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to be performed were blackened, to prevent their being perceived."—Universal History.

Philip Duke of Milan.

"PHILIP succeeded to the dukedom of Milan.... upon the murder of his brother John Maria. He married Beatrix, widow of Facino. Philip, at this time, was scarcely twenty years of age, and she was about thirty-eight, but possessed of all the remains of her husband's authority, as well as wealth. The disproportion there was between their ages had disgusted Philip so much, that he had abstained from her bed. It does not appear that the lady resented this provocation in any indecent, or indeed passionate manner; and she had even submitted to serve him in the most menial offices. Unfortunately for her, she entertained as an attendant one Orombelli, a young man accomplished in the arts of music, dancing, and the other embellishments that are most acceptable at a court. Philip considering her life as an obstacle to his pleasure, accused her of criminal conversation with this youth; and though nothing could be worse founded than the charge, certain enchanted utensils were pretended to be found under her bed. Upon this villainous pretext the duchess was seized and confined prisoner in the Castle of Binasco. The youth was imprisoned at the same time; and, according to common report, both of them were put to the torture. Whatever might be in this, it is certain that he was tortured; and unable to withstand the force of the pain, he confessed the criminality, for which both of them were condemned to death, after being confronted with each other. On this occasion the Duchess shewed an invincible constancy. She reproached Orombelli with his weakness, in yielding to tortures to confess a falsehood; and in the most solemn and affecting manner she called God to witness for her innocency, only she implored his pardon for having yielded to the Arch

bishop of Milan in persuading her to so unequal a match. She declared she never had resented the Duke's abstaining from her bed, and she mentioned the great fortune and acquisitions she had brought Philip, concluding that she the less regretted her death, because she had preserved her innocence. Having finished the pathetic declaration, Orombelli was put to death before her eyes, and she followed him with the most heroic constancy. By the accounts of all historians she was a woman of a very exalted character, and no reproach remains upon her memory, but the inequality of her match with Philip. The young man was so perfectly conscious of his own innocence, that he might have escaped when she was made prisoner, but instead of that he came as usual to court, and declared he knew nothing of the matter, though his friends told him of his danger. Soon after the execution of the Duchess, the Duke brought to his court a young Milanese lady, whom he had ravished some time before." -Ibid.

Murderers of Malcolm.

the hands of robbers. In the churchyard A. D. 94. “MALCOLM king of Scots died by of Glamis stands a carved stone, referring

to the circumstances of this assassination. A centaur and a wolf denote the barbarity of the conspirators, while two fishes express the fate of these murtherers. While they tried to escape, the snow misled them; they wandered to the lake of Forfar, the ice

broke, and they all perished miserably. Many antique weapons lately found in

draining that lake confirm this account, and near these there were found brass pots and pans, probably part of the plunder of Malcolm's palace."-PENNANT. Andrews.

The Form used at the Funeral of the Greek
Emperors.

"AFTER the body had lain in state, and had received the salutes of the patricians,

the senators, and the great officers, the Master of the Ceremonies cried aloud, 'Be gone, O Emperor, the King of kings, the Lord of lords demands you.' On which the attendants raised the body and carried it to the church of the Apostles, where the High Chamberlain with his own hands put on its shroud, and lowered it into the imperial tomb."-CODINUS. Andrews.

St. Romuald.

"1006. ST. ROMUALD founded the Camaldules in Italy. He fled from Spain, because the Spaniards, to make sure of his relics, were going to murder him."-ST. Foix. Andrews.

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Bloody Soil near Battle. "EXPECT not here I should insert what William of Newbury writeth, that not far from Battail Abby, in the place where so great a slaughter of the Englishmen was made, after any shower, presently sweateth forth very fresh blood out of the earth, as if the evidence thereof did plainly declare the voice of blood there shed, and crieth still from the earth unto the Lord."-FUL

LER.

St. Keyne's Well.2

"I KNOW not whether it be worth the reporting, that there is in Cornwall, near the parish of St. Neots, a well arched over with the robes of four kinds of trees, withy, oak, elm, and ash, dedicated to St. Keyne. The reported vertue of the water is this, that whether husband or wife come first to drink thereof, they get the mastery thereby."Ibid.

Wars in Wales.

"I AM much affected with the ingenuity of an English nobleman, who following the

See the Ballad, p. 436.-J. W.W. 2 Ibid. p. 446.-J. W. W.

camp of King Henry III. in these parts (Carnarvonshire), wrote home to his friends about the end of September, 1245, the naked truth indeed, as followeth; 'We lie in our tents watching, fasting, praying and freezing. We watch for fear of the Welshmen, who are wont to invade us in the night; we fast for want of meat, for the half-peny loaf is worth five pence; we pray to God to send us home speedily; we freeze for want of winter garments, having nothing but thin linen betwixt us and the wind."Ibid.

