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596 Bijhop B u R N E t’j Tramli 
Book 
tice lay on the Side of the Papifts, he interpofed fo ef- 
fe6lually with thole of Ijucern^ which is the Chief of the 
Popifh Cantons, that the Difference was compofed. 
But to return to Bern. The Buildings have neither 
great Magnificence, nor many Apartments ; but they 
are convenient, and fuited to the Way of living in that 
Country. The Streets not only of Bern and the bigger 
Towns, but even of the fmalleft Villages, are furnilh’d 
with Fountains that run continually, which as they are 
of great Ufe, fo they want not their Beauty. The great 
Church of Bern is a very noble Fabrick ; but being built 
on the Top of the Hill on which the Town ftands, it 
feems the Ground began to fail, fo to fupport it they 
have raifed a vaft Fabrick, which has coft more than 
the Church itfelf ; for there is a Platform made which 
is a Square, to which the Church is one Side, and the 
farther Side is a vaft Wall fortified with Buttrelfes about 
an hundred and fifty Foot high. They told me, that 
all the Ground down to the Bottom of the Hill was 
dug into Vaults. This Platform is the principal Walk of 
the Town, chiefly about Sun-fet •, and the River un- 
derneath affords a very beautiful Profpedl. For there is a 
Cut taken off from it for the Mills 5 but all along as this 
Cut goes, the; Water of the Aar runs over a doping 
Bank of Stone, which they fay was made at a vaft 
Charge, and makes a noble Cafcade. 
The fecond Church is the Dominican Chapel, where 
I faw the famous Hole that went to an Image in the 
Church from one of the Cells of the Dominicans., which 
leads me to fet down that Story at Length : For as it 
was one of the moft fignal Cheats that the World has 
known, fo it falling out about twenty Years before the 
Reformation was received in Bern^ it is very probable 
that it contributed not a little to the preparing of the 
Spirits of the People for that Change. I am the more 
able to give a particular Account of it, becaufe I read 
the original Procefs in the Latin Records, figned by 
the Notaries of the Court of Delegates that the Pope fent 
to examine the Matter. The Record is above one hun- 
dred and thirty Sheets, writ clofe on both Sides, being 
indeed a large Volume. And I found the printed Ac- 
counts fo defective, that I was at the Pains of reading 
the whole Procefs, of which I will give here an 
authentick though concife Abftradt. 
6. The two famous Orders, that had poflefs’d them-* 
felves of the Efteem of thofe dark Ages, were engaged 
in a mighty Conteft. The Dominicans were the more 
learned \ they were the moft eminent Preachers of thofe 
Times, and had the Condufl of the Courts of Inqui- 
fition, and the other chief Offices in the Church in their 
Hands. But on the other Hand, the Francifcans had 
an outward Appearance of more Severity, a ruder Ha- 
bit, ftridter Rules, and greater Poverty, which gave 
them fuch Advantages in the Eyes of the Ample Mul- 
titude, as were able to balance the other Honours of the 
Dominican Order. In fliort, the two Orders were en- 
gaged in a high Difpute ; but the Devotion towards the 
Virgin being the prevailing Fafhion of thofe Times, the 
Francifcans had great Advantages. The Dominicans 
being all engaged in the Defence of Thomas Aquinas*^ 
Opinions, were thereby obliged to affert, that fhe was 
born in original Sm. This was propofed to the Peo- 
ple by the Francifcans as no lefs than Blafphemy ; and 
by this the Dominicans began to lofe Ground extremely 
in the Minds of the People, who were ftrongly pre- 
poffefs*d in Favour of the immaculate Conception. 
