a proclamation for apprehending the lord bellendine. edinburgh the fourth day of july, 1689. scotland. privy council. 1689 approx. 3 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). b05639 wing s1839 estc r183500 52529301 ocm 52529301 179069 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. b05639) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 179069) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2776:58) a proclamation for apprehending the lord bellendine. edinburgh the fourth day of july, 1689. scotland. privy council. scotland. sovereign (1689-1694 : william and mary) 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed by the heir of andrew anderson, by order of the privy council, edinburgh : anno dom. 1689. caption title. signed: gilb. eliot, cls. sti. concilii. reproduction of the original in the national library of scotland. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bellandine, john, -lord. murderers -scotland -early works to 1800. broadsides -scotland -17th century. 2008-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-07 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-08 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-08 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a proclamation , for apprehending the lord bellendine . edinburgh , the fourth day of july , 1689. the lord high commissioner , and lords of his majesties privy council being well informed of the horrid murder , committed by iohn lord bellendine , on the third of this instant iuly , upon one of his majesties souldiers , under the command of major general m ccay , without any occasion or provocation : therefore the lords of his majesties privy council , in his majesties name and authority , have thought fit , by open proclamation , to certifie the leidges of this inhumane murder , and do require all magistrats , souldiers , and other leidges , to do their outmost indeavour and diligence , to apprehend the said lord bellendine , that he may be brought to condign punishment , especially such of the leidges as lives at passes , or ferries ; and in case any of the leidges may have seen the said lord bellendine before they were certified of his crime , and required to apprehend him , that immediatly upon intimation of this proclamation , these persons give notice to the next magistrats , justices of peace , officers of the army , or constables , where they did see the said lord bellendine , since the committing of the said murder , to the effect he may be pursued , and seised . indemnifying hereby any person from the hazard of slaughter , mutilation , or any other acts of violence , which they may commit against the said lord bellendine , or any persons with him , in apprehending of him : and for the further incouragement of this service , the lords of his majesties privy council , do promise and assure the sum of two thousand merks scots to any person or persons , who shall seize the said lord bellendine , and deliver him to any of his majesties magistrats or officers of his army ; discharging hereby any of his majesties leidges to shelter , harbour , or any ways assist or supply the said lord bellendine upon their highest peril . and ordains these presents to be printed and published by macers , pursevants , or messengers , at the mercat crosse of edinburgh , or any other places necessary . extracted by me , gilb . eliot , cls. sti. concilii . edinburgh , printed by the heir of andrew anderson , by order of the privy council , anno dom. 1689. proclamation, for apprehending patrick grahame of inchbraco, with promise of a reward. scotland. privy council. 1695 approx. 3 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). b05637 wing s1835 estc r226056 52529300 ocm 52529300 179068 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. b05637) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 179068) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2776:57) proclamation, for apprehending patrick grahame of inchbraco, with promise of a reward. scotland. privy council. scotland. sovereign (1694-1702 : william ii) 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed by the heirs and successors of andrew anderson, printer to his most excellent majesty, edinburgh : anno dom. 1695. caption title. initial letter. intentional blank spaces in text. dated: given under our signet at edinburgh, the fourth day of june, and of our reign the seventh year, 1695. signed: gilb. eliot. cls. sti. concilii. reproduction of the original in the national library of scotland. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng graham, patrick, -of inchbrakie. murderers -scotland -early works to 1800. arrest -scotland -early works to 1800. broadsides -scotland -17th century. 2008-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-03 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2008-03 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion proclamation , for apprehending patrick grahame of inchbraco , with promise of a reward . william by the grace of god , king of great-britain , france and ireland , defender of the faith ; to our lovits , _____ macers of our privy council , messengers at arms , our sheriffs in that part , conjunctly and severally specially constitute , greeting . forasmuch , as it is informed , that patrick grahame younger of inchbraco hath lately killed john master of rollo , without any occasion or provocation ; and after the committing thereof , hath withdrawn and fled from underlying the law. therefore we , with advice of the lords of our privy council , have thought fit to certifie all our leidges , of this inhumane slaughter , and to require all magistrats , and all our other officers , civil and military , with all our other leidges , to do their outmost to apprehend the said patrick grahame , that he may be brought to condign punishment ; indemnifying hereby any person from the hazard of slaughter , or any other act of violence which they may be necessitat to commit against the said patrick grahame , or any who shall joyn with him , in his resisting to be apprehended . and further , we do promise and assure the sum of eighteen hundred merks scots to any person or persons who shall seiz and apprehend the said patrick grahame , and deliver him to any of our magistrats , or officers of our army , to be by them safely keeped , in order to his tryal ; discharging hereby all our leidges to shelter , harbour , or any ways assist or supply the said patrick grahame , upon their highest peril . our will is herefore , and we charge you strictly , and commands that incontinent , these our letters seen , ye pass to the mercat-cross of edinburgh , and remanent mercat-crosses of the head-burghs of the several-shires within this kingdom , and there in our name and authority make publication hereof , that none may pretend ignorance . and ordains these presents to be printed and published . given under our signet at edinburgh , the fourth day of june , and of our reign the seventh year , 1695. per actum dominorun secreti concilii . gilb . eliot . cls. sti. concilii . god save the king . edinburgh , printed by the heirs and successors of andrew anderson , printer to his most excellent majesty , anno dom. 1695. a full and true account of the proceedings of tho. harris, gent. high constable of the hundred of oswaldstone, in the county of middlesex. being the manner of finding the head of the late murder'd person, who was cut to pieces: it being found between twelve and one a clock at night, in the house of office, near the house of mr. fresnear, a fringe-maker, near exeter-exchange, on sunday-night, the 5th instant february, 1687. harris, tho., high-constable, fl. 1688. 1688 approx. 3 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 2 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a84971 wing f2310ba estc r177232 45097794 ocm 45097794 171380 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a84971) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 171380) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2572:29) a full and true account of the proceedings of tho. harris, gent. high constable of the hundred of oswaldstone, in the county of middlesex. being the manner of finding the head of the late murder'd person, who was cut to pieces: it being found between twelve and one a clock at night, in the house of office, near the house of mr. fresnear, a fringe-maker, near exeter-exchange, on sunday-night, the 5th instant february, 1687. harris, tho., high-constable, fl. 1688. 1 sheet (2 p.). printed, and are to be sold by randal taylor., london : 1688. caption title. signed: tho. harris, high-constable. print bleed-through. reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng murder -england -middlesex. broadsides -england -17th century. 2008-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-09 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-12 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-12 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a full and true account of the proceedings of tho. harris , gent. high constable of the hundred of oswaldstone , in the county of middlesex , being the manner of finding the head of the late murder'd person , who was cut to pieces : it being found between twelve and one a clock at night , in a house of office near the house of mr. fresnear , a fringe-maker , near exeter-exchange , on sunday-night , the 5th instant february , 1687. having received a warrant from sir james butler , and sir robert clerk , two of his majesties justices of the peace for this county of middlesex ; that they were credibly informed that the head of the wounded person is slung into a house of office , belonging to mr. fresnean a fringe-maker near exeter-change in my hundred , or some other house-office near adjacent thereunto , did therefore in his majesties name , require me to cause diligent search to be made in the said houses of office , or in any other , of which i should have just cause to suspect for the head , and give an immediate account of what i should do herein to them , or some other of his majesties justices of peace for the said county . given under their hands and seals the fifth day of february , 1687 / 8. pursuant to this warrant i sent for my constables and officers , and procured some night-men , who went to the place and began to work about eleven at night , and so continued till about half an hour after twelve , at which time the night-men brought up the head , which was wrapt up in a cloth , with one ear hanging out of a hole in the cloth , and when it was taken out , i order'd it immediately to be wash'd very clean , and carryed to the watch-house : and the head and face is without any manner of defacement , wound , or scar ; but may be known by any man who formerly knew the person , the visage remaining very plain . about five a clock this morning , being the sixth of this instant february , i went to the right honourable the earl of craven , who ordered me to wait on him to white-hall , in order to attend and give his majesty an account thereof ; which being done , his majesty was pleased to order that the head should be conveyed forthwith to the body , which lies in st. giles bone-house , where it now is , and may be seen by any that have the curiosity to repair thither : and this is a true account , witness my hand , tho. harris , high-constable . london printed , and are to be sold by randal taylor . 1688. proclamation, for apprehending fergus tempeltoun a murderer. scotland. privy council. 1694 approx. 4 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). b05634 wing s1830 estc r183496 52529297 ocm 52529297 179065 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. b05634) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 179065) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2776:54) proclamation, for apprehending fergus tempeltoun a murderer. scotland. privy council. scotland. sovereign (1689-1694 : william and mary) 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed by the successors of andrew anderson, printers to their most excellent majesties, edinburgh : anno dom. 1694. caption title. initial letter. intentional blank spaces in text. dated: given under our signet at edinburgh, the first day of february, and of our reign the fifth year, 1694. signed: gilb. eliot, cls. sti. concilii. reproduction of the original in the national library of scotland. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng templetoun, fergus, fl. 1694. murderers -scotland -early works to 1800. arrest -scotland -early works to 1800. broadsides -scotland -17th century. 2008-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-03 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2008-03 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion proclamation for apprehending fergus templetoun a murderer . william and mary by the grace of god , king and queen of great britain , france and ireland , defenders of the faith ; to _____ macers of our privy council , messengers at arms , our sheriffs in that part , conjunctly and severally , specially constitute , greeting ; forasmuch as we are well informed of a cruel murder committed by fergus templetoun a little black curly-headed man , souldier in captain _____ home his company , in the lord strathnaver his regiment , upon james dunlop in kirkland , with in his own house or barn where he was living peaceably ; the murderer pretending that he was searching for deserters ; which fergus templetoun being apprehended , and committed prisoner to the guards in pasley , did make his escape . and we being desirous that the committers of so hainous a murder , should be brought to condign punishment . therefore we , with advice of the lords of our privy council , do hereby require and command all our magistrats , officers , souldiers , and others our liedges , to do their outmost endeavour and diligence to apprehend the said fergus templetoun , and deliver him prisoner to the magistrats of any of our burghs , to be by them kept in safe custody , untill he be brought to tryal , and suffer condign punishment for the said crime . and we out of our detestation to such a horrid crime , and to the effect the same may not go unpunished ▪ and for encouraging of persons to search for , and apprehend the murderer ; do hereby make offer of the sum of five hundred merks to any person or persons who shall apprehend the said fergus templetoun , and deliver him prisoner to the magistrats of of any of our burghs , which we hereby promise shall be faithfully payed as a reward to the said person or persons , lot their apprehending of the said murderer , indemnifying hereby all persons from all hazard of slaughter , mutilation , or any other acts of violence , which they may commit against the said fergus templetoun , or any persons with him , in apprehending the said murderer . and we with advice ●oresaid peremptorly inhibit and discharge , all and every our leidges whatsoever , to shelter harbour , conceal , or any ways assist or supply the said fergus templetoun , upon their highest peril . our will is herefore , and we charge you straitly , and command , that incontinent these our letters seen , ye pass to the mercat-cross of edinburgh , and mercat-crosses of the whole remanent burghs in this kingdom , and other places needful , and there in our name and authority , by open proclamation , make publication of the premisses , that none may pretend ignorance . and ordains these presents to be printed . given under our signet at edinburgh , the first day of february , and of our reign the fifth year , 1694 . per actum dominorum secreti concilii gilb . eliot , cls. sti concilii . god save king vvilliam and queen mary . edinburgh , printed by the successors of andrew anderson , printers to their most excellent majesties , anno dom. 1694. epilogue to the french midwife's tragedy who was burnt in leicester-fields, march 2, 1687/8, for the barbarous murder of her husband denis hobry / this may be printed, r.p. settle, elkanah, 1648-1724. 