HO PAID TITHE. [32]

By Monseigneur De Villiers.

_Of the Cordeliers of Ostelleria in Catalonia, who took tithe from the
women of the town, and how it was known, and the punishment the lord of
that place and his subjects inflicted on the monks, as you shall learn
hereafter._

In order that I may not be excluded from the number of fortunate and
meritorious writers who have worked to increase the number of stories
in this book, I will briefly relate a new story, which will serve as a
substitute for the tale previously required of me.

It is a well-known fact that in the town of Hostelleria, in Catalonia,
(*) there arrived some minor friars of the order of Observance, (**) who
had been driven out of the kingdom of Spain.

(*) Hostalrich, a town of Catalonia, some 28 miles from
Girona.

(**) One of the principal branches of the order of
Franciscans.

They managed to worm themselves into the good graces of the Lord of that
town, who was an old man, so that he built for them a fair church and a
large convent, and maintained and supported them all his life as best he
could. And after him came his eldest son, who did quite as much for them
as his worthy father had done.

In fact they prospered so, that, in a few years they had everything that
a convent of mendicant friars could desire. Nor were they idle during
all the time they were acquiring these riches; they preached both in the
town and in the neighbouring villages, and had such influence over the
people that there was not a good christian who did not confess to them,
they had such great renown for pointing out faults to sinners.

But of all who praised them and held them in esteem, the women were
foremost, such saints did they deem them on account of their charity and
devotion.

Now listen to the wickedness, deception, and horrible treason which
these false hypocrites practised on the men and women who every day gave
them so many good gifts. They made it known to all the women in the town
that they were to give to God a tenth of all their goods.

"You render to your Lord such and such a thing; to your parish and
priest such and such a thing; and to us you must render and deliver the
tithe of the number of times that you have carnal connection with your
husband. We will take no other tithe from you, for, as you know, we
carry no money--for the temporal and transitory things of this world are
nothing to us. We ask and demand only spirit