If He Cannot Sing They Make Him Quack
Like A Henne.
I saw two men tyed to a rope, one att each end, and hang them so all night,
throwing red coales att them, or bourning sand, and in such like bourne
their feet, leggs, thighs, and breech.
The litle ones doe exercise
themselves about such cruelties; they deck the bodyes all over with hard
straw, putting in the end of this straw, thornes, so leaves them; now &
then gives them a litle rest, and sometimes gives them fresh watter and
make them repose on fresh leaves. They also give them to eat of the best
they have that they come to themselves againe, to give them more torments.
Then when they see that the patient can no more take up his haire, they
cover his head with a platter made of rind full of bourning sand, and often
getts the platter a fire. In the next place they cloath you with a suit
made of rind of a tree, and this they make bourne out on your body. They
cutt off your stones and the women play with them as with balles. When they
See the miserable die, they open him and pluck out his heart; they drink
some of his blood, and wash the children's heads with the rest to make them
valient. If you have indured all the above said torments patiently and
without moanes, and have defied death in singing, then they thrust burning
blades all along your boanes, and so ending the tragedie cutt off the head
and putt it on the end of a stick and draw his body in quarters which they
hawle about their village. Lastly [they] throw him into the watter or leave
[him] in the fields to be eaten by the Crowes or doggs.
Now lett me come to our miserable poore captives that stayed all along
[through] the raine upon the scaffold to the mercy of 2 or 300 rogues that
shott us with litle arrowes, and so drew out our beards and the haire from
those that had any. The showre of rayne being over, all come together
againe, and having kindled fires began to burne some of those poore
wretches. That day they pluckt 4 nailes out of my fingers, and made me
sing, though I had no mind att that time. I became speechlesse oftentimes;
then they gave me watter wherin they boyled a certain herbe that the
gunsmiths use to pollish their armes. That liquour brought me to my speech
againe. The night being come they made me come downe all naked as I was, &
brought to a strang Cottage. I wished heartily it had ben that of my
parents. Being come, they tyed me to a poast, where I stayed a full houre
without the least molestation.
A woman came there with her boy, inticed him to cutt off one of my fingers
with a flint stoan. The boy was not 4 yeares old. This [boy] takes my
finger and begins to worke, but in vaine, because he had not the strength
to breake my fingers. So my poore finger escaped, having no other hurt don
to it but the flesh cutt round about it. His mother made him suck the very
blood that runn from my finger. I had no other torment all that day. Att
night I could not sleepe for because of the great paine. I did eat a litle,
and drunk much watter by reason of a feaver I caught by the cruel torment I
suffred.
The next morning I was brought back againe to the scaffold, where there
were company enough. They made me sing a new, but my mother came there and
made [me] hould my peace, bidding me be cheerfull and that I should not
die. Shee brought mee some meate. Her coming comforted me much, but that
did not last long; ffor heare comes severall old people, one of which being
on the scaffold, satt him downe by me, houlding in his mouth a pewter pipe
burning, tooke my thumb and putt it on the burning tobacco, and so smoaked
3 pipes one after another, which made my thumb swell, and the nayle and
flesh became as coales. My mother was allwayes by me to comfort me, but
said not what I thought. That man having finished his hard worke, but I am
sure I felt it harder to suffer it. He trembled, whether for feare or for
so much action I cannot tell. My mother tyed my fingers with cloath, and
when he was gon shee greased my haire and combed my haire with a wooden
comb, fitter to combe a horse's tayle then anything else. Shee goes back
againe.
That day they ended many of those poore wretches, flinging some all alive
into the midle of a great fire. They burned a frenchwoman; they pulled out
her breasts and tooke a child out of her belly, which they broyled and made
the mother eat of it; so, in short, [she] died. I was not abused all that
day till the night. They bourned the soales of my feet and leggs. A
souldier run through my foot a swoord red out of the fire, and plucked
severall of my nailes. I stayed in that maner all night. I neither wanted
in the meane while meate nor drinke. I was supplied by my mother and
sisters. My father alsoe came to see me & tould me I should have courage.
That very time there came a litle boy to gnaw with his teeth the end of my
fingers. There appears a man to cutt off my thumb, and being about it
leaves me instantly & did no harme, for which I was glad. I believe that my
father dissuaded him from it.
A while after my father was gon 3 came to the scaffold who swore they would
me a mischiefe, as I thinke, for yet he tied his leggs to mine, called for
a brand of fire, and layd it between his leggs and mine, and sings:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 17 of 115
Words from 16355 to 17374
of 117345