1688 approx. 4 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a92956 wing s2680a estc r224443 38875641 ocm 38875641 152366 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a92956) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 152366) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2294:21) epilogue to the french midwife's tragedy who was burnt in leicester-fields, march 2, 1687/8, for the barbarous murder of her husband denis hobry / this may be printed, r.p. settle, elkanah, 1648-1724. 1 sheet ([1] p.). printed for randal taylor ..., london : 1688. in verse. attributed to elkanah settle by wing (2nd ed.). reproduction of original in: bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng hobry, marie, d. 1688. hobry, denis, d. 1688. murder -england. broadsides -london (england) -17th century. 2007-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-08 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-09 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2007-09 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an epilogue to the french midwife's tragedy , who was burnt in leicester-fields , march 2. 1687. for the barbarous murder of her husband denis hobry . if mighty verse like great omnipotence , can both rewards and punishments dispense , verse that strows sweets or cankers on the grave , that brands the impious , and embalms the brave ; horrour it self must write an elegy ; nor can such guilt ev'n with the guilty die. at common stakes the malefacter dies , his funeral rites in his spectators eyes . beyond the stroke we hear no more the name : as if his limited breath and bounded shame lull'd in one slumber to one grave should go , whilst justice strikes , and pity seals the blow . but , fatal hobry , thy unhappier hands , ( as if thou'hadst studied for eternal brands ) soard to that height , to that exalted crime ; our eyes ev'n dread to look where thou ne'r dread'st to climb . who to her fate a path like thee could choose ; a fate unmourn'd ? as if resolved to lose even that last stake the vvretched ne're forgo , pity the last inheritance of vvoe . nay , to be yet more miserable still , thy hideous tale that sullied page shall fill ; on harden'd brass thy fame shall written be , if possible more harden'd ev'n then thee . but sure thy death might wash thy stain away ! no! though the debts to blood in blood we pay , heap rocks on rocks , thy infamy unhusht , by all that pondrous weight too feebly crusht , like the old conquer'd gyants , still would rise , and heave beneath the mountains where it lies . nay , t' heighten the black dye thy story wears the perpetration acted at thy years ! t' increase the prodigy , so hot the rage , at so decrepit , and so cold an age ; by times long frozen hand , thy feeble arm — but oh ! what frost can chill where hell can warm ? methinks i saw the sleeping husband kill'd , her vigorous arm with youthfull sinews fill'd , and stoutly following the triumphant stroak , unbrancht , unlimb'd , she hew'd the falling oak ; vvhile peeping vengeance , that reserved the meed of treason , lookt all ghastly at the deed. had some young girl by covetous parents doom , in natures prime , in youth and beauties bloom , betray'd to some old jealous misers bed , to impotence , to age and aches vved ; her chamber-walls , her dungeon , and her tomb , lockt up from foraging , yet starv'd at home : had this mew'd slave , to meet some dearer charms , and run to a more darling lovers arms , a cawdle spiced , or cut a jugular vein , her jaylor laid asleep to break her chain ; the murdering blow her pitied hand should give , vvould scarcely to a nine days wonder live. but hobry , thy more execrated shame shall even survive the great medea's name . the mangled brothers limbs that sorceress tore , in dull oblivion lost , shall live no more . but 't was a deed thy arm alone durst do , and thy great exit's thy great merits due . behold the wanton flames sport round thy head , resolved to have thy funeral ashes spread vvide as thy husbands scatter'd limbs we 're laid . heaven's roof 's thy marble , and the vvorld thy tomb. yes , 't was but just thy dust should find that room , that large , that spacious sepulcher should have , the stench too noysome for a narro'er grave . finis . this may be printed , r. p. london , printed for randal taylor , near stationers-hall , 1688. whereas a most barbarous and outragious murder and robbery was committed, on sunday the seventh day of this instant october in the evening, in the town of radrom in the county of wicklow ... by the lord lieutenant and council, ormond. ireland. lord lieutenant (1677-1685 : ormonde) 1677 approx. 4 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a46098 wing i702 estc r36817 16138350 ocm 16138350 104801 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a46098) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 104801) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1595:4) whereas a most barbarous and outragious murder and robbery was committed, on sunday the seventh day of this instant october in the evening, in the town of radrom in the county of wicklow ... by the lord lieutenant and council, ormond. ireland. lord lieutenant (1677-1685 : ormonde) ormonde, james butler, duke of, 1610-1688. 1 broadside. s.n., [dublin : 1677] title from first 5 lines of text. statement of responsibility transposed from head of title. imprint suggested by wing. "given at the council chamber in dublin the 19th. day of october 1677." reproduction of original in the society of antiquaries library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng murder -ireland -rathdrum. ireland -history -1649-1775. ireland -politics and government -17th century. 2007-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion c2r diev et mon droit honi soit qvi mal y pense royal blazon or coat of arms by the lord lieutenant and council . ormond . vvhereas a most barbarous and outragious murder and robbery was committed , on sunday the seventh day of this instant october in the evening , in the town of radr●m in the county of wicklow , by several traiterous and rebellious persons then assembled together in armes to the great terror of his majesties good subjects , and the disturbance of the peace of this kingdom , & whereas some of the said offendors , being since apprehended , & committed to his majesties goal at wicklow , we have caused a special commission of oyer and terminer to be issued , for the speedy tryal , & bringing to just punishment , the said persons so apprehended , & such others who shall be found to have been guilty of the said crimes , but divers of the persons who were actors therein having not as yet been discovered or taken ; we think fit hereby , in his majesties name straightly to charge & command , all his majesties loyal subjects , upon their duty & allegiance to his majestie , not only to forbear to receive , or relieve , any the persons who were actors in the sai● murder or robbery , but also to make diligent search and enquiry after the said persons , and by all means possible , to apprehend and take the bodies of them , and them to bring or cause to be brought , under safe custody , to the high sherriffs of the respective counties , where they shall be apprehended to be by such sheriffs , safely conveyed to the said goal of wicklow , to the end they may be there legally proceeded against , and tryed for their said offences . and we do hereby further declare , that whatsoever person or persons shall knowingly comfort , relieve or abet , the said offendors , or any of them , they are and shall be reputed , deemed and adjudged traitors , in like degree , with the offendors themselves , and to be proceeded against according to law ; and we do hereby also declare , that whosoever shall discover and apprehend , or cause to be apprehended , any of the persons , who were actors in the said murder or robbery , and are not yet in custody , shall upon conviction of any such persons , have for a reward for his said discovery and apprehension of any such malefactors , for each person so discovered and brought in , ten pounds , for payment whereof , we will give warrant as occasion shall require . and whosoever of the said offendors , not yet seised upon , shall first discover , ●ither to us the lord lieutenant , or any of his majesties privy council , or iudges in this kingdom , the whole plot and conspiracy entred into , for committing the said robbery , and the several persons engag'd therein , or shall at any time hereafter , bring unto the high sheriff of any country in this kingdom , any of the said other persons , who were guilty of the said crimes , and are not yet in custody , he shall upon such his discovery , or the conviction of such person so brought in by him , together with his said reward , receive his pardon , and towards the speedy effecting of this service , all commanders of horse , and foot , and all other his majesties officers and loving subjects are to be aiding and assisting as they and every of them will answer the contrary at their perils . given at the councel chamber in dublin the 19th . day of october 1677. ja : armachanus . mich : dublin . cance . blesinton . lanesborough . hen : midensis r : coot . ro : booth : j : temple john cole . ja : hayes . tho : radcliffe . a proclamation anent the murtherers of the late archbishop of st. andrews, and appointing magistrates and councils of burghs royal to sign the declaration at michaelmas next proclamations. 1679-09-20 scotland. privy council. 1679 approx. 5 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a92663 wing s1673 estc r230229 99895952 99895952 153562 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a92663) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 153562) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2370:27) a proclamation anent the murtherers of the late archbishop of st. andrews, and appointing magistrates and councils of burghs royal to sign the declaration at michaelmas next proclamations. 1679-09-20 scotland. privy council. charles ii, king of england, 1630-1685. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed by the heir andrew anderson, [edinburgh : 1679] dated at end: edinburgh the twentieth day of september, 1679. and of our rign [sic] the thirty one year. this edition not in steele. imprint from wing cd-rom, 1996. dfo copy on reel 2370 is cropped at foot affecting the imprint. reproduction of original in the folger shakespeare library, washington, d.c.. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng sharp, james, 1613-1679 -early works to 1800. criminal behavior -early works to 1800. murder -scotland -early works to 1800. broadsides 2007-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-07 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-08 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2007-08 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a proclamation anent the murtherers of the late archbishop of st. andrews , and appointing magistrates and councils of burghs royal to sign the declaration at michaelmas next . charles , by the grace of god king of great britain , france and ireland , defender of the faith ; to our lovits heraulds , macers , pursevants , or messengers at arms , our sheriffs in that part , conjunctly and severally , specially constitute , greeting : we taking to our consideration how much the protestant religion , and the honour of this our ancient kingdom are stained by that barbarous and horrid assassination and murther of the late archbishop of st. andrews ; whereof we have by several proclamations expressed our abhorrency , and prohibited the reset of these murtherers whom we have excepted from our late gracious pardon and indemnity : and albeit it was the duty ( not only of those in authority under vs ) but of all our subjects , to use their endeavours for discovering and bringing to justice these execrable persons , enemies to all humane society ; yet we understand , that these murtherers , and likewise divers heritors and ministers who were engaged in the late rebellion , and are excepted from our indemnity , have been harboured and reset in some places of this kingdom , to the great reproach of the nation , and contempt of our authority and laws : therefore , we with advice of our privy-council , do command and charge all sheriffs , stewarts , bayliffs of regalities , and baylieries , and their deputes , magistrates of burghs , and others in authority under vs , to search for , seek , take , and apprehend the persons afternamed , viz. john balfour of kinlock , david haxstoun of rathillet , george balfour in gilstoun , james russel in kettle , robert dingwal , a tenents son in caddam , andrew guillan webster in balmerinoch , alexander and andrew hendersons , sons to john henderson in kilbrachmont , and george fleming son to george fleming in balbuthy , who did perpetrate and commit the said horrid murther ; and also , any heritors and ministers who were in the late rebellion , and any persons who have reset and harboured these murtherers and rebells , wherever they can be found within the bounds of their respective jurisdictions , and put them in sure ward and firmance , until they be brought to justice : and in case these persons flee out of the shire , that they give notice thereof to the sheriff , or other magistrate of the next shire or jurisdiction , that they may in like manner search for , apprehend and secure them until they be brought to justice ; with power to the sheriffs , and other magistrates aforesaid , if they shall find cause , to call to their assistance our subjects within their jurisdiction , or such a number of them as they shall think fit , who are hereby required to concur with , and assist them , under all highest pain and charge . and we expect , that the sheriffs and other magistrates aforesaid , will use exact diligence in the premises , as they will be answerable on their highest peril . and seeing by the fifth act of the second session , and the second act of the third session of our first parliament . the magistrates and councils of burghs are ordained at and before their admissions to the exercise of their offices , to sign the declaration appointed to be signed by all persons in publick trust , under the certifications therein exprest . therefore , we with advice aforesaid , do command and require the magistrates and councils of the respective burghs of this kingdom , who shall be chosen at the next ensuing elections , to sign the foresaid declaration , as is prescribed in the said acts , and to return the declarations so signed by them to the clerks of our privy-council , betwixt and the third thursday of november next ; certifying such as shall not give obedience , that they shall be proceeded against , and censured conform to the said acts of parliament . our will is herefore , and we charge you strictly , and command , that incontinent , these our letters seen , ye pass to the market-cross of edinburgh , and remanent market-crosses of the head burghs of the several shires of this kingdom , and other places needful , and there by open proclamation , make publication of the premises , that none may pretend ignorance of the same . and we ordain these presents to be printed . given under our signet at edinburgh the twentieth day of september , 1679. and of our rign the thirty one year . will. paterson , cl. sti. concilii . god save the k1ng . a cruell murther committed lately upon the body of abraham gearsy who liv'd in the parish of westmill, in the county of harford; by one robert reeve, and richard reeve, both of the same parish: for which fact robert was prest to death, on munday the 16. of march, and the tuesday following richard was hang'd; and after both of them were hang'd up in chaines, where now they doe remaine, to the affrightment of all beholders. 