A TRVE DESCRIPTION of a straunge monster, borne at Colwall, in the County of Hereford. *⁎*
IT pleaseth God (who is wonderfull in al his works) to worke wonders, when men liue so wonderfully euill, as they doe in this age and time. And although God doth not in such seueritie destroy his peóple, nowe in the time of mercie and grace, as hee did vnder the lawe, and before (as Gen. 7. and the 19. Exod. 16. the 17. and 32. Numb. 11. and the 16. 1. Cor. 10. &c) yet is he no lesse angry with sinne, nor no lesse powerfull to punish sinne, then in times past he hath beene: as it appeareth by the sundry iudgements that hee sends, to shew the same among men: as, plague, pestilence, warre, famine, scarcity, dearth, new sicknesses and diseases, Comets, blazing starres, flashing lightes, shooting and streamings in the ayre, monsters of man and beast &c Whereof, this that wee are now to describe, is not the least whereat men may greatly be astonished, and afraide to sinne; if they had any feare of God in thē. For it is so strange a thing, as that neither mans arie can set out, nor yet the tongue, or penne of man tell of, as it ought to be shewed and set out. But as neare as we [Page 2]can (that haue the handling of it) you shall heare and see what it was.
The matter it selfe.
THere was a young maiden, a yeomans daughter of Hereford shire (whose names for some causes wee conceale) who had conuenient offers of mariages, fit for her estate: and within these two yeares last past, among all the rest, one young man loued her most entirely: who, though hee were none of the brauest nor iolliest, yet a man of competent wealth, and of good name and fame in the place where he dwelt. This young man and maiden, in time, loued one another so wel (& their friends of either side, as it should seeme so liked thereof) y• they were contracted together, & openly asked three times in the Church (or ye banes of matrymony between them published in the congregation) according to the lawe, in that case prouided: and all the people of those parts thought for trueth, that a full match in mariage, should shortly after haue beene solemnized betweene them.
But Sathan,Note yee young maidens. the enemie of all goodnes, by his instigations and instruments, wrought so in the minde of the maiden; that shortly after this, she fell to mislike with the man, to shunne his honest company, and in the ende wholly to breake off from this match: whereof, any maid indewed with modesty, would haue beene greatly ashamed, and vnwilling vnto: especially when there was no iust cause giuen her on the mans part; as right well it was proued there was not.
But such is the lightnesse and inconstancy of a great number of this sexe, that true meaning men can not tell where to finde them. They are many times in extreames: for, either they will not at all bee ruled by their parentes [Page 3]and friends, in mariage: but meete by stealth, & run away in a night, wt him, whom so vnaduisedly they loue: or else, when with their parents and friends consent, they haue assured themselues, and entangled the mindes of younge men; yet vpon some sinister cause they will flit and fall off againe; yea, and sometimes get a great bellie by some such, match, and so breake off, with all the shame that may be. In this point, I confesse, many young men (thorough the heate and strength of lust and concupisence) haue most shamefully abused, both widdowes and maydens,Note y [...] young [...] too too many. But the punishment of God doth euer follow such, and at one time or other so ouertake them, as that they shall be driuen to confesse that there is a iust God in heauen, which punisheth that which men doe neglect to punish in earth.
But to returne to this monstrous matter, wee haue in hand: when this slipperie Eele had made a shift to winde away from this man, in this last yeare 1599. she dwelling as a seruant, in the house of one of her Vncles by the Mothers side (at a place called Mathenne in Worcester shire) this hir Vncle had three sonnes at mans estate, which were cousen germanes to this mayde.
Now in tract of time it fell out so, that one of these yong men, her cousens, and she fell a lusting; for, good loue I cā not well call it; partly because hee was hir so neere kinsman: and partly for that she had promised her selfe before, to another man: and especially because their lust was so hot, that soone after the same began to be kindled, it was so set on fire, and the diuell had so blinded the eies of these two, y• they lay togither, & shee was gotten with child by him: and God in iust iudgment (to shew his dispeasure against mockerie with his holy institution of mariage, and his hatred of the sinnes of whoredom, adulterie, fornication, inceste, and all other vncleannesse) made this proud, [Page 4]this scornefull & vnconstant wench, the mother of a monster, and not of an orderly birth. For when the time of her deliuerance was come, and that she had gon out her full 9. moneths (as all women doe, that bring not forth vntimely birthes) shee was deliuered of a child, such as it was; and y• in a house of her sayd Vncles, at Colwall afore-named, the 6. day of Ianuarie last past, in Anno, 1599. And now for the further certifying of thee christian reader, of the misshapened forme of this monstrous birth, and many particularities in sundrie seuerall limbes, members, and partes of the bodie of it, with other strange circumstances appertaining thereunto, reade this matter following: which thou shalt finde truelie set downe word for word, as the same was seene and taken in writing; at the appointment of a Gentleman of good crevit and worship, in the presence of diuers honest and credible persons, both men and women.
