patrimonies at his
pleasure, or be subject to frowns and hatred, and be dragged into every
disagreeable and vexatious employment during their lives.

"O these little great country folks," continued the devil, "how genteely
they swear in order to obtain credit with their mistresses, or with the
shop-keepers; and when they have decked themselves out, O how insolently
they look upon many of the middling officers of the church and state, and
how much worse on the common people! as if they were a species of
reptiles in comparison with themselves. Woe is me! is not all blood of
the same color? Did you not come all into the world by the same way?"
"But, nevertheless, with your permission," said the knight, "there are
some who are of much purer birth than others." "Destruction take you!"
said the goblin, "there is not one carcass of you all better than the
rest; you are all polluted with radical sin from Adam. But, sir," said
he, "if your blood be better than other blood, less scum will exude from
you when boiling; however, in order to be sure of its quality, it will be
as well to search you with fire as well as water." Thereupon a devil in
the shape of a chariot of fire received him, and the other in mockery
lifted him into it, and away he was hurried like lightning. After a
short time the angel caused me to look, and I could see the wretched
knight suffering a terrible steeping in a frightful boiling furnace, in
company with Cain, Nimrod, Esau, Tarquin, Nero, Caligula, and the others
who were the founders of genealogies, and were the first to set up arms
of nobility.

A little farther on, my guide caused me to look through the hollow of a
rock, and there I beheld a number of coquettes briskly at work, doing and
repeating all their former follies upon earth. Some were twisting their
mouths, some were pulling their front locks with irons, some were
painting themselves, some patching their faces with sooty ointments, to
make the yellow look more fair; some quite mad at seeing their visages,
after all their pains in coloring and variegating, more hideous than
those of the very devils, were endeavouring to break the mirrors, or were
tearing off with their nails and their teeth the whole artificial
blush--the ointments, skin, and flesh coming off all together. The cries
which they uttered occasionally were most dismal. "The curse of curses,"
would one say, "on my father, for making me marry when a girl, an old
sapless st