1635. to the tune of fortune my foe. crimsal, richard. 1635 approx. 7 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 2 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a19001 stc 5418 estc s108708 99844364 99844364 9170 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a19001) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 9170) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1627:12) a cruell murther committed lately upon the body of abraham gearsy who liv'd in the parish of westmill, in the county of harford; by one robert reeve, and richard reeve, both of the same parish: for which fact robert was prest to death, on munday the 16. of march, and the tuesday following richard was hang'd; and after both of them were hang'd up in chaines, where now they doe remaine, to the affrightment of all beholders. 1635. to the tune of fortune my foe. crimsal, richard. 1 sheet ([2] p.) : ill. for iohn wyright iunior, dwelling at the upper end of the old baily, printed at london : [1635?] verse "i pray give eare unto my tale of woe,". signed at end: r.c., i.e. richard crimsal. publication date conjectured by stc. in two parts; woodcuts at head of each part. reproductions of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng ballads, english -17th century. murder -england -early works to 1800. 2006-08 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-09 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-10 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2006-10 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2007-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a cruell murther committed lately upon the body of abraham gearsy , who liv'd in the parish of westmill , in the county of harford ; by one robert reeve , and richard reeve , both of the same parish : for which fact robert was prest to death , on munday the 16. of march , and the tuesday following richard was hang'd ; and after both them were hang'd up in chaines , where now they doe remaine , to the affrightment of all beholders . 1635. to the tune of fortune my foe . i pray give eare unto my tale of wee , which i le declare that all may plainly knowe . neare harford lately was a murder done , o t was a cruell one , as ever was knowne , the good with evil herein was repaide , him that did good the evil hath betraid , the world is lately growne to such a passe , that one may feare another in this case . this money is the cause of manies death , as t was the cause that one late lost his breath , the devill and the money workes together , as by my subiect you may well consider . with teares of woe i am inforst to write , that which may cause a tender heart to sigh , and sighing say , this was a wofull case , that men should be so much voide of all grace . two brethren were there that did doe the same , the first calld robert reeve , the others name was richard reeve , these did a horrid déed , as in my following verses shall proceede . behold these lines , you that have any care , and from bloodshedding alwayes doe forbeare ; though murder be committed secretlye , yet for revenge to god it loud doth crye . and that sinne goes not long unpunished , therefore let all men of this sinne take héede : many are daily for such crimes accused , and yet alas too commonly t is used . one of these brothers was in debt i heare , vnto that man , which was his neighbour néere , but hée repaid him with a envious mind , as in the story you shall plainly find . abraham gearsie was his name , that was kild , by those two brothers , as the devill wild : he on a day demanded mony due , i pray give eare and marke what doth insue . they wish'd him to come home for to be paid , but for his life it s●●mes they wast had laid : for one day t was his chance for to come there , n●t dreading that his death had bin so néere . now these two brothers kild him instantly , no neighbour was there that did heare him cry : and being dead floung him in a sawpit , and coverd him with such as they could get . now having hid this murder in that kind , great search was made , but none this man could find his friends lamented for him very sore . and made inquiris all the country ore . the second part , to the same tune . six wéekes it was ere it was plainly knowne , and many were examin'd herevpon : but these two brothers much suspected were , and at the last the truth it did appeare . some murmured and sayd that they did owe him mony , and desired for to know whether they had giuen him satisfaction , who said , they had , and they did owe him none . about this mony all did come to light , now being put for to approue this right they could in no wise iustifie the same . when they to true examination came . now they were asked for a quittans made , but they had none , then others present said , where is your bond or witnes of the same ? this must be prou'd , or you will suffer blame . they being taxed on this wise confest , how they in bloody murder had transgrest : then were they sent to harford gaile with spéed , where they did answere , for this wicked déed . this lent on sises last their fact was tri'd , where they were cast , condemnd and for it di'd , robert was prest to death because that hée would not bée tride by god and the country . richard was hangd by his owne fathers dore , which did torment and grieue his friends full sore , now hée and 's brother both do hang in chains , this is a iust reward for murders gaines . i would intreat all men sor to beware , of ●hue this crying sinne and still for beare , good lord , me thinkes it is a cruell thing , of all sins else this may each conscience sting . this being done , what is hée can forbeare , with troubled conscience to shed many a feare ? 't is fearefull sure for to be thought upon , although that it be ners so secret done . our god is love , and he doth charg us all , to love each other , but we often fall from love and unity , to envious evill , thus leave we god , and runne unto the devill . this may be warning for all other men , that doe but heare of those vile bretheren : and more consider 't is a fearefull sight to see them hang'd , it would our hearts afright ▪ yet some there are that will not frighted be at all , the warnings that they dayly sée : too many doe estéeme such things as nought , or else there would not be such murther wrought . thus to conclude , pray le ts to god for grace , and alwaies have his feare before our face : fly bloody murther , and such horrid sinnes , then god will kéep you from such shamefull ends . finis . r. c. printed at london for iohn wright iunior , dwelling at the upper end of the old baily . the penitent sonnes teares for his murdered mother / by nathaniel tyndale, sicke both in soule and body, a prisoner now in newgate. the much-afflicted mothers teares for her drowned daughter / [by?] anne musket, the wofull mother for her lost daughter 1624 approx. 7 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a14129 stc 24435.5 estc s3851 33151080 ocm 33151080 28911 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a14129) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 28911) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1885:68) the penitent sonnes teares for his murdered mother / by nathaniel tyndale, sicke both in soule and body, a prisoner now in newgate. the much-afflicted mothers teares for her drowned daughter / [by?] anne musket, the wofull mother for her lost daughter tyndale, nathaniel. musket, anne. 1 sheet ([1] p.) : ill. for iohn trundle, printed at london : [1624] in verse. date of publication from stc (2nd ed.). printed in two columns, surrounded by black border containing mourning figures. attribution of composition to the condemned persons is questionable. reproduction of original in: society of antiquaries. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng tyndale, nathaniel. musket, anne. murder -england. broadsides -london (england) -17th century. 2007-08 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-08 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-09 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2007-09 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion lord , be mercifull . o god , forgiue him . forsak● mee not , o lord. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 o lord 〈…〉 ▪ lord , be mercifull the penitent sonnes teares , for his murdered mother . he that has taught ten thousand tongues to speake that horrid sinne , that his sad heart doth breake , now scarce can speake himselfe ; for woe denyes a begging voyce , and giues me begging eyes . me thinkes the shaddow of this reall thing that wretched mee into this world did bring , stands poynting now , ( my guilty soule to shake ) to th' bloudy wound , this bloudy hand did make , that wound 's a mouth ; her dead dry bloud , a tongue , that sayes , ' mongst all , the most-forsaken throng , that haue their liues branded with bloud and shame , j stand the formost ; haue the foulest name . mee thinkes , i heare her tell mee , those pale hands haue gently lapt mee in my swathing bands ; haue dandled mee ; and , when i learn'd to goe , haue propt mee , weake , till i too-strong did grow . me thinkes i see her poynt vpon her brest , and tell me , there , i haue bin vs'd to feast ; thence oft haue fetcht my liuing ; from her bloud , by heau'n conuerted to my wholesome food . and last , me thinkes , shee poynts vpon that place , where all my parts had their due forme and grace , with these sad words ; behold th' vnhappy wombe , which i could wish , heauen once had made thy tombe . a heauy wish ; yet such a wish indeed , as i my selfe now , ( with a heart doth bleed ) could sadly breathe ; ' cause that vntimely birth brought not a man , but monster to the earth . from that deepe dungeon , where , in bands i lye , and from a depth , more deepe , i call and cry : the depth of anguish ; which thy sight most pure ; can onely looke on ; and thy mercies , cure . o cure my soule ; 't is that great worke , i know , for which ( so high ) thou didst descend so low : then , great phisician , helpe mee ; heale my wound ; great shepheard , seeke mee ; let my soule be found . that heauenly inuitation , made to those , whose many sinnes load them with many woes , is made to mee : for onely sinne doth griue mee , and not my death ; then ( blessed lord ) relieue mee . lord , let my teares be , to my leprous sinne as iordan was , to naamans leprous skinne ; and wash it cleane : but , ô ! so great a good ne'r came by water , 't is a worke of bloud . a worke of bloud : the bloud of that pure lambe , that to purge sinne , and saue poore sinners came ; that precious bloud : o lord , that bloud of thine , apply to mee , to purge this bloud of mine . so , as of god i begge , i begge of men , their zealous prayers t' assist mee : and agen , to quit that goodnesse , this reward i 'le giue , i 'le pray , my death may teach all them to liue. finis . by nathaniel tyndale , sicke both in soule and body : a prisoner now in new-gate . the much-afflicted mothers teares , for her drowned daughter . come , tender mothers , see a mothers feares ; sinnes palsie , shake mee ; and my floud of teares : come heare my sighs , and penitentiall prayers ; deaths shade's my mansion ; my companion , cares . o! how much worse than any sauage beare , she-wolfe , or tygresse , must i now appeare ? since they , their young , with such respect doe cherish ; and mine , by mee , doth thus vntimely perish . for , wretched j , ( when fruitlesse cares tooke place ; and cloudy passion , hid the light of gr ce ) more fell than these are , my poore childe forgot , and child-bed pangs , ( the mothers painefull lot ) forgot thou wert my flesh ; forgot how oft i kist thee ; blest thee ; and , to slumbers soft , within these armes haue lull'd thee : and againe , how oft my pitties haue bemon'd thy paine . forgot how oft vpon my tender brest thou hast bin fed ; how often taine thy rest ; forgot a mothers nine yeeres cares and cost ; all which , with thee , are in thy murder , lost . all these forgot . when wee our god forget , then satan comes , and in our eye doth set his poysoned baites ; which , ' cause i not withstood , mine eye drops water ; but , my heart drops blood. for death ( alas ) i care not : could i summe as many liues , as i haue houres to come ; i 'de spend them all ; and , with a smiling face , meet all those deaths , to giue thy sweet life , place . but wishes ( deare clementia ) are but vaine ; i drown'd thee ( little angell ; ) and againe should drowne thy body , ( wer 't before my feares , ) in this new riuer , of mine owne warme teares . these teares , that euer from mine eyes shall flow ; this lauish floud of penitentiall woe ; this wine of angels , so the fathers call those drops repentance lets so freely fall . with paul , with peter ▪ dauid ; and that sonne , the maze of ryot , and hot lust did runne ; and with the woman , washt her sauiours feet , let my poore soule that balme of mercy meet . thou ' cam'st not ( lord ) the iust and pure to call , but impure sinners ; nor do'st ioy their fall , but their conuersion : and , when grace doth bring one soule to thee , all the blest angels sing . i know , 't is late ( o lord ) yet know thy power ; know that's as much , in mans departing houre , as in a rathe beginning ; for my griefe has learnt the lesson of that penitent thiefe . like his , let mine , thy mercies-seat ascend , and purchase there , ' gainst this sad life shall end : that life , to death , shall neuer more giue way ; so , while i weepe , helpe my poore soule to pray . finis . anne musket , the wofull mother ▪ for her lost daughter . printed at london for iohn trundle . the last speech and confession of sarah elestone at the place of execution who was burned for killing her husband, april 24. 