Wood also is a passable commodity heir as in all France, wheir they burn no thing but wood, which seimes indeed to be wholsomer for dressing of meat then coall. Every fryday and saturday the peasants brings in multitude of chariots charged wt wood, some of them drawen wt oxen, mo. wt mules, without whilk I think France could not subsist they are so steadable to them. For a chariot weill ladened theyle get 6 or 7 livres, which I remember Mr. Daillé payed.
They have another use for wood in that country also which we know not: they make sabots of them, which the peasants serve themselfes wt instead of shoes; in some account they are better then shoes. They wil not draw nor take in water as shoes whiles do, they being made of one intier lump of wood and that whiles meikle enough. Their disadvantage is this none can run wt them, they being loose and not fastened to our feet, yet some weill used wt them can also run in them. They buy them for wery litle money.
These also that cannot aspire to ordinar hats (for since we left Berwick we saw no bonnets as also no plaids) they have straw hats, one of which theyle buy for 6 souse, and get 3 or 4 moneths wearing out of it.
The weather in France heir is large as inconstant as in Scotland, scarcely a week goes over wtout considerable raines.
I cannot forgett the conditions that Madame Daillé in sport offered me if I would wait till hir daughter ware ready, and then take hir to wife, that I sould pay no pension all the tyme I stayed in their house waiting on hir.
On the 15 of August (being wt the Scots the 5 and observed by them in remembrance of Gourie conspiracie) came about to be observed feste de Nostre Dame, who hath 4 or 5 fests in the year, as the annuntiation, the conception, hir purification; and this was hir death and assumption day.
I went and heard the Jesuits preach, a very learned fellow, but turbulent, spurred and hotbrained; affecting strange gestures in his delivery mor beseiming a Comoedian then a pulpit man. Truly ever since in seing the Comoedians act I think I sy him. He having signed himselfe, using the words In nomine patris, filij, etc., and parfaited all the other ceremonies we mentioned already, he began to preach. The text was out of some part of Esay, thus, Et sepulcrum ipsius erat gloriosum. He branched out his following discourse unto 2:—1. the Virgines Death; 2. hir assumption. As to hir death he sayd she neided not have undergoon it but give she liked, since death is the wages of sin, mais Nostre Dame estoit affranchie de toutes sorte de peché, soit originell, soit actuell. In hir death he fand 3 priviledges she had above all others: first she died most voluntarly, villingly, and gladly; when to the most of men Death's a king of terrors. 2ndly, she died of no sickness, frie of all pain, languor or angoisse. 3dly, hir body after death was not capable of corruption, since its absurd to think that that holy body, which carried the Lord of Glory 9 moneths, layes under the laws of corruption. For thir privelegdes he cited Jean Damascen and their pope Victor. But it was no wonder she putrified no, for she was not 3 dayes in the grave (as he related to us) when she was assumed in great pomp, soul and body, unto heaven, Christ meiting hir at heavens port and welcoming hir.
He spoke much to establish monstrous merite; laying doune for a principle that she had not only merited heaven, and indeed the first place their, being the princess of heaven; but also had supererogated by hir work for others to make them merit, which works the church had in its treasury to sell at mister.[113] He made heaven also a vendre (as it is indeed amongs them), but taking himselfe and finding the expression beastly and mercenarie he began to speir, but whow is it to sell, is it not for your bonnes oeuures, your penances, repentance, etc. This was part of his sermon.
[113] Mister, need.
That Strachan that was regent at Aberdeen and turned papist, I was informed that he was in a society of Jesuits at Naples.