NOthing appears so contradictory and idle, but some Philosopher or other has so earnestly espous'd, that his life might have been easily taken, as a Mortgage for the security of the truth; Were the forfeiture thought consi­derable: And as of this sort there are many extravagant Presidents that would make Nature very ridiculous; so there are to be found amongst the graver sort of assertors all the world over, whimsies, more foolish and barbarous then with the Savages, who enjoy'd scarce, or not at all, the light of Nature: Amongst other Busslings and tryals of Pens, It hath been a great dispute about the age of Adam, Methuselah, &c. Some would have monthly years, deducing Arguments from Eve; Others from the Moon: Some more Persian-like, will give the Sun the Glory of compleating the Year; holding also, Nature to be in a continual decay through her own weakness, or our wan­tonness; And though they' did live so many Years here­tofore, we have so chang'd our Bodies, that no one can be expected to live the quarter, nay scarce the Tythe of our Fore-fathers time. But 'twill be sound Nature can­not decay, nor has her Luxury so circumscrib'd our age, but that we do find Persons, whose extent of Years serve to confute such indigested Fancies.

Not far from the seat of Old PARR, at this time lives, (near Lanselyn in Denby-shire,) a Woman, named Jane Morgan, whose Memory yet serves her to give an exact account of several things she hath seen and known One Hundred and Thirty Years ago: She walks uprightly, without the use of the least Stick; Her Teeth are almost all now perfect in her head, although about Threescore Years ago she had lost most of them; She can see as well without Spectacles, if not better then with them; Her Hearing is quick and apprehensive, and her Organs of Smelling are so corroborated by Age, that no Stench can invade them to the least prejudice. She was the first that learnt that Famous and Memorable Tune called Sidanen, in all those parts. When Queen Elizabeth was Crown'd, she led all the Dances, and continued the Head of all that Countrey sports, until the death of King JAMES; and was so sensible of the Glory she had atchiev'd by such continual Custom, that she would not part with it, until she had bred her Daughter up to have it confer'd on her; which she did in a publick Assembly when the Corona­tion of King CHARLES the First was solemnized: But before her Daughter, as her Deputy had practised, and in her absence taught the Countrey Measures for the space of One and Twenty Years, having several Tunes Dedicated to her; Old Simon the King, was called her Delight,Jo Bent, her Fancy; Bob-in Joy her Conceit; Sleeping and waking she sung the Sidanen; wherefore the Neighbours called her by that Name.

Her Mother Jane Lloyd was married at Twenty years of age to one Evan Morgan an able Farmers Son, who [Page 3] was the activ'st and strong'st in his Country at Wrestling: But at a certain Tryal of Skill, when he had foil'd all the Neighbours, and Strangers too; She put on Mans apparel, entred the round, and gave him three Falls; Upon which she bore away the little Silver Bell that was the Con­querours due; But upon enquiry, who this Valiant stran­ger was, the young man fell so deeply in love with her, that maugre all his Friends hee married her, and lived with her Forty five years, before her Womb was ma­ture for Conception; About the sixty sixth year of her age she brought forth her first Born, a Daughter, who did not conceive till the Fifty Fifth year of her age.

Many Masculine, and Heroick acts did this Virago Mo­ther do, and though somtimes the Justices were severe, yet their Warrants were always void; and like Curses of Malefactors, returned upon themselves, for what ever ground she trod on, was to Catch-polls and Petty Con­stables, as fatal, as Irish Earth to Venomous Creatures.

But as the Longest Day will have a Night, spight­full Age wrought a tendency towards a decay, upon her Vigorous Nerves, yet in all this while Time could not make her subject to the least Disease, tho it has submitted Her to the most unheard of shifts for Food as ever were or can be, and by the Calculation of her Stomack, Shee may be thought now to be in the Meridian of her Age: Hundreds of her Neighbours can justifie, that what Disease soever, Cattle, Horses, Swine, Sheep, or the like, die, her stomack (so far is Fantastick Prejudice un­able to make the least Impress on her) has a Menstruum to digest gratefully such faetid Flesh, that others would [Page 4] not only abhor, but it would put such stress and violence upon them, that irresistable Death would infallibly follow.