1678. with her deportment in prison since her condemnation. with allowance. elestone, sarah, d. 1678. 1678 approx. 8 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 7 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-11 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a49649 wing l504f estc r216652 99828377 99828377 32804 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a49649) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 32804) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1953:4) the last speech and confession of sarah elestone at the place of execution who was burned for killing her husband, april 24. 1678. with her deportment in prison since her condemnation. with allowance. elestone, sarah, d. 1678. [2], 5, [1] p. : ill. printed for t.d., [london] : 1678. place of publication from wing. reproduction of the original in dr. williams's library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng elestone, sarah, d. 1678 -early works to 1800. last words -early works to 1800. executions and executioners -early works to 1800. murder -england -early works to 1800. 2004-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-07 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2004-07 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the last speech and confession of sarah elestone at the place of execution : who was burned for killing her husband , april 24. 1678. with her deportment in prison since her condemnation . with allowance . printed for t. d. 1678. the last speech and confession of sarah elstone , & , did we not make our selves miserable , god is so merciful to us , as he would make us happy ; but when we with high and presumptions hands , violate the laws of nature and grace , of earth and heaven , in murthering those whom through duty and affection we are bound to obey , honour , cherish and preserve : then we need not marvel because we first forsook god that he afterwards abandoneth us to our selves and sins , and to the fruits thereof , misery , infamy , and pardition : and that we may see humane cruelty to be justly met with and punished by gods upright and divine justice . a terrible instance we have here before us ; we see a wretched wife guilty of the death of her own husband . a sad and execrable fact , for the which we see her rewarded with condign punishment , and with a sharp and infamous death , but not so deplorable as deserved : it is so bitter , unhumane , and bloody a fact , that it must needs draw tears from our eyes if we have any room for pity or piety . in three-faulken-court , over against st. margarets-hill , in southwark , lately lived one sarah elestone , the late wife of thomas elestone , a felt-maker : a man very laborious in his calling , aged about forty years , and his wife forty-six years old : they lived many years very contentedly , she assisting him in his calling in what she was able : till such time as falling into the acquaintance of some lewd women , she was drawn to commit that filthy sin of drunkenness ▪ which after a little practising of it , she became harden'd in it , and learn'd to swear by her maker and to prophain the lords day , and hate good men ; such an alteration there was perceived in her , that several of her husbands acquaintance desired him to do all that he could to reclaim her , telling him also that it was his duty , to which he answered , that he hoped god would turn her from these evil courses , but he for his part could do no good with her , for she was so obstinate , that the more he said to her the worse she was : so that seeing he could not prevail by fair means , he sought some other way , as keeping her bare of money , but then she run him in debt , and took up money at the tally-shops , he having notice of it , told them if they trusted her any more he would not pay them : upon which she resolved of another way , which was to sell her goods , which she did by degrees , till they had scarce a chair to sit on , or a bed to lye on . this so perplexed her husband , that he resolved to beat her out of this wicked course , and to that end did sometimes chastize her with blows , which she was not wanting to repay : so much was their fury sometimes , that their neighbours hath been forced to part them at all hours in the night . in this like manner they lived for some years , which so troubled and disturbed the patience of the man ; that oft he hath been heard to wish himself dead , or that he had been buried alive that day he was married to her , and she wicked and graceless soul would many times in cold blood threaten him , that at one time or other she would kill him ; which proved to be too true , for she having been out with her gossips , and having got a cup too much as it was thought , comes and finds her husband at work ; she demands some money of him , and withall tells him , that if he will not give her some presently she would be the death of him ; he seeing her in that condition , took her and thrusts her down stairs , and shuts the door , and to work again ; within a little time after when he thought her heat was over , he goes down in his shift as he was at work , intending to drink ; she meets him at the stairs foot , and with one side of a pair of sheers gave him a mortal wound on the breast , of which he immediately dyed , upon which she presently fled : her husband being quickly found , hue and cry was made after her , and that night about twelve a clock she was taken by the old-street watch , to whom she confessed the fact , she had her tryal at the marshalses at the assizes , beginning on the 22 day of march , last past , where she was condemned by law to be burn'd to ashes for this horrid and bloody crime : after sentence was past , she begged some time to sit and prepare her self , which was granted , as also to two other malefactors . dureing her imprisonment she hath had several ministers to visit her who laid open the haniousness of her sins , especially that of murther : she for the most part seemed but little concerned , many times talking of other things when they prayed for her , but a day or two before her execution it pleased god to awaken her and to discover her sins unto her , and the need she stood in of an interest in the lord jesus : often remembring that saying in gen. 9. chapter . 6. verse ▪ whoso sheddeth mans blood , by man shall his blood be shed : for in the image of god made he man : and numbers the 35. chapter , and 33 verse . ye shall not pollute the land wherein you are , for blood it defileth the land : and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein , but by the blood of them that shed it . which made her the willinger to dye , finding that it was according both to the law of god and man : and hoping that the lord jesus would have mercy on her poor sinful soul : now she loved good men , good discourse , and often cryed out what should she do to be saved : when she came to the place of execution and beheld the fagots , she cryed , o lord for jesus sake let this be my last burning : o that god would give me an assurance of the pardon of my sins , and blot out the black lines of my sins with the red lines of christs blood . her last words were to exhort all good people to fear god , to keep the sabbath-day , to refrain idle company , to have a care how they take the name of the lord in vain . thus with a few ejaculatory prayers , she concluded with that saying in galatians the 5. chapter , and the 26 verse . let us not be desirous of vain glory , provoking one another , envying one another . having thus said , the executioner doing his office , stopped the atropos of her speech , and her body was consumed to ashes in the flames . finis . a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly at a sessions there held on wednesday the 17th of january 1676/7. giving a full account of the true tryal and sentence of lodowick muggleton for blasphemous words and books. as also the tryals and condemnation of a vvoman for killing her bastard-child; and of a man for personating another person in giving bayl before a judge. with an account how many are condenmed, burn'd in the hand, to be whipt, and transported. with allowance. roger l'estrange. 1677 approx. 7 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a63590 wing t2820 estc r222543 99833702 99833702 38180 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a63590) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 38180) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2220:13) a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly at a sessions there held on wednesday the 17th of january 1676/7. giving a full account of the true tryal and sentence of lodowick muggleton for blasphemous words and books. as also the tryals and condemnation of a vvoman for killing her bastard-child; and of a man for personating another person in giving bayl before a judge. with an account how many are condenmed, burn'd in the hand, to be whipt, and transported. with allowance. roger l'estrange. england and wales. court of quarter sessions of the peace (london) 8 p. printed for d.m., london : 1676/7. copy has print show-through. reproduction of the original in the guildhall library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng muggleton, lodowick, 1609-1698 -early works to 1800. trials -england -early works to 1800. crime -england -early works to 1800. criminals -england -early works to 1800. murder -england -early works to 1800. blasphemy -early works to 1800. 2006-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-01 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-05 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2006-05 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly , at a sessions there held on wednesday the 17 th of january 1676 / 7. giving a full account of the true tryal and sentence of lodowick muggleton for blasphemous words and books . as also the tryals and condemnation of a vvoman for killing her bastard-child ; and of a man for personating another person in giving bayl before a judge . with an account how many are condemned , burn'd in the hand , to be whipt , and transported . with allowance . roger l'estrange . london : printed for d. m. 1676 / 7. the proceedings at the sessions in the old bayly , on wednesday the 17th of this instant january 1676 / 7. not to trouble the reader with a tedious relation of things trivial or impertinent , the most considederable or remarkable transactions of this sessions were as follows . first , the tryal of that grand and notorious impostor lodowick muggleton , of whom to give the world a brief account , we must acquaint you , that he was originally a journyman-taylor , and ( some say ) afterwards kept a botchers stall ; but having a strange enthusiastick head , began about the year 1651 , to enter into confederacy with one reeves ( another brother of the sheers ) who resolve to cut out a new scheme or fashion of religion ; and to that purpose declare themselves , the two last vvitnesses of god that ever should be upon the earth ; and that they had absolute and irrevocable power to save and damn whom they pleas'd ; to which end one call'd himself the blessing , the other the cursing prophet . and the said reeves dying some years since , muggleton pretends his spirit was left with him , and the whole power of witnessing , blessing , and cursing , devolved into his hands , which he as impiously practised upon the least affront or opposition ; pronouncing persons damn'd by their particular names , blasphemously adding , that god , angels , or men could not afterwards save them . and as all hereticks covet to be authors and ring-leaders to a sect , so by divers printed books and corner conferences , he easily seduced divers weak and instable people ( especially of the female-sex ) to become his proselytes , who from him call themselves muggletonians : so impossible it is for the wildest and most senseless , as well as most impious notions , when broached with impudence among the rabble , not to meet with some heads so irregular as to embrace them for serious truths , or divine revelations . this muggleton's house being searched about august last , a great quantity of his books were seized , some of which , it was now proved , he owned the writing of , and that he had caus'd them to be printed ; for which he was now indicted , many wicked passages out of them being recited in the indictment , but so horrid and blasphemous , that we think fit to spare the christian modesty of each pious ear , by not repeating the same here , where there is no necessity for it . the prisoner pleaded not guilty , but frustrated the general expectation , by saying nothing further either to excuse or justice himself , but had a counsel appear'd for him , who ingenuously declar'd himself asham'd to speak a word in favour of such a cause ; onely desired the court to take notice , that the books were dated before the last act of grace ; but it being usual to antedate or post-date titles of books , as best suits with the publisher's interest , and that he had since that act owned and published the same , that plea was over-rul'd ; and the said muggleton being found guilty by the jury , was afterwards sentenced by the court to stand three days in the pillory at three the most eminent places of the city , with papers shewing his crime ; and his books so seized , divided into three parts , to be burnt over his head upon the pillory : and besides , to be fined five hundred pound , and to continue in goal till the same be paid , and afterwards for his life , unless he procured good bail , such as the court should accept of , and not of his own gang , faction , or sect , for his being of the good behaviour . the next was a woman of about forty years of age , and one that had six children by a husband since dead , but was , it seems , still of too youthful a temper ; for being lately deliver'd , by her self , of a bastard-child on a wednesday-morning , she most barbarously murthered it by crushing the head , and wounding it both in the scull and eyes ( as is supposed ) with a pair of sizzars , and then fairly puts it into a platter and sets it upon a shelf , where it continued till saturday-morning , when a woman lodging above her in the same house , coming down to visit her , and examining her more strictly , by reason of some symptoms the observed , she now prisoner confess'd she had miscarried , and looking for the embryo they found a perfect child murthered , as you have heard . she pretended her self distracted when the fact was done ; but it appearing that she had sense enough to endeavour to conceal it , she was convicted and condemned a man was likewise condemned to die for a kind of unusual crime , but such as the law , by reason of its bad example and mischievous tendency , has thought fit to restrain with capital punishment ; which was , that there being a suit at law depending between two persons , the prisoner comes and personating another man , is bayl for one of the parties before a judge ; upon which afterwards the man whose name he had assumed knowing nothing of the business , was taken up , to his great damage , &c. he begg'd heartily for transportation , but it could not be granted . four bayliffs and followers were arraigned by one they went to arrest , who pretended to have lost some odde trifles ; but they were not found guilty . two persons were condemned to die , two burn'd in the hand , and two sentenced to be whip'd : and so the sessions ended with the day . finis . the lamentation of edward bruton, and james riley, who for the bloody murder committed on the bodies of henry howell, and his wife, vpon queenes downe, were executed and hanged in chaines, neere the same place on the 18. day of march. 