having tied his wife to a ladder, he left her in that half-banging posture all night. The next day he invited all the relations on both sides, as well men as women, to dine with him at his own house; sending word, that the importance of the business he had to communicate to them, excused his non-observance of the custom they have to make entertainments for the women distinct from those of the men. They all came, and asking for his wife, were told that she was busy in the kitchen; but dinner being well nigh past, they entreated the husband to send for her? which he promised to do. Whereupon rising from the table, and going into the room where she was tied to the ladder, he unbound her, put a shroud upon her, and into her hands a box, wherein were the members of her gallant covered with flowers: saving to her, "Go and present this box to our common relations, and see whether I may upon their mediation grant you your life: she came with that equipage into the hall where they sat at dinner, falling on her knees, presented the box with the precious reliques in it to the kindred; but as soon as they had opened it, she swooned her husband perceived that it went to her heart, and to prevent her returning again (now she was going) cut off her head; which raised such an horror in the friends, that they immediately left the room, and went to their several homes.

2. Schach Abbas, king of Persia, coming to understand that one of his menial servants, who was called Jacupzanbeg, Kurtzi Tirkenan (that is to say, he whose office it was to carry the king's bow and arrows) had a light wife, sent him notice of it with this message, "That if he hoped to continue at court in his employment, it was expected he should cleanse his house." This message, and the affliction he conceived at the baseness of his wife, and his reficction that it was known all about the court, put him into such a fury, that going immediately to his house (which was in the province of

Lenkeran) he cut in pieces not only his wife, but also her two sons, four daughters, and five chamber-maids, and so cleansed his house by the blood of twelve persons, most of them innocent.

3. The Egyptians do not presently deliver the dead bodies of the wives of ' eminent persons to conditure and embalming, nor the bodies of such women, who in their life-time were very beautiful, but detain them after death, at least three or four days, and that upon this reason. There was once one of these embalmers impeached by his companion, that he had abused a dead body, committed to his care to be salted and embalmed. Dr. Brown, in his vulgar errors, speaking of the like villanies used by these pollincters, elegantly writes,

deformity needeth not now complain, nor shall the eldest hopes be ever superannuated, since death hath spurs, and carcases have been courted."

4. After king Edred, (not any of his sous) but his nephew Edwin, the eldest son of king Edmund, succeeded, and was anointed and crowned at Kingston upon Thames, by Otho, archbishop of Canterbury, in the year 955. This prince, though scarce fourteen years old, and but a child in years, the very day of the coronation, and in sight of his lords, as they sat in counsil, shamefully abused a lady of great estate, and his near kinswoman; and to mend the matter, shortly after slew her husband, the more freely to enjoy his incestuous pleasure. For this and other infamous acts, a great part of his subjects hearts were so turned against him, that the Mercians and Northumbrians revolted and swore fealty to his younger brother Edgar, with grief whereof, after four years reign, he ended his life, and was buried in the church of the New Abbey of Hide at Winchester.

5. Engenius the Third, king of Scotland, made a beastly law, which appointed the first night of the new-married woman to belong to the lord of the soil. This infamous law was repealed by king Malcolm, anno 1057, granting the hus

band

band liberty to redeem the same by payment of an half-mark of silver, which portion they call marchetas mulierum, and is yet disponed by superiors in the charters they give to their vassals.

6. Augustus, though of so great a fume for a good emperor, was yet so Justfully given, that if he saw any beantiful lady, he caused her to be privately brought to him, without all respect of nobility, dignity or honesty. The philosopher Athenodorious was very intimate with him, yet not acquainted with his libidinous practices: but one day understanding that Augustus had sent a litter, closed with his seal, for a certain noble, lady, whose husband lamented exceedingly, and the chaste woman was also moved extremely thereat; he besought them both to be patient, and forthwith conveyed himself secretly into the litter in the place of the lady, with a sword in his hand: when the litter was brought, Augustus coming, as his manner was, to open it himself, Athenodorus rushed forth upon him, with his drawn sword in his hand: "And (said he)" art thou not afraid that some one should kill thee in this manner?" Augustus was much amazed at this unexpected accident, yet gently bore with the boldness of the philosopher, thanking him afterwards, and making good use of so good a warning. 7. There was a surgeon of no mean city, who, neglecting his own, followed the wife of another man; and when on a time he had mounted his horse, with a purpose to ride to her, his wife asked him, "whither he went?" who, in derision, replied, "To a brothel-house." These words, spoken in such a petulent levity, were not unheard by Divine Jus tice; for, when he had performed with the adulteress what he intended, and was mounting his horse to return, one of his fet catched, and was entangled in the reins; which the horse being frighted at, he ran away, as if mad, shook him off the saddle, one of his feet hanging in the stirrup; he drew him in such a manner along the way, that his brains

were beat upon the stones, nor could he be stopped, till he had dragged him into a brothel-house, and made good those words that before he had spoken with inconsiderate perverseness.

