CHAPTER XXIII

Cologne.—The Inns.—Archbishop Dietrich von Mors.—The Cathedral,
—A miracle in the Chapel of the Three Kings,—The Fair,—
Journey down the Rhine.—The Duke of Cleves.—-Nymegen.—
Bois-le-duc,—Lila.—Malines.—Brussels.—Duke Philip the Good,
—A hospitable Abbess,

I REMAINED in this city of Cologne in great content¬
ment, and replaced my beafts, since those I had brought
with me were fatigued. This is the richeft and the
moft beautiful city in all Germany. On one side is
the Rhine, and on the other are great fields and meadows^
such as are commonly found in Germany. The city
is well walled, with a good and deep ditch. The
ftreets are pleasant, and there are numbers of artisans
engaged in trades of all kinds. The houses are beauti¬
ful within the city, but there are many more on the
outskirts. The inns are excellent, worthy to enter¬
tain a king if needs be. It is cuftomary for a number
of gentlemen to bind themselves together to found an
inn, each one putting down a sum of money^ and
receiving a share of the profits in proportion to his
contribution. They then choose as hoft a man of
parts and of noble birth, for they say that a good hoft
befits good guefts. It happens not infrequently that
a gentleman, desiring through age to retire from the
world, comes to an innkeeper and bargains with him
for the reft of his life. He has a room, a bed, two large
and two small meals, and money for Mass, and having
paid his due^ he lives without care for the reft of his
days. There are other matters of note in conneftion
with the inns here, which would take too long to relate,
for, as I underftand, there is much traffic in them and
careful management, and the entertainment is excellent.

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