1633. to the tune of, fortune my foe. bruton, edward, d. 1633. 1633 approx. 8 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). b00984 estc r215923 stc 3945.7 estc r215923 interim tract supplement guide br f 821.04 b49[1x] interim tract supplement guide c.20.f.7[486/487] 99892876 ocm99892876 183174 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. b00984) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 183174) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books; tract supplement ; a3:3[41]; a5:1[263]) the lamentation of edward bruton, and james riley, who for the bloody murder committed on the bodies of henry howell, and his wife, vpon queenes downe, were executed and hanged in chaines, neere the same place on the 18. day of march. 1633. to the tune of, fortune my foe. bruton, edward, d. 1633. riley, james, d. 1633. 1 sheet ([1] p.) : ill. printed for h.g., london, : [1633] publication date suggested by stc. verse: "kind countreymen and our acquaintance all ..." in two parts, separated for mounting; woodcut at head of second. part 2 has title: another bloody murder committed neare ware, in hartfordshire, by some notorious offenders, who were executed in the same moneth item at a3:3[41] imperfect: mutilated, affecting text; cropped, affecting title. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng howell, henry, d. 1633 -early works to 1800. bruton, edward, d. 1633 -early works to 1800. riley, james, d. 1633 -early works to 1800. murder -england -poetry -early works to 1800. 2008-08 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-11 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2009-01 john pas sampled and proofread 2009-01 john pas text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the lamentation of edward bruton , and james riley , who for the bloody murder committed on the bodies of henry howell , and his wife , vpon queenes downe , were executed and hanged in chaines , neere the same place on the 18. day of march. 1633. to the tune of , fortune my foe . kind countreymen and our acquaintance all , example take by this our sodaine fa●l , dip not your bands in blood that 's innocent , for which offence we both too sate repent . the crying sinnes of murther pierceth heauen , and great repentance craues to be forgiuen , one bloody déed deserues ten thousand deaths : but we bereaued diuers of their breaths . the harmelesse man that did no hurt intend , most b●tcher-like we brought unto his end , and that good woman his most louing wi●s inhumanely bereaned we of life , she great with child ( oh how it grieues our hearts that we should act such bloody tragicke parts ! ) the harmelesse in●ant that was in her wombe , we likewise slew , whose mother was its tombe . their other children sitting by the fire we likewise hurt , who mercy did require , but we no mercy had , nor grace at all , when as these ●a●es for life did cry and call . and for the same no mercy here we find : deserved death are for our s●●●es assign'd , death is our doome , we here our ●●ues must pay , our glasse is out , this is our dying day . a samelesse end for our most shamefull sinne we must receiue , that we haue liued in , here on this tree we must resigne our breath : yet ●ha●s not all , though here we dis this death . our bodies must no but ●all place possesse , this is our doome for our vild wickednesse , twixt earth & hea●● we here most hang in chains as lung as 〈◊〉 , flesh or bones remaines . fowles of the aire our eyes they forth will p●ll , féed on our flesh , and ●eck vpon our s●ull , we shall be pointing stocks to euery one that passeth by , though we are dead and gone . earth scornes to hide our bodies from the light , but in the ayre must tottering hang in sight . and here in ●ent we ne're shall bee forgot , although our i●in●s by piecemeale dropping 〈◊〉 , vnto each other trauellers will say . sée you those murtherets , as they passe this way , those are the villat●●es that the blood did sp●●● of innocents , thats hanging on yon hill . thus shall we be discourse for after-times , which we deserue most ●ust●y for our crimes , and we shall be recorded for this 〈◊〉 , that we so mercilesse and foule did ●ct . great god forgiue our sinnes that are so foule , and unto mercy take each sinfull soule , deale not in iustice with our sinnes , o lord , but grace and pardon to our soules afford . thy mercy ( lord ) is great than our sinne , and if thou please in heauen to let vs in , we doe repent vs of our wicked deed , the thought of which doth make our souses to bléed ▪ but woe to him that was the cause of this , which did iutice vs first to doe amiss● , oh bloody darbie , it wes long of thée we did consent to do this vilianie . though thou art fled , yet god will find thee out , and will take vengeance on thee , there 's no doubt , hee 'l not ●et scape so foule and vile a crime , as he hath iustly done on vs this time . but we confesse , we have deseru'd to dys , and to the lord we now for mercy cry : receiue vs , iesus christ , to t●ee we pray , wh●se precious blood wa●● all our sinnes away . thus haue you heard how these same two did dye , ending their times with shame and infamy , and one of them that was on th' other side , connected , and a prote●●ant he dide . the lord ( no doubt ) to them did mercy ●end , who were so peni●ent before their and , their soules i hope in heauen sho●● 〈◊〉 dwell ▪ but yet another bloody sale i●e ●ell . finis . another bloody murther committed neere vvare , in hartfordshire , by some notorious offenders , who were executed in the same moneth . to the same tune . kind hearts giue eare to that which i shall ●ell of a sad story which of late befell , in hartforoshire néere ware did chance this thin●● , which caus'd salt teares from many eyes to spring . two men were riding in an euening late , that had a charge of money and estate , and home ward they intended for to goe , but destiny doth oftentimes say no. and for these men foure villaines they did watch , which had way● layd thē●ow they them might catch : at him which was the formost they did lay , but this swift horse did beare him safe away . the vext they hit , and fell'd him to the ground , and ●is●●ng him , they ●a●e him many a wound , so leauing him , as they did thinke for dead ▪ hauing his gold , away they streightway fl●● . yet one of them did backward cast his eye , and did perceiue him stir as he did lye , saying , i le backe , and giue him his deaths bla● for euery one of vs he well doth know . and with his staffe his braynes be out did be●fe . then straight this villains to them did retreats ; but marke how god did bring this thing so light , for blood and murther he will soone requ●●e . one of these theeues a péete of gold would chang● with one that 〈◊〉 to him , that did thi●ke it stran● he should haue gold , yet not the vale● knew , into suspition straite his mind it drein . and hearing of the murther done of late , would vnderstand how he came by this state , and t●reatning him , he ●he●●oufest 〈◊〉 way , both him and th●m which that same man did 〈◊〉 they were conui●ted , 〈◊〉 by law were tride , and for the same all foure ●● the act ●●y di●e , and ●e that last ●●●●t●●●e , did suffer 〈◊〉 , iust in the place ●e spirit the true mans brea●h . and at the common execution place , the other three did and their 〈◊〉 : a iust reward for murtherers ●s their 〈◊〉 , that beare so base and 〈◊〉 a bloody mind . for he that sits aboue the heauenly skye , v●ewes all below with his all seeing e●e , and will take vengeance when he sees his will , on all that glories harmelesse blood to spill ▪ great god , preserue vs from all sodaine death , prepare our soules before we lose our breath , make vs all ready for the any to c●●e , when thou shalt giue to euery one 〈…〉 . finis , london , printed for h. g. the last speech and confession of peter cæsar, a portugal, at the place of execution together with his confession at justice-hall in the old bailey ... likewise the tryal of the frenchmen for ravishing a gentlewoman near holborn ... as also a true relation concerning mary smith, who cut off her childs' head, with her examination and confession before justice swallow ... caesar, peter. 1664 approx. 10 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2006-06 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a31750 wing c204 estc r37458 16959266 ocm 16959266 105467 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a31750) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 105467) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1611:5) the last speech and confession of peter cæsar, a portugal, at the place of execution together with his confession at justice-hall in the old bailey ... likewise the tryal of the frenchmen for ravishing a gentlewoman near holborn ... as also a true relation concerning mary smith, who cut off her childs' head, with her examination and confession before justice swallow ... caesar, peter. [2], 6 p. printed for charles ----gustavus, london : 1664. reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng caesar, peter. murder -england. 2006-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-02 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-03 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2006-03 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the last speech and confession , of peter caesar , a portugal , at the place of execution : together with his confession at justice-hall in the old-bayley , who in a most barbarous and bloody manner , shot his own dear lord and master a portugese through the head , as he sate at dinner in his chamber . with the manner how he put him into a chest , and afterwards cast his body into the river of thames : as also , the miraculous discovery of this bloody murther ; and the sentence of death pronounced against him . likewise , the tryal of the french-men , for ravishing a gentlewoman near holborn , and afterwards most inhumanely to put a flaming torch up into her body : together with the sentence and execution . as also , a true relation , concerning mary smith who cut off her childs head ; with her examination and confession before justice swallow ; and the wonderful discovery of that cruel murder , by streams of blood running down the river of thames , betwixt dedford and blackwall . london , printed for charles — gustavus , 1664. the tryal , examination , and confession of peter caesar , who most barbarously murtherd his lord and master , a portugese , as he sate at dinner eating of a dish of fish , &c. at justice-hall in the old-bayley , the last sessions , peter cesar a portugese was called to the bar , to answer an indictment exhibited against him for killing of his own dear lord and master , a most barbarous and cruell act ; but the miraculous effects , in discovery thereof , is worthy of remark , by the judicious reader : for no sooner had this bloudy villain contrived the dissolution of his masters life , but terrour possessed his guilty conscience , and the grand serjeant death appeared obvious for a high arrest ; but cesar thinking to make his escape , was prevented : notwithstanding his flying from hart-street near covent-garden , where his master lodged : who sending his servant from thence , after he had been abroad at his devotions , to provide him some fish for his dinner , and being dressed , and served up , this judas-like wretch , when his master was sate down at the table , and standing with a trencher and napkin to wait upon him , took that bloudy resolution , having a pistoll ready fixed and charged , to discharge it against his master , and so shot him through the head , as he was eating of his dinner : the report of which pistol was heard by the people of the house ; but he using to fire it in jest , in his masters absence , against some taylors that wrought opposite against them , they took no further notice thereof . and about an hour after , this bloudy executioner came down into the kitchin , and seated himself to dinner with the people of the house , where he staid the most part of the afternoon ; and then went abroad , and came in again ; and toward the evening he went forth again , and caused a porter to bring home a large chest to his lodging ; and causing the same to be carryed up stairs , the porter was discharged , and the bloody villain himself drew it into his masters chamber : but about two hours after , he called the porter again to help him down with the chest , which he did accordingly : and the mistress of the house meeting him upon the stairs , said , where are you going peter , what have you got in this chest ? he answered , goods for my master , landslady , me master is to have a boon collation in the strand , with many gentlemen of quality lately come from beyond the seas . but bringing the chest down , it proved too heavy for him and the porter , so that another came to their assistance , and away they carryed it to the water-side , designing for the faulcon , this bloudy peter pretending , that he was to meet a gentleman there , to receive money of him for the goods in the chest . but these specious pretences , soon took period in a deceitful errand , for crossing the water , he had no power to land there , but commanded the water-men to row him back again towards the temple stairs coming near the shoar , he cast the chest over-boat , which the water-men admiring , askt him his reason , to which he said , there was a trick put upon him , and that the chest was onely filled with trash , trumpery , and garbage , which he would not bestow the pains to carry any further . and landing , seemed to go away in a rage to his lodging ; but the next morning some blood being discovered upon the stairs , and diligent inspection made thereinto , he endeavoured to make his escape , but was immediately apprehended , and committed to newgate , where he continued till the last sessions ; right then taking place , and real justice streaming forth , even like unto streams descending from the mountains . for upon bringing of him to the bar , he confessed the fact , acquitting all persons whatsoever from having any hand therein ; but that it was his own contrivance , and that not suddainly , but deliberately , having many days before resolved to attempt it , but had no convenient opportunity , till that time his master was eating of a dish of fish , at which time he shot him through the head , being tempted for many days , and much perplexd in mind till he had