Of the death of Senex de monte.

And when the Tartars had subdued a great part of the world, they came vnto the sayd olde man, and tooke from him the custody of his paradise: who being incensed thereat, sent abroad diuers desperate and resolute persons out of his forenamed paradise, and caused many of the Tartarian nobles to be slaine. The Tartars seeing this, went and besieged the city wherein the said olde man was, tooke him, and put him to a most cruell and ignominious death. The friers in that place haue this speciall gift and prerogatiue: namely, that by the vertue of the name of Christ Iesu, and in the vertue of his pretious bloud, which he shedde vpon the crosse for the saluation of mankinde, they doe cast foorth deuils out of them that are possessed. And because there are many possessed men in those parts, they are bound and brought ten dayes iourney unto the sayd friers, who being dispossessed of the vncleane spirits, do presently beleeue in Christ who deliuered them, accounting him for their God, and being baptized in his name, and also deliuering immediatly vnto the friers all their idols, and the idols of their cattell, which are commonly made of felt or of womens haire: then the sayd friers kindle a fire in a publike place (whereunto the people resort, that they may see the false gods of their neighbors burnt) and cast the sayd idols thereinto: howbeit at the first those idols came out of the fire againe. Then the friers sprinkled the sayd fire with holy water, casting the idols into it the second time, and with that the deuils fled in the likenesse of blacke smoake, and the idols still remained till they were consumed vnto ashes. Afterward, this noise and outcry was heard in the ayre: Beholde and see how I am expelled out of my habitation. And by these meanes the friers doe baptize great multitudes, who presently reuolt againe vnto their idols: insomuch that the sayd friers must eftsoones, as it were, vnderprop them, and informe them anew. There was another terrible thing which I saw there: for passing by a certaine valley, which is situate beside a pleasant riuer, I saw many dead bodies, and in the sayd valley also I heard diuers swe............