IS it not a maruell, that fire fals not from heauen to consume an infinite number of worse then sauage natur'de people in this land, when vile wretches, whom God hath markt with his secret brand of se­cret purpose, so impiously attempt things against nature, as for example, (which God grant it may so prooue for our amendment) here remained amongst vs in this Cittie a deformed crea­ture, an vnperfect wretch wanting the right shape and limbes of a man though in forme and visage like vnto one of vs, this decreped creature (as I said) named Iohn Arthur, liued and maintain'd himselfe with the charitie and deuoti­ons of almes-giuing people, and by his lame and lin blesse vsage purchased more kinde fauours then many others of his base fraternitie: money and meanes being easily gained by a few beggerly obseruations, as a wretch gracelesse, and [Page] vnthankefull for Gods blessings thus bestowed vpon him, made no good vse thereof, but spent the same in the seruice of the Diuell, as in blasphemie swearing, drunkennes, and such like, all damnable sinnes and such as be the nurses and breeders of others: this afore-named Cripple beeing on a time in the middle of his drunkennes heated with lust, fell into familiaritie with a certaine woman of his owne condi­tion; who purposing to liue as hee did, vpon charitie, and good mens almes, and seeing good benefit to come by his lamenes, vnto whom many people grew willing to giue, promised to be his associate, and as his companion and wife to beg with him, many daies and monthes spent they toge­ther, continually abusing the gifts of charitie, and wasting away the same with drunkennes in the by-places and sub­burbs of the Citie, which is euermore the receit of such beg­ging vacabonds and disordred liuers, instruments of the diuell prepared still for déeds of mischiese. This Cripple ha­uing not one good thought of God gr [...]ce, so lusted after his begging companion, that he obtained the daily vse of her bo­die, and continually committed so that sinne of lust & shame, making a practise thereof in the contempt of Gods Lawes, that the eye of heauen could no longer winke at them, but with a cleare sight see into their base wickednes: yea more then base in that a deformed lumpe of flesh and no perfect creature should thus abuse the séed of generation, and now and then in the fields and high-waies commit such beastly offences: but God we see hath iron hands, and will at last strike heauily, as hee did vpon these two shamelesse male­factors: For the Cripple in time surfetting vpon this his shame, and growing weary of this hated offence, as all peo­ple will doe, being not lawfully married, bgan to cast her off, and to loath her company though he himselfe might be thought the more loathsome, which she (abused women) per­ceiuing, and knowing her selfe to be but his strumpet, chal­lenged of him the promise of marriage, and so importuned him thereunto by his former vowes and promises, and that heauen would otherwise cal his periured oathes to account, [Page] all instigations of the diuell, and subtill policies to drawe them both to destruction, her importunate sutes to mariage so troubled his mind, bred such a rage in his heart, that a purpose came into his minde to rid her away by some vn­timely death: a motion no sooner set on fire, but the diuell was readie to bring more fewell, and neuer rested till it was all on a flame: so vpon a night, a time fitting for such a dark déede, the Cripple enticed her forth into the fields neere I­slington, where secretly at the Brick Kils, the lodging place for rogues and night walkers, he renewed his former fami­liaritie, and with a dissembling kindnes perswaded her to lodge there with him all night, which she, mistrustlesse wo­man, consented too, and little misdoubting his diuellish in­tent laid her downe vpon a pallat of straw by him to sleepe which as a token of hard misfortune sodainely possessed her: The Cripple perceiuing all secure and silent, and now thin­king to be rid of the shame thus daily following him, tooke the womans owne girdle, and putting the same slyly about her necke, where though nature had denyed him strength and limbes, yet by the help of the diuell, which alwaies adds force to villany, he made meanes in her sléep to strangle her, and to take away her life, as it were sodainely without re­pentance: therefor all people by this example ought still to be prepared for death, for hee comes as a thiefe in the night, and giues no warning: who would haue thought such an out-cast of the world, such a lame deformed creature, not able of his owne strength to help himselfe, should haue po­wer to take away anothers life, but the diuell wee sée is a cunning, and will still make the simple his strongest assi­sters, and those that bee the most weakest, to be of the vi­lest thoughts, but to conclude, the Cripple, blinded thus with his owne shame, had that ignorant opinion of the discouerie hereof, that he thought the world too simple to looke into his life, and his decreped carriage would keep away all suspiti­on, and that no man would thinke a lame creature could be able to doe so wicked a deede: but gracelesse varlet, as hee was, too much flattered in his own opinion, the Diuell as [Page] he was first beginner of his sinne, so was hee last end of his shame, for the same morning the woman was found thus murthered, and beeing seene the night before in his compa­nie with slender examinations confessed the fact, where for the same hee had his tryall at the Sessions by a Iury of twelue men and his execution at Tyburne in the sight of many hundreds of men, women and children, which ac­counts him to be a Monster by kinde and the dooer of a déed against nature.