effected it ; for which he was not onely sorry , but also confident , that nothing could expiate the guilt thereof , but to shed the bloud of him , who had in such a most barbarous and inhumane manner , shed the bloud of his dear lord and master . and all this , through want of grace , meerly for the gaining of his masters jewels and rings , together with the three hundred pounds in gold , which his master wore about him in a list to supply his occasions . for which horrid fact , he was arraigned and condemned , and merited that just sentence , to be drawn upon a hurdle from newgate to the place of execution , and there to be hangd till he was dead . the two french-men also , who committed that inhumane act against a citizens wife near holborn ; as first to ravish her , and then to run up a flaming torch into her body , were also arraigned and condemned : but mary smith , who cut off her childs head , was reprieved from publique justice , by the grand sergeant death , who catchd her from thence to another place , before the time of her tryal . but t is observable , that never came a more penitent soul within the walls of newgate , than his poor creature ; for when one of the officers told her , she must prepare her self for her tryal , for the time was near approaching she must give an account at the bar : to which she replyed , the invisible bar , to mortal eyes , was her desire to stand before , where she did not doubt to find eternal mercy ; and that she hoped the thread of her life was spun to the very end , so that her penitent soul should not long be captivated within that sinful body , the prison of so precious a jewel ; for , sayes she , i question not , but these _____ will prove blessings , and i have ass●rance therein . this much sympathiz'd with what she confessed before justice swallow , when she was first apprehended : for then she ingenuously confessed , that it was her sad fate and fortune to be overcome by one young man , whom she had a great affection for ; but he having obtained his will , and she conceiving with child , refused to marry her : wdereupon she resolved to forsake friends and relations , and to transport her self to some forreign plantations : in order whereunto , she made application to a master of a ship , and obtained leaue to be transported : but before the time came to begin their voyage , she had a secret delivery a ship-board , and very obscure under deck ; where , contrary to all humane reason , the infant became headless , for she quickly severed the head from the shoulders , throwing the body into the river , out at a port-hole , and the head behind the casks : which being quickly discovered , the bloody mother was soon apprehended , and carryed before the justice as aforesaid : from whence she was committed to newgate , where she departed this life , making a very penitent end. the like did the french-man and portugese , the one executed in holborn , and the other at tyburn , wednesday the 27. who confessed his fact , and very much bewailed the horroudness thereof , for that his dear master had bin instrumental , to save his life in portugal , where he had killed a man , and should have bin burnd , had not mercy transcended justice . finis . a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly at a sessions there held; which began on wednesday the 13th of this instant decemb. and ended on saturday the 16th, 1676. setting forth the several facts and tryals of several malefactors. with the tryal of the maid that set her master's barns on fire at harrow on the hill, at michaelmas last. with an account how many are condemned, burn'd in the hand, to be whipt, and transported. with allowance. roger l'estrange. 1676 approx. 11 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2006-06 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a63589 wing t2819a estc r222541 99833700 99833700 38178 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a63589) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 38178) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2220:12) a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly at a sessions there held; which began on wednesday the 13th of this instant decemb. and ended on saturday the 16th, 1676. setting forth the several facts and tryals of several malefactors. with the tryal of the maid that set her master's barns on fire at harrow on the hill, at michaelmas last. with an account how many are condemned, burn'd in the hand, to be whipt, and transported. with allowance. roger l'estrange. england and wales. court of quarter sessions of the peace (london) 8 p. printed for d.m., london : 1676. copy has print show-through. reproduction of the original in the guildhall library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng trials -england -early works to 1800. crime -england -early works to 1800. criminals -england -early works to 1800. murder -england -early works to 1800. 2006-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-01 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2006-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly , at a sessions there held ; which began on wednesday the 13th of this instant decemb. and ended on saturday the 16th , 1676. setting forth the several facts and tryals of several malefactors . with the tryal of the maid that set her master's barns on fire at harrow on the hill , at michaelmas last . with an account how many are condemned , burn'd in the hand , to be whipt , and transported . with allowance . roger l'estrange . london : printed for d. m. 1676. a narrative of the proceedings at the sessions begun the 13th of december 1676 , at the oly bayly . the first person tried , was for making away her bastard-childe ; but upon hearing the evidence , and examination both of the midwife and coroner , it appeared to be onely a miscarriage ; and by several circumstances there was reason to judge that she had not gone above sixteen weeks , and had never been quick , the abortive infant being not above eight inches long , and no symptoms of wounds or bruises being to be seen on the body to argue any violence used to it , the jury thereupon thought fit to bring her in not guilty . a young man was arraigned for murther , killing an old man in st. james's park : two fellows being running together in the evening the poor ancient man unlukily happen'd to be in their way , and one of them tumbled him down and bruised him , of which bruise the next day he died ; but the evidence testifying that it was done meerly by accident , without any grudge or quarrel precedent , and that the prisoner as food as he perceived he had done an injury , went immediately and call'd a chair to carry him home , &c. there was no reason for finding the indictment , so that he was discharged . a servant maid was found guilty of stealing a silver tankard of the value of five pounds : she living at a publick house in the old jury , took an opportunity to take it away ; and having knock'd off the lid , brought it to a goldsmith to sell , who perceiving the cover lately broke off , would not buy it , unless she would shew it him ; which after much importunity she did , and upon that was engraven the name of the owner , whose wife she then pretended to be , and had the goldsmith to a confederates house , who seemed to say as much : but at last being trapp'd in their words by him , she confess'd the felony to him , and afterwards on her examination before the justice , and acknowledg'd in effect as much now at the bar , onely said that the tankard was delivered her to sell by a fellow servant ; but there being neither proof nor probability of any such things , she was convicted . a woman was indicted for burning her master's barns at harrow on the hill , in which a considerable parcel of wheat and other corn was consumed on michaelmas day last . her master and his wife gave evidence , but nothing of their own knowledge , onely that she had confess'd the fact , that in their absence in the evening she took a fire-brand , and carrying it out of the house put it in at a hole in the barn amongst a mow of unthrash'd oats , whereby that barn , and another adjoyning were burn'd down , and the dwelling house with much difficulty preserved . and this likewise appeared on reading her examination ; for which mischievous act she could alleadge no other provocation but that her master would not lend her money to go to a wedding . however the justice that committed her , assuring the court from his personal knowledge , that the prisoners father was a very m●lanch●ly and dist●mper'd man , and that she her self had a defect in her understanding , and many times at least not the use of common reason or sense , and the evidence against her in effect acknowledging as much , which was confirmed by her present stupid carriage at the b●r. the jury looking upon her as non compos mentis at the time of the fact committed , could not finde her guilty in the eye of the law , of the crime for which she stood indicted . two legerdemain ladies of profound experience in the mysteries of shop lifting ; one of them having been whipt at the carts tail but the very last sessions , were convicted for stealing two pieces of callicoe , under pretence of buying ●o●kerum . the goods were taken before they got out of sight in one of their aprons , who alleadged a very civil excuse , assuring the court that she was drunk with brandy , and knew not what she did ; but that plea was over-rul'd , and both of them found guilty . a french gentleman , came in voluntarily to take a tryal for killing a marshal's man's follower , in april last was two years , at the end of st. martins-lane . the marshals man himself was gone another way , and the party kill'd , and three or four more seiz'd the prisoner ( as they subpose it was ) but without having any warrant at that instant with them ; and besides , the warrant their master had was wrong in the christian name . upon their taking the party , divers of his companions drew their swords , and one of the bayliffs lost his life in the fray ; but the evidence could not say who kill'd him , nor positively that the prisoner at bar was the person they had arrested : so that he was acquitted both of murther and manslaughter . the next was a tedious tryal of a young fellow for breaking open the house of a worthy gentleman his late master , and stealing thence a spanish gun , and other goods , to the value of fourty pound . there appeared several violent presumptions of guilt , and a person where the gun was found had sworn directly before the justice , that the prisoner was the man that sold it ; and another , that he verily believ'd him to be the man ; but now neither of them would say further , than that he was somewhat like him . the prisoner had a great number to speak in his behalf , but few couln say any thing to the purpose ; and the court declared themselves sensible of much practice us'd on the prisoner's behalf , to conceal the truth , yet on a full hearing , for want of direct evidence , the jury brought him in not guilty . a flemming born in the city of antwerp , was indicted on the statute for exercising the trade of a gold-beater here , not having served seven years an apprentice ; but it being prov'd by several witnesses that he serv'd the said term to his father of the same trade in the said city of antwerp , and that he was an excellent artist . the court considering the intent of the said statute , which is onely to prevent unskilful and insufficient workmen ; and that the art it self prohibi●s onely those that have been apprentices , or not serv'd as apprentices : and though he were not apprentice in england , yet he had serv'd as an apprentice abroad ; which they concluded to be within the intent of the statute : for otherwise it would be too great a discouragement to foreigners to instruct us in the usual inventions ; and therefore the jury found him not guilty . an old offender was convicted for stealing a bay gelding of six pound price , a quarter of grownd mault and two sacks : the horse was taken out of the stable on the 28th of nov. and the two sacks of mault with it . the very next day the owner coming to london met the prisoner driving his horse along st. gileses's , with one of the sacks empty on his arm , and there seiz'd him , who now pretended that the sack was given him by two strangers , he knew not who , for his pains to drive the horse along tyburn road , but he knew not whether ; and therefore seeming onely a forged excuse , without any proof to confirm it , he was found guilty , it being avert'd in court that he had three times already been burnt in the hand and convicted . two persons , one by his own confession , and the other by verdidict , were convicted for stealing a silver tankard in the woolstaple westminster , from a publique house , whence at once they stole away themselves , the plate and the reckoning , but were discovered by a female crony , upon a disgust , that she was not allowed snips in the prize , &c. a woman as principal , and a man as accessary , were conviicted for stealing plate , and other rich goods , to the value of 200 pound from a frenchman at westminster ; whose servant the woman being , to●k the opportun●●y of his absence , and ransackt several of his rooms , and stole the said goods , after which the said other prisoner took her a lodging , disposed of a watch , and some of the plate ; for which both were found guilty . a lighterman and his wife were arraigned , for stealing of about 40 pieces of serge , out of a lighter on the thomes ; the prosecuter produced several witnesses , and one very roundly swore , that she saw two of the pieces of serge in the prisoners house in the cradle , and that his wife seemed much afraid of a search ; and threatned to fling them into the house or office , &c. but upon a full examination , it appearing that there had been several suits and brangles between the parties , that the prisoner was sick at the time of the robbery , that it was two years ago , and no prosecution all this while , that the husband prisoner was a person of good fame , &c. they were both acquitted by the jury . there was great exbectation of the tryal of one lodowick muggleton , for spreading detestable opinions , and publishing several impious books ; but the same was put off , till witnesses might be ready for a full discovery of his villanies , and therefore the reader is to take notice , that any pamphlets published concerning his tryal , are faigned stories . there were t●nn burnt in the hand , seven allowed transportation , ten to be whipt , and one to stand in the pillory . finis . a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly; from friday the 14th of this instant january, to munday the 17th; being a full and true account of the tryals, examinations, and condemnations of several malefactors, for several crimes. and also an account of the tryal of four several persons for committing four several murthers. a man for killing a bayliff, a boy for killing his fellow prentice, a man for killing his fellow-workman, and another for killing a man in black fryers. with an account how many are condemn'd, how many burn'd in the hand, to be transported, whipt at the carts tail, and to stand in the pillory. with permission, roger l'estrange 1676 approx. 