'Tis a certain Truth, that Carron buried two or three Days in the Winter-time, she will take up, which with­out any other preparation, she will slice, and fling as Collops upon the Coles, which she will eat as savorly, as he that thinks he eats the best in Town, when he hath the rarest Cutlets drest for him: And if her Prize cannot at once be eaten, she'l gently and carelesly salt the Re­mainder, and expose it to the greatest Fury of her smoa­king Cell, and prudently reserves it as a future happiness.

If against a good Time her Neighbours bounty will bestow any Corn upon her, she will yet upon her head make shift to carry Two Bushels to the Mill; Which tho it be very remarkable in one of her Age, it is very in­considerate to what she hath done formerly.

When she was near an Hundred Years old, her Occa­sions inviting her about that time to Oswaldstrey Market, which is Three Miles; but because of its ruggedness and length, she had better have gone from London to Bar­net: After she had there filled her Apron with cumber­som necessaries to that bulk, that the Burden seem'd at some distance to walk before her; she was told by a stan­der by, that it was impossible for her to carry such a troublesom burden home: This mans Horse was then loaden with Two Pieces of course Welsh Cotton; She then scornfully answer'd; If you put those Two Pieces which your Horse seems almost to shrink under, upon my Sholders, I will for a Wager undertake to carry them as far as my House, before You and your Horse can come thither: The Man be­ing her Neighbour, fearful to lose, and unwilling to displease her; reply'd, he was more willing to ease then [Page 5] trouble her. But One of the incredulous Corporation, ignorant of her prodigious strength, wag'd with her, and suspecting her Neighbour would be partial; He, with 3 or 4 of his most curious Neighbours, got Horses, and fol­lowed her presently; and at the end of Two Miles and a half they overtook the Man, belabouring his weary Horse: They askt him for the Woman? he answer'd them, cursing, saying he had had 2 or 3 scurvy falls; and that he had no sight of her in a quarter of a Mile: They going for­ward, found her return'd, sitting in her Chimney corner smoaking Tobacco in a comfortable short Pipe; at which they were astonish'd.

A Thousand more considerable Stories, must here (for brevity sake) be omitted: It will therefore be conveni­ent to add a Relation her Neighbours give, in respect of her Age; some of Fourscore and Ten, remember they heard their Fathers say, she was a very proper tall Woman.

In a House out of which she had seen buried Eleven Heirs, Her proportion as to her height, was taken above 100 years ago; And the last year coming to the same place, she was found to want of that measure betwixt seventeen and eighteen Inches; and now she is Four Foot and four Inches high, not at all stooping, at which the by-standers much admir'd; which she perceiving, told them, that her Mother was completely Two Yards high; And that before she dyed, she shrunk to Three Foot and Six Inches: So that she concluded by the graduation of their decays, be­fore she had shrunk to her utmost, she must yet live above Threescore years; and who knows but she may? For she is as mery as a Girl of Fifteen, and will sing from Morning till Night; Her Memory is so lively, that she'll tell Stories of Queen Elizabeth and King James, as fresh, and more pleasantly then the sufferers in the late Wars can.

I was the more willing to publish this, because I hop'd some Virtuoso's would be so kind, as curiously to satisfie themselves of the Truth, and then the world after; with Reasons how this comes to pass; and why others live not to the same Age?

What sort of Menstruum her Stomack has?

How are her Organs ordered, since no Stench offends her?

And since it is a Contradiction to say she grows less, how comes the whole Contexture of her Body with such consent of Parts to be diminished?

And since the Bones must consequently be contracted, how come we to find Bones long buried, of the same length as when first Interr'd

If any Person question the Truth of this Narra­tive, or desire to satisfie their Curiosity, let them repair to West-Smithfield, where she is daily expected, to convince the World of the Truth thereof.