The English-American his travail by sea and land: or, a new svrvey of the West-Indias. Containing a journall of three thousand and three hundred miles within the main land of America ... With a grammar, or some few rudiments of the Indian tongue, called, Poconchi. Of Pocoman / By the true and painfull endevours of Thomas Gage.

  • Thomas Gage
Date:
1648
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The English-American his travail by sea and land: or, a new svrvey of the West-Indias. Containing a journall of three thousand and three hundred miles within the main land of America ... With a grammar, or some few rudiments of the Indian tongue, called, Poconchi. Of Pocoman / By the true and painfull endevours of Thomas Gage. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    committed in thofe places,and yet the 'Temples mightily enriched by fuch who have thought thofe alms a fufficient warrant to free them from hell & Purgatory. But I muft return to Mexico which is mille teflej of this truth,fin and wickedneffe abounding in it} and yet no fitch people in the world toward the Church and Clergy , who in their life time ftrivejto exceed one another in their gifts to the Cloifters of Nuns and Friers, fome erecting Altars to their beft devoted Saints, worth many thoufand thoufand duc¬ kats,others prefen ting crowns of gold to the pictures of M*y) others lamps,othe/ s gob* den chains,others building Cloifters at their own charge,others repairing them,others at their death leaving to them two or three thoufand duckats for an annnall ftipend. A- mong thefe great Benefa&ors to the Churches of that City I thould wrong my Hiftory if 1 fhould forget cnethatlived in my time,called AlonfoCuellar5 who was reported to have a Clofet in his h oufe laid with bars of gold in (lead of bricks5though indeed it was not fo, but only reported for his abundant riches and ftore of bars of gold which he bad in one cheftftanding in a dofetdiftant from another, where he had a cheft full of wedges of filver. This man alone built a Nunery of Francifcan Nuns,which flood him in above thirty thousand duckats, and left unto it for the maintainance of the Nuns two thoufand duckats yeerly, with obligation of fome maffes to be faid in the Church every yeer for his fbule after hisdeceafe. And yet this mans life was fo fcan- dalous, that commonly in the night with two fervants he would round the City, vifi- tingfuch fcandalousperfonswhofc attire before hath been described, carrying his beads in his hands, and at every houfe letting fall a beade and tying a falfeMHt, that when he came home in the morning towards breake of the day he might rfamber by hisbeades the uncivil llations he had walked and vifited that night.But thefe his works of darkeneffe came to light, and were publifhed farre and neer for what happened unto him whilft I was in Mexico; for onenight meeting at one of his ftations with a gentle¬ man that was jealous of him, fwords on both fides weredrawne, the Concubine firft was ftabbed by the Gentleman who was better manned and attended} and Cuellar (’who was but a Merchant) was mortally wounded and left for dead, though after¬ wards he recovered. Great Aimes and liberality towards religious houfes in that City commonly are coupled with great and fcandalous wickednefie. They wallow in the bed of riches and wealth, and make their Aimes the Coverlet to cover their loofeand lafeivious lives. From hence are the Churches fo fairly built and adorned. There are not above fifty Churches and Chappels, Cloifters and Nunneries, and Parifti Chur¬ ches in that City 5 but thofe thatare there are the faireft that ever my eyes beheld, the roofes and beams being in many of them all daubed with goId,and many Altars with fundry marble pillars, and others with Brafil wood ftaies (landing one above another with Tabernacles for feveral Saints richly wrought with golden colours,fo that twen¬ ty thoufand duckats is a common price of many of them. Thefe caufe admiration in the common fort of people, and admiration brings on daily adoration in them to thofe glorious fpeftacles and images of Saints; fo Satan ftewes Chrift all the glory of the Kingdomes to intice him to admiration, and then AU thefe things nil! 1 givetbee if thoH wilt fall d/rvne and rvorjbip mee, Mat. 4. 8,9. The devill will give all the world to be adored. Eefides thefe beautiful! buildings, the inward riches belonging to the Altars are in¬ finite in price and value, fuch as Copes, Canopies, hangings. Altar cloths, Candle- ftickes,Jewels belonging to the Saints, and crownes ofgold andfilver,and Tabernacles of gold and Cryftall to carry about their facrament in Proceifion, all which would mount to the worth of arealonablemine offilver, and would be a rich prey for any nation that could make better ufe of wealth and riches. I will not fpeake much of the lives of the Fryers and Nuns ot that City , but only that there they enjoy more liber¬ ty then in the parts of Europe ( where yet they have tooffiuch } and that furely the fcandals committed by them doe cry up to heaven for vengeance,]udgement, and deftru- In my time in tbeCIoifter of the Mercenarian Fryers which is entituledfor the Re¬ demption of Captives, there chanced to bean eleftion of a Provinciall to rule over them, to the which all the Priors and heads of the Cloifters about the countrey had retorted, and fuch was their various and faftious difference, that upon the fubdain all theConventwasinanuproare, their canonicall efeaion was turned to mutiny and itnte, knives were dr&wn, many wounded, thefcandall and danger of murther fo great,