Like vnto this viper of our age, wee are to place in our discourse another Caterpiller of nature, a creature more sauage then a shée woolfe, more vnnaturall then either bird or beast, for euery creature hath a tender feeling of loue to their young, except some few murtherous-minded strum­pets, woemen I cannot call them, for a woman esteemes the fruit of her owne womb, the pretious and dearest Iew­ell of the world, and for the cherishing of the same will (as it were) spend her liues purest blood, where, contrariwise the harlot (delighting in shame and sinne) makes no consci­ence to be the butcher of her owne seed, nay the Image of God created in her owne body, and now and then in the conception makes spoyle of the bed of creation before it can receiue true forme., Therefore for an example likewise cast your eyes vpon this other monster of nature, which was a lasciuious, lewd and close strumpet, a harlot lodging pri­uately neere Bishops-gate in Bedlam at a kinsmans hause of hirs, which little suspected this hir vnwomanly carriage but shame long raked vp in the ashes of secresie, though close smoking, will at last breake forth into open flame: so this graceles wanton (spending her youth in lasciuious pleasures, as many a one doth in and about this Citty) hap­ded to proue w [...]th child, & hauing no husband to couer this her act of shame, and withall soaring the disgrace of the world, by a diuilish practise sought to consume it in her body before the birth, but not preuailing (as God would haue it) thee was forced by nature to deliuer it aliue to the world, and so was made the vnhappy mother of a man-child [Page] vnhappy I may name her, for her owne hand made her vn­happy. To our purpose, her lusty body, strong nature, and feare of shame brought an easines to her deliuery, and re­quired in her agony no help of a midwife which among wo­men seemeth a thing very strange, for not so much as the least child in the house where she lodged had knowledge of her labour, nor hardly was she thought to be with child, so closely demeaned she her selfe, but the deuill we see addes force vnto wickednes, and puts a kind of strength to nature in that kind, otherwise had she beene discouered in the child­birth.

Consider this the Child being borne with shame and she by it made a scandall to her acquaintance, renewed the re­memberance of her passed sinnes, and presented present shame vnto her grieued thoughts, which troubled cogitati­ons, by the perswasions of the Diuill, put her in mind vio­lently to make it away, and to giue it death before the bo­dy had well recouered life, whereupon taking the poore tender babe as it were new dropt from the mothers womb, and not like a mother, but a monster threw it downe into a lothsome priuy house, therein to giue it an vndecent graue and as shee thought therby make to her selfe a ridance of a further Infamy, but God is Iust and will reward shame where it is deserued, and such vnnaturall deedes, let them be acted in deserts, in the cauernes of the earth, where ne­uer light of day nor Sun shines, yet will they be discouered and brought to the worlds eye, so hapned it with this har­lot, when all feare of suspition was past, shee safely deli­uered, the Childe in the priuy smothered, and in the world no notice taken thereof, yet in the end was it thus most strangly discouered, the Tunnill of the aforesaid vault or priuy assended vp into the next neighbours house, as in ma­ny places they doe, where by chance (as God had ordayned) dwelled an vnto vard ladd that in taking delight in knauish pastimes tooke a cur Dog then vsing the house and care­lesly threw it downe the Tunnell into the vault, where the murthered infant lay, and taking noe regard thereof, suf­fered [Page] the Dog to remaine there staruing and crying for food the space of three dayes and nights, during which time the yelping of the dog much disquieted the neighbours, and so troubled the dwellers there abouts, that they could not sleepe a nights for the noyse, but especially the good man of the house, who greeued to sée a dumbe beast so starued, and for want of food thus to perish like a kind natur'd man caused the priuy to be opened and the poore curre taken vp, which proued by Gods Iustice the only discouerer of the a­foresaid fact for in taking vp the dog, they were wofull witnesses of the sweet Babe lying all besmeared with the filth of that loathsome place. The sight whereof caused no small amazement, especially to the good man of the house, who with a diligent care (as his duty was both to God and his country) and that all such inhumaine deeds might bee brought to light, made it knowns to the Magistrates, which likewise with Christian care caused a certaine number of substantiall woemen to ma [...]e search of suspected persons, and of such who were like to be the murthered Infants mo­ther, or murtherer, amongst many other loose liuers and common harlots, of which number those by places haue too many, the more is the pitty, this aforesaid murtheresse came to the touch, where vpon examination, she confessed the child to be borne with life, and her selfe not worthy of life, and so pleading guilty she was brought to her triall, & for the same araigned and condemned by the [...]nch of assize in the old Baily the 18. and 19: of Iuly last 1614. and hath suffred death at Tyburne the 21. following as an example, that god, either by beasts of the field, soules of the ayre, fishes in the seas, wormes in the ground, or things bearing neither sence nor life will by one meanes or other make deedes of darknes cleare as day, that the world may behold his high working powers, and that no malefactor can escape vnpuni­shed, though his déeds be as secret as the w [...]kes of hell, be­yond the thought of humane imagination, conuert vs from sin great God of Israel, so shal we neuer be endangered with the like perswasions, which God in his mercy grant. Amen.