owners sometime of these houses, as I was credibly informed by a Cipriot, a marcham of, great wealth in this city. [Sidenote: A great iudgement of God vpon the noble men of Cyprus.] Before it came in subiection to the Turks, while it was vnder the Venetians, there were many barons and noble men of the Cipriots, who partly by vsurping more superiority ouer the common people then they ought, and partly through their great reuenues which yeerly came in by their cotton wooll and wines, grew so insolent and proud, and withall so impiously wicked, as that they would at their pleasure command both the wiues and children of their poore tenants to serue their vncleane lusts, and holding them in such slauery as though they had beene no better then dogges, would wage them against a grayhound or spaniell, and he who woon the wager should euer after holde them as his proper goods and chattels, to doe with them as he listed, being Christians as well as themselues, if they may deserue so good a name. As they behaued themselues most vnchristianly toward their brethren, so and much more vngodly (which I should haue put in the first place) did they towards God: for as though they were too great, standing on foot or kneeling to serue God, they would come riding on horsebacke into the church to heare their masse: which church now is made a publicke basistane or market place for the Turkes to sell commodities in: but beholde the iudgement of the righteous God, who payeth the sinner measure for measure. The Turkes the yeere before the ouerthrowe giuen them at Lepanto by Don Iohn tooke Cyprus. These mighty Nimrods fled some in holes and some into mountaines to hide themselues; whereupon the Turkes made generall proclamation, that if they would all come in and yeeld themselues, they would restore them to their former reuenues and dignities: who not mistrusting the mischieuous pretense of the Turkes, assembled together to make themselues knowen; whom after the Turkes had in possession, they (as the Lords executioners) put them with their wiues and children all to the sword, pretending thereby to cut of all future rebellion, so that at this day is not one of the noble race knowen aliue in the Iland, onely two or three remaine in Venice but of litle wealth, which in the time of the warres escaped. After we had stayed in this Iland some thirty dayes, we set saile in the foresayd shippe being about the burthen of 900 tunnes, hauing in her passengers of diuers nations, as Tartars, Persians, Iewes, and sundry Christians. Amongst all which I had often conference with a Iew, who by reason of his many yeeres education at Safet a place in Iudea neere Ierusalem, where they study the Rabbines with some other arts as they thinke good, as also: for his trauels into Persia and Ormus, he seemed to be of good experience in matters abroad, who related vnto me such conference as he had with a Baniane at Ormus, being one of the Indians inhabiting the countrey of Cambaia.