ittington had
traffick from thence by his factors which there abode, and were then
taken prisoners, so that he lost near upon fifteen thousand pounds,
which when he heard of never was so much as cast down or dismayed, but
said God will send more; yea such was the incessant practice of the
Turkish tyranny upon this imperial city, as it exceeded the damage,
rapes and spoyls of other cities. They also beheaded at the same time
Constantine, sticking his head upon a launce, and with derision caused
it to be carried thorow the Turkish camp.
In the space of a week after, there hapned a horrible tempest of thunder
and lightning which burned almost eight hundred houses and spoiled three
thousand people at the sacking of the aforesaid city by the said
Mahomet. The Turks found therein so much treasure that they wondred that
the citizens would not spend it in souldiers for their own defence, but
so dotingly to spare the true spending thereof to become an enticing
prey for their irreconcileable enemies, for indeed it was thought that
if the State would have hired souldiers, and given them good pay they
might have raised the siege of the Turks. It is an old and true saying,
Covetousness is the mother of ruine and mischief.
This strange thing happened in the second time that he was elected Lord
Mayor and that was upon the twenty-seventh of April, being Tuesday in
Easter week: William Foxley, Pot maker for the Mint in the Tower of
London, fell asleep, and so continued sleeping and snoring and could not
be wakened with pricking, cramping, or otherwise burning or whatsoever
till the first day of the term, which was full 14 days and 15 nights.
The cause of this his sleeping could not be known though the same was
diligently searched for by the King's Command of his Physicians and
other learned men, yea the King himself examined the said William
Foxley, who was in all points sound at his awaking to be as if he had
slept but one night, and yet lived 41 years after. But in length of time
did call to mind how he did wish to God that he might sleep a fortnight
together if it was not so and so concerning a bargain between a
neighbour of his and himself.
One Thursday in Whitson week following the Duke of Somerset with Anthony
Rivers and four others kept Justs and Tournament before the King and
Queen and others of the nobility in the Tower of London, against three
Esquires of the Queen's Bedchamber, which were performed before some of
the Fr
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