not know,’ said I, ‘for his discourse has put me out of my wits; this I know, that he saluted me with respect and civility, but he left me very abruptly.’ ‘Well,’ said Mary, ‘you do not know his temper; he is the most obliging man in the world, if people are civil with him; and if not, he is as unmerciful as Nero. And so, for your preservation, take care to oblige him in all respects. Now pray go to supper, and be easy.’ “I was so much troubled in mind with the thoughts of the dry-pan and gradual fire, that I could neither eat nor sleep that night. Early in the morning, Mary got up, and told me that nobody was yet up in the house, and that she would show me the dry-pan and gradual fire, on condition that I should keep it a secret for her sake, and my own too, which I having promised her, she took me along with her, and showed me a dark room with a thick iron door, and within it an oven and a large brass pan upon it, with a cover of the same, and a lock on it--the oven was burning at that time, and I asked Mary for what use that pan was there? And she, without giving me any answer, took me by the hand out of that place, and carried me into a large room, where she showed me a thick wheel, covered on both sides with thick boards, and opening a little window in the centre of it, desired me to look with a candle on the inside of it, where I saw all the circumference of the wheel set with sharp razors. After that, she showed me a pit full of serpents and toads. Then she said to me, ‘Now, my good mistress, I will tell you the use of these three things. The dry-pan and gradual fire are for heretics, and those that oppose the holy fathers’ will and pleasure; for they are put all naked and alive into the pan, and the cover of it being locked up, the executioner begins to put in the oven a small fire, and by degrees he augments it, till the body is reduced to ashes! The second is designed for those who speak against the pope and the holy fathers; for they are put within the wheel, and the little door being locked, the executioner turns the wheel till the person is dead. And the third is for those who condemn the images, and refuse to give the due respect and veneration to ecclesiastical persons; for they are thrown into the pit, and they at once become the food of serpents and toads!’