Upon This, The
Tartars Besieged The City Of The Old Man Of The Mountain; And, Making Him
Prisoner, They Put Him To A Cruel And Ignominious Death.
[1] It is impossible to explain this strange word, Melistorte.
The
dominions of the old man of the mountain, and his earthly paradise, in
some other travels of the present volume, are said to have been
situated in the north of Persia. - E.
SECTION XX.
Of several wonderful things in those parts.
In that place[1], the friars have the special gift, that, through the power
of the name of Jesus Christ, and of his precious blood, which was shed on
the cross for the remission of our sins, they speedily expel devils from
those who are possessed. And as there are many possessed persons in those
parts, they are brought bound, from the distance of ten days journey all
around, to the friars; and being dispossessed of the unclean spirits, they
immediately believe in Christ, who hath delivered them, and are baptized in
his name, delivering up to the friars all their idols, and the idols of
their cattle, which are usually made of felt, or of womens hair. Then the
friars kindle a great fire in some public place, into which they cast the
idols before all the people. At the first, the idols used to come out of
the fire; but the friars, having sprinkled the fire with holy water, threw
in the idols again, where they were consumed to ashes; and the devils fled
away in the likeness of black smoke, when a noise was heard in the air,
crying out aloud, "Behold how I am expelled from my habitation!" By these
means, the friars have baptized great multitudes; but they mostly return
soon again to their idols, on which account, the friars have continually to
abide among them, to exhort and instruct them in the faith.
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