Of women which make great sorow as theyr children are borne & great joy when they are dead.

AN other yle there is, where women make great sorow when theyr children be borne & when they are dead they make great joy and caste them in a great fier and burne them, and they that loue well theyr husbands, when they are dead they cast them in a fyer to burn them, for they say that fyer shall make them clean of all filth & vices & they shall be cleane in another world, and the cause why they wepe when their children are borne, and y^t they joye at their death, they say a child when he is borne cometh into this world to haue travaile, sorow & heavinesse, & when they are dead they go to Paradise where rivers are of mylke and honey, & there is lyfe & joy and plenty of goods without travaile or sorow. In thys yle they make their kings by chosing, & they chose him not for his riches and noblenesse, but him that is of good conditions and most righteous and trew that judgeth euery man truely, little & much after their trespasse, and ye king may judge no man to death without counsel of his barons, & that they all assent. And if it so be y^t the king do a great trespasse, as sley a man or such lyke, he shall dye also, but he shall not be slaine, but they shall defend and forbid that no man be so hardy to beare him company, nor to speake to him, ne giue him meat nor drinke and thus he shall dye, for they spare no man y^t hath done a trespasse, for loue, lordeship riches nor noblenes, but they do him right after y^t he hath deserved.