About the Beginning of the fifteenth Century, a Fran- 
cifcan happened to preach in Franckfort ; and one TFi- 
gand^ a Dominican, coming into the Church, the Corde- 
lier feeing him, broke out into Exclamations, praifing 
God that he was not of an Order that profaned the 
Virgin, or that poifoned Princes in the Sacrament (for 
a Dominican had fo poifoned the Emperor Henry VII J 
JVigand being extremely provoked with this bloody Re- 
proach, gave him the Lie, upon which a Difpute arofe, 
which ended in a Tumult that had almoft coft the Do-, 
minican his Life ; yet he got away. The whole Order 
refolved to take their Revenge, and in a Chapter held 
at Vimpfen in the Year 1 504, they contrived a Method 
for fupporting the Credit of their Order, which was 
much funk in the Opinion of the People, and for bear- 
ing down the Reputation of the Francifcdns : Four of 
the Junto undertook to manage the Defign ; for they 
faid, fince the People were io much difpofed to believe 
Dreams and Fables, they muft dream on their Side, 
and endeavour to cheat the People as well as others had 
done. They refolved to make Bern the Scene in which 
the Prqjea: fhould be put in Execution ; for they found 
the People of Bern at that Time apt to fwallow any 
Thing, and not difpofed to make fevere Enquires into 
extraordinary Matters. When they had formed their 
Defign, a fit Tool prefented itfelf; for oncjeizer came 
to take their Habit as a Lay-Brother, who had all 
the Difpofitions that were neceflary for the Execution 
of their Projedl; he was extreme fimple, and much in- 
clined to Aufterities ; fo having obferved his Temper 
well, they began to execute their Projed the very Night 
after he took the Habit, which was on Lady-day, 1507, 
One of the Fryers conveyed himfclf fecretly into his* 
Cell, and appeared to him as if he had been in Purga- 
tory, in a ftrange Figure ; he had a Box near his 
Mouth, upon which, as he blew. Fire feem’d to come 
out of his Mouth. He had alfo fome Dogs about him, 
that appeared as his Tormentors. In this Pofture he 
came near the Fryer while he was in Bed, and took up 
a celebrated Story that they ufed to tell all their Fryers, 
to beget in them a great Dread of ever laying afide their 
Habit, which was, that one of the Order, who was Su- , 
perior of their Houfe at Solothurn, had gone to Paris ^ ' 
but laying afide his Habit, was kill’d in his Lay Cloaths. 
The Fryer in the Vizard faid he was that Perfon, 
and was condemned to Purgatory for that Crime ; but 
he added, that he might be refcued by his Means ; and 
he feconded this with moft horrible Cries, expreffino- 
the Miferies which he fuffer’d. The poor Fryer JetzS- 
was exceffively frighted ; but the other advanced, and 
required a Promife of him to do that which he fliould 
defire, in order to the delivering him out of his Tor- 
ment. The Fryer promifed ail that he ask’d of him. 
Then the other faid, he knew he was a great Saint, and 
that his Prayers and Mortifications would prevail ; but 
they muft be very extraordinary : The whole Monaftery 
muft, for a Week together, difeipline themfelves with 
a Whip, and he muft lie proftrate in the Form of one 
on a Grofs, in one of their Chapels, while Mafs was 
faid in the Sight of all that ffiould come to it ; and he 
added, that if he did this, he ffiould find the Effedls 
of the Love that the Bleffed Virgin bear him, together 
with many other extraordinary Things ; and faid he 
would appear again, accompanied with two other Spi- 
rits ; and allured him, that all he fuffer’d for his Deli- 
verance ffiould be moft glorioully rewarded. Morning 
was no fooner come, than the Fryer gave an Account 
of this Apparition to the reft of the Convent, who feem’d 
extremely furprized : They all prefs’d him to undergo 
the Difeipline that was enjoin’d him, and every one un- 
dertook to bear his Share ; fo the deluded Fryer per- 
formed it exadly in one of the Chapels of their Church. 
This drew a vaft Number of Spedators together, who 
confider’d the poor Fryer as a Saint ; and in the mean 
while the four Fryers that managed the Impofture, 
magnified the Miracle of the Apparition to the Skies 
in their Sermons. The Fryer’s Confeffor was in the 
Secret ; and by this Means they knew ail the little Paf- 
fages of the poor Fryer’s Life, even to his Thoughts, 
which help’d them not a little in the Condud of the 
Matter. The Confeffor gave him an Hoftie, with a 
Piece of Wood, that was, as he pretended, a Piece of 
the true Crofs ; and by thefe he was to fortify himfelf, 
if any other Apparitions ffiould come to him ; fince 
evil Spirits would be certainly chained up thereby. The 
Night after that, the former Apparition was renewed, 
and the mafqued Fryer brought two others with him 
in fuch Vizards, that the Fryer thought they were De- 
vils indeed. The Fryer prefented the Hoftie to them, 
which gave them fuch a Check, that he was fully fatis- 
fied of the Virtue of this Prefervative. 
The Fryer, that pretended he was fuffering In Pur- 
gatory, faid lb many Things relating to the Secrets of 
his Life and Thoughts, which he had from the Con- 
feffor, 
