke , more drie and more feeble than the seven kine that pharaoh saw in his dreames . chap. ii. of a pleasant discourse whic● the author had in prison with a famous theife . to the end that none be deceived with this proverbe which ▪ most men hold for a maxime , when they say , that all noveltie is well pleasing ; because that albeit logicke should not condemne this proposition as false , experience would discover its deceit : for i doe not thinke that there is any one in the world that hath found the prison pleasant , even at the first time that he entred therein . i may say of my selfe , that when i was there , though it was new to me i found not any thing that i liked ; on the contrarie , the pleasure which novelties bring with them was turned into notable admiration and extreame paine , seeing that which willingly i would not have seene , and talking of that which lea●● pleased me . i spent the first dayes even as all those , who enter into that place have beene accustomed to passe them , which is to con●ider the lodgings , to be vexed at the companie , and to shun the familiar conversing with the prisoners . and i might have past all the time of my imprisonment in such like employment , if it had lien in my power to do it , because that the companie invited me not to acquaint my selfe . but the necessitie being accompanied with exceeding great curiositie which prisoners have , when any one entereth newly into prison , tied me to frame my selfe to the usuall fashion of these people , from whom i had a sufficent report of the subjects and qualities of that habitation , without other paines-taking than to give them the hearing , because that by it a discreete man shall know moe sins in foure dayes than a confessor in a hundreth yeares . in the conclusion with a faire shew and some pieces that i had in my purse i purchased the good will of all the rable , in such sort , that there was not any man of what ranke soever who did not esteem much of me , & participated not with me the most inward of his conscience . but the continu●ll companie of this tedious● conversation troubled me , in such sort that i was not mine owne , nor had i the libertie to spend one quarter of an houre by my selfe alone . so lessayed by a thousand meanes to ridde my selfe from the head-strong importunities of those undiscreet people , but it was not possible for me to free my selfe , without taking the office that i had got over them . wherefore i was desirous to trie , if in this martyrdome , seeing i deserved no such thing , i could finde some pleasure to divert my minde and entertaine them . so continuing my no lesse accustomed than troublesome occupation , sitting one day upon a bench which was in the chappell of the prison , in the companie of three or foure of these gallants , hearing some difficulties , whereof they were come to consult with mee upon the ten commandements , i heard the echo of a sorrowfull voyce , which called me pitifully . all the standers by were amazed ; one of them ranne to be informed of this vnlooked-for newes , but the speedy hast of him , which sought for me , prevented the curiositie of him who was gone out to know the newes ; for ●carsty had we heard the voyce , when after it , entred at the doore one of my religious followers ( held in great esteeme amongst those people who were none of the holiest ) with his colour changed , his virage bathed with teares , without a hat , his 〈◊〉 crossed , sighing and be serching with great 〈◊〉 the companie , that they would let him be alone with me , amplifying his request by the 〈◊〉 of th●se , as the pricipall 〈◊〉 of mishap . they departed the place , and he seeing himselfe alone and with freedome to discover his thoughts to me , without any other preface , preamble , advertisement or courtesie , he said to me . sir , to day is my feast day , and they have made me a gift of a clarke of a harbour , with a cardinalls hat : what remedie shall i be able to finde for so great a mischiefe . verily this darke speech of his words , together with the manner of telling it , held mee somewhat in doubt , because i knew not how to comment upon so vncouth a language followed with so many fights and groanes . neverthelesse making 〈…〉 these words and already guessing that which it might be , i beleeved that he had got this hat at some pot of wine and that out of the abundance thereof this noble dignitie had climed up to the head . so smiling i said to him : my friend , the post that hath brought you this newes , is he of a douzen or of twentie ? it is not of twelue , nor offoure , unhappy man that i am ! answered he , for i am not drunke , nor ever was i in all my lifetime , and would to god that all the world were so retired in this action as i am : but as the proverbe saith , some have the name , the others have the eff●ct . and you doe not well to make a poore unhappie wretch that askes your counsell in his extreame affliction . his answer to the purpose redoubled my astonishment , and not being able to hit at that which this might meane , i said to him somewhat in anger ; make an end then to relate to me the cause of your paine , and hold me no more in doubt with your darke speeches or ridles . now i know , sir , said he , that yee have not studied martiall tearmes , nor you vnderstand not as yet galunatias his stile , so it will be hard for you to vnderstand the comming together of two solide bodies with the perspective of red flowers in a white field . from this second answer i fully resolved that hee was not drunke , but foolish , and as to such a one , i agreed with him to all that he said , although i vnderstood him never a whit . and taking the subject to reason with him upon the same reasons , i asked him , who made him a cardinall and why ? to which he answered me thus . you should understand that some officers of the three and of the five of topo & tango vpon the seventh and the goe met me one sunday at midnight and finding me with the 〈◊〉 de bastons the lot would that they should run a hazard , and i remained with the money . they were deceived , and desiring to revenge their wrong , they went to scipion , declaring an vniversall head which they had seene in my hands , upon which they made long ●●●ormations by the signe●●● 〈…〉 : and at the end of a rigorous examination which they had of me , they found mee not good enough to be pope , they left me the office of a cardinall . you ought to account your selfe happy , i answerd him , having so great a dignitie , seeing that few obtaine it , and these with great paines and travell . i would quite it , with all my heart , saith he , and that without pension , if any one would receive it for mee , and i would moreover binde my selfe to him to pay for the seales , because to speake the truth , it is a charge too heavy for me , and hee that gives it , hath not any good reputation among the people nor many friends in the 〈◊〉 and this is the cause that i make no great account of it ▪ and doe not thinke that in saying , that i will no wayes accept of it , i can helpe my selfe of this paine : for it is not in my power , nor in theirs who receive the like charges to be able to refuse them , sithence dignities are bestowed by deservings , and albeit that men refuse them , they are made to take them by force , that no man may refuse them nor make resistance by too great humilitie , they binde it upon him as if he were a foole . truely my friend , said i then to him ; you ought to account your selfe happy and very fortunate , for such an election ; this being supposed that it is made for deserving , and not for favour . very fortunate , saith hee , assuredly i am , howbeit an vnworthy sinner , but no wise happy , for if i were , i should not be very fortunate . with this answer i began to see clearly , that he was neither foolish nor drunke : but that dissembling hee covered his words of this his chatting , and resolute to leave him with his — i rise speaking to him some harsh words , to which hee answered with great humilitie , saying , sir i beseech you to stay your choler a litle : for it is not without a mysterie , that i have spokē to you in a riddle , and beleeve me that in this i have had no other intention , but to hide my mishaps from some — who usually watch harkning after the life of another , to report them to their copsemates . but now seeing that i can utter it to you without feare i will explaine my selfe , being well assured that a man of so good a wit as you are , will not be offended to heare my weakenesse , and will not deny me your good counsell which out of your charitie i promise to my selfe . so know that cardinall is that which to day at noone one hit mee over the shoulders : the clarke of harbour hee that receiveth such as are condemned to the gallies : those of three , are some of our companie , are some that watch the streete , when any theft is committed , and these have the third part ▪ those of five are some honorable persons , or at least held for such by th● common people , who hid● and keepe the theft in their house , and for that the fifth part is given to them . now you shall know that by misliking i being one night in a list that was made , the booty was so little , that there was not whereof to make neither fourth nor fifth , and i being the man that put himselfe in greatest danger i was willing to goe away with all , promising to redresse the bygone fault in another more gainefull occasion . those of seven ; and goe , i will tell my companions found not this satisfaction to the purpose , which i gave them , because that absolutely they would have their share i seeing that it was altogether impossible , for that i had already eaten it , turned the processe to a quarrell , and laying hold on a baton which is the as that you have heard , gave one of them a sound blow over the head ; who seeing himselfe wounded , and his companions cheated , went to s. scipion who is the major , and accused mee that i was a theife at crochet , which is an instrument where with we open all manner of doores , and following the accusation they made me be laid up in prison ▪ the lords of the court , whom we call 〈◊〉 , condemned mee to goe the accustomed rounds about the streets , and 〈…〉 to serve his 〈◊〉 in the gallies of marseilles . which execution should be made this same day at noone ; i tremble because ten a clocke is strucke already . if ye have any remedy to give me , ye will doe a great worke of mercy , because i feare that the hangman having stript mee , and finding five markes about me which were unjustly given me , doubtlesse he will make mee take a shorter journey . the wretch had proceeded thus far with the explaining of darke speech , ere ever 〈◊〉 could break off his discourse ; so great was the astonishment which his entangled met aphors left me in , & ending his story with a deep sigh , which came from his very soule , he fell halfe , dead betweene my armes . he being come 〈◊〉 himselfe againe , i began to comfort him the best i possibly could , counselling , for the last remedy to appeale to the court , hoping alwayes for more mercie , from the highest seate of justice , than from the inferior iudges scarcely had i ended my words but three or foure of his companions , dying for laughter enter'd at the chappell doore , saying to him that the newes which they had tolde him were false , and those lashes were imaginary , that it was a tricke of his enemies maliciously invented to trouble and vexe him . with this newes the poore wretch came againe so suddenly to his first estate , that save there remained some remembrance of his first taking it to heart , he cut moe than five and twenty capers in the ayre , with a thousand turnings of good liking , and his companions began to play upon him , in which he paid them home their change , with so wittie answers , that hee left me a great desire , to keepe him with me all alone , and at leasure to know at length his vocation and office , and the cleering of some obscure words which he usually mingled in his discourse ; so i intreated him , but he knowing that i had such a desire , in requitall of the patience with which i had heard him , and of the good counsell , which i had given him in his neede , he promist to give me a good account of his life , of his parents life , and the changeable successes which happened to him in his trade ; with all particulars which could be learned amongst those of his office , & having appointed me a place at two in the afternoone ; we went to dinner . chap. iii. to whom the theefe relateth the noblenesse and excellencie of theft . the good andrew ( for so hee was called ) was not at all slothfull to be at the place appointed , nor to declare to me the historie which i had requested with so great a desire : for halfe an houre before that , which wee had appointed , i found that hee waited for me with extreame impatience and so great , that almost without saluting me , hee began to relate his historie , saying . know , sir , that if from the time of your birth ye should have gone searching through all the universities of the world for some one , who with more ground , experience & le●rning then i could informe you of that which yee desire to know , it were impossible to finde him : seeing that in this which toucheth ( and let this be spoken without vanitie ) the understāding of the riddles of mercurie trismegstus , and other darke philosophers , and to be , as they say , of the right haire and feathers , i will not yeelde it to any man in the world . with this and other secrets reserved to my own onely discretion i have found out the philosophers stone and the true elixar of life , with which i turne poyson into medicine , the course cloth into cloth of gold , and hunger into fulnesse and satietie more than sufficient , without putting any thing to it of my goods , save the turning of a hand . i doe not deale as a thousand other ignorant people of our daies , who being blinded by the gainfull end which the practise of the great philosophers-stone promiseth them doe adventure rashly to spend all to finde nothing , & to vndoe a hundred thousand essences to finde one fifth both vncertaine and false , whose excesse and curiositie have none other end but infamie , miscrie and povertie , and finally a shamefull death : for as much as those who have consum'd their owne goods and the goods of their friends , to search for that which they have not found , utter their rage with strokes of hammers upon the seven mettals , which are the cause of their overthrow . and which is worse , with all the tryalls and vnhappie ends of alcumists , there is not any man to whom curiositie will not awaken the appetite , and provoke the will every time that he heareth any man talke of this arte . mine is not of this kinde , and therefore lesse subject to the fancies and idle imaginations of gebor arnaut , raymond lully and other great advancers of the arte , whose knowledge consisteth in not to be understood ; it is easie , plaine and without any mixture neverthelesse he who he● will that shall exercise it , it is necessarie that hee be wise , prudent and well advised , because that wanting or failing in one whatsoever it be of these things , a man shall easily lose in an instant all that he hath gained in all his life . this noble art also hath not aristotles principles , because that as well he as all others that follow him , imagined that nothing could be made of nothing : this being true that in this our art , all things are made of nothing ; and if we may attribute any principle of them which he propoundeth in his physicks , it is the pri●ation only ▪ seeing that from it alone we come to the possession of infinit wealth . as ●or our tooles , i cōfesse there are some , forasmuch as there is no trade that can be without them , but neverthelesse they are so easie & so cheape , that we well nigh make them our selves , after they are made , they last time out of minde . the ground then to busie one of our trade , is onely the good courage and sound disposition of his body and limmes , and with this alone a man becommeth his crafts-master , without any other ornament — and doe no● think that this art , having so poore a beginning as nothing , is shamful or infamous , for it is the most noble , the absolute and the most priviledged of all those that are in the world , so farre forth that acknowledgeth nor respecteth neither king nor knave , nor careth it for all the monarchs of the earth , nor for the ecclesiastike power , nor for the secular : but rather all pay tribute and travels for him . its fields are fruitfull in drie grounds , it gathers the fruit without sowing , it hath no traffique with any , and demands of all , it lendeth to no body , and all are indebted to it , its harvests grow without raine , and there is not any thing whereof it taketh not the tithes . there commeth not any fleete from the indies , nor great ship from the levant , wherof of it not make shew to be partner , there is not a guine marchant , that is not its debtor , and finally , it catcheth up all . and which ought to be most valued in this pretious art , is the great ease with which it is exercised , in which it exceeds all other arts , that are till these our times found out in the world , the end of which is contrary to that of this , because that is perfected in the doing , this in undoing , and to undoe being more easie than to doe ( as the philosopher saith ) doubtlesse it is ●ut that our art is easier than all others whose end is obtained with great paines , travells and difficulties . honest andrew had proceeded further in the praises and excellencie of his trade , if i had not broke him off with an extreame impatience , the titles of honour and noblenesse which hee gave it seeming to me altogether improper , as well for that it is of it selfe imfamous , as for the innumerable dangers which usually happen to them , who undertake such like traffiques : wherefore i said to him ; i do not know , andrew , how nor by what reason you your selfe reckon up to me these arts so noble , so easie and so profitable , seeing that you have related to me the perilous extremities in which you have beene , which your povertie and calamity assure me to be of little profit & of great misery which is therein , that makes mee to marvel very much at your persevering in your unhappy trade , ere you were made wise by the experiences past . you have reason ( he answered ) and i confesse that many hazards and disgraces light upon vs , but one oxe eateth more than a hundred larks , i will say that one good encounter shoulders out many disgraces , which have not in so great number as you thinke , and though they were , it is not possible for vs to give over this trade but by death , because this art hath i cannot tell what with it , that it is like one sicke of the dropsie , who the more he drinks the more he thirsts , and of one onely act there becommeth a habite , qui difficilè removetur a subjecto , which is hardly removed from the subject . and i know wel that you wil like my doctrine well , being so learned a man as you are , seeing they are accustomed to dispute among the philosophers if this maxime of aristotle ( who saith expluribus actibus generatur habitus , of many actions is begot a habit ) be universally true . and some say that of one only action a habit may be bred , which should be understood of morall actions , and those of worser sort : i will affirme that to breede a continuall custome in sinning , one only action is sufficient : but to doe well , there is need of many . the reason is cleere , for that the will of man being disposed to sinne , because it is called fomes peccati , the fewell of sinne , and for the miseries drawen upon it in its conception , one action alone leaveth in it a certaine inward disposition with which it becommeth easie , and disposed to like actions ; but the desire being so marred , corrupt and ill disposed to receive vertue , there needeth not only one vertuous action , but many , if any disposition or custome of doing well should remaine after it . by which you may judge that albeit a thousand disgraces fall upon us it were almost impossible for us to forsake our trade , nor change our life , having already turned it into a nature , and if this should be done , it should be needfull to make the world a new againe , more or lesse all wooll is haire , we are all of us of one brothers hood , no man is content with his state , he that hath most desireth more , that which costeth little agreeth best with us , and all ( as the proverbe goeth ) like well . but mishap be to that infortunat man who payeth for all ; for as the proverb saith , the gallowes are for all such , we rubbe all men , and for those sinnes some are hang'd , others are rich ▪ happy are they who robbe hippocrates-like , i will speake as the physitians ; whose faults the earth covereth , so that no man is able to accuse them , nor aske restitution of his life , and of the money which they have publickly rob'd and in the view of all the world . and though some of these be spirituall men , others temporall , notwithstanding all meete in the same way , and shoote at one marke : for there be also horseleeches which sucke the world sweetly , and wring their necke , with a sad dumpish countenance , and a faire shew colour their ambitious designes with godly words . and for them , it is said in the proverbe , the divell is behinde the crosse. there are others also , who though they wring not the necke , nor speake so much of god , apply neverthelesse the jurisdiction of their offices in favour of him that giveth them most ; who being lap 't in long wide gownes making them to bee respected there is not a man that dare to give thē a word , nor shew by any signe the evil satisfaction that they have by them : but the wretched person that neither hath god in his mouth , nor barke wherwith to hide himselfe , if he be not very wise & prudent all the persecutions of the world hang about him at once , all men spit in his face , and he is the marke of all the abuses in the world : wherfore blame not our art before you understand it ; for you should so offend all the world & perhaps your selfe , sith no man liveth without f●ult . how much more if you knew what sweetnesse thereis to gather the fruit where one hath not planted , and to find the in gathering in his garner & in his cellar , himself having neither fielde nor vineyard , you would even licke your fingers at it . is this a smal matter i pray you , that a man riseth in the morning not having penny nor farthing , nor knowing yet whence to have it for to nourish his family , and yet ere night he is worth a hundred crownes , & knoweth not whence they came ? is this a small matter in greatest sloth and necessitie to finde apparell cut and slasht without paying either for stuffe or making ? is there any such noblenesse in the world , as to be a gentleman without rents , and to have other mens goods so his own , as that hee may dispose of them at his will , without costing him any more but to take them ? doe you thinke it a small matter to be a marchant without a stocke , to gaine two hundreth for nothing , without crossing the seas , going to faire or market , not caring if the marchant turne banque-rupt , if the yeare be barren or plentiful , if wares be deare or cheape ? and if ye will take our trade by way of reputation or credit , doth it seeme a small thing to you , to finde one who will insure us our life , whatsoever wee doe , and to have at our becke some iudges , who save us from the lash from the gallies , from torture & from the gallowes only with a single & wel-assured promise to satisfie them with the gaine of our next theft ? and that they do this not only for us , but for our friends , kindred and acquaintance ? abuse not your selfe , and acknowledge that there is no life more assured in this world than ours , for instead of one displeasure that wee have , there are infinite pleasures and contentments to be enjoyed . and 〈…〉 much for my profession and trade . chap. iiii. to him the thiefe relateth the life and death of his parents and the first disgrace that befell him . as for my race , you shall know that i am a man borne of a woman , in a town of this world , whose name i lost in a sicknesse which i had in the yeare sixe hundred and foure . my , father was called peter and my mother hope , people , though meane , honorable and vertuous , of good reputation and praise-worthy manners . and as for the goods of fortune , they were not so great , that they were able to give bribes , nor marry orphans out of their meanes , nor so meane , that they obliged themselves to aske almes , nor to subject themselves to any man , but they were people that knew how to live , and that had bread to eate , and clothes to put on . in all the course of their life there was nothing found that they could be reproched for , nor whereof they could be reproved , because they heeded no other thing ( particularly my mother ) but to keepe their honour and the good esteeme which they had gained , for which and for the freedoome and faire conditions of their proceedings and conversation , all the world honored and loved them . but as vertue is ordinarily envied , and honest people persecuted , there was no want of malicious and wicked people , who by false and rash calumnies darkned the brightnesse and glistering of their good works & the cleannes of their life . they were accused ( i say ) to have robbed a church , to have spoiled the vestrie with the ornaments and chalices , and which is worse , to have cut off s. bartholomews hand , who was upon an altar , which they said was of silver . an accusation as malicious as false , especially , for my mothers part , whose devotion towards the saints was so great , that when she went to church , if my father had not pull'd her out by the haire , or the sexton had not shut the doore against her , there was no meanes to make her come out of the church , although shee had beene three dayes without meate , and her devotion was so knowne to all the people , that she never came forth to the streete , but a thousand folke praied her to say some ave maria for women with child , sicke and other afflicted persons , having all of them great faith in her prayers . but as there are traitors enough to condemne a just man , and in this age innocency serveth to no purpose , if it be not favoured , for so much as the lawes goe as it pleaseth kings , it came to passe that notwithstanding the reproaches which they gave in against the witnesses , more than sufficient to refute the malice of the accusers , and to manifest the innocencie of the accused , they condemned them to die , and together with them a brother of mine , and my mothers nephew . verily the case was strange and scandalous , though false , and their death unjust : but whatsoever the cause i doe not envie them the profit , which let them eate with their bread , they shall not goe to rome for penance , for there is a god in the world that seeth all things , and seeing he punisheth that he will not suffer one haire of the just to perish , it belongs to him to avenge the wrong done to his servants , for so i may call them , yea even martyrs , sith they constantly , suffered death for the love of god , they being accused of faults which they had not committed . a tricke , finally that they being poore , they were constrained to pay with their life , that which they were not able with their goods . i only may praise my selfe that i found some mercie with the iudges , in consideration of my young yeares , and of the small experience that i had ; yet the favour they shewed me , was a grace with sinne : because iustice left me my life , with condition that i shuld be the executioner of these martyres . i was very unwilling and did all i could , not to commit so execrable a crime as that is , to take away their lives that had given me mine : but it was impossible to excuse me , but by losing my life with them . wherefore i considering that another would doe that , which i refused , and of the other side the perswasion of my friends who with a great charge upon my conscience , counselled me to doe it , that so the whole kindred of my parents should not be lost , and that there should remaine some one in the world who might pray for them ; i put on a resolution to doe that which for any other respect i would never have done . but this is my comfort , which is not a little one to me , that my father gave me his blessing at the houre of his death forgiving me all that i could have committed in this world , against the respect and reverence , which i owed him , giving me also some wholesome counsels , and recommending to me vertue and the feare of god , above all that i should ever strive to be like my parents and that i should shew my selfe such a one as those of whom i was descended . with these reasons and some others i remained greatly comforted , and resolved to end my prison with their life . i was left an orphan , young , alone , or ill accompanied , and without counsell , without knowing what side to turne me to , for to maintaine that life which these gentlemen had left me , because that the cockering and good cheere in which my mother had bred me , had beene the especiall cause of my undoing , shee suffering me to live idlely and lazily . neverthelesse i seeing that the memorie of the good past brought me no profit , and that if i should live and eate bread it ought to be with the sweate of my browes , i determined to looke out for a master whom i might serve , or some handie-crafts-man with whom i might learne some trade , which was all in vaine , because that the accident of my parents being in fresh memorie , and their infamie yet late , i found not one that would receive me into his house , nay not so much as to be a groome of his stable : wherefore i was forced to leave the countrey , and to goe try my fortunes in a strange countrey . what countrey is that ( i asked him then ) in which your parents dwelt , because if i be not deceived in the discourse of your relation , you have changed its right name as also its surname , and your owne ? command me not , i beseech you , answered he , to breake a solemne oath which we of our profession have made amongst our selves , which is never to reveale to any man our own● countrey , nor our parent● name , this being supposed that it availeth little to the truth of my history to know it , and though it seemeth to you that it is no my 〈◊〉 to conceale it , beleeve me you are deceived for so much that there is nothing more dangerous in our art , than to tell a mans true name , as well as of his countrey , as of his baptisme , seeing that as you know , albeit we be fallen a thousand times into the hands of iustice , and that we be as many times convicted of some crime , w●e onely changing our name , we ever make it appeare that this is the first time that we have beene taken , and the first crime whereof we have ever bin accused , and no man knowing the name of our parents , nor of our countrey they cannot be informed of our lives & manners , nor our parents receive any shame from our disgrace seeing that as you may oftentimes haue seene , when they cōdemne a man the first words of his sentence say ; such a one , of such a place , the son of such a man & such a woman is condemned to be whipt or hanged such a day , moneth and yeare , from which proceedeth nothing else , but sorrow to him that dyeth , and dishonour to his parents . if this be so ( said i to him ) you have reason to hid it , & this being supposed that is not for your availe to tel it , & it availeth not me to know it , let us leave it , and follow your historie . it fell out then ( said hee ) that about foure leagues from the place of my birth , i put my selfe apprentice to a shooemaker , it seeming to mee to be the most gainfull of all trades , especially in france , where all those that walke goe at it were post , even as if iustice were running after them , and where all shooe themselves against nature , that which is contained being greater than that which containeth that is to say , the foot greater than the shooe , whence it falleth out that the shooes last a very short while . i opened then mine eyes thither and bend my minde to this trade for that beside the gaine it was the most easie . but as from my infancie my parents had taught me to rip , it was not possible for me so suddenly to change the habite which i had already , turned into nature , and so sixe weeks past ere i could learne to set one right stitch . from this ignorance my master tooke occasion to disdaine me , breaking some lasts on my head , to see if they could leave some impression beside the continuall abstinence with which hee punisht me , some of his friends having said to him that it was a singular remedie — and quicken my wit. this life seemed not good to me nor to bee desired , wherefore i resolved to forsake it , and lay out for another more peaceable , knowing particularly in my selfe some motions of noblenesse , which inclined me to things higher and greater than to make shooes , wherefore i conclude with my selfe to search all meanes possible to bring me into the house of some man of qualitie and rich , being assured that with the faire conditions and readinesse that i had , my service should be well-pleasing to my master . verily the resolution was good , and the thoughts honourable and noble ; but so lame , maime and without force for want of meanes , and apparell to set them forward seeing that it is most certaine , that if with my hands waxed , my apron and other markes of a shoomaker i should have presented my selfe at the gate of some knight , they would not have suffered me to enter this difficultie held mee some few dayes in perplexitie without knowing how to enter upon my enterprises , notwithstanding making a vertue of necessitie , being vexed at the miserable life which i led , i determined to draw physicke out of the disease , and honie from the bees stings , and endeavouring to revenge my selfe on the spanish lether and all shooe-makers . to this effect there came a notable boldnesse in my mind , yea and profitable enough and sure , if fortune who then was my enemie had not over-thrown my designes and my inventions , i considered that if i stole any thing out of the house , my shift should have beene discovered in an instant , and i as a stranger and friendlesse , beene ill dealt withall , particularly , with the hatred which my master bare towards me , & the harshnesse with which they are wont to punish houshold thefts in france . so rising on fryday morning earely than i had been accustomed , rubbing my hands with waxe and also my face , i went with my apron girt to mee , and my hands all bedawbed , to runne through all the shops of the towne , especially those that were best acquainted with my master , and telling to every one that were in the shops , that the gentleman staid at my masters for a paire of bootes of the eights , to put them on incontinent , i asked for one boote to trie if it would fit him that desired them . none made any difficultie to give me it , thinking that a man could not be served with one boote alone , otherwise the most part of the shooe-makers knew me , and these who had never seene me were in a minute so well satisfied with my presence , that if the first finder out of the trade had come , they could not have given him more credite . with this invention i went almost through all the shops of the towne , ever heeding to aske for a boote of the same size , and last that the first was of : and the invention fell out so to the purpose , and with so great ease that in halfe an houres space , i gathered me then two hundred bootes all of one size , and of one fashion , which having tied up in a sacke , i laid them on my shoulders and betooke me to the way . the fact lay dead without suspition almost two houres , but seeing that i came not backe againe , nor returned the boots which i had carried away , nor tooke that which i had left , all of them suspected that which truely fell out . and so this time being past , moe than a hundred apprentices were at the doore where i dwelt , every one asking for his boote , which my master and some few of his neighbours , who loved mee not very well , seeing they told the iustice , who dividing themselves through the three gates of the citie , met mee not very farre from one of them , because the weight of my burthen suffered me not to get out of sight as i could have wisht . they brought me backe to the towne , and proceeding against mee for the fact yet hot and fresh in minde , they condemned me to walke foure houres through the accustomed streets ( that is to be scourged ) with three yeares banishment . chap. v. of the first theefe that was in the world and whence theft had its beginning . although this noble art had no other excellency but the antiquitie of its beginning and the noblenesse of the first finder out thereof , it might suffice to the end that every good wit should approve it for to be the most noble of all those which are practized at this day in the world , the first inventour thereof was one of the fairest angells that was , whose beautie , dignitie and greatnesse was so extolled and high , that the most curious of his perfection found no other title more proper to exalt him than that of the morning starre , governour of the dawning of the day , the sun's ambassadour . this then was the first thiefe that was in the world , or before the world , if it be true that the angells were created before time , who overcome by an ambitio●s desire , adventured rashly to robbe god of his glorie . but hee was degraded because iustice tooke him in the fact , and seazing upon all the goods that hee had , condemned him to perpetuall prison , and together with him all his associats . the second thiefe that ever was in the world was our first father adam , as bold as the angell , yet not so blame-worthie for being not so malicious in his sin , and of lesse knowledge , albeit i cannot be perswaded that hee was ignorant of the obediēce , which he owed to his creator , having knowledge infused in him . neverthelesse overcome by the importunate reasons of his wife , and tormented with an ambitious curiositie hee was desirous to steale the knowledge and wisedome of god. but it fell out as badly to him as to the angell , so that his fleeing and hiding himselfe served him to no purpose , for the iudge having asked him , and he not being able to deny the fact , for that he was taken in the fault , his state of innocencie and originall justice was taken away , he and all his race remaining condemned to spend their life with sweate , travell and mishaps , and his wife to bring forth her children with sorrow . and if you aske mee why god did not equally punish these two theeves , being guiltie of treason , and having attempted one and the same kinde of theft which is the divine perfection . it was to this purpose that i have heard spoken by a great doctour and preacher of the church ; because if god had punisht man with the same rigour that hee punisht the angell withall , he had destroied an intire nature , seing that all men sinned in adam & so the world had remained imperfect . but in punishing the angell , this incōvenience followed not , because many other angels remained in heaven , and all the nature of angels sinned not , and this is the cause why god was not so severe to man as to the angels : but you shal better learn this curiositie from some other , who knoweth it better than i do . it is sufficient that those aforesaid theeves were the first that brought theft into credit in the world . and wee cannot say , that povertie and necessitie stirred them vp to steale , because the first was the noblest and mightiest of all the angells , and the second was the first of all men , king of the living creatures , and absolute lord of the earth . from thence is brought in the deceite which to the day , this world seeth , beleeving that poverty was the finder out of theft , seeing it is riches and prosperitie , because the love & desire of honour and riches groweth so much the more as it is increased , as a poet saith very well . ambition being an unsatiable fire , in which how much more wood is laid , so much the more it is inflamed , and a dropsie , in which the more one drinketh , the more hee thirsteth . even so in those great theeves , the great riches and prosperitie which they had , was the cause of their unruly appetite , and unsatiable ambition , for that they desiring that which they had not , they could not attempt any other theft ▪ but the glorie and wisedome of god , seeing they possessed all the rest . whence you shall understand , that to steale and robbe is in a sort naturall to man , and that it goeth by inheritance , and propagation in all the linage of men , and not by cunning . for if it be true that we all are partakers of adams sinne , his sin being nothing else but to robbe god of his knowledge , it is evident , that there is in vs an inclination , disposition and naturall desire to robbe and steale . from adam this profession was extended to all his posteritie , being alwayes kept on foote amongst the most noble and best qualified of all his children . so cain , as jealous of this originall vertue , would needs steale from his brother abel the grace and particular favour with which god received his oblations and sacrifices . iacob cunningly rob'd the blessing from his brother esau , and it went well with him . david the wife of vriah . achab though himselfe a rich king stole naboths vineyard . and finally nimrod by theft subdued all the inhabitants of assyria . and if leaving these and other theeves almost innumerable , which holy writing relate unto us , wee take the examples that humane histories rehearse unto us , we shall see that this singular art hath beene alwayes preserved among the nobilitie , sith paris stole helen , ravisht before that by theseus ; the same theseus stole ariadne , and iason medea . the lacedemonians , of whose policie and good government plutarch maketh honorable mention had this laudable and vertuous custome of stealing , and hee that was most cunning and subtile in that art , was in greatest account and estimation amongst them . the very mothers taught their children , while they were but little ones , to steale , holding it for an infallible point of policie , that they could never be good and brave souldiers , if they had not beene cunning and well experienced theeves . i will not tarrie now to tell the name and reputation which vircat got himselfe by his thefts , nor the renowne which crocota deserved by them in the time of augustus caesar , for i should never have done . chap. vi. the theefe followeth his historie proving that all men of what qualitie so ever are theeves . this noble profession of stealing hath evermore ( as i have said ) beene held in high esteeme amongst the greatest and best qualified men of the world : but as there is no kinde of vertue nor noblenesse , which is not envied by the vulgar , it became in time so ordinarie & common that there was not so very a butcher or porter who would not imitate the nobilitie in their thefts . whence and from the little discretion and exceeding great boldnesse that then was amongst people , it was one time so disdained and disliked that those who did openly follow it , were punished with shamefull paines and accounted infamous . but as all things of the world have their contrary weights ; time would needs finde a remedie for this abuse , seeking meanes to steale without punishment , and so disguised , that not only theft seemed not vice , but was esteemed a rare and singular vertue . to this end many brave spirits invented the diversitie of offices and charges which to this day are exercised in the world , ev●ry one of which serveth 〈◊〉 a maske or cloake to mak● his harvest and inrich himselfe with another ma● goods . and to the end tha● you may not judge my word rash , nor my proposition to● bold , runne , i pray you , ove● all states that are in the common-wealth , and you shall finde that wee all are the children of adam . for i thus argue . that man that hath an office of a thousand crownes of rent , without any other living , pension or patrimonie , & holds a house for which hee payes eight hundreth crownes a yeare , keepes a horse & two pages and a footeman , his wife and two waiting gentlewomen , his children and a master to ●ach them , who to keepe ●ll this traine hath neede ●f more then a thousand crownes every yeare , yet notwithstanding with all this charge he is found at the yeares end with two suites of apparell , free from debts & with five hundreth crownes of gaine , and yet it rained no more on his field than on other mens , nor hath he inherited any thing of any of his parents or friends . ergo a theefe . a tailer that eats more than it cost him , and at sixe yeares end gives ten thousand crownes portion in marriage with his daughter , never medling with other trade save his needle and his sheeres . ergo a theefe . a shooe-maker that keepes six prentices in his shop , and workes but foure daies 〈◊〉 weeke ; and those not wholl● at three yeares end that tw● tenements builded in th● fairest streets of the towne every one of which 〈◊〉 worth two him three hundreth pounds of yearely rent , without any other stocke , but that of his leather ergo a theefe . the cler●e who for every sheete of paper that he writes hath but a shilling , and who writes scarcely , sixe moneths of the whole yeare , which are hardly ended but hee is seene to have his velvet stooles , damaske courtains , silke-hangings , and other rich ornaments , which never came to him by heritage . ergo a theefe . of the same kinde you shal find in all offices giving you to understand , that 〈◊〉 doe not speake here of the good and honest , but of the ●ewd and baser sort , who ●linded with profit and gain ●reade under their feete the ●eare of god , the love of their neighbour , and the truth of their own cōscience ( who force the poore and ●eedy to take sixe pence for that , which they sell in their shops for twelue pence ) & it is , i say , of those by whom the evills , that i have mentioned ought to be understood . and by reason that the great attention with which you doe harken to my reasons , discovereth the desire that you have to know all that can be said upon this subject , i will shew briefly the invention and deceits which the naughtie tradesmen use for to robbe and steale . the tailer stealeth asking a third part more of cloth , then there needeth to make a sute of : and when he that putteth it out to making , presuming to be wise enough for the tailer , would be by to see it cut , he vexeth him , and casts a mist over his eyes marking foure houres along the peece and overthwart , and when hee hath at last dazeld him with a great many strokes and lines with his chalke , hee throweth a false ply under the sheeres with which at the cutting of a paire of breeches one breech abideth with him for his gain , besides buttons , silke , lace , and lynings . the linnen weaver stealeth in asking more yarne than the web hath neede of , laying fiftie ells instead of five and fortie and with the remainder of many broken threeds he pincheth out the length , which makes worth to him the eight part , all which he stealeth . the cordwainer restoreth with his teeth that which hee stealeth with his — biting and drawing thinne the leather , so that of one paire of shooes which one giveth him to make , there resteth to him at least an upper lether or a heele for a third . and if the lether be his owne , he sets on a rotten soale with rotten threed , to the end it may be the sooner spoil'd and fall off , which i thinke but stealing . the physitian and the chirurgion both steale , the one appointing and th' other applying plasters , which feed the disease and make it worse to the end that the time of the cure continning long , the fees may be the greater and the more . the apothecarie stealeth with a quid pro quo — putting in one drugge for another , and taking that which is cheapest , not considering what humour should be purged , and what vertue the drugge hath which he applyeth , in which hee stealeth the honour and reputation of the physitian , and the sick persons life . and if haply any call for an oile which he hath not , he wil not faile to give of that which hee hath for oile of — or other costly oyle which any shall have asked them , that they may not lose the credit of their shop . the marchant stealeth in putting out his money upon use , taking more than the statute alloweth , and writing downe in his booke such a debt , which , it may be , shall be thrice paid , the notary stealeth with an ( &c. et coetera ) a whole lordship , and if there be a question of any criminall processe , the scrivener for money that he shall take of a forfeit , will sell the soule of the poore innocent . the counsellour & the atturney steale selling a thousand lies to the poore client , making him to understand , that he shall win his cause , albeit they see cleerely that he hath no right at all ; and many times it falleth out that the lawyer agreeth with another to sell the parties right and part the gaine betweene them . the iudge stealeth iustice from this man , having pitie on him , who by some bribe shall have already corrupted him , wresting violently the texts of bartole and baldus for his own profit . the drugster and other marchants , that sell by weight steale , putting under the scale a very thinne plate of leade , where they put that which they would weigh , with which they shew that there is more then weight , albeit there be many ounces , and when they doe not that , with their little finger they touch the tongue of the ballance with which they make the scale sway to what side they will. the vintner stealeth a hundreth thousand wayes , mixing and blending one wine with another , beside the water that hee putteth amongst it , and when his wine by the force of so much mingling and watering hath his strength , hee hangeth amongst the lees a little bagge full of cloves , pepper , ginger and other spices , with which he makes it still seeme to be good . the butcher also stealeth blowing up his meate with a cane , that so they may seeme the bigger , and that he may sell them at a deerer rate than they are worth . the treasurer stealeth the third part , yea the halfe of a pension , when a poore needie man asketh him , because that hee , who should receive it , being drown'd in debt or charged with some vrgent necessitie , denieth not to give the halfe , nor makes he any conscience to demand it . the marshall stealeth taking a poore harmelesse man , and laying him in hold never telling him for what , and at the end of three or foure dayes that hee keepeth him in a chaine , sends a divell of those that belong to the prison , to tell him that hee is accused for making of false coine , and that there are ten witnesses who have given evidence against him : but that for the respect of some of his friends , hee will set him at libertie some evening , if he will give him a hundreth crownes to give content to the witnesses , and to make them in some sort to hold their tongues , whereby the poore wretch being sore affrighted , selleth all to the shirt on his backe to be rid of so great affliction . the courtier stealeth the report of a favorite , ascribing to himselfe that which another receiveth : because being loaded with feathers , brussing up himselfe , poised and straighter than a spindle he goeth to the court , and hearing , at the gate , or in the court-yarde where the pages waite , some newes , hee returneth to see his friends , and gives them to understand , that the king drew him aside , speaking secretly to him two houres , and amongst other things hee told the newes that hee brings . the perfumer stealeth mingling the perfumes and multiplying the muske with a cowes liver r●sted , the amber-grees with sope and sand , and the sivet with some butter . the priest stealeth , saying foure masses instead of forty for which hee hath bin paid beside the monie that he receives for yearely masses for the dead , answers and other duties which he never remembers . the religious ( monkes and friers ) steale whole patrimonies , assaulting with a grave countenance and a wry necke a poore sicke man at the point of death , and laying before him a mountaine of doubts and burthens of conscience , turning and stirring them up to pious deeds , applying to their own monasterie all that which he was bound to restore , without ever making any scruple of conscience to leave halfe a dozen of orphans defeated of their inheritance , and the sicke mans wife to live upon almes . the preacher stealeth , picking from s. thomas and s. austin the best of their workes , and having robbed them to their very thoughts , selleth in the pulpit their doctrine as though it were his owne making himselfe the inventor and author of that which belongeth not unto him . the blind man stealeth the halfe of every song that he singeth , because that having received money from him that biddeth him sing , and it seeming to him that he is gone from him three or foure paces , he beginneth againe his first tune , and asketh a new that some body would make him sing another . the begger stealeth telling a thousand lyes to him that giveth the almes , saying that he hath bin robbed , that he hath beene sicke , that his father is in prison , and coun●erfeiting himself lame , with which hee pulleth from men their almes . finally , all doe steale , and every handy-crafts man hath his own invention and particular subtiltie to this effect : but seeing there is no rule so generall , that hath not its exception , wee may exclude from the number of theeves all those that have a good conscience , as foote-men , hostlers , cookes , sergeants , iailers , under-jaillers , panders , bawdes , ruffians and whores . chap. vii . of the difference and variety of theeves . all the theeves aforesaid are called discreete , because that every one in his place striveth to cover theft the best hee can , transforming it into nobilitie and vertue , and this manner of stealing is the safest and most secret . of these there is as great varietie and difference , as there are severall offices in the common-weale , yea there are other theeves who steale openly and without maske : who , although they are not so many in number as the former , are notwithstanding moe , and their differences are as many as there are inventions to steale , which being redacted into a shorter number , are divided into robbers , staffadours , drawers of wooll , grunets , apostles cigarets , dacians , mallets cut-purses , satyrs , devont , and governours of the house . the robbers steale upon the high wayes and solitarie places with great cruelty and tyrannie , because that seldome doe they robbe without killing , fearing to be discovered and followed by justice . the meanes & slights that they have to coine to their purposes are diverse for sometimes they will follow a man fifteene dayes never losing the sight of him , waiting while hee goe out of the towne . and the better to over-reach him one of the companie goeth disguised in a marchants-habit , a guest of the same inne , with a certaine packe of old cloth , or some other invention , giving to understand that he is a strange country marchant , and feareth to travell alone . with this lye he falleth into discourse with the poore marchant or passenger craftily getting out of him , that which hee desireth to know , & learning whence he is , whether he goeth , what marchandise he carrieth , or what businesse he goeth , about , and when he is to be gone , whereof giving notice to his companions , they lye in waite for him at some place most convenient for their purpose . o●hers make themselues lurking holes behinde some bushes , growne up to the thicknesse of a wood , and when they perceive a far off , or by some spie , a passenger , they lay in the middle of the way a purse made fast , some shew of money , or a little budget , that in the meane time while he alighteth and staieth to take it up , they may come timely enough to take from him that he carrieth . others being hid in the most secret places of the high way , send one of their companie in carriers clothes , who seeing the passenger approach stayes to looke on him , and making shew to know him and to have some letters for him , & holding him in talke , bufieth him in such fashion , that the others have the time and meanes to surround him . others lying somewhat out of the way , faigne a lamentable and pitifull voyce , with which they tye the passenger to stay , and to goe see what it is , and while he that makes this moane deceitfully declareth his griefe , the ambush leapeth out that strippeth him to his shirt . your staffadours are a second sort of robbers , little differing from the former , though more courteous , and not so bloudy ; those goe calmely into the house of some marchant , and not finding him there , seeke for him at great leasure , at the exchange , in the fields , at church , and in the middle of a thousand people , drawes neere to him softly talking in his eare , making as though hee would communicate to him some-busines of great importance , and shewing him a dagger , saith , this dagger demandeth a hundreth crownes , brought to such a place , such a day , and if you doe it not , you shall die for it . the poore marchant sore affrighted by such words dareth not to misse , for feare to be killed . the wooll-drawers take their name from the theft they practise , which is to snatch cloakes in the night , and these have no other cu●ning save the occasion : they goe ever by threes or foure● betweene nine or ten a cloc● at night , and if they do finde a fit opportunitie they let 〈◊〉 not slip . most commonly they come forth to snatch cloakes in the darkest and rainest nights , and to them places which they see is most quiet and most out of the way , at least upon the one side , to the end that the neighbours may not come forth ( at the outcryes and noise which the robbed are commonly wont to make ) and take them . these same are accustomed sometimes to go in lackeyes clothes to come in to some maske or feast , making shew to looke for their masters , and with this liberty , they meete with ● heape of cloakes , that the gentlemen use to leave in the hall , being sure that nobody will meddle with them they in the view of all in the place , nimbly take up two or three on their shoulders , and get them gone with them , saluting all those whom they meete , with cap in hand . the grumets take their name from the likenesse that they have to those young boyes in ships , who clime up with great nimblenesse , by the tacklings to the top of the mast ; and the sailers call them cats or grumets . those that beare this name steale by night , climing up lightly , by a ladder of ropes , at the end of which they have two little hookes o● iron , to the end that throwing them up to the window ; it may catch hold there and they easily get up and empty the house . these runne about the city and the cou●try , stealing not onely gold and silver , but also wheate , rye , barley , oates , and finally all that ever they doe finde , and when they have plaid their prize , they cunningly tye a line made fast to the point of the little hookes , which , after they are come downe , they drawing , the two hookes are raised and the ladder falleth , without ever leaving any print or marke of the theft . the apostles take their name from s. peter , because that even as hee beares the keyes of heaven , so also they ordinarily carry a picklocke or vniversall key with which they open all manner of doores , and because of too much noise , that the locke may not rattle , and awaken the people a sleep , they put in a plate of leade with which they breake it in peeces , so that they who lie neerest can perceive nothing . those whom they call cigarets , have for their particular office to haunt churches feasts and publique assemblies , at which they cut off the halfe of a cloake , cassock sleeves , halfe a gowne , the quarter of a jumpe and finally whatsoever they finde , for of all these they make money . the devout are church-theeves , because there are no easters , pardons , nor iubilie which they visite not : they are continually on their knees in the monasteries , having their beades in their hands , to cloake their knavery , waiting their time , either under some altar , or behinde some table , on the eeve of some solemne feast , to the end that they may get out by night . — and to spoile the image of all the ornaments about them . in this sort of theft they do moreover adventure into the monasteries of the religious as well as into other churches , because that as they charitable , and feare to be accounted disorderly , they seldome put a theefe into the hands of justice , and for all the mischiefe that hee commits a man getteth out of their hands , chastised with one onely discipline all about the cloisters by a procession of monks who charge him , after his amendment , to feare god. the satyrs are men living wilde in the fields , that keepe their holds and dwelling in the countrey and forsaken places , stealing horses , kine , sheepe and all kinde of cattle which by occasion come in their walke . the dacians are cruell , mercilesse people , held in our common-weales in lesse account than th' other theeves : these steale children of three or foure yeares old , and breaking their armes and legges lame and disfigure them , that they may afterwards sell them to beggers , blinde folkes and other vagabonds . the overseers of the house have this name frō the particular care that they have to looke out for provision of bread , meate , and other vi●tualls to feede their companions , and as there is not any thing in the world that a man loveth better than to eate and drinke , the inventions and meanes that theeves have , are so severall and so exquisite that it is impossible to ●ell them all . some are accustomed three or foure to meete in the twilight at night and taking a bottle of five or sixe pottles with a fourth part of water in it , they goe to a taverne bidding them fill the bottle with the wine in the house , and having agreed for the price , the poore vintner beginneth to measure while it be almost full , then they make shew of a desire to taste it , if it be the wine that they bought at the beginning , and scarcely have they tasted it when bending their browes , casting up their eyes and wrying their nose they cry out at the wretched vintner , saying that he is a theefe and a deceiver , who hath changed them their wine . the poore fellow seeing that his oathes and curses availe nothing , is content to take his wine again and to take out the bottle the measures that hee had put in , by which meanes they have a fourth part left so well seasoned that it may passe for wine of sixe pence a quart . other whiles they goe five or sixe in companie to the taverne with two great pots so like th' one to the other , that very hardly can there any difference be perceived betweene them ; they carry th' one emptie and the other full of water under his cloak , and biddes them fill the emptie one with the best wine that they have , never taking care for the price , and it being full , the one of them takes it under his cloake , and the other staies reckoning with the vintner , holding his purse in his hand and making shew to pay him : being upon these termes , the others come in , and aske alowd whether or no they shall suppe there , which the vintner seeing , allured presently by the gaine that hee shall make if they suppe at his house , perswades them to stay , and they take his counsell determining to goe to the cookes to buy some joynt for supper , and to call backe the rest of their comerads , leaving the pot full of water to the vintner , that he may keepe it in the meane while till they come backe , with which he remaineth contented and well assured , thinking hith himselfe , that though they never returne , the pot notwithstanding shall remaine with him for his gaines . as for the provision of flesh , poulterie and other things they have a thousand inventions , whereof i will tell you one only which hapned long agoe to one of my copsemates . it was , if i rightly remember , on a holy saturdayes market , in which they sold great store of hennes , partridges , rabbets , pullets and other things against the feastivall day . three of the company went out to seeke for provision , dividing themselves every one to his owne walke , the two met with a countrey-clown loaded with capons and partridges , which were in the market ; one of them drew neare to buy up all that he had , & cheapning a quarter of an houre with the clowne , agreed to give him ten nobles for all his ware , giving it to his fellow to carry it home , and he stayed behinde with his hand in his pocket , making as if he would pay him . he searcheth both the sides , of his hose , drawing out first a great purse , next a little one , afterwards a hand-kercher tyed in knots with some papers folded up , with which he inchanted the clown , and gave his companion time and leasure enough to get him out of sight , and at last not finding in all his budgets the whole summe , he bids the clowne follow him and he should pay him . the clown was content , and beginneth to follow him with diligence , and almost on the trot , because that as my companion had an intention , to get out of sight crossing the streets and lanes he walk't a-pace with posting speede . but seeing himselfe so closely followed by the clown he went into the cloister of the austin friers , where there were some friers confessing folkes , and having made a devout prayer , hee turned himselfe towards the clown , saying to him , my friend , the provision that you have sold me is for this house , and that father , who is there a confessing is the proctour , i will goe tell him that he must pay you ; and speaking thus , he comes to one of the confessors with the clown after him , and turning a little aside hee put sixe pence into his hand , and whispers him in the eare saying , father , this country man is one of my acquaintance , and commeth hither to be confest , he lives sixe miles hence , and he must of necessitie goe backe to his house this evening , i beseech you to do me the favour to confesse him out of hand and let him goe . the good father obliged by the almes given aforehand , promist him , that when hee had ended the penitents confession whom he had at his feete , hee should dispatch him presently . with this answer , he called