How a woman killed her selfe and her child, because her husband haunted
harlots.
After that we had passed a great part of our journey, we came to a
village where we lay all night, but harken, and I will tell you what
mischiefe happened there: you shall understand there was a servant to
whom his Master had committed the whole government of his house, and
was Master of the lodging where we lay: this servant had married a
Maiden of the same house, howbeit he was greatly in love with a harlot
of the towne, and accustomed to resort unto her, wherewith his wife was
so highly displeased and became so jealous, that she gathered together
all her husbands substance, with his tales and books of account, and
threw them into a light fire: she was not contented with this, but she
tooke a cord and bound her child which she had by her husband, about
her middle and cast her selfe headlong into a deepe pit. The Master
taking in evill part the death of these twaine, tooke his servant which
was the cause of this murther by his luxurie, and first after that he
had put off all his apparell, he annointed his body with honey, and
then bound him sure to a fig-tree, where in a rotten stocke a great
number of Pismares had builded their neasts, the Pismares after they
had felt the sweetnesse of the honey came upon his body, and by little
and little (in continuance of time) devoured all his flesh, in such
sort, that there remained on the tree but his bare bones: this was
declared unto us by the inhabitants of the village there, who greatly
sorrowed for the death of this servant: then we avoiding likewise from
this dreadfull lodging incontinently departed away.