There was a young woman, a yeomans daughter, who was offered honest preferment in marriage, about two yeares past, with a young man of competent wealth and good credit: with whom she proceeded so farre that ye banes of holie matrimonie were three seuerall dayes, orderly according to ye Ecclesiasticall lawes, proclaimed between them. And then she being possessed with some sinister conceit, brake off with him, without any iust occasiō giuen on his parte. Afterward, this last yeare, she dwelling as a mayde-seruant in house with an vncle of hers, viz. her mothers brother, at Mathenne, in ye Countie & Diocesse of Worcester: who then also hauing in his house three Sonnes of mans estate, she was begotten with childe by one of them: and it is credibly reported, that two of them liued incontinently with her, being her cosen germanes. And the competent time of her childebirth approching, vpon the said sixt day of Ianuarie, 1599. shee was [Page 5]deliuered of childe, in a house of her saide uncles in Colwall, in the said Countie and Diocesse of Hereford, about the sun setting of the same day: which child was thus disfigured.
1 The head of it was longer then the heades of other children ordinarily are, hauing neither haire on the head, nor on the eie-browes.
2 Both the eies were standing far out of the head, being vnequall the one to the other: the right eye verie small, like a blacke sloe, sticked halfe out, in the flat face (hauing neither eyelid nor eyepit) as it were a bullet slicking in a plaine wall. But the left eye was verie big & eminent, or sticking out as the other; yet hauing eye-lidds, which were distracted and drawne farre asunder, the vpper eye-lid vpwards, and the lower eye-lidde downewards, the insides appeering outward.
3 The nose was depressed flat to the face, without any nosthrills at all; hauing at the lower end therof, arounde button of fleshie substance about the bignes of a nut: on eyther side whereof, somwhat higher then the nose, the vpper lippe was slitte or hare-shorne: from which twoo slitts, throughout the palat or roufe of the mouth, there passed 2. hollowe trenches, each one almost two fingers deepe, euen to the gullet or entraunce of ye throate: which seemed to be the passage of the nosthrils: and throughout the lower part of the mouth, on eyther side of the tongue, was a like deepe trench.
4 The mouth was much smaller, then ordinarily other childrens mouthes are, therin appearing no gummes nor iawbones at all, nor any lippes could be discerned.
5 The face much wrinkled and riueled, more then any other childrens faces vse to bee, and very grimme to behoulde.
6 The handes had no thumbes at all, nor any outward [Page 6]partition of fingers; yet it had fingers co [...]ered all ouer with one only skinne, as with a mitten: the fingers had ioynts as it did appeare, by that it often clitched them together.
7 The finger of the left hand only (which in latine is called digitus annularis, and in english the ring finger) had a naile, and that finger towards the end was separated from the others.
8 There appeared in this childe no euident signe of the sexe, either of man or woman, hauing the perfect members of neither: but vrine issued out at a smal hole in ye proper place: of notes for difference, resembling some token more proper to male, then female.
9 The knees stoode vp close to the belly, and the legs were fixed to the buttockes, ye calfe of the left legge growing to the buttocke, and thigh vnto the small of the legge: but the right legge, quite downe to the heele, within two fingers breadth.
10 The right foote, almost from the midst therof, bowed or turned towardes the left; and with a stringe of flesh was fast ioyned to the same, at the endes of the great toes: which toes withall the rest of the toes were couered ouer with one entier skinne, as the fingers were.
11 The bodie, for length and bignesse, exceeded the ordinarie stature of other children. When this woman was first deliuered of this monstrous burden, the Midwiues (being three in number then present) thinking it had no life, laid it by on a fewe Bents: where it lay without any couering, halfe an houre; and then it cryed, and not before. And they hearing it cry, tooke it vp and put clothes about it, vsing it as a childe ought to be vsed: &, thinking that it would not liue to be brought to the Church to bee baptized, they sent for the Minister and Pastour of Colwall (within whose charge it was borne) to Christen [Page 7]it: who being a zealous man, and a learned Preacher, repaired thither with all speede: and finding by his owne inspection, and due examination of the persons present at the birth of the saide childe, that it was thus straungely formed and figured, and being accompanied with competent witnesses, he baptized the said child; naming it, What god will. And after it was baptized, it liued two daies and two nights, and more; and the third day it departed this life. And during the time it liued, it receiued sustenance, and had euacuation of naturall superfluities, both by vrine, & siege: but in all that time it was not perceiued to sleepe: and in trueth it could not bee discerned to close the eyes, because it had no eyeliddes to couer them.