to the clown , and said to him , friend , the father will dispatch you by and by , when he hath made an end of confessing this man , to which the father added goe , not hence , i will give you content presently . with these words my companion par●ed from them , and the country-man staid , reckoning on his singers the money that hee should lay out on shooes , hat and other trifles which hee minded to buy as well for himselfe , as for his familie out of his poultry money . the penitent makes an end of his confession , and the father makes a signe to the clown to draw neere ; the clown was not in so trembling a perplexitie , with so great hast as those who come to confession , which the good father was much offended at , it seeming to him that he had little devotion and lesse humility to be confest . the clown stood bolt upright , looking heedfully upon the confessor , to see if he should put his hand in his pocket , and the confessor look't upon the clown in like manner , astonisht to see him stand with so little devotion . notwithstanding excusing him because of simplicitie which is ordinarie to these country people , hee biddes him , kneele . the clowne at the beginning made some resistance , thinking it to be an extraordinarie ceremonie for one to kneele to receive money , neverthelesse at last he did it though grumbling . the father bids him make the signe of the crosse , and say his confession , whereat the clown lost all patience , beleeving the confessor to be out of his wits , and standing up beginneth to mumble within his teeth and to sweare with great obstinacie . this assured the confessor that the clown was possest with a devill , and having made the signe of the crosse beginneth to conjure him , putting s. austins girdle about his head , and saying some devout prayers , with which the clowne went out of his wits , taking the good father by the surplis and casting him down upon the ground , demanding aloud mony for his poultry . the father supposing that hee had all the fiends of hell together upon him , beginneth to say , the letanie with a weake and affrighted voyce , and to commend himselfe to all the saints in the almanacke , praying them to aid him . at the clamour and noise , the whole convent began to be troubled , all the monkes comming out in procession with the crosse and the candlestickes , casting holy water on every side , and beleeving that there was a legion of devils in the church . they came thither where the confessour was at debate with the clown , who still was asking money , for his poultry , & the prior having asked the cōfessour concerning this accident & having also heard the clownes reason , the justice of them both was discover'd with my cōpanions wicked deede . in the endsome devout persons who were in the church , paid the clown his monies who went backe contented unto his house . chap. viii . the theefe continueth the differences among theeves with three disgraces that befell him . the cut-purses are the commonest theeves of our common-weale , who have an endlesse deale of meanes and wayes to steale . all their studie consisteth in thrusting their hand in the pocket of whom they approach , and cunningly to draw his purse from him ( he not perceiving it ) with all that hee hath in it . these haunt the churches , sermons , faires , assemblies & publicke meetings , that they may worke their feate in the throng , he that takes the purse gives it presently to another that is by him , that if he should be taken with his hand in his pocket , he might prove them lyars and cleare himselfe before all the world . i will tell you a wittie tricke which i once plotted , though it fell out but badly by me , seeing that the heedfulnesse , with which you hearken to me , makes me know that you are not wearie to heare me . the last yeere there came to london a marchant of italie , rich , courteous and of good carriage , who being in rouled by our spies i tooke the charge upon me to deale with him . i rose that day betimes in the morning , lest i should lose the occasion , and after i had dog'd him through many streets , lanes and churches ( for he was verily a good christian ) wee came to a crowd of marchants wont to be kept in the exchange about eleven a clock , seeing him alone , i came to him , talking to him of a bargaine very profitable & certaine , which made him open his eyes , and listen heedfully to my reasons . then seeing him thus fitted to my inventions , i winded him gently into a maze of difficulties , in such sort , that i never ceast to declare to him the businesse , nor he to learne the circumstances . my camerade then drew neare making shew as if he knew me not ; and to be desirous to interpret the traffick for him which i had propounded , whereupon the marchant began to take no more heede to me , and i to thinke evermore of him . i put secretly my fingers in his pocket to try the depth and breadth thereof , & perceived that it and its masters little care gave me free liberty to put in all my hand . i did so and at the first essay , i drew his purse , at the second a silver watch , which he carried tied to a small gold-chaine , with which i might have bin content if stealing could be limited . i was resolved to try the third time , to see if i could draw thence a holland hankercher , which before he had shewed edged with curious bonelace , but i could not be so nimble to draw it , nor my companion to hold him in talke , but he felt me , and running to save his pocket with his hand he could not misse but meete with mine , wherewith being vext and suspitious , he presently knew that he had lost his purse and his watch , and not finding them he tooke me by the necke , crying a theefe a theefe . i foreseeing the evill that might befall mee ( for astrologie is very necessary for a theefe ) had given the purse and watch from underneath my cloake to my companion , as soone as ever i had drawne it , who was but only two steps from me : wherefore with the assurance that i had , that he would finde about me that which he sought , i scorned all he said , giving him the lie a thousand times . the marchant holding me fast by the coller , with a loude voyce calling for his purse , in such sort that he made all upon the place to gather together . but my camerade seeing that my honor runne a great hazard , if the businesse should be proved amongst so many people , secretly calls a crier who was at a corner of the place , whom he made cry , if any one had lost a purse and a silver watch , that he should come to him , & give true tokens therof , he would restore them , and withall departed the place . hardly was the sound of the first cry heard but my good italian let me goe , intreating me with great humilitie to forgive him the rash judgement conceived of me , which i did at the request of the companie , and presently got me out of sight . he went as nimble as a roe to seeke for the cryer , and having found him he gave the true tokens of his losse , but he that had bid him doe it could not be found any more ; and so i escaped this dangerous accident . the duendes a larins so called for the likenesse that they have with the spirits of this name , begin to walke through the towne in the evening , and finding some doore open , they enter softly , hiding themselves in the cellar , in the stable , or in some other dark secret place , to the end they may throw out at windowes all that is in the house , when those within are fast a-sleepe . i adventured once to play such a pranke , and turne my selfe in an angell of darkenesse , but i was deceived . it fell out then , that one night on the eeve of a high holy-day i went to seeke my fortune , my mishap made me meete with a doore halfe open , into which thrusting my head i saw that all my body might enter , i went up a paire of staires to a great chamber well furnisht and fitted , and thinking that it was a safe course for me to hide my selfe under a bed , while these of the house were gone to rest , i did so . after foure houres that i had laien all along on the flower , i heard a noyse of folks , comming up suddenly into the chamber , you neede not aske if i was heedfull to see who they were , and by and by with the light of a candle i saw the feete of two footmen and one maide laying the cloth with great diligence , and were making of a fire , because the master of the house was to suppe there . the table furnish't with sundry dishes of meate , foure or five sate downe , besides the children that were in the house . i was then so affrighted and confounded , that i thinke verily if the noise of their voyces and the great number of children had not hindred them , they might have heard plainely the beating of my joynts , because my buttockes beate so hard one against the other , that i thinke the noise might have bin heard halfe a mile off . by mischance there was a little dogge , that runne about gnawing the bones that fell from the table , and one of the children having thrown him a bone , a cat that watch't under the table was more nimble to catch it with which she run away to hide her under the bed , the dog grinning and pressing to take the bone from her , but the cat could so well use her clawes and defend her prize , that having given the dog on the nose two or three blowes with her paw , there began so great a skirmish , and there was such a hurly burly between them , that one of the waiters tooke a great fire-shouell that was in the 〈◊〉 him . ney and cast it so furiously under the bed , that if , as it gave me over the nose with the broad side , it had lighted on me with the end , it had kill'd me out-right . the blow was so great , that i was above halfe an houre ere i could come to my selfe , but it made the cat come out like a thunder from under the bed , and the dog staied grinning and barking with such a fury that neither fawning nor threatning of mine could quiet him , wherat the waiters at table were so vext that they began to chase him out , throwing fire-brands at him , which made him come out from under the bed , and leave me there in the pangs of death . the dogges noise was done , and there began another in my guts , so violent , that to stay the sudden rumbling of a flux in my belly , which the apprehension and feare had moved i was constrained to sneeze thrice , & with the force of my sneezing to wrong my breeches by the liberty of that unjust violence . these two noises met together , and making one of two , increast so much the force , that it made all at table rise , and take off the candles , to see what was this novelty . they pulled me out , but i could give no reason that could be heard , nor humble suing that could be admitted , so i remained subject to the rigour of their vengeance , they stript me starke naked and binding me hand and foote , they began to scorch me with a lighted torch not without loud laughing , and after they had satisfied their furious passion , they put me in the hands of iustice , out of whose power i escaped signed and sealed . the mallettes are a sort of theeves who hazard themselves upon great perills and inconveniences , for they are made up in a bale , basket or dry fat , faining that it is certaine marchandise sent over , which they make some one or other of their friends in marchants apparell carrie from one house to another , that when night commeth and every one being fast a sleepe , he cutteth the cloth with a knife , hee breaketh forth to empty the house . i was one of those when the fourth disgrace befell me , because a friend of mine having counterfeited to have foure bales to be laid by night in a rich goldsmithes house , counsel'd me to be pack't up in one of them , covering the sides thereof with cloth and webs of fustian . the goldsmith made no difficultie to receive them , forsomuch as he had not them i● keeping but a little while , and that he thought , if the owner in the meane time should happen to die , some one of them might fall to his share , so he made them to be laid in his backe-shop , whereby i was well assured to worke my feate . i waited while night with such desires as that plot deserved , which notwithstanding fell out to my disgrace ; for three or foure prentises meeting that night in the house , of intention to tarrie there upon occasion of the bales , resolving to lay them together , and lye upon them . after supper , every one withdrew himselfe . the prentises fitting the unhappy bed , or to say rather , the bale , in which i was in the middle of the others , on which they began to sleepe so soundly , that one might have drawne them a mile and never awakened them . i being impatient of the exceeding great weight that i felt , not daring to stirre my selfe more then i had bin dead ; and on the other part the little breath that i had , being choaked , i began to stirre my selfe a little , and seeing the unmoveable weight of that which was on me ; i certainly beleeved that they had layd a bale upon me ; with which imagination , and the extreme anguish that i suffred , i drew a sharpe knife , and thrusting it up , i made a great hole in the tillet of the bale , and a huge deepe wound in the buttocks of him that lay upon me . hee rose like a thunder raising his voyce to the heavens , calling for neighbours helpe and the iustices aide , thinking that some one of his companions would have kill'd him . the confused noise of all the neighbours , and the alarum was so great , that ere the master of the house had lighted a candle , the iustice beating open the doore came in , and finde the poore wounded fellow in his shirt bleed and faint , and the other vexed and confounded , takes the deposition of him that was wounded never taking notice of the bale , nor comming neere it , thinking that it was not needful to know the place where hee was hurt . but the goldsmith , who attentively hearkened to the iustice , and beheld the circumstances of the fact , seeing the poore-hurt fellow all bloudie , supposed that the bales and the cloth in them might be bloudy and spoil'd and he bound to pay them , and with this unquietnesse he came neere to looke on the bale , and seeing it cut thrust in his fingers to trie if nothing was spoil'd , and he mist not to finde my bearde . i could very well have bitten him if i had thought it had bin the best of my play , but i lay quiet , thinking that he would never guesse what it was . he held the torch nigher to the hole , and stooping to see that he had touch't , the waxe began to melt and drop upon my face , which forced me to remove a little , and him to marre all , crying aloud . theeves , theeves . the iudge came neere , who was yet making one write the deposition of the hurt man , and opening the bale , they found one within it . they carried me to prison , whence i came out at the seventh day after at a cartes taile well accompanied , beside other favours that they did me , whereof the greatest was to condemne me to the gallies . all the aforesaid theeves have ordinarily their spies at exchanges , faires and common markets , viewing all that goe and come , and learning what money they carrie , how much , and in what sort , where they leave it , and in what hands , to give notice thereof to the companie . and herein there is such diligence , and so great care , that there commeth not any stranger to the towne , but in a quarter of an houre after he is registred in our booke with all his qualities : to wit , whence becommeth whither hee goeth , and what is his trafficke : and if there be any negligence herein , the spies that have these places of the citie in their charge , lose the profit and gaine that should come to them that day , out of the common purse , beside a shamefull reproofe which our captaine giveth them in presence of all the other theeves . chap. ix . wherein the theefe relateth his wittie diligence to free himselfe out of the gallies of marseiles . you may thinke , i had no great maw to that journey ▪ which these gentlemen commanded me towards marseils , sith there could be no pleasure in that which is done upon constraint . neverthelesse i obeyed with great resolution , hoping that fortune would offer some good occasion to set me at libertie : so all my studie and care was onely to finde out the means to attaine to this end . and having tried many which came to no effect , he practized one which might have hapned well , if fortune had bin content with my past troubles , and had not made mee fall any more in the try all thereof . the invention then was on this wise . the captaine of the gallie , where i was slave , being exceedingly in love with a lady of good ranke , and she in no wise loving him , hee tried all meanes ( though impossible ) to bring her to his bow , and as is usuall with lovers to be the more inflamed when they finde their beloved hard to be won , the ladies extreme coldnesse was burning coales to the captaine , in such sort that he never enjoyed rest but when he was talking of his love . i having got knowledge by the report of a slave that went daily to my masters house , there to carrie water , wood , and other necessaries , determined to try my fortune , and not lose the occasion . so i spake him kindly , promising him that if he would faithfully ayde me , that he might hope assuredly for his liberty , whereof i would as well make him certaine as of mine own . the good antony , ( for so the slave was called , ) put so much trust in my words , hearing me speake of libertie which i had promist him , that waited but for the houre to be employed in that which i did intreate him , and he thought there was not time enough ; hoping with great impatiēce , that i should declare to him that which he was to doe for me : who seeing him so well minded on my behalfe , and otherwise sillie , faithfull and true , i shewed him my resolution , recommending to him secrecie , and wisedome above all things . i said thus unto him , my friend antony , know that it is long since i have desired to impart a secret to thee , which i will tell thee of : but as all things require wisedome , patience , and the occasion , i have not done till now ; because i thought it not fitting till now to do it : as also , because not being so satisfied ( as i am this present ) of thy goodnesse , seeing , as the proverb saith , one should eate a bushell of salt with his friend ere he trust him . thou knowest well our masters love with this lady that dwelleth by the great church , and how much he is out of kelter for her , yet never having received one favour of her , after so long time spent in her service , and so many duckets spent in vaine for love of her . now if i should finde a meane and assured invention , to make him without the spending of one shilling , or troubling her doores enjoy his pleasure , what reckoning would the captain make of this service , and what reward would he give him who should bestow on him that which he so earnestly desireth ? verily ( answered antonie ) i hold for certaine that he would turne foole at his contentment , and not only would he give thee thy libertie , but also to all those for whom thou shalt aske . go to friend , said i , if thou hast any particular acquaintance with some one of them who are most familiar and best liked in the captaines house , thou must acquaint him with this businesse , that he may tell him , and assure him that i will doubtlesse doe that i promise , and i counsell thee that it be not delayed . the content which antony received was so great , that without bidding me farewell , nor answering me one word , he went from me like a lightning , intreating a souldier o● the gallie , that he would bring him into the captaines house , to talke with him of a matter of great importance . he was there , and could give order for my businesse , that halfe an houre after , the governour of the house came to the master of the gallie , charging him to send me with a souldier to the captaine , because he would see me . the quicke effect which antonies diligence wrought , gave me extreme great contentment , and made me hope that so good a beginning would bring my designes to a happie end . finally , i was at my captaines house , tattard , torne , and naked , and with a great chaine tyed to my foote . he comming to meete me , as if i had bin a man of great ranke , and lay●ng his hand upon my shaven head , began to talke kindly to me , asking me what country-man i was , what was my name , and why i was condemned to the gallies . and i having answered him in a dissembling manner , and lying the best i could , he drew me aside , to a corner of the chamber , asking if that which antony had promist him , was certaine , sir , answered i him , i know not what he hath said , nor what promise he hath made , yet i will tell you , that if he hath spoken according to that which i told him , all is true , without failing one tittle . sir , i told him , that if you would promise to release me out of this distresse which i indure , and to give me my libertie freely and wholly , i should make you injoy the love which you desire with so great passion and which so torments you , i promise you moreover and assure you , that making this condition with you , if i performe not my promise you shall my head cut off , or throw me into the sea . thou bindest thy selfe greatly ( said he with a smiling countenance , alreadie desirous to see the effect of my promise ) but if thou art a man of so great knowledge and skill , that thou canst doe this for me , this gallie wherin thou art shall be thy fortune , for i shall not onely be content to give thee thy libertie but i will make thee one of my houshold servants , and the best respected of them all . but tell me , after what manner canst thou doe it ? sir , you shall know ( said i ) that i was bred with a great astrologer , who under pretence to cast horoscops and nativities dissembled his magicke with so great craft , that there was not any one in the world that suspected him . he made use of me in some of magicall experiences , supposing because i was young and of a dull wit i would understand nothing of the secrets of his art. but he was deceived there , because though i seemed foolish and ignorant , yet i had an eye on all his tryalls , and i studied them so well , that many love secrets stucke in my memorie , ●mongst which i have one most certaine and approved , with which if a woman were harder then the adamant , i will make her softer then the waxe . in such sort that the secret which i propound to you is magicall , not naturall , and it is requisite to have some haires of the party beloved , to put it in execution ; with which , and with some ceremonies that must be performed , the gentlewomans heart will be so set on fire , that she shall take no rest , but when she is with or thinketh of her beloved . notwithstanding this must be done in the night , at the waxing of the moone , and in the fields , there being but only three in the companie , and these stout and resolute , that cannot be dismaied nor frighted , fall out what may , or whatsoever they see . if , saith the captaine , that to further the businesse there needeth no other thing but a good heart , we shall easily have our desire , for though all hell should stand before me , it were notable to make me give backe so much as one step , nor once to change my colour , or countenance : and for the haires that thou hast mentioned , i will give thee as much as thou shalt desire . i know sir , ( answered i ) by your face that your naturall inclination is very fit for magicke , and if you had studied it , you would worke wonders by it . so now seeing the time favoureth us , and that you have the ladies haire , let us not suffer this waxing of the moone to passe with bringing our businesse to passe . you may goe out on horsebacke , and he also that shall accompanie you , as for me , though ill bestead with the weight of this chaine , i will not forbeare to goe a foote . all shall be in readinesse ( saith the captaine ) against thursday night , & sith experience hath made thee master in this art , prepare thee well and studie that which thou oughtest to doe , to the end that our designe may not be lost by negligence or little care ; and for the present get thee backe to the gallie ; for i will send to thee by the governour of my house who shall be the ●hird of our companie , a faithfull man , couragious & valiant , and if there neede any thing to this purpose , thou maist in the meane time provide thee , for i will take order that all be paid that thou shalt buy . with this good answer i parted from my master more joyfull and merrie then the flourishing spring seeing my businesse thrive so well at so good a passe , and being returned to the gallie i found my good antony , who waited for me with great impatience to know what i had bargain'd with the captaine , and upon what termes my affaires stood , to whom i related all that we had agreed upon , and the kindnesse that he received me withall in accepting my promise , assuring him that when i was in favour , the next thing i asked should be his libertie . hardly had i begun my discourse , but i perceiued the governour of the captaines house entring the gallie , his visage inflamed , his eyes staring and dansing , and he running , as he had quickesilver in his heeles , asked where i was , and having perceived me , and drawne me aside , he said to me , i am governour of the house to the captaine of this gallie , who hath commanded me to come hither , and to know of thee all that shall be necessarie for the businesse that you talked of , dispose and appoint at thy pleasure , for i have money for all , and because that i may offer thee something in my own behalfe , take this crown of gold which i give thee as a token of that friendship which shall be between us , and i assure thee that thou shalt have a good friend of me at the captains hands . but as reason would thou must answer me with mutuall acknowledgment , in doing some thing for me . you shall binde me much sir , ( i answered him then very humbly , ) having disparaged your selfe so much in regard of him , who is so farre unequall : consider in what my weakenesse and my povertie can serve you ; for i will performe it with all my soule . i will not , saith the governor , that thou hazard thy soule , because it is gods , but i would faine intreat thee , that with thy fecrets and thy skill thou wouldst helpe me to purchase the favour of a gentlewoman of good ranke whom i have loved now these five yeares , and because i am of somewhat a meaner condition then she there is no meane to make her heare me , and if it were possible to give two blowes with one stone it would be be an extreme great contentment to me , & thou shouldst binde me to thee , not only as a friend , but as a slave . now the moone is waxing , and the time very fit , so that i thinke there is no neede to make any more ceremonies for my mistresse than for the captaines , and if you must have of her haire , see here are some , for it is above a yeare that i carried them about me , keeping them as reliques . and drawing a paper out of his pocket put one of her locks into my hand . i who desired no other thing but that the third of our companie should be also so besotted , that the businesse might fall out well , i was in a manner beside my selfe with contentment , which i could not hide nor dissemble without shewing some signes in my countenance of being troubled , by which he tooke occasion to aske me what it was that troubled me . to whom i answer'd , sir , i feare that if the captaine should know that i doe any thing for you he would be vexed with me , and i should lose this good opportunitie in which lyeth no lesse then my libertie ; this consideration is that which troubleth me , not want of desire to serve you . and who will tell it him , saith he then ? the divell , answered i , that never sleepes , but happen what may , i am resolved to serve you , though i should lose the captaines good-will , seeing it is the first thing that you have commanded me . as for that which concernes the captains busines & yours , you must buy a new sacke , a small corde , and another bigge one of hempe , foure ells long , a new knife , a chaine and a brush , and these you shall buy without making any price , that is to say , that you shall give for them whatsoever the marchant shall aske without beating of the price : and assure your selfe , that within a seven-night , you shall enjoy your love with great liberty . thou givest me greater content with this answer , saith the governour of the house , than if the king had given me a pension of a thousand crownes a yeare , doe that which thou promisest , & thou shall see what i will doe for thee . and embracing me kindly he went away full of hope and joy , leaving me the most contented man of the world , seeing that if in this prison i had sought an occason which might have fallen out better for my ease , it had bin impossible for me to finde it , for as well my captaine as the governour of the house were so blinded besotted and fool'd , that if i should have call'd the day night they would have beleeved it . on the contrarie my heart throb'd a thousand waies , considering into what a maze i should thrust my selfe , if the businesse succeeded not , neverthelesse i made a vertue of necessitie , using that remedie which is ordinarie with these that are in any extremity , which is boldnesse and resolution . with this good courage i waited for the thursday , which came more joyfull and fairer then the spring , though it was slow , because of the desire they had to injoy their mistresses , and mine to get out of the harbour by the cheating trickes that i put upon them , it seem'd to us the longest day of all the yeare . every time the clocke struck , they despaired , fearing to misse the telling of the houres , as these do who hope for a thing that they earnestly desire ; and after this care they were in anextacie considering what they would do in the possession of their loves , as if they had alreadie verily past the night and overcome the difficulty . this doubting and hammering of theirs served me well to my purpose , that they might not perceive the gulleries that i put upon them , and the smoake that i sold them . whereby i finde that those who paint love blinde , have great good reason for them , because that , if they not bin so , they would have perceived all my promises to be nothing but winde , and that the meanes which i propounded to them were for no other end but to gull . them . chap. x. in which he proceedeth to relate his invention , begun with some discourses of love , between the governour of the house and this gallie-slave . the night being come which be a day for me , inlightning the heaven with infinite numbers of starres so bright and resplendent , that they dazeled the light of the day , and filled my soule with joy : when my honest governour enters the gallie , brave , gallant and clothed with the best apparell that he had , because that amongst other directions that i had given as well to him as to his master , the chiefe was that they should be fine & brave , as being a thing most requisite and necessarie for magick skill ; and having saluted me with close embracements he said to me , friend , that thou maist know that i can doe what i will at the captaines hands , and that i want not goodwill to help thee , thou shalt know that through my intreatie he gives thee leave to leave off thy chaine for this night , and it may be , for ever , that thou maist walke with greater libertie , and performe thy businesse and what is 〈…〉 though the captaine 〈◊〉 ●ome difficultie , i dea●t so earnestly that i obtained this favour in earnest of that which i desire to do 〈…〉 . i who then was more knavish and more dissembled then foolish , fell into some suspition imagining that this liberalitie offered ere it was desired , was fained , and but only to try me , wherfore i answered him , sir i thanke you for the care you have had of me obtaining of my master that he will take off my chaine , a favour which i would kindly accept , if it were possible , but it is not , because i must not change the estate that i 〈◊〉 in , nor one point of that which is of my estate ; it being necessarie that he , who shall make this tryall , must make in the same estate & apparell that he is accustomed to weare : and so i may not goe but in mine owne clothes 〈◊〉 with the chaine because otherwise we shall do nothing . the governour was not a little contented with my answer , being assured that there was in me no kinde of deceite nor malice , but the pure and simple truth , & pittying me beleeved assuredly , that there was more passion in my words then iustice , he embraced me the second time saying , friend , god who is wont to give the salve according to the wound , hath brought thee to this gallie , that by it thou mightst come to the knowledge of my master , and enjoy the speciall favours which thou shouldst promise to thy selfe from his liberalitie , if the businesse fall out well . how well ? answered i him , hath the captaine any suspition that i would deceive him ? no by the world answer'd the governour , seeing that though thou wouldst doe it , thou couldst not : but it is the great desire that we both have to soften the hardnesse of these she-tygers , and to turne them to our love , that makes us thinke that impossible which is easie for thee to doe , and this is usuall amongst lovers . i never was one , ( answer'd i , and though i should be more in love then was ●arcissus , i should never purswade my selfe that day were night , that 〈…〉 , and other fantasticall imaginations , that haunt lovers , which rather may be called follies and idle thoughts then love passions . it well appeareth that his darts have not strucke thee , saith the governour , for if thou hadst tried them , thou wouldst not have spoken with so great freedome and so little trouble . know friend , that physitians ranke this disease amongst melancholi●e passions , into which the diseased falleth , beleeving that which is not , and framing a thousand phantasies and visions which have no other ground but their perverse and corrupt imagination , which workes the same effect in lovers , giving them an impression of jealouse , to an other of disdaine , to an other of favour , making a mountaine of nothing , all which is bred of a burning desire which they have to possesse that which they love . but to be willing to perswade this unto him who hath not tried it , is to desire to draw water with a sive , and to weight the earth , i am no doctor , master governour , i answer'd him , nor yet batcehler , because being left yong , friendlesse and poore , i lived also without knowledge , having only foure words of latin. neverthelesse by the use of reason well knowen of all sciences , i understood the smal reason that lovers have to be so oft troubled upon so small occasion as they are troubled , because of necessitie their affections tend to two points , to wit , that the woman must be good or evil faithfull or disloyall . if she be good , faithfull & answerable to your affection in mutuall love , it is a great follie to be jealous over her : if she be unfaithfull and known for such a one , there needs no other counsel , but not to trust her nor love her . whence may be cōcluded that all the accidents to which you say lovers are subject , are the overflowings of follie , and wants of wit , it being a notable extravagancie to love one that hateth , this being supposed that hatred cannot be the subject of love , nor love of hatred , seeing we ordinarily love them that bind us thereto by their love . if it went by experience , saith the governor thou wilt lose thy cause , because usually they ●ate these that love them best , taking the fight of a dying man for the occasion of their hate , and it is a voice in them now a dayes turned in●o a nature , to shun those that follow them , and to abhorre those who adore them , as the captaine and i have hitherto made a long and unhappy tryall . thinke not so master governour , i answer'd , that you have made a good conclusion ; for if you will have the patience to ●eare me , i will make you see clearely in what your arguments faile , and know that love ceaseth not to love nor hatred to hate , there being no 〈◊〉 of nature , and he that foster'd you in this philosophy , hath fed you with 〈◊〉 milke , because that lo●● alone not being accompanie● with other circumstances , which are to be proportio●nable and reasonable is no● all the motive of an other love . that princesse of noble bloud should be tyed to love a porter , that dieth for her , onely because he adoreth her . i deny your proposition , she is no wise bound to doe it , nor her well to affect him , the object that might move her not being in him . as a prince hateth to the death a poore damsell , because she depiseth him , being unwilling to give consent to his wanton love , whence it may be gathered that neither the porters love 〈◊〉 in any case tye the prin●●sse wil , nor damsels scorne ●all breed hatred in the ●rinces minde . seeing that 〈◊〉 love is found the good , 〈◊〉 profit and pleasure which 〈◊〉 the hookes with which 〈◊〉 will is taken , then it is 〈◊〉 motive of love , and the ●ady shal not be able to hate ●im , who loveth her upon ●hese conditions , but therein ●eing unequalitie and disho●our , she may do it . you shall more clearely perceive this 〈◊〉 hatred , because when a man dieth for a gentle-woman , & she hates him exceedingly , this hate is not that which inflames his love , but the account she makes of her honour & the feare of shame if she should consent to the pleasure of him that loveth her , which consideration makes her coole and backward and him extreamely passionate . whence it is concluded , that the woman offendeth not in hating him that worships her , nor any man ought to hate such a woman that disdaineth him . this thy philosophie , my friend , answered the governour , is framed of moe words than learning , and i could refute it by plaine reasons , if time did afford 't is leasure , but the houre is already come , & the captaine will looke for us , only i would intreate thee to be mindfull of me as a friend , making thy inchantment of equall power with the crueltie of the gentlewoman of whom i have spoken to thee . away with this care , sir , answerd i , for i will doe it in such sort , that though your mistresse were harder-hear●ed & more frozen then the alpes , she should be turned into a mountaine of fire , hotter then mount aetna of sicile . i beleeve so , said the governour , but i cannot chuse but wonder why thou being so cunning a fellow didst not enchant the iudge to be in love with thee and not have condemned thee to the gallies . if this secret were good for a man , said i , a hundred yeares a goe i had bin a duke or a governour of some province , if i had not bin a monarch . it is not good but for women , because he that first found it out , gave it this vertue only . that alone sufficeth me , saith the governour , if with it i can soften that ad●●mant , but with the hope that thou hast given me , i hold the victorie as certaine , and i hinder my selfe that i doe not see to morrow already . with these words we came to the other side of the harbour where my kinde captain waited for us with great impatience and unquietnesse , by whom i was very well received , & he asking me why the governour had not taken off my chaine , as he had charged him , i answered him the same things , which i had before answered the governour , wherewith he was exceeding wel contented . they leapt both on horse backe , & i followed them at leasure , because of the waight of my chaine , and being about a ●●ague from marselles we ●●rived at the place appointed . they lighted down , and ●ying their horses at a tree , we with drew our selves to ●●ther to the place where our ●●yall was to be made , & taking them with some necessary ceremonies , and telling them what they should say , i ●●ade a circle on the ground whispering i cannot tell what strange and uncouth words , and turning my selfe often , sometimes towards the east , sometimes to the west , with some ceremonies so unusuall , that they made the captaine and his governor of the house both of them 〈◊〉 and fearefull . at haffe an houres end after that i had gone turning about like a foole , i made the captaine goe within it , charging him to say after me , who was so obedient and so forward to all that i would have him , that if i had then cut off his mustaches , he would have beleeved that it was needfull for the inchantment . i made him strip himselfe , teaching him to say certaine words to every parcell of his clothes which he put off , which he pronounced so exactly that he lost not one syllable , beleeving that if he had missed in one jote he should have marred all this businesse , with this ceremonie i stript him to his shirt , he never making any shew of feare no● suspition , being assured that he was safe enough by the presence of the governour , who was much astonisht to 〈◊〉 them finish'd , it seeming to him that there should neither b● time enough nor inchant●ent sufficient for himselfe . pitty so moved my heart that i could not take off his shirt , ●aving compassion of his in●●cencie , because it was then the coldest time of all the winter , and either through ●eare or cold , such a vehe●●● quivering and shaking ●f all his joynts tooke him , ●ith such a chattering of his 〈◊〉 , that the noise thereof 〈◊〉 have bin heard halfe a 〈◊〉 from the place . i 〈◊〉 and encouraged him , with the shortnesse and quick 〈◊〉 of the inchantment , 〈…〉 assured possession of 〈◊〉 love , injoyning him in 〈◊〉 meane time to be silent , 〈◊〉 telling him that if he spake but one word , we should be presently in lesse then the twinkling of an eye all of us in barbary . he then being in this plight , that is to to say , naked in his shirt , i gave him a knife in his hand , commanding him to make some stabs towards the foure quarters of the world , at every one uttering some words , & 〈◊〉 the conclusion i made him goe into the sacke . that which i then saw with mine eyes was a wonder & a miracle of god , because i alwai●● imagined , that as he was going into the sacke he should suspect something , & that 〈◊〉 mine invention should 〈…〉 nothing : but a little 〈…〉 not more obedient 〈…〉 ●●ilde than he was , 〈◊〉 that without any resistan●● or shew of mistrust , he went in , being still assured by the presence of his governour , and the ignorance he had of his loves ; which was good for me ; for if he had known that the governour was to be inchāted also , he had never gone into the sacke . finally having packed up the poore captain , i laid him along upon the ground with his belly upwards , tying the sacks mouth with a cord that was by me , & speaking sti●● to the governor to encourage him , and wishing him to have patience a quarter of an houre the enchantment was to last . so having left him in this ta●ing , the governour and i went aside about a stones cas● who said to me in an exceeding great pelting chafe , i wil lay a wager that thou hast forgotten something of my businesse , for here i see neither sacke nor knife for me , as for the captaine . here is no need of a sacke , said i , because your magicall experiences are made stronger or weaker , according to the greater or lesser cruelty that gentle women have : and the captaines being exceeding disdainfull , i have made the enchantment of a sacke for her which is the strongest of all . oh! brother , saith the governor , what is this that thou hast done ? mine is hard-hearted , disdainfull a tyger and a lyonesse : for the captaines , though she loves him not , notwithstanding shewes him some favour , and if it goes by disdaine , we neede a hundred sackes , not one only what shall we doe ? be quiet master governor , said i then seeing him afflicted , for there is a remedy for all but deaths for that which is not in one threed shall be in a hundred . i will make with the haires and the cords a hanke which shall have no lesse force then the captaines sacke , and for as much as your mistresse is so cruel as you say , i wil adde thereto a small matter which shall make her , that she shall never be able to take rest while she see you . it is that which i looke for , myfriend , answerd hee , let us martyr her in such sort , that my love may torment her thoughts & her memory , & performe my businesse quickly , before my masters be ended . speaking thus we came to the roo●e of a tree , the place at which i had told him that his inchātment should be made , and in an instant making a circle , & ●eaching him what he should doe , i made him goe into it starke naked to the skin , because i had neede of a shirt . having him there in this fashion , i tooke his mistresse haires , & twisting them with a cord i made a big roule , with which i tyed his hands to the stumpe of a tree , shewing him the mysterie that was hid in every ceremonie , & i would faine also have tied his feete , if i had not feared that hee should have suspected this to be rather the fact of a robber then of a magitian , but as his hands were enough for my purpose i would do no more . finally having made thē 〈…〉 boūd , defended frō the sharpnes of the cold aire with the onely fire of love , that burned in their heart , there was no body that could hinder me to give two or three knocks at the lock of my chaine with a hammer that i carried in my pocket and taking their horses and clothes i got me out of sight & , being armed like 〈◊〉 s. george i tooke 〈…〉 high way to lions . chap. xi . in which the theefe 〈◊〉 the disgrace that happen●d to him , about a 〈◊〉 of pearle . with the victorie of this dāgerous journey , i tooke the high way towards the town of lyons , joyfull to see my self free , & the owner of foure and twentie double pistolls , which i found by the hazard in my masters pockets with which and with their clothes being brave & gallant i went into the towne , & falling in love with as many brave dames as were there : i talked of love to all that i met with , and receiving particular favours of some , because my presence and my clothes assured them that i was a man of some great house and of good ranke . true it is that to keep them in this errour , and to hold my selfe in the good account with which i had be gun , i oftentimes visited the merchants of greatest credit , telling them , that i lookt for some merchandise from venice , and promising to deale with , i made them in love with me , and they trusted my words as much as my outside and my honest looks did deserue . by which & by counterfeit noblenesse , some gentle women tooke occasiō to be as far in love with me , as thysbe was with piramus , to whom i gave correspondence in the best manner , ●hough i understood that i was not so blinded with love but this colour'd goodwil , & these fained sighs tended rather for my monies then for any good quality or beauty , of mine . but as there is nothing that can resist the kinde alluremēts by which a woman maketh warre against him , whom she minded to deceive i suffered my selfe a little to ●e carried away by amorous shewes of a gentle woman of the towne , merry , pleasant &c who entertained me best though she was none of the fairest : who making shew that she was taken with my love , in a short time emptied my poore purse , leaving me like an image wrapt up in velvet . i pressed also to binde her by allmeanes possible answerable to her fained affection , not so much for my contentment , as for that she was provided with fine knackes , which she had bin accustomed to aske of any new lover such as are chaines , rings bracelets , & above all a chain of pearle , so bigge , round & bright , that at the very sight of them any man of courage would desire them : this friendship at first was very hot , & had a prosperous gale of winde , but as soone as she perceived the weakenesse of my purse , she struck the sailes of her good-will , & began to looke upon me with a crosse & sowre countenance , an accident which in some sort put me in doubt , & made me distrust that i should never work my seate , which i had projected at the beginning of her loves . so before that any falling out or vexing should rise between us , relying upon the kinde offers which a little before she had made me , making me understand , that not only her goods , but also her very life shuld be sacrificed to my friendship ; i requested her to ●awn her chain or her pearls for to contribute with her for the expences of the kitchin , assuring her that i looked for two thousand ducats from a living which i had in my country . but as they are old and subtle in their trade so they are also in their distrust , and so she excused her selfe , saying that the pearles and the chain were pawns of a friend of hers who was to ●ome and redeeme them the 〈◊〉 day , and that her honor should be greatly endangered if she had them not in readinesse . there needed no small 〈◊〉 to cover the annoy which that crafty answere bred me , ●or little wit to turne into jest such a plaine denyall . so without making any shew , or answering one word to that purpose , i fell a laughing most heartily over her shoulders , saying to her , that it was a device that i had framed to try her good will and to see if she would indeede confirme that which she had promist by her words , and drawing out of my pocket a counterfeit letter of exchange , i made her reade it that she migh● see the power that was given me to take up eight hundred ducats from a rich marchant of lyons , who● she knew well , where with comming to her selfe from her rugged coynesse , shee fell againe into her smiling humour , giving me a few light blowes on my cheeke , calling me distrustfull and mocker . i went away from her with a thousand embracings , making her beleeve , that i was going to receive a part of that sum , and god knowes what my heart was . but as povertie hath ever bin the mother of inventions , amongst many others which my imaginatiō afforded me , i choosed out one which was to sell my 〈◊〉 at any rate whatsoe●er , being content only to ●●ve monie to live upon ●ut three dayes , at the end ●f which i minded to have ● fling at her pearles , and so to get mee out of the way ▪ but it happened quite contrarie to me ; i went to catch the wooll but i came backe fleec't which was the just judgement of god , and a righteous punishment of my fault . for though the proverbe saith , he that steales from a theefe winneth a hundred yeares of pardon : yet the theft that is done to women of this kinde , is not put upon this account . but it should be rather held for a great offence , because that for the monies they receive they sell their honor and reputation which ca● not be redeem'd withall th● treasures of the world . 〈◊〉 came to passe then , that 〈◊〉 returning in the evenin● to her house , and makin● my pockets jingle with th● money that i had receive● for my horse , she met m● with embracings , so smiling and kinde , that with her fauning and flatteries , shee made me almost beleeve , that th● refusall she had made me of her pearles , had beene but a tryall and proofe , which she would make of my affection . finally order was given for making supper ready , with which and the tricks that i minded to put upon her , at the comming of my money , i resolved to change her in such sort , that her first sleepe ▪ i should ●●e the commoditie to as●●lt her , and shee never to ●rceive it . but my desires 〈◊〉 not so good successe as ●hought , because that such ●omen know more then 〈◊〉 devill , particularly she , ●ho as an old beaten bel●●me in her trade , there ●as no ambush nor deceit , which shee had not pried ●nto . so the more i urged ●er to drinke , so much the more shee proved coy and backeward . supper ended with all the joy that i could faine , and the hope which that good occasion promist 〈◊〉 , we withdrawing our selves into her chamber , she began to untire her selfe with as much slownesse as it had beene her wedding night . but i desirous to arrive 〈◊〉 the haven of my intent●●on , to make her more car●lesse and lesse suspitious 〈◊〉 went to bed first , fain●● my selfe unable any mo●● to withstand sleepe tha● urged me so eagerly . my disgrace was such , that shee distrusting the summe , that i had bragged to have received , and taking occasion by my dogges sleepe shee would search my pockets to trie if all was gold that glister'd , and if the nuts were answerable to the noise . but finding there was so little monie that it would scarcely furnish out the next dayes expence , she began to be vexed and to have an ill opinion of me . at all this ( though snorting ) i was ●ore watchfull and more a ●nting then a cat when 〈◊〉 watches a mouse , spying 〈◊〉 what place she laid her ●earles , that i might fish ●●em incontinent when ●ee was fallen asleepe . she ●ay downe sad and con●ounded , thinking on the small summe of mony , that ●hee had found , and oft-times sighing . whereof i would in no wise aske the cause , as knowing it well enough , and not desirous to let her from sleeping which i so much desired and long'd for . so a quarter of an houre after , which was the time that in my conceit , shee was past all thinking of it any further , i thought of mine owne designes , weighing well all the inconveniencies whic● might fall out , among●● which i considered the suspition , conceived by her to be most difficult , it seeming to me that she would not sleepe but by halfes , and that seeing the least appearance of that shee imagined , shee would raise the house with her cryes , and put all the neighbours in armes . but amongst many inventions , there came a subtle one in my minde , and most fit for the purpose to this fact , which was , not to hide the pearles in any part of my clothes , but to swallow them one and one , being assured that having past them through my body they would come forth more cleere and bright then 〈◊〉 before , and that in this ●anner though all came to 〈◊〉 worst , the iustice would 〈◊〉 mee free not finding 〈◊〉 pearles about mee . this thought , in my opi●ion seemed admirable good , and thinking that she was asleepe , seeing shee ●●ghed no more , nor shewed ●ny more her unquietnesse . i rose as softly , as was possible , going barefooted and at leasure to the place , where she had left her pearles , and having found them , i began to swallow them one after another , though with some difficultie , i being narrow throated , and they very big . my ill lucke was that while i was , about to swallow the last , it stucke in my weazand so unhappily , that it could neither goe forewar● nor backeward , i was forced to cough with som● violence , and to awake h●● with my coughing , shee cal●● upon me with teares and ●●stonisht , and i dissemblin● the best i could the hinderance of my weazand , answered her that i was seeking for the chamber-pot wit● which shee was well apai● for a while , though not satisfied with my answer , it seeming a thing unlikely to looke on the cupboord for the chamber-pot , which was usually set under the bed , wherefore casting with her selfe the meanes to satisfie her suspition , without making any shew of distrust , shee counterfeited an exceeding fore paine in her bellie ●●ring great cries , and cal●●g to her two maides that ●re in the house for light , ●●d some warme clothes : ●●ee held in her dissembled ●●ine for the space of halfe 〈◊〉 houre , supposing that ●ould be enough to take ●●om me the suspition of her ●unning slights . about the ●●d of which , shee riseth 〈◊〉 bed like lightning , and looking round about the ●●me with a lighted candle and where shee had left her pearles , and no finding them , without speaking ever a word , or asking any other ●eason then what her imagination perswaded her , she begunne to beate her face with her fists , that incontinent shee fill'd her mouth with bloud , uttering after that loud and shrill cry●● that in lesse then a quarter of an houre , above two hundred people were assembled , and amongst them the iustice , who breaking open the doores of the house , came up furiously , finding me in my shirt , and her in her night attyre , with her haire about her eares and her face scratcht , calling to me for her pearles most furiously . the iudge commands that every one should hold their peace , that hee might be inform'd of the fact , and take the deposition of us both , and hee having begunne with me , i gave him content with very humble words , so that neither his threatnings nor intreaties could draw any other answere from me . neverthelesse the iudge seeing the womans vehement complaints and bitter teares charged that my clothes should be search't which was executed with such care and diligence , that hardly a moate of the sunne could have beene hid in them , and they not finding there the pearles all of them with one accord judged mee to be innocent , and condemned her as subtle , shamelesse , and dissembled . she seeing then that they all spake against her , and misregarded her complaints , cast her selfe downe at the iudges feete , tearing her haire , and rending her clothes , and uttering such strong cryes , that the iudge knew not what to thinke , nor what resolution to take , and consulting of the matter with those he brought with him , he resolved , that it having beene verified that she had the pearles when she went to bed , they should be searched for , in all the most secret corners of the chamber , they not being found , they should send for an apothecary , that should give me a potion mingled strongly with scammonie , to the end that if i had swallowed them , i might cast cast them up againe . the iudges sentence was put in execution , and having done their diligence proposed about the chamber , and not finding the pearls , they were forced to come to the last remedy , which was the physicke , they which forced me to take in full health without the physitians appointment , and against my wil , & though i did all that was possible for me to vomite them , there was no meane to make me doe it , so a vehement strife being awakened in my guts i was compelled to give way to the pearles , and to tarry my selfe in prison , enjoying the favours which these gentlemen iustices are wont to bestow upon those that fall into their hands . chap. xii . in which the thiefe relateth the last disgrace that befell him . it was about sixe a clocke at night , when my andrew made an end of telling me his disaster about the pearles , and i desiring to know the last that kept him then in prison , i intreated him to tell mee it from point to point , without missing any thing remarkeable : wherein hee being willing to give me content hee answered joyfully in this manner . if god would have pleased that this should be my last disgrace , and if it had beene as soone ended as i shall end the discourse thereof i should have thought my selfe happie ; but i dare not trust to my hard lucke , because that it being accustomed to persecute me , i do not beleeve that it will ever cease to use mee unkindly with new torments . know then that the iustice of lyons having condemned me in two hundred lashes of the whip , through the streets accustomed , for such malefactours , and marking me with the towne marke , they banisht me the towne with shame enough , allowing me but three daies only to dispatch my businesse and goe into banishment : during which dayes i thought upon a thousand fantasticall discourses , bethinking my selfe , how i might repaire the povertie that had overtaken me after so great abundance . and after i had bethought my selfe of a thousand plots , never a one of which pleased me , the divell put one in my head , which was the trouble that i now am in . i bethought my selfe that the same day that i was whip● , 〈◊〉 famous theefe came after me , whom the iudge had condemned to the same paine , a young man of good disposition , and of a vigorous courage , wittie , and one of the cunningest theeves that in all my life i had dealt withall , but unhappie as well as my selfe . i acquainted my selfe with him to trie , i● betweene two wretched caitives we could finde some comfort in so great a mishap , and communicating one with tho'other our intent and thoughts , we resolved to make a journey together to paris . but before wee were fully resolved of all things fitting for the voyage , we had a consultation about our povertie , and infamie , descanting upon the meanes which we might make in so great mishap , and thinking it was not safe for us to embarke our selves in so great a citie as paris , not having meanes to live on there , and by which to busie our selves , at least while wee were knowne . and after that he had given me the hearing a long while , and heedefully heard all the reasons and designes which i propounded , he said , master lucas ( for that was the name which i had at lions ) the inventions that you shew me are good and worthy of such a spirit as yours : but they bee hard and difficult questions . wherefore leaving them for another occasion , i will tell you one , which if it fal out well , it may well be that we shall get out of this miserie . this is that we may use diligence to finde in this citie of lions some marchant that hath trade and correspondence at paris , from whom wee may get a letter directed to his friend , and having found him , you shal tell him secretly , that you will make up some packes of marchandise in this towne to be transported to flanders with some mony , and leave all at paris in the hands of some sure man , that it might be kept safe , while you go to antwerp , where you shall make as if you have a cozen germane , to trie the price , and how your marchandise may be past off ; and that having never beene at paris , nor made any acquaintance to whom you might recommend your packes , you shall intreate him to write to some merchant of his friends , that hee may keepe them for you . for so much , i suppose , hee will not refuse you , and if he agreeth to it , let me alone . you shall see how i will rule my hands ? if that be all that hinders you , said i , i will finde them that shall give me a thousand letters , and not one only though i am now disgraced , and with infamie yet bleeding , i would have you to know , that there was moe than foure that will doe somewhat for me , and that this is true you shall see by and by . with these words i went from him , and going to a marchants house of my acquaintance , asking of him a letter , after the forme that my camerade had told me , with which i ●eturned exceeding content , and putting it into his hand , he kissed it a thousand times , praising my diligence and credit , and so at last we came to paris with it , where wee being retired to a chamber of the suburbs , we made two packes , with some pieces of coorse canvasse , the rest full of sundry things , such as old shooes , old clothes , ragges , and such other wares , and my camerade put himselfe in the third , wherein i packt him up so neately and handsomly , that neither his packe nor the other two seemed to be nothing else but camlots or fustians . our packes being made up , i went to give the letter to the marchant to whom it was directed , who received it most gladly offering me all his house . after this wee agreed that i should send the packes at eight a clocke at night , to save the custome other dues to be paid by the marchants , amongst which entred that of my companion , if not full of camlots , yet at least of cords , ladder , hooke , file , lantern , knife and other militarie tooles , with which to make war for necessitie , and robbe the marchants mony . he then being entred and all in the house asleepe , because it was past eleven a clocke he slit the canvasse with a knife , and comming out hee search't all the corners of the house , throwing out at the windowes some apparell and silke gownes with that seemed to him to be of the least , which i gathering up in the streete with great diligence , the divell would have it , that the watch in the meane while came by , with so great silence and dissimulation , that they gave me no leasure to hide our bootie , which i was gathering up , nor to betake my selfe to the flight . and as there was no great neede of questioning mee for to know my cops-mates , sith these wares could not fall from heaven , they perceived that my camerade was above , whom , after they led mee to the prison , they imprisoned also for the same crime . he went out a fort night agoe , being condemned to the gallies for ten yeares , and i feare not much lesse , if the mercie and bountie of the iudges have not some pitie of me . chap. xiii . of the statutes and lawes of theeves . by the discourse which i have made of my historie , saith honest andrew , i have noted that you did not like well that i called our company a common-weale , it seeming to you that wee are governed only by the desire wee have to steale , without any other law or reason , which is clean contrary , seeing that amongst us is done nothing which is not ruled by reason laws , statuts & ordināces , punishing those that otherwise exercise our arte . we have in the first place a captain & superiour , all sorts of whom theevsobey , & he disposeth of their thefts w ch they shold act , nāing these whoseeme to him the fittest for the purpose , and choosing the cūningest & wisest of the cōpany for the most difficult & dangerous thefts . and in this there is so good order kept , that there is no man amōgst us that forgetteth one only point of his duty , nor that passeth the bounds of his commission undertaking that w ch is in another mans charge nor medling with greater matters than his capacity can cōpasse . and know this that it is the most essētiall point of our cōmon wealth , by the disorders wherof all others are undone this captain examineth him that cōmeth newly unto the company giving him three months of novice ship , to try his courage , inclinatiō & ability , in w ch time , he propoundeth to him some witty questions as be these ; to hang up some little thing without ladder , pole or line ; to steale a mans horse as he is riding on him upō the way ; to snatch a way a courtiers band amōgst a hundred people , & many other things of this kinde . and having known his inclinatiō & capacity , he givs him the office of a robber , of a grumet , of a cut-purse , or any other wherof he is found to be most capable . you will not deny but that this manner of proceeding is a great state point , just reasonable , & so necessary for the common wealth , that because it hath not bin practised , so great disorders are seene every where in it , seeing violence can promise no other good end . i will tel you that estates and offices should be given to every one , according to his natural inclination , without enforcing or tying him by any respect to another thing than to that which it desireth , not following that which troubleth , to wit , unquietnesse and mishap . for i held it impossible , that shee whom her parents shall put in a cloister against her will , for want of monie to marrie her , can live in peace and contentment . as also he wil never proue a better husband● who for the only pleasure of his parents , and against his minde is tyed in marriage , and so of other employments . we have a notable example of this good order in the lacedemonians state , a curious people , civill and wise , who suffered their children to grow up in libertie , without putting them upon any employment , nor to store up their appetite to any other estate , than to that to which their minde prompted them , and when they came to age and discretion they might choose of themselves the meane to live by most proper and most befitting their naturall inclination , and thence it proceeded that all their actions were so wel ordered and so per●it . after this manner our cōmon wealth is governed , & with this la●● our captain ruleth the capacity of those , who come newly● unto him , be●●owing on hi●● the office & maner of stealin●● according to the dispositio●● that hee hath taken notice o● in him in the months of his novice-ship . this captaine is an old man , wise , well experienced & finally exempted from the trade , as being one who●● force and nimblenesse having failed for the practize , he exerciseth the theorie with us teaching us the method and precepts of stealing . to which end he makes 〈◊〉 meete together once a week●● in a certaine place appointe● for the purpose , where h●● bindeth us to give a strict a●●count of all the thefts and accidents that have happened ●●erein , reproving sharply those who are negli●ent and prove vnprofitable , praysing the vigilant and ●●btle . this is done ordinarily on saturday night , on which day he appointeth all that must be done the weeke following , sharing out to every one the places that he shold keep in , & the thefts in which he shuld be emploied , taking of thē all a strict oath of faithfulnesse , & punishing the offenders , the first time abridging him of that part of the theft which belongeth to him , the secōd depriving him of the place of sixe moneths , and if he be incorrigible and stubborne , he puts him into the hands of the marshall . if hee falls in a fault by negligence & carelesnesse , 〈◊〉 it may be by comming to 〈◊〉 to his place , to go elsewhere , or let slip some occasion i●● not laying hold of it , he is deprived of a weekes benefit , 〈◊〉 taking from him the office of a theefe , he puts him in the office of a spie , or of a watch-man , for the time that our councell shall appoint . of all thefts in the first place is allotted the fifth par● to him , that spares the whi●● to us , banishment , the gallies , the gallowes , and that which remaineth of the tenths for pious uses , which are , to succour the sicke and needie of our companie , to● release prisoners , and to eas●● the disgraces of those th●● have no monie . we receive no women in ●●e companie , unlesse it be in ●se of great necessitie , and when it cannot be other●ise , because by nature they ●●nnot keepe secrets , & they being unable to eschew this inconvenience we are bound upon great paines not to reveale unto them , how , from whom , and when wee have stollen . ●he that commits the theft hath equall share with the captaine for paines & danger that hee hath put himselfe in , his complices have the third part , and the spies the fift . as for the honour and respect which is due to every one , there is such an order kept , that no wrong is done to any one of the companie , every officer having hi● ranke and place appointed i● all our meetings , assemblies and consultations . for the first are the robbers , next the stafadours , then the grumets , after these the ho●bgoblins , then follow the wooll-drawers , the mallets follow them , and last the apostles , cigarets , cut-purses , and caterers . over all these a kinde of theeves bearesway , called among us liberalls , whose office is to undertake some strange points , as to blacke their faces with inke o●kennell durt , to hang garlands of hornes at mens doores , libells or such like , and these are the wittyest of all the company , and those who as it were indued with the best wit and invention , weigh and foreseeing all the difficulties that can happen in a dangerous case . none of the companie may make any quarrell , noise or contentiō with another , about any matter whatsoever , unlesse it be fained or subtle , to avoide any suspition , that may be offered . we may not eate twice two of us together in one and the same tavern or vi●ailling house , except it be once in the fev'night , to th' end that if any thing come in the way to be stollen there we may breede no suspition among●● them that should ●e●us there . we are forbidden also 〈◊〉 go together through the city 〈…〉 another ; unlesse it be to fall a quarrelling , & to make some false blowe at one another , to draw people together , that upon the occasion of our quarrell the cutpurses may make up their hand . every professor of the companie carrieth his badge and secret marke , by which he is in an instant known of us all , understanding by this order , how many there are of an office in every streete & part of the town . so the robbers be are alwaies a glove handing and made fast by one finger . the wooll drawers button their doublet by intercession 〈◊〉 is to say , they but ●on one ▪ and misse the next . the 〈…〉 their finger into one of their no strils . the cut-purses have a little white marke in their hat-bands . the mal●etes beare their cloake after a certaine fashion , and finally every particular office hath its particular token by which it is known among the company . when any woman of the companie is married every profession gives her five crowns to augment her portion , keeping neverthelesse such an order , that she may not be married but to one of her owne trade ; that is to say , the daughter of a robber with a man of the same vocation or calling . and if by chance some cut-purse should marrie his daughter with a robber , staffador or grumet , hee is bound to give him a hundred crowns in portion more then ordinarie , because his sonne of law is of greater and higher office then the father is . we make a vow of patience and suffering , promising to be couragious and constant against torture , though we be seldome put to it , because ( as i have told you ) all that is salv'd with the fifth part . and to the end that all the places of the towne may be sufficiently provided , it is enacted that every professour that shall come newly to a place , should put there some marke , shewing thereby the number of theeves which are in that part : so the first that commeth layth a die in some secret corner , and yet well known to those of the companie , with the a●e turned upwards ; the second that commeth , turneth the die to the deuse point , the third to the trey , the fourth to the quarter , and so the others to the ●ise , and being come to that number , the same office stayeth in the same place , because that according to our lawes we cannot be above six in one and the same place : and when any one goeth away he turnes the die upon the number of theeves that remaine , in such sort , that they being six , the first that goeth away turnes the die to the cinque poin● the second to the quarter the third to the trey , b● which number he that i● behinde of the theeves i● knowne . we are bound to nourish● and sustaine all the creeples , blinde , sick , and those whom their extreame old age excuseth from stealing . none of us may weare cloake , hat , breeches , doublet nor any thing else that was stollen , nor sell gold , silver or jewells in that towne where they were stollen , under paine of a great and exemplarie punishment . wee are commanded to carry alwayes a false bea●d in our pocket , with plaisters of sundry sorts , to disguise us in an instant when occasion shall require , as concerning religion we are halfe christians , because that of the two principall commandments of god● law we keep one , which is to love god , but in no case our neighbour because we take from him that he hath . next we receive and allow of the two parts of confession ( because now and then we confess ) and contrition , but of the third , which is satisfaction or restitution we not so much as make mention or talk. finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a01433-e680 the author would not haue beene so vehement , had he been in one of our english prisons , which for the most part are made rather places of ease and delight then punishment . spanish apparitors what sort of people . these theevis● words of the trade are afterward made cleare . to be whipt at the carts taile . burnd on the shoulders . see cap. 7. p. 54. see cap 7. cap. 7. ibids 〈◊〉 lavernæ, or, the spanish gipsy the whole art, mystery, antiquity, company, noblenesse, and excellency of theeves and theeving : with their statutes, laws, customes, practices, varieties, and differences, also their originall, rise, and beginning, of what parents, education and breeding the author was : with a pleasant discourse hee had in prison with a most famous theefe, and also his last disgrace, being a work no lesse curious than delectable / first written in spanish by don. garcia ; now in english by w.m. desordenada codicia de los bienes agenos. english garcia, carlos. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a42233 of text r177476 in the english short title catalog (wing g212). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 193 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 144 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a42233 wing g212 estc r177476 19525987 ocm 19525987 108986 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a42233) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 108986) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1688:4) lavernæ, or, the spanish gipsy the whole art, mystery, antiquity, company, noblenesse, and excellency of theeves and theeving : with their statutes, laws, customes, practices, varieties, and differences, also their originall, rise, and beginning, of what parents, education and breeding the author was : with a pleasant discourse hee had in prison with a most famous theefe, and also his last disgrace, being a work no lesse curious than delectable / first written in spanish by don. garcia ; now in english by w.m. desordenada codicia de los bienes agenos. english garcia, carlos. w. m. (william melvin) [11], 253 [i.e. 271], [1] p. : ill. [s.n.], london printed : 1650. translation of author's la desordenada codicia de los bienes agenos. running title: the antiquitie of theeves. "imprimatur thomas weekes. februarie 5, 1637"--p. [1] at end. numerous errors in paging. woodcut frontispiece opposite t.p. reproduction of original in the british library. eng thieves -fiction. rogues and vagabonds -fiction. a42233 r177476 (wing g212). civilwar no lavernæ, or the spanish gipsy: the whole art, mystery, antiquity, company, noblenesse, and excellency of theeves and theeving: with their st garcía, carlos, doctor 1650 35823 21 0 0 0 0 0 6 b the rate of 6 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-01 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-03 jason colman sampled and proofread 2007-03 jason colman text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion lavernae , or the spanish gipsy : the whole art , mystery , antiquity , company , noblenesse , and excellency of theeves and theeving : with their statutes , laws , customes , practises , varieties , and differences : also their originall , rise , and beginning , of what parents , education , and breeding the author was : with a pleasant discourse hee had in prison with a most famous theefe . and also his last disgrace : being a work no lesse curious then delectable . first written in spanish , by don. garcia : now in english by w. m. london , printed not in new gate , 1650. the preface to the reader . mens naturall inclination is alwayes prone and addicted to so great rashnesse , that though vice of it selfe is so abominable & blame-worthy , notwithstanding there be too many who openly praise it , and account it their honour to practise it . thence it cōmeth to passe that theft , being a pernicious vice and forbidden by the lawes , doth not cease to be followed by many , who to defend themselves from the reproaches which may be laid against them , alleage that the lacedemonians a people very severe and just , permitted the use thereof to their youth ; that the aegyptians held those for able men that could steal best . that for the same subject the poets in their writings have bragged of the subtilty of mercurius , and of the cunning of the goddesse laverna who was the theeves patronesse . briefly , that this profession is made commendable by the crafty trickes of many that have exercised it , such as were prometheus the father of deucalion , cacus and autolicus , the one the son of vulcan and the other of mercurie , arsaces king of the parthians , denis tyrant of sicilie , the emperour nero , leo sonne of constantine copronimus , fulvius , flaccus censor , ninus king of aegipt , to whom iustin ascribeth the invention of so fine a trade , and a great many others with whō the books of authors are filled . to which we may adde , that even the most understanding men are not free from this vice , if it be certaine ( as saith simplicius ) that the prince of the peripatetiques ( aristotle ) stole that which he hath from the most excellent of those that went before him . that virgil drew all his richest inventions from homor , hesiod and theocritus , and that cicero boldly furnisht himselfe with the doctrine of the stoiques academiques and epicures . but for all this , it cannot be but that naturall reason must put downe all these vaine opinions , because according to aquinas , theft is quite cōtrary to that love which we owe to our neighbours , and with-all to gods law and mans law . and to this effect beside that in exodus and leviticus it is expresly forbidden , it is yet also detested by the apostle s. paul , where speaking to the ephesiant he saith , let him that stole steale no more : but let him rather labour and worke with his hands . also the people of old taking notice of this truth ordained against theeves severall sorts of punishments , especially the grecians & the athenians , as ludovicus vives doth very wel observe , who saith that the emperor frederick the third was the first that condemned them to the gallies : ovid speakes to this purpose that scyron one of the renowned theeves of his time was thrown head-long into the sea by theseus , procrustes kill'd by hercules and sysiphus cut in peeces . virgil that pedant balista was stoned for his thefts ; and the divine arious , that the king agrement caused brunellus the cunningest thiefe that ever was to be hang'd for having boldly stollen angelicus ring and scripants horse . i passe all the other examples that i might alleage : to tell you in a word , good reader , that this booke discourseth not here so much of the antiquitie of theeves and of their cunning slights , as to teach thee to eschew them , for if it be true that the wounds of darts which are foreseene from farre , are not so hurtfull as those which are shot at us unawares . i assure my selfe that the reader will use it as an instrument to avoide the snares which leud fellowes ordinarily lay for honest men , farewel . the antiqivtie of theeves chap. i. in which the author compareth the miseries of prison to the paines of hell . the terror of hell which is set forth to us in holy writings , doth so resemble to us the miseries which are endured in prison , that if this had not that hope which th'other wanteth we might attribute unto it the title of a true hell , seeing that in this which is most proper to them , the one and the other haue a mutuall and full correspondence , which maketh me to wonder much at the vnprofitable diligence with which some late writers distill their brain 's to finde the meanes how they may properly represent unto the world the horrour of that terrible mansion , when they might have attained to the end of their purpose in shewing onely the desperate life which people suffer in prison , which shall be perfitly knowne with its extreame miserie , if first of all we particularly treate of the torments which are perpetually exercised in hell . the authors , who write upon this subject , bring the paines of hell to two points ; the first and chiefe of which is their depriving from the essence of god , which they call essentiall paine , it being that , which properly containeth all the torments that can be imagined in hel. and that same is so extreame and so cruell , that if the soule had in the other world as many pleasures and contentments as the thought of man could imagine , being deprived of god , it could not have any thing which had one onely shadow of comfort . because that god being the roote and the fountaine of all goodnesse , and all contentments and delights , which are in the world being stored up in him alone , it is evident that with him the soule shall have all consolation which is possible to be imagined and that without him it shall be plunged into a bottomlesse depth of sorrow & confusion , with which and with the certainty that it hath , that its griefes shall never be ended , it curseth its being , its birth and its life . the other paine which the damned suffer in hell is the accidentall paine , so called because it is joyned to the former as an accident , which serveth to make the apprehension of the damned more sensible , throwing them headlong into the bitter sight of their miserie . to this is joyned the detestable companie of divells , the horrible and frightfull lodging , the severall kindes of torments , the continuall lamentations , the disorder , the confusion , the fire , the brimstone , the darkenesse and a thousand other afflictions , of which , and of the depriving of gods being and presence , that wretched and perpetuall hell is composed . and as touching the varietie of officers , that beare rule in this darke dungeon ; wee know already that in that great battell which saint michael th'archangell had against lucifer , for the throne and the glory of the creator , not onely the same lucifer fell from heaven , and from the highest of his perfection to the lowest and hollowest gulfes of hell ▪ but also a great number of evill angells with him , who were copartners with him in his rash and accursed purpose . and these although they do equally partake with him in the paine essentiall , which is being deprived of god , have neverthelesse some difference amongst themselves : whether it be that everyone is of one kind , as saith a doctor of the church , or whether for that they had more or lesse consent in his malice . because that without doubt those who obstinatly defended the pride of lucifer fell with him into the deepest place of the earth which is the center of the the world where divines doe place hell . and those who were not so vehement ; but onely approved his purpose with a certaine and determinate fellow-liking , fell not so low : i will say that the accidentall paine of them was not so great as that of these others . and of this sort the accidentall paine of these spirits was made severall according to the degrees of the malice which they had in their sinne . and though that in hell there is no order , as iob saith ; there is notwithstanding a certaine government and order among these spirits vnder-placed and divided into severall companies with diverse degrees and qualities . so as the good angells in the heavenly ierusalem are divided by their order into angells , archangells , thrones , powers , cherubins , seraphins , and other holy dignities . all the legions of divels which fell from heaven remained subject to the archangell michael , who hath commandement and empire overthem all . as also according to some mens opinions , every good angell of princes hath commandement over one legion . and beside the obedience which all of them owe to saint michael , as to their captaine generall vnder god , they have also among them their prince of malice , to whom they are subject and obey , and upon him depend diverse lievetenants and governors , who wholly divide the governement of all the hellish malice , every one of them having vnder his charge the disposing and good order of his band . neither lesse nor more than in a well ordered campe , where there is a great multitude of souldiers , the body of the armie is divided into severall regiments , as are the generall , the camp-master , captaines , ensignes , sergeants , corporalls and others of this sort , who order the souldiers and the armie . and as there are sundry offices of these , some being foote , others horse , some musqueters , others pikemen , and finally of severall employments : there are also among the evill spirits severall offices and places , some tempting by covetousnesse , others by riotousnesse , others by ambition , and finally , every particular sinne hath its appointed and determinate officers , having all of them equally ; one onely end and scope to carrie soules to hell . in this divellish armie there are some divels , that never come out of hell , but are evermore shut up within it , receiving the soules which enter in thither , and giving to them a place and kinde of torment which their sinnes deserve . there are others who are ever wandring , compassing the earth to and fro , and searching for soules to carrie them into hel. neverthelesse let no man thinke that these have any power or authoritie to beare away one soule to hell , nor these others to shut up in their darke dennes , vnlesse it be by the expresse commandement and particular commission of god . and so much concerning these hellish officers . as for its largenesse , it is such , that all sorts of sinfull soules enter into hell , and it is ordinarily full fraughted and peopled with blasphemers , perjur'd persons , murtherers , adulterers , envious persons , and to conclude with all sorts of evill-doers : who although they have in common the essentiall paine , which is the wanting of god , and are all of them in hell , yet they have severall roomes and torments according to everie ones deferving , sithence it is certaine that the paine of him that oweth little shall not be so great at all as the paine of him that oweth much , and that the just iudge chastiseth and recompenseth every one according as he deserveth . to all this varietie is added the extreme confusion of hell , the disorder , the vnquietnesse , the vnrulie cariage ; and continualagitation , with which they are alwaies tormented , seeing it is evident , that where rage and despaire reigneth , there can be no friendly fellowship nor agreement . this estate , practise & disposition of the horrible pit of this hellish lodging is the lively pourtraict of that desperate life , which men suffer in prison , in which the beholder shal find so in tire & so mutuall a correspondence that there is not almost any other difference between them but in the name . because that first to the essentiall paine of hel , which is the depriving of gods powerful presence , the want of liberty hath correspondence , which with a just title we may cal a paine essentiall , for so much as it is the queen of al the apprehēsions & motives of sorrow , which are able to afflict a good wit . and as in that , the soule being deprived of god , it is also deprived of all worldly pleasures , even so in this ( to wit in prison ) it enjoyeth not any thing which hath the least shadow of content . because that although a prisoner were clothed with purple , served as a king , fed with the most delicate vitailes of the world , his chamber hang'd with cloth of gold , that hee were entertained with all sort of musicke , visited by his parents and friends , all this , nor all that could be desired more could bring him any kinde of comfort . on the contrary he should have lesse , because that all things availe nothing but to awaken his appetite and make him desire that which others enjoy , and to which he cannot attaine . whence proceedeth the increasing of his want ( of libertie ) and consequently his paine . the harshnesse and force of depriving ( of libertie ) may be easily , known by its contrarie , this being infallible that the depriving of one thing shall be by so much evill as the possession of it shall be good . and libertie being the most precious iewell of the soule , and the greatest perfection , which the vnbounded author of this , hath engrafted in the reasonable creature ; it is certaine that the depriving thereof shall be the most crosse and vnsufferable of all others . that libertie is that which guideth and directeth mans actions to diverse ends , without enforcing them and with pleasure , choosing , and commanding , experience teacheth this , in which the supreme work-master would distinguish man from other living creatures , whose end obtaineth by a naturall instinct , which leadeth them , as by a bridle , to the appetite and delight in it , and that it is so powerfull , and maketh man so absolute , that his vnderstanding having proposed the good , the perfect , the honest and the delectable , he may resolve with himselfe to love it or not to love it at all , sith that none but god may aske a reason of this so absolute commandement , naturall philosophie telleth it . whence and from many other reasons , which i could bring , it is clearely perceived that there is not any thing in the world , to which the essentiall paine of hell can more properly be compared , than to the depriving of libertie , seeing it bringeth man to such extremitie , that he abhorreth himselfe , his being , his ranke , and his estate . he knoweth well this truth which i write , who hath sometimes beene in prison , laded with chaines and with irons , subject to the rage of that terrible abode , cursing ( though noble and well borne ) his being , his condition and noblenesse , grieving to be that which he is , and wishing to be a great deale meaner . in midst of which despaire hee envieth the peaceable condition and tranquillity , of the commons , and could wish to have beene borne of the most base dregs of the people . he curseth his actions and his studies , the points of honour which his parents taught him , the vnderstanding which he hath , thinking with himselfe , that if he were a privat man , he should not at all see himselfe in so miserable and so extreame a perplexitie , and that this would not be litle enough for him , if despaire left him amongst the folke of that same sort and nature : but it goeth on refining and consuming him in the fire of impatience , in such sort , that it draweth him out of his reasonable being , and bringeth him to that of a brute beast , and to the most base and infinite kindes of them , that groaning for libertie , he envieth the bird that flieth , the dog that barketh , the pismire that travelleth , and desireth to be one of them . and the venome of this fierce beast stayeth not there , for tying harder the cords of a poore prisoner , it draweth him out of the ranke and file of living creatures , making him desire to be a tree , an image or a stone , bringing him to nothing , and making him bewaile that ever hee was borne in the world . by which it is clearely seene that the want of liberty making so unhappy a change in man , as to throw him headlong from the highest & most perfect of his inclination and appetite , to the basest and lowest , and from the image and likenesse of god , to nothing ; this is the most strong and most rigorous paine that can be imagined , and that which truely doth better represent the essential paine of hell . to the accidentall paine doe correspond the innumerable afflictions and calamities , which follow the depriving of libertie , amongst which are the stinke of the prison , the disorderly frame of the buildings , the defamed companie , the continuall and huge lewd voices , the diversitie of nations , the differing humors , the shame , the persecution , the disgrace , the mocquerie , the crueltie , the blowes , the torments , the poverty and the miseries without number , which are suffered in prison , of the which , and of other depriving of libertie the lively patterne of hell is framed and composed . as touching the executioners and officers , no man will deny but that all the earth is full of incarnat divells , more obstinate and more accursed in their kinde than those of hell , the most part of them being fallen , as lucifer and his followers , from the heaven of honour . i will say that for the deserving , and sinnes which they have committed , the angell saint michael , who is the iustice , hath drawne them from the fellowship and dwelling of the good , and they seeing themselves beaten downe and dishonoured , have taken vpon them the office of divels , to avenge themselves of the poore innocent soules , running day & night thorow the streets , markets and publike places of the citie , smelling out and searching for people to lay them in prison . and these are they who commonly are called sergeants , who drag a poore man to prison with such rage and tyrannie , as these in the perpetuall hell could not utter more . and if we be able to find any difference betweene them , it is this , that the divells of hell fly from the signe of the crosse ; but those of the prison love , reverence and adore that happy signe , in such sort , that hee who would deale well with them , and somewhat turne their rigour into a litle pitie , it is necessarie that hee have alwayes the crosse in his hands , for at what time hee shall leave it , they will torment him ten times more than his sinne can deserve : but they having met with him , they say a pater noster for the soule which they take , untill they come to da nobis hodie , and they goe not at all any further . these divells are those who walke commonly through the streetes , and places of the citie , seeking for soules in the most secret corners , the multitude and trade of whom is so great , that i doe not thinke there are mote legions of divels in hell , than there be sergeants in the common-wealth . amongst them there be some that goe on horsebacke , who have charge to travell into the countrey , unto places farre remote from the citie , and to bring men into prison from places most solitarie and quiet . these , for that they being of a more haughtie nature than the others , we may call orientalls from the region of fire , and these are called archers or messengers , the legion or companie of whom hath for their chieftaine or captaine a great divell whom they call provest . there are other divels in this hell , the inferiors of the aforenamed , who goe ordinarily by tens or twenties in a companie , disguised and masked , to spie if they can catch one poore soule by treacherie , they are so cowardly so effeminate and dastardly , that they meete sometimes to the number of fortie and all to take one man , and yet they dare not adventure to take him their selves alone , without the assistance and aide of a divell with a long gown , who vsually accompanieth them . they goe alwayes atter'd , torne and naked , and this is the lowest and most infinite legion of all as the hob-goblins vnder ground , whom the people have beene accustomed to call apparitors . every legion of these divells have an infinite number of halfe-divells who goe disguised and covered through the citie , taking notice of all that is done there , with great subtiltie and craft . they take and change every day a thousand formes and shapes , shewing themselves in every companie in a severall manner ; at one occasion going like countrey-men , in an other like strangers , by & by of one profession , and by and by of another . these are they who with great sleight and subtiltie discover the price , after the same manner as the lying dogs doe the partridges , bringing the aforesaid divels to the proper place of the soule , which they would take , and pointing it out as with the finger : and these we call spies , and amongst them they are called recorders . there be other divels , who are esteemed more noble and more courteous , whose office is to repeale penalties , commissions , requests , to baile a soule , and to take the burthen on themselves , answering for it every time that the iudge asketh for it . and though it be in their keeping , they give it alwayes time and place to solicite its owne affaires , to visite its iudges , and to pleade its cause , vsing with it some pitie and friendship . finally they have a nature mingled with goodnesse and malice , and they are betweene divels and angels , whom by reason of the familiaritie which they have with man , wee may call them airie divells ; and these the common people call doore-keepers . all these aforesaid divels , & others whom i leave to mention for avoiding prolixitie , are found in the world , every one of whom goeth severall waies , leading soules into the hell of prison , & all of them , after the manner of evil spirits are divided into divers legions and troopes . yet notwithstanding they torment not the soules because they enter not into hell themselves , onely they deliver them to lacifers lievetenant the iayler , & returne incontinent vnto their walke ; for to give up their account to their captaine , of the tentations which they have practized that day , and of the number of soules which they have carried that day to prison , every one of them reckoning up the inventions & wiles which he hath practized in his hellish office . there be also other divells which never go out of the prisō , nor have any other imployment , but to torment the poore soules which enter in thither . and those are so tyrannous , so cruel & so wicked , that they satisfie not their inraged hunger but by sucking the bloud , & the life of the poore captive that fals among their hands ▪ albeit they suffer him to breath so long ; while they have emptied his purse . and these be the under porters & servants of the iayler , who , as a president of that dreadfull dwelling , receives the prisonner from the hands of the sergeant and writes in his booke the day of his entring , his accusation , his name and the name of that divell that hath taken him . these shut-up divells have no power nor authoritie to torment a soule which the others do bring in , nor these others to take them , but by the command of iustice declared by some honourable officer , who with reason and truth by a signed writing chargeth these uncleane spirits to take such a soule . as for the rest it may well be proved that every sergeant hath power to leade a man to prison , even so as every divell may beare a soule to hell , seeing that there ordinarily entreth thither an infinite number of prisoners , and every one imprisoned by his severall iudge : some answer before a iudge with a long gown , others before one with a short gown , without reckoning , many other officers of iustice , who as good angels have authoritie and power to exercise it , who have their appointed and praticular divels , who execute their commandment and will . as touching the diversitie of the lodgings and places of their abode , the curious shall see many differing in the prison , every one fitted for the prisoners delight . for hee who is not criminall , and who is noble is usually lodged in the lightsomest chambers and neatest contrived : but understand that the noblenesse of a prison consisteth in a good purse . those that be of a meaner qualitie & deserving are fitted in certain darke & black chambers , where smoke and cinders continually bearesway . the prison hath yet this property of hel , to take in all sort of sinners & criminals , being usually peopled , and full of theeves , russians , cut-purses , panders , whoores , murtherers , perjured men , bankrupts , cheaters , usurers , & sorcerers , in as great varietie as the living creatures that entered into noahs arke , so that entry is not denied nor the gate shut against any . of this remarkeable variety the confused multitude of a prison is composed with a thousād other circumstances which accompanie it , which because it is altogether disorderly & without bounds i shal not be able to reduce it to one terme or name , nor to give it a definition which universally comprehendeth all the miseries of this dreadfull dwelling , if the curious reader will not be contented with the analogie and proportion which it hath with the perpetuall hell . the which being supposed as a thing most proper to a prison , we shall be able to describe it by its properties & by experience , saying , that a prison is no other thing but a land of calamitie , a dwelling of darkenes , a habitation of miserie or an eternall horrour inhabited without any kind of order . it is a confused chaos without any distinction , it is a bottomles pit of violence which hath nothing that is in its own center , it is a tower of babylon where all speake and none heare , it is a medley against nature , in which is seene the peace and agreement of two contraries , mingling the noble with the infamous , the rich with the poore , the civill with the criminall , the sinner with the just , it is a communaltie with agreement ; one whole by accident , a composition without parts , a religion without orders or lawes , and a body without a head . the prison is the grave of noblenesse , the banishment of courtesie , the poyson of honour , the center of infamie , the quintessence of disparagement ; the hell of good wits , the snare of pretences , the paradise of cousenage , the martyrdome of innocence , the cloude of truth , the treasure of despaire the fining-pot of friendship , the wakener of rage , the baite of impatience , the mine of treasons , a den of foxes , the refuge of vengeance : the punishment of force , and the headsman of life . there he that yesterday was great , to day is meane ; hee that was happy in the city , now starveth there ; he that was richly clad , is starke naked , he that commanded , obeyeth ; he that had his court full of caroches and rich saddles , findeth not now one more to visite him . there civilitie is turned into insolence , courage to subtiltie ▪ shamelesse outfacing into vertue , blasphemie into valour , flattery into eloquence lyes to truth , silence to noise modestie to boldnesse , knowledge to ignorance , and order to confusion : and to end the miserie of that unluckie place : i conclude in saying that it is a forrest-full of wilde beasts , in which the one teareth the other , eating his heart and drinking his bloud , so that no scruple of conscience , feare of god , suspition of love , compassion or other respect whatsoever which can have any shadow of vertue or of goodnesse is able to hinder them . there one weepeth and another singeth , one prayeth and another blasphemeth , one sleepeth , another walketh , one goeth out , another commeth in , one is condemned , another absolved , one payeth , another demandeth , and finally one shall hardly finde two of one exercise and will . one will be eating in a corner , another will pisse behind him : and in the middle of them another shall pull off his shirt and strip himselfe starke naked . every one is imployed in his particular exercise , they not having any other houre or time appointed for that save their will , which being disordered , free in its actions , produceth them without any let or shame . in that which concerneth the sustenance of life , there is no order kept there among them , because that hunger is their appetite , their time of meales alwayes , their table the bare board , their sawce the nastinesse and filthy stinke , and their musicke sneesing and belchings . the hangings of their chambers are all mourning , with some borders of spiders-cloth ( cobwebs ) , their seates the ground or some stone greased with two inches of fat bacon . the dishes where they eate are alwayes enemies to cleanlinesse , to serve for a pot-lid and other vses more base , and for spoones they are served with five fingers spotted like i asper , and having their nailes of a huge length . as for their drinke , the industrie of man teacheth them to make a pit in the top of their hat , and to drinke in it more grease than wine . and if peradventure there be found among them a pot or kettle , it shall be , according to the order and custome of the prison , batter'd without a handle , nor without vernish , and hath past the first yeare of apprentiship , and hath beene vsed in the most base offices , serving for a pisse-pot , for a flagon , for a vineger bottle , for an oile-pot and a bason . as for napkins , they take their skirts , or the outside of their breeches , and for a table-cloth the wrongside of a poore old cloake , threed-bare and fuller of beasts than that linnen cloth which s. peter saw in damascus . in their garments they keepe a great uniformitie , going all of them clothed after the manner of lent , and with s. austins habite , but so tatter'd and pucker'd , and so fitted to the passions and necessities of their bodies , so that without breaking their cod-piece point they want not a perpetuall loosenesse to satisfie their flux of the belly . they live apostollically , withoutscrip without staffe and without shooes , having nothing superfluous nor double : contrariwise there is so great simplicitie that they cover all their body with one only shirt , whereof many times they have no more save the sleeves , and they never leave it off till it can go alone of its owne accord . if momus should come into the prison he could finde nothing to reprove them for , because one may see them to the very intralls . the combe , tooth-pickers , brush , handkerchiefe , looking-glasse , sope-balls are banisht from this place : of which povertie groweth so great an abundance that in their head , beard , stomack & flanck●s a camell might be hidden . we cannot say that there is any kinde of vices in the prison , because that idlenesse the mother of them hath no entrie there , because they are all carefull and watchfull to search for that which is necessarie for life : and their overplus time they spend in exercising themselves on diverse instruments of musicke having the itch for the mistresse of that vertue . they have also their appointed houres for the military art , in the which they fight with their bodily enemies , whence they retire evermore with the victorie , bearing continually for triumph & trophees the bloud on their nailes . they live in evangelicall hope never troubling themselves with the care of that which they should eate or drinke to morrow . their ordinarie comfort is the faith and hope which they have to come out of prison one day , and put an end to their miseries . with this comfort they live , ever dying , putting cataracts and deceiveable imaginations before the eyes of their reason . and if by chance the time of their imprisonment endeth , and iustice giveth assent that some one of them goe forth , then the divell is so carefull and so watchfull troubling and quelling his libertie , that it seemeth to him there are no gates through which hee can get out . one withholds him asking a debt thirtie yeares old , another the succession of one of his grandfathers , and another sheweth a band more ancient than the deluge . and when his diligence and meanes have delivered him from his enemies without , these within doores begin to thunder out another song , for one demandeth of him five shillings which he lent him eleven months ago , another that should pay for a pot which he brake to him , another draweth forth a bill of reckoning , asking him for ten eggs and a sallet which he paid for him . this man demandeth that he should pay him the good-morrow's which he hath given him , another the good nights , one askes his cap , another his doublet , another his shooes and all lay hold upon him . and when he escapeth this importunate swarm of bees , these tunes begin to deafe his eares ; the iayler demands of him the rights of the prison , his entrance , his going forth , and the time that he hath tarried there , for his sleeping , his talking , his eating , his sneesing and his coughing , and all the time that he hath lived within there , making more scores in his booke than an astrologer on the erecting of an horoscope . and when he hath given him that which he demands of him without reason , he askes his gloves , his iayle fees , his slippers , his old shooes and a coife for the maide-servant . the dog askes him to pay for his watching and barking that he hath kept for him while he slept , the cat for the paines she hath taken to cleare his chamber from mice and rats , one pulls him on this side and another on that , and all catch hold of him like briers , while they have left him dry , pluckt bare , throng'd and as naked as his mother bare him . this in briefe termes , is the miserable practise of this living patterne of hell , withall its circumstances , in every one of which there is matter enough to make a long and profound discourse . that the reader may bethinke himselfe hereof , that being affrighted at the hardnesse thereof , he may avoide the dangerous inconveniences which are presented every day to a man as long as he is at libertie : for if he fall once into the divels hands , and be forced to passe through the wicket of hell , though his cause were his protector , he should waite for s. michael ; and if iustice were his protector , he should ever remaine burnt with the marke of hell , into which who so once entereth , hee leaueth the best thing that he hath amongst pluto's h●nds . and albeit that hee enter there fuller and richer than the queene of saba when she came to see king salomon , he shall come forth more lanke , more drie and more feeble than the seven kine that pharaoh saw in his dreames . ( *⁎* ) chap. ii. of a pleasant discourse which the author had in prison with a famous theife . to the end that none be deceived with this proverbe which most men hold for a maxime , when they say , that all noveltie is well pleasing ; because that albeit logicke should not condemne this proposition as false , experience would discover its deceit : for i doe not thinke that there is any one in the world that hath found the prison pleasant , even at the first time that he entred therein . i may say of my selfe , that when i was there , though it was new to me i found not any thing that i liked ; on the contrarie , the pleasure which novelties bring with them was turned into notable admiration and extreame paine , seeing that which willingly i would not have seene , and talking of that which least pleased me . i spent the first dayes even as all those , who enter into that place have beene accustomed to passe them , which is to consider the lodgings , to be vexed at the companie , and to shun the familiar conversing with the prisoners . and i might have past all the time of my imprisonment in such like employment , if it had lien in my power to do it , because that the companie invited me not to acquaint my selfe . but the necessitie being accompanied with exceeding great curiositie which prisoners have , when any one entereth newly into prison , tied me to frame my selfe to the usuall fashion of these people , from whom i had a sufficent report of the subjects and qualities of that habitation , without other paines-taking than to give them the hearing , because that by it a discreete man shall know moe sins in foure dayes than a confessor in a hundreth yeares . in the conclusion with a faire shew and some pieces that i had in my purse i purchased the good will of all the rable , in such sort , that there was not any man of what ranke soever who did not esteem much of me , & participated not with me the most inward of his conscience . but the continuall companie of this tedious conversation troubled me , in such sort that i was not mine owne , nor had i the libertie to spend one quarter of an houre by my selfe alone . so lessayed by a thousand meanes to ridde my selfe from the head-strong importunities of those undiscreet people , but it was not possible for me to free my selfe , without taking the office that i had got over them . wherefore i was desirous to trie , if in this martyrdome , seeing i deserved no such thing , i could finde some pleasure to divert my minde and entertaine them . so continuing my no lesse accustomed than troublesome occupation , sitting one day upon a bench which was in the chappell of the prison , in the companie of three or foure of these gallants , hearing some difficulties , whereof they were come to consult with mee upon the ten commandements , i heard the echo of a sorrowfull voyce , which called me pitifully . all the standers by were amazed ; one of them ranne to be informed of this vnlooked forn ewes , but the speedy hast of him , which sought for me , prevented the curiositie of him who was gone out to know the newes ; for scarsly had we heard the voyce , when after it , entred at the doore one of my religious followers ( held in great esteeme amongst those people who were none of the holiest ) with his colour changed , his visage bathed with teares , without a hat , his armes crossed , sighing and beseeching with great humilitie the companie , that they would let him be alone with me , amplifying his request by the shortnesse of time , as the principall remedy of mishap . they departed the place , and he seeing himselfe alone and with freedome to discover his thoughts to me , without any other preface , preamble , advertisement or courtesie , he said to me . sir , to day is my feast day , and they have made me a gift of a clarke of a harbour , with a cardinalls hat : what remedie shall i be able to finde for so great a mischiefe . verily this darke speech of his words , together with the manner of telling it , held mee somewhat in doubt , because i knew not how to comment upon so vncouth a language followed with so many sighes and groanes . neverthelesse making a little stay at these words and already guessing that which it might be , i beleeved that he had got this hat at some pot of wine , and that out of the abundance thereof this noble dignitie had climed up to the head . so smiling i said to him : my friend , the post that hath brought you this newes , is he of a douzen or of twentie ? it is not of twelue , nor offoure , unhappy man that i am ! answered he , for i am not drunke , nor ever was i in all my lifetime , and would to god that all the world were so retired in this action as i am : but as the proverbe saith , some have the name , the others have the effect . and you doe not well to make a poore unhappie wretch that askes your counsell in his extreame affliction . his answer to the purpose redoubled my astonishment , and not being able to hit at that which this might meane , i said to him somewhat in anger ; make an end then to relate to me the cause of your paine , and hold me no more in doubt with your darke speeches or ridles . now i know , sir , said he , that yee have not studied martiall tearmes , nor you vnderstand not as yet galunatias his stile , so it will be hard for you to vnderstand the comming together of two solide bodies with the perspective of red flowers in a white field . from this second answer i fully resolved that hee was not drunke , but foolish , and as to such a one , i agreed with him to all that he said , although i vnderstood him never a whit . and taking the subject to reason with him upon the same reasons , i asked him , who made him a cardinall and why ? to which he answered me thus . you should understand that some officers of the three and of the five of topo & tango vpon the seventh and the goe met me one sunday at midnight and finding me with the as de bastons the lot would that they should run a hazard , and i remained with the money . they were deceived , and desiring to revenge their wrong , they went to scipion , declaring an vniversall head which they had seene in my hands , upon which they made long informations by the signe●ers aequinoctialls : and at the end of a rigorous examination which they had of me , they found mee not good enough to be pope , they left me the office of a cardinall . you ought to account your selfe happy , i answerd him , having so great a dignitie , seeing that few obtaine it , and these with great paines and travell . i would quite it , withall my heart , saith he , and that without pension , if any one would receive it for mee , and i would moreover binde myselfe to him to pay for the seales , because to speake the truth , it is a charge too heavy for me , and hee that gives it , hath not any good reputation among the people , nor many friends in the citie ▪ and this is the cause that i make no great account of it . and doe not thinke that in saying , that i will no wayes accept of it , i can helpe myselfe of this paine : for it is not in my power , nor in theirs who receive the like charges to be able to refuse them , sithence dignities are bestowed by deservings , and albeit that men refuse them , they are made to take them by force , that no man may refuse them nor make resistance by too great humilitie , they binde it upon him as if he were a foole . truely my friend , said i then to him , you ought to account your selfe happy and very fortunate , for such an election , this being supposed that it is made for deserving , and not for favour . very fortunate , faith hee , assuredly i am , howbeit an vnworthy sinner , but no wise happy , for if i were , i should not be very fortunate . with this answer i began to see clearly , that he was neither foolish nor drunke : but that dissembling hee covered his words of this his chatting , and resolute to leave him with his — i rise speaking to him some harsh words , to which hee answered with great humilitie , saying , sir i beseech you to stay your choler a litle : for it is not without a mysterie , that i have spokē to you in a riddle , and beleeve me that in this i have had no other intention , but to hide my mishaps from some — who usually ▪ watch harkning after the life of another , to report them to their copsemates . but now seeing that i can utter it to you without feare i will explaine myselfe , being well assured that a man of so good a wit as you are , will not be offended to heare my weakenesse , and will not deny me your good counsell which out of your charitie i promise to myselfe . so know that cardinall is that which to day at noone one hit mee over the shoulders : the clarke of harbour hee that receiveth such as are condemned to the gallies : those of three , are some of our companie , are some that watch the streete , when any theft is committed , and these have the third part : those of five are some honorable persons , or at least held for such by the common people , who hide and keepe the theft in their house , and for that the fifth part is given to them . now you shall know that by misliking i being one night in a list that was made , the booty was so little , that there was not whereof to make neither fourth nor fifth , and i being the man that put himselfe in greatest danger i was willing to goe away withall , promising to redresse the bygone fault in another more gainefull occasion . those of seven , and goe , i will tell my companions found not this satisfaction to the purpose , which i gave them , because that absolutely they would have their share . i seeing ▪ that it was altogether impossible , for that i had already eaten it , turned the processe to a quarrell , and laying hold on a baton which is the as that you have heard , gave one of them a sound blow over the head , who seeing himselfe wounded , and his companions cheated , went to s. scipion who is the major , and accused mee that i was a theife at crochet , which is an instrument where with we open all manner of doores , and following the accusation they made me be laid up in prison . the lords of the court , whom we call aequinoctialls , condemned mee to goe the accustomed rounds about the streets , and afterwards to serve his majestie in the gallies of marseilles . which execution should be made this same day at noone ; i tremble because ten a clocke is strucke already . if ye have any remedy to give me , ye will doe a great worke of mercy , because i feare that the hangman having stript mee , and finding five markes about me which were unjustly given me , doubtlesse he will make mee take a shorter journey . the wretch had proceeded thus far with the explaining of darke speech , ere ever i could break off his discourse , so great was the astonishment which his entangled metaphors left me in , & ending his story with a deep sigh , which came from his very soule , he fell halfe dead betweene my armes . he being come to himselfe againe , i began to comfort him the best i possibly could , counselling , for the last remedy to appeale to the court , hoping alwayes for more mercie , from the highest seate of justice , than from the inferior iudges scarcely had i ended my words but three or foure of his companions , dying for laughter enter'd at the chappell doore , saying to him that the newes which they had tolde him were false , and those lashes were imaginary , that it was a tricke of his enemies maliciously invented to trouble and vexe him . with this newes the poore wretch came againe so suddenly to his first estate , that save there remained some remembrance of his first taking it to heart , he cut moe than five and twenty capers in the ayre , with a thousand turnings of good liking , and his companions began to play upon him , in which he paid them home their change , with so wittie answers , that hee left me a great desire , to keepe him with me all alone , and at leasure to know at length his vocation and office , and the cleering of some obscure words which he usually mingled in his discourse ; so i intreated him , but he knowing that i had such a desire , in requitall of the patience with which i had heard him , and of the good counsell , which i had given him in his neede , he promist to give me a good account of his life , of his parents life , and the changeable successes which happened to him in his trade ; with all particulars which could be learned amongst those of his office , & having appointed me a place at two in the afternoone , we went to dinner . ( *⁎* ) chap. iii. to whom the theefe relateth the noblenesse and excellencie of theft . the good andrew ( for so hee was called ) was not at all slothfull to be at the place appointed , nor to declare to me the historie which i had requested with so great a desire : for halfe an houre before that , which wee had appointed , i found that hee waited for me with extreame impatience and so great , that almost without saluting me , hee began to relate his historie , saying . know , sir , that if from the time of your birth ye should have gone searching through all the universities of the world for some one , who with more ground , experience & learning then i could informe you of that which yee desire to know , it were impossible to finde him : seeing that in this which toucheth ( and let this be spoken without vanitie ) the understāding of the riddles of mercurie trismegstus , and other darke philosophers , and to be , as they say , of the right haire and feathers , i will not yeelde it to any man in the world . with this and other secrets reserved to my own onely discretion i have found out the philosophers stone and the true elixar of life , with which i turne poyson into medicine , the course cloth into cloth of gold , and hunger into fulnesse and satietie more than sufficient , without putting any thing to it of my goods , save the turning of a hand . i doe not deale as a thousand other ignorant people of our daies , who being blinded by the gainfull end which the practise of the great philosophers-stone promiseth them doe adventure rashly to spend all to finde nothing , & to vndoe a hundred thousand essences to finde one fifth both vncertaine and false , whose excesse and curiositie have none other end but infamie , miserie and povertie , and finally a shamefull death : for as much as those who have consum'd their owne goods and the goods of their friends , to search for that which they have not found , utter their rage with strokes of hammers upon the seven mettals , which are the cause of their overthrow . and which is worse , with all the tryalls and vnhappie ends of alcumists , there is not any man to whom curiositie will not awaken the appetite , and provoke the will every time that he heareth any man talke of this arte . mine is not of this kinde , and therefore lesse subject to the fancies and idle imaginations of gebor arnaut , raymond lully and other great advancers of the arte , whose knowledge consisteth in not to be understood ; it is easie , plaine and without any mixture . neverthelesse be who hee will that shall exercise it , it is necessarie that hee be wise , prudent and well advised , because that wanting or failing in one whatsoever it be of these things , a man shall easily lose in an instant all that he hath gained in all his life . this noble art also hath not aristotles principles , because that as well he as all others that follow him , imagined that nothing could be made of nothing : this being true that in this our art , all things are made of nothing ; and if we may attribute any principle of them which he propoundeth in his physicks , it is the privation only , seeing that from it alone we come to the possession of infinit wealth . as for our tooles , i cōfesse there are some , forasmuch as there is no trade that can be without them , but neverthelesse they are so easie & so cheape , that we well nigh make them our selves , after they are made , they last time out of minde . the ground then to busie one of our trade , is onely the good courage and sound disposition of his body and limmes , and with this alone a man becommeth his crafts-master , without any other ornament — and doe not think that this art , having so poore a beginning as nothing , is shamful or infamous , for it is the most noble , the absolute and the most priviledged of all those that are in the world , so farre forth that acknowledgeth nor respecteth neither king nor knave , nor careth it for all the monarchs of the earth , nor for the ecclesiastike power , nor for the secular : but rather all pay tribute and travels for him . its fields are fruitfull in drie grounds , it gathers the fruit without sowing , it hath no traffique with any , and demands of all , it lendeth to no body , and all are indebted to it , its harvests grow without raine , and there is not any thing whereof it taketh not the tithes . there commeth not any fleete from the indies , nor great ship from the levant , wherof it not make shew to be partner , there is not a guine marchant , that is not its debtor , and finally , it catcheth up all . and which ought to be most valued in this pretious art , is the great ease with which it is exercised , in which it exceeds all other arts , that are till these our times found out in the world , the end of which is contrary to that of this , because that is perfected in the doing , this in undoing , and to undoe being more easie than to doe ( as the philosopher saith ) doubtlesse it is but that our art is easier than all others whose end is obtained with great paines , travells and difficulties . honest andrew had proceeded further in the praises and excellencie of his trade , if i had not broke him off with an extreame impatience , the titles of honour and noblenesse which hee gave it seeming to me altogether improper , as well for that it is of it selfe imfamous , as for the innumerable dangers which usually happen to them , who undertake such like traffiques : wherefore i said to him ; i do not know , andrew , how nor by what reason you your selfe reckon up to me these arts so noble , so easie and so profitable , seeing that you have related to me the perilous extremities in which you have beene , which your povertie and calamity assure me to be of little profit & of great misery which is therein , that makes mee to marvel very much at your persevering in your unhappy trade , ere you were made wise by the experiences past . you have reason ( he answered ) and i confesse that many hazards and disgraces light upon vs , but one oxe eateth more than a hundred larks , i will say that one good encounter shoulders out many disgraces , which have not in so great number as you thinke , and though they were , it is not possible for vs to give over this trade but by death , because this art hath i cannot tell what with it , that it is like one sicke of the dropsie , who the more he drinks the more he thirsts , and of one onely act there becommeth a habite , qui difficilè removetur a subjecto , which is hardly removed from the subject . and i know wel ▪ that you wil like my doctrine well , being so learned a man as you are , seeing they are accustomed to dispute among the philosophers if this maxime of aristotle ( who saith expluribus actibus generatur habitus , of many actions is begot a habit ) be universally true . and some say that of one only action a habit may be bred , which should be understood of morall actions , and those of worser sort : i will affirme that to breede a continuall custome in sinning , one only action is sufficient : but to doe well , there is need of many . the reason is cleere , for that the will of man being disposed to sinne , because it is called fomes peccati , the fewell of sinne , and for the miseries drawen upon it in its conception , one action alone leaveth in it a certaine inward disposition with which it becommeth easie , and disposed to like actions ; but the desire being so marred , corrupt and ill disposed to receive vertue , there needeth not only one vertuous action , but many , if any disposition or custome of doing well should remaine after it . by which you may judge that albeit a thousand disgraces fall upon us it were almost impossible for us to forsake our trade , nor change our life , having already turned it into a nature , and if this should be done , it should be needfull to make the world a new againe , more or lesse all wooll is haire , we are all of us of one brotherhood , no man is content with his state , he that hath most desireth more , that which costeth little agreeth best with us , and all ( as the proverbe goeth ) like well . but mishap be to that infortunat man who payeth for all ; for as the proverb saith , the gallowes are for all such , we rubbe all men , and for those sinnes some are