[146] Flounder.
We cannot forget a story or 2 we have heard of Capuchines. On a tyme as a Capuchin, as he was travelling to a certain village a little about a dayes journy from Poictiers, he rencontred a gentlemen who was going to the same place, whence they went on thegither. On their way they came to a little brook, over which their was no dry passage, and which would take a man mid leg. The Capuchin could easily overcome this difficulty for, being bare legged, he had no more ado but to truce up his gowen and pass over; the gentleman could not wt such ease, whence the Capucyn offers to carry him over on his back. When he was in the mides of the burn the Capucyn demanded him if he had any mony on him. The man, thinking to gratify the Capucyn, replied that he had as much as would bear both their charges. Wheiron the Capucyn replied, If so, then, Sir, I can carry you no further, for by the institution of our order I can carry no mony, and wt that he did let him fall wt a plasch in the mides of the burn. Quoeritur, whither he would have spleeted[147] on the regular obedience of their order if he carried the man having mony on him wholly throw the water.
[147] Split, spleeted on, departed from.
At another tyme a Capucyn travelling all alone fand a pistoll laying on the way. On which arose a conflict betuixt the flesch and the spirit, that same man as a Capuchin and as another man. On the one hand he reasoned that for him to take it up it would be a mortell sine; on the other hand, that to leive it was a folly, since their was nobody their to testify against him. Yet he left it, and as he was a litle way from it the flesch prevailed, he returned and took it up, but be a miracle it turned to a serpent in his hand and bit him.
Enquiring on a tyme at Madame Daillé and others whow the murders perpetrate by that fellow that lived at the port St. Lazare came to be discovered, I was informed that after he had committed these villanies on marchands and others for the space of 10 years and above, the house began to be hanted wt apparitions and spirits, whence be thought it was tyme for him to quatte it, so that he sould it for litle thing, and retired to the country himselfe. He that had bought the house amongs others reformations he was making on it, he was causing lay a underseller wt stone, whilk while they are digging to do, they find dead bodies, which breeds suspicion of the truthe, wheirupon they apprehend him who, after a fainte deniall, confesses it; and as they are carrieing him to Paris to receave condigne punishment, they not garding him weell, some sayes he put handes in himselfe, others that his complices in the crime, fearing that he might discover them, to prevent it they layd wait for him and made him away by the way, for dead folk speaks none.
On the 22 of Septembre 1665 parted from this for Paris 4 of our society, Mr. Patrick, David and Alex'r Humes, wt Colinton. We 3 that ware left behind hired horses and put them the lenth of Bonnévette, 3 leagues from Poictiers (it was built by admiral Chabot[148] in Francis the firsts time, and he is designed in the story Admirall de Bonnivette). By this we bothe gratified our commorades and stanched our oune curiosity we had to sie that house. It's its fatality to stand unfinished; by reason of whilk together wt its lack of furniture it infinitly comes short of Richelieu. It may be it may yeeld nothing to it in its bastiments, for its all built of a brave stone, veill cut, which gives a lustre to the exterior. Yet we discovered the building many wayes irregular, as in its chimlies, 4 on the one side and but 3 on the other. That same irregularity was to found in the vindows. In that which theirs up of it theirs roome to lodge a king and his palace. Al the chambres are dismantled, wtout plenishing save only one in which we fand som wery weill done pictures, as the present Kings wt the Queens, Cardinal Mazarin's (who was a Sicilian, a hatmakers sone) and others. The thing we most noticed heir was a magnifick stair or trumpket most curiously done, and wt a great deall of artifice, wt great steps of cut stone, the lenth of which I measured and fand 20 foot. I saw also a very pretty spatious hall, which made us notice it, and particularly Colinton, who told me that Colinton hous had not a hall that was worth, whence he would take the pattern of that. We fand it thre score 12 foot long, and iust the halfe of it broad, thats to say 36. Above the chimly of the roome are written in a large broad the 10 commandements.
[148] Philippe de Chabot, amiral de Brion. Guillaume Gouffier, amiral da Bonnivet, was another of Francis I's admirals.
Heir we bade adieu to our commorads, they forward to Micbo that night, 2 leagues beyond Bonnevette, to morrow being to dine at Richelieu and lay at Loudun; we back to Poictiers.
Its like that we on their intreaties had gone forward to Richelieu if we had bein weill monted; but seing us all 3 so ill monted it minded us of that profane, debaucht beschop Lesly, who the last tyme the bischops ware in Scotland (when Spootswood was Archbischop) was bischop of the Isles. He on a tyme riding with the King from Stirveling to Edinburgh he was wery ill monted, so that he did nothing but curse wtin him selfe all the way. A gentleman of the company coming up to him, and seing him wt a wery discontented, ill looking countenance demanded, Whow is it, whow goes it wt you, my Lord? He answered, Was not the Dewill a fooll man, was he not a fooll? The other demanding wheirin, he replied, If he had but sett Job on the horse I am on, he had cursed God to his face. Let any man read his thoughts from that.
The richness of France is not much to be wondred at, since to lay asyde the great cities wt their trafficks, as Tours in silkes. Bordeaux wt Holland wares of all sorts, Marseilles wt all that the Levant affordes, etc., their is not such a pitty city in France which hath not its propre traffick as Partenay[149] in its stuffes, Chatteleraut in its oil of olives, its plumdamies and other commodities which, by its river of Vienne, it impartes to all places that standes on the Loier.