Thursday earely at the breach of day, we sixe made us for the mountaine, leaving our Souldiers to guard the passage below, least some stragling Arabs should have stolne after us for our Destruction. Where after diverse turnings, traversings, and narrow foot passages having come with great difficulty to the top, we entred first into a umbragious Cave, joyning to, and under the Chappell, Where Christ fasted forty dayes.where the Frier told us, that in this place Christ did fast forty dayes: and here it was, where he rebuked Sathan. The Chappel which covereth the top of this high and steepy Rocke is covered, and also beautified, with an old Altar: betweene the outward sides whereof, and the craggy face of this mountaine, two men may only go side to side: Here we dined and refresht our selves with water that I carried on my backe hither: From which place we saw the most part of all the Holy Land, except the North parts of Judea, Palestine, and Phenicia, and a great way in the two Arabiaes, Petrea, and Deserta, and all the length of Jordan, even from Sodome to Maronah.
[VI. 262.]At last in our Returne and fearefull discending, there would none of us goe downe formost: For although the Frier led us freely upwards, yet first downeward for his life hee durst not goe: and that because at the narrow end of every turning, there was aye betweene the upper and the lower passage, about my height, and some where twice my height, of the flat face of the Rocke, whereon there was nothing but dimples and holes to receive our feete, which in discending was perillous. Dreadfull danger in descending the Quarantatam.Now the greatest danger, at every turne, was in the downe going of the formost, who was to receive, them all, one by one, and foote their feet in the shallow dimples: of which if any of them had missed, his sliding downe had miscarried them both over the Rocke.
Now for the noble Germanes sake, two of whom were great Barens, Signior Strowse, and Signior Crushen, and borne Vassals to the Marquesse of Hanspauch, I resolved to imbrace the danger: Where downe I went, receiving every one of them, at every turne, first leading their feete by my hands, and then by inveloping them with mine armes: Well, having past halfe way downewards, wee came to the most scurrile and timorous Discent of the whole passage, where with much difficulty, I set safe the foure Germanes in our narrow Rode hewen out of the craggy Hill; and then was to receive the Frier: Whence hee comming downe from above, with his Belly and face to the Rocke, holding his hands grumbling above, the fellow fell on trembling; and as I was placing his feete in the holes, distempred feare brought him downe upon me with a rushling hurle: Whereuppon straight I mainly closed with my left arme his body fast to the Rocke, keeping strongly my Right shoulder to the same [VI. 263.]place: For I could not have saved my selfe, and letting him fall, but hee would have caught mee headlong with him, over the Rocke: And yet the Germanes cryed still to me, Lascia ti quel furfanto cascar alla fondo con il Diavolo, e salva caro fratello la vita vostra, viz. Let that Villaine fall to the ground with the Divell, and save, O deare brother, your owne life: But I neyther would nor durst: at last his feare, by my incouragement having left him, I suffered him to slide softly downe betweene my arme and the Rocke, to the solid path: Where by and by, hee fell downe uppon his knees, and gave mee a thousand Blessings, vowing for this, he would doe me a great good deede before I left Jerusalem.
At last towards the afternoone, wee safely arrived at the foote of the Mountayne, and having saluted the Guardian, and all the Rest, who then were ready to take journey, the Frier told his Reverence how I had saved his life: Whereupon the Guardian, and the other Friers, did imbrace me kindly in their Armes, giving me many earnest and loving thankes.
And now the Souldiers and wee being advanced in our Way, as wee returned to Jerusalem, wee marched by an S. Jeromes Abbey.olde Ruinous Abbey, where (say they) Saint Jerome dwelt, and was fed there by wilde Lyons: Having travailed sore and hard that afternoone, wee arrived at Jerusalem an houre within night, for the Gate was kept open a purpose for us and our Guard: and entring our Monastery, wee supped, and rested our selves till midnight; having marched that halfe Day, more as 34. miles. A little before midnight, the Guardian and the Friers, were making themselves ready to goe with us to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, called Sancto Salvatore; where wee were to stay Good-friday and Satturday, and Easter-Sunday [VI. 264.]till mid-night: They tooke their Cooke with them also to dresse our Dyet, carrying Wine, Bread, Fishes, and Fruites hither in abundance. Meane while, a Jew, the Trench-man of the Turkies Sanzacke, came to the Monastery, and received from every one of us Pilgrimes, first two Chickens of Gold, for our severall heads, and entrey at Jerusalem: and then nine Chickens a peece for our in going to the Holy Grave; and a Chicken of golde a man, to himselfe the Jew, as beeing due to his place.