hang'd , others are rich . happy are they who robbe hippocrates-like , i will speake as the physitians , whose faults the earth covereth , so that no man is able to accuse them , nor aske restitution of his life , and of the money which they have publickly rob'd and in the view of all the world . and though some of these be spirituall men , others temporall , notwithstanding all meete in the same way , and shoote at one marke : for there be also horseleeches which sucke the world sweetly , and wring their necke , with a sad dumpish countenance , and a faire shew colour their ambitious designes with godly words . and for them , it is said in the proverbe , the divell is behinde the crosse . there are others also , who though they wring not the necke , nor speake so much of god , apply neverthelesse the jurisdiction of their offices in favour of him that giveth them most ; who being lap't in long wide gownes making them to bee respected there is not a man that dare to give thē a word , nor shew by any signe the evil satisfaction that they have by them : but the wretched person that neither hath god in his mouth , nor barke wherwith to hide himselfe , if he be not very wise & prudent all the persecutions of the world hang about him at once , all men spit in his face , and he is the marke of all the abuses in the world : wherfore blame not our art before you understand it ; for you should so offend all the world & perhaps your selfe , sith no man liveth without fault . how much more if you knew what sweetnesse there is to gather the fruit where one hath not planted , and to find the in gathering in his garner & in his cellar , himself having neither fielde nor vineyard , you would even licke your fingers at it . is this a smal matter i pray you , that a man riseth in the morning not having penny nor farthing , nor knowing yet whence to have it for to nourish his family , and yet ere night he is worth a hundred crownes , & knoweth not whence they came ? is this a small matter in greatest sloth and necessitie to finde apparell cut and slasht without paying either for stuffe or making ? is there any such noblenesse in the world , as to be a gentleman without rents , and to have other mens goods so his own , as that hee may dispose of them at his will , without costing him any more but to take them ? doe you thinke it a small matter to be a marchant without a stocke , to gaine two hundreth for nothing , without crossing the seas , going to faire or market , not caring if the marchant turne banque-rupt , if the yeare be barren or plentiful , if wares be deare or cheape ? and if ye will take our trade by way of reputation or credit , doth it seeme a small thing to you , to finde one who will insure us our life , whatsoever wee doe , and to have at our becke some iudges , who save us from the lash from the gallies , from torture & from the gallowes only with a single & wel ▪ assured promise to satisfie them with the gaine of our next theft ? and that they do this not only for us , but for our friends , kindred and acquaintance ? abuse not yourselfe , and acknowledge that there is no life more assured in this world than ours , for instead of one displeasure that wee have , there are infinite pleasures and contentments to be enjoyed . and ●o thus much for my profession and trade . *⁎* chap. iiii. to him the thiefe relateth the life and death of his parents and the first disgrace that befell him . as for my race , you shall know that i am a man borne of a woman , in a town of this world , whose name i lost in a sicknesse which i had in the yeare sixe hundred and foure . my , father was called peter and my mother hope , people , though meane , honorable and vertuous , of good reputation and praise-worthy manners . and as for the goods of fortune , they were not so great , that they were able to give bribes , nor marry orphans out of their meanes , nor so meane , that they obliged themselves to aske almes , nor to subject themselves to any man , but they were people that knew how to live , and that had bread to eate , and clothes to put on . in all the course of their life there was nothing found that they could be reproched for , nor whereof they could be reproved , because they heeded no other thing ( particularly my mother ) but to keepe their honour and the good esteeme which they had gained , for which and for the freedoome and faire conditions of their proceedings and conversation ▪ all the world honored and loved them . but as vertue is ordinarily envied , and honest people persecuted , there was no want of malicious and wicked people , who by false and rash calumnies darkned the brightnesse and glistering of their good works & the cleannes of their life . they were accused ( i say ) to have robbed a church , to have spoiled the vestrie with the ornaments and chalices , and which is worse , to have cut off s. bartholomews hand , who was upon an altar ▪ which they said was of silver . an accusation as malicious as false , especially , for my mothers part , whose devotion towards the saints was so great , that when she went to church , if my father had not pull'd her out by the haire , or the sexton had not shut the doore against her , there was no meanes to make her come out of the church , although shee had beene three dayes without meate , and her devotion was so knowne to all the people , that she never came forth to the streete , but a thousand folke praied her to say some ave maria for women with child , sicke and other afflicted persons , having all of them great faith in her prayers . but as there are traitors enough to condemne a just man , and in this age innocency serveth to no purpose , if it be not favoured , for so much as the lawes goe as it pleaseth kings , it came to passe that notwithstanding the reproaches which they gave in against the witnesses , more than sufficient to refute the malice of the accusers , and to manifest the innocencie of the accused , they condemned them to die , and together with them a brother of mine , and my mothers nephew . verily the case was strange and scandalous , though false , and their death unjust : but whatsoever the cause i doe not envie them the profit , which let them eate with their bread , they shall not goe to rome for penance , for there is a god in the world that seeth all things , and seeing he punisheth that he will not suff●r one haire of the just to perish , it belongs to him to avenge the wrong done to his servants , for so i may call them , yea even martyrs , sith they constantly , suffered death for the love of god , they being accused of faults which they had not committed . a tricke , finally that they being poore , they were constrained to pay with their life , that which they were not able with their goods . i only may praise my selfe that i found some mercie with the iudges , in consideration of my young yeares , and of the small experience that i had ; yet the favour they shewed me , was a grace with sinne : because iustice left me my life , with condition that i shuld be the executioner of these martyres . i was very unwilling and did all i could , not to commit so execrable a crime as that is , to take away their lives that had given me mine : but it was impossible to excuse me , but by losing my life with them . wherefore i considering that a nother would doe that , which i refused , and of the other side the perswasion of my friends who with a great charge upon my conscience , counselled me to doe it , that so the whole kindred of my parents should not be lost , and that there should remaine some one in the world who might pray for them ; i put on a resolution to doe that which for any other respect i would never have done . but this is my comfort , which is not a little one to me , that my father gave me his blessing at the houre of his death forgiving me all that i could have committed in this world , against the respect and reverence , which i owed him , giving me also some wholesome counsels , and recommending to me vertue and the feare of god , above all that i should ever strive to be like my parents and that i should shew my selfe such a one as those of whom i was descended . with these reasons and some others i remained greatly comforted , and resolved to end my prison with their life . i was left an orphan , young , alone , or ill accompanied , and without counsell , without knowing what side to turne me to , for to maintaine that life which these gentlemen had left me , because that the cockering and good cheere in which my mother had bred me , had beene the especiall cause of my undoing , shee suffering me to live idlely and lazily . neverthelesse i seeing that the memorie of the good past brought me no profit , and that if i should live and eate bread it ought to be with the sweate of my browes , i determined to looke out for a master whom i might serve , or some handie-crafts-man with whom i might learne some trade , which was all in vaine , because that the accident of my parents being in fresh memorie , and their infamie yet late , i found not one that would receive me into his house , nay not so much as to be a groome of his stable : wherefore i was forced to leave the countrey , and to goe try my fortunes in a strange countrey . what countrey is that ( i asked him then ) in which your parents dwelt , because if i be not deceived in the discourse of your relation , you have changed its right name as also its surname , and your owne ? command me not , i beseech you , answered he , to breake a solemne oath which we of our profession have made amongst ourselves , which is never to reveale to any man our owne countrey , nor our parents name , this being supposed that it availeth little to the truth of my history to know it , and though it seemeth to you that it is no mysterie to conceale it , beleeve me you are deceived for so much that there is nothing more dangerous in our art , than to tell a mans true name , as well as of his countrey , as of his baptisme , seeing that as you know , albeit we be fallen a thousand times into the hands of iustice , and that we be as many times convicted of some crime , wee onely changing our name , we ever make it appeare that this is the first time that we have beene taken , and the first crime whereof we have ever bin accused , and no man knowing the name of our parents , nor of our countrey they cannot be informed of our lives & manners , nor our parents receive any shame from our disgrace seeing that as you may oftentimes haue seene , when they cōdemne a man the first words of his sentence say ; such a one , of such a place , the son of such a man & such a woman is condemned to be whipt or hanged such a day , moneth and yeare , from which proceedeth nothing else , but sorrow to him that dyeth , and dishonour to his parents . if this be so ( said i to him ) you have reason to hid it , & this being supposed that is not for your availe to telit , & it availeth not me to know it , let us leave it , and follow your historie . it fell out then ( said hee ) that about foure leagues from the place of my birth , i put my selfe apprentice to a shooemaker , it seeming to mee to be the most gainfull of all trades , especially in france , where all those that walke goe at it were post , even as if iustice were running after them , and where all shooe themselves against nature , that which is contained being greater than that which containeth that is to say , the foot greater than the shooe , whence it falleth out that the shooes last a very short while . i opened then mine eyes thither and bend my minde to this trade for that beside the gaine it was the most easie . but as from my infancie my parents had taught me to rip , it was not possible for me so suddenly to change the habite which i had already , turned into nature , and so sixe weeks past ere i could learne to set one right stitch . from this ignorance my master tooke occasion to disdaine me , breaking some lasts on my head , to see if they could leave some impression beside the continuall abstinence with which hee punisht me , some of his friends having said to him that it was a singular remedie — — — and quicken my wit . this life seemed not good to me nor to bee desired , wherefore i resolved to forsake it , and lay out for another more peaceable , knowing particularly in myselfe some motions of noblenesse , which inclined me to things higher and greater than to make shooes , wherefore i conclude with myselfe to search all meanes possible to bring me into the house of some man of qualitie and rich , being assured that with the faire conditions and readinesse that i had , my service should be well-pleasing to my master . verily the resolution was good , and the thoughts honourable and noble ; but so lame , maime and without force for want of meanes , and apparell to set them forward seeing that it is most certaine , that if with my hands waxed , my apron and other markes of a shoomaker i should have presented my selfe at the gate of some knight , they would not have suffered me to enter this difficultie held mee some few dayes in perplexitie without knowing how to enter upon my enterprises , notwithstanding making a vertue of necessitie , being vexed at the miserable life which i led , i determined to draw physicke out of the disease , and honie from the bees stings , and endeavouring to revenge my selfe on the spainsh lether and all shooe-makers . to this effect there came a notable boldnesse in my mind , yea and profitable enough and sure , if fortune who then was my enemie had not over-thrown my designes and my inventions , i considered that if i stole any thing out of the house , my shift should have beene discovered in an instant , and i as a stranger and friendlesse , beene ill dealt withall , particularly , with the hatred which my master bare towards me , & the harshnesse with which they are wont to punish houshold thefts in france . so rising on fryday morning earely than i had beene accustomed , rubbing my hands with waxe and also my face , i went with my apron girt to mee , and my hands all bedawbed , to runne through all the shops of the towne , especially those that were best acquainted with my master , and telling to every one that were in the shops , that the gentleman staid at my masters for a paire of bootes of the eights , to put them on incontinent , i asked for one boote to trie if it would fit him that desired them . none made any difficultie to give me it , thinking that a man could not be served with one boote alone , otherwise the most part of the shooe-makers knew me , and these who had never seene me were in a minute so well satisfied with my presence , that if the first finder out of the trade had come , they could not have given him more credite . with this invention i went almost through all the shops of the towne , ever heeding to aske for a boote of the same size , and last that the first was of : and the invention fell out so to the purpose , and with so great ease that in halfe an houres space , i gathered me then two hundred bootes all of one size , and of one fashion , which having tied up in a sacke , i laid them on my shoulders and betooke me to the way . the fact lay dead without suspition almost two houres , but seeing that i came not backe againe , nor returned the boots which i had carried away , nor tooke that which i had left , all of them suspected that which truely fell out . and so this time being past , moe than a hundred apprentices were at the doore where i dwelt , every one asking for his boote , which my master and some few of his neighbours , who loved mee not very well , seeing they told the iustice , who dividing themselves through the three gates of the citie , met mee not very farre from one of them , because the weight of my burthen suffered me not to get out of sight as i could have wisht . they brought me backe to the towne , and proceeding against mee for the fact yet hot and fresh in minde , they condemned me to walke foure houres through the accustomed streets ( that is to be scourged ) with three yeares banishment . chap. v. of the first theefe that was in the world and whence theft had its beginning . although this noble art had no other excellency but the antiquitie of its beginning and the noblenesse of the first finder out thereof , it might suffice to the end that every good wit should approve it for to be the most noble of all those which are practized at this day in the world , the first inventour thereof was one of the fairest angells that was , whose beautie , dignitie and greatnesse was so extolled and high , that the most curious of his perfection found no other title more proper to exalt him than that of the morning starre , governour of the dawning of the day , the sun's ambassadour . this then was the first thiefe that was in the world , or before the world , if it be true that the angells were created before time , who overcome by an ambitious desire , adventured rashly to robbe god of his glorie . but hee was degraded because iustice tooke him in the fact , and seazing upon all the goods that hee had , condemned him to perpetuall prison , and together with him all his associats . the second thiefe that ever was in the world was our first father adam , as bold as the angell , yet not so blame-worthie for being not so malicious in his sin , and of lesse knowledge , albeit i cannot be perswaded that hee was ignorant of the obediēce , which he owed to his creator , having knowledge infused in him . neverthelesse overcome by the importunate reasons of his wife , and tormented with an ambitious curiositie hee was desirous to steale the knowledge and wisedome of god . but it fell out as badly to him as to the angell , so that his fleeing and hiding himselfe served him to no purpose , for the iudge having asked him , and he not being able to deny the fact , for that he was taken in the fault , his state of innocencie and originall justice was taken away , he and all his race remaining condemned to spend their life with sweate , travell and mishaps , and his wife to bring forth her children with sorrow . and if you aske mee why god did not equally punish these two theeves , being guiltie of treason , and having attempted one and the same kinde of theft which is the divine perfection . it was to this purpose that i have heard spoken by a great doctour and preacher of the church ; because if god had punisht man with the same rigour that hee punisht the angell withall , he had destroyed an intire nature , seing that all men sinned in adam & so the world had remained imperfect . but in punishing the angell , this incōvenience followed not , because many other angels remained in heaven , and all the nature of angels sinned not , and this is the cause why god was not so severe to man as to the angels : but you shal better learn this curiositie from some other , who knoweth it better than i do . it is sufficient that those aforesaid theeves were the first that brought theft into credit in the world . and wee cannot say , that povertie and necessitie stirred them vp to steale , because the first was the noblest and mightiest of all the angells , and the second was the first of all men , king of the living creatures , and absolute lord of the earth . from thence is brought in the deceite which to the day , this world seeth , beleeving that poverty was the finder out of theft , seeing it is riches and prosperitie , because the love & desire of honour and riches groweth so much the more as it is increased , as a poet saith very well . ambition being an unsatiable fire , in which how much more wood is laid , so much the more it is inflamed , and a dropsie , in which the more one drinketh , the more hee thirsteth . even so in those great theeves , the great riches and prosperitie which they had , was the cause of their unruly appetite , and unsatiable ambition , for that they desiring that which they had not , they could not attempt any other theft , but the glorie and wisedome of god , seeing they possessed all the rest . whence you shall understand , that to steale and robbe is in a sort naturall to man , and that it goeth by inheritance , and propagation in all the linage of men , and not by cunning . for if it be true that we all are partakers of adams sinne , his sin being nothing else but to robbe god of his knowledge , it is evident , that there is in vs an inclination , disposition and naturall desire to robbe and steale . from adam this profession was extended to all his posteritie , being alwayes kept on foote amongst the most noble and best qualified of all his children . so cain , as jealous of this originall vertue , would needs steale from his brother abel the grace and particular favour with which god received his oblations and sacrifices . iacob cunningly rob'd the blessing from his brother esau , and it went well with him . david the wife of vriah . achab though himselfe a rich king stole naboths vineyard . and finally nimrod by theft subdued all the inhabitants of assyria . and if leaving these and other theeves almost innumerable , which holy writing relate unto us , wee take the examples that humane histories rehearse unto us , we shall see that this singular art hath beene alwayes preserved among the nobilitie , sith paris stole helen , ravisht before that by theseus ; the same theseus stole ariadne , and iason medea . the lacedemonians , of whose policie and good government plutarch maketh honorable mention had this laudable and vertuous custome of stealing , and hee that was most cunning and subtile in that art , was in greatest account and estimation amongst them . the very mothers taught their children , while they were but little ones , to steale , holding it for an infallible point of policie , that they could never be good and brave souldiers , if they had not beene cunning and well experienced theeves . i will not tarrie now to tell the name and reputation which vircat got himselfe by his thefts , nor the renowne which crocota deserved by them in the time of augustus caesar , for i should never have done . *⁎* ⁎ * chap. vi . the theefe followeth his historie proving that all men of what qualitie so ever are theeves . this noble profession of stealing hath evermore ( as i have said ) beene held in high esteeme amongst the greatest and best qualified men of the world : but as there is no kinde of vertue nor noblenesse , which is not envied by the vulgar , it became in time so ordinarie & common that there was not so very a butcher or porter who would not imitate the nobilitie in their thefts . whence and from the little discretion and exceeding great boldnesse that then was amongst people , it was one time so disdained and disliked that those who did openly follow it , were punished with shamefull paines and accounted infamous . but as all things of the world have their contrary weights ; time would needs finde a remedie for this abuse , seeking meanes to steale without punishment , and so disguised , that not only theft seemed not vice , but was esteemed a rare and singular vertue . to this end many brave spirits invented the diversitie of offices and charges which to this day are exercised in the world , every one of which serveth for a maske or cloake to make his harvest and inrich himselfe with another mans goods . and to the end that you may not judge my words rash , nor my proposition too bold , runne , i pray you , over all states that are in the common-wealth , and you shall finde that wee all are the children of adam . for i thus argue . that man that hath an office of a thousand crownes of rent , without any other living , pension or patrimonie , & holds a house for which hee payes eight hundreth grownes a yeare , keepes a horse & two pages and a footeman , his wife and two waiting gentlewomen , his children and a master to teach them , who to keepe all this traine hath neede of more then a thousand crownes every yeare , yet notwithstanding with all this charge he is found at the yeares end with two suites of apparell , free from debts & with five hundreth crownes of gaine , and yet it rained no more on his field than on other mens , nor hath he inherited any thing of any of his parents or friends . ergo a theefe . a tailer that eats more than it cost him , and at sixe yeares end gives ten thousand crownes portion in marriage with his daughter , never medling with other trade save his needle and his sheeres . ergo a theefe . a shooe-maker that keepes six prentices in his shop , and workes but foure daies a weeke ; and those not wholly at three yeares end that two tenements builded in the fairest streets of the towne , every one of which is worth two him three hundreth pounds of yearely rent , without any other stocke , but that of his leather ergo a theefe . the clerke who for every sheete of paper that he writes hath but a shilling , and who writes scarcely , sixe moneths of the whole yeare , which are hardly ended but hee is seene to have his velvet stooles , damaske courtains , silke-hangings , and other rich ornaments , which never came to him by heritage . ergo a theefe . of the same kinde you shal find in all offices giving you to understand , that i doe not speake here of the good and honest , but of the lewd and baser sort , who blinded with profit and gain treade under their feete the feare of god , the love of their neighbour , and the truth of their own cōscience ( who force the poore and needy to take sixe pence for that , which they sell in their shops for twelue pence ) & it is , i say , of those by whom the evills , that i have mentioned ought to be understood . and by reason that the great attention with which you doe harken to my reasons , discovereth the desire that you have to know all that can be said upon this subject , i will shew briefly the invention and deceits which the naughtie tradesmen use for to robbe and steale . the tailer stealeth asking a third part more of cloth , then there needeth to make a sute of : and when he that putteth it out to making , presuming to be wise enough for the tailer , would be by to see it cut , he vexeth him , and casts a mist over his eyes marking foure houres along the peece and overthwart , and when hee hath at last dazeld him with a great many strokes and lines with his chalke , hee throweth a false ply under the sheeres with which at the cutting of a paire of breeches one breech abideth with him for his gain , besides buttons , silke , lace , and lynings . the linnen weaver stealeth in asking more yarne than the web hath neede of , laying fiftie ells instead of five and fortie and with the remainder of many broken threeds he pincheth out the length , which makes worth to him the eight part , all which he stealeth . the cord wainer restoreth with his teeth that which hee stealeth with his — biting and drawing thinne the leather , so that of one paire of shooes which one giveth him to make , there resteth to him at least an upper lether or a heele for a third . and if the lether be his owne , he sets on a rotten soale with rotten threed , to the end it may be the sooner spoil'd and fall off , which i thinke but stealing . the physitian and the chirurgion both steale , the one appointing and th'other applying plasters , which feed the disease and make it worse to the end that the time of the cure continuing long , the fees may be the greater and the more . the apothecarie ●●ealeth with a quid pro quo — putting in one drugge for another , and taking that which is cheapest , not considering what humour should be purged , and what vertue the drugge hath which he applyeth , in which hee stealeth the honour and reputation of the physitian , and the sick persons life . and if haply any call for an oile which he hath not , he wil not faile to give of that which hee hath for oile of — or other costly oyle which any shall have asked them , that they may not lose the credit of their shop . the marchant stealeth in putting out his money upon use , taking more than the statute alloweth , and writing downe in his booke such a debt , which , it may be , shall be thrice paid , the notary stealeth with an ( &c. et coetera ) a whole lordship , and if there be a question of any criminall processe , the scrivener for money that he shall take of a forfeit , will sell the soule of the poore innocent . the counsellour & the atturney steale selling a thousand lies to the poore client , making him to understand , that he shall win his cause , albeit they see cleerely that he hath no right at all ; and many times it falleth out that the lawyer agreeth with another to sell the parties right and part the gaine betweene them . the iudge stealeth iustice from this man , having pitie on him , who by some bribe shall have already corrupted him , wresting violently the texts of bartole and baldus for his own profit . the drugster and other marchants , that sell by weight steale , putting under the scale a very thinne plate of leade , where they put that which they would weigh , with which they shew that there is more then weight , albeit there be many ounces , and when they doe not that , with their little finger they touch the tongue of the ballance with which they make the scale sway to what side they will . the vintner stealeth a hundreth thousand wayes , mixing and blending one wine with another , beside the water that hee putteth amongst it , and when his wine by the force of so much mingling and watering hath his strength , hee hangeth amongst the lees a little bagge full of cloves , pepper , ginger and other spices , with which he makes it still seeme to be good . the butcher also stealeth blowing up his meate with a cane , that so they may seeme the bigger , and that he may sell them at a deerer rate than they are worth . the treasurer stealeth the third part , yea the halfe of a pension , when a poore needie man asketh him , because that hee , who should receive it , being drown'd in debt or charged with some vrgent necessitie , denieth not to give the halfe , nor makes he any conscience to demandit . the marshall stealeth taking a poore harmelesse man , and laying him in hold never telling him for what , and at the end of three or foure dayes that hee keepeth him in a chaine , sends a divell of those that belong to the prison , to tell him that hee is accused for making of false coine , and that there are ten witnesses who have given evidence against him : but that for the respect of some of his friends , hee will set him at libertie some evening , if he will give him a hundreth crownes to give content to the witnesses , and to make them in some sort to hold their tongues , whereby the poore wretch being sore affrighted , selleth all to the shirt on his backe to be rid of so great affliction . the courtier stealeth the report of a favorite , ascribing to himselfe that which another receiveth : because being loaded with feathers , brusling up himselfe , poised and straighter than a spindle he goeth to the court , and hearing , at the gate , or in the court-yarde where the pages waite , some newes , hee returneth to see his friends , and gives them to understand , that the king drew him aside , speaking secretly to him two houres , and amongst other things hee told the newes that hee brings . the perfumer stealeth mingling the perfumes and multiplying the muske with a cowes liver rosted , the amber-grees with sope and sand , and the sivet with some butter . the priest stealeth , saying foure masses instead of forty for which hee hath bin paid beside the monie that he receives for yearely masses for the dead , answers and other duties which he never remembers . the religious ( monkes and friers ) steale whole patrimonies , assaulting with a grave countenance and a wry necke a poore sicke man at the point of death , and laying before him a mountaine of doubts and burthens of conscience , turning and stirring them up to pious deeds , applying to their own monasterie all that which he was bound to restore , without ever making any scruple of conscience to leave halfe a dozen of orphans defeated of their inheritance , and the sicke mans wife to live upon almes . the preacher stealeth , picking from s. thomas and s. austin the best of their workes , and having robbed them to their very thoughts , selleth in the pulpit their doctrine as though it were his owne making himselfe the inventor and author of that which belongeth not unto him . the blind man stealeth the halfe of every song that he singeth , because that having received money from him that biddeth him sing , and it seeming to him that he is gone from him three or foure paces , he beginneth againe his first tune , and asketh a new that some body would make him sing another . the begger stealeth telling a thousand lyes to him that giveth the almes , saying that he hath bin robbed , that he hath beene sicke , that his father is in prison , and counterfeiting himself lame , with which hee pulleth from men their almes . finally , all doe steale , and every handy-crafts man hath his own invention and particular subtiltie to this effect : but seeing there is no rule fo generall , that hath not its exception , wee may exclude from the number of theeves all those that have a good conscience , as foote-men , hostlers , cookes , sergeants , iailers , under-jaillers , panders , bawdes , ruffians and whores . ( *⁎* ) chap. vii . of the difference and variety ▪ of theeves . all the theeves aforesaid are called discreete , because that every one in his place striveth to cover theft the best hee can , transforming it into nobilitie and vertue , and this manner of stealing is the safest and most secret . of these there is as great varietie and difference , as there are severall offices in the common-weale , yea there are other theeves who steale openly and without maske : who , although they are not so many in number as the former , are notwithstanding moe , and their differences are as many as there are inventions to steale , which being redacted into a shorter number , are divided into robbers , staffadours , drawers of wooll , grunets , apostles cigarets , dacians , mallets cut-purses , satyrs , devont , and governours of the house . the robbers steale upon the high wayes and solitarie places with great cruelty and tyrannie , because that seldome doe they robbe without killing , fearing to be discovered and followed by justice . the meanes & slights that they have to coine to their purposes are diverse : for sometimes they will follow a man fifteene dayes never losing the sight of him , waiting while hee goe out of the towne . and the better to over-reach him one of the companie goeth disguised in a marchants habit , a guest of the same inne , with a certaine packe of old cloth , or some other invention , giving to understand that he is a strange country marchant , and feareth to travell alone . with this lye he falleth into discourse with the poore marchant or passenger craftily getting out of him , that which hee desireth to know , & learning whence he is , whether he goeth , what marchandise he carrieth , or what businesse he goeth , about , and when he is to be gone , whereof giving notice to his companions , they lye in waite for him at some place most convenient for their purpose . others make themselues lurking holes behinde some bushes , growne up to the thicknesse of a wood , and when they perceive a far off , or by some spie , a passenger , they lay in the middle of the way a purse made fast , some shew of money , or a little budget , that in the meane time while he alighteth and staieth to take it up , they may come timely enough to take from him that he carrieth . others being hid in the most secret places of the high way , send one of their companie in carriers clothes , who seeing the passenger approach stayes to looke on him , and making shew to know him and to have some letters for him , & holding him in talke , busieth him in such fashion , that the others have the time and meanes to surround him . others lying somewhat out of the way , faigne a lamentable and pitifull voyce , with which they tye the passenger to stay , and to goe see what it is , and while he that makes this moane deceitfully declareth his griefe , the ambush leapeth out that strippeth him to his shirt . your staffadours are a second sort of robbers , little differing from the former , though more courteous , and not so bloudy ; those goe calmely into the house of some marchant , and not finding him there , seeke for him at great leasure , at the exchange , in the fields , at church , and in the middle of a thousand people , drawes neere to him softly talking in his eare , making as though hee would communicate to him some busines of great importance , and shewing him a dagger , saith , this dagger demandeth a hundreth crownes , brought to such a place , such a day , and if you doe it not , you shall die for it . the poore marchant sore affrighted by such words dareth not to misse , for feare to be killed . the wooll-drawers take their name from the theft they practise , which is to snatch cloakes in the night , and these have no other cunning save the occasion : they goe ever by threes or foures betweene nine or ten a clock at night , and if they do finde a fit opportunitie they let it not slip . most commonly they come forth to snatch cloakes in the darkest and rainest nights , and to them places which they see is most quiet and most out of the way , at least upon the one side , to the end that the neighbours may not come forth ( at the outcryes and noise which the robbed are commonly wont to make ) and take them . these same are accustomed sometimes to go in lackeyes clothes to come in to some maske or feast , making shew to looke for their masters , and with this liberty , they meete with a heape of cloakes , that the gentlemen use to leave in the hall , being sure that no body will meddle with them they in the view of all in the place , nimbly take up two or three on their shoulders , and get them gone with them ; saluting all those whom they meete , with cap in hand . the grumets take their name from the likenesse that they have to those young boyes in ships , who clime up with great nimblenesse , by the tacklings to the top of the mast ; and the sailers call them cats or grumets . those that beare this name steale by night , climing up lightly , by a ladder of ropes , at the end of which they have two little hookes of iron , to the end that throwing them up to the window ; it may catch hold there and they easily get up and empty the house . these runne about the city and the country , stealing not onely gold and silver , but also wheate , rye , barley , oates , and finally all that ever they doe finde , and when they have plaid their prize , they cunningly tye a line made fast to the point of the little hookes , which , after they are come downe , they drawing , the two hookes are raised and the ladder falleth , without ever leaving any print or marke of the theft . the apostles take their name from s. peter , because that even as hee beares the keyes of heaven , so also they ordinarily carry a picklocke or vniversall key with which they open all manner of doores , and because of too much noise , that the locke may not rattle , and awaken the people a sleep , they put in a plate of leade with which they breake it in peeces , so that they who lie neerest can perceive nothing . those whom they call cigarets , have for their particular office to haunt churches feasts and publique assemblies , at which they cut off the halfe of a cloake , cassock sleeves , halfe a gowne , the quarter of a jumpe and finally whatsoever they finde , for of all these they make money . the devout are church ▪ theeves , because there are no easters , pardons , nor iubilie which they visite not : they are continually on their knees in the monasteries , — having their beades in their hands , to cloake their knavery , waiting their time , either under some altar , or behinde some table , on the eeve of some solemne feast , to the end that they may get out by night . — and to spoile the image of all the ornaments about them . in this sort of theft they do moreover adventure into the monasteries of the religious as well as into other churches , because that as they are charitable , and feare to be accounted disorderly , they seldome put a theefe into the hands of justice , and for all the mischiefe that hee commits a man getteth out of their hands , chastised with one onely discipline all about the cloisters by a procession of monks who charge him ; after his amendment , to feare god . the satyrs are men living wilde in the fields , that keepe their holds and dwelling in the countrey and forsaken places , stealing horses , kine , sheepe and all kinde of cattle which by occasion come in their walke . the dacians are cruell , mercilesse people , held in our common-weales in lesse account than th'other theeves : these steale children of three or foure yeares old , and breaking their armes and legges lame and disfigure them , that they may afterwards sell them to beggers , blinde folkes and other vagabonds . the overseers of the house have this name frō the particular care that they have to looke out for provision of bread , meate , and other victualls to feede their companions , and as there is not any thing in the world that a man loveth better than to eate and drinke , the inventions and meanes that theeves have , are so severall and so exquisite that it is impossible to tell them all . some are accustomed three or foure to meete in the twilight at night and taking a bottle of five or sixe pottles with a fourth part of water in it , they goe to a taverne bidding them fill the bottle with the wine in the house , and having agreed for the price , the poore vintner beginneth to measure while it be almost full , then they make shew of a desire to taste it , if it be the wine that they bought at the beginning , and scarcely have they tasted it when bending their browes , casting up their eyes and wrying their nose they cry out at the wretched vintner , saying that he is a theefe and a deceiver , who hath changed them their wine . the poore fellow seeing that his oathes and curses availe nothing , is content to take his wine again and to take out the bottle the measures that hee had put in , by which meanes they have a fourth part left so well seasoned that it may passe for wine of sixe pence a quart . other whiles they goe five or sixe in companie to the taverne with two great pots so like th'one to the other , that very hardly can there any difference be perceived betweene them ; they carry th'one emptie and the other full of water under his cloak , and biddes them fill the emptie one with the best wine that they have , never taking care for the price , and it being full , the one of them takes it under his cloake , and the other staies reckoning with the vintner , holding his purse in his hand and making shew to pay him : being upon these termes , the others come in , and aske alowd whether or no they shall suppe there , which the vintner seeing , allured presently by the gaine that hee shall make if they suppe at his house , perswades them to stay , and they take his counsell determining to goe to the cookes to buy some joynt for supper , and to call backe the rest of their comerads , leaving the pot full of water to the vintner , that he may keepe it in the meane while till they come backe , with which he remaineth contented and well assured , thinking hith himselfe , that though they never returne , the pot notwithstanding shall remaine with him for his gaines . as for the provision of flesh , poulterie and other things they have a thousand inventions , whereof i will tell you one only which hapned long agoe to one of my copsemates . it was , if i rightly remember , on a holy saturdayes market , in which they sold great store of hennes , partridges , rabbets , pullets and other things against the feastivall day . three of the company went out to seeke for provision , dividing themselves every one to his owne walke , the two met with a countrey-clown loaded with capons and partridges , which were in the market ; one of them drew neare to buy up all that he had , & cheapning a quarter of an houre with the clowne , agreed to give him ten nobles for all his ware , giving it to his fellow to carry it home , and he stayed behinde with his hand in his pocket , making as if he would pay him . he searcheth both the sides , of his hose , drawing out first a great purse , next a little one , afterwards a hand-kerchertyed in knots with some papers folded up , with which he inchanted the clown , and gave his companion time and leasure enough to get him out of fight , and at last not finding in all his budgets the whole summe , he bids the clowne follow him and he should pay him . the clown was content , and beginneth to follow him with diligence , and almost on the trot , because that as my companion had an intention , to get out of sight crossing the streets and lanes he walk't a ▪ pace with posting speede . but seeing himselfe so closely followed by the clown he went into the cloister of the austin friers , where there were some friers confessing folkes , and having made a devout prayer , hee turned himselfe towards the clown , saying to him , my friend , the provision that you have sold me is for this house , and that father , who is there a confessing is the proctour , i will goe tell him that he must pay you ; and speaking thus , he comes to one of the confessors : with the clown after him , and turning a little aside hee put sixe pence into his hand , and whispers him in the eare saying , father , this country man is one of my acquaintance , and commeth hither to be confest , he lives sixe miles hence , and he must of necessitie goe backe to his house this evening , i beseech you to do me the favour to confesse him out of hand and let him goe . the good father obliged by the almes given aforehand , promist him , that when hee had ended the penitents confession whom he had at his feete , hee should dispatch him presently . with this answer , he called to the clown , and said to him , friend , the father will dispatch you by and by , when he hath made an end of confessing this man , to which the father added goe , not hence , i will give you content presently . with these words my companion parted from them , and the country-man staid , reckoning on his fingers the money that hee should lay out on shooes , hat and other trifles which hee minded to buy as well for himselfe , as for his familie out of his poultry money . the penitent makes an end of his confession , and the father makes a signe to the clown to draw neere ; the clown was not in so trembling a perplexitie , with so great hast as those who come to confession , which the good father was much offended at , it seeming to him that he had little devotion and lesse humility to be confest . the clown stood bolt upright , looking heedfully upon the confessor , to see if he should put his hand in his pocket , and the confessor look't upon the clown in like manner , astonisht to see him stand with so little devotion . notwithstanding excusing him because of simplicitie which is ordinarie to these country people , hee biddes him , kneele . the clowne at the beginning made some resistance , thinking it to be an extraordinarie ceremonie for one to kneele to receive money , neverthelesse at last he did it though grumbling . the father bids him make the signe of the crosse , and say his confession , whereat the clown lost all patience , beleeving the confessor to be out of his wits , and standing up beginneth to mumble within his teeth and to sweare with great obstinacie . this assured the confessor that the clown was possest with a devill , and having made the signe of the crosse beginneth to conjure him , putting s. austins girdle about his head , and saying some devout prayers , with which the clowne went out of his wits , taking the good father by the surplis and casting him down upon the ground , demanding aloud mony for his poultry . the father supposing that hee had all the fiends of hell together upon him , beginneth to say , the letanie with a weake and affrighted voyce , and to commend himselfe to all the saints in the almanacke , praying them to aid him . at the clamour and noise , the whole convent began to be troubled , all the monkes comming out in procession with the crosse and the candlestickes , casting holy water on every side , and beleeving that there was a legion of devils in the church , they came thither where the confessour was at debate with the clown , who still was asking money , for his poultry , & the prior having asked the cōfessour concerning this accident & having also heard the clownes reason , the justice of them both was discover'd with my cōpanions wicked deede . in the end some devout persons who were in the church , paid the clown his monies who went backe contented unto his house . chap. viii . the theefe continueth the differences among theeves with three disgraces that befell him . the cut-purses are the commonest theeves of our common-weale , who have an endlesse deale of meanes and wayes to steale . all their studie consisteth in thrusting their hand in the pocket of whom they approach , and cunningly to draw his purse from him ( he not perceiving it ) with all that hee hath in it . these haunt the churches , sermons , faires , assemblies & publicke meetings , that they may worke their feate in the throng , he that takes the purse gives it presently to another that is by him , that if he should be taken with his hand in his pocket , he might prove them lyars and cleare himselfe before all the world . i will tell you a wittie tricke which i once plotted , though it fell out but badly by me , seeing that the heedfulnesse , with which you hearken to me , makes me know that you are not wearie to heare me . the last yeere there came to london a marchant of italie , rich , courteous and of good carriage , who being in rouled by our spies i tooke the charge upon me to deale with him . i rose that day betimes in the morning , lest i should lose the occasion , and after i had dog'd him through many streets , lanes and churches ( for he was verily a good christian ) wee came to a crowd of marchants wont to be kept in the exchange about eleven a clock , seeing him alone , i came to him , talking to him of a bargaine very profitable & certaine , which made him open his eyes , and listen heedfully to my reasons . then seeing him thus fitted to my inventions , i winded him gently into a maze of difficulties , in such sort , that i never ceast to declare to him the businesse , nor he to learne the circumstances . my camerade then drew neare making shew as if he knew me not ; and to be desirous to interpret the traffick for him which i had propounded , whereupon the marchant began to take no more heede to me , and i to thinke evermore of him . i put secretly my fingers in his pocket to try the depth and breadth thereof , & perceived that it and its masters little care gave me free liberty to put in all my hand . i did so and at the first essay , i drew his purse , at the second a silver watch , which he carried tied to a small goldchaine , with which i might have bin content if stealing could be limited . i was resolved to try the third time , to see if i could draw thence a holland hankercher , which before he had shewed edged with curious bonelace , but i could not be so nimble to draw it , nor my companion to hold him in talke , but he felt me , and running to save his pocket with his hand he could not misse but meete with mine , wherewith being vext and suspitious , he presently knew that he had lost his purse and his watch , and not finding them he tooke me by the necke , crying a theefe a theefe . i foreseeing the evill that might befall mee ( for astrologie is very necessary for a theefe ) had given the purse and watch from underneath my cloake to my companion , as soone as ever i had drawne it , who was but only two steps from me : wherefore with the assurance that i had , that he would finde about me that which he sought , i scorned all he said , giving him the lie a thousand times . the marchant holding me fast by the coller , with a loude voyce calling for his purse , in such fort that he made all upon the place to gather together . but my camerade seeing that my honor runne a great hazard , if the businesse should be proved amongst so many people , secretly calls a crier who was at a corner of the place , whom he made cry , if any one had lost a purse and a silver watch , that he should come to him , & give true tokens therof , he would restore them , and withall departed the place . hardly was the sound of the first cry heard but my good italian let me goe , intreating me with great humilitie to forgive him the rash judgement conceived of me , which i did at the request of the companie , and presently got me out of sight . he went as nimble as a roe to seeke for the cryer , and having found him he gave the true tokens of his losse , but he that had bid him doe it could not be found any more ; and so i escaped this dangerous accident . the duendes a larins so called for the likenesse that they have with the spirits of this name , begin to walke through the towne in the evening , and finding some doore open , they enter softly , hiding themselves in the cellar , in the stable , or in some other dark secret place , to the end they may throw out at windowes all that is in the house , when those within are fast a-sleepe . i adventured once to play such a pranke , and turne my selfe in an angell of darkenesse , but i was deceived . it fell out then , that one night on the eeve of a high holy-day i went to seeke my fortune , my mishap made me meete with a doore halfe open , into which thrusting my head i saw that all my body might enter , i went up a paire of staires to a great chamber well furnisht and fitted , and thinking that it was a safe course for me to hide my selfe under a bed , while these of the house were gone to rest , i did so . after foure houres that i had laien all along on the flower , i heard a noyse of folks , comming up suddenly into the chamber , you neede not aske if i was heedfull to see who they were , and by and by with the light of a candle i saw the feete of two footmen and one maide laying the cloth with great diligence , and were making of a fire , because the master of the house was to suppe there . the table furnish't with sundry dishes of meate , foure or five sate downe , besides the children that were in the house . i was then so affrighted and confounded , that i thinke verily if the noise of their voyces and the great number of children had not hindred them , they might have heard plainely the beating of my joynts , because my buttockes beate so hard one against the other , that i thinke the noise might have bin heard halfe a mile off . by mischance there was a little dogge , that runne about gnawing the bones that fell from the table , and one of the children having thrown him a bone , a cat that watch't under the table was more nimble to catchit with which she run away to hide her under the bed , the dog grinning and pressing to take the bone from her , but the cat could so well use her clawes and defend her prize , that having given the dog on the nose two or three blowes with her paw , there began so great a skirmish , and there was such a hurly burly between them , that one of the waiters tooke a great fireshouell that was in the chimney and cast it so furiously under the bed , that if , as it gave me over the nose with the broad side , it had lighted on me with the end , it had kill'd me out-right . the blow was so great , that i was above halfe an houre ere i could come to my selfe , but it made the cat come out like a thunder from under the bed , and the dog staied grinning and barking with such a fury that neither fawning nor threatning of mine could quiet him , wherat the waiters at table were so vext that they began to chase him out , throwing fire-brands at him , which made him come out from under the bed , and leave me there in the pangs of death . the dogges noise was done , and there began another in my guts , so violent , that to stay the sudden rumbling of a flux in my belly , which the apprehension and feare had moved i was constrained to sneeze thrice , & with the force of my sneezing to wrong my breeches by the liberty of that unjust violence . these two noises met together , and making one of two , increast so much the force , that it made all at table rise , and take off the candles , to fee what was this novelty . they pulled me out , but i could give no reason that could be heard , nor humble suing that could be admitted , so i remained subject to the rigour of their vengeance , they stript me starke naked and binding me hand and foote , they began to scorch me with a lighted torch not without loud laughing , and after they had satisfied their furious passion , they put me in the hands of iustice , out of whose power i escaped signed and sealed . the mallettes are a sort of theeves who hazard themselves upon great perills and inconveniences , for they are made up in a bale , basket or dry fat , faining that it is certaine marchandise sent over , which they make some one or other of their friends in marchants apparell carrie from one house to another , that when night commeth and every one being fast a sleepe , he cutteth the cloth with a knife , hee breaketh forth to empty the house . i was one of those when the fourth disgrace befell me , because a friend of mine having counterfeited to have foure bales to be laid by night in a rich goldsmithes house , counsel'd me to be pack't up in one of them , covering the sides thereof with cloth and webs of fustian . the goldsmith made no difficultie to receive them , forsomuch as he had not them in keeping but a little while , and that he thought , if the owner in the meane time should happen to die , some one of them might fall to his share , so he made them to be laid in his backe-shop , whereby i was well assured to worke my feate . i waited while night with such desires as that plot deserved , which notwithstanding fell out to my disgrace ; for three or foure prentises meeting that night in the house , of intention to tarrie there upon occasion of the bales , resolving to lay them together , and lye upon them . after supper , every one withdrew himselfe . the prentises fitting the unhappy bed , or to say rather , the bale , in which i was in the middle of the others , on which they began to sleepe so soundly , that one might have drawne them a mile and never awakened them . i being impatient of the exceeding great weight that i felt , not daring to stirre my selfe more then i had bin dead ; and on the other part the little breath that i had , being choaked , i began to stirre my selfe a little , and seeing the unmoveable weight of that which was on me ; i certainly beleeved that they had layd a bale upon me ; with which imagination , and the extreme anguish that i suffred , i drew a sharpe knife , and thrusting it up , i made a great hole in the tillet of the bale , and a huge deepe wound in the buttocks of him that lay upon me . hee rose like a thunder raising his voyce to the heavens , calling for neighbours helpe and the iustices aide , thinking that some one of his companions would have kill'd him . the confused noise of all the neighbours , and the alarum was so great , that ere the master of the house had lighted a candle , the iustice beating open the doore came in , and finde the poore wounded fellow in his shirt bleed and faint , and the other vexed and confounded , takes the deposition of him that was wounded never taking notice of the bale , nor comming neere it , thinking that it was not needful to know the place where hee was hurt . but the goldsmith , who attentively hearkened to the iustice , and beheld the circumstances of the fact , seeing the poore-hurt fellow all bloudie , supposed that the bales and the cloth in them might be bloudy and spoil'd and he bound to pay them , and with this unquietnesse he came neere to looke on the bale , and seeing it cut thrust in his fingers to trie if nothing was spoil'd , and he mist not to finde my bearde . i could very well have bitten him if i had thought it had bin the best of my play , but i lay quiet , thinking that he would never guesse what it was . he held the torch nigher to the hole , and stooping to see that he had touch't , the waxe began to melt and drop upon my face , which forced me to remove a little , and him to marre all , crying aloud . theeves , theeves . the iudge came neere , who was yet making one write the deposition of the hurt man , and opening the bale , they found one within it . they carried me to prison , whence i came out at the seventh day after at a cartes taile well accompanied , beside other favours that they did me , whereof the greatest was to condemne me to the gallies . all the aforesaid theeves have ordinarily their spies at exchanges , faires and common markets , viewing all that goe and come , and learning what money they carrie , how much , and in what sort , where they leave it , and in what hands , to give notice thereof to the companie . and herein there is such diligence , and so great care , that there commeth not any stranger to the towne , but in a quarter of an houre after he is registred in our booke with all his qualities : to wit , whence he commeth whither hee goeth , and what is his trafficke : and if there be any negligence herein , the spies that have these places of the citie in their charge , lose the profit and gaine that should come to them that day , out of the common purse , beside a shamefull reproofe which our captaine giveth them in presence of all the other theeves . ( *⁎* ) chap. ix . wherein the theefe relateth his wittie diligence to free himselfe out of the gallies of marseiles . you may thinke , i had no great maw to that journey , which these gentlemen commanded me towards marseils , sith there could be no pleasure in that which is done upon constraint . neverthelesse i obeyed with great resolution , hoping that fortune would offer some good occasion to set me at libertie : so all my studie and care was onely to finde out the means to attaine to this end . and having tried many which came to no effect , he practized one which might have hapned well , if fortune had bin content with my past troubles , and had not made mee fall any more in the tryall thereof . the invention then was on this wise . the captaine of the gallie , where i was slave , being exceedingly in love with a lady of good ranke , and she in no wise loving him , hee tried all meanes ( though impossible ) to bring her to his bow , and as is usuall with lovers to be the more inflamed when they finde their beloved hard to be won , the ladies extreme coldnesse was burning coales to the captaine , in such sort that he never enjoyed rest but when he was talking of his love . i having got knowledge by the report of a slave that went daily to my masters house , there to carrie water , wood , and other necessaries , determined to try my fortune , and not lose the occasion . so i spake him kindly , promising him that if he would faithfully ayde me , that he might hope assuredly for his liberty , whereof i would as well make him certaine as of mine own . the good antony , ( for so the slave was called , ) put so much trust in my words , hearing me speake of libertie which i had promist him , that waited but for the houre to be employed in that which i did intreate him , and he thought there was not time enough ; hoping with great impatiēce , that i should declare to him that which he was to doe for me : who seeing him so well minded on my behalfe , and otherwise sillie , faithfull and true , i shewed him my resolution , recommending to him secrecie , and wisedome above all things . i said thus unto him , my friend antony , know that it is long since i have desired to impart a secret to thee , which i will tell thee of : but as all things require wisedome , patience , and the occasion , i have not done till now ; because i thought it not fitting till now to do it : as also , because not being so satisfied ( as i am this present ) of thy goodnesse , seeing , as the proverb saith , one should eate a bushell of salt with his friend ere he trust him . thou knowest well our masters love with this lady that dwelleth by the great church , and how much he is out of kelter for her , yet never having received one favour of her , after so long time spent in her service , and so many duckets spent in vaine for love of her . now if i should finde a meane and assured invention , to make him without the spending of one shilling , or troubling her doores enjoy his pleasure , what reckoning would the captain make of this service , and what reward would he give him who should bestow on him that which he so earnestly desireth ? verily ( answered antonie ) i hold for certaine that he would turne foole at his contentment , and not only would he give thee thy libertie , but also to all those for whom thou shalt aske . go to friend , said i , if thou hast any particular acquaintance with some one of them who are most familiar and best liked in the captaines house , thou must acquaint him with this businesse , that he may tell him , and assure him that i will doubtlesse doe that i promise , and i counsell thee that it be not delayed . the content which antony received was so great , that without bidding me farewell , nor answering me one word , he went from me like a lightning intreating a souldier of the gallie , that he would bring him into the captaines house , to talke with him of a matter of great importance . he was there , and could give order for my businesse , that halfe an houre after , the governour of the house came to the master of the gallie , charging him to send me with a souldier to the captaine , because he would see me . the quicke effect which antonies diligence wrought , gave me extreme great contentment , and made me hope that so good a beginning would bring my designes to a happie end . finally , i was at my captaines house , tattard , torne , and naked , and with a great chaine tyed to my foote . he comming to meete me , as if i had bin a man of great ranke , and laying his hand upon my shaven head , began to talke kindly to me , asking me what country-man i was , what was my name , and why i was condemned to the gallies . and i having answered him in a dissembling manner , and lying the best i could , he drew me aside , to a corner of the chamber , asking if that which antony had promist him , was certaine , sir , answered i him , i know not what he hath said , nor what promise he hath made , yet i