IT is not unknowne to all the world, how that Scarlet Whore, which tri­umphs in the bloud of the Saints, that sits upon her seven hils, the sometimes Empresse of the earth▪ the Citie of Rome, hath alwayes endevoured to shew it selfe the fear of Antichrist the Pope, who by his perverting the truth of Christian Doctrine, and exal­ting himselfe above the Princes and Potentates of the earth, strives to extirpate Christs little stock, it being their fathers good will to give them a Kingdome. No marvell it is there­fore, if the Almightie Power out of the viols of his wrath, and the cup of his judgements upon that place, which is guiltie of so many fornications, idolatries, and bloud-shods, as in the sequent discourse shall be manifested. On Christ­mas day, the day of the nativitie of our Saviour, stylo novo, about two of the clock in the after-noone, from that hill [Page 4] which was anciently called Mons Tarpeius on which the Capitoll, the Temple, consectated to all the Heathen Gods, was sometimes situated, and now the Church of Saint Marie de Monte major. In which is probable are commit­ted as many idolatries as were perpetrated in the other, was heard great and mournfull groanes, as if it had been of peo­ple now departing this life; when on the sudden, the aire which was verie cleare and faire, the dayes in Italy being as long in December as they are here in mid March; and the great Luminarie of Heaven, the Sun, operating with as much vigour, was most stupendiously darkened, lightning, fire and smoke ushering in a most hideous tempest of thunder, which in those parts is verie rare at that time of the yeare, by rea­son of the thinnesse and puritie of the aire, unsubject to va­pours, which with dreadfull bolts, as if it had threatened dis­solution not onely to Rome, but to all the Nations of the world; Heavens Canoniers discharging their fatall artillerie on the mountaine, with such speed and violence, that it see­med to rent (as it were) with an earth-quake, divers flames of fire breaking forth with strange eruptions out of the earth, as if it would have consumed the whole Citie: the people in the meane time being in strange and terrible amazements, thinking the day of doome had been come: the Popes tri­ple Crowne falling from his head for feare, as I am certainly enformed, and the Conclave of Cardinals in mightie feare and perplexitie, as it is conjectured; but that the Devill was something too great in them, would have repented them of their sins. For after the terrible flashes of lightning, with thunder-claps, and the like hideous and fearfull sounds, which endured the space of a full houre, the aire began to cleare up, and the face of Heaven appeared as it were sur­rounded with a cleare shining light, and the noyse seased, and a new one began, which was of a shrill sounding Trumpet, after which came flying in the aire from the North and from the South, two dreadfull flaming Dragons of huge & exten­ded forme: one of them appearing to hover over Castle Saint [Page 5] Angelo, the Popes principall Citadell, and the other over mount Tarpey. In the middle space betweene which was seene the resemblance of a naked man, the prise for which (it should seeme) these infernall Combatants came thither to strive for: and so with huge out-cries and ghastly grones, which were plainly heard, the trumpets sounding as it were a charge, the two winged Devils made haste to encounter one another: the Dragon that came from the North, stri­ving to selfe upon the man with out-stretched wings and Harpenian tallons; when presently the other Dragon from the South came in as it were either to the naked mans rescue, or else with more furie to devoure him: at last, after divers hovering and dreadfull clashings together with their scaly wings, which sounded a far off like dints of swords upon steely Corflets, they furiously met, and like eager Faulkons, or incensed Eagles, endevoured to plume one another in their rapinous tallons; the man all the while casting forth pitifull sighs and heart breaking grones, as if he had seemed to implore assistance from Heaven; and the testified spe­ctatours, who stood quaking with as much dread as hu­mane frailtie can doe at such unwonted spectacles. When after two or three gyres in the aire (like angry Co­mets) the Dragons seemed to all their viewes, just o­ver the head of the man, to close together, then could no man imagine the dreadfulnesse of the combate, I­rish Grey-hounds with English Mastives, Serpents with Eagles, nay, two encountring ships at Sea, seeming to be but modells of this conflict, sometimes one Dragon, and sometimes the other having the better, and extending their scaly mouths to devour that Phantome or Apparition of a man that hung in the ayre betwixt them, and so joyning together beake to beake, wing to wing, and body to body; two cunning wrastlers never gave greater demonstration of skill then these two Monsters by their imbraces, striving to overthrow, not to support each other. At last, after at least halfe an houres fight in this stupendious manner which [Page 6] stroke at the beholders with an extremity of feare and amaze­ment the Dragon that came from the North, in all mens view seemed to have the better of the conflict, the