From thence he went to Vienna in Austria; the town is of great antiquity, that it is not possible to find the like. "In this town," said the spirit, "is more wine than water, for all under the town are wells, which are filled every year with wine, and all the water that they have runneth by this town; this is the river Danubius."
From thence he went into Prage, the chief city of Bohemia; this is divided into three parts, that is old Prage, little Prage, and new Prage. Little Prage is the place where the emperor's court is placed; upon an exceeding high mountain there is a castle, where are two fair churches; in the one he found a monument which might well have been a mirror for himself, and that was the sepulchre of a notable conjurer, which by his magic had so enchanted his sepulchre that whosoever set foot thereon, should be sure never to die in their beds. From this castle he came and went down over the bridge; this bridge has twenty-four arches, and in the middle of the bridge stands a very fair monument, being a cross builded of stone, and most artificially carved. From thence he went into the old Prage, the which is separated from the new Prage, with an exceeding deep ditch, and round about enclosed with a wall of brick; unto this is adjoining the Jews' town, wherein are thirteen thousand men, women, and children, all Jews; there he viewed the college and the gardens, where all manner of savage beasts are kept; and from thence he fetched a compass round about the three towns, whereat he wondered greatly to see so mighty a city stand all within the walls.
From Prage he flew into the air, and bethought himself what he might do, or which way to take; so looked round about, and behold he espied a passing fair city, which lay not far from Prage, about some four-and-twenty miles, and that was Bressaw in Silesia, in which when he was entered, it seemed to him that he had been in Paradise, so neat and clean were the streets, and so sumptuous were their buildings. In the city he saw not many wonders, except the brazen Virgin that standeth on a bridge over the water, and under which standeth a mill like a paper-mill, which Virgin is made to do execution upon those disobedient town-born children that be so wild that their parents cannot bridle them; which, when any such are found with some heinous offence, turning to the shame of their parents and kindred, they are brought to kiss the Virgin, which openeth her arms. The person then to be executed kisseth her, then doth she close her arms together with such violence, that she crusheth out the breath of the party, breaketh his bulk, and so he dieth; but being dead she openeth her arms again, and letteth the party fall into the mill, where he is stamped into small morsels, which the water carrieth away, so that no part is found again.
From Bressaw he went toward Cracovia, in the kingdom of Polionia, where he beheld the academy, the which pleased him wonderful well. In the city the king most commonly holdeth his court at a castle, in which castle are many famous monuments; there is a most sumptuous church in the same, in which standeth a silver altar gilded and set with rich stones, and over it is a covenance full of all manner of silver ornaments belonging to mass. In the church hangeth the jaw-bones of a huge dragon, that kept the rock before the castle was edified thereon: it is full of all manner of munition, and hath always victuals for three years to serve three thousand men; through the town runneth a river, called the Vessnal or Wessel, where over is a fair wooden bridge; this water divideth the town and Gasmere; in this Gasmere dwell the Jews, being a small walled town by themselves, to the number of twenty-five thousand men, women and children; within one mile of the town there is a salt mine, where they found stones of pure salt, one thousand pound, two thousand pound, or more in weight, and that in great quantity: this salt is as black as the Newcastle coal when it comes out of the mines, but being beaten to powder, it is as white as snow. The like they have four miles from thence at a town called Buckma.
From thence Faustus went to Sandentz, the Captain thereof was called Don Spicket Jordan. In this town are many monuments, as the tomb and sepulchre of Christ, in as ample a manner as that is at Jerusalem, at the proper costs of a gentleman that went thrice a year to Jerusalem from that place and returned again. Not far from that town is a new town wherein is a nunnery of the order of St. Dioclesian, into which order may none come except they be gentlewomen, and well formed, and fair to look upon, which pleased Faustus well; but having a will to travel further, and to see more wonders, mounting up towards the east, over many lands and provinces, as in Hungaria, Transilvania, Shede, Ingatz, Sardinia, and so into Constantinople, where the Turkish emperor kept his court.