will tell you , that if he hath spoken according to that which i told him , all is true , without failing one tittle . sir , i told him , that if you would promise to release me out of this distresse which i indure , and to give me my libertie freely and wholly , i should make you injoy the love which you desire with so great passion and which so torments you , i promise you moreover and assure you , that making this condition with you , if i performe not my promise you shall my head cut off , or throw me into the sea . thou bindest thy selfe greatly ( said he with a smiling countenance , alreadie desirous to see the effect of my promise ) but if thou art a man of so great knowledge and skill , that thou canst doe this for me , this gallie wherinthou art shall be thy fortune , for i shall not onely be content to give thee thy libertie but i will make thee one of my houshold servants , and the best respected of them all . but tell me , after what manner canst thou doe it ? sir , you shall know ( said i ) that i was bred with a great astrologer , who under pretence to cast horoscops and nativities dissembled his magicke with so great craft , that there was not any one in the world that suspected him . he made use of me in some of magicall experiences , supposing because i was young and of a dull wit i would understand nothing of the secrets of his art . but he was deceived there , because though i seemed foolish and ignorant , yet i had an eye on all his tryalls , and i studied them so well , that many love secrets stucke in my memorie , amongst which i have one most certaine and approved , with-which if a woman were harder then the adamant , i will make her softer then the waxe . in such sort that the secret which i propound to you is magicall , not naturall , and it is requisite to have some haires of the party beloved , to put it in execution ; with which , and with some ceremonies that must be performed , the gentlewomans heart will be so set on fire , that she shall take no rest , but when she is with or thinketh of her beloved . notwithstanding this must be done in the night , at the waxing of the moone , and in the fields , there being but only three in the companie , and these stout and resolute , that cannot be dismaied nor frighted , fall out what may , or whatsoever they see . if , saith the captaine , that to further the businesse there needeth no other thing but a good heart , we shall easily have our desire , for though all hell should stand before me , it were not able to make me give backe so much as one step , nor once to change my colour , or countenance : and for the haires that thou hast mentioned , i will give thee as much as thou shalt desire . i know sir , ( answered i ) by your face that your naturall inclination is very fit for magicke , and if you had studied it , you would worke wonders by it . so now seeing the time favoureth us , and that you have the ladies haire , let us not suffer this waxing of the moone to passe with bringing our businesse to passe . you may goe out on horsebacke , and he also that shall accompanie you , as for me , though ill bestead with the weight of this chaine , i will not forbeare to goe a foote . all shall be in readinesse ( saith the captaine ) against thursday night , & sith experience hath made thee master in this art , prepare thee well and studie that which thou oughtest to doe , to the end that our designe may not be lost by negligence or little care ; and for the present get thee backe to the gallie ; for i will send to thee by the governour of my house who shall be the third of our companie , a faithfull man , couragious & valiant , and if there neede any thing to this purpose , thou maist in the meane time provide thee , for i will take order that all be paid that thou shalt buy . with this good answer i parted from my master more joyfull and merrie then the flourishing spring seeing my businesse thrive so well at so good a passe , and being returned to the gallie i found my good antony , who waited for me with great impatience to know what i had bargain'd with the captaine , and upon what termes my affaires stood , to whom i related all that we had agreed upon , and the kindnesse that he received me withall in accepting my promise , assuring him that when i was in favour , the next thing i asked should be his libertie . hardly had i begun my discourse , but i perceiued the governour of the captaines house entring the gallie , his visage inflamed , his eyes staring and dansing , and he running , as he had quickesilver in his heeles , asked where i was , and having perceived me , and drawne me aside , he said to me , i am governour of the house to the captaine of this gallie , who hath commanded me to come hither , and to know of thee all that shall be necessarie for the businesse that you talked of , dispose and appoint at thy pleasure , for i have money for all , and because that i may offer thee something in my own behalfe , take this crown of gold which i give thee as a token of that friendship which shall be between us , and i assure thee that thou shalt have a good friend of me at the captains hands . but as reason would thou must answer me with mutuall acknowledgment , in doing some thing for me . you shall binde me much sir , ( i answered him then very humbly , ) having disparaged your selfe so much in regard of him , who is so farre unequall : consider in what my weakenesse and my povertie can serve you , for i will performe it with all my soule . i will not , saith the governor , that thou hazard thy soule , because it is gods , but i would faine intreatthee , that with thy secrets and thy skill thou wouldst helpe me to purchase the favour of a gentlewoman of good ranke whom i have loved now these five yeares , and because i am of somewhat a meaner condition then she there is no meane to make her heare me and if it were possible to give two blowes with one stone it would be be an extreme great contentment to me , & thou shouldst binde me to thee , not only as a friend , but as a slave . now the moone is waxing , and the time very fit , so that i thinke there is no neede to make any more ceremonies for my mistresse than for the captaines , and if you must have of her haire , see here are some , for it is above a yeare that i carried them about me , keeping them as reliques . and drawing a paper out of his pocket put one of her locks into my hand . i who desired no other thing but that the third of our companie should be also so besotted , that the businesse might fall out well , i was in a manner beside myselfe with contentment , which i could not hide nor dissemble without shewing some signes in my countenance of being troubled , by which he tooke occasion to aske me what it was that troubled me . to whom i answer'd , sir , i feare that if the captaine should know that i doe anything for you he would be vexed with me , and i should lose this good opportunitie in which lyeth no lesse then my libertie ; this consideration is that which troubleth me , not want of desire to serve you . and who will tell it him , saith he then ? the divell , answered i , that never sleepes , but happen what may , i am resolved to serve you , though i should lose the captaines good-will , seeing it is the first thing that you have commanded me . as for that which concernes the captains busines & yours , you must buy a new sacke , a small corde , and another bigge one of hempe , foure ells long , a new knife , a chaine and a brush , and these you shall buy without making any price , that is to say , that you shall give for them whatsoever the marchant shall aske without beating of the price : and assure your selfe , that within a seven-night , you shall enjoy your love with great liberty . thou givest me greater content with this answer , saith the governour of the house , than if the king had given me a pension of a thousand crownes a yeare , doe that which thou promisest , & thou shall see what i will doe for thee . and embracing me kindly he went away full of hope and joy , leaving me the most contented man of the world , seeing that if in this prison i had sought an occason which might have fallen out better for my ease , it had bin impossible for me to finde it , for as well my captaine as the governour of the house were so blinded besotted and fool'd , that if i should have call'd the day night they would have beleeved it . on the contrarie my heart throb'd a thousand waies , considering into what a maze i should thrust myselfe , if the businesse succeeded not , neverthelesse i made a vertue of necessitie , using that remedie which is ordinarie with these that are in any extremity , which is boldnesse and resolution . with this good courage i waited for the thursday , which came more joyfull and fairer then the spring , though it was slow , because of the desire they had to injoy their mistresses , and mine to get out of the harbour by the cheating trickes that i put upon them , it seem'd to us the longest day of all the yeare . every time the clocke struck , they despaired , fearing to misse the telling of the houres , as these do who hope for a thing that they earnestly desire ; and after this care they were in anextacie considering what they would do in the possession of their loves , as if they had alreadie verily past the night and overcome the difficulty . this doubting and hammering of theirs served me well to my purpose , that they might not perceive the gulleries that i put upon them , and the smoake that i sold them . whereby i finde that those who paint love blinde , have great good reason for them , because that , if they not bin so , they would have perceived all my promises to be nothing but winde , and that the meanes which i propounded to them were for no other end but to gull . them . *⁎* chap. x. in which he proceedeth to relate his invention , begun with some discourses of love , between the governour of the house and this gallieslave . the night being come which be a day for me , inlightning the heaven with infinite numbers of starres so bright and resplendent , that they dazeled the light of the day , and filled my soule with joy : when my honest governour enters the gallie , brave , gallant and clothed with the best apparell that he had , because that amongst other directions that i had given as well to him as to his master , the chiefe was that they should be fine & brave , as being a thing most requisite and necessarie for magick skill ; and having saluted me with close embracements he said to me , friend , that thou maist know that i can doe what i will at the captaines hands , and that i want not good will to help thee , thou shalt know that through my intreatie he gives thee leave to leave off thy chaine for this night , and it may be , for ever , that thou maist walke with greater libertie , and performe thy businesse and what is necessarie for it , and though the captaine made some difficultie , i dealt so earnestly that i obtained this favour in earnest of that which i desire to do for thee . i who then was more knavish and more dissembled then foolish , fell into some suspition imagining that this liberalitie offered ere it was desired , was fained , and but only to try me , wherfore i answered him , sir i thanke you for the care you have had of me obtaining of my master that he will take off my chaine , a favour which i would kindly accept , if it were possible , but it is not , because i must not change the estate that i am in , nor one point of that which is of my estate ; it being necessarie that he , who shall make this tryall , must make in the same estate & apparell that he is accustomed to weare : and so i may not goe but in mine owne clothes & with the chaine because otherwise we shall do nothing . the governour was not a little contented with my answer , being assured that there was in me no kinde of deceite nor malice , but the pure and simple truth , & pittying me beleeved assuredly , that there was more passion in my words then iustice , he embraced me the second time saying , friend , god who is wont to give the salve according to the wound , hath brought thee to this gallie , that by it thou mightst come to the knowledge of my master , and enjoy the speciall favours which thou shouldst promise to thy selfe from his liberalitie , if the businesse fall out well . how well ? answered i him , hath the captaine any suspition that i would deceive him ? no by the world answer'd the governour , seeing that though thou wouldst doe it , thou couldst not : but it is the great desire that we both have to soften the hardnesse of these she-tygers , and to turne them to our love , that makes us thinke that impossible which is easie for thee to doe , and this is usuall amongst lovers . i never was one , ( answer'd i , and though i should be more in love then was narcissus , i should never perswade my selfe that day were night , that oxen flie , and other fantasticall imaginations , that haunt lovers , which rather may be called follies and idle thoughts then love-passions . it well appeareth that his darts have not strucke thee , saith the governour , for if thou hadst tried them , thou wouldst not have spoken with so great freedome and so little trouble . know friend , that physitians ranke this disease amongst melancholike passions , into which the diseased falleth , beleeving that which is not , and framing a thousand phantasies and visions which have no other ground but their perverse and corrupt imagination , which workes the same effect in lovers , giving them an impression of jealouse , to an other of disdaine , to an other of favour , making a mountaine of nothing , all which is bred of a burning desire which they have to possesse that which they love . but to be willing to perswade this unto him who hath not tried it , is to desire to draw water with a sive , and to weigh the earth . i am no doctor , master governour , i answer'd him , nor yet batcehler , because being left yong , friendlesse and poore , i lived also without knowledge , having only foure words of latin . neverthelesse by the use of reason well knowen of all sciences , i understood the smal reason that lovers have to be so oft troubled upon so small occasion as they are troubled , because of necessitie their affections tend to two points , to wit , that the woman must be good or evil faithfull or disloyall . if she be good , faithfull & answerable to your affection in mutuall love , it is a great follie to be jealous over her : if she be unfaithfull and known for such a one , there needs no other counsel , but not to trust her nor love her . whence may be cōcluded that all the accidents to which you say lovers are subject , are the overflowings of follie , and wants of wit , it being a notable extravagancie to love one that hateth , this being supposed that hatred cannot be the subject of love , nor love of hatred , seeing we ordinarily love them that bind us thereto by their love . if it went by experience , saith the governor thou wilt lose thy cause , because usually they hate these that love them best , taking the sight of a dying man for the occasion of their hate , and it is a voice in them now a dayes turned into a nature , to shun those that follow them , and to abhorre those who adore them , as the captaine and i have hitherto made a long and unhappy tryall . thinke not so master governour , i answer'd , that you have made a good conclusion ; for if you will have the patience to heare me , i will make you see clearely in what your arguments faile , and know that love ceaseth not to love nor hatred to hate , there being no law of nature , and he that foster'd you in this philosophy , hath fed you with bad milke , because that love alone not being accompanied with other circumstances , which are to be proportionable and reasonable is not all the motive of an other love . that princesse of noble bloud should be tyed to love a porter , that dieth for her , onely because he adoreth her . i deny your proposition , she is no wise bound to doe it , nor her well to affect him , the object that might move her not being in him . as a prince hateth to the death a poore damsell , because she depiseth him , being unwilling to give consent to his wanton love , whence it may be gathered that neither the porters love shall in any case tye the princesse wil , nor damsels scorne shall breed hatred in the princes minde . seeing that in love is found the good , the profit and pleasure which are the hookes with which the will is taken , then it is the motive of love , and the lady shal not be able to hate him , who loveth her upon these conditions , but therein being unequalitie and dishonour , she may do it . you shall more clearely perceive this in hatred , because when a man dieth for a gentle-woman , & she hates him exceedingly , this hate is not that which inflames his love , but the account she makes of her honour & the feare of shame if she should consent to the pleasure of him that loveth her , which consideration makes her coole and backward and him extreamely passionate . whence it is concluded , that the woman offendeth not in hating him that worships her , nor any man ought to hate such a woman that disdaineth him . this thy philosophie , my friend , answered the governour , is framed of moe words than learning , and i could refute it by plaine reasons , if time did afford us leasure , but the houre is already come , & the captaine will looke for us , only i would intreate thee to be mindfull of me as a friend , making thy inchantment of equall power with the crueltie of the gentlewoman of whom i have spoken to thee . away with this care , sir , answerd i , for i will doe it in such sort , that though your mistresse were harder-hearted & more frozen then the alpes , she should be turned into a mountaine of fire , hotter then mount aetna of sicile . i beleeve so , said the governour , but i cannot chuse but wonder why thou being so cunning a fellow didst not enchant the iudge to be in love with thee and not have condemned thee to the gallies . if this secret were good for a man , said i , a hundred yeares a goe i had bin a duke or a governour of some province , if i had not bin a monarch . it is not good but for women , because he that first found it out , gave it this vertue only . that alone sufficeth me , saith the governour , if with it i can soften that adamant , but with the hope that thou hast given me , i hold the victorie as certaine , and i hinder my selfe that i doe not see to morrow already . with these words we came to the other side of the harbour where my kinde captain waited for us with great impatience and unquietnesse , by whom i was very well received , & he asking me why the governour had not taken off my chaine , as he had charged him , i answerd him the same things , which i had before answered the governour , wherewith he was exceeding wel contented . they leapt both on horse backe , & i followed them at leasure , because of the waight of my chaine , and being about a league from marselles we arrived at the place appointed . they lighted down , and tying their horses at a tree , we with drew our selves together to the place where our tryall was to be made , & taking them with some necessary ceremonies , and telling them what they should say , i made a circle on the ground whispering i cannot tell what strange and uncouth words , and turning my selfe often , sometimes towards the east , sometimes to the west , with some ceremonies so unusuall , that they made the captaine and his governor of the house both of them astonisht and fearefull . at halfe an houres end after that i had gone turning about like a foole , i made the captaine goe within it , charging him to say after me , who was so obedient and so forward to all that i would have him , that if i had then cut off his mustaches , he would have beleeved that it was needfull for the inchantment . i made him strip himselfe , teaching him to say certaine words to every parcell of his clothes which he put off , which he pronounced so exactly that he lost not one syllable , beleeving that if he had missed in one jote he should have marred all this businesse , with this ceremonie i stript him to his shirt , he never making any shew of feare nor suspition , being assured that he was safe enough by the presence of the governour , who was much astonisht to see them finish'd , it seeming to him that there should neither be time enough nor inchantment sufficient for himselfe . pitty so moved my heart that i could not take off his shirt , having compassion of his innocencie , because it was then the coldest time of all the winter , and either through feare or cold , such a vehement quivering and shaking of all his joynts tooke him , with such a chattering of his teeth , that the noise thereof might have bin heard halfe a mile from the place . i comforted and encouraged him , with the shortnesse and quick dispatch of the inchantment , and the assured possession of his love , injoyning him in the meane time to be silent , and telling him that if he spake but one word , we should be presently in lesse then the twinkling of an eye all of us in barbary . he then being in this plight , that is to say , naked in his shirt , i gave him a knife in his hand , commanding him to make some stabs towards the foure quarters of the world , at every one uttering some words , & for the conclusion i made him goe into the sacke . that which i then saw with mine eyes was a wonder & a miracle of god , because i alwaies imagined , that as he was going into the sacke he should suspect something , & that all mine invention shuld come to nothing : but a little lambe is not more obedient nor more milde than he was , because that without any resistance or shew of mistrust , he went in , being still assured by the presence of his governour , and the ignorance he had of his loves ; which was good for me ; for if he had known that the governour was to be inchāted also , he had never gone into the sacke . finally having packed up the poore captain , i laid him along upon the ground with his belly upwards , tying the sacks mouth with a cord that was by me , & speaking still to the governor to encourage him , and wishing him to have patience a quarter of an houre the enchantment was to last . so having left him in this taking , the governour and i went aside about a stones cast who said to me in an exceeding great pelting chafe , i wil lay a wager that thou hast forgotten something of my businesse , for here i see neither sacke nor knife for me , as for the captaine . here is no need of a sacke , said i , because your magicall experiences are made stronger or weaker , according to the greater or lesser cruelty that gentlewomen have : and the captaines being exceeding disdainfull , i have made the enchantment of a sacke for her which is the strongest of all . oh! brother , saith the governor , what is this that thou hast done ? mine is hard-hearted , disdainfull a tyger and a lyonesse : for the captaines , though she loves him not , notwithstanding shewes him some favour , and if it goes by disdaine , we neede a hundred sackes , not one only what shall we doe ? be quiet master governor , said i then seeing him afflicted , for there is a remedy for all but death ; for that which is not in one threed shall be in a hundred . i will make with the haires and the cords a hanke which shall have no lesse force then the captaines sacke , and for as much as your mistresse is so cruel as you say , i wil adde thereto a small matter which shall make her , that she shall never be able to take rest while she see you . it is that which i looke for , my friend , answerd hee , let us martyr her in such sort , that my love may torment her thoughts & her memory , & performe my businesse quickly , before my masters be ended . speaking thus we came to the roote of a tree , the place at which i had told him that his inchātment should be made , and in an instant making a circle , & teaching him what he should doe , i made him goe into it starke naked to the skin , because i had neede of a shirt . having him there in this fashion , i tooke his mistresse haires , & twisting them with a cord i made a big roule , with which i tyed his hands to the stumpe of a tree , shewing him the mysterie that was hid in every ceremonie , & i would faine also have tied his feete , if i had not feared that hee should have suspected this to be rather the fact of a robber then of a magitian , but as his hands were enough for my purpose i would do no more . finally having made thē dumb naked & boūd , defended frō the sharpnes of the cold aire with the onely fire of love , that burned in their heart , there was no body that could hinder me to give two or three knocks at the lock of my chaine with a hammer that i carried in my pocket and taking their horses and clothes i got me out of sight & , being armed like another s. george i tooke the high way to lions . chap. xi . in which the theefe relateth the disgrace that happened to him , about a chaine of pearle . with the victorie of this dāgerous journey . i tooke the high way towards the town of lyons , joyfull to see my self free , & the owner of foure and twentie double pistolls , which i found by the hazard in my masters pockets with which and with their clothes being brave & gallant i went into the towne , & falling in love with as many brave dames as were there : i talked of love to all that i met with , and receiving particular favours of some , because my presence and my clothes assured them that i was a man of some great house and of good ranke . true it is that to keep them in this errour , and to hold my selfe in the good account with which i had begun , i oftentimes visited the merchants of greatest credit , telling them , that i lookt for some merchandise from venice , and promising to deale with , i made them in love with me , and they trusted my words as much as my outside and my honest looks did deserue . by which & by counterfeit noblenesse , some gentlewomen tooke occasiō to be as far in love with me , as thys be was with piramus , to whom i gave correspondence in the best manner , though i understood that i was not so blinded with love but this colour'd goodwil , & these fained sighs tended rather for my monies then for any good quality or beauty , of mine . but as there is nothing that can resist the kinde alluremēts by which a woman maketh warre against him , whom she minded to deceive i suffered my selfe a little to be carried away by amorous shewes of a gentlewoman of the towne , merry , pleasant & who entertained me best though she was none of the fairest : who making shew that she was taken with my love , in a short time emptied my poore purse , leaving me like an image wrapt up in velvet . i pressed also to binde her by allmeanes possible answerable to her fained affection , not so much for my contentment , as for that she was provided with fine knackes , which she had bin accustomed to aske of any new lover such as are chaines , rings bracelets , & above all a chain of pearle , so bigge , round & bright , that at the very sight of them any man of courage would desire them : this friendship at first was very hot , & had a prosperous gale of winde , but as soone as she perceived the weakenesse of my purse , she struck the sailes of her good-will , & began to looke upon me with a crosse & sowre countenance , an accident which in some sort put me in doubt , & made me distrust that i should never work my feate , which i had projected at the beginning of her loves . so before that any falling out or vexing should rise between us , relying upon the kinde offers which a little before she had made me , making me understand , that not only her goods , but also her very life shuld be sacrificed to my friendship ; i requested her to pawn her chain or her pearls for to contribute with her for the expences of the kitchin , assuring her that i looked for two thousand ducats from a living which i had in my country . but as they are old and subtle in their trade so they are also in their distrust , and so she excused her selfe , saying that the pearles and the chain were pawns of a friend of hers who was to come and redeeme them the next day , and that her honor should be greatly endangered if she had them not in readinesse . there needed no small art to cover the annoy which that crafty answere bred me , nor little wit to turne into jest such a plaine denyall . so without making any shew , or answering one word to that purpose , i fell a laughing most heartily over her shoulders , saying to her , that it was a device that i had framed to try her good will and to see if she would indeede confirme that which she had promist by her words , and drawing out of my pocket a counterfeit letter of exchange , i made her reade it that she might see the power that was given me to take up eight hundred ducats from a rich marchant of lyons , whom she knew well , wherewith comming to her selfe from her rugged coynesse , shee fell againe into her smiling humour , giving me a few light blowes on my cheeke , calling me distrustfull and mocker . i went away from her with a thousand embracings , making her beleeve , that i was going to receive a part of that sum , and god knowes what my heart was . but as povertie hath ever bin the mother of inventions , amongst many others which my imaginatiō afforded me , i choosed out one which was to sell my horse at any rate whatsoeever , being content only to have monie to live upon but three dayes , at the end of which i minded to have a fling at her pearles , and so to get mee out of the way . but it happened quite contrarie to me ; i went to catch the wooll but i came backe fleec't which was the just judgement of god , and a righteous punishment of my fault . for though the proverbe saith , he that steales from a theefe winneth a hundred yeares of pardon : yet the theft that is done to women of this kinde , is not put upon this account . but it should be rather held for a great offence , because that for the monies they receive they sell their honor and reputation which cannot be redeem'd withall the treasures of the world . it came to passe then , that i returning in the evening to her house , and making my pockets jingle with the money that i had received for my horse , she met me with embracings , so smiling and kinde , that with her fauning and flatteries , shee made me almost beleeve , that the refusall she had made me of her pearles , had beene but a tryall and proofe , which she would make of my affection . finally order was given for making supper ready , with which and the tricks that i minded to put upon her , at the comming of my money , i resolved to change her in such sort , that in her first sleepe , i should have the commoditie to assault her , and shee never to perceive it . but my desires had not so good successe as i thought , because that such women know more then the devill , particularly she , who as an old beaten beldame in her trade , there was no ambush nor deceit , which shee had not pried into . so the more i urged her to drinke , so much the more shee proved coy and backeward . supper ended with all the joy that i could faine , and the hope which that good occasion promist me , we withdrawing our selves into her chamber , she began to untire her selfe with as much slownesse as it had beene her wedding night . but i desirous to arrive at the haven of my intention , to make her more carelesse and lesse suspitious i went to bed first , faining my selfe unable any more to withstand sleepe that urged me so eagerly . my disgrace was such , that shee distrusting the summe , that i had bragged to have received , and taking occasion by my dogges sleepe shee would search my pockets to trie if all was gold that glister'd , and if the nuts were answerable to the noise . but finding there was so little monie that it would scarcely furnish out the next dayes expence , she began to be vexed and to have an ill opinion of me . at all this ( though snorting ) i was more watchfull and more a hunting then a cat when she watches a mouse , spying in what place she laid her pearles , that i might fish them incontinent when shee was fallen asleepe . she lay downe sad and confounded , thinking on the small summe of mony , that shee had found , and oft-times sighing . whereof i would in no wise aske the cause , as knowing it well enough , and not desirous to let her from sleeping which i so much desired and long'd for . so a quarter of an houre after , which was the time that in my conceit , shee was past all thinking of it any further , i thought of mine owne designes , weighing well all the inconveniencies which might fall out , amongst which i considered the suspition , conceived by her to be most difficult , it seeming to me that she would not sleepe but by halfes , and that seeing the least appearance of that shee imagined , shee would raise the house with her cryes , and put all the neighbours in armes . but amongst many inventions , there came a subtle one in my minde , and most fit for the purpose to this fact , which was , not to hide the pearles in any part of my clothes , but to swallow them one and one , being assured that having past them through my body they would come forth more cleere and bright then of before , and that in this manner though all came to the worst , the iustice would set mee free not finding the pearles about mee . this thought , in my opinion seemed admirable good , and thinking that she was asleepe , seeing shee sighed no more , nor shewed any more her unquietnesse . i rose as softly , as was possible , going barefooted and at leasure to the place , where she had left her pearles , and having found them , i began to swallow them one after another , though with some difficultie , i being narrow throated , and they very big . my ill lucke was that while i was , about to swallow the last , it stucke in my weazand so unhappily , that it could neither goe foreward nor backward , i was forced to cough with some violence , and to awake her with my coughing , shee calls upon me with teares and astonisht , and i dissembling the best i could the hinderance of my weazand , answered her that i was seeking for the chamber-pot with which shee was well apaid for a while , though not satisfied with my answer , it seeming a thing unlikely to looke on the cupboord for the chamber-pot , which was usually set under the bed , wherefore casting with her selfe the meanes to satisfie her suspition , without making any shew of distrust , shee counterfeited an exceeding sore paine in her bellie uttring great cries , and calling to her two maides that were in the house for light , and some warme clothes : shee held in her dissembled paine for the space of halfe an houre , supposing that would be enough to take from me the suspition of her cunning slights . about the end of which , shee riseth from bed like lightning , and looking round about the roome with a lighted candle and where shee had left her pearles , and no finding them , without speaking ever a word , or asking any other reason then what her imagination perswaded her , she begunne to beate her face with her fists , that incontinent shee fill'd her mouth with bloud , uttering after that loud and shrill cryes , that in lesse then a quarter of an houre , above two hundred people were assembled , and amongst them the iustice , who breaking open the doores of the house , came up furiously , finding me in my shirt , and her in her night attyre , with her haire about her eares and her face scratcht , calling to me for her pearles most furiously . the iudge commands that every one should hold their peace , that hee might be inform'd of the fact , and take the deposition of us both , and hee having begunne with me , i gave him content with very humble words , so that neither his threatnings nor intreaties could draw any other answere frome me . neverthelesse the iudge seeing the womans vehement complaints and bitter teares charged that my clothes should be search't which was executed with such care and diligence , that hardly a moate of the sunne could have beene hid in them , and they not finding there the pearles all of them with one accord judged mee to be innocent , and condemned her as subtle , shamelesse , and dissembled . she seeing then that they all spake against her , and misregarded her complaints , cast her selfe downe at the iudges feete , tearing her haire , and rending her clothes , and uttering such strong cryes , that the iudge knew not what to thinke , nor what resolution to take , and consulting of the matter with those he brought with him , he resolved , that it having beene verified that she had the pearles when she went to bed , they should be searched for , in all the most secret corners of the chamber , they not being found , they should send for an apothecary , that should give me a potion mingled strongly with scammonie , to the end that if i had swallowed them , i might cast cast them up againe . the iudges sentence was put in execution , and having done their diligence proposed about the chamber , and not finding the pearls , they were forced to come to the last remedy , which was the physicke , they which forced me to take in full health without the physitians appointment , and against my wil , & though i did all that was possible for me to vomite them , there was no meane to make me doe it , so a vehement strife being awakened in my guts i was compelled to give way to the pearles , and to tarry my selfe in prison , enjoying the favours which these gentlemen iustices are wont to bestow upon those that fall into their hands . *⁎* chap. xii . in which the thiefe relateth the last disgrace that befell him . it was about sixe a clocke at night , when my andrew made an end of telling me his disaster about the pearles , and i desiring to know the last that kept him then in prison , i intreated him to tell mee it from point to point , without missing any thing remarkeable : wherein hee being willing to give me content hee answered joyfully in this manner . if god would have pleased that this should be my last disgrace , and if it had beene as soone ended as i shall end the discourse thereof i should have thought my selfe happie ; but i dare not trust to my hard lucke , because that it being accustomed to persecute me , i do not beleeve that it will ever cease to use mee unkindly with new torments . know then that the iustice of lyons having condemned me in two hundred lashes of the whip , through the streets accustomed , for such malefactours , and marking me with the towne marke , they banisht me the towne with shame enough , allowing me but three daies only to dispatch my businesse and goe into banishment : during which dayes i thought upon a thousand fantasticall discourses , bethinking my selfe , how i might repaire the povertie that had overtaken me after so great abundance . and after i had bethought my selfe of a thousand plots , never a one of which pleased me , the divell put one in my head , which was the trouble that i now am in . i bethought my selfe that the same day that i was whipt , a famous theefe came after me , whom the iudge had condemned to the same paine , a young man of good disposition , and of a vigorous courage , wittie , and one of the cunningest theeves that in all my life i had dealt withall , but unhappie as well as my selfe . i acquainted my selfe with him to trie , if betweene two wretched caitives we could finde some comfort in so great a mishap , and communicating one with th'other our intent and thoughts , we resolved to make a journey together to paris . but before wee were fully resolved of all things fitting for the voyage , we had a consultation about our povertie , and infamie , descanting upon the meanes which we might make in so great mishap , and thinking it was not safe for us to embarke our selves in so great a citie as paris , not having meanes to live on there , and by which to busie our selves , at least while wee were knowne . and after that he h●d given me the hearing a long while , and heedefully heard all the reasons and designes which i propounded , he said , master lucas ( for that was the name which i had at lions ) the inventions that you shew me are good and worthy of such a spirit as yours : but they bee hard and difficult questions . wherefore leaving them for another occasion , i will tell you one , which if it fal out well , it may well be that we shall get out of this miserie . this is that we may use diligence to finde in this citie of lions some marchant that hath trade and correspondence at paris , from whom wee may get a letter directed to his friend , and having found him , you shal tell him secretly , that you will make up some packes of marchandise in this towne to be transported to flanders with some mony , and leave all at paris in the hands of some sure man , that it might be kept safe , while you go to antwerp , where you shall make as if you have a cozengermane , to trie the price , and how your marchandise may be past off ; and that having never beene at paris , nor made any acquaintance to whom you might recommend your packes , you shall intreate him to write to some merchant of his friends , that hee may keepe them for you . for so much , i suppose , hee will not refuse you , and if he agreeth to it , let me alone . you shall see how i will rule my hands ? if that be all that hinders you , said i , i will finde them that shall give me a thousand letters , and not one only though i am now disgraced , and with infamie yet bleeding , i would have you to know , that there was moe than foure that will doe somewhat for me , and that this is true you shall see by and by . with these words i went from him , and going to a marchants house of my acquaintance , asking of him a letter , after the forme that my camerade had told me , with which i returned exceeding content , and putting it into his hand , he kissed it a thousand times , praising my diligence and credit , and so at last we came to paris with it , where wee being retired to a chamber of the suburbs , we made two packes , with some pieces of coorse canvasse , the rest full of sundry things , such as old shooes , old clothes , ragges , and such other wares , and my camerade put himselfe in the third , wherein i packt him up so neately and handsomly , that neither his packe nor the other two seemed to be nothing else but camlots or fustians . our packes being made up , i went to give the letter to the marchant to whom it was directed , who received it most gladly offering me all his house . after this wee agreed that i should send the packes at eight a clocke at night , to save the custome other dues to be paid by the marchants , amongst which entred that of my companion , if not full of camlots , yet at least of cords , ladder , hooke , file , lantern , knife and other militarie tooles , with which to make war for necessitie , and robbe the marchants mony . he then being entred and all in the house asleepe , because it was past eleven a clocke he slit the canvasse with a knife , and comming out hee search't all the corners of the house , throwing out at the windowes some apparell and silke gownes with that seemed to him to be of the least , which i gathering up in the streete with great diligence , the divell would have it , that the watch in the meane while came by , with so great silence and dissimulation , that they gave me no leasure to hide our bootie , which i was gathering up , nor to betake my selfe to the flight . and as there was no great neede of questioning mee for to know my cops-mates , sith these wares could not fall from heaven , they perceived that my camerade was above , whom , after they led mee to the prison , they imprisoned also for the same crime . he went out a fort ' night agoe , being condemned to the gallies for ten yeares , and i feare not much lesse , if the mercie and bountie of the iudges have not some pitie of me . *⁎* chap. xiii . of the statutes and lawes of theeves . by the discourse which i have made of my historie , saith honest andrew , i have noted that you did not like well that i called our company a common-weale , it seeming to you that wee are governed only by the desire wee have to steale , without any other law or reason , which is clean contrary , seeing that amongst as is done nothing which is not ruled by reason laws , statuts & ordināces , punishing those that otherwise exercise our arte . we have in the first place a captain & superiour , all sorts of whom theevsobey , & he disposeth of their thefts wch they shold act , nāing these who seeme to him the fittest for the purpose , and choosing the cūningest & wisest of the cōpany forthe most difficult & dangerous thefts . and in this there is so good order kept , that there is no man amōgst us that forgetteth one only point of his duty , nor that passeth the bounds of his commission undertaking that wch is in another mans charge nor medling with greater matters than his capacity can cōpasse . and know this that it is the most essētiall point of our cōmon wealth , by the disorders wherof all others are undone this captain examineth him that cōmeth newly unto the company giving him three months of novice-ship , to try his courage inclinatiō & ability , in wch time , he propoundeth to him some witty questions as be these ; to hang up some little thing without ladder , pole or line ; to steale a mans horse as he is riding on him upō the way ; to snatch a way a courtiers band amōgst a hundred people , & many other things of this kinde . and having known his inclinatiō & capacity , hegivs him the office of a robber , of a grumet , of a cut-purse , or any other wherof he is found to be most capable . you will not deny but that this manner of proceeding is a great state point , just reasonable , & so necessary for the common wealth , that because it hath not bin practised , so great disorders are seene every where in it , seeing violence can promise no other good end . i will tel you that estates and offices should be given to every one , according to his natural inclination , without enforcing or tying him by any respect to another thing than to that which it desireth , not following that which troubleth , to wit , unquietnesse and mishap . for i held it impossible , that shee whom her parents shall put in a cloister against her will , for want of monie to marrie her , can live in peace and contentment . as also he wil never proue a better husband , who for the only pleasure of his parents , and against his minde is tyed in marriage , and so of other employments . we have a notable example of this good order in the lacedemonians state , a curious people , civill and wise , who suffered their children to grow up in libertie , without putting them upon any employment , nor to store up their appetite to any other estate , than to that to which their minde prompted them , and when they came to age and discretion they might choose of themselves the meane to live by most proper and most be fitting their naturall inclination , and thence it proceeded that all their actions were so wel ordered and so perfit . after this manner our cōmon wealth is governed , & with this law our captain ruleth the capacity of those , who come newly unto him , bestowing on him the office & maner of stealing according to the disposition that hee hath taken notice of in him in the months of his novice-ship . this captaine is an old man , wise , well experienced & finally exempted from the trade , as being one whose force and nimblenesse having failed for the practize , he exerciseth the theorie with us teaching us the method and precepts of stealing . to which end he makes us meete together once aweeke in a certaine place appointed for the purpose , where hee bindeth us to give a strict account of all the thefts and accidents that have happened therein , reproving sharply those who are negligent and prove vnprofitable , praysing the vigilant and subtle . this is done ordinarily on saturday night , on which day he appointeth all that must be done the weeke following , sharing out to every one the places that he shold keep in , & the thefts in which he shuld be emploied , taking of thē all a strict oath of faithfulnesse , & punishing the offenders , the first time abridging him of that part of the theft which belongeth to him , the secōd depriving him of the place of sixe moneths , and if he be incorrigible and stubborne , he puts him into the hands of the marshall . if hee falls in a fault by negligence & carelesnesse , as it may be by comming tolate to his place , to go elsewhere , or let slip some occasion in not laying hold of it , he is deprived of a weekes benefit , & taking from him the office of a theefe , he puts him in the office of a spie , or of a watch-man , for the time that our councell shall appoint . of all thefts in the first place is allotted the fifth part to him , that spares the whip to us , banishment , the gallies , the gallowes , and that which remaineth of the tenths for pious uses , which are , to succour the sicke and needie of our companie , to release prisoners , and to ease the disgraces of those that have no monie . we receive no women in the companie , unlesse it be in case of great necessitie , and when it cannot be otherwise , because by nature they cannot keepe secrets , & they being unable to eschew this inconvenience we are bound upon great paines not to reveale unto them , how , from whom , and when wee have stollen . he that commits the theft hath equall share with the captaine for paines & danger that hee hath put himselfe in , his complices have the third part , and the spies the fift . as for the honour and respect which is due to every one , there is such an order kept , that no wrong is done to any one of the companie , every officer having his ranke and place appointed in all our meetings , assemblies and consultations . for the first are the robbers , next the stafadours , then the grumets , after these the hobgoblins , then follow the wooll-drawers , the mallets follow them , and last the apostles , cigarets , cut-purses , and caterers . over all these a kinde of theeves bearesway , called among us liberalls , whose office is to undertake some strange points , as to blacke their faces with inke or kennell durt , to hang garlands of hornes at mens doores , libells or such like , and these are the wittyest of all the company , and those who as it were indued with the best wit and invention , weigh and foreseeing all the difficulties that can happen ▪ in a dangerous case . none of the companie may make any quarrell , noise or contentiō with another , about any matter whatsoever , unlesse it be fained or subtle , to avoide any suspition , that may be offered . we may not eate twice two of us together in one and the same tavern or vitailling house , except it be once in the sev'night , to th'end that if any thing come in the way to be stollen there we may breede no suspition amongst them that should see us there . we are forbidden also to go together through the city or to speake familiarly one to another , unlesse it be to fall a quarrelling , & to make some false blowe at one another , to draw people together , that upon the occasion of our quarrell the cutpurses may make up their hand . every professor of the companie carrieth his badge and secret marke , by which he is in an instant known of us all , understanding by this order , how many there are of an office in every streete & part of the town . so the robbers beare alwaies a glove handing and made fast by one finger . the wooll drawers button their doublet by intercession that is to say , they button one and misse the next . the staffadours stroake their mustaches and their beard at every space , sometimes thrusting their finger into one of their nostrils . the cut-purses have a little white marke in their hat-bands . the malletes beare their cloake after a certaine fashion , and finally every particular office hath its particular token by which it is known among the company . when any woman of the companie is married every profession gives her five crowns to augment her portion , keeping neverthelesse such an order , that she may not be married but to one of her owne trade ; that is to say , the daughter of a robber with a man of the same vocation or calling . and if by chance some cut-purse should marrie his daughter with a robber , staffador or grumet , hee is bound to give him a hundred crowns in portion more then ordinarie , because his sonne of law is of greater and higher office then the father is . we make a vow of patience and suffering , promising to be couragious and constant against torture , though we be seldome put to it , because ( as i have told you ) all that is salv'd with the fifth part . and to the end that all the places of the towne may be sufficiently provided , it is enacted that every professour that shall come newly to a place , should put there some marke , shewing thereby the number of theeves which are in that part : so the first that commeth layth a die in some secret corner , and yet well known to those of the companie , with the ace turned upwards ; the second that commeth , turneth the die to the deuse point , the third to the trey , the fourth to the quater , and so the others to the sise , and being come to that number , the same office stayeth in the same place , because that according to our lawes we cannot be above six in one and the same place : and when any one goeth away he turnes the die upon the number of theeves that remaine , in such sort , that they being six , the first that goeth away turnes the die to the cinque point , the second to the quater , the third to the trey , by which number he that is behinde of the theeves is knowne . we are bound to nourish and sustaine all the creeples , blinde , sick , and those whom their extreame old age excuseth from stealing . none of us may weare cloake , hat , breeches , doublet nor any thing else that was stollen , nor sell gold , silver or jewells in that towne where they were stollen , under paine of a great and exemplarie punishment . wee are commanded to carry alwayes a false beard in our pocket , with plaisters of sundry sorts , to disguise us in an instant , when occasiō shall require . as concerning religion wee are halfe christians , because that of the two principall commandements of gods law we keepe one , which is to love god ; but in no case our neighbour , because we take from him that he hath . next we receive and allow of the two parts of penance , which are confession ( because now and then we confesse ) and contrition : but of the third , which is satisfaction or restitution wee not so much as make mention , or talke . finis . imprimatur thomas weekes . februarie 5. 1637. notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a42233e-800 the author would not haue beene so vehement , had he been in one of our english prisons , which for the most part are made rather places of ease and delight then punishment . spanish apparitors what sort of people . these the evish words of the trade are afterward made cleare . to be whipt at the carts taile . burnd on the shoulders . see cap. 7. p. 54. see cap. 7. cap. 7. ibid. ibids histoire des larrons, or the history of theeves. written in french, and translated out of the originall, by paul godwin histoire generale des larrons. english calvi, françois de. 1638 approx. 227 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 165 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a03402 stc 13523 estc s104108 99839847 99839847 4304 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a03402) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 4304) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 962:11) histoire des larrons, or the history of theeves. written in french, and translated out of the originall, by paul godwin histoire generale des larrons. english calvi, françois de. godwin, paul, fl. 1638. [16], 315, [1] p. printed by iohn raworth, and are to be sold by thomas slater, at the signe of the swan in duck-lane, london : 1638. a translation of: calvi, françois de. histoire generale des larrons. with a preliminary imprimatur leaf. running title reads: the history of theeves. reproduction of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng thieves -early works to 1800. 2003-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-12 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-01 olivia bottum sampled and proofread 2004-01 olivia bottum text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion histoire des larrons , or the history of theeves . written in french , and translated out of the originall , by paul godwin . london , printed by iohn raworth , and are to be sold by thomas slater , at the signe of the swan in duck-lane , 1638. the preface to the reader . although that licurgus the law-maker of the lacedemoniās was a great states-man , and obtained an immortall glorie by the lawes and statutes which he left unto the spartans . yet i finde that he was very faulty in pemitting his citizens to live in continuall robberie ; for what was this , but to nourish the fire of dissention , by which hee might have set on fire his new erected common-wealth ; and indeed there needed the courage of theseus , and the strength of hercules to purge a kingdome infected with the swarme of such people , for it is a poison which ( as saith the poet ) latius & latius vires acquirit eundo . it is like unto rivers , which ( the farther they runne from their fountaine ) the more they swell and inlarge themselves . but before i represent unto you the divers stratagems which these rake hells usually put in practise to gain their living ; i wil first shew you their originall , it being no new thing since men began to be wicked : and surely this vice must be very old , since the heathen gods sometimes exercised the same trade : for lucian ( in his dialogue of apollo ) and vulcan ) relates that mercurie was one of the subtillest theeves that ever lived , for hee was scarce out of his shell , when hee stole away the tooles of vulcan , he made what ever he found in his way his owne : and one day having overcome cupid at the lute , as venus came to imbrace him , and congratulate his victorie , he slilie stole from her that admirable girdle whereof homer maketh such esteeme : another time , he by the sweetnesse of his musick so charmed apollo , whiles hee kept the kine of admetus , that he fell asleep , and in the mean time stole away his herd , ( wherein you may note how blinde the ancients were in their belief , to worship a cow-herd and a theef for gods ) nay ever jupiter could not keep himself from the flights of this theef , for he stole from him his scepter , and would no doubt , have carried away his thunderbolt had it not been too hot : wherefore homer in the hymne which hee made in his praise , calls him ( arcon philyteon ) the prince of theeves ; and indeed it is a thing very remarkable , that there is no vice which hath not been authorised by gods , to the end that the ancients might not be scrupelous in imitating their actions , which was the devils policie to draw men to be his followers , by introducing ( by the means of false gods ) vice in stead of vertue , and most commonly making use of things accounted sacred , to make his poison to bee swallowed the more easilie ; for who would not have stole his neighbours goods , since god mercurie himself was of the trade , or who was there among them , who esteemed it not an honour to follow the steps of so brave a champion ? — cui fas per limen utrumque solus habet geminoque facit commercia mundo ? as saith claudian , like master , like servant ; such a prince , such a subject ; if the gods in times past were theeves , it must needs bee that their worshippers must follow their example : and wee have seene the effects thereof ; for during the space of foure or five thousand yeeres , since that nimrod by an insupportable arrogancie placed the first stone in the tower of babel , the world hath been full of nothing but confusion , murder , and theft . the assyrians spoiled and ransacked all their neighbour countreys , to lay the foundation of their monarchie ; but it proved no other then the preparation of a trophee for the medes , who invading them , spoiled them of all that which they had ransaked from others : the medes injoyed for a time their spoiles , but they were soone stript by the persians , thus one nation robbed another , untill that the romans became masters of the whole . and what happened at lèngth , even after revolutions of ages , this great collossus ( whose shadow strook a feare into the inhabitants of the remotest regions ) was dismembred by peece-meale and at length remained as naked as esops bird , and it was according to reason , that the end should bee correspondent to the beginning ; for seeing this famous republique had not its originall and increase , but by theeveries , rapes ▪ and massacres under romulus and others ; there was no other likelihood but that it would return to its first originall . but yet i finde some mention of theeves before all these , for the egyptians were the first after the deluge that began to rob , a custome which hath been so long continued by this nation , that they are yet seen to run by troopes from kingdome to kingdom ▪ to tell fooles their fortunes , & were it not that men looke more unto their hands then their feet , they would make a horrible havock in villages and solitary houses . the barbarous scythes , by the report of herodottus , were also very subject to this wicked vice . for they thought all goods to bee common , both to men , and other living creatures , but especially food , for they made it no scruple to intrude themselves into any mans house , where they might find meat wherewith to satisfie their hungry appetites . but the lydians were yet much more rude , for they held it for an infallible maxime , that it was not fit that a man should depart from any place without furnishing , himself with something ; and it may well be said , that there there are two many collonies of this race planted among us , for it is too apparent , that the one half of the world robs the other ; the greater theeves robbing the lesse : for this is so miserable an age , that the great ones rejoice at the tottering of the lesse ; and many are seene standing under the gallowes to be as spectatours of the execution of others , who have more often deserved death then they have committed thefts : and though i might here take occasion to speake much of the great theeves in the commonwealth , yet considering , that quae supra nos nihil ad nos , i will forbeare , and come unto the lesse , with sorrow that i must leave one of the principall parts of this historie untouched : or , know therefore , courteous reader , that for thy good i have set forth this various , and pleasant historie , which will shew thee , how thou mayest avoid many dangers , and how others more wickedly inclined , may ( by the punishments which these reap as just rewards for their evill courses ) be led from the precipice of perdition , into the safe way of vertue and honestie . a table of the chapters contained in this booke . chap. 1. an inn-keeper cheated . pag. 1. chap. 2. a notable trick put upon a physitian . p. 12. chap. 3. a tragi-comedy acted by two theeves . p. 18. chap. 4. a cheaters selfe invitation . p. 28. chap. 5. the notable impudence of amertis . p. 36. chap. 6. a merchant cheated by a pretended churchwarden . p. 45. chap. 7. polidamors entertainement among theeves . p. 53. chap. 8. a prodigious history of the treacheries of valesio . p. 67. chap. 9. a young cutpurse made free . p. 91. chap. 10. the life and death of little iames. p. 99. chap. 11. the story of pallioly , and his choak-peare . p. 123. chap. 12. the wicked servant . p. 1●5 . chap. 13. the dangerous adventures and miraculous escapes of colyrias . p. 161. chap. 14. one often cheated . p. 173. chap. 15. a strange robbery of a merchants shop . p. 183. chap. 16. the cunning escape of a cheater oot of prison . p. 188. chap. 17. a theefe caught in a trap. p. 193. chap. 18. the story of amboise la forge , a notable cut-purse . p. 201. chap. 19. a relation of the notable cheats performed by one mutio. p. 221. chap. 20. a facetious relation , how one maillard cheated a goldsmith of a rich piece of plate . p. 238. chapt. 21. the multiplicity of theeves . p. 263. chap. 22. a facetious relation of a parisian theef , condemned to the gallies at marseilles . 