other with subtile and cunning turnes, as it were, rather to defend him­selfe then offend his enemy, flying up and downe the empty ayre, whilest the other most violently pursued him: But as you have seene in the races of horses, wherein the one at the beginning runs at an easie rate, whilest the other is at his full careere and swiftnesse; yet at the end the horse that kept a sober pace at the first, when the other is out of breath out­strips him and gains the post, and with it victory: so as neer as could be conjectured went the businesse of the combat be­tweene these two Dragons; for the Dragon of the North having by delayes and jugling manner of fight recovered breath, as Rams that retire to come on with the greater acrimony and fiercenesse, most furiously returned to assault the Dragon of the South, thundering upon his wings, which flagg'd like sailes when they want wind, and piercing his body with his cruell gripes; the other cast forth many a la­mentable outcry bewailing, as it were, his mischance, and making such a noyse as souldiers doe that are vanquished, labouring with might and maine to disingage himselfe from the gripes of his cruell adversary, who still laid on fresh load, so that the poore Dragon of the South was in a most distres­sed strait, and so striving with all his diminished forces, at last he got out of the reaches and imbraces of the Dragon of the North, and then like an ill-bred Hawke, in a cloud of sulphurous lighning, turned taile and fled, the Victor not of­fering to pursue him, in an instant he was vanished, leaving behinde him such an horrible stench as was enough to in­fect the whole Region; the conquering Dragon in the inte­rim giving forth many joyfull shouts from his divellish throat, and insulting triumphantly in his victory, made hast toward his incorporeall prey, the naked man, who was not­withstanding visible, and as it seemed, sensible of his approa­ching ruine; for with dolorous clamours he gave forth such [Page 7] skreekes as would have amazed the hardiest man living, and did so stupifie the auditors, that what betweene their feares and the expectation of the novelty, were in an agony and distraction; at last it was heard plainly to pronounce in the Italian tongue, Roma, Roma, tua doctrina non s [...] attuli Catoloci, which is in English, Rome, thy doctrine is not alto­gether Catholike, in which certainly that divell against his naturall quality spoke truth. But to be briefe, this wretched, or least seeming wreched man, being now, as it were, in the very jawes of death, the Dragon of the North being even ready to swallow him up at a morsell, was heard in the ayre a very loud sound of d [...]s, neighing of horses, and clangor of trumpets, when forth of a cloud to the North-west ap­peared an army of aeriall souldiers in white garments, with red crosses in their front before them, and marched with swift and furious approach toward the Dragon, some of them shooting off Musquets, which were plainly heard, the fire smoaking in their pans, and the smell of the powder being smelt below in the City▪ the Dragon no whit amazed at the multitude of a ailants, flew couragiously among the armed squadrons, and dealt a very deathfull dole amongst them, bea­ting downe both horse and man with his scaly and impene­trable wings; so that divers of them were seene to drop downe, as if they had falne into some other region of the ayre, and so were no more: but the other souldiers coura­giously charging this cruell Dragon on all sides, who vomi­ted up flames of fire and sulphure, and at last with a hideous and fearefull skreech, extending its scaly wings, and so fell downe into the emptie regions of the ayre as the slaughtered souldiers had done, and were seene no more, but left that cursed and divellish smell behind him, that it seemed hell had belched up all his vapours and infernall Lethean fogs, the army of celestiall souldiers in the interim compassing the poore shadow of a man about: and so in triumph with En­signes displayed, and Drums beating, departed with all the signes of victory and triumph; immediatly the ayre began to [Page 8] cleare, and the Sunne being just ready to set, it being then about five of clocke (the dreadfull combat having indured at least two houres) displayed his cheerefull countenance, and the Cardinalls and Senators of Rome going towards their palacies in much amaze and affright discoursing of the effect of this portent, and some of the Inhabitants of good account going up to the top of mount Tarpey under the place where the last battell was fought upon the Church-walls and the Church-yard, they found diffused a great quantity of blood, which lay there like water on the tops of the grasse, and this they made evident report of to his unholinesse, who made at it a mockery, and interpreted it according to his own divellish fancie, that it portended the downfall of here­tikes, such as his Holinesse termes all true believers, that de­ny his heathenish Supremacy and Apostaticall tenents.

Thus have I sent you a true and briefe narration of this terrible and prodigious wonder, which you may confident­ly divulge and report for truth; and so with my true respects to all our friends, I take my leave and rest,