white meates, and in their common language they call those weekes, the fast
of Butter.

In the time of their fasts, the neighbours euery where goe from one to
another, and visite one another, and kisse one another with kisses of
peace, in token of their mutuall loue and Christian concord: and then also
they doe more often then at any other time goe to the holy Communion. When
seuen dayes are past, from the beginning of the fast, then they doe often
either goe to their Churches, or keepe themselues at home, and vse often
prayer: and for that seuennight they eate nothing but hearbes: but after
that seuennights fast is once past, then they returne to their old
intemperancie of drinking, for they are notable tospots. As for the keeping
of their fasting dayes, they doe it very streightly, neither doe they eate
any thing besides hearbes, and salt fish, as long as those fasting dayes
doe endure: but vpon euery Wednesday and Friday, in euery weeke thoughout
the yeere, they fast.

There are very many Monasteries of the order of S. Benedict, amongst them,
to which many great liuings, for their maintenance, doe belong: for the
Friers and the Monkes doe at the least possesse the third part of the
liuings, throughout the whole Moscouite Empire. To those Monkes that are of
this Order, there is amongst them a perpetuall prohibition, that they may
eate no flesh: and therefore their meate is onely salt fish, milke, and
butter: neither is it permitted them by the lawes, and customes of their
religion, to eate any fresh fish at all: and at those foure fasting times,
whereof we spake before, they eate no fish at all: onely they liue with
hearbes, and cucumbers, which they doe continually for that purpose cause
and take order to grow and spring, for their vse and diet.

As for their drinke, it is very weake, and small. For the discharge of