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Temple of Quetzalcoatl.

"THE temple of Quetzalcoatl differed from the rest in form, it being round, the others all quadrangular. The door of this sanctuary was the mouth of an enormous serpent of stone, armed with fangs. Some Spaniards, tempted by curiosity to go into that diabolical temple, afterwards confessed the horror which they felt upon entering it."

Mexican Funerals.

"As soon as any person died, certain masters of funeral ceremonies were called, who were generally men advanced in years. They cut a number of pieces of paper, with which they dressed the dead body, and took a glass of water with which they sprinkled the head. They then drest it in a habit suitable to the rank, the wealth, and the circumstances attending the death of the party. If the deceased had been a warrior, they clothed him in the habit of Huitzilopochtli.

"With the habit they gave the dead a jug of water, which was to serve on the journey to the other world, and also at successive different times, different pieces of paper, mentioning the use of each. On consigning the first piece to the dead, they said, By means of this you will pass, without danger, between the two mountains which fight against each other.' With the

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second they said, 'By means of this you walk without obstruction along the road which is defended by the great serpent.' With the third, By this you will go securely through the place where there is the crocodile Xochitonal.' The fourth was a safe passport through the eight deserts; the fifth through the eight hills; and the sixth was given in order to pass without hurt through the sharp wind; for they pretended that it was necessary to pass a place called Itzehecajan, where a wind blew so violently as to tear up rocks, and so sharp, that it cut like a knife; on which account they burned all the habits which the deceased had worn during life, their arms and some household goods, in order that the heat of this fire might defend them from the cold of that terrible wind. One of the chief and most ridiculous ceremonies at

funerals was the killing a techichi, a domestic quadruped, resembling a little dog, to accompany the deceased in their journey to the other world. They fixed a string about its neck, believing that necessary to enable it to pass the deep river of Chiuhnahuapan, or New Waters. They buried the techichi, or burned it along with the body of its master, according to the kind of death of which he died. While the masters of the ceremonies were lighting up the fire in which the body was to be burned, the other priests kept singing in a melancholy strain. After burning the body, they gathered the ashes in an earthen pot, amongst which, according to the circumstances of the deceased, they put a gem of more or less value, which they said would serve him in place of a heart in the other world. They buried this earthen pot in a deep ditch, and fourscore days after made oblations of bread and wine over it.

"They were firmly persuaded, that without such a guide as the techichi, it would be impossible to get through some dangerous ways which led to the other world."

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Con, the son of the Sun.

"AMONG the inhabitants of the New World a common and generall received opinion was embraced with them, that, at the beginning of the world, from the Septentrionall, or Northern parts, there came a man called Con or Conon, who had no bones in his whole body, and therefore went verie quicke and lightly, much shortening the wayes, abasing the hills and mountaines, and raising the lowe-layd vallies onelie with his word and will, and named himselfe to be the

sonne of the sunne.

"This man filled the earth with men and women, which he produced, giving unto them divers fruites, and other things necessary for humane life. But by a displeasure he received from them, hee converted the earth, which hee before had freely given them, into a drie and barren sand, and tooke away the raine also, that it should never more showre downe, nor moisture any place. Yet as pittying their misery, he left them rivers only, to the end that they might conserve themselves, in watering the grounds by theyr owne paine and labour.

"At length came one Pachamo, who was likewise sonne both to the sunne and moone, and, having expelled or banished Conon,

converted those men into cattes, and afterward created other men. The people tooke this man to be a god, and so he was generally reputed, untill the Christians came into those countries, having erected a very good temple unto him, neare to Lima, it beeing the most renowned in all those lands:

See the Ballad, p. 431.-J. W. W.

because of extraordinary devotion there used, in regard of oracles and answeres which divells gave to priests and sacrificers there dwelling in divers places."-Treasurie, &c.

Henry Holland.

"HENRY, Duke of Exeter, though he had married the sister of Edward IV. was reduced to such want as to be seen begging his bread in rags and barefoot in Flanders. After the battle of Barnet, where he fought bravely against Edward IV. he was not to be found till his body was cast upon the coast of Kent, as if he had been shipwreckt." -CAMDEN.

Hankford's Oak.

"IN Monkley Church, Devonshire, is a monument for Sir William Hankford, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, of whom the Devonshire historians pretend that he was the person who imprisoned Prince Henry, son of Henry IV. and that fearing his displeasure when King, he retired to his seat here, and charging the keeper of his park to kill any man in his night walk that would not tell him who he was, he went into the park under those circumstances, and was killed. A tree near which this accident is said to have happened is still called Hankford's oak."-GOUGH.