12 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a63587 wing t2815a estc r222539 99833698 99833698 38176 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a63587) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 38176) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2220:10) a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly; from friday the 14th of this instant january, to munday the 17th; being a full and true account of the tryals, examinations, and condemnations of several malefactors, for several crimes. and also an account of the tryal of four several persons for committing four several murthers. a man for killing a bayliff, a boy for killing his fellow prentice, a man for killing his fellow-workman, and another for killing a man in black fryers. with an account how many are condemn'd, how many burn'd in the hand, to be transported, whipt at the carts tail, and to stand in the pillory. with permission, roger l'estrange england and wales. court of quarter sessions of the peace (london) 8 p. printed for d.m., london : in the year 1676. copy has print show-through. reproduction of the original in the guildhall library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng trials -england -early works to 1800. crime -england -early works to 1800. criminals -england -early works to 1800. murder -england -early works to 1800. 2006-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-03 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-05 derek lee sampled and proofread 2006-05 derek lee text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly ; from friday the 14th of this instant january , to munday the 17th ; being a full and true account of the tryals , examinations , and condemnations of several malefactors , for several crimes . and also an account of the tryal of four several persons for committing four several murthers . a man for killing a bayliff , a boy for killing his fellow-prentice , a man for killing his fellow-workman , and another for killing a man in black fryers . with an account how many are condemn'd , how many burn'd in the hand , to be transported , whipt at the carts tail , and to stand in the pillory . with permission , roger l'estrange . london : printed for d. m. in the year 1676. a true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly . i shall , with as much brevity and truth as may be , give you a candid account of the trials of the several prisoners at the old-bayly ; and begin first with an irish man servant to a person of quality , who was indicted for stealing two hundred pounds from his said master ; but though some circumstances seem'd to stick close to him , yet he was acquitted by the jury . the next were two youngsters that came to a pastery cook's house , and called for a chamber and a fire , and there continued till they had ordered their business , so as to take two silver tankards away with them : one went out of the door , and the other out of the window by a small rope . the first was taken and tried ; and found guilty ; the last escaped with the booty . after this a milliner was indicted for breaking open a shop in covent garden ; but the principal evidence was one who had encouraged the sufferers to prosecute the said millener ; but in regard several pieces of ribbin were found in the milleners shop , that were taken out of the said shop in covent garden : the judge gave orders for another bill to be drawn against the milliner , and that he should be indicted as an accessary , upon which he was found guilty . after this , one was indicted for stealing several sheep , four of which were found in his custody , and also the skins of many more ; so that he pleaded guilty to all felonies within the benefit of the clergy upon his first indictment . the next was one who was arraigned and tried for a burglary committed in the house of a person of quality in the parish of st. giles's in the fields ; he running from thence was stopped by a blackamore : but nothing being taken away , he was acquitted . after this a woman was indicted , for that she together with two men , not yet taken , went into a house in the city , and pretended themselves persons of quality , one of the men saying he was steward to a person of honour , and the other a gentleman newly come from ireland ; they desired lodgings , and their requests were answered , and at night , it being christmas time , they desired to play a game at cards , for their divertisement , with their landlord , and he to oblidge them readily compli'd ; but the landlady being gone a gossiping or visiting , and none left but her husband and these new-come-gentlefolks at home , they desired him to send out for some double beer for them ; he stept to the next door and bid the maid bring it in : after that they called for wine , and he sent the same maid to fetch it ; then a little after they desired that he would fetch them some more double beer himself , and as soon as he was gone they took a candle and run up stairs to his chamber and broke his closet open , and took stom thence a silver tankard and money , to the value of twenty pounds , and left him only a light upon the stairs to see his losses : away march'd they , but some days after this woman was met with and brought , to newgate , and from thence to the bar , where she pleaded that one of the men that took away the money and plate was her husband , and produced a certificate from the parson of pancross to affirm it ; but the jury supposing it to be counterfeit , found her guilty , and the chiefest comfort she is like to have is transportation . now follows a bloody murther committed by one in whitechappel ; as soon as a bayliff had told him that he arrested him , he with a strange weapon run the officer into the belly , and made a pass at another , but though he mift his body , he hit his clothes : this hector with new supplies , was quickly secur'd ; and when one told him that he had kill'd the bayliff , he repli'd , if i have not i wish i had , and being sent from the justice of peace to newgate , he told his guard , if he had not killed him he should have gone to prison on foot , but now in a coach ; but for all he made so slight on 't then , he was in a more serious and sensible humour at the bar , and labour'd to excuse it with all the rhetorick he had , and all was too little , for the jury brought him in guilty , and jack ketch will make him free . another unhappy murther haypened at westminster by the discord of two young lads , who quarrel'd about cutting their apron-strings , being shoomakers , the younger not knowing how to revenge him self , took a threepeny knife and stabb'd the other , who run out of the shop with his bowels in his hands , cri'd , lord have mercie upon my soul , daniel has kill'd me . the lord chief baron after he had heard the evidence , wish'd the jury to consider whether the boy understood what he had done or not , he being but thirteen years and a month old , the jury afterwards brought him in guilty of man's slaughter . then a woman was indicted for high-treason ; she came into a shop and desired the master thereof to give her two sixpences for a shilling , he took the shillling , and perceiving it to be clipt , told her that she deserved to be questioned how she came by it ; upon which she run out of the shop as fast as she could , then persuite was made after her , and she was overtaken and brought back and carried before a justice of peace , who upon ezamination , said , her husband gave it to her ; they asked where she lodged , and having found her lodgings out , they found pots and sheers , and other necessaries for that imployment ; but in regard they rather supposed her absent husband to be guilty than her ; the jury favourably brought her in not guilty . after this , anothtr was indicted for killing one at clarendon house with a saw ; he was making a tool , and the deceased told him he should make none there , the other said he would ; then the deceased struck at him two or three times , which occasioned the other to strike him upon the arm with a mallet , which he was then using , the deceased challeng'd the other to sight , but he desired quietness , and would not ; then the deceased went to lock him in , the other prevented him by being too quick ; then he giving some more blows , the other struck him with the back of a saw which he had in his hand , and his hat being off he split his skull almost to his brains , of which wound he died in a little time ; and in regard , it did not appear to be a premeditated quarrel , the offender was only found guilty of mansslaughter . another was tried for murther , who happened into a house in black fryers with a young man : after breakfast was ended , they had a few quarrelsome words ; he that was kill'd affronted the other both in words and blows , and not being satisfi'd with that , urged him to wrestle with him , who refus'd it and left the room ; then he followed him and continued his abuses so long till at last he threw him down two or three times ; they parted then , and he that occasion'd the quarrel was arrested the next day ; and continuing in a poor condition upon the boards , and induring other hardship he died ; so that one made affidavit that the deceased charged him that quarrelled with him , for the murthering of him , by throwing him down several times and falling upon him , but the chyrurgeon clear'd him of that guilt , who supposed it a natural death , therefore he was acquitted . readers , what can subdue , what can asswage the bloody hands of men this sinful age ? a fervent prayer from a religious heart . these and far greater judgments can divert . then labour hard for such a frame as this , by which you heav'n may gain , and hell may miss . a yong man and woman were tried for a fellony committed by them at wapping , the woman being entertained as a servant , did the next day run away with a silver tankard , a farrenden-gown , and many other things . the gentlewoman missing them , used all the endeavours she could to procure them , and employing a thief-catcher , by the description given of her , he directed her ro the servant-maid that stole them from her ; who being apprehended told them where they were pawn'd and sold , and how the young man bid her sell them , and if she was questioned , he would come to justifie that the goods belonged to her mistress , who employed her to sell them . there being proof enough to make him appear an accessary , they were both found guilty of fellony . a porter was tryed for burglary , but it appeared that the woman prosecuted him out of envy ; for she said , that he came and broke open her house one morning ; whereas others of more repute said , that he was very familiar with her , and that same night did continue with her from five at night till seven in the morning , and he pawn'd his silver ticket for five shillings , and sent for six penny worth of ale , and call'd in a black-pudding man to give her a treat . several persons spoke in his behalf , and said , that he was a very honest man : and there being no proof that he had taken any thing from her , he was acquitted . there was an irishman tryed for a cheat , which was as follows , he with a footman came to a watch-makers shop , and desired to see some watches for his master ; after he had seen several , he pitch'd upon two , and desired that he would carry them or send them to his master , he therefore sent his man with them , the one being a gold the other a silver watch , and when they came to the temple he desired to carry them up to his master , whom he pretended was in bed , but as soon as he had got them he run away with them ; the other persued him , and afterwards brought him to a justice of peace , and he committed him to prison , and upon his tryal was found guilty of the cheat. there were three men and three women condemned , four ordered to be transported , and sixteen burn'd in the hand , and five to be whipt at the carts tail , and the said cheat design'd for the pillory . finis . the true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly which began on wednesday the 13th of this instant april and ended on thursday the 14th following giving an account of most of the remarkable trials there, viz. for murder fellonies and burglaries, &c. with a particular relation of their names, and the places of their committing their facts, with the number of those condemned to die, burn'd in the hand, transported and to be whipt. but more especially of the trial and condemnation of that notorious highway-man randolph poulson, and john francis dickison for high-treason, who received sentence to be hang'd drawn and quartered, and ann price for murther 1681 approx. 12 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 3 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2006-06 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a63608 wing t2829 estc r213438 99825822 99825822 30213 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a63608) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 30213) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2220:17) the true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly which began on wednesday the 13th of this instant april and ended on thursday the 14th following giving an account of most of the remarkable trials there, viz. for murder fellonies and burglaries, &c. with a particular relation of their names, and the places of their committing their facts, with the number of those condemned to die, burn'd in the hand, transported and to be whipt. but more especially of the trial and condemnation of that notorious highway-man randolph poulson, and john francis dickison for high-treason, who received sentence to be hang'd drawn and quartered, and ann price for murther england and wales. court of quarter sessions of the peace (london) 4 p. printed by d. mallet, [london : 1681] caption title. imprint from colophon. reproduction of the original in the henry e. huntington library and art gallery. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng poulson, randolph, d. 1681 -early works to 1800. dickison, john francis, d. 1681 -early works to 1800. price, ann, d. 1681 -early works to 1800. crime -england -early works to 1800. criminals -england -early works to 1800. trials -england -early works to 1800. murder -england -early works to 1800. 