THE TOURIST IN HISTORY
Mr. William Lithgow arrives in Venice (Rare Adventures, 1610):
Mine associate and I, were no sooner landed, and perceiving a great throng of people, and in the midst of them a great smoke; but we begun to demand a Venetian what the matter was? Who replied, there was a gray Friar burn- ing quick at St. Mark's pillar, for begetting fifteen young noble Nuns with child, and all within one year; he being also their Father confessor. Whereat I sprung forward through the throng, and my friend followed me, and came just to the pillar as the half of his body and right arm fell flatlings in the fire.... And I cannot forget, how after all this, we being anhungcred, and, also overjoyed, tumbled in by chance Alto cape/to Rosso, the greatest ordinary in all Venice, near to which the Friar's bones were yet a-burning; and calling for a chamber we 'were nobly and richly served. . . . Then next morn. I begun to remark the grandeur of the Inn, and saw it was time that we were gone: I demanded our dependent, what was to pay? He answered, A crown the diet for each of us. . . . Mr. Arthur looked on me awl (laughed upon him. In a word our dinner and supper cost us . . four crowns, whereat my companion being discontented bade the devil be in the Friar, for we had paid soundly for his lechery.
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