Our tributs for the Holy Grave.Thus was there twelve Chickens from each of us dispatched for the Turke: And last one, and all of us, behoved to give to the Guardian two Chickens also for the Waxe Candles and fooleries hee was to spend, in their idle and superstitious Ceremonies, these three aforesayd nights, which amounted in all to every one of us, to foureteene Chickens of gold, sixe pounds sixe shillings starling. So that in the whole from the sixe Germanes, foure French men, and nine Commercing Franks in Cyprus and Syria, Venetians, and Ragusans, and from my selfe, the summe arose for this nights labour to a hundred and twenty sixe pounds starling.
This done, and at full mid-night wee came to the Church where wee found twelve Venerable like Turkes, ready to receive us, sitting in the Porch without the Doore; who foorthwith opened at randone the two great Brazen halfes of the Doore, and received us very respectively: We being within the doore made fast, and the Turkes returned to the Castle, the first place of any note we saw, was the place of Unction, which is a foure squared stone; inclosed about with an yron Reuele, on which (say they) the dead body of our Saviour lay, and was imbalmed; after hee was taken from the Crosse, whiles [VI. 265.]Joseph of Arimathea, was preparing that new Sepulcher for him wherein never man lay: from thence we came to the holy Grave. Leaving Mount Calvary on our right hand toward the East end of the Church; for they are both contained within this glorious edifice.
The Holy Grave.The Holy Grave is covered with a little Chappell, standing within a round Quiere, in the west ende of the Church: It hath two low and narrow entries: As we entred the first doore, three after three, and our shoes cast off, for these two roomes are wondrous little, the Guardiano fell downe, ingenochiato, and kissed a stone, whereupon (he sayd) the Angell stood, when Mary Magdalen came to the Sepulchre, to know if Christ was risen, on the third day as he promised: And within the entry of the second doore, we saw the place where Christ our Messias was buried, and prostrating our selves in great humility, every man according to his Religion, offered up his prayers to God.
The Sepulchre it selfe, is eight foote and a halfe in length, and advanced about three foote in height from the ground, and three foote five inches broad, being covered with a faire Marble stone of white colour.
In this Chappell, and about it, I meane without the utter sides of it, and the inward incirclings of the compassing Quiere, there are alwayes burning above fifty Lampes of oyle, maintained by Christian Princes, who stand most of them within incircling bandes of pure Gold, which is exceeding sumptuous, having the names of those, who sent or gave them, ingraven upon the upper edges of the round circles: each of them having three degrees, and each degree depending upon another, with supporters of pure Gold, rich and glorious. The fairest whereof was sent thither by King John of England, whereon I saw his [VI. 266.]Name, his Title, and crowne curiously indented, I demanded of the Guardiano if any part of the Tombe was here yet extant, who replied, there was; but because (said he) Christians resorting thither, being devoutly moved with affection to the place, carried away a good part thereof, which caused S. Helen inclose it under this stone; whereby some relicts of it should alwaies remaine. I make no doubt but that same place is Golgotha, where the holy Grave was, as may appeare by the distance, betweene Mount Calvary and this sacred Monument; which extendeth to forty of my pases: The glorious Chappell of the Holy Grave.This Chappell is outwardly decored, with 15. couple of Marble Pillars, and of 22. foote high; and above the upper coverture of the same Chappell, there is a little sixe-angled Turret made of Cedar wood, covered with Lead, and beautified with sixe small Columnes of the same tree. The Chappell it selfe standeth in a demicircle or halfe Moone, having the little doore or entry looking East: to the great body of the Church, and to Mount Calvary, being opposite to many other venerable monuments of memorable majesties.