2006-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-01 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2006-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the true narrative of the proceedings at the sessions-house in the old-bayly which began on wednesday the 13th of this instant april and ended on thursday the 14th following . giving an account of most of the remarkable trials there , viz. for murder fellonies and burglaries , &c. with a particular relation of their names , and the places of their committing their facts , with the number of those condemned to die , burn'd in the hand , transported and to be whipt . but more especially of the trial and condemnation of that notorious highway-man randolph poulson , and john francis dickison for high-treason , who received sentence to be hang'd drawn and quartered , and ann price for murther ann price was arraigned and tried for felloniously murthering her bastard male-infant in the parish of st. margaret's westminster ; the circumstances thus , she having lived in the nature of a servant with a gentlewoman ; as she confessed , was got with child by a man that was her fellow servant ; and carried it so cuningly , that no person in the house did in the least suspect her till after she was delivered , which was without help , when wraping the child in an apron . she locked it up in her box ; and rising betimes in the morning , made a fire and went to bed again ; so that her mistris finding her out of order , began to examine the cause ; whereupon supspecting what had happen'd , she got a midwife , who upon inquiry found she had been delivered ; the which she stoutly denied , but at last confessed she had , the child being still born , and that she had locked it in her box. where it was accordingly found , this being sworn by the witness ; her answer was , that she finding her pains come fast upon her : knckked with her shoo , as loud as possible , but could make none hear her , by reason she lay up three pair of stairs ; but the concealing of the child , being a material point of evidence against her ; upon the reciting the statute , she was found guilty of murther . sibel thomas was indicted for the murther of one mary hut , a maid of about eighteen years of age , living in white-chappel ; the manner thus , some angry words rising between the mother of the deceased , and the prisoner , the deceased , in taking her mothers part , gave the prisoner such bad language as provoked her to strike her , and after having thrown her in the kenel , to tread upon her ; who in a fortnights time after died ; but she being proved to be a sickly maid , and upon search no bruses being found about her , the prisoner was acquited . ann foster was tried for stealing of wearing apparel , lace , puter , silver spoons and other things to a very considerable value from a gentleman , living in the parish of st. clements deans , on the twenty-fourth of march last , several of the goods being found where she had disposed of them ; and the evidence being plain against her she was found guilty of the fellony . randol polson , who had formerly kept a lime-wharf near the horse-ferry , was indicted for stealing a mare , valued at six pounds , a saddle , bridle and whip , from one mr. mead ; the circumstances according to evidence thus , the prosecuter coming from dedford , met the prisoner and another near the halph-way-house , who bid him stand and deliver ; whereupon he turning his mare about , made up to the adjacent houses ; but they firing after him , caused him to dismount and stand to their mercy , who took about seven shillings in money , a pocket-book , and some ribon from him ; and after that his mare , the which was afterwards found in an inn in westminster , being brought thither by the prisoner and a boy , aud described to be kept private . so that upon this , and the prisoners own confession during his imprisonment in the gate-house , he was found guilty of stealing the mare , &c. joseph wood-all was indicted for murthering john crafts , of the parish of st. martins in the fields ; according to evidence thus , the prisoner being labourer to the deceased , who was a brick-layer , and not minding his work , the deceased told him , if he neglected it , he must employ another , upon which the prisoner told him if he would pay him his wages , he would be gon , but the deceased denying he owed him any ; having passed his word to secure the house where he lodged ; whereupon a quarrel arose , and the prisoner beat the deceased so unmercifully , that he died in three weeks afterward , and laid his death to the prisoner , who thereupon was found guilty of man-slaughter . edward richardson who had been formerly condemned for cliping and had got pardon for transportation , was indicted for several roberys on the high-way , to all which he pleaded guilty . john bully , who about three sessions's since was indicted upon the statute of the twenty-fifth of elizabeth , for that he having received orders from the see of rome , came over into england and acted as a priest , whose trial was put off once for his pretending want of evidence , and last sessions by reason of a special plea he brought , to which the kings attorny general made a demur , being now called up and his indictment read ; he pleaded guilty desiring the court to pardon him for the trouble he had put them to ; saying , that he had been ill advised in so doing , and that it was his full intent after his being cleared at lancaster to depart the kindom ▪ and that he had writtent a book touching the unlawfulness of murthering or deposing princes and had perswaded very many catholicks to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacie , after which he desired the court would have a favourable opinion of him , and threw himself wholly upon their mercy . martha du boardas , of the parish of st. martins in the fields being a french woman ▪ and not able to speak english , was indicted for robing stephen beamont a french marchant , with whom she lived as a servant or house-keeper , on the third of this instant , of a silver watch , a diamond ring valued at four pounds , three gold chains , thirty guinies , 125 pounds worth of plate ▪ & in moneys 50 l. the which upon the death of her master , she had conveyed away ; the plate and moneys upon the constables searching the house , being found in her custody , she aledged that her master gave them to her in his life time and brought witness to prove it , but notwithstanding she was found guilty of the fellony . richard eaton , a seaman was arraigned for breaking open a ship that lay in the river of thames over against waping , and taking thence sea-cloaths , beds , blankets , rugs , shifts , a pistol and several other things belonging to the captain , and other of the ships crue , the which he geting on shoar , called a porter to carry them away ; but being pursued a great part of the goods were found , where he had laid them ; being asked what he could plead for himself , his answer was , that he bought them of a sea-man ; but to producing the man , nor proving the buying of them , he was found guilty . sarah star was indicted for that she on the 4 of this instant robed one john weller , with whom she was a servant ; of goods to the value of fourteen shillings ; being a servant in his house ; the things being sheets , table cloaths and napkins , which were found at an old womans house , where she hod carried them to have shifts made of them ; she pleaded a lodger gave them to her , but that excuse being groundless she was found guilty to the value of three shilling . john francis dickison , a notorious popish priest being taken in newgate , as he came to pervert on martha cook a convict , his indictment being grounded upon a statute made in the third year of king james , to prevent drawing away the king's subjects from their allegiance ; the manner thus , martha cook about three quarters of a year since being condemned for cliping and coyning , and remaining in newgate , two women that were her fellow prisoners , perswaded her to embrace the rom●sh religion , and after some yielding to their proposition ; the prisoner was sent by the priests into the press-yard to visit her , who upon promise to get her a pardon , made her renounce the protestant religion gave her the sacrament , confessed her , &c. and to encourage her to perservere in what she had embraced , oftentimes brought her money ; the which she disclosing to on partridg a presbyterian minister , he discovered it to the ordinary , who acquainted captain richardson with the same ▪ so that about the twenty-first of october last , the prisoner coming to visit his proselite , was seised in the hole , and after some time carried before sir william turner , where he owned himself to be a priest ; and that he was chaplain to the portugal embassadour ; whereupon he was commited , upon his trial he likewise owned himself a priest ; and but faintly denied the pervertion , mr. ordinary , mr. partridg , and martha cook giving evidence against him ▪ after the jury were satisfied of the statute , they brought him in guilty ; and he was sentenced to be drawn , hang'd and quartered as a traitor , &c. an indictment was preferred by one william roman against mary snell and sarah chapman , alias wood , for stealing a silver taster ' and a silver tankard vallued at seven pounds , which the former coming into his house to drink stole , and the other disposed of them , but the evidence not being positive against her , only mary snell was found guilty of this fellony . but a second indictment was preferred against sarah chapman , alias wood , for stealing 6 corrals , vallued at 7 pounds , from one mr. harding in the parish of st. mary woolnoth , the which she sold for about three pounds to a goldsmith in fleetstreet , which being plainly proved , she was found guilty . susanna hern and elizabeth rycroft , were found guilty , the former for stealing a silver tankard , the latter for robing her master of linnen cloth. there were 2 men and 6 women received sentence of death , viz. randolph poulson for stealing a mare and other things on the high-way , john francis dickason for high-treason . ann price for murdering her bastard ▪ child , martha beardos , ▪ susannah hern , sarah chapman , elizabeth rycroft and mary snell for fellonies and burglaries . 9 burn'd in the hand , 1 to be transported , and 3 to be whipt . london , printed by d. mallet . 1681. the adultresses funerall day in flaming, scorching, and consuming fire, or, the burning downe to ashes of alice clarke, late of vxbridge in the county of middlesex, in west-smith-field on wensday the 20 of may, 1635 for the unnaturall poisoning of fortune clarke her husband a breviary of whose confession taken from her owne mouth is here unto annexed, as also what she sayd at the place of her execution / by her daily visiter h.g. in life and death ; and now published by authority and commaund. goodcole, henry, 1586-1641. 1635 approx. 26 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-07 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a01868 stc 12009 estc s2691 24507671 ocm 24507671 27742 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a01868) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 27742) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1852:19) the adultresses funerall day in flaming, scorching, and consuming fire, or, the burning downe to ashes of alice clarke, late of vxbridge in the county of middlesex, in west-smith-field on wensday the 20 of may, 1635 for the unnaturall poisoning of fortune clarke her husband a breviary of whose confession taken from her owne mouth is here unto annexed, as also what she sayd at the place of her execution / by her daily visiter h.g. in life and death ; and now published by authority and commaund. goodcole, henry, 1586-1641. [17] p. printed by n. and i. okes, dwelling in well-yard in little st. bartholmews, neare unto the lame hospitall gate, london : 1635. signatures: a⁴(-a4) b⁴ c². t.p. contains illustration. reproduction of original in the harvard university. library.. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng clarke, alice, d. 1635. clarke, fortune. murder -england -uxbridge. 2003-03 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-04 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-05 olivia bottum sampled and proofread 2003-05 olivia bottum text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the adultresses funerall day : in flaming , scorching , and consuming fire : or the burning downe to ashes of alice clarke late of vxbridge in the county of middlesex , in west-smithfield , on wensday the 20. of may , 1635. for the unnaturall poisoning of fortune clarke her husband . a breviary of whose confession taken from her owne mouth , is here unto annexed : as also what she sayd at the place of her execution . by her daily visiter h. g. in life and death . and now published by authority and commaund . london printed by n. and i. okes , dwelling in well-yard in little st. bartholmews , neare unto the lame hospitall gate , 1635. mvrder vpon mvrder : or , the old way of poysoning newly revived . in the remarkeable act of alice clarke , performed upon her husband fortune clarke , by her , poysoned on ascension day last past ▪ for which being arraigned , convicted , and condemned , shee suffer'd by fire in west-smithfield , upon wednesday in whitson-weeke , being the 20. day of may , 1635. with the last words shee delivered at the time and place of her execution . great and stupendious are the workes and wonders of the god almighty , who onely searcheth the hearts and reines , and therefore perspicuously knoweth the very thoughts and strength of man : for bee his vaine apprehensions never so cunning to contrive , his policy to conceale , or his boldnesse to out-face any nefarious act committed , yet his unsounded and incomprehensible wisedome , which can be no way circumscribed , is able at all times , and upon all occasions , as well to publish , as punish it in the open eye of the world , of which , as well those times past , as these present , have , and doe afford us remarkeable examples : i will begin with the sinne , before i proceed to the fact. a murderer , the latines call homicida , from home and caedo , id est , hominem occidere , to kill a man : now who the father of murder is , you may read in the gospell of st. iohn chap. 8. vers. 44. where our blessed saviour speaking to the pharisees , saith , yee are of your father the devill , and the lusts of your father yee will doe : he hath beene a murderer from the beginning , &c. for the punishment thereof , read gen. 9. vers . 5. for surely i will require your blood wherein your lives are , at the hand of every beast will i require it ; and at the hand of man , even at the hand of a mans brother , will i require the the life of man : who so sheddeth mans blood , by man shall his blood be shed : for in the image of god hath hee made man , &c. and numb . 35. 31. moreover , you shall take no recompence for the life of the murderer , which is worthy to dye , for he shall be put to death . that , for the punishment . now for the execrablenesse of the sin : we find in gen. 4. 11. god speaking to caine , after the slaughter of his brother abel , after this manner , now therefore thou art cursed from the earth , which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brothers blood from thine hand : as also deutronomy 27. 24. cursed be hee that smiteth his neighbour secretly : and all the people shall say , so be it . if this monstrous sinne be so heynous in the sight of god , betwixt neighbour and neighbour , or if committed by one stranger upon another , how much more horrid appeareth it in his eyes ; when the husband and wife , who in the matrimoniall contract , are no more too , but one flesh , shall barbarously and treacherously insidiate