¶ The heuy newes contayned in a letter sent out of Italy.
RIghte douty and welbeloued Lorde I lette you wytte the pytieful new tydyng and horrible earthquake, which I meselfe haue sene, where I with my two company [...] was at ynne by a towne, which [...] about .xvi. myle from Florence, a [...]s called Scharbaria, where we wer [...] [...] ged ouer nyghte. On the .xiii. da [...] [...] Iune of this present yeare one ho [...] before the breake of the daye, hath almyghty God of his greate mercy an [...] fatherly loue preserued vs [...] from all euell and [...] whiche we neuer [...] prayse hym. [...] that throu [...] [...] [Page] he wyll alwaye preserue vs. For we may surely marke well ynough by the wonderfull tokens that he hath prophecyed to come, and partly do nowe dayly chaunce, before our eyen, that the daye of dome is at hande.
In the mornynge one houre before the breake of the daye dyd ryse greate and horryble earth quakes: for there happened seuen in the space of an h [...]ure, & I with me two fellowes were al [...] thre in slepe in the bedde, in an ynne of the suburbes, neare to the gates, whiche was a great fortune fo [...] [...]s that we were not closed in.
¶ The fyrste earthquake.
The fyrst earthquake was so fear [...] [...] [...]ade so great a noyse, that I [...] [...]oughte at the fyrste [...] [...]yshynge that I [...] [...]ut at the same [...] house begyn [Page] to cleue in sunder, and the chymeney with the thacke to fall, so that we dyd flye contynently, & howe we eskaped can not I tell: yet throughe the helpe of God, dyd we eskape withoute hurte or harme of oure bodyes. But within the cytie are nearehande sonke and broken all the houses, and some folke peryshed. The churches & greate howses are all fallen to the grounde. The people that was lefte in lyfe dyd crye Misericorde with greate chatterynge of tethe, by reason of the feare, and ranne out of the citie into a moras grounde, where we were fledde also with oure ooste and his housholde.
Helas for pitie, there was so pytiefull an outcrye and howlynge of men and women, as I neuer dyd heare all the dayes of my lyfe. Muche people dyd lye besyde the stones and timber, which coulde not be holpe for feare: whether some dyd ronne to them, that can not I [Page] tell: For I can not fully wryte vnto you of the horrible punishment and aduertisement of God.
Farthermore dyd there ryse at the same houre yet .vj. earthquakes more the one after the other, whiche were so horryble at the fyrst, that the earth dyd so shake, as though it wolde haue opened it selfe, and swalowed vs all. It was so calme wether, that one leafe of the trees dyd not moue. The skye was so darck and black, that I for my part dyd wayte for the clerynge therof euery twynckelynge of an eye. Summa euery thynge was muche more, and more horrible, than I can euer describe vnto you. Neuerthelesse God gaue grace, that the darckenesse voyded, and the daye came agayne, the wynde began also to blowe agayne: wherfore we were glad and lauded and thanked God, which had so gracyously shewed his mercy to vs.
After that dyd we ryde to Florence, our Lorde be mercyfull vnto vs: for I beleue surelye that I haue in dede sene an example of the domes daye. The town hath yet left foure hundreth and twenty heerthes or places for fyre.
Good Lord what a pitieful cryenge and callynge vppon God was herde there. To burne a towne is not to be compared by this dolorous chaunce. God our Lorde graunte vnto vs all his mercy, that we maye by this earthquake amende and conuerte vs to his glory, and oure soules health. Amen.
Lyke earthquakes haue ben at Florence, and in all those countryes, but they haue not done so great hurtes saue onely that they haue ouerthrowen many chymenies. This haue I written vnto you in hayste, bycause the Post coulde not tarye.
¶ An other new tydynge that is happened in Turky.
IN Turky (as I vnderstande) is a cytie sonke into the grounde, out of the whiche is not one man escaped.
She lyeth in a playne contry, from the whiche the Turkysh safferon commeth, about a dayes iourney from Solonichio, whiche is a renowmed citye in Turky. Thus fare ye well. In my nex writynge vnto you shall ye haue farther certification of all thynges ⸫