Juile is a great feste in France. The Papists are very devote on it, yea so religious that they go all to Church at midnight to hear Masse, for a preist hath that day power to say thry masses consecutife, when at another tyme he can say no more but on at a tyine. I went after dinner and hard the cordelier at St. Pierre. The rest of our Scotsmen ware so curious as to go hear Midnight Masses. As for me I had no skil of it it was so cold; and surely I did not repent it considering the affront that they got, that they ware forced to render their swords at the command of the Intendant who the night before was come to toune from the Grand Jour[315] that was then in Auuergne. This he caused do following the mode of Paris, wheir no man is suffered to carry a sword that night, both by reason of many quarrels begun that night, as also of sewerals that take occasion to decide former quarrels on that night. Surely they had no satisfaction in that Mass.
[315] High Commission sent down by the king to the provinces as a final Court of Appeal.
During the tyme I was heir I fel in discourse wt the Jesuites, going once to sy our countryman Pere Broune, who was wery kind to us al, and came and saw me after.
About the tyme was that poor smith, of whom we made mention before, execute, who was the first we ever did sie in France. Tho he had receaved his sentence at Poictiers, yet that could serve til he was taken to Paris (for the Capital tounes of France are not royal boroughs as our are, having the power of heading and hanging wtin themselfes), wheir he was condemned to be broken on the wheel, to be rouée, tho according to the custome of France he know not that he was sentenced til about 2 howers before he was broken, for by concealing it up til then they keip them from taking wiolent courses to prevent their death which they would take if they know of it, as killing themselfes, or means to ecscape, tho otherwise it be very il for their souls, they having so short tyme to prepare themselfes for death. They made this poor fellow beleive that he was only condemned to the galleys, at which he laught, telling that it appeared they knew not he was a smith, so that he could easily file his chaines and run away. About 12 acloak on that day he was to be execeut he was conveyed to the Palais to hear his sentence, wheir it was read to him on his knees, the hangman bourreau at his back wt a tow in his hand. The sentence being read he puts the tow about his neck wt thir words, le Roy wous salou, mon amy, to show him that its the King that causes him dy. His sentence is read to him again at the foot of the Palais, as give ye sould say at the coming of the Parlement close, or Ladies Steeps;[316] and then a third tyme on the schaffold.
[316] Steps close to St. Giles's Church. See Wilson, Memorials of Edinburgh, 1891, vol. i. p. 260.
Their ware mo then 10,000 spectators at the Marcher Vieux. In the midle of it their was a little eschaustaut[317] erected, on which ware nailed 2 iests after the forme of a St. Androws crosse, upon whilk the poor fellow was bond on his back, wt his 2 armes and his 2 thigs and legs on the 4 nooks of the crosse, having bein strip naked to his shirt. After he had prayed a little and the 2 carmes[318] that assisted him, the bourreau made himselfe ready to execute the sentence, which was that he sould get 2 strooks quick and the rest after he was stranguled.
[317] Echafaud, scaffold.
[318] Carmelites.
At Paris in breaking great robbers, for the better exemple they do not strangle them at all; but after they have broken all their bones to peices almost, they leave them to dy on the rack.
To return to our poor miserable, the bourreau wt a great baton of iron began at the armes and brook them wt tuo strooks, then his knees, then a strook on every thigh, then 2 on the belly, and as many on the stomack; and after all thir, yea after the 20 strook, he was not fully dead. The tow[319] brak twice that was ordained to strangle him. In sying what this cattif suffered made us conclud that it was a cruel death to be broken in that sort.