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Their women are very strangely attyred, wearing on their noses, eares, neckes, armes and legges many rings, set with jewels, and lockes of siluer and golde in their eares, and a long barre of golde vpon the side of their noses.
The dittie to the mot, Quid regna sine vsu. I will rehearse no more, but I haue an hundred other, let this be the vpshot of these shewes, they were the admirablest that euer Florence yelded. To particularize their maner of encounter, were to describe the whol art of tilting. Some had like to haue falle ouer their horse neck and so breake their neckes in breaking their staues.
For said they we would knowe with speed, for to morow is the kings court: and therefore we would know, for that you should come into the citie like captiues. But for all that we were carried in as captiues and with ropes about our neckes as well English as the French and Spaniards.
There groweth also a certaine kind of herbe, whereof in Sommer they make great prouision for all the yeere, making great account of it, and onely men vse of it, and first they cause it to be dried in the Sunne, then weare it about their neckes wrapped in a little beasts skinne made like a little bagge, with a hollow peece of stone or wood like a pipe: then when they please they make pouder of it, and then put it in one of the ends of the said Cornet or pipe, and laying a cole of fire vpon it, at the other ende sucke so long, that they fill their bodies full of smoke, till that it commeth out of their mouth and nostrils, euen as out of the Tonnell of a chimney.
But how should I speake of the horses my companions, how they being old and weake, thrust their heads into the manger: they had their neckes all wounded and worne away: they rated their nosethrilles with a continuall cough, their sides were bare with their harnesse and great travell, their ribs were broken with beating, their hooves were battered broad with incessant labour, and their skinne rugged by reason of their lancknesse.
Heere were found some pearles of small valew, spoiled with the fire, which the Indians do pierce and string them like beades, and weare them about their neckes and hand wrists, and they esteeme them very much. The houses were made of timber, and couered with Palme leaues.
At the first chop with his wood-knife would he fish for a mans heart, and fetch it out as easily as a plum from the bottome of a porredge pot. Hee would cracke neckes as fast as a cooke crackes egges: a fidler cannot turne his pin so soone, as he would turn a man of the ladder.
Also the chardges of bringinge the Emperours embassador hither, and mayneteyninge him here, and the settinge furthe of her Majesties embassadour thither with presentes to the Emperour, lyenge all upon the poore marchantes neckes, is no easie burden unto their shoulders. And to encrease the some, the Kinge of Denmarke requireth a tribute of them, thoughe they touche not upon any of his domynions.
These small shippes, accompanied with the Centurion, sayling along the coast of Spaine, were ypon Easter day in the Straight of Gibraltar suddenly becalmed, where immediatly they saw sundry Gallies make towards them, in very valiant and couragious sort: the chiefe Leaders and souldiers in those Gallies brauely apparelled in silke coates, with their siluer whistles about their neckes, and great plumes of feathers in their hattes, who with their Caliuers shot at the Centurion so fast as they might: so that by 10. of the clocke and somewhat before, they had boorded the Centurion, who before their comming had prepared for them, and intended to giue them so soure a welcome as they might.
In this meane while there came a shippe of New-hauen to the place where we were, whereby we had intelligence of our seuen men which wee left behinde vs at the Isle of Mona: which was, that two of them brake their neckes with ventring to take foules vpon the cliffes, other three were slaine by the Spaniards, which came from Saint Domingo, vpon knowledge giuen by our men which went away in the Edward, the other two this man of New-hauen had with him in his shippe, which escaped the Spaniards bloodie hands.
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