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Turkish Astronomy. "FROM the mufti to the peasant it is generally believed that there are seven heavens, from which the earth is immoveably suspended by a large chain; that the sun is an immense ball of fire, at least as big as a whole Ottoman province, formed for the sole purpose of giving light and heat to the earth; that eclipses of the moon are occasioned by a great dragon attempting to devour that luminary; that the fixed stars hang by chains from the highest heaven. These absurdities are, in part, supported by

the testimony of the Koran.”—ETON'S Survey of the Turkish Empire.

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A Succubus.

"IN Germanie," said LUTHER, "was heretofore a noble familie, which were born of a Succubus, and fell out thus:

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"A gentleman had a fair young wife which died, and was also buried. Not long after the gentleman and his servant lying together in one chamber, his dead wife in the night time approached into the chamber, and leaned herself upon the gentleman's bed, like as if shee had been desirous to speak with him. The servant, seeing the same two or three nights one after another, asked his master whether he knew that every night a woman in white apparel came unto his bed. The gentleman said, ' No: I sleep soundly,' said he, ' and see nothing.' When night approached, the gentleman considering the same, laie waking in bed. Then the woman appeared unto him and came hard to his bed side. The gentleman demanded who she was? Shee answered, 'I am your wife.” Hee said, 'My wife is dead and buried.' Shee said, True; by reason of your swearing and sins I died; but if you would take mee again, and would also abstain from swearing one particular oath, which commonly you use, then would I bee your wife again.' Hee said, 'I am content to perform what you desire.' Whereupon his dead wife remained with him, ruled his hous, laie with him, ate and drank with him, and had children together. Now it fell out, that on a time the gentleman had guests, and his wife after supper was to fetch out of his chest som banquetting stuff: shee staying somewhat long, her husband, forgetting himself, was moved thereby to swear his accustomed oath; whereupon the woman vanished that instant. Now seeing shee returned not again, they went up into the chamber to see what was becom of her. There they found the gown which shee wore, half lying within the chest and half without. But shee was never seen afterwards.

"The Prince Elector of Saxon, John Frederick, having received advertisement of this strange accident, sent thereupon presently unto me," said Luther, "to have my opinion what I held of that woman and of the children which were begotten and born of these two persons: whereupon I wrote to his highness, that in my opinion neither that woman, nor those children were not right human creatures, but divels." -DR. MARTIN LUTHER'S Divine Discourses at his Table, &c. translated by Captain Henrie Bell. 1652.

The Nix.

"THE Divel casteth before the eies a blaze or a mist, and so deceiveth people, insomuch that one thinketh hee lieth by a right woman, and yet is no such matter. But inasmuch as children or divels are conceived in such sort, the same are very horrible and fearful examples in that Satan can plague and so torment people as to beget children. Like unto this is it also with that which they call the Nix in the water, who draweth people unto him, as maids and virgins, of whom hee begetteth divels children." -Ibid.

Killerops.

"THE Divel can also steal children away, as sometimes children within the space of six weeks after their birth are lost, and other children or changelings laid in their places. Of the Saxons they were called Killerops. "Eight years since," said Luther, “at Dessaw, I did see and touch such a changed child, which was twelve years of age, hee had his eies and all members like another childe. Hee did nothing but feed, and would eat as much as two clowns or threshers were able to eat. When one touched it, then it cried out; when anie evil happened in the hous then it laughed and was joiful; but when all went well, then it cried and was very sad. I told the Prince of Anhalt, if I were Prince of that countrie,

so would I venture homicidium thereon, and would throw it into the river Moldaw. I admonished the people dwelling in that place devoutly to pray to God to take away the divel; the same was don accordingly, and the second year after the changeling died."-Ibid.

"IN Saxonia, near unto Halberstad, was a man that also had a Killerop, who sucked the mother and five other women drie, and besides devoured very much. This man was advised that hee should in his pilgrimage at Halberstad make a promise of the Killerop to the Virgin Marie, and should cause him there to be rockd. This advice the man followed, and carried the changeling thither in a basket; but going over a river, being upon the bridge, another divel that was below in the river called, and said 'Killerop! Killcrop!' Then the childe in the basket, which never before spake one word, answered 'Ho! ho!' The divel in the water asked further, Whither art thou going!' the child in the basket said, 'I am going towards Halberstad to our loving mother, to be rocked.' The man being much affrighted thereat, threw the childe with the basket over the bridge into the water; whereupon the two divels flew away together, and cried 'Ho! ho! ha!' tumbling themselves one over another, and so vanished.

"Such changelings and Killerops," said Luther, "supponit Satan in locum vero. rum filiorum;' for the divel hath this power, that hee changeth children, and in stead thereof laieth divels in the cradles, which prosper not, only they feed and suck: but such changelings live not above eighteen or nineteen years. One of these more fowleth itself in the excrements than ten other children do, so that the parents are much therewith disquieted, and the mothers in such sort are sucked out, that afterwards they are able to give suck no more. Such changelings," said Luther, are also baptized, in regard that they cannot bee known the first year, but are known onely by sucking the mothers drie."

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