Thus haue you heard the wonderfull deformities of this monster, described vnto you in all parts, and according to the verie truth, as it was.
It resteth now, that we make vse of it, and heare what is said in the last part of this booke: which containeth in it a christian discourse against al vncleannesse, and all vncleane persons that will not be reformed; with an exhortation to al others that yet are not so defiled in part or in the whole, and to those that haue looked that way, and are desirous to repent and amende.
Beloued there be 7. things, which (as it seemeth to me) are the causes of all these euills in man or woman.
1 Our Ignorance, that we doe not consider the end of our creation: which is to glorifie God, by liuing in obedience to his lawes and commaundements: Thou shalt not not lust. Thou shalt not commit adulterie. &c.
2 We forget the end of our calling to the Gospell, and profession of Iesus Christ: which is, to liue in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life.
3 Thirdly, we looke not into the fruits and effects that are required of vs in Baptisme: which are, that we should [Page 8]die to sinne, and liue to righteousnesse: and wherein we doe willingly binde our selues to Christ, to be his faithfull souldiers and seruants, to fight against sinne, the world, the flesh and the diuell, vnder his coullors: which is the Crosse and afflictions, which he and we that are his, must suffer of wicked wordlings in this world.
4 If while we are young, our parents doe not bring vs vp, and keepe vs harde at our booke (if we be of meete degree) nor at our dayly labour and businesse, if we be of meane estate: but do suffer the one sort, to haue too much pampering, ease, and delicacie: the other, too much Idlenesse, play, and libertie also.Note And sathan will worke vpon vs, if we haue but any one of these: for true it is, that where God giueth not ye gifts of cōtinencie, or preuenteth by his grace, euery young man after sixteen or seauenteen yeares oulde, and euery mayden of fourteene or fifteene (say what they will to the contrarie) hath motion to lust and fleshy delights: and the diuell, if it be possible, will blowe with the bellowse of concupiscence in vs, til ye heate of nature hath set both body and soule on fire. I will not meddle with naturall Philosophy in this poynt, nor shew you by Aristotles rule, how you should know this to be true; because they that will giue glorie vnto God, and confesse the truth, doe know and finde this true in them selues, that I say: vnlesse, as is afore shewed, God by his preuenting grace, or with his blessed gifte of continency doe goe before them.
5 A fift reason of all this out-rage in the flesh, is this: that whereas by originall sinne wee are subiect to lust, and to all other actuall sinnes (here taking lust for the sinnes of vncleannesse, and not for all grosse sinnes in generall, as the word will affoord) I say whereas by originall guiltynes, we are subiect to all sinne whatsoeuer: so are we naturally encliued and desirous of the means that [Page 9]may further the sinne that we are most enclined vnto: as close companying together, dalyance, sight, touching, talking lewdly of the actions of generation, writing of letters, making and reading of lewde and wanton bookes, ballads of loue and pamphlets that tend that way, day & night thoughts; and some things, that for modesty sake, I neyther can or will name: all which, like swine, a number vse, without all remorse of conscience and the feare of God.
6 A sixt reason of this outrage is, that wee bee not thoroughly made acquainted with Gods boke, and therein exercised day and night (that is to say, morning and euening at the least) that so we might see what God forbids, what he commaunds touching chastitie, puritie of body & mind, what punishments haue come on men and women, for these sins, and in what acompt God hath them that liue pure, & cleane: of which stories, Gen. 19. and 38. Iudges 20.2. Sam. 11. Rom. 1.1. Cor. 6. Gal. 5. Ephe. 5. Reue. 20. & 21. are wonderfull to consider.
7 Our neglect of wise & graue histories in this point, & of reading what monstrous births God hath sent vnto many both in this Realme, & in other places: which might make vs to tremble and quake, when wee shall but reade and heare of them.
M. Stubbs, in his booke entituled The Anatomie of Abuses, doth notably handle this point: so doth M. Hergeste, in his booke entituled The right rule of Christian Chastity, M. Batmans booke, and the Theater of Gods Iudgment &c. The which books, I wish with all my heart, were dayly heard, & read of our amorous yonkers, & lewde huswiues of the world, of Courtiers, Citizens, & Countrey people, with all other good like authors.
