The convent we fand to be liker a castle than a Religious house.  We saw a large window, the covert wheirof was stenchells like those that are on the windows of the Abby at Holyrood House; but very artificially all beat out of one peice of iron, but not ioined and soudred togither as they used to be.  Saumurs is a pretty little toune wt fields upon all hands most pleasant.

I, amongs other things, enquired at Mr. Doull what was their manner in graduating their students their.  He told me it was wholly the same wt that in other places.  They give out Theses which the students defended, only they had a pretty ceremony about the close:  each of these to be graduat got a laurell branch, on the leaves wheirof was every mans name engraven in golden letters.  Item, he said that when he reflected on the attendance that the Regents in Scotland gave to ther classes, he thought he saw another Egyptiacall bondage, for wt them they attended only 4 dayes of the weeks, and in thess no longer than they took account of ther former lesson, and gave them out a new one, which they send them home to gett.

On a afternoon I was their I made a tour doune throu the suburbs of the toune to the Convent of Nostre Dame des Ardilliers.[91] On my return Mr. Doull and Mr. Crightoun demanding of me wheir I had bein, I freely told:  wheirupon they fell to to scorne me, asking what I went to seek their.  I told meerly to walk.  They alleadged that John Ogilvy at Orleans bit to have told me of the place; that it was the most notorious part of France for uncleanness, and that women that could not gett children at home, coming their ware sure to have children.  To speak the truth the place seimed to me wery toun like, for their came a woman to me and spered whey I all alone.

    [91] The Church of Notre Dame d’Ardiliers, of the sixteenth century,
        was enlarged by Richelieu and Madame de Montespan.

The night before my parting from Saumur a young gallant of the toune, to show his skill, showed the wholle toune some fireworks in a boat on the river, but they ware wery pittifull, the principall thing we saw being only some fireballs which they cost up in the air to a considerable hight som tymes.

Theirs one thing we most not forget in the river.  In our coming doune in sewerall places on the syde of the rivers bank we saw pleasant little excrescencyes of litle rocks and craigs, which makes exceidingly to the commendation of the places.  In thes craigs are built in houses, which be the vertue of Antiperistasis is cold in summer and hot in winter, tho their be some of them they dare not dwell in in winter by reason of the looseness of the earth then.