This city was surnamed by Constantine, the founder thereof, being builded of very fair stone. In the same the Great Turk hath three fair palaces: the walls are strong, the pinnacles are very huge, and the streets very large. But this liked not Faustus that one man should have as many wives as he would. The sea runneth hard by the city; the wall hath eleven gates. Faustus abode there a certain time to see the manner of the Turkish emperor's service at his table, where he saw his royal service to be such that he thought if all the Christian princes should banquet together, and every one adorn the feast to the utmost, that they were not able to compare with the Turk and his table, and the rest of his country service. Wherefore it so affrighted Faustus that he vowed to be revenged on him, for his pomp, he thought, was more fit for himself; wherefore as the Turk sate at meat Faustus showed them a little apish play, for round about the privy-chamber he sent forth flashing flames of fire, insomuch that the whole company forsook their meat and fled, except only the Great Turk himself; him Faustus charmed in such sort that he could neither rise nor fall, neither could any man pull him up. With this was the hall so light as if the sun had shined in the house. Then came Faustus in form of a pope to the Great Turk, saying, "All hail, emperor, now art thou honoured, that I so worthily appear unto thee as thy Mahomet was wont to do." Hereupon he vanished, and forthwith it thundered that the whole palace shook. The Turk greatly marvelled what this should be that so vexed him, and was persuaded by the chiefest counsellors that it was Mahomet, his prophet, which had so appeared unto them; whereupon the Turk commanded them to fall down on their knees and to give him thanks for doing them so great honour as to show himself unto them. But the next day Faustus went into the castle where he kept his wives and concubines, in which castle might no man, upon the pain of death, come, except those that were appointed by the Great Turk to do him service, and they were all eunuchs, which when Faustus perceived, he said to his spirit Mephistophiles, "How likest thou this sport? Are not these fair ladies greatly to be pitied that thus consume their youth at the pleasure of one only man?"
"Why," quoth the spirit, "mayst not thou instead of the emperor embrace these fair ladies? Do what thy heart desireth herein, and I will aid thee, and what thou wishest thou shalt have it performed."
Wherefore Faustus (being before this counsel apt enough to put such matters in practice) caused a great fog to be round about the castle, both within and without, and he himself appeared amongst the ladies in all points as they used to paint Mahomet; at which sight the ladies fell on their knees and worshipped him. Then Faustus took the fairest by the hand, and when he had delighted himself sufficiently with her, he put her away, and made his spirit bring him another; and so he passed away six days, all which time the fog was so thick and so stinking that they within the house thought that they had been in hell for the time, and they without wondered thereat, in such sort that they went to their prayers, calling on their God Mahomet, and worshipping of the image; where the sixth day Faustus exalted himself into the air like a pope, in the sight of the Great Turk and all his people, and he had no sooner departed the castle but the fog vanished away. Whence presently the Turk went to his wives and concubines, demanding of them if they knew the cause why the castle was beset with a mist so long. They said it was the God Mahomet himself that had caused it, and how he was in the castle personally six days. The Turk, hearing this, fell down upon his knees and gave Mahomet thanks, desiring him to forgive him for being offended with his visiting his castle and wives these six days.
From thence Faustus went to Alker, the which before times was called Chairam, or Memphis. In this city the Egyptian Soldan holdeth his court; from thence the river Nilus hath his head and spring. It is the greatest fresh water river that is in the whole world, and always when the sun is in Cancer it overfloweth the whole land of Egypt.
Then he returned again towards the north-east, and to the town of Osen and Sebasa in Hungaria. This Osen is the closest city in Hungaria, and standing in a fertile soil, wherein groweth most excellent wine; and not far from the tower there is a well called Zipzan, the water whereof changeth iron into copper. There are mines of gold and silver and all manner of metal. We Germans call this town Osen, but in the Hungarian speech it is Start. In the town standeth a very fair castle, and very well fortified.