269. chap. 23. the gratefull theef . p. 294 the history of theeves . chap. i. of an inne-keeper cheated . despaire often constraineth us to imbrace actions which we would reject , as pernitious to our soules health , if passion blinded not our senses ; but we are for the most part so wedded to our owne perverse wills , that we wil not vouchsafe to deliberate with reason , but rashly doe whatsoever is presented unto us by our vaine imaginations . this is the cause that man cannot so easily see what he is , nor whence he draweth his originall . at that time when as peace began to flowrish in this kingdome , and that the fury of a long warre was appeased . it happened that five or sixe cashiered souldiers , not knowing what shifts to make , departed out of paris , resolving among themselvs , that sithence unconstant fortune seemed to deny them sufficient commodities for their sustenance , they would use their greatest cunning and utmost endeavor to procure it . these people that before had plenty of all things , could not now brook a scarcity , and therefore resolved to make a correspondency to their former fortunes , though by any indirect meanes , neither were they long to seek : for as it often comes to passe , that when men perceive themselvs sinking into the deepest misery , even then they finde out a meanes of reliefe . : so now necessity dictates unto these cheating fellows , an invention by which they for a time shift off these hungry wants which were now ready to oppresse them . they in their way chanced to meet with a youth about the age of tenne or twelue yeeres , who had been sent from about twelue leagves distant from thence with a letter to one in paris , whom they staying , one among the rest ( intending to practise his wit and to recreate both himselfe and companions by an invention ( adviseth them to cloathe him after the best manner they could possibly , and telleth them , that as for the rest , he doubted not but that he should so well act his part , that they should all fare the better for his enterprize . they all follow his direction , and at length by their joynt endeavours , they so well apparell him that one would have taken him for some young lord , although there was a kinde of constraint in his behaviour , and that by his actions he sometimes shewed of what stocke he was . the tree is knowne by the fruit , and the leafe partly manifests the kinde and the quality of the stalke . for generosity appeareth as well by the outward behaviour , as it doth by vertue which is the inward ornament , and whosoever will cloathe a rustick in the habite of a gentleman , shall notwithstanding finde in him the effects of his rude breeding and incivility . this youth being thus revested , hatched conceits which lifted him up even unto the clouds , he already thought himselfe one of the great lords of france ; yet for all his high conceits , they become his lawgiver ; and after mountaines of golden promises , they command him upon paine of death , not to speake to any one upon any occasion whatsoever more then these two words etiam and maxime . having thus grounded their intended deceit , they went to take up their lodgings in one of the best inns about paris , where being arrived , they fained themselves to be of the house of the extraordinary ambassadour of holland , and told the host , that without faile , within foure or five dayes the said ambassadour would passe that way ; and for an assured testimony of what they spake , they shewed unto him the young gentlemen , saying , that he was nephew unto the ambassadour : the master of the house ( who deeply considered not what they spake ) beleeving them , entertained them very sumptuously with whatsover they demanded : and the notice he tooke during their abode in his house , that all of them in generall were ( submissively ) respective unto their young master . ( whom they blazed to be the ambassadours minion ) made him and the rest of the inne verely beleeve , that the reverence which they shewed unto this youth was unfained , and what they spake was undoubtedly true . five dayes were now past wherein there was no newes of the ambassador , but what they themselves made in the house in the midst of their jollities and banquets . the host knew not what to think of it , but not being able to sound the depth of their mysteries , he causeth his doubt to reflect upon the reverence which he saw was yeelded unto this new made gentleman ; this withholdeth him from any outward shew of suspition , and feedes him with the hope of the future comming of the ambassadour . at length eight dayes being pleasantly slipped away , and no ambassadour appearing , our vagabond souldiers begin to dreame that it was now time for them to take the ayre . and to finish their well projected enterprise , one of them sendeth forth his masters lackey in fight of the host , to give notice when the ambassadour approached , ( but he kept not his promise in comming , for he was not yet parted from his house ( and had before privately commanded him to returne by three of the clocke the next morning , to give them notice that their master was drawing neere unto the city . this gullery was well practised , the lackey failed not to come at the appointed houre , and knocking at the gate , delivered unto them the welcome newes of their masters approach : whereupon they all start up with speed , and having commanded that their horses should be prepared , the master of the inne ariseth , calleth up his servants , and all of them confidently settle themselvs in expectation of the ambassadour : when their horses were ready , one of them came boldly unto the host , and told him , that they must of necessity goe meet their master , that he must prepare a breakfast against their returne , which would be within two or three houres at furthest , and in the meane time they would leave their yong master with him : so they all parted and forraged the countrey , having merrily recreated themselves at the expence of their host. in the meane time they prepare all the lodgings for the ambassador ; but noone being already past , and hee not appearing , the host begins to perceive the deceit ; he therefore ascends up into the chamber , but was much amazed when he saw there no other then a countrey clowne in an old hurden suite ; the host straitly examineth him , and demands who he is , who those were that came to lodge in his inne ? to which he answereth not a word , and hardly could he draw from him , more then these two words , etiam and maxime : the host notwithstanding who had been at extraordinary cost in entertaining them , could not be satisfied with latine , he takes therefore my young clowne , and with the smarting blowes of good rods teacheth him french ; thus passed their deceit , their well acted comedy , thus ending in a tragedy . chap. ii. a notable trick put upon a physician . there lived in the famous city of paris , a wise and renowned physician named alcander , who had shewed himselfe fortunately expert in divers cures , where it seem'd that humane art had not sufficient force to give a remedy ; the fame whereof made him then much sought after . now , to enter into the course of our history , you must understand , that as this physician went to visite the sicke in divers parts of the city , one of the most notable and boldest theeves which were then in paris , conceived that he should make a very good booty if he could entrap him , for he was reputed a very rich and wealthy man , by reason of his continuall practise : this conceit breed a resolution and this resolution brought forth its effect ; for on a saturday about nine a clock at night , as the said alcander went to receive severall sums of money from divers houses where he had finished particular cures ; this fellow who could not have chosen out a fitter opportunity , nor a more favourable houre for his designe , nor yet a more subtill device to overreach alcander , being confident that he had then good store of monies about him , and that he could not escape him ; having long attended his returne in a little bye street , and at length perceiving him afarre off , comes unto him in great haste , and with a fained voyce saith unto him , sir ▪ it is long since i have been so happy as to see you , yet i live not farre hence , and now your experience which i have still admired , hath caused me to importune you to visite my wife , who for this ten or twelve dayes hath had such a flux of her belly , that she cannot finde any meanes to stop it , the longer it continueth the more it increaseth ; i have therefore made bold to come unto you ; i came even now from your house , where i stayed expecting you for at least an houre ; i humbly intreat you sir , to doe me so much favour as to come with me : the seeming sincerity of his words , would have drawne on the most distrustfull of the world to have beleeved them : alcand●● who was accustomed to be induced more by gaine then faire words , affoorded him this friendly and comfortable answere ; sir , god forbid that i should refuse to doe my endeavour in that little skill which i have in the knowledge and practise of physicke ; if i can effect any thing for the good of the gentlewoman your wife , i will attend you thither with as good a will as my charge requireth . upon these complements this notable wag brings him from streete to street into his lodging , where having shut the doore , he takes in the one hand a pistoll , and in the other hand a great purse , and turning himselfe furiously towards the physician , behold here ( saith he ) my wife which hath for a long time been tormented with the flux in her belly , it is you that must finde out a meanes to cure the disease , otherwise i my selfe am resolved to seek a remedy with this pistoll . the physician trembling , and much dismayed , to see himselfe so suddenly surprised in this sort , would have cryed out , but the other holding the pistoll to his breast , so terrified him , that he was constrained to forsake his owne purse , therewith to cure that which had the flux . this part of the tragedy being thus acted , the theefe would shew to alcander , that he was not yet altogether voyd of courtesie , in restoring 〈◊〉 him some part of his monies , and promised him to conduct him to his lodging , holding still his pistoll in his hand , lest he should have made an outcry : being come unto the house of alcander , the theefe knocks at the doore , and taking his farewell of his benefactor , told him , that he now onely feared raine , and that he must needs lend him his cloake , and fled : alcander could never be otherwise paid for his cure ; for on the morrow this rascall had changed both his host and lodging . chap. iii. a tragi-comedy acted by two 〈◊〉 . vvee having already seen how fertile man is in wicked inventions , especially when an idle leasure in such sort sophisticateth the understanding , that he remaineth as it were buried in an accustomed sluggishnesse . we may yet more amply see it described in this ensuing discourse , where we shall behold , and as in a table , see described the different plots and stratagems by which these men have sought to maintaine themselves by an irreligious course of life , to the hurt of others , and their owne finall destruction . about the end of ivly 1611. when as the court was not much troubled with rumours of warrs ; theeves were much spoken of at paris , among others , there were two who conceived they might shew a trick of activity to a young mercer newly married , which they put in practise after this manner . they both long since knew , that most commonly there was but one boy in the shop ; so that watching a time when the master was out of the way , one of them went unto a chyrurgion dwelling in the street , called 〈◊〉 , whom he calling aside , desired that when he brought unto him a youth of such and such a complexion ( describing unto him , the age , visage , and stature of the mercers boy ) he would be pleased to conduct him into his chamber , for that he had a secret infirmity to acquaint him with , and that although he perhaps would at first bee bashfull and unwilling to declare unto him his griefe , yet his parents would have him constrained to undergoe the cure. the chyrurgion ( who doubted not but that what he spake was true , his words being delivered with such a naturall livelinesse ( promised him not to neglect what he propounded , but that he would so deale in the busines that he should have cause to rest satisfied ; and would not onely draw the boy to confesse his infirmity , but would undertake perfectly to cure him : whereupon this crafty knave ( joyfull of this invention , which promised unto him good successe ) came unto his comrade , and told him of that which he had so well performed : consulting together how they should draw the boy who kept the hope to the said chyrurgion , which they having contrived , he who had begun the plot , came into the shop , and asked to see some wares ; but by ill fortune , as the boy opened them , the mistris of the house came also , which made him doubt that hee should not finish his well projected enterprise ; hee could then willingly have wished himselfe further off , and that he had not enter'd , since , as the case stood , nothing promised him a good issue in his affaires : neverthelesse , to forsake a thing so well forwarded , argued cowardise , hee therefore at length resolved to try his fortune . he causeth to be brought unto him all sorts of the best stuffes , and bargained for a whole piece of that he best liked , saying , that his master a very rich chyrurgion ( whose name he telleth , and the streete wherein he resided ) sent him to make choise of a piece ; he therefore desired the mistris to permit the boy to bring the stuffe away with him unto his master , and that then he should receive the moneyes according to agreement : this young woman little doubting that her new chapman would have deceived her ) commands the boy to follow the gentleman with the stuffe , and remember , said she , to bring money for it , upon these words they departed , and had no sooner turned their backes but this fellowes companion meeteth them as it were by chance ; and the better to act their parts , he demandes of his comrade whence he came ? he answered , from his master , and that he was sent to let one blood , but have you , said he , done that which my master commanded you ? have you bought the stuffes ? the boy who heard all these words , verely beleeved what they spake to be true . our two vagabonds being parted one from the other , he who conducted the mercers boy , tooke occasion to tell him that the other was his companion , and so wrought , that he made him more and more confidently beleeve what he said ; now as for the businesse in hand , when you come to my master , said he , you may leave your stuffe below in the shop , and may ascend with him into the chamber , where he will pay you your money , perhaps he will seeke to abate of the price , but for all that , when he knoweth that i have agreed with you for it , he will not fail to content you : the young youth being thus instructed , they at length came unto the house , and entred into the shop , where the chyrurgion seemed joyfull to see his new patient , is this ( said he ) the youth of whom you told me ? yes sir , answered the other , you may if it please you take him into your chamber to give him content , i pray you walke up said the chyrurgion , at which words the boy leaveth the stuffe he had under his cloake in the shop , and followeth the chyrurgion directly to the chamber ; the other seeing the shop voyd of people , takes the stuffe and runs away with it : the chyrurgion in the meane time examineth the youth concerning his disease ; and told him that there was no danger for him to discover it unto him , and that if humane remedies could give him ease , he hoped quickly to cure him of his malady . the boy , quite amazed , not knowing what the chyrurgion meaned , answered , that ( he thanked god ) he was free from any disease . the chyrurgion , who was intreated to presse him by threatnings if he would not make knowne his griefe by faire meanes , persisteth in his remonstrances , my friend , said he unto him , diseases the more inveterate they are , the more difficult they are to be cured , the griefe that waxeth old , taketh root , and men are often constrained to make incision , where ( if applyed in time ) there needed not more then an ordinary plaister . the youth , who expected nothing from him but mony ( that being the best salve in these dayes ) told him , that he came for no other cause but to receive money for his stuffes . the chyrurgion perceiving that he used all his faire perswasions to little or no purpose , thought he might draw him to tell him his infirmities by threatning ; he therefore began to waxe very rough with him , but when he heard him speak of stuffes and ware , he began to smell out the cheat , and asked him of what ware he spake ; the boy exclaimed wonderfully against him , calling him cheater , and told him that he should pay for the stuffe : but in the end he was turned home without either money or stuffe . this may serve as a warning to young apprentises , not to suffer themselves to be led by the faire words of any man , but to be carefull of their affaires , and to be watchfull of those things committed to their custody , by which meanes they shall deserve praise of all men , and avoyd many the like dangers which they shall run into . chap. iiii. a cheaters selfe-invitation . impudence is the ordinary portion of theeves , and few are found among them , that are not infected with that vice . garandine , as impudent as crafty ( and who for his thefts was executed at roven ) as he was one day at paris , walking from place to place , as he was still accustomed , the better to entrap novices ; took notice of two citizens , who having not for a long time seene one the other , embraced , welcomed , and mutually rejoyced one in each others company : hee who still kept one eare for the towne , and another for the countrey , perceiving them discourse of their particular affaires , drew by little and little neere unto them , yet without seeming any way desirous to participate of their discourse ; at length , after much talke , the one of these earnestly intreated the other to come the next day by eleven of the clock to his house , there to take part of a poore dinner with him , and to bring with him some friend to bear him company ; the other faithfully promised him not to faile to endeavor the increase of his happines , by visiting him at the appointed houre , and withall , signified , that he much honoured him by his invitation . garandine , who had with an attentive eare hearkned to this loving invitation , was perswaded that hee might then performe some exploit : he resolves therefore to follow his intended host afarr off , and to learne the streete and place where he resided , to the end that he might not faile the next day to be there as well as he who was invited ; which having taken notice of , he failed not the next day at the prefixed houre , to take his walke about the place , expecting when he who was invited to dinner would come , that he might serve him for an vmbra ; as the ancients were accustomed , who when any were invited to a feast , alwayes took one to accompany them . he having at length perceived the invited guest comming afarre off , so ordered his steps that they both met at the same instant , just over against the very doore ; wherupon , the marchant thinking that gerandine had been invited by the master of the house , contested in humility who should enter last ; the other would not doe as the shadow which lead socrates one day to a banquet and entred before its master , which was contrary to custome , this was the cause that he entred last : where being both welcomed by the master of the house , they sate downe , and while dinner was preparing they entertained themselves in discourses of newes , and relations of such things as passed in court. garandine in the meane time had not his eyes setled but in their unsetled motions , he gazed every way to spie out an opportunity to provide for himselfe before his departure : the table being furnished , while they wash their hands , garandine cast his eye on the bason ( which was of silver , and well worth 200 crownes ) and tooke notice that they had left it in the roome adjoyning , which was the kitchin. the master of the house thought that his friend had brought gerandine with him , and that he was of his acquaintance ; and the other on the contrary , thought that the master of the house had invited him to dinner . it must needs be that gerandine had a good wit , and that he carryed himself very cunningly knavish in this place ; for he was examined by both , and answered very pertinently to all that was demanded . dinner being ended , and the cloth taken away , they for a time recreated themselves with discourse , untill that garandine having perceived that the servant was gone forth , and that the mistris of the house was gone into an upper chamber , sirs ( said he ) i pray you excuse me if i am somewhat unmannerly , there are some urgent occasions which call me hence , but i will not faile to returne unto you within this quarter of an houre at most ; and so having taken his leave of them , he descended into the kitchin , and tooke the silver bason under his arme , and fled . he was no sooner departed , but that the two citizens ( but especially he who was invited ) began to inquire who that honest gentleman was ? the other answered that he knew him not , and that he thought him to have been some friendly companion of his ; whereupon , behold them mightily astonished , they call the mistris , to whom they relate the whole story , but in the meane time they thought not of their bason which was stollen , untill an houre after , when the servant was returned from the city it was found missing , and the theefe known . thus got garandine his dinner freely , but hee dearely payed for the bason afterwards at roven . chap. v. the notable impudence of amertis . vve may well tearm it an iron or leaden age , since we finde in it but hard-hearted and heavy actions , and not to be imagined by common senses of reasonable men ; i may truly say , that the spring and fountaine from whence so many mischiefs proceed , is a certaine kind of ungracious impudence , whereto we are all for the most part inclined , and which by our custome becomming habituall , changeth it selfe into a nature in the end : we may see a notable example thereof in the person of amertis , a man who had travelled through most parts of christendome , a man who had great correspondencies ▪ both in his native countrey and among forraine nations , and one who was much practised in the affaires of the world. as this man one day walked in the hall of the palace , with an intent to spie out mens actions , he saw a merchant of lions , who was with one of his associates , talking about some wares which he had formerly delivered unto him : amertis seriously viewing the marchant , and in a deep contemplation , considering with himselfe whether he could invent some trick to surprise him ; but as he ruminated on the execution of his not yet resolved enterprise , he heard three or foure gentlemen talking of him ; the one said that hee was of lions , and that hee knew him very well ; the other said that he had made a voyage into italy with him , and that he yet owed him some monies which he had lent the merchant at millan : to all which amertis very attentively listened , so that at length , he by this and other discourse learned who he was , where he had beene , and about what time ; to be briefe , with the memory he had , which was very quick , he retained all that which he heard spoken of him . not long after , he came unto him ( finding him among three or foure men of quality with whom he sometimes dealt ) and saluteth him with a profound reverence ; the other having never seene him , before , turneth towards him , and resalutes him with these words ; sir , excuse me , i pray you , i cannot call to minde the remembrance of you , and yet methinks i have seen you some where : sir ( replied he unto him ) i have had the honour to make a voyage into italy with you ; the marchant who could not remember all those who fifteene yeeres since had beene in his company , being twelve or thirteene in number , beleeved that he said true , and tooke upon him to acknowledge it . amertis conjecturing well of this new fained old acquaintance , after much discourse of severall things which hee affirmed to have happened since they last saw one another , began to tell him , that he should doe him a very great pleasure if he could now helpe him to the hundred crownes hee had formerly lent him ; whereat the marchant being much amazed , and not knowing what amertis intended by those words , answered that he ought him nothing ; i cannot beleeve , replyed the other , that a man of your rank and quality ( who seemed alwayes to have esteemed honour , and ever made profession of an honest life ) should now have so bad a conscience as to deny mee that which is my due , that were not only to violate the rites of friendship and of all civill conversation , but also to subvert that good opinion men have hitherto conceived of you both at lions and in paris ; doe not you remember that i lent you this summe in millan ? you can by no just meanes deny it , you will incurre a generall blame if you should seeke to inrich your selfe with the goods of another . the merchant being perplexed , not knowing what answere to make to his so impudent demand , told him , that perhaps hee had lent him some money in his voyage , but that surely he had long since repayed ; the other denying it , persisteth eagerly in his first demand . those that were with the marchant , perceiving some appearance of truth in amertis words ( not discovering the falshood that lay hid under them ) were of opinion that the marchant wronged him , in refusing to pay him a due debt : and truely , a man who had never seen the proceedings and countenance of amertis , would never have judged that he had intended deceit . upon this contestation they all retire to their severall houses , but amertis pursued his old friend , even unto his lodging , to the end he might constraine him to restitution ; at length , being not able at that time to prevaile , he remits his cause untill the next morning , and then finding him in an honourable assembly , he mooved him concerning his former demand . the marchant being much discontented to see himselfe so hardly pressed by this impudent affronter , before such worthy company , fearing to hazard the losse of reputation , and undergoe an unjust censure for it , intreats one of his company to take this debt upon him in his name , that they might try how this busines would that way succeed ; whereupon , he that had received the watch-word , seeing that amertis was resolutely bent to pursue the marchant , came in full assembly and said unto him , sir , you wrong your selfe , to take this man for him that ought you the debt whereof you speak , you are mistaken sir , it is not he , but i that owe it , ( and yet everyman knew that he had never been in italy . ) amertis , as crafty as a man could possibly be , tooke occasion by the lock , and answered him , sir , it is very true as you your selfe confesse before these worthy gentlemen , that you owe me one hundred crownes , for your part you cannot deny it , but this is not the debt , for i lent him this summe in italy , and he must of necessity pay it . thus he so strongly convinced them both , the one by probable circumstances , and the other by his owne confession ; that for feare of loosing their reputation in so honourable a presence , and to be rid of his importunity , and future trouble , they were constrained to pay him the one halfe in hand , promising him the rest shortly after , which he with much intreaty accepted of . chap. vi. a marchant cheated by a pretended church-warden . there lived in paris a certain cope-marchant named clarinde , who was extreame rich , and so given to the vice of avarice , that he could seldome be at rest , or enjoy any other content then by numbring his almost numberlesse crownes ; some whereof he was accustomed to carry in a great purse , which so heavily weighed downe his pocket , as if the burthen thereof intended to crush him even unto hell before his time . this purse was noated by cheating rascalls ( who are never idle , but alwayes going from street to street to seeke advantages ) who having : oftentimes passed and repassed by the shop of this clarinde , and considering with himselfe what plot he might put in practise to deprive him of it ; after a revolution of thoughts , resolved to make tryall of one of the strangest inventions that ever was heard of . he takes one of his companions upon the new-bridge ( for that is the place of their ordinary retreat ) and cloathing both himselfe and his companion like husbandmen , they for a time consult whether it were best for him to enter or retyre , for he saw many chapmen in the shop , which made him despaire of arriving at the period of his designes ; for if he should have entred in among so many people , he could not have practised his invention with a cleere conveyance ; againe , the habit which he had taken purposely for that intent , urged him not to desist from his intended enterprise , but to try the favour of fortune ; and moreover , his companion so farr pressed him , that he was suspended as it were betweene two contrary opinions ; in this case stood the cutpurse , he durst neither goe forward nor backward ; the neerer boldnes made him approach , the more the feare of being perceived willed him retire ; at length he resolved to attend , untill that the chapmen , who were then in the shop , were departed , and to this he was the rather induced , by the hope he had to increase the gaine by his delay , for he conceived ( as it prooved true indeed ) that the marchant having sold that which they in the shop were bargaining for , there would arise the more profit unto him , if he should have the good fortune to obtaine his purse : in the meane time his companion seemed much discontented , that he saw not as yet , the expected issue of that which his comrade had so confidently undertaken ; the other encouraged him the best he could , to attend a little while , untill that the shop were voyd , which he did , but with much impatience . at length , he that was captaine in this exploit , having noated that the chapmen were departed , came to advertise his companion , that he should stand sentinel on the end of the marchants bridge , there to receive from him what he brought ; he in the meane time goes into the shop , where finding the marchant alone , he causeth him to open divers copes , telling him that he was a parishioner of gentilly , and that being not long since chosen church-warden , he was appointed to buy a faire cope for the parson of the parish , he desired him therefore to shew him those that were good , and to use him well in the price . clarinde , who thirsted inwardly with the greedy desire of gaine , sheweth him divers sorts of copes , among these the cutpurse made choise of one to which he seemed to have a better liking then the rest , he therefore cheapens it , but before he would fully agree on the price , he tells him that hee would desire to see whether the cope were well made , and whether for size or length it would fit the curate of the parish , who he said was much about his stature ; he therefore intreats him to doe him so much favour as to assay it ; clarinde ( nothing at all doubting of that which his pretended church-warden would do ) puts on the cope on his back , which the church-warden having exactly viewed , seemed to dislike , for shortnesse , in that part where the pouch hung ; the marchant supposing the cause of this seeming shortnesse to be no other then the bearing out of his pouch underneath , unhang'd it and laid it by on the counter ; his chapman reviewing him , said hee now liked it well , but his purse better ; with that he nimbly snatcht it , and ran away ; the marchant in his cope ( for he had no leasure to put it off ) ran after , the one for his money , the other for his life ; the cutpurse , who had out-run him about fourty paces , told the people by the way as he ran , that they must not by any meanes stay him , for that hee that ran after him was distracted , to others he said , that he ran for a wager ; clarind notwithstanding ceaseth not his pursute , but his legs being too stiffe , and his joynts not well suppled , and the world gazing more on the fluttring of his gay cope then on him or his cutpurse , he at length lost sight of his church-warden , and was constrained , with shame , to returne to his house , with the losse of all the money which hee had received in eight dayes before . chap. vii . polidamors entertainement among theeves . the city of paris hath alwayes been accounted the ordinary refuge and retreate of theeves and vagabonds , and ( which one would admire ) many of them maintaine themselvs so well , and go so compleate in their apparell , conforming their discourse and outward demeanor thereunto , that men would often take them for the chief gentlemen in court . let us now see what happened to polidamor by the enterprises of some of these night-walking vagabonds . polidamor was an advocate , as famous for his wisdome , as renowned for his eloquence , he onely was spoken of in the palace and courts of pleadings ; his name was the ordinary discourse of men of honour , and he was admired of all that knew him . these plotters of mischiefe , who lie alwayes in ambush , expecting their prey , hearing some talke of this worthy man , resolved among themselves to try their cunning to entrap him : the complot being resolved on , and they ( knowing his lodging , which was not far from the cordeliers ) often sought the opportunity to surprise him , but yet for three or foure times they failed ; but at length , he comming onely attended on by a little lackey , neere saint andrewes of arts , three of them having perceived him , presently beset him , and there rifle him ; but finding no store of money about him , they took from him a new cloake of very fine spanish-cloth lin'd through with plush : polidamor , who wonderfully vexed that he had been after such a sort un-cloak'd , said unto them ; sirs , i humbly intreat you to affoord mee so much favour as to permit me ( since you have taken away my cloake ) to redeeme it upon reasonable termes , i shall willingly give unto you for it more then it wil elsewhere affoord you ; if therefore my proposition bee acceptable unto you , to morrow , at what houre you shall please to appoint , i will bring you mony for it : the theeves hearing him speake after ▪ that sort , answered him , that he should not faile the next day , by six a clock at night , to be in that place , and that then they would restore unto him his cloak , but withall , told him , that they were already informed of his lodging and quality , and therefore charged him not to bring any one with him to serve him for a safe convoy , for if he did , they vowed his ruine , and gave him just cause to despaire ( if he came accompanied ) of ever returning to his house . polidamor , terrified with such threatnings , promised them not to faile to bee there alone at th' appointed houre , in the meane time hee was constrained to returne to his house without his cloake , which he thought very unseemely in a man of his quality , and could hardly digest it , he being a man not accustomed to such rude entertainements ; but in this case he must make a vertue of necessity by enduring it with patience , not knowing well how to remedy it . on the morrow he takes his purse well furnished with money , and departs from his house about halfe an houre after five , and came to the place where the former night he had lost his cloake , there he for a time attended ; at length , immediately after sixe , he perceived a coach with three or foure gentlemen in it , polidamor little thought those whom he expected were such kinde of people ; these men seeing him stand at the appointed place , caused likewise their coach to stop , whereupon , one of them privately enquires of him , whether he were the man from whom they had , the night before , taken away a cloake lined with plush ? he answered , that he was the man , and that he came thither upon no other businesse , but to redeem it according to his promise ; upon this answere , one of them came unto him , and whispering him in his eare , demanded whether he were accompanied , or not , and told him that if he were , his life was in hazard : he having vowed unto them that he was alone , was taken up by them , and placed in the midst of the coach , where they hoodwinke him , one of them holding a pistoll at his breast lest he should make an out-cry ; behold polidamor greatly amaz'd and terrified , but he was much incouraged when they promised not any way to hurt him , or doe him mischiefe ; they presently cause the boote of the coach to be shut close , and command the coachman to drive away with speed : polidamor in the meane time remained as it were in a trance , not knowing whither hee was conveyed . having swiftly hurried from street to street , they came at length to a most stately house , where the gate being presently opened , they enter ; then began polidamor to redouble his feare , and to expect the houre of his death , for he never thought to escape ; at length , his eyes being uncovered , they led him straight to a great hall , where hee found the tables covered with all kindes of most exquisite meates , hee was mightily astonished to see himselfe in the midst of so many people , all in good order , and so well clothed , that a man would have judged them to have been of some high quality : they told him that he needed not to feare , for that he was in good company , and that they had not brought him thither , but that he might doe them the honour to take part of a poore supper with them , but polidamor could have wisht himselfe at supper elsewhere in a place of more security ; for he could not devise , either in what part of the city he then was , nor conceive what they were with whom hee was to suppe . in the meane time , having washed their hands , every one tooke his place , and had they been princes they could not have been better attended , yet they caused polidamor to sit at the upper end of the table , who had he been further from both ends would have had a better appetite ; he notwithstanding made shew of eating with the rest , judging , that seeing he was in the middest of wolves , he could not doe otherwise then imitate their actions ; when they had all supped , and that the tables were uncovered and cloth taken away , some of them came to discourse with polidamor , and after a complementall manner , told him , that they were sorry that he had eaten so little with them ; to which he knew not what to answere , for he feared lest by the rash utterance of some word which might be wrong taken , he should provoke them to anger , and to draw on his owne ruine , yet hee took courage , and deliberately gave them respective answers ▪ while some of them were in discourse , one tooke a lute , another a violl , and so recreated themselves ; at length , after much talke , he , who the day before had taken the cloake from polidamor , came unto him , and asked him whether hee had brought the mony which he promised ? polidamor answered that it was ready , and thereupon told out thirty pistols upon the end of the table ( the cloak being well worth fourty : ) this being done , they shewed unto him a little private chamber , which seemed unto him a very rich wardrobe , hanged round about with coats and cloakes of great value , there they bade him cull out his ; polidamor was amazed to see such costly cloakes , and began to take courage ; and having found his cloak among the rest , he returned againe into the hall , behaving himselfe towards them with all submissive respects , for he feared that hee should not part upon so good termes , neither did he ; for when he was ready to depart , one came and told him , that the coachman who had brought him thither , and was to conduct him backe , must be rewarded for his paines with a pistolet , and that hee must likewise pay for his supper with them : polidamor , unwillingly liberall , giveth them two pistolets more , and so took his leave of them : the coach was suddenly provided , whereinto he entring , and having his eyes bound up , he was brought unto the same place where they had formerly taken him up , there did they uncover his eyes and set him on foot , delivering him a billet , sealed with greene wax , wherein was written these words in great letters , the great bande hath let him passe . and withall , advised him if he met with any one that would offer him any kinde of violence , to shew unto him this passeport ; telling him , that by that means he should be permitted quietly to passe , so polidamor parted from them , happy to have escaped out of their hands with life : but scarce had he gone into the second street , but he found three other theeves ready to rifle him ; and now he who at first made no account of the billet which they had given him , bethought himselfe that perhaps it might stand him in stead ; he therefore presents it unto them , which was read by one of them that carried a dark lanthorne , so they suffred him to passe and return unto his house , where his wife remained in great perplexity , not knowing what was become of her husband ; but her anxious feare was soone turned into joy by his presence , and into delight by the relation which hee made unto her of his adventures . she , like a loving wife , not regarding the losse which he had sustained , seeing smile-frowning fortune had shewed her constant inconstancy , by converting his former losse and danger , into a safe returne . chap. viii . a prodigious history of the treacheries of valesio . those men who are perswaded that they can bring the greatest things to perfection , finde themselves most often entangled by their naturall imbecility and weakenesse , and most commonly , the mischiefes which they contrive against their neighbours , and the evills which they project against them , take not successe but to their owne losse and disgrace ; yea , those very darts which they most despightfully cast at others , doe often , by gods justice , reverberate against themselves : antiquitie furnisheth mee with many examples ; but our latter age hath noated out one above the rest , as prodigious and fearefull , as beyond the sence and common opinion of men . there hath not past an age wherein the great creator hath not made some signes of his just indignation appeare , to punish the treacheries of those that imbrace actions so wicked and abominable , as if hatcht in hell , rather then sprung from mans invention . the history which i now describe unto you is true , and happened not long since ; the sequell whereof is as much to be admired , as his end , who was the cause of it , was prodigious and horrible . valesio was borne in berne a canton of switzerland , and was sent by his father to the city of lucerne , to bee there instructed ; hee had a spirit full of subtilty , and fit to undergoe great matters , had he been honestly enclined : in lucerne hee for a time studied the law , where during his abode hee often resorted to the house of an inn-keeper , named lucio of zurich , a man rich and wealthy , with whom he grew so familiarly acquainted , that he could neither eat nor drinke but in his company ; he lodged over against his house , and it seem'd that heaven was not favourable unto him when he enjoyed not the company of this man ; but his affection increased when it had taken footing within his house , and when hee became enamor'd with the beauty of his onely daughter : this yong valesio being inflamed with an earnest desire of injoying the feature of this maid , the oftner frequented the house , under pretence of visiting the father , when as indeed his greatest happinesse consisted in beholding the beauty of the daughter ; their eyes had already given to each other friendly enterchanges , and had privately practised an alliance in their thoughts , by the encounter of their rayes ; and their hearts quickly approved of that within , which their eyes had practised without ; so that valesio perceiving his affection seconded by a favourable zephir , resolved to acquaint his love with that which his heart as yet concealed ; the father being advertised therof , and perceiving that the inclinations and affections of these lovers were mutuall , knit them together in marriage , under the sweete bonds of hymen ; happy , and thrice happy had they been , had they not abused it , but finished the number of their yeres , without straying from the path of vertue . they lived two yeeres and an halfe together , in all sorts of temporall delight ; at the end whereof , the father died of a lingering feaver , happy in that he survived not to bee a spectator of the ensuing tragedy . by the death of lucio , all the inheritance fell into the possession of valesio , ( for his wives mother deceased long before . ) he therefore resolved to take the same course of life , as his father in law had done before him , being that he found the house so well furnished : the good entertainment which he at the beginning gave unto his guests , purchased him a good report of every one ; so that if any man desired to entertaine a friend sumptuously , whither must they go but to the house of valesio ; there were they joyfully receaved , and used with all kinde of contentment ; but at length , the swinge which valesio had taken , made him so swell with pride , that he began to forget his family , that he might the better forget himselfe ; the courtesie which he formerly shewed unto his guests , was now changed into most cruell tyranny , which he often exercised upon travellers , killing and massacring them like unto another licaon : his house heretofore the receptacle and seat of courtesie , was now become the cut-throat and deadly place where poor passengers were entrapped ; he hacked them most cruelly in peeces , and made pies therewith ( an unnaturall and monstrous barbarisme , ) hee durst not have practised these cruelties towards the citizens of lucerne , for so his wickednesse had beene discovered : the delicate relish of his meat which hee provided , drew unto him a multitude of guests , which they with joyful greedinesse devoure , whiles that he ( villaine ) laughs at their simplicity ; little thinking , that he himselfe should shortly feele the just judgement of god , heavily lighting upon him for his monstrous and barbarous cruelties . a strange blindnesse in humane conceits , which perswade themselves , that there is no divinity to revenge or punish their heynous crimes and misdeeds ; we so flatter our selves in our wicked prosperities that we cannot beleeve we shall ever fall into those miserable punishments which wee deserve . valeio could never beleeve , that the heavens would reveale or revenge the death of those innocent soules , which hee had most barbarously slaine : but the great mover of the heavens could no longer suffer so cruell crimes : the bloud of so many poore wretches unjustly shed , cried for vengeance before the glorious majesty of his face ; and yet this great and mercifull god staied for a time the furie of his justice , to hearken to the sweet requests of mercy , but hee ( wretched caitiffe ) deferred so long repentance for his heinous misdeeds , untill the weight of so many deadly crimes , drew the arme of the just vengeance of god to punish him , as severely and exemplarily , as the faults deserved . it hapned after the secret murthers of so many people , that a certaine merchant of france returning from bohemia , was in passing that way desirous to see the cantons of the switzers , and particularly the city of lucerne ; he therefore came unto this city , where being arrived he inquires for an inne , and was directed to the house of valesio , as the best and most renowned inne of the city ; he goes thither , and was favourably received and welcomed by those cruell syrens , who allured passengers unto them by the harmonious consorts of their voices , that they might afterward devoure them , and make them their prey : he having visited the city , and viewed part of the rarities thereof , ( as the stately monastery , and the river russi , which passeth through the towne , and runneth forth of a great lake as doth the river rhine , out of the lake of constance ) was desirous to take his rest : here the confidence which the guest ordinarily reposeth ( according to the custome of france ) in the master of the inne , made the merchant disburthen himselfe of two thousand crownes which he had in gold , and to demand of valesio , a place where he might put them in safe keeping : this inne-keeper , who was alwayes double in his workes , had a strong and massie cupbord and two keyes which might easily open it ; whereof he gave one unto the merchant to put his money in safegard , but kept the other close unto himself , to serve his own opportunities : night approaching , he was tempted to bereave his guest , both of life and money : but whether it were that god would otherwise dispose of him , or that his owne life was already come to its period ; his wife who noated a comelinesse and courtesie more then ordinary in this merchant , disswaded him from so bloudy a designe , and urged him to imbrace another lesse cruell , but such as must cost him his life . the merchant rose early in the morning to view the rest of the city , which hee had not seen the day before . valesio in the meane time openeth the cupbord , rippeth the bottome of the bag , and taketh a note in writing of the quantity of all the moneyes in generall , and likewise of every sort of coyne in particular which he there found ; then having neatly stitched up the bottome of the bag , he locked the cupbord , and acted his part with such subtill dexterity , that it was impossible for a man to discerne that it had beene touched : but he who penetrates into the depth of our most secret thoughts , easily discovered this craft , as may be noted by that which ensues . the marchant having satisfied his curiosity , and seen ( in passing ) that which was most worthy of noate in the towne , returned to his inne ; and having payed what they demanded , he took forth his bagge and went to horse-back . valesio presently thinking that he had in vaine opened the theatre ( and begun the play ) if he finished not the tragedy , breakes open the bottom of his cupboord , and presently begins to raise hue and cry after the theef , pretending that the marchant had robbed him ; his neighbours were instantly in an uproare , ( for he had so long worne the cloake of dissimulation , and outwardly behaved himself , that every man esteemed his word as an oracle ) insomuch that many of his best friends prepared themselves for pursute ; the host sheweth them which way his guest went , they hasten after and overtake him two leagues from lucerne ; they seize on his person , as on a malefactor ; accuse him of theft , and bring him backe bound hand and foot into the towne ; whereat he being amazed , seemes , by his silence , as it were to confesse the deed : they lead him before a justice , who sendeth him to prison . that part of the tragedy being acted , they prepare his inditement ; and the host shewing his memoriall , intreateth them not to examine him untill they had perused his noate ; he makes it apparent that his cupboord was broken ; and upon the opening of the bags , the judges found therein the same summe and sorts of coyne specified in the hosts noate . the most wary and wisest judge might have been incumbred , and overshot themselves in so intricate a businesse . the evidence of the deed being thus almost sifted out ( in mans judgement ) caused the poore marchant to be shut up in a strait dungeon , and there to be laden with irons . thus this poore innocent groaned in darkesome caves , not knowing any meanes of his delivery : wretch that i am ( would he say ) must i needs perish in this obscure place , not having so much as intended that whereof they accuse me ? what celestiall powers have i so offended , that i should be reduced to such misery ? was i borne under so cruell constellations that my own innocence should betray me , and bereave me of my life ? o great god! who in thy just judgements canst penetrate into the depth of this secret and unjust accusation , wilt thou suffer my fault to be made criminall in this sort ? and must i be the shuttle-cocke and sport of treason ? revenge and reveale this their injustice , ( i beseech thee ) and suffer me not to perish in this depth of misery . as he pronounced these words with an extreame griefe and unexpressable passion , a devill appeared unto him in an humane shape , wearing on his head a red cap , and approaching him , inquires , what his griefe was , and tels him , that if hee would give him his soule , he would deliver him out of those fetters wherein he was wrongfully shackled ? many in these dayes , and alwayes have bin , who would have redeemed themselves out of these temporary paines , to have cast themselves into the eternall , therby to have regain'd their over-valued liberty ; but this merchant having firme hope in the divine providence , answered , that he was resolved never to commit so heinous a crime , and that he had rather dye innocent of the offence , whereof they accused him , then to live guilty of renouncing his creator . this devil , destinated by the almighty for to be a punisher of valesio's wickednes , notwithstanding offereth him his service , & promiseth him certainly to procure his liberty , provided , he would follow his advice ; he then told him , that the very day whereon they would bring him to execution , he would be present to defend his cause that he should therfore boldly make choice of him for his advocate , against the impostures of his host , that he should know him by his red cap , and that he by so doing should be by him cleerely freed from his innocent danger . now it is to be noted , that when any among the cantons of the switzers , wil condemn a man to death , the senate pronounceth his sentence in the midst of the assembly upon a scaffold , and giveth permission to the condemned to make choise of any of the company to defend his cause : this custome hath beene anciently practised , and yet is continued unto this day . the day being come , wheron this criminell should be punished , he was brought unto the place of execution , where an infinite number of people attended him , all of them being verely perswaded that this crime ( whereof he was falsly accused ) should be rigourously punished , for an example to others for ensuing times : they bring him on the scaffold , his host being there present , and pronounce the sentence of his death , demanding of him ( according unto custom ) whether he had any one in the company that would plead for him ; he , in this miserable plight lookes about him , and espying the red bonnet among the rest . although ( sayes he ) my innocence speakes sufficiently of it selfe to justifie my actions , having alwaies lived honestly , and in good credit , yet since i may claime the liberty of your custome , i make choice of him in the red cap , whom you may there see , to justifie me : upon these words every one looking upon the man , of whō he spake , could not tell what to imagine , for he looked not like a switzer , either in habit or countenance , he ascends upon the scaffold , causeth the host to approach , begins to declare the naked truth of the matter , confronts , and confutes the witnesses , strikes a feare & terror into the hearts and consciences of his accusers , and plainly layes open the wickednes of valesio . the people in the meane time wonder at his boldnesse , and admire his eloquence , he at lēgth declares the fraud , making it appeare the bags were ripped : then he brings the judges to the inne , where he discovers unto thē the place where they were accustomed to hide humane flesh ; valesio notwithstanding insisteth on the contrary , and by superficiall reasons , indeavours to palliate his wickednesse , still affirming that the merchant had stollen the said money from him ; the devill willing to catch him in his trap , said unto him , sithence thou assurest with such probabilities that this innocent is guilty of death , and that he hath robbed thee , wilt thou on thy faith sweare that hee hath done it ? the host presently , the better to confirme the justnesse of his accusation , said , it was hee alone which stole away my mony , and if it were not so as i have affirmed , i wish to god that the devill may carry me away both body and soul ; the devill without prolonging the matter , takes upon him a most horrible shape , snatcheth him up , and carrieth him away through the midst of the wide ayre : thus payed he for treacherosly accusing the poore innocent , and so inhumanely massacring those , who he should have kindly entertained . the marchant was presently set at liberty , with his monies restored unto him , the judges desiring pardon for committing so great an errour , in so rashly condemning him ; for which , he desired no other satisfaction at his departure , but an act to be recorded , and a certificate made of the present history , to leave to posterity , the never dying remembrance of the infamous treachery of the ever dying valesio . chap. ix . a young cut-purse made free . that i may recreate your mind after the former sad relation , i shal here relate unto you , a bolde deede and pleasant history , performed in the churchyard of saint innocents in paris ; the trueth whereof many of the neighbouring marchants can yet witnesse , and it was in this manner : there was a young boy newly arrived at paris , who had associated himselfe with divers vagabonds and cut-purses , there did this boy remaine for the space of fifteene dayes , without doing any thing that might be termed notorious : at length , ( as every thing hath a beginning ) the assembly of rogues resolved , sithence that hee would be of their society , to make him free : for in this trade , it is not as in others , wherein men must bee first scholers , before they be masters ; or aprentices , before they become freemen : here is but a word and a blow , one nip takes a purse , and in the subtilty thereof consists the perfection of the trade . now there was one among the rest of the company , who was enjoyned to take this boy abroad , and to appoint him some kinde of triall , whereby they might bee assured of his courage and aptnesse to the performance of exploits . he therefore takes forth his new comerade , and brings him from one part of the towne to the other , still expecting an oportunity of doing mischiefe ; at length being come into the cloyster of saint innocent , they perceived an old woman kneeling on a tombe , there praying for the soules departed ; whereupon this old hang-man told the boy , that if he would become master of his trade and bee of their fraternity , he must with a resolute subtilty go and cut the old womans purse ; to whom the boy answered , that it was impossible for him so to doe without being perceived , and therefore desired to goe try in some other place where there were a throng of people , that hee might the better performe what he intended without evident dange , for that to attempt cutting off her purse , she kneeling by her selfe , there being store of people in other places of the church , which might easily apprehend him , was as hee said , meere madnesse : but the old fox so urged him by perswasions and threatnings , that he was at length constrained to undertake it ; so the boy approached the tombe , and kneeled downe close by the old woman ; she ( nothing doubting of the intended roguery , but contrarywise thinking that devotion had brought him thither ) held on in her prayers , and was not a jot interrupted in them : now the young rogue was in great perplexity of minde , not knowing whether it were best for him to adventure , or not ; which his guide misdoubting ( by reason of his long stay ) came and made a signe unto him to dispatch ; whereupon , the boy incouraged with the hope of his being free by that exploit , sliely cut her purse ; and so with a slow pace withdrew himselfe , and being very joyfull of what he had done , came unto his guide , who expected him in the cloyster : but when as the old villane had look't into the purse , and found but little in it , he told his young companion , that he had not yet passed master of his art , for that he would shew him one trick of his trade , which he had not yet learned ; whereupon he took him by the hand , and griping him fast , cried out unto the woman , that that young fellow had cut her purse ; the woman presently looking about her , found her strings there , but her purse gone : as soone as the people heard it , they hastned towards the boy ; but the newes was no sooner spread , but the boy was gone , yet not so far , but that whole troopes followed him , who being overtaken , was soundly beaten with cudgels , every one thronging to see the young cutpurse ; among others , there were divers merchants of the street , who came out of their shops with little pouches by their sides , which the old villane taking notice of , thrust himselfe into the thickest of the throng , and there cut off foure or five of their pouches : the merchants at length perceiving , that while they were expostulating with the boy , some other cut their pouches , which they wondred at , and well noating the behaviour of the old theefe , they upon the sudden found him cutting off another : this made all the people to forsake the boy , and to follow him , by which meanes the boy escaped ; but the old cutpurse was by one of the nimblest footmen overtaken , who trusting too much to the hold which he had of one of his eares , suffered him likewise to escape from him ; for this crafty old hang-man , having formerly lost his eares , for some such mischievous exploit , procured others to be so artificially made , that they seemed as naturall as others : by one of these was he taken , which easily comming off , gave occasion of wonder to those that pursued him ; and the meane while that they stood wondring at that , he escaped to the grove , into a throng of people , who were there assembled to see an execution of one who was broken on the wheele ; from which place , he carried two purses more to his fellowes , where hee found his young cutpurse much discontented , that he had so treacherously dealt with him : thus passed this young boy master in his trade , after he had beene well beaten , though not so well as he justly deserved . chap. x. the life and death of little iames. it is hard for one in these dayes , to find out a young man endued with a staid wisdome ; for they suffer themselves to be so violently hurried by the heat of their owne passions , that vertue is most commonly over-mastered by vice , and reason , by a selfe-will inclination : the chiefe cause of this is , that vice escapes too oft unpunished , and that parents doe commonly slacken the reines of their authority , permitting their children to doe whatsoever they vainely desire : so that this age being too apt and subject to ruine of it selfe ; if it be moreover encouraged to evill , by the over-fond permission of parents , it is no wonder , if at length vice predominate . o wonderfull and perverse age ! how many monsters dost thou produce ? how many children are in these times borne viper-like , to gnaw out the bowels of their parents , causing them to custome themselves in sorrows and mournefull lamentations ? when wee have once lost that dutifull respect wherein we are obliged towards our parents , how quickly do we lose that which we strictly owe unto god ? as may appeare exemplified in the insuing history , of one iames , who being about the age of fifteene yeares , forsook his parents ( who were too carelesse of his education , ) with a full resolution , to betake himselfe to a debaucht kinde of life : and finding a fit opportunity , stole from his father a great some of money ▪ and so fled . not long after hee enrolled himselfe as a souldier , under the command of a lord , who at that time conducted a great regiment : ( this was in those first troubles , wherein france , for a time , lost the sweet repose of peace , by the dissention of some great peares in the state , who were retired from the kings service to cantonize it in divers provinces of the kingdome . ) while he was in the army , he committed a thousand insolencies : and though but little in age and stature , yet he grew to that height of wickednes , that he was therein inferiour to none . he seldome stayed long in a place , and where he remained least , he sometimes left the greatest marks of his cruelty : those who suffered most by him , were poore country people : some wherof , he would cause to be stretched out before a fire , and so by scorching and burning the soles of their feet , would force them to confesse where their money lay : hee would slash and cut the flesh of others , who would not suddenly bring unto him his appointed ransome ; and would also sometimes ravish those maids hee by chance met : he grew so couragious that no man durst doe him an affront : for in foure yeares wherein he lived in the arrmy , he had slain five in single combat ; who not being patient enough to indure his bravadoes ) had challenged him ; of which murthers he soone obtained remission , ( being much favoured of some great ones ) and so escaped unpunished . the army being at length cashier'd , he was constrain'd ( being never bred to labour ) either to steale , or beg : hee therefore betook himselfe to the forrest of senlis , where he robbed divers passengers ; thence hee went as farre as cleremont , with five or six of his companions , who being armed with pistols , there robbed the waggon of amiens : thence he betook himselfe to paris , where he committed so many thefts , that he was at length , by the society of cutpurses , chosen ringleader of their company : he carried himselfe so subtilly in his affaires , that his most trusty companions could never know where his lodging was ; only when they met together , he would appoint them a rendivous wherto meet the next day ; and would often punish , and sometimes stab , those who the day before had executed no enterprize of noate . he would sometimes be clothed in the habit of a physitian , in which he would often go to the houses of sick persons , and having noated the entries , they should not faile the next day to finde themselves robbed : he would hide himselfe sometimes a whole day together , in a house , and at night would open the doores to his companions ; at other times he would cause himselfe to be followed by foure or five tagrags , and would hastily come to the house of some counsellor , when he thought most of the houshold servants were elsewhere imployed , and having earnestly demanded to speak with him , the counsellor should no sooner approach , but little iames ( for so they called him ) would have a pistoll at his brest , and then force him to furnish him with what money he desired . he , with two or three of his companions , being one day in the faire st. germain , perceived a certain atturney cheapning a silver basin of a goldsmith , who not agreeing on the price , put the money ( which hee had offered downe for payment ) into his pocket ; whereupon , little iames shewing this atturney to one of his comrades commanded him to dive into the bottome of his pocket for that gudgeon , and that otherwise they two should not bee good friends ; which the other refused to doe , as impossible without eminent danger ; he thereupon called unto him another , from whom he received the like deniall : he seeing that neither of them would obey his commands , conceived a mortall hatred against them ; and intending shortly to bee revenged , he said unto them , you will not undertake this enterprise , to ease me of imaginary difficulties , but assure your selves ( if i loose it ) you shall soundly pay for it : he having thus spoken left them , and came unto the attourney , who was then bargaining with another goldsmith , because he could not agree on the price with the first : and finding an opportunity , by reason of the throng then about him , thrust him with such violence , that his hat fell to the ground , which while the attourney tooke up , he gently put his hand into his pocket and tooke his purse , so that the attourney having afterward agreed with the goldsmith for the basin , found no money to pay him , which was like to have caused dissention , in regard that the goldsmith would have forced the basin on him . little iames having thus acted his part , returned unto his companions , and shewed them the purse , whereat they rejoyced , but this their joy was short : for little iames hating them deadly for their disobedience , led them to a by-place , called mount pernassus , where hee commanded the one to stay for him ; and having drawne the other about a flight-shot from thence , told him in great fury , that he could hardly forbeare to kill him , whereupon his comrade desired to know the cause of his anger , and the reason why hee spoke such words ; but little iames perceiving that he saucily reasoned with him , suddenly drew forth his sword and ranne him thorow : thence he came back to the other , whom he had commanded to stay for him on the mount ; but lest his companion should suspect any harme or ill intent from him , he drew neere unto him with a smiling countenance ; when the other asking him where his comrade was , he snatcht forth a poniard , and stabbing him therewith , he said , behold , there he is , go thou to him . he once killed a begging frier ; and having taken on him his habit and letters of order , came unto the friers at s. vincents , where he was by them for the space of fifteene dayes kindly entertained : and being resolved to furnish himselfe before his departure , he brought with him from paris divers sorts of pick-lock instruments , with which hee ( while the rest of the convent , were about midnight ( as their custome is ) at mattens , ) excusing himselfe for his absence ( as being constrained thereto ) by in-disposition of body , pickt open a doore where their money lay , which hee having taken away , cunningly shut the doore and went to bed : the next day he arose early , and taking his leave of the superiour , returned to paris ; where by his begging from doore to doore , hee greatly distressed those that were of that order : for when any of them went forth to beg provision , they were answered , that they were served already , and that they had given it to one of their fellowes , whereat the fryers were mightily amazed , and could not conceive by any meanes who it was that so grosly abused them : by this meanes did little iames commit sundry great thefts within the citizens houses , he having free entrance , by reason of his habit : but it came to passe at length , that the fryers of saint vincents having found out his arch knavery , desired some officers within the city to search for him ; but their labour was in vaine ; untill it hapned that one of those fryers ( not long after , ) entring into a certaine house for an almes , met this iames comming forth of the same house ; whereupon hee intreated the servants to lay hands on him , which they did ; and having lustily beaten him , were about to have led him to a justice : but by the comming of some of his associates , who guarded him , hee was rescued ; little iames taking an especiall notice of them , came the the next morning , ( having changed his habit , ) neere unto the place where those servants dwelt , and craftily enquires their names , and the names of their parents ; which having fully understood , he appointed 2. or 3. of his companions to meet him at a house not far from thence , at which time he wrote this letter unto one of the lackeys which had beaten him , whose name was francis maire , the contents of the letter was as followeth ; sonne , i am come purposely into this city , to acquaint you with some affaires which have lately happened in our parts : you have lived long here with little profit , i have found a match fit for you in our countrey , which you must not neglect ; it is not alwayes time to sow , we must sometimes reape : i would willingly have come unto your lodging , but that perhaps ( in so doing ) your master would have suspected that i came purposely to entise you away ; wherefore i should bee glad to see you at my lodging , whither this bearer will conduct you ; i will in the meane time cause a breakfast to be provided for you against you come ; and if you bring a friend with you , he shall be welcome , and his entertainement shall be the best we can provide . farewell . having sealed this letter , he directs one of his young cut-purses unto the house where this maire dwelt ; who having received it , failed not to come with his companion ; where being arrived , he was informed that his father was gone into the city , and had left command for them to goe to breakfast , and not to stay for him : they therefore , being earnestly intreated to sit down , did ; but they had not sate long , before little iames entred and saluted them , but they at first knew him not , untill he withdrawing himselfe into an innerroome , presently came forth in his fryers habit ; then were the lackyes in extreme perplexity , and would have forsaken the table ; but little iames and his company suddenly seazed on them , and stripping them naked , he first lashed them with stirrop-leathers ; then with a more then barbarous cruelty , caused their skins to bee gashed , and after , ( they being all bloudy ) hee put them into a great tub of feathers , where they had little ease ; nothing could their cryes availe them , by reason that the house stood in a by-place , farre from any common resort ; and after having done them many other injuries , hee at mid-night sent them away feathered like so many fowle ; and immediately he and his company forsooke the house . having discoursed of the manner of his life , let us come now unto his death ; and see , whether it bee as tragick , as the actions of his life did prognosticate . the fame of this notorious theef augmented daily in paris , and twenty leagues round there about ; so that the provost thought it a part of his duty to make diligent search after him , hee gives strict order therefore to his troopes deligently to give attendance , with whom hee made a rode towards the forrest of fountaine-bleau , it being the common place where he lurked : but the subtilty of little iames deceived him ; for he having intelligence of it , disguising himselfe like a country ploughman , passed through the middest of them , and came to paris , without being knowne : but in vaine escapes he who drawes his punishment after him . for he being one day in a tennis court , was earnestly noated by some of the provosts men , who were going to play , which exceedingly daunted him : yet without seeming to feare or suspect any thing , he passed by them ; but the officers presently following him , saw him enter into a house where a yong wench dwelt , whom he had debaucht , and and at that time maintained : whereupon , they besetting the house , and one of them knocking at the doore , hee himselfe came to the window , and demanded their businesse , ( although hee too well knew their intent : ) the officers , without using many words , began to break open the doore ; when little iames on the other side , arming himselfe with a fierce resolution , foreseeing that he could not escape death , resolved to sell his life at a deare rate , and to that end he barricadoed himselfe within the house , turning the table and stooles topsie turvie against the doore . the newes being spread that little iames was within the house , made diverse people flock together to see the issue ; among others , many of the guard hastned thither , and endeavoured by ladders to enter through the window ; but little iames having charged two pistols and two muskets with them , watching his opportunity , when their thoughts were at the highest , humbled eleven of them to the ground : his wench at the same time charging as fast as hee discharged : and by that last office , testified the greatnesse of her courage and affection . as for him he was so animated with rage and dispaire , that he often thrust out his head at the window , endeavouring to hasten his assured death , by the honourable blow of some musket , to eescape the dis-honour of the gallowes . the people assembled more and more , and about an hundred persons had now encompassed the house , armed with muskets , pikes , and halberds : little iames , after he had discharged divers shot , at last fell into a scarcity of bullets , which being perceived , some mounted upon the ladders , whilst others broke open the doores : every one admired the desperate stoutnesse of this theefe , in resisting so many people : but hee resisted in vain , for his houre was then come ; yet would he not for a long time yeeld himselfe , but would have killed himselfe , had not his wench hindred him : at length , the multitude entring he was forced to yeeld to the fury of the people , who drag'd him to prison , where hee lay not long before hee was condemned to bee broken on the wheele . the day of his death being spread abroad , caused a multitude of people to be assembled in the place of execution ; every one wondring to see one so yong to have perpetrated halfe so many villanies . some pittied his youth ; others rejoyced to see him cut off so timely : as for me , i must confesse i was not a jot moved with pitty , but was glad to see him punished according to his deserts . behold here , the life and death of this notorious rogue ; whereby it may be considered , how much it behooves parents to chastise their children in their youth , and not to suffer them to live in too great a liberty . chap. xi . the story of pallioly and his choake-peare . we may compare youth to a young twigge , whose tendernesse yeelds to the least motion , and is easily bended either to the right or left hand ; being made fruitful or barren , according to the industry or negligence of the owner . so is it with youth , if he once findes the path of vertue by the care of his parents , he may be made continue and increase in the same : but contrary acts produce contrary effects : and wee cannot expect a greater comfort and joy from those that are vertuous , then sorrow and griefe from those that continue in a vicious course of life . i would therefore advise all parents and guardians , to be exceeding carefull and wary in the education of their children ; especially to beware of the poyson of ill example ; not suffering them to frequent the company of such as are debaucht : for we naturally follow , with eagernes , those actions which we see authorized by former presidents . pallioly was a pretty well favoured youth , a fit lodging to entertaine vertue , as no doubt he would have done , had not the over fond affection of his father , permitted him to make choice of those courses which are most opposite to vertue , and best pleasing our sensuall appetites and inclination . his ingenuity was such that had he beene trained up vertuously , his wisdome might have made him as famous as his wit , wrongly imployed , hath now made him infamous : he was borne neere unto tholouse , where he remained not long , but out of a vaine curiosity , and curious vanity , he first ( forsaking his earthly father , that hee might the better forget his heavenly , ) betook himselfe towards paris , where he abode not long , before his riot and excesse had wholly emptied his purse of coyne ; and his wits being quickned by necessity , he studied to supply his want by this following device . hee first makes a paire of hands of wax , and fastens them to his shoulders so artificially , that he could when he pleased put them through his cloak : with these hee goes to the church of s. mederic , where he understood that a great concourse of people would that day be , by reason of a learned man that then intended to preach : being come into the church , hee espies a gentlewoman with a silver watch by her side , who was praying in the body of the church among many others , who every minute expected the preachers comming out of the chancell : by her he kneeles , placing a book on these his artificiall hands , and seemes to fix his eyes on both : the gentlewoman wonders at his rudenesse , in comming so neere her , and conceives it to be only want of breeding in him : she casts her eyes on him , and sees him with a book in his hand and praying : modesty permitted her to look , but not too earnestly to gaze on him ; she therefore without mistrust holds on her devotion , and he his ; she hers to god , and he his to the devill , as appeared by the sequell ; for while she at the elevation of the host bowes downe to the ground , and in humility kisseth it , he nips off the watch ; and having likewise hypocritically kissed the ground , departed . not long after , he goes to a smith of his acquaintance , a very skilfull man in his trade , and one wholly at his beck , and gives him instruction how to make a kinde of instrument , in the likenesse of a little bowle ; which by the helpe of small springs within it , might open and inlarge it selfe ; so that being clapt into a mans mouth it could not be removed without the key purposely made to that end : this being finished according to his minde , and brought unto him , he termed a choke-peare ; he might have termed it a devils peare , for never was there a worse tasted fruit . eridas a rich citizen , dwelling about the royall exchange , was the first who made triall how hard this peare was of digestion ; for pallioly knowing , by common report , that he was rich , chose out his opportunity when all his houshold servants were busied in country affaires , and none at home with him but one lackey ; and then being accompanied with three or foure such spend-thrifs , as himselfe , he came to the house , and boldly desired to speake with eridas ; the lackey supposing them to have been gentlemen of worth , by reason of their decent apparell , went unto his master , and told him that there were some gentlemen below that desired to speake with him : but eridas comming unto them , and desiring to know their pleasure , was taken aside by pallioly , who in no lesse brief then rough terms , told him , that they were poore souldiers pinched by poverty , whose wants must be releeved by his excesse , that it was needlesse for him to endeavour resistance , for nothing should satisfie him but money , and of that , no small quantity : eridas ( who loved his money as his life , and nothing so well as his life but money , being loth to lose either , and fearing the losse of both , ) began to cry for helpe ; but at the instant one of them griping him by the throat , made him so gape for breath , that it was no hard matter for the other to give him the peare ; which being entred , his mouth opened so wide , that he was forced by reason of sharp points of iron which were on each side of the peare , to gape as wide ( in expectation of ease ) as possibly he could . thus remained poore eridas like a statue , not being able to speak a word , or expresse his griefe , but by signes , whiles they having taken the keyes out of his pocket , furnished themselves with money , and so departed . eridas being rid of his guests , would willingly be rid of his torment to : he to that end goes unto his neighbours with a wide mouth , & endeavours to expresse by his signes , what he was not able to utter in words : they are ready to laugh at his action , before they know the cause of his sorrow ▪ but finding by his signes and other circumstances , in what intollerable torment he then was , they seeke to excuse their former ignorance of his paine , by diligent endeavouring his ease : but when neither their will , or art , could invent a means to ease him , there comes a porter with a letter ( and therein a small key inclosed ) written to this effect : sir , that you may perceive how tender i am of your welfare and how farre from desiring your death , i have here inclosed , sent you a key , wherewith you may open the instrument in your mouth ; i know it hath put you to some torment , yet i pray you judge charitably of the cause , and conceive that i remaine your well-wishing servant . not long after , he tooke abroad with him a youth ( that was not as then become free , nor throughly experienced in his profession ) and walked with him to the market-house , where he perceived a plaine countrey-fellow sitting in a corner of the street , compassed about with divers pots , whereof some were full of rare fruits , and others emptied by sale : pallioly taking notice of it , and espying the fellows purse , indifferently well stufft , hanging about his neck and put into his bosome , he commands the boy to fetch him that purse if he would be admitted as free of his society : the boy thinkes the purse is in too safe keeping for him to compasse it , he therefore flatly refuseth to fetch it , as a thing impossible to be done , without being perceived ; whereupon pallioly bids him learne of him , and without farther delay goes to the fellow , and tels him some thorn had fallen in betweene his shirt and his back , and desired his help to pull it out , for that it much troubled him , and so bowed himselfe downewards ; the country man in the meane time puts his hand in at his choller , and while he seekes to finde the straw that so troubled him , pallioly cuts his purse , and takes his leave with thanks . the boy being encouraged by his good successe , shortly after endeavoured the like exploit ; but being caught in the action , was so soundly beaten , that hee was scarce able to returne home : at length , pallioly having committed divers the like thefts , was constrained , for safety of his life , to flye his country ; and after a long exile , was killed with a musket-shot , being too good a punishment for his many mischiefs . chap. xii . the wicked servant . in the city of paris there dwelt a citizen named melander , a man both honest and rich ; two qualities seldome meeting in one and the same person : amongst other good qualities wherein hee excelled , he was a great architect , and much sought after for his skill therein : this man had a servant which was married named alexis , a rude and surely fellow , whom his master melander , for the space of six yeres , retained in his service , in regard of his skill in the same art : the great love and favour which his master bare towards him , puffed him with the wind of pride and ambition , which did so powerfully reign in him , that despising the due respect wherein he was obliged towards his master , he contrived his ruine in this manner . melander had a house neer paris , wherein he sometimes recreated himselfe for the space of sixe weekes together ; alexis who was married and had many children , mooved with a covetous desire , resolved to rob his master of what was most precious in it : but as often as this thought presented it selfe , so often did he reject it , because hee knew not how , safely to contrive the execution of so bold and bloody an enterprize , untill that having , by the devills entisement , associated himself with some of the most notorious rogues in paris , he intreated them to meet at a place by him appointed , where hee would open unto them a matter that might conduce both to their owne profit and his : these rogues hearing him thus speake , promised not to faile meeting him at the time and place appointed ; where meeting to the number of 5 , ( one whereof was a tapster , another a mason , and the other three neerely allyed ) they being set at dinner , and having drunk till their brains were well heated , alexis thus began to discover unto them his intended plot , saying ; sirs , i have a master both rich and wealthy , and methinks , seeing that we are poore , we may finde a means by him to raise our fortunes , by secretly murthering him and seazing on his goods and money : these words being heard by his companions , some approved his councell , others disliked it ; but at last it was concluded betweene them , that alexis should bee chiefe conductor in the enterprize , as being best acquainted in the house , and that the other five should obey what hee commanded : whereupon one of the five , upon the set day , brought a boat down the river to carry away the booty ( for the house of melander was seated neere the river ) and fastned it to the bankside ; hee came by night with his companions led by alexis to the said house of melander , who was at that time there , it being the time of vintage . when they were all come to the doore , alexis knocked and the servant ( in regard it was late ) demanded who was there , but hearing alexis answer , and knowing his voice , shee misdoubting no cause of feare , presently opened it ; yet was she much perplexed when she saw five others enter with him at so unseasonable a time . no sooner were they entred but they killed this servant , not giving her so much time as to crave helpe either of god or man. they having thus begun , alexis in a furious haste leadeth them up into a chamber , where melander meets them , and demands of alexis what furie had so farr transported him as to make such a ransacking of his house ; to which alexis ( having his eyes and eares shut from the respect which he owed unto his master ) answered , that he was resolved to kill him , and that therefore he should recommend himselfe to god : melander in this extremity knew not what to doe , but being resolved , in his old age , to sell his life to them at a deare rate , he suddenly endeavoured to seize upon an halbert which was at his beds head ; but alexis with his companions , to prevent it , rushed upon him , and gave him 20. or 30. blows with clubs , wherewith they dasht out his brains : behold these barbarous cruelties committed by a servant ; yet that which followeth seemes inhumane . melander brought with him into the same house one of his daughters , exceeding fair , to looke unto his houshold-affaires : this maid was mariageable , and might have been well matched , had not the cruelty of these rogues cut the threed of her life : shee lay in the next chamber to that of melander , when hearing the out-cry of her father , she hid her selfe betweene the bed and the wall , thinking so to avoid her insuing death : alexis notwithstanding ( who was well acquainted with every corner of the house , ) having slaine melander , came into the maids chamber , and having espied her , commanded his companions to draw her forth , who held her whilest he like a bruit beast , ravisht her ; and not content with this , hee caused his companions to doe the like . to expresse this action fully , and the lamentable meanes she made , seeing her selfe brought into this so miserable estate , requires the pen of one more eloquent . these her lamentations might have broken an heart of adamant , but it was so farre from molifying of theirs , that they proceeded yet further ; for without compassion of her tender age , beauty , or sex , they there bereaved her of her life . then alexis being thus master of the house , caused the doors to be barricadoed , and so fell to ransaking and rifling the whole house , preparing themselvs to be gone the next night : they spent the next day in jollity and mirth ; but night being come , they having loaded the boat with the best housholdstuffe , and themselves with money , in all , to the value of two thousand pounds , they about midnight departed , not being perceived of any ; which made alexis confident of his safety : but god , who seeth both things past , things present , and things to come , would not permit so impious an act to scape undiscovered ; it being in vaine for humane wisdome to thinke to avoide the irrevocable decree of the almighty . two dayes passed wherein was no news of melander , the vine-dressers wondred to find no body at his house , which made one of them goe to paris to see whether hee were not there ; where meeting with alexis ( who now lay rioting and swaggering in taverns ) he asked him for his master , at which demand he seem'd to wonder , saying , that hee supposed to have found him at his countrey-house , and as if he had been much troubled at the news ; he suddenly forsook his company and hastened towards the house of melander , where he with foure or five others ( having for a long time knocked at the doore , and no body answering ) broke into the house , where , upon their first entrance , they found the maid ( stretched forth ) dead upon the floore , whereat they were amazed , but alexis chiefly seemed to take on , crying out that there had been theeves in the house : thence they ascended up into the chamber , where they found melander likewise murdered : then did alexis fall down and kisse the corps of his dead master ; saying , alas , alas , what doe mine eyes behold ! is it you my deare master that are so miserably murdered , whilest i by my too long absence could not yeeld thee succour ? ah miserable and unfortunate alexis , how great is this dayes losse ? thou hast lost all thy support and fortune , on which thou hast grounded the anchor of thy hopes ; thou hast lost that which thou hast most affected ; and to be short , thou hast lost thy most kinde and dearly beloved master . o god , thou revenger of murder , punish this crime , and suffer not the authours to lie concealed . he spake this with so cunning a dissimulation , that those who were present , seeing his crocodiles-teares , beleeved that those bewailing lamentations proceeded from his sincere love , and extreme affection . then searching the rest of the chambers , they found the poore daughter of melander likewise massacred , whereat he again powred forth a torrent of teares , perswading the standers by that his griefes were much increased by this wofull spectacle . the bruit and rumour of this massacre was quickly spread abroad , which caused a great concourse of people to come see so bloudy and seldome heard of tragedie : alexis in the meane time remaines in the house as master of the same ; receives all those that come to see it , and by his unusuall sadnesse , endeavours to cloke his treachery , and to make it an argument of his fidelity ; but some wiser then others , prying further into this busines , began not onely to doubt of his fidelity , but secretly seemed to accuse him to be authour of the murder ; some said that those teares were but fained , and that so many sobs and sighs in a meere servant , no way allied unto him , could not proceed but from a deep dissimulation : others excused him , and said , that alexis having for a long time been in the service of melander , with hope by him to better his fortune , had just cause exceedingly to grieve at this losse so disadvantagious to his good ; but among all , some pleaded so strongly against him , that he was by their advice seized upon and imprisoned ; at which he being much astonished , called the heavens to be witnesses , and revengers of their tyrannie ; vowing that he had never the least thought of so barbarous a cruelty ; but they notwithstanding having imprisoned him , prepared his enditement , and made diligent enquiry where and how he had spent the last two dayes ; but the murderers had so secretly managed their affairs , that no man could depose any thing against them , god onely and their own consciences accusing them , so that the prisoner was for that time set at liberty . he was no sooner dismist , but he began to blaze abroad his innocencie , and accuse them who had imprisoned him of injustice : six moneths were already past wherein this crime was as it were smothered in silence , and buried in oblivion , and the murderers were confident that it would be no more questioned ; but they were much deceived in their opinion , for not long after , foure of the said murderers ( which were the father , sonne , sonne in law , and a mason , as we have said ) met in a certain village neere paris , and being willing to renew their ancient leagues , they went to the next taverne , where they began to carouse and be merry ; but as they were in the midst of their mirth , there came ten or twelve of the marshalls men , who being wearied ( with some pursuit which they had made ) came by chance to refresh themselves to the same place ; and being entred , they put off their coats , meaning to sit down at the end of the same table ; then the marks of their office appearing , put these cruell confederates in such a feare , as if a thunderbolt had fallen among them ; and all their bold mirth is now turned into whispering , and their joy into sorrow , they are hungry but cannot eat , and a cold trembling so possesseth them thorowout , that they seeme rather dead then alive , imagining these men pursued no other but themselves . these officers called for wine , and intended onely their owne recreation , meaning nothing against them ; but they much wondred that upon the sudden those that sate neere them had taken their flight , and left their wine and meat on the table , departing without paying the shot . all which the officers well noting , demanded of the host , what was the cause of their sudden flight ; to which the host said , that he could not chuse but much wonder thereat , and told them what kinde of people they were , and how well furnished with money , being formerly very poore and needy people . then the officers consulted together , and concluded that there was something more then ordinary in the matter , and that these men ( their consciences accusing them of some offence by them committed ) and fearing them as officers , had taken their flight , and that it was requisite they should be pursued ; which being resolved on , they presently put in execution : and parting themselves , some one way , and some another , by their diligence and speed overtook them , they then stayed them in the kings name , and perswading them to confesse the cause of their flight , they told them that if they would not by fair meanes , they would constraine them by force , and thereupon took the eldest of them and gave him the strapado , which made the old fellow quickly confesse that they had all foure deserved death , namely , by the murdering of melander : at the which his companions grew inraged , he with the rest having before resolved to endure all the tortures that could be inflicted upon them , rather then they would confesse : moreover , the said old man confessed that he had been the cause of the deaths of threescore persons , whom he at severall times taking into his barge , under pretence of passing them over the river , had tied stones about their necks , and having so drowned them , at night took them up , and so stripped them : he moreover related unto them , that he had one day most wickedly killed a boy about the age of seventeen yeers , who had no more then twelve pence about him , and that of all the thefts and murders he had committed , he had never grieved but for that , as being the cause of the death of one of the most comely and hopefull young men that ever he saw . alexis having notice of their taking , ( for it is to be noted , that of foure which were pursued , one escaped , and advised alexis and his companion , who was a mason , to take their flight ) alexis fled into england , and the mason into touraine , where we will anon overtake them . the officers having thus done their devoire , led the offenders unto paris , where they were condemned first to have their hands cut off , and their bodies to be broken on the wheele before the house of melander , which was performed in the sight of a multitude of people . one of those ( which were thus broken ) confessed , that he was accustomed in the woods neer paris , to strangle the passengers with a cord , which he for that purpose carried about him ; and that when any demanded of him whither he went , he would answer , he went to buy a calf , shewing unto them the cord . we will now return to our renegadoes ; he which was at tours , having escaped the danger which threatned him , had changed his name , and lived by his trade , being welcome among others of the same profession in those parts , by reason of his great skill therein : he being at length become amorous of a young maid in the countrey , by the consent of her parents married her : behold him at the height of his desires ; but yet so troubled in his conscience , that he could not rest , for the bloud of those innocent souls , which he had shed , ceased not to cry for vengeance : but the mischiefs which troubled him , happened chiefly , in that he ( either in malice or jollity ) so charmed the cod-peece-point of one of his neighbours , that he could not make use of his own wife , which being done , he came about three or foure dayes after unto the married man , and told him that he partly knew that his point had been knit with a charming knot , and that if he would give him a reasonable reward , he would untie it : the man who desired nothing more then to be freed of this infirmity , yet without thinking that the mason had charmed it , promised to give him twenty shillings in present , and twenty shillings more when he was eased thereof ; of he received the twenty shillings , and his neighbour being cured , he demanded of him the other twenty shillings according to promise ; who then called him sorcerer , and told him that he was a witch , and had bewitched him , and deserved to be burnt ; the mason not being able to beare such language , called him in question for scandalizing his reputation . the judges having seriously considered the matter , by a common consent agreed that hee was the sole cause whence proceeded this evill ; which being after a sort prooved ( for that about ten dayes after the marriage , the said mason had publikely bragged unto some that hee had done it , which was prooved against him ) he was condemned to be whipt through the market-place and then banished ; which to avoid , he presently appeales to the parliament of paris , whither he was sent , and where hee found his death : the time being come wherein he must be recompensed according to his merit ; for being come to paris , he is heard of by some of the inhabitants of the said village , who presently gave notice and advertised the heires of melander , who so eagerly pursued him , that by the deposition of the former witnesses , he was forced to confesse the deed , and so was judged to the same punishment as his companions , which last execution was done , in the yeere 1616. five yeeres after the murder of melander . there remaines now onely alexis who passing by calis , it happened ( as theeves cannot forbeare misdoing ) that he entred the house of a rich merchant , and stole from him a great summe of money , while he was at masse : he is thereupon taken , and condemned to be hanged . thus were they ( by the divine justice ) deservedly put to death , who so cruelly had murdered melander . chap. xiii . the dangerous adventures , and miraculous escapes of colyrias . colyrias was descended of a good family in guien , and of a father whose vertue might have been a paterne unto him in his actions , had he not been withdrawne by the over-commanding power of the destinies . this young man ( his father being dead ) was committed to the tuition of his vncle ; who slacking the severity which at first he shewed , soone after permitted him to follow his licentious desires , as do most tutors and guardians of children in these dayes ; they are forward to receive the benefit of their place , but backward to performe the duty . this is the bane of youth , when parents are too indulgent to their children , and tutors or guardians to their charge , suffering them freely to exercise whatsoever is dictated unto them by the pravity of their owne dispositions . colyrias was of such a gadding humor , that he resolved ( without his vncles consent ) to make a voyage towards bourdeaux ; and for that purpose pilfred from his vncle a round sum of money , and therewith privily departed : he had not sojourned there long , but he was taken with a desire of seeing paris , but before he arived there , hee took up his lodging in a town , seated upon the loire , at an inne , the host whereof prooved a meere cut-throat : here colyrias with two others , by him accidentally met , having supped together , were conducted all to one chamber where were three beds ; every one makes choise of his owne , and having lockt the chamber doore , they all betooke them to their rest : but the host having a secret doore which entred into the same chamber , about midnight , when he thought that a deepe sleepe had seazed upon their senses , softly entred , and comming into their chamber approached their beds ; colyrias being by chance awake , saw them passing along the midst of the chamber , and at length staying at the next bed , which made him jealous that they had some attempt against their lives : hee therefore began by snorting , to make shew that hee was in a deepe sleepe , although hee were indeed much perplexed with the apprehension of an ensuing mischiefe . the host having visited the bed of his companions , came and handled his flesh also ; and having so done , hee heard them say , that his flesh was but tough , and that the other two would proove daintie meat , they then went to the others beds , and ( like bloudy miscreants ) miserablie killed the companions of colyrias ; whereat hee was so amazed , that hee knew not what course to take , for hee expected the same entertainment , as had his poore companions ; yet beyond his thought was the host more mercifull to him , then unto the others , for having disposed of the bodies of his companions , he came unto him , and having taken away from him his moneys , which amounted to twenty pounds and upwards , causing him to arise , he conducted him thorow a gallery , wherein he had made a trap , in the forme of a draw-bridge , which by the meanes of a barre of iron fastened under , it would rise and fall with the least weight that came upon it ; colyrias being come upon it , immediatly fell down into an unfrequented street , where while he with teares lamented his hard misfortunes , two theeves perceiving him , demanded of him the cause of his complaints , whereupon he declared unto them all his former accidents , whereunto they answered , that ill fortune indeed had given him just cause of sorrow ; but that patience ought to serve him as a buckler against so many miseries ; and that they so much pitied him , that if he would he should participate of their better fortunes : upon this promise he followed them , little thinking that he had fallen out of the frying pan into the fire ; but being come into the next street , they there for a time stayed , expecting an opportunity to take some booty , they then going up another street , came unto a well , where one of them , desirous to quench his thirst , found that the buckets were wanting , which made him intreat colyrias to descend into the well for water ; but he fearing that they would play some scurvy trick with him , at first refused ; yet at length , constrained by their earnest intreaties , he adventured it : he was no sooner down , but the watch appeared in sight of his companions , whereupon they forsaking the rope by which colyrias held , fled ; so that had it not been that colyrias had taken footing upon a stone , which jutted forth of the side of the well , he had there perished : as soon as the watch came unto the well , one of the companie being desirous likewise to quench his thirst ( it being in the heat of summer ) thinking that the bucket had been in the bottome of the water , began to draw at the rope ; colyrias ( thinking that his companions had drawn ) according to their promise , seazing upon the rope , was by little and little lifted up ; but he finding the weight heavier then was usuall , called unto his companions for help ; saying , that surely there was something more then water in the bucket ; at length , by their united forces , they drew up colyrias ; when they saw him appear at the top of the well , they being terrified , ranne away as if the devill had been at their heels , so suddenly loosing their hold of the rope , that if he had not cast his hand quickly upon the mouth of the well , he could not have escaped the danger of tumbling in again . it happened that about four or five dayes before the arrivall of colyrias , that the bishop of the diocesse being dead , was buried with a ring and rich crosier staff in the presence of these his companions , which made them earnestly desire by some plot or other to steal them : and to that end desired the assistance of colyrias , whereunto , though unwilling , he was constrained to give his consent : they then came unto the church door , which being opened by picklocks , they entred , shewing him the tombe , and threatening him with death if he refused to go in , or failed to bring unto them the ring and crosier : whereupon , they having with iron-crows , and other instruments , lifted up the stone of the vault , he entred ; and putting his hands upon the coffin , pulled up the planck that covered him , and taking the crosier and ring away , he came unto his companions , and told them , that as for the crosier , he had brought it ; but as for the ring , it was not to be found in the coffin ; thinking by this means to keep the ring for himself : but they , who had been at the bishops funerall , and knew assuredly that the ring was inclosed in the coffin , so threatened colyrias , that he was constrained to go into the vault the second time ; where , making as if he searched farther , and having told them , that certainly it was not there , they forthwith let fall the stone , and buried him in the sepulchre with the corps of the dead bishop ; colyrias had already escaped two imminent dangers , but now thought assuredly , he should never escape the third , but that he should perish in the vault . whilest he was in this great perplexitie , there came two priests , who being possessed with the sacrilegious desire of robbing the bishops sepulchre , lifted up the stone , and one of them being about to enter , colyrias caught hold of his legs , who imagining that the dead bishop was revived , and had caught him by the legs , being filled with fear and amazement , he strived to withdraw his legs , and so drew our colyrias , who imagining his conceit , ranne after him to the place where he entred , and got forth , and having escaped out of the church , he hasted out of the town with the ring , that was worth two hundred crowns , so that he returned home with some recompence for the many dangers and miseries that he had already suffered . chap. xiv . one often cheated . in the yeer 1615. there was in the town of amiens , a young man whose name was dorilis , who forsook his parents by reason of some private quarrels which he had with his brethren , but before his departure , he stole out of his fathers cabinet , the summe of twenty pounds and upwards ; and having so done , went towards paris , but as he travelled , he overtook a merchant that went to the fair of st germain , with whom he kept company untill they came unto their journeys end ; but they there leaving one the other , took up their severall lodgings . this dorilis being of a sottish and stupid nature , and little acquainted with the crafts and subtilties of the world , being newly arrived at the citie , went from street to street to view the excellencie of the buildings and other rarities : his gazing about made him soon taken notice of by some cheaters , who as soon as they saw him , judged it an easie matter to entrap him ; one of them to that end comes towards him with a great packet , with this superscription ; let this be delivered with trust to the ladie robecour , dwelling at aberis , &c. and having delivered unto him this packet , he earnestly intreated him to tell him to whom it was directed , signifying that is was his chance to finde it , and that there was somewhat inclosed in the same . dorilis , who could not dive into the depth of this mistery , read the superscription , and at the request of him , who delivered him the packet , openeth it ; and therein findes a small chain of gold , with these words ; madam , having by your letters , understood of the happy successe of your marriage , and that you have so soon perfected so good a work ; it would have seemed that i had not participated of your joy , if i should not have testified it with this chain , it is but of small value in respect of your merits , it cost onely fifty crowns , this is a small gift in comparison of that which my affection would have offered . neverthelesse oblige me with your acceptation , and i shall truly rest your kinsman a. de robecour . dorilis having read this letter , wished to have been so fortunate , as to have found it ; whereunto the other answered , that if he had a liking unto the chain , he should have it upon reasonable tearms , what it cost appeareth by the letter , and therefore in regard it was not fit for his wearing , he would part with it for the one half that it cost : at length dorilis after some arguing gave him ten crowns for it . this first encounter was but a forewarning of his future mishap ; he neverthelesse , not suspecting any deceit , blessed the houre wherein hee lighted upon this good fortune : not long after , as hee was passing thorow the faire , he espied some gamesters playing at dice , whereupon he drew towards them , and desired to bee halfe with one of them that played , whereby hee quickly gained a noble ; this provoked dorilis to play for himselfe , thinking thereby to better his fortune : but these two cheaters ( who had at the beginning fained themselves to be strangers one to the other ) having perceived that he setled himself to play , handled their false dice so cunningly , that they suddenly gained from him three pounds , and had without doubt got more , if the earnest desire of seeing the faire had not withdrawne him . thence dorilis proceeded farther into the fair , when he ( according to his rude custome ) gazing about him , espied a lottery ; whereunto he drew neer , and beheld the adventurers ; where being noted by some cheaters , who had complotted with the master to be permitted to gain when they would , he was by one of them intreated to participate with him in this adventure , which after dorilis ( fearing again to be cheated ) refused , upon this answer , the cheater having drawn , openeth the billet , and findeth therein a silver bason ; which he having received of the master of the lottery , shewed to dorilis , reproaching him for refusing to be halfes with him in the lot , and so to have gained the one half of the ewer , whereupon ▪ dorilis induced by this mans imaginary gain , begins to draw lots , and ceased not untill he had emptied his purse of twentie crowns , and yet received not the worth of twentie pence , notwithstanding all this , he was not any whit dejected , being confident that his gold chain would make him a saver . after he had beene in divers parts of paris , and had seene all that which was most worthy of note in the city , he returned unto his inne , where he no sooner entred , but he perceived that he had lost his purse : then did the long way which he had to go , the hazards of sicknesse which he might fall into , and a thousand other misfortunes came into his minde , yet did the finding of his chain in the other pocket , in part qualifie the extremity of his griefe , but fortune had destinated him more crosses : for as he was in the inne bemoaning his misfortunes , a cheater , that was in the next chamber , hearing him , came , and seeming to pitie him , perswaded him by any meanes not to suffer griefe to have the predomination ; telling him that teares were but in vaine , since they could not redeem that which was already lost , and promising to him if occasion required , the assistance both of his purse and person ; and using many other good words , perswaded dorilis to suppe with him , which hee condiscended unto ; so that supper being ended , when he expected that he who had invited him would have paid for his supper , he upon the sudden found his friend departed ( who under pretence of going to make water had left him ) and having long expected his returne in vaine , his former losses made him jealous of his cloke , which he searching for found wanting : now was his onely hope in his chaine of gold ; but that being offered as a gage for his expences , was rejected as counterfeit : then was hee wholly oppressed with sorrow , but not without just cause , for he on the morrow was constrained to exchange his rich apparell for farre meaner , thereby to discharge his former expences , which made him ( like the prodigall sonne ) to returne home something wiser , but farre poorer then when he forsooke his father . chap. xv. a strange robbery of a merchants shop . in the country of burgoin there lived one named rapigny , who from his youth made a practise of theeving , for which he had been often questioned : but this interior appetite of robbing had so possest him , that he forsooke his countrey of burgundy to goe unto paris , where hee thought hee might with more safety exercise his slights ; during his abode there , he committed so many robberies , that his name became dreadfull to the citizens , and their whole discourse was of his notorious deceits ; few of the city had seene him , his common walkes being in the night , and those that did see him , did little think that he whom they saw , was the man of whom they so much talked . one day being desirous to put one of his inventions in practise , he being like a tradesman apparelled , came unto a rich merchant named syriander , and told him that he understood that he returned much ware into the countie of burgundie to one master vernon , a man with whom hee was well acquainted ; wherefore he ( having fained that hee had a trunk full of commodities to send to the same man ) signified that he should be much obliged unto him , if hee would bee pleased to convay his also thither , whereunto this merchant ( little mistrusting his quality ) condiscended . rapignus having thus farre proceeded , caused a trunk to bee brought unto him so cunningly contrived , that it might bee easily unlocked by one within ; he therefore causeth a little boy ( an apprentice in his theeving trade ) to be put within it , and having charged him upon his life not to speake or make any noise in the trunk , but about mid-night to come foorth , and having opened the shop doores , to give entrance to his companions , he locked him therein ; and having so done , he caused this trunk to be brought to the house of syriander , who not doubting of what was inclosed therein , received it , and placed it in his shop . evening was already past , and night , the favourer of theeves , had with her black mantle overspread the earth , when this young boy ( perceiving by the quietnesse of all things , that the houshold servants were long before retired , and therefore in all likelihood in a deep sleep ) gently opened the trunk wherein he was inclosed , but comming to the door found not the key therein as he expected , at which being much perplexed , he was about to give over his enterprize , and to retire into his shell ; but he at length bethought himself of opening the shop windows , which he performed with much dexterity , none awaking at the noise ; and having let in his companions , who there attended him , every one furnished himself with a parcell of the best wares in the shop , and so departed . the theft was soon found out , but it could not be known who the actours were till four yeers after , one of them being to be executed at the greave for some other robberies , confessed the fact , and discovered his companions , who were served in the same kinde . chap. xvi . the cunning escape of a cheater out of prison . it is not long since a theef was brought into the bishops prison in paris , who had committed divers robberies , among the rest , he had ( but 15. dayes before ) stollen to the value of 100l. in jewels , from a goldsmith , for the cōpassing wherof , he practised this ensuing device . he had formerly taken notice that there was in this goldsmiths shop a small casket of rings , and diamonds , which he much desired the fingering of , but being barren a long time of any invention , whereby he might gain it , at last he went unto a joyner , to whom hee gave directions for the making of a casket like unto that which the goldsmith had ; which being made according to his minde , he one day having perceived that there was at that time in the house but one servant , and a little boy , son to the goldsmith , entred into the shop carrying this box under his cloke ; when he came in , he desired them to shew him choice of rings , whereupon the patern of this new casket was presently fetcht , but he perceiving that he could not easily bring to passe his intended project whilest that both of them were in the shop , he delivered the boy a piece of gold to change , and in the mean time causing the box to be opened , he cheapened the rings ; and seeming to mislike of the price , he desireth the servant to shew him others , but whilest he turned his back to fetch them , this fellow taking his opportunity , suddenly exchanged boxes , putting his box in the place of the other ; then faining that he could not tarry to look upon the other rings , in regard he promised to give a friend the meeting where he knew he was by that time expected ; he desired the apprentice to keep the money ( which the other was not yet come with ) till he came again , and so departed : but he joyned not long in this cheat , but within fifteen dayes after was taken , and had no doubt at that time been executed , had he not had some extraordinary means to escape ; as thus , he sent a boy to one in the city , an abettour of his stollen goods , to entreat him that he would make for him an hare-pie , and accompany him at the eating of it , which he ( mindfull of his former familiarity ) performed ; and having brought it to the jayle , where his friend was , did there sup with him & the jaylor . having supped , his friend called him aside , and told him that the cause of bespeaking this pie , was to prevent any mistrust which the jayler might have had , had he not seen this ; he having so said , proceeded to a second request , which was to work his delivery out of this place , by a plot which hee would suggest ; whereunto this citizen promising his best endeavour , he signified unto him that the only way for his escape , was by sending unto him another pie made like the former , where in stead of flesh , should put a long rope , and some picklock instruments ; which being made , and sent according to his appointment , he opened it , and taking forth the things inclosed , made so good use of them , that hee the same night escaped ; but having escaped , hee was the same night apprehended , for a robbery suddenly committed after his departure out of prison , and being brought to the same place , was shortly after , for this and his former robberies , executed . chap. xvii . a theefe caught in a trap . a certain gentleman of poictiers , named morindor , came to paris about the dispatch of some busines of importance , which he had at court ; and had brought with him store of moneys , as well to discharge the expences of his journey , as also to disburse for other particular occasions , where being arrived , another gentleman of his countrey sent unto him , by an expresse messenger , to intreat him that he would be very carefull of a great suit which he had then depending in the great chamber . morindor , who would not disoblige his friend , tooke this cause in hand ; and although he were somewhat hindered by his own particular occasions , he notwithstanding ceased not to sollicite in his friends behalfe : but whilest he passed and repassed thorow the palace , and that he thus sollicited , both for his own and friends right , he was perceived by two cutpurses , who resolved among themselves , upon the first opportunity , to shew him a trick of their activity ; and to that end , they divers times drew neer him , but durst not adventure , a hand into his pocket , by reason that he knowing that the palace was alwayes frequented by such a base crew , was very circumspect to avoid all such mischievous accidents : but the subtilty and sleight of these cutpurses , surpassing his care and diligence , he was at length surprised , for he being one day in a throng in the great chamber , was rudely thrust by these fellowes , and while hee looked about to see whence that thrusting and violent motion proceeded , one of them thrust his hand into his pocket , and stole thence his purse , which hee knew not till two houres after , when he ( intending to have paid for some bookes , which he had bought in the gallerie of booke-sellers ) missed it ; but could not on the sudden guesse at what time hee was so robbed by them , what in this case to doe hee knew not ; nature had indued him with more wit then to chafe & fume at that he could not remedy , or by impatience , for loosing a little , to injure him who gave him all . at last ( he being well acquainted with the craftinesse of the times ) he resolved to be revenged , wherfore he being willing to requite them , went to a smith , of whom he bespake a springe to put into his pocket which might shut of it selfe , and suddenly catch whatsoever touched it : the smith , being thorowly experienced in his art , made him one of the fairest , and most ingenious pieces that could be devised , and that with such art and cunning , that it far exceeded the manner of morindors expression ; who having contented the smith , caused it to be placed in the same pocket from whence his purse was stollen ; & having so done , he walked in the palace foure dayes , but on the fift day , he viewing the portraictures of the kings which are upon the pillars in the hall , was perceived by the same cutpurse ; who incouraged by the easinesse of his first purchase , he resolved to adventure again , then drawing neere to him , and watching his time when the people came thronging upon him out of the great chamber , he gently put his hand into his pocket , but it no sooner entred , but this spring disbanded , so that where he thought to take , he was taken . morindor , who felt the springe disband , seemed not to take notice of the cutpurse , but began to take his walke from the one side of the hall unto the other , thence into the great chamber , the galleries of the palace , and so about ; the cutpurse ( though unwilling ) was forced to follow him foot by foot , for hee could not withdraw himselfe hee was so straitly fastened in the springe ; sometime morindor taking a short turne , would suddenly thrust away the cutpurse , as though he came too neere him ; then did the other , with an humble countenance , entreat him not to disgrace him further , but to accept of some indifferent satisfaction from him . to which morindor seeming deafe , continued on his walke , so that it was not long before that many of the palace perceived it , who gladly flocked together to see him led after that sort . at length , morindor having for a long time walked from place to place , and by the shortnes of his turns lengthened the pains of the cutpurse : hee turned himselfe , and with a cholericke visage said unto him , what makes you follow me step by step master theefe ? it was you sir that stole away my purse , and you shall deerly answer it : at these words the other fell on his knees , and begging pardon , faithfully promised to restore it , if hee would release him ; but morindor would not take words for deeds , but kept the cutpurse thus shamefully imprisoned , untill his purse was brought unto him by one of the theeves comrades , who had thither accompanied him : thus was the deceiver deceived . chap. xviii . the story of amboise la forge a notable cutpurse . amboise la forge was brought up in picardie , and as he increased in yeers , so did he in wickednesse ; he began with pins , and ended with pounds , which had weighed him downe to hell , had not his present repentance , and temporall punishment , by gods mercy prevented the eternall , which we charitably conceive , because as the one halfe of his life was spent in evill , so the the other half was worn out in punishment ; the one you shall see in the beginning , the other in the end of this ensuing history . this young fellow being past his childish tricks , as stealing pins , points , and the like , begins his youthfull pranks thus : he goes one night to a farmors house , and there ( having formerly noted where his poultry usually roosted ) steales a turkey , two capons , & foure pullets ; which he having conveyed away ( by his companion in evill ) he the same night breakes open a bakers shop , furnisheth himselfe with a sufficiency of bread ; and afterwards , passing by a taverne , and perceiving the grates of the cellar to be large , made shift to wreath himselfe in , where having found three or foure good flaggons , he fills them with wine , and having made himself frollike , refills them : the next morning hee goes early unto this farmor , baker , and vintner , and kindly invites them to dinner , they wonder at his free entertainment , and wish each of them , that what they had lost the last night had been there likewise , as more fitting for their bellies then for those rogues that stole it : on that condition , replyed amboise , you would ( i beleeve ) forgive them their riot ; whereunto they cheerefully answered , with all their hearts ; but ( said one of them ) farewell it , what we have lost there , wee have gained here : t is true indeed ( said amboise ) for what i stole from each of you , your selves have among you eaten , which i wish may do you much good : at which words , each of them tooke the more especiall notice , of what they were entertained with ; and the farmer found that he had the like poultrie , as he that night had lost , and the baker the like bread , and the vintner the like wine served in in the like pots ; all which being considered , they found that his words were in earnest , and so they tooke them ; for they suddenly rising , would have forsaken the room , in the heat of choler , but he perswades them that they could not eat their meat in better company , imitating therein the young greek , who having perceived particular notice that his citizens had lost the battell , came into the market-place , and proclamed that they had got the victory , upon which false rumor , he caused among the citizens a publike joy for three dayes , but when the pitifull newes of their overthrow was brought by some souldiers , fled from the battell , every one was ready to kill this false messenger , who had caused them to be filled with joy , in a time when they had just cause to be drowned in tears and sorrows : but he answered them , that they had more cause to thanke him , then to murmure against him , because that he had changed their cause of discomfort , into comfort , and their mourning into a publike rejoycing . but this first exploit of youth , was nothing in respect of what he did after , for it was not long before he came to one of the fairest women of the parish , and sought earnestly to entice her to lewdnesse ; but what he could not by faire words effect , hee at last obtained upon the promise of twenty crownes , which he ( as then being not able to give ) compassed by this meanes : he goes speedily to a rich churle of the parish , and desired to know of him , whether hee could help him to five crownes in gold for silver ; whereunto he answered , that he had so much , but was loath to part with it : whereupon la 〈◊〉 promised him two shillings on condition that hee would bring it to his lodging , and let him have it in exchange for as much silver as it came unto : this clowne ( thinking on the gaine which hee should make by the exchange ) condiscended to follow la forge unto his lodging , where the money being told out on a table before two others of la forge his society , he suddenly takes it up , and casts down an acquittance of five crownes in lieu of it , and having so done departed ; the country-fellow followed him and demanded his money , but la forge answered , that he owed him long since that money , and that now paying it , hee had given him an acquittance for his discharge , and desired to know what he would have more . by this meanes he got the five crownes , and by those crowns he attained even to the glutting of his lustfull desires , for it was not long before he grew willing to surrender up that costly place to another ; yet it vexed him that he had parted with his mony on so light termes ; and bethinkes himselfe on a course how he might regain his 5 crowns so ill bestowed ; to that end , he comes to his lemman , & told her he was pursued ( for a small debt ) by a company of sergeants , and that he should be constrained , either to pawne , or sell , a cloake worth foure or five pounds , unlesse she would furnish him with five or six crowns ; he signifies , that if shee would assist him , hee would leave his cloke , and ever rest indebted unto her : she conceiving that she could not possibly loose any thing by the lending him the money , as long as she had so good a pawne ; wished him to bring his cloke , and hee should not fail to receive the money , both which was done accordingly . la forge soone after had notice that this gossip had invited some of her friends , lately married , to a feast ; thither hee comes , and desires the husband of this dainty dame , to help him to a cloke which his wife had borrowed for him when he went to the wedding of his invited guests ; the good man of the house answered , hee heard not of it , and for his part he had no use of it if his wife had borrowed it : hee therefore asketh his wife whether she had borrowed any such cloke for him , or not , which she ( suspecting that he meant to cheat her of her cloke and money ) flatly denied even in his presence , whereat la forge being inraged , deeply swore that she had it , and therefore desired him that he would be pleased to looke in her trunke , and hee made no doubt , but that hee should there finde it : the good man being amazed at the confidence of the theefe , went and looked in her trunke according to his desire , and there found to his great discontent , and her disgrace , what he there looked for ; the greatnesse of which discredit , in the presence of her best friends , so grieved , that she pined away with extreme griefe . after this he goes towards paris , and by the way overtaking a young scholer going thither to see his friends , he discoursed with him until he came to the corner of a great wood ; then he resolutely told him , that either he must part with his suit of clothes or his life ; the poore young man soone made his