Besides, we should vse all the good meanes, that might more fully make vs to suppresse lust & sinfull pleasure: as [Page 10]to be in good places, godly cōpany, ye Church also, to heare diuine seruice and sermons &c. Wee doe not giue our selues to good exercises, that might make vs forget all such matters: as Actiuitie, Studie, reading of the holy and sacred scriptures, Fasting, Praier, Modesty in apparell, Lookes, Gesture, and Countenance &c. But to the contrary, a number haunt whore-houses, Theatres, and Play-houses &c. And a number (I am ashamed to vtter it) are euer talking of lewde howses, and such filthy places; which through their naughty practises they haue founde out and doe knowe: so that, as it should seeme, the Stues banke was neuer so common, as many Allies, Gardens, & such out-places be. Nay, you shall heare one young Gallant say to another; come, and I will bring thee, where thou shalt haue a wench of this and that price, &c. Reade I pray you Thomas Nashes booke, entituled; The teares of Christ ouer Ierusalem: which booke, if you haue any grace in you, will make you to shed teares for your sinnes: I thinke it is the only best booke that euer hee made.
An inuectiue conclusion.
O Monstrous lyfe of men & women, what will feare you, what will amend you? what may make you, if it be but, to ent [...] into some good consideration with your selues, of your estate before God & man (for this sin) both in this life, & the life to come? I would to God, I knewe what would doe you good, and preuaile with you: you should not then be long without it. For alas, I am right forrie and full of woe in my heart, when I thinke with my selfe how many thousands are lost from Christ, and cast to the diuel for these and such like sinnes: as also how many are beggerd and vndone thereby in this life▪ yea, brought into loathsome diseases and griefes, discredit [Page 11]of parents, kindred, and themselues for euer, by this sinne: Insomuch that the Chronicles and Histories of times are afterwards their perpetuall registers of infamie, shame and discredit.
Wherefore, to quench thy fierce and furious heate of hott and corrupt nature, let them set before them the heate & scorching of the euer burning fire of hell; & try but wt one foote or finger in our ordinarie fire, how they can endure the vnquenchable fire of hell. Then let them but come, and behould one of these wanton dames, when she is layed and lyeth rotting of the French disease (or Poxe as yee tearme it) when one peece is ready to fall from another, and her guts ready to fall out of her belly: when, at the best, shee is slabbering of her selfe with her dyet drinkes, her Spanish paints, her hot house bathes &c. or if that be too too loathsome, yet let them come to them when they are but sickly, and doe looke as yellowe as Rites legs, when the small poxe is on them, or when they lie groaning & crying out of inward aches and paines. And let wicked women of all sorts in this profession, doe the like to their gallants and braue laddes, that haue spent themselues, and all that euer they had on them: & these will at the least somewhat abate the lustes and desires of the flesh: if not kill it altogither in them. And let them adde hereunto, for breuitie sake, but that one little booke intituled, A Christian Resolution: for, that perhaps (if Gods grace be graunted them) will drawe them home to a better life.
Thus briefely I haue shewed my poore opinion, what may be a remedy in part, for this sinne in a great number, that the diuell may not preuaile with so many as he doth in all places: in so much, it is counted no sinne, or but a small sinne, soone wiped away. Nay, would to god ye some were not growne to such a height of sinne euery way, as that hauing no other way to shift it off, would faine beare [Page 12]men in hand, that there is no God: such is the sinfull wickednesse of this age and time: God, for his mercies sake, giue vs all grace to amend. But my masters, you of the Macheuillian and Athest profession, be you well assured, that if you will not beleeue there is a God, that doth hate sinne and reward vertue, you shall one day finde that, and feele that there is a diuell to plague you & torment you for [...]: therfore looke to it in time, & spend not your golden times away in such sin & dotage as you do. Thus hoping y• a word is ynough to the wise, I end. And, though perhaps this pamphlet may want wise handling, comming vnder my hand; I would willingly haue shewed at large, what are the particular sinnes of vncleannesse, how they are defined, and the proofes of scripture of it: But by reason of some especiall businesse that to me appertayneth in my place, and for some other respects, I am forced here to conclude; wishing, that one or two of these bookes (as they are) might be giuen into ye hands of the wicked Father and Mother of this monster; to terrifie them withall, till they doe truely repent: and then I wish vnto them all the mercies of god and his Church, with other Christians, according to Saint Paules rule, 2. Cor. 7. Otherwise, let those, & all other like persons, feare the sayings of these few places, 1. Cor. 6.9. Reuela. 21.6.7.
The Lord Iesus stir vp all that be in authoritie and all other good Christians, to pray, to punish, and seeke a redresse of this and all other grosse sinne; that for our iniquities we be not ouerthrowne in these aged dayes of our most gratious Soueraigne Lady, Queene Elizabeth: and that the enimies of the Gospell, nor the great enimy of all mankind preuayle not against vs, or our children after vs, as we haue deserued. Amen.