8. Hostius was a man of a most profligate baseness: after what manner he abused himself with both sexes, and what glasses he caused to be made, on purpose to enlarge the imagination of his impurities by the delusion of his eyes, I had rather it should be declared by the pen of Seueca than mine; but it is proper to remember, that the villanies of this monster had a due recompence, even in this world: for when he was slain by his own servants, Augustus, the emperor, judged his death unworthy of revenge.

9. The duke of Anjou coming to assist the Netherlands against the Spaniards, while his army was upon the frontiers to enter into Hainault, it happened that one captain Pont was lodged in the house of a rich farmer, named John Mills, of whom he demanded his daughter Mary to wife; but being denied, he chased the whole family out of the house, keeping only this poor virgin, whom he ravished, and caused three or four of his soldiers to do the like: this done, he set her at the table by him, and derided her with obscene speeches: she, big with revenge, as the captain turned his head to speak with a corporal, catched up a knife, and stabbed him therewith to the heart, so that he fell down presently dead. The soldiers took and bound her to a tree, and shot her to death.

10. Paulina was the wife of Saturninus, illustrious, as well for the chastity of her life, as the nobility of her birth. Decius Mundus, none of the meanest of the knights of Rome, was inflamed with her incomparable beauty, so that he offered her two hundred thousand drachms for a single night; she despis ing his gifts, he determined to famish himself. Ide, the freed-woman of his father, was aware of this, and told him, that for fifty thousand drachms she

sisters, the more ancient it is in respect of the compulsion of necessity, the more damnable it is now afterwards become through the prohibition of religion." Amongst those where religion, hath had but little to do, whole nations are at this day at once both polluted and delighted with all sorts of incestuous connections. The Persians and Parthians approve of incest in their royal families, by reason of which it is often committed, but seklom so punished as in the following history:

1. About a league and a half from the city of Amadabat, the metropolis of Guzuratta, we were shewed a sepulchre, which they call Betti Chuit, that is to say, The daughter's shame discovered: there lieth interred in it a rich merchant, a Moor, named Hajam Majom, who fall ing in love with his own daughter, and desirous to shew some pretence for his incest, went to an ecclesiastical judge, and told him in general terms: "That he had in his youth taken pleasure to plant a garden, and to dress and order it with great care, so that now it brought forth such excellent fruits, that the neigh bours were extremely desirous thereof; that he was every day importuned to communicate unto them, but that he could not yet be persuaded to part therewith; and that it was his design to make use of them himself, if the judge would grant him, in writing, a licence to do it. The kadi (who was not able to dive into the wicked intentions of this unfortunate man) made answer, "That there was no difficulty in all this: and so immediately declared as much in writing. Hajam shewed it his daughter; and finding, nevertheless, that neither his own authority, nor the general permission of the judge, would make her consent to his brutal enjoyments, he ravished ber. She complained to her mother; who made so much noise about it, that the king, Mahomet Begeran, coming to hear thereof, ordered him to lose his head.

2. Semiramis, queen of the Assyrians, was a woman of incessant and insatiable lust; to gratify which, she selected the

choice young men in her army, a fafter she had done with them, commodded them to be slain. had also incestu

ous society with ur son, and covered her private infatay with a public impiety: for she commanded that, without any regard of reverence had unto matvie, it should be held lawful for paren. and children to marry each other as they pleased.

3. Ptolemeus, king of Egypt, did first violate the chastity of his ova sister, and afterwards made her his wife; nor was it long before he as basely dis missed her, as he had impiously received her: for having sent her away, he then took to wife the daughter of that sister whom he had but lately divorced. He murdered the son he had by his sister, as also his brother's son: being therefore become hateful for his incests and murders, he was expelled the kingdom by those of Alexandria, anno ab U. C. 622.

4. Cambyses, king of Persia, falling in love with his own sister, sent for the judges of his kingdom, and inquired of them if there were any law that permitted him to marry his own sister: to whom (fearing to exasperate the natural cruelty of his disposition) they replied: "That they found not any such law as he had mentioned; but they found another law, whereby the kings of Persia were enabled to do as they pleased:" whereupon he married her, and after that another of his sisters also.

5. In the family of the Arsacide (that is, the kings of Parthia) he was looked upon as no lawful heir of the kingdom and family, who was not conceived in incestuous conjunction of the son with the mother.

6. Luther, in his comment upon Genesis, tells, that at Erford there was a young man (the son of a widow-woman of good quality) who had often solicited his mother's maid to admit him to her bed: she, wearied with his continual importunity, acquainted her mistress with it. The mother, intending to chastise her son, bade the maid to appoint him an hour, and agreed amongst themselves