choice , and quickly gave his clothes that he might after live to enjoy others ; so this our rascall entered into paris all new , where he was not long , but by reason of his many bold , and impudent prancks , he was thought fit to be chosen captaine , or ringleader of the infamously famous crew of cutpurses , cheaters , and the like ; the which place that he might the better seeme to deserve , he took upon him to cheat , or by some other way to surprize , one messager , a crafty fellow , who could never bee circumvented by any ; although that divers of his predecessours had endeavoured with the hazard of their necks , and some with their lives to have done it . he having heard of the warinesse of this fellow , began to consider with himselfe , that he was not to be surprised by any ordinary way , wherfore setting his wits on the tenter-hookes , hee at length overreached him thus . la forge understanding that this messager was accustostomed daily to go over the new bridge , he came thither very well apparelled , & long expected his comming ; at length hee perceived him viewing the samaritane , and the little garden below it , whereupon he tooke occasion to give him the bonjour , and to entertaine him with other discourses concerning the affairs of the time ; messager nothing suspecting him , because of his rich apparell , as they were in talke , there draws neer unto them , one of la forges companions , being very well acoutred , and places himself on the other side of messager . la forge seeing his companion come ( without whom he hoped not to effect any thing ) casts his eyes downe towards the river , and wisheth them to take notice what a wondrous strong boate there was that did not sinke with such an extreme weight of iron , his companion who stood on the other side of messager , said unto him , i pray pardon me sir , if i say that you have a bad eye-sight , for you mistake wood for iron , that boat is laden with billets , and not with iron ; for it is impossible that it should beare so much iron and not sinke : sir ( answered la forge ) i thanke god , my sight is very good , and i know that there are some boats laden with faggots , billets , or the like ; but that boat which i point at with my finger , being the second boat from the banke , is laden with iron , and i dare lay a good wager that that which i say is true . messager , who saw plainly that the boat was laden with wood , was silent , yet smiled to himselfe at so great a mistake , little dreaming whereunto their contestation tended . at length their contention grew so hot , that they seem'd like to have fallen from words to blowes ; in the end it came to a wager of ten crownes , which was deposited into the hands of messager , untill it were decided by a neerer view ; they having so done , call unto them the boat-man and enquire of him wherewith his boat was laden ? hee answeres , with wood : but la forge , the better to cover his intent , would not beleeve the boat-man , but would passe from boat to boate ( the better to colour his intent ) by touching that which was the subject of his wager ; which having done , he confessed that he had lost , and seemed wonderfully discontented at his so great mistake ; the other laughing and winking on messager , told la forge , that being he had won his money , he would bestow a breakfast on him if he pleased to accept of it : which motion being embraced by la forge , they both intreat messager his companie , in regard that he was present at the wager ; which he at first refused , excusing himselfe by reason of some businesse of importance that he had to dispatch in the city ; but at last they perswade him to go with them . they then enter into one of the most noted ordinaries , bespeake dinner , and whiles it is preparing , drinke healths at his cost that won the wager ; at last , towards the latter end of dinner , betweene the peare and the cheese , the other cheater began to challenge la forge , to play with him three casts at dice for the worth of another breakfast , but la forge refused it , as having no great skill in gaming , but wished messager to have a bout with him , which he likewise refused . this their plot not succeeding according to their expectation , la forge signifieth unto messager , that hee was to goe within two dayes towards lyons , and was well provided of moneys for his journey , but that it was in silver , which weighed heavily , and would prove troublesome in his journey ; he desired therefore to know whether he could change 10. or 12l. of silver into gold , and offered him 2s. 6d. for the change ; messager considering the promised gaine , told him he should have his desire , and presently drew forth a little bag which he had in his pocket , and begun to tell out his money at the end of the table , whilst la forge counts his at the other end ; at length the ten pounds being ready told , messager came and told him that the money was ready told , and desired his in exchange ; la forge telleth the silver over againe , to see whether there was the full summe , or any overplus ; and watching his opportunity , drawes together likewise the others gold , in the meane while that the other cheater heapes up his money , and drawes three dice out of his pocket , saying , that hee had wonne all ; la forge his companion cryes out , by my faith it was a brave cast ; other cheaters , who by la forge his appointment were in the next chamber , inquire concerning the cast , and asked whether la forge had played , who presently protested , and fearefully swore , that hee had gained ten pounds at one cast ; messager stands as mute as a statue , and being much amazed knew not what to say ; but seeing them seaze on his money , he began to cry out that they were theeves ; the host hastened to the cry , but la forge and his companions tell him , that it is bootlesse to cry after hee had lost his money , for if that he had been afraid of loosing it , he should not have hazarded it ; thus would they have forced messager to beleeve that he had lost his money at dice , when it was at noddie ; neither could his words , or other meanes prevaile , for want of competent witnesse , what they had in possession could never be recovered from them . this la forge within one fortnight after this feat , was taken by the marshalls men , and for this , and other the like cheats and robberies , was condemned for ever to the gallies . chap. xix . a relation of the notable cheats performed by one mutio. mvtio was borne in the countrey of chartres , who before that he attained unto mans estate , did vainly forsake both his father , and fathers house , and came to paris ; where he soone met with those who first brought him to poverty , and then into sharking courses ; in which he had not long continued , but that he chanced to take notice of one charles d' estampes , who dwelt in the university , and had a brother in his countrey and towne of chartres , a married man , and very rich , but without children . he ( well knowing this brother of his , and as well the very place where he dwelt , as the rest of the whole countrey ) comes unto this charles d' estampes , and tells him that he came from chartres to bring him both good and bad newes , the bad newes consisting in the death of his brother francis , for whom hee could not but grieve : the good , in that he had made him his heire and overseer of his whole will. the merchant hearing this newes was much afflicted for the death of his brother , whom hee dearly loved , and but little comforted for the estate hee left him , in respect that he had a sufficiencie before : but friend , said hee to mutio , have you no letter for me ? how came you to heare this newes ? sir ( said mutio ) to tell you the truth , i came late yesternight into the city , without as much as one crosse or farthing , being robbed within five miles of the city , and was constrained , for my yesternights expences , to pawne my doublet , wherein was sowed a letter from one of your uncles , which i should have taken forth , but that mine host finding my doublet to bee hardly worth my expences ( which were somewhat the larger by reason of my weary journey ) hindred mee that hee might so be certaine of his pay ; he names his father unto him , and answers him very discreetly any question concerning his friends in those parts ; which d' estampes considering , delivers him five shil . to redeem his doublet ; being very desirous to see the letter ; mutio departs , and about an houre after returnes , bringing with him a letter with this superscription ; to my worthy friend master charles d' estampes , merchant , dwelling in the harp-street in paris , these deliver . the contents were these ; good cousin , i much grieve that i am ininforced ( by this bearer ) to certifie unto you the too certaine newes of your brother his sudden and unexpected death ; hee was not above three houres sicke , in which short time he ( greatly mistrusting the approach of death ) by will setled his estate , and hath made you his heire and executour , i would therefore advise you to hasten into the countrey , as soone as conveniently you can , as well to settle your owne affaires , occurring by your late fallen inheritance , as also by your presence to lighten the hearts of those that are much dejected for your brothers departure : if in the meane time you will write or send ; you may safely doe it by this bearer , who is very trusty in what he undertakes . your very loving vnckle d'estampes . the merchant having read this letter , communicates it to his wife , who being of a covetous disposition , although shee were without children , conceived more joy at the wealth fallen to her and her husband , then sorrow for her brothers death ; wherefore she kindly entertained him that brought the newes , which made mutio hope well for a happy successe of his enterprise : for he was resolved , that if he were admitted to lodg in the house he would open the door unto his companions , and so make them way to take thence what they thought fit , as he afterwards did : for hee being entertained within the house , did in the night open the shop window , and cast forth a good piece of cloth to his companions , and having so done , did on the morrow hasten to bee packing : but it happened , that before hee was either gone , or discovered , that the merchants wife grew very sicke , which made mutio quickly conceive , that this her sicknesse would slacken her husbands voyage , he therefore returns to chartres to use the same cheat to the merchants brother , as he had done to the merchant himselfe , whither being come , hee wrote a letter directed to master d'estampes to this effect ; brother , since the time that i had the opportunitie of writing unto you last , fortune hath taught me to what a depth of sorrow she could depresse a laguishing woman ; for death ( envying the prosperity which i enjoyed , and the joy that i possessed , by so loving a husband , hath now bere aved me of him ) by an accursed plurisie , which maliciouslie seazed on him on the wednesday , and killed him on the thursday ; it is a kinde of cruelty that i my selfe am constrained to write the cause of my sorrow ; but in respect that he hath made you his executour , and hath likewise in his will disposed of one part of his estate for your childrens good , i thought it a part of my duty , by giving sudden notice of it , to expresse my deare affection to him , and love to you : i shall with you desire to see my mother , and to enjoy hers and your company to my comfort . hasten therefore , for untill your arrivall , i shall account my selfe your forlorne sister , eliz. d'estampes . mutio having penned this letter , goes with it unto the brother of master d'estampes , and signifying that he was his brothers servant , presented him the letter ; the contents whereof , being by him read , wonderfully grieved him , for that he dearly loved this his brother , and for his sake kindly entertained this his pretended servant : hee and his mother prepare themselves mourning apparrell , and dispose and order their affaires at home , against their intended journey to paris , whither hee and his mother are now resolved to goe : in the meane time mutio is not idle , but watching his opportunity , ( whiles most of the house were at church , and the rest not suspecting him ) pilfereth two or three rich diamonds out of a small casket , which he ( being his crafts-master ) so neately closed againe , that it could not be suddenly discovered . to conclude , hee framed such a simple and harmelesse countenance , and thereto used so naturall a behaviour in his demeanour , towards this younger brother , that both he and his mother take their journeys towards paris ; the one to proove the will , the other to confort her disconsolate daughter : so that now there are two severall men parted from severall places , and going to different places about one and the same cause , both of them enjoying their perfect health , both each by other thought to bee dead , and both of them building castles in the aire , with the conceited wealth left by the one unto the other : neither of them as yet perceiving the cunning theft of mutio. it was not long after the departure of mutio out of paris , before the wife of charles destampes , began to recover ; her husband therefore begins his intended journey toward chartres , to settle his brothers affaires , whiles he likewise was onward toward paris : now it happened , that he ( being either better horsed , or setting forth sooner then his brother ) came with his mother unto an inne being in the mid-way betweene both places ; and because they were very weary , they there tooke up their lodging ; and having supped , went into two severall beds in the same chamber ; charles on the other side comming from paris somewhat late into the same village , and inquiring for the best inne , was directed to the very same place ; where hee having supped , was brought into chamber , thorow which he ( that had occasion to go to or fro thorow his brothers chamber ) must of necessity passe . it happened , that this man about midnight , heard his brother speake unto his mother ( for there was but a thin wainscot partition betweene them ) so that it was easie for him to heare what they said ; the voice hee heard , made him apprehend that it was surely his brothers spirit ; but afterward considering that it might be some other that had the like voice , hee blowes out the candle , and resolves to settle himselfe to sleep . about an houre after , the younger brother who lay in the other chamber , being troubled with the squertego , called up the chamberlaine to bring him a candle , which being come , hee takes his cloke and passeth close by the bed where his brother lay , talking by the way unto the chamberlaine ; his brother awakes at the noise , and began to be in a terrible fear , for now he thought he heard him speake more distinctly , and saw a glimpse of his visage . the other holds on his way , but in his returne towards his chamber , hee became so curious , as with his candle to take a more full view of him that lay so neere him , who opening his eyes knew his countenance , and shrinkes under the cloths that he might no more bee troubled with his sight , for his whole body trembled by reason of his extream feare . young d'estampes being amazed to see his brother there whom hee certainely held for dead , let fall the candle and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him ; he hath the same conceit that his brother hath , and thinkes that he saw , to bee his spirit , so that both of them were wonderfully troubled at their strange visions : the young man tells his mother what he had seen ; she being as other women , of a weak spirit , confirmed his opinion by telling him , that he had left some vow unperformed , which was the cause that his spirit walked ; so that the extremity of feare presenting divers objects to their thoughts , they continued all night wakening in great perplexity ; at length , day appearing , the elder brother ariseth first , and dresseth himselfe in his mourning apparell , the younger likewise forsakes his bed at the same time , being both dressed , this man opens the door thinking to go downe , and there to inquire of the host who it was that lay in the adjoyning chamber , but seeing his brother in his mourning clothes , hee amazedly retired ; and the other , being no lesse afraid , goes downe , and having inquired who they were that lay in the inner chamber , he was answered , that they were of chartres , & that they were one man and one woman ; then began he to take courage , thinking it might be that the newes of his brothers death was false ; but then he wondred why ( if it were his brother ) he should mourne : to conclude , the host interposing betweene both parties , the two brothers came and imbraced each other , greatly wondering at so strange an accident ; each of them relate unto the other the roguerie of mutio , in delivering fained letters : so having spent together some time in mirth , each returned to his owne home ; where the one found that mutio his fingers had bin busie among his jewels , and the other among his best stuffes . this fellow shortly after was taken in the company of some cutpurses , and for his villanies being found guilty ; first burned with the kings marke , and then condemned to the gallies at marseilles . chap. xix . a facetious relation , how one maillard cheated a goldsmith of a rich piece of plate , &c. necessity is the mother of inventions , ( said a philosopher ) not without good reason , for when we are once falne into this labyrinth , our owne mishaps doe quicken our wits , and furnish us with some pollicy whereby to save our selves ( if it be possible ) from the lowest degree of misery . an example whereof , we will shew in the notable exploits of maillard , whose ill education increased his natural propēsion to wickednesse , and whose present wants enforced him to work his wits for a remedie . the first action he did after his arrival at paris , was to enroll himselfe among the crew of cutpurses , and ( with them to frequent the new bridg their rendevous ) he chiefly associated himselfe with two of the most subtill of the troupe ; from thence hee came to the cordeliers , where hee insinuated himselfe into the acquaintance of one of the friers of the house that hee might cause him to act a part in a comedie . good father ( said he ) i have a brother that within these few dayes hath conceived such griefe and melancholly for the death of his wife ( whom he loved as his owne soule ) that it hath almost distracted him ; sometime hee telleth us that hee seeth her ghost , and that it talketh unto him ; wherefore i am come purposely to intreat you to use your indeavour to draw him back into the good way , and to settle his distracted senses ; otherwise i feare that the devill ( who still presents unto him a thousand fancies and chimera's ) will set him wholly , and irrecoverably beside himselfe : tomorrow i will bring him unto you , that you may give him admonitions , and withdraw those thicke clouds of sorrow which darken his understanding : amidst his ravings , and idle talke , hee cryes out , that hee is robbed , and demands his money , plate , and other things to bee restored unto him ; wee have given him some physick to purge these melanchollie humours from him , but to small purpose ; how ever , i hope that your advice , and holy admonitions , will more effectually worke upon his understanding : you may bring him hither ( said the frier ) i will use my best endeavours to settle his minde ; this proceeds out of a drynesse of the braine , caused by his vehement and extreame griefe : upon these words maillard returnes , being very glad that hee had laid his nets so handsomely to catch the first partridge : hee therefore returns unto his comerades , and certifies them of his plot and purpose : the next morning very early , he takes one of his companions with him , being clothed in the habit of a priest , goes unto the exchange bridge , and there cheapeneth a silver chalice which was worth eight pounds : the goldsmith doubted nothing of the deceit , supposing that his companion being like a priest should have payed him for it ; they having agreed upon the price , maillard desires him to send it by his man along with them to the covent of cordeliers , and that there he should receive his money ; they thence went strait to the cordeliers , about nine of the clocke in the morning , and by the way entertained the goldsmiths man with so good discourse , that hee never dreamed ought of the ensuing deceit : being come to the gate , maillard seeming to be well acquainted with the house , rang the bell , and demanded to speake with such a father ; the porter answered that hee was at church with a gentleman : sir , then said he to the goldsmith , you may leave the plate with the porter , whilst we goe heare masse , and as soone as it is done , you shall receive your money ; to the which he being willing , delivered it to maillards companion , who gave it to the porter ; so they went into the vestry , where the frier was putting on his cope to say masse , maillard taking his opportunity , steps unto him , and tells him that that was his brother of whom hee had spoken the day before . the frier dreaming nothing of the deceit , turnes to the goldsmith , my friend , saith hee , have a little patience till masse be ended , and i will satisfie you . the goldsmith imagining that he should certainly receive money after masse , was content to stay and take his place in the chancell ; whither maillard and his comerade bare him company till the time of offering : but not being willing to let goe the present occasion , hee whispered the goldsmith in the eare , that they would goe before to the next taverne ( which they named ) to drinke a quart of wine , and there they would expect his company : content ( quoth the goldsmith ) and so they parted . the goldsmith yet doubted not of any deceit , or fraud , in their discourse , or carriage , but thought it sufficient that hee had the friers words for his satisfaction , and that hee had seene the plate delivered into the hands of the porter of the covent . maillard ( meane while ) comes with his comerade unto the porter , and askes for the chalice which hee had left with him , faining that he would goe say masse in a chappel neer adjoyning , at the request of some devout ones , as the manner is in paris : the porter beleeving that according to the usuall custome hee would goe say masse , delivered him the chalice , who immediately departed , and being out at the gate , you may conceive , they lost little time in going , for they were not troubled with the gout . the frier ( the mean while ) who knew nothing of the deceit , having said masse , came into the vestrie , whither the goldsmith followed him pricking his ears like an hare , and preparing his bag and gold-weights to receive money for his chalice , to whom the good frier ( drawing him aside ) began this discourse . my friend ( saith he ) is it long since your wife died , and that you have been troubled with this malady ? for i must know the cause and beginning thereof , that i may the better apply a remedy . what wife ( said the goldsmith ) i am not married , this is not the matter that brought me hither : i know well ( said the frier ) that you are not married , for then you would soone have forgot your former wife , and it is not likely , being you bare her so great affection , that you would so soon seeke a new one , but it is good to know the time since she died , that i may the better ease you of your griefe . but sir ( said the goldsmith ) i suppose you take me for some other , i have no wife , neither yet intend to have one ; i come onely for to receive money that is due unto me : my friend , said the frier , i knew very well you would demand money , neverthelesse i doubt not but to restore you to your perfect minde : have you beene at confession since you perceived your selfe troubled with this disease ? have you purged your conscience from the evill deeds you have done , by confession and repentance ? for sometimes god doth afflict us for our sinnes and offences ; excuse me if i search so narrowly into your affairs , it is not but for your good . sir , replyed the goldsmith , excuse me if i must needs say one of us wants his sences , and is not in his right minde ; i have nothing to do with your tale of a cock and a bull , i demand eight pounds which you are to pay me , or deliver my ware again , notwithstanding all these crafry shifts and mockeries . have patience my friend ( said the frier ) i will do my best to give you content , but what i say unto you is for your good , you ought not to be so cholerick ; and to tell you my minde in few words , i think it most necessary that you first seeke remedy for your soul , and after , that you take physicke to cure your body ; for all these violent passions proceed from an indisposition and drynes of the braine . you pay me fairely said the goldsmith , is this the money that you mean to give me ? good sir , either pay me my 8l l which we agreed for , or else restore unto me my chalice ; it is not reason that you should detain my masters goods , and fobb me off with an idle discourse . the frier all this while not discerning any signe or token of distraction in him , began to suspect some deceit ; and to this , the absence of maillard added more cause of suspition : of what chalice speake you , said he , have you given me a chalice ? i demand money ( answered the goldsmith ) for the chalice , for which you sent two gentlemen to whom you spake before masse ; the price agreed upon was 8l l wee have left it with the porter to deliver to you ; if you desire a further proofe you may speake with the porter himselfe , or send for those that came with me , they are not farre off , for they stay for me at the next taverne , where i promised to come unto them . the frier hearing this discourse , began to change his tune . it is true ( said hee ) that he which came halfe an houre agoe unto me , came also unto me yesterday , and certified me that hee had a brother much troubled in minde , because of the losse of his wife , whom hee so dearely loved , that he began ( through griefe and melancholly ) to bee besides himselfe , often imagining that he saw her and talked to her ghost ; and that i would do a worke of charity to use my endeavour to settle him again in his right minde : wherefore i crave pardon for this my frivilous discourse , for i supposed you to bee the man of whom hee spake ; but as for the chalice of which you speak , i know nothing of it , perhaps hee took me for the guardian of compeigne who much resembles me ; you may do well to goe to him , i will goe along with you to him : whither being come , the guardian answered that hee knew nothing of the businesse , and that for his part he had given no order to any to buy a chalice . the goldsmith at this began to doubt of the deceit , and goes unto the porter to demand his chalice ; who answers him , that it was true they delivered one unto him while they went to masse , but the priest who delivered it unto him , had taken it to go say masse , and that questionlesse he should finde him in some chappell neere thereabouts : whereupon , all in a rage , hee began to threaten the porter to sue him : but hee told him , hee could not any way hurt him , for that he had delivered it to him that gave it into his hand : after many angry words had past betweene them , the goldsmith was constrained to goe search about in the taverne and chappels neere adjoyning , to finde out either the priest or his companion ; but hee might as well search for a needle in a bottle of hay , for at last he returns home without either chalice or money . hereby may yong novices take warning to beware how they trust to outward shews , lest they dearely pay for it in the end . thus maillard came cleere off with his cup worth eight pounds , of whom you shall yet heare related further examples of deceit ; that being forewarned , you may bee armed against the like dangers to avoyd them : whereof one is as followeth : maillard having shared his former prey , and soone spent his part , ( according to the vulgar proverb , lightly come , lightly goe , ) was againe driven to his shifts , but resolved to play at small game rather then sit out . and having learned that a citizen of saint anthonies street had a farme at a place called turon , not very farre from paris : he goes thither , and learnes divers particularities ; as the name of the farmer and his servants , &c. now he returns to paris , and gives notice to his companions , of his intended plot : and having chosen his time , apparells himselfe in the habit of an husbandman , and taking a goad in his hand , as if hee were some brave carter in a leatherne jacket , comes unto the citizen , and after a clownish manner , salutes him with these words ; god give you good morrow , sir , i thinke your worship does not know me , it is but eight dayes since i came to live with your farmer , martin clare , at turon : but alas , sir ; a shrewd misfortune hath befallen us : the citizen and his wife being much troubled with these words , began to feare that the house was burnt , or the farmer dead , or some bad accident had happened ; and hastily demands what was the matter : sir , answered maillard , a sad mischance happened unto us ; as your farmer and my self were coming to paris with a cart laden with corn to sell , as ill hap would , because of the bad way , my master got up upon the cart , but as we came to the end of the towne , beyond saint martins in the suburbs , one of the wheeles brake , so that my master falling , hath broke his leg quite asunder ; this accident hath much troubled me ; but making a vertue of necessity , i was forced to take one of my horses , & to carry him to the bone-setters neere st. martins crosse , the whilest i got his sonne to looke to the cart ; and having given order to have two new wheeles made , meane while my master sent me hither to intreat your worship that you would bee pleased to come unto him , for he is in great danger . the citizen hearing this sad news rose up , shewing by his lookes that he was much grieved for this sorrowfull mischance , his wife also seemed much troubled , and would have beene contented to have gone with her husband to see him ; but he was unwilling , and goes himselfe along with this supposed carter , talking with him ( as hee went ) about his lands at the farme , wherein maillard so satisfied him , that hee thought him to bee an honest and understanding fellow . but as they came neere to st. martins , and were turning into st. honore street , maillard began to give him just instructions where to finde his master , and where the bone-setter dwelt , telling him that hee must returne to his horses , and haste to have the wheeles fitted to his cart ; saying , that hee wanted money , as ill hap was , to pay the wheel-wright , wherfore desired him , that if he had two or three and twenty shillings about him , to let him have it , otherwise hee should come too late to the market ; saying withall , that he would not make two mishaps of one , and that his master would pay him againe . the citizen without any difficulty delivers him 20s. saying that that was all hee had about him , and goes on his way with all speed supposing to finde his farmer in great danger of death , and little misdoubting of the deceit , for maillard had named unto him his grounds , how and where they were seated , and what store of corne they were like to yeeld that yeer , and many other particulars , which he had learned at the farmers owne house . maillard returnes , and not contented with the twenty shillings hee had cheated of the citizen , resolves to doe the like to his wife : he therfore makes all possible haste to the citizens house , where hee found the wife dressing her selfe , and saith unto her , mistris , your husbands worship hath sent me hither , ( he is now with the bone-setter , who gives us good hope and assurance of the recovery of my master ) hee desires your worship to send him twenty shillings to give the chyrurgion in hand towards the cure , my master will pay you assoone as his corne is sold. the good woman being glad to hear that the farmer was in good hope of recovery , makes no scruple , but delivers him twenty shillings ; so he departs the house , and goes to his companions , to whom he related his adventures ; but hee did not long glory in his wickednesse , for the goldsmith , from whom he had cheated the chalice , chanced to espie him in saint germains faire , lying in wait to entrap others , and by him was himself entrapped ; and for that , and other the like cheats and robberies , hee was broken upon the wheele as hee most justly deserved ; divine justice seldome suffering any long to escape , who so unjustly lay hands on the goods of others , and lead their lives , as it were , in deffiance of his commandments , who hath said , thou shalt not steale , but shalt love thy neighbour as selfe , and doe unto others , as thou wouldest bee done unto . chap. xxi . the multiplicity of theeves . the antiquity of theeves i have already spoken of , i will now speake of the moderne , and those daily conversant among us . the taylor steales , demanding a third part of cloth more then needes to make a suit ; and when hee that causeth it to be made , suspecting his honestie , would bee present at the cutting of it out , he troubles him , and so dazles his sight , with the often turning and winding the breadth and length of the piece , that he makes his senses become dull , with his long attention ; in the meane time , the taylor taking his opportunity , casts the cloth into a false pleat under the sheares , and so cuts it out as single , when the piece is double , whereby hee makes a great gaine ; besides what he extracts out of silver or gold lace , buttons , silke and the like ; of which , a good part hee condemnes to his hell , from whence there is no redemption . the weaver steales , in demanding more warp then the cloth requires , weaving fifty yards in stead of fourty five , and with the abundance of divers broken threds , he makes one continued , which is worth unto him the eighth part of what he robs . the shoemaker restores with his teeth that which he stole with his cutting knife , biting , and stretching the spanish leather , to the end that out of what is given him to make one paire of shoes , hee might gaine at least an upper leather unto himselfe , and if the leather be his owne , he puts therein a scurvie sole , and sowes it with rotten threed , to the end that it may weare out the sooner , and hee gaine the more from his either simple or prodigall customer . the physician , and chirurgion steale , the one prescribing , and the other applying medicines which may increase the disease , to the end , that prolonging the time of cure they may increase their fees . the apothecary robs with a qui for a quo , selling one drug for another , and taking that which is best cheape , without considering what humor it should purge , or what vertue the drug hath which he applieth : by which he robs the physitian of his reputation , and the patient of his life : and if by chance there is asked of him an oyle which he hath not , hee will not faile to give some other instead of it , that hee may not loose the credit of his shop . the merchant robs , in taking extraordinary use , and exceeding the just price of his commodity ; and sometimes by writing downe in his booke a debt , which hath beene already paid . the notarie and clerke robs with an ( &c. ) a whole inheritance , for a little money ; will by false writing give away a mans life by a voluntary mistake , writing guilty for not guilty . the lawyer and atturney robs , selling an hundred lies to their poore clients , making them beleeve that their cause is good , although they apparently see he hath no right to that he claimes : and it often comes to passe , that one atturney agreeth with another , to sell the right of the parties , and divide the gain between themselves . the judge robs men of justice , becomming passionate on the behalfe of that man , who by some present , hath beforehand corrupted him ; and violently wresting the text of bartol . and baldus for his owne gaine . the grocer , and such as sell by weight , rob ; by nimbly touching with the little finger , the tongue of the beame , whereby he turnes the scale which way he pleaseth , and so cheats the buyer of his weight . the booke-seller robs , by selling an imperfect booke , for one perfect ; by recommending a booke to his customer for good , which hee knowes to be dull , and lies heavie on his hand , and also by selling a booke of an old edition in the stead of a new . the vintner robs after divers sorts , mingling and confounding one wine with another , besides the water which hee puts in it , and when the wine , being often baptized , hath lost his strength , hee hangs in the vessell a little bag full of cloves , pepper , juniper , and other drugs ; with which hee makes it yet seeme good and right . the butcher robbes , blowing the pieces of flesh with a quill to make them seeme a great deale fairer , and that they may yeeld more then they are worth . the perfumer robs , by sophisticating the perfumes , and by multiplying the muske with the burnt liver of a cow , the amber with sope and sand , and civet with butter . the scholer robs , stealing from saint augustine , and aquinas , &c. the best of their workes , and utters their doctrine as his owne , seeming an inventour of that hee is not . thus you see all rob , and every tradesman hath his way and particular craft , for the deceitfull working of his owne ends . chap. xxii . a facetious relation of a parisian theefe condemned to the gallies at marseilles . sir , you may perhaps thinke that wee live disorderly , without either lawes or discipline , but you are therein mistaken ; for wee have first our captaine or superiour , who ordaineth and disposeth what thefts shall bee committed , by whom and how : under his command are all sorts of theeves , highway theeves , tirelaines , skipjackes , picklockes , church-robbers , cutpurses , nightwalkers , boudgets , &c. high-way theeves rob on great rodes , and deserts , with great cruelty and tyranny ; for they seldome commit a robbery without a murder , fearing to be discovered to the justice : the meanes and slights they use in their exploits , are divers ; for sometimes , as in a citie , they dog a man for a fortnight together , untill hee departs out of towne , and the better to intrap him , one of the companie goes disguised in the habit of a merchant to lodge in the same inne , with cloake-bag or packe stuffed with old cloth , giving out , that hee is a strange merchant , and that hee is fearefull to goe on his intended journey alone ; with this his dissembling hee discourseth with the poor merchant or passenger , and so drawing from him cunningly what hee desires to know ; as whence he is , whither hee goes , what sort of merchandise he carries , or what other businesse brought him thither , and at what time hee departs ; thus hee gathereth by his discourse , of the richnesse of his bootie : whereof hee gives notice to his consorts , who attend him in some place fitting their purpose ; others hide themselves behinde some well growne bushes , and when they perceive afarre off a passenger comming , then they cast into the way a purse , or a budget , or some such thing , to the end that when he alights and staies to take it up ▪ they may lay hands on him and all hee hath : others keeping themselves a little from the high-way , faine a lamentable voyce , by which they urge the passenger to stay and see what the matter is ; and whiles the plaintiffe dissemblingly relates unto him his grief , the ambush breakes foorth and strips him to his shirt . the tirelaines take their names from the theft they commit , which is to steale cloakes in the night ; and these use no other subtilty then meere occasion . they goe alwayes three and three , or foure and foure together , between nine and ten in the night ; and if they finde occasion in the mid-day they will not lose it : they goe forth to steale clokes , most commonly , in the darkest nights and most rainie ; and to those by places which are not much frequented , that the cryes of those they rob may not cause their apprehension : they are somtimes accustomed to bee clothed like lackeys , and to enter where there is any maske or great feast , faining that they seeke for their masters ; and with this liberty they finde an heape of cloakes ( which the gentlemen , or others leave in the hall , assuring themselves that no body would there offer to touch them ) and so in the sight of many they boldly take them away . the skipjacks take their names from shipboyes , who mount nimbly , by cords , to the top of the highest mast : those who beare this name , rob by night , mounting lightly by a ladder of cords , at the end whereof are fastened two little nooses , or hookes of iron , to the end that casting it to the window it may take hold and fasten , and that they may easily get in and out of the house , and carry away what ever comes to their hands , and having performed their exploit , they readily fasten a small corde to the very point of the two little hookes , which being drawne , after their descent , raiseth up the hookes , so that the ladder falleth without any trace or marke of theft . picklockes , are those that carry sundry kinds of instruments with which they open all sorts of doores . church-robbers , are those who lie lurking in some pue when evening prayers are ended , and the night following , having furnished themselves with what purchase they can get , at last pick open the church-doore , or breake through one of the windows and so depart . cutpurses are the commonest theevs of our common wealth , whose chiefest art consists either in neatly cutting , or nimbly , yet warily taking a purse out of ones pocket , without either being perceived or suspected : these ( most commonly ) frequent churches , sermons , faires , & other publique assemblies , that in the middest of the throng they may the safer act their feats of activitie ; they are accustomed to goe well apparelled , to the end , that if they approach any gentleman of quality , they may have the lesse cause to suspect them : they for the most part seeke out strangers , such as are the high and low dutch , who are accustomed to stand gaping and gazing with open mouth on some rarities , being transported with such wonder and amazement , that in their study and trance , their shirt might almost bee taken away from them : they alwayes goe two to take a purse , and as soone as hee that is appointed for the feat , hath performed it , hee gives what he hath taken to his companion , who stands by him ; so that if he bee taken , hee may more boldly deny the act , and justifie his innocencie before the world . i will tell you the industry which i once used ; the last yeere there came unto the city of lyons , a merchant of italy , rich , courteous , and of good carriage , who being noted by our spies , i was commanded to undertake him . i arose early that morning , that i might not loose any occasion , and having followed him thorow divers streets and churches , ( for hee was very zealous ) wee came unto an assembly of merchants , which are accustomed to meet about eleven of the clock ; i seeing him there alone approached him , and began to enter into a discourse concerning a traffique which might prove very commodious and profitable to him ; to which my discourse he attentively listened , and after much discourse , the company greatly encreasing , while my companion seconded my discourse , and he attentively hearkened unto him , not observing me , i softly put my fingers into his pocket to search , or try , its depth and widenesse , and quickly found that it was capable of my whole hand , so that at the first adventure i got his purse , and at the second , a silver watch fastened to a small chaine of gold ; with which i might have beene well contented , if the every had any limits , but bēing resolved to adventure the third time , to try whether i could draw from thence a dainty fine wrought holland handkercher ( which i had seene him use but a little before ) but i could not bee so dexterous in this third feate , nor my companion so sweetly eloquent in his discourse , but he felt me , and hastening with his hand to his pocket could not but meet with mine ; whereat being much troubled , and finding his purse and his watch gone , he seized on my collar , and said i was a theefe : i now foreseeing the danger which might happen to me by my rashnesse , gave my purse and watch to my comerade under my cloake as soone as i had stole them . wherefore being assured that he could not finde about me that wherewith he charged mee , i laughed at what he said , and gave him the lie a thousand times : the merchant notwithstanding , held mee fast , demanding his purse with a loud voyce , in so much that by reason of the noise , much people were gathered about the place ; but my comerade tendring my honour and safety , and fearing the danger i was in , hastened to a cryer , which hee found not farre off , and procured him to cry , that if any one had lost a purse and watch , they should come to such an inne , and there they should heare of them , and upon a reasonable recompence for the finding , and the markes told , hee would deliver them ; scarce had this good italian heard the cry , but he leaves me , intreating me , with great humility , to pardon his rash censuring of mee , which i did at the intreaty of those that were by , and so left them : he as swift as a roe-bucke hastens to the cryer , tells him the making of his purse and watch , and maketh it appeare that hee lost them , but hee who had caused him to make the cry , was not to bee found : and thus i narrowly escaped the danger that i ran into . the night-walkers , are those who take their walke about the towne towards the beginning of evening , and finding some doore open , they softly enter , hiding themselves in some obscure place , till midnight , when they cast out at the windowes whatsoever they finde within the house . i once adventured to doe the like ; but to my cost . it happened that on an holy-day , after evening prayer , going to seeke my fortune , it was my ill lucke to spie a doore halfe open , thorow the which putting my head , i perceived that all my body might enter ; which having done , i went along a ladder unto a great chamber , very well furnished , and being confident that i might lie safe under a bed which was therein , untill the houshold was all retired to their rests , i tooke that course : after i had layen some foure houres on the ground , i suddenly heard a noise of people comming up towards the chamber , and presently by the light of a candle , which they brought with them , i espied the feet of two or three servants , who covered a table with a great deale of care , and ( as i found afterward to my cost ) it was there the master of the house intended to sup : the table being furnished with divers sorts of meates , foure or five persons sate them downe thereto , ( besides children that were in the house mingling their supper with divers discourses : i was at that time so affrighted , that i verily thinke ( if the noise of them and their childrens voyces had not hindered it ) they might easily have heard the shaking of my thighes one against another : by ill luck there was a little dog in the house , which went up and downe gnawing those bones which were cast under the table ; and one of the children casting downe a bone , a cat which watched at the end of the table ( being more diligent then the dog ) took it and ran with it from the dog under the bed ; the dog runs after the cat , snarling at her , and endeavours to take away the bone ; but the cat , by the helpe of her clawes , so well defended her selfe , that having given the dog two or three scratches , so angred him that they made a fearefull noise , which made one of the lackeys take up a fire-shovell out of the chimney , and cast it so fiercely under the bed , that if it had hit my nose with the edge , ( as it did my breech with the handle ) it had taken it away cleane : but with much adoe hee made the cat go from under the bed , yet did the dog remaine behind , grumbling and barking , with such eagernesse , that neither cheering him , nor threatning could appease him ; at which they who served at the table , being offended , began to beat him , and cast him almost into the fire , leaving me as if i were breathing my last : the confusion that the dog wrought being ended , there was another that began to increase in my guts , with such violence ( by reason of the apprehension and feare that i was in ) that being constrained to sneeze thrice , i could not but offend my breeches twice . these two noises meeting , and by their conjunction augmenting , caused those at the table to arise and see what this was ; so that i was taken with the present offence , and was subject to the rigour of their vengeance ; no plea that i could make being sufficient to defend mee : they stript me starke naked , and binding my hands and my feet , began to scorch mee with their lights , not without a great deale of laughter and scorne ; and having satisfied their fury , they delivered mee into the hands of the justice , from whom i parted signed and sealed . the budgets , are theeves which runne themselves into divers inconveniencies and dangers , for they sometimes cause themselves to bee inclosed in some bale , hamper , or trunke , as if they were some merchandise , and to bee brought and left in some rich mans house , to be convayed to some countrey chapman to whom they fain they would send it ; to the end that in the night , every one being asleepe , hee may with his knife or key make way out , and so rob the house ; which tricke i once acted to my great disgrace ; for a friend of mine faining that hee had foure bales which hee desired to have conveyed into the countrey , inclosed mee within one of them ; and having so done , convayed them to a goldsmiths shop to be there kept ( as for a friend of the goldsmiths whom hee had named to him ) untill the carrier arrived : the goldsmith little mistrusting any roguery to be intentended , willingly received them into his house , in regard that the time was not long that they were to trouble the house ; but it unfortunately happened that in the night , when i thought to have performed my intended exploit , three or foure apprentices who had made a match to spend an houre or two in mirth , entering the shop , setled themselves some on one bale and some on another ; and that wherein i was inclosed , was not so free , but that i soone felt a burden , yet not so great , but that i could indifferently well beare it ; but having drunke themselves merry , they at the last betooke them to their rest , which was no rest to me , for whereas they were severed before , they now made choice of that bale wherein i was inclosed , for their bed , & theron slept so profoundly , that a man might have drawne them a mile from their couch and not have wakened them : at length ( being almost stifled with excessive waight ) i moved a little , and perceiving the immobility of that which was on me , i verely thought that they had put on me another bale : with which conceit , and the extreame torment that i suffered , i drew my knife , and cut a hole through that wherein i was inclosed , and made a large gash in the buttocks of him who lay upon me ; whereupon he arose like lightning , and cry'd out unto the neighbours for help , thinking that one of his companions wold have killed him : the cry was so great , that it not onely raised divers of the neighbours , but also hastened the officer , who entring , found the poor fellow that was hurt , and the rest in great perplexity ; he examines the man that was hurt , without taking notice of the bale , thinking it needlesse to enquire in what part he had received his wound , but to know the person that gave it . the goldsmith , considering the circumstances , began to thinke that the abundance of blood which he had lost had surely spoil'd the stuffes ; and approaching the bale , he found it open ; and putting his finger therein , to feele in what case the bale was , he lighted on my beard ; i lay still , in hope that hee would not guesse what it was : but he taking a candle in his hand , drew neere againe , and holding downe the candle more narrowly to search what was in it , the scalding liquor of the candle fell upon my face , which forced me to stirre a little ; whereupon he suddenly cried out , theeves , theeves , so i was instantly apprehended , and at length , after a sound whipping , condemned to serve in the gallies for ten yeeres , and thus was i rewarded according to my misdeeds . chap. xxiii . the gratefull theefe . as i studied the laws in the university of orleance , i learned of a scholer of touraine this ensuing history , he having formerly heard it from the mouth of him to whom the chance happened . a young man of poictou , named cyran , sonne of a merchant was sent to tours by his father to dispatch some businesse which appertained to traffique . this young man was naturally pitifull , and from his youth inclined to give almes without distinction of persons . the honour of the king of glory which may bee much advanced by workes , ought to bee endeavoured with judgement : for at length discretion is the touchstone of humane actions , and it is not enough to doe good , a man must doe it , and it must be done to purpose . almes is one of the most excellent and most acceptable actions which those to whom god hath given meanes can doe , ( for as the divine psalmist hath sung ; he that hath distributed , and given to the poore , his justice shall remaine from age to age , and his horne , ( that is to say ) his power shall bee exalted in glory ) but it must bee performed with a judicious distribution , otherwise it will bee a confused scattering , rather then a charitable disposing : and it may bee done to such , as to whom to give were no better then to put a sword into a madmans hand , or to give meanes to men to commit riotous excesse : it is true that vertue consists in a meane , equally distant from erronious extreames : and as to give inconsiderately , is rather a profuse prodigality then a true liberality ; so also to take heede of too many circumstāces when one gives an almes , argueth rather a pinching niggardlinesse then a good judgement : and likewise , as wee must not too narrowly sifte the qualities of those persons to whom we shew our charity , so must wee not bee altogether blindefold in our gifts ; and among these uncertainties , we must so frame our intentions , as not to consider onely to whom we give , but also for whose sake , even for his sake who hath promised to require the least alms given for the love of him . there are iliades of hard hearts which finde fault with the greatest part of these poore creatures who beg of them . this man ( say they ) is strong enough to gaine his living ; that is a counterfeit , this not too old , that not too young , all are in their judgements unworthy ; and this is onely to have in shew a just pretence to keepe in their purse that metall ( wherewith they make their idoll ) without purchasing the name of covetousnesse : there bee others which have open hands , and more for honour then for pity give , or through pity cast away indifferently to all , without considering that it is to nourish the lasinesse of a great many vagabonds , who stand more in need of a spirituall almes by a good rebuke , then of a temporall , which they abuse in lewd and strange deboistnesse : but who can have a spirit so truly discerning , sithence there is nothing in the world more deceiving then outward appearance . for example , there runne thorow the streets of townns , and thorow the countreys , a multitude of vagabonds , who under the name of poore souldiers ( that are going towards their own countrey ) demand almes , when oft times such are notorious theeves , who in begging seeke nothing more then fair occasions to commit foule thefts , murders , pillage , and the like ; these men have god altogether in their mouthes , and the devill in their hearts ; and yet as god did heretofore draw fire out of the mud , when ismael returned from the captivity of babylon , so from among these bandetti he retires one good theefe , as you may understand by that which ensueth . cyran passing thorow the streets of tours ( which appeareth as a flower in the midst of the garden of france ) meets with a poore souldier , who though but meanly apparelled , yet kept still a good countenance . this souldier demanded of him an almes , with such a kinde of disgracefull grace , that hee found himselfe inwardly excited to give him one ; but being extraordinarily moved , he put his hand into his pocket , and thinking to have taken thence once sol , he lighted on a piece of five , which he with a good will gave him , and with words of honour and consolation , wisheth him a good returne into his countrey , and a better art then that of warre , where there is ordinarily nothing to bee gained but knockes : the souldier after a modest and civill manner answered , sir god give me grace and power to doe you some good service , conformable to the desire i have thereunto : you have shewed mee your bounty in my pinching necessity , which i never shall be unmindfull of , for therein you have done little lesse then saved my life ; after these words of complement they parted . some few dayes , after the affaires which hindered this poictevin at tours , being finished , he takes his leave , and thence returnes towards his countrey ; but as he crossed a wood , behold there suddenly rushed out three theeves , whereof the one seazed on the bridle of his horse , and another setting a sword to his throat , commaunded him to alight and to follow them into the thickest of the wood ; a rude entertainement , and an imperious kinde of command , yet such as must bee fulfilled ; most commands presupposing a necessity of obeying . when they had lead him into the most uncouth and obscure part of the wood , they there rifled him , and tooke from him all the money that hee had , which amounted to the sum of one hundred crownes , or thereabouts ; and having likewise deprived him of his cloke and best wares , they began to deliberate whether they should kill him , or not ? let us said one of them , i know ( by his language ) that hee is one of this countrey , and therefore may raise hue and cry after us , and so discover us : 't is well said ( answered another ) if such men had killed him whom they stript in such a forrest , they would not now have made so many wry mouthes upon a gibbet at poor wearied passengers . the third ( who was the man to whom cyran had some few dayes before given the almes of five sols : ) companions said hee , what good will his life doe us , his bloud will cry louder against us for vengeance then his voyce : we shall have a sermon , replyed one of the others , those that use the trade that we exercise , ought to stop their eares against these considerations , which are good for none but old men and children ; the dead bite no more , neither doe they speake a word , the voyce of blood hath no eyes , and hee will bee well nigh rotten before any can possibly finde him in this place . friends ( replyed the good theefe ) i beg of you his life , for it i will willingly forsake that part of the booty due unto me : i will tell you a very good course to spare his life , and yet to provide for our own safetie ; let us binde him to some tree , and so leave him unto gods protection , so we shall not bee defiled with his blood . this advice was by his earnest perswasions followed , and cyran was bound to a tree w th the headstall of his horse , and his own garters , the theeves taking away his horse and furniture ; but the good theefe bowing himselfe toward cyran , ( as if hee had beene busied in tying him ) said softly unto him , friend take courage , i will come this night to unbinde thee , i have not forgot thine almes ; comfortable words , but proceeding from the mouth of a theefe , therefore not greatly to bee relied upon ; yet hee made a vertue of necessity , and that hee might not seeme desperately ungratefull , he thanks him for a benefit not yet received : thus he remaines fast bound all the rest of that day , trusting in the mercy and providence of god , and expecting the uncertaine event of the purse-takers most certaine promise : but at night he entred into the horrour of death , when in the duskenesse of the evening hee heard the yeelling and howling of the wolves which were in that forrest ; two of them were so bold as to approach him , but having for a time viewed him , and being somewhat distrustfull of their strength they presently retired , but it was not long before they returned with greater forces . this beast is not onely cruell , but also so subtile and cautelous , that even when men make curious invented gins to catch them , yet can they very seldome take , or entrap any of them : this beast feares the stock of a peece , hee shunneth snares , hee lookes about him , hee hearkens , considers , and narrowly observes the least motions , all which is marvellous to be found in a beast that hath not reason . poor cyran thinking himselfe to have now seen the last of his daies , heartily recommended himselfe to god , as a man that was at the point of yeelding up his ghost ; for they had long since sented him , and now at length began to assaile him in troopes , endeavouring to make of him a supper for themselves : but suddenly , with most fearfull yeelling , they sound a retreat , wherwith the whole wood resounded ; and the ecchoes multiplying , made cyran thinke that there were a whole legion of wolves which came to devoure him : they had now perceived the approch of him whose comming poore cyran had long expected ; surely if his succours had been delayed but a very little longer , his comming had been too late ; and it is likely hee should have found poore cyran dismembred by the wolves . but god , who sendeth aide in tribulation , and whose assistance comes alwayes opportunely , sent him at an instant ( when his long expectation was turned almost into despaire ) to deliver cyran not only from the feare of death , but also from the death of feare ; for already had terrour seazed on his heart , and he thought there was no way but inevitable and present death : but behold now the extreamity of one passion turned into another ; griefe and despaire turned into confidence and joy , cyran no sooner saw him , but he became confident of his delivery ; hee had na sooner conceived this latter hope , but hee enjoyed his long desired liberty by this good theefe his willingly untying those knots which hee had before so unwillingly knit . i leave it to you to judge , with what excessive words he testified his thankfulnesse to the good theefe , who had in one day given him his life twice ; first from retyring him from the throat of those roaring lions the other theeves , and secondly from the ravening wolves , who are theeves living upon prey . cyran was desirous to make him some part of requitall for this great benefit ; and the better to expresse his desire , hee offers the souldier to use him as his brother , if hee would but reside with him , and forsake that miserable kinde of life , which could not but leade him to a very shamefull end , and would give him so much of his estate as hee should have just cause to bee contented therewith . to leave this course of robbing ( replyed the souldier ) is my full resolution , i have long since inwardly conceived such an earnest hatred thereof , that it continually seemes an hell unto me : my intent is to become religiously penitent for those many mischiefes which i have wrought in following this accursed mistery : i never in all my life killed any man , but have beene present at divers murthers , i began to rob , being prest thereunto by necessity ; but continued in it through a kinde of wicked pleasure that there is in taking , although it served but to feed our unlimitted deboistnesse : now finding no sure place of retreat in france , where i am alway in danger of the law , i am resolved to passe into italie , and having visited loretto and rome , to cast my selfe into some religious house ; and if i cannot bee there admitted , to retire my selfe into some hermitage . i humbly intreat you to pray unto god for mee that hee may continue in me his inspiration , and give me grace to execute this good designe . this poore theefe thinking that the curtesie already done unto cyran , had not extended unto a full requitall for his former charity , laboured to perswade him to accept of his part of the hundred crownes which was taken from him ; freely offering unto him a hundred franks . but cyran not onely refused it , but freely forgiving him , protested that if hee would take the paines to accompany him to the next towne , he would inlarge his bounty towards him . the penitent souldier ( for i make it a matter of conscience to call him theefe after so godly a change ) either mistrusting a subtilty in the offer , or being fully satisfied for what he had done , ( refusing it ) heartily thanked him , and after their mutuall imbracements having made a mixture of their teares : cyran took one way , and the souldier the other , whom hee never saw after . but the two others he saw about two moneths after , being discovered by the cloke and horse of cyran , and being accused of other robberies , fell into the hands of the provost marshall , who justly gave them a quick dispatch , they being fastened to the bough of an accursed tree , commonly called a gibbet , where they never descended but by the pendant . the good successe of alms shines with such lustre in this relation , that if there were no other motive to exercise liberality towards the needy , then that centuple which is in the scripture promised in this life , it were sufficient to draw it from the hands of covetousnes it selfe , sithence there is no usury so excessive as to take a hundred for one : to which , if you adde the infinite worth of eternall life , who will be so hide bound as not to give with a free will that nothing , or flitting toy of things transitory , to attaine unto that great all , and that one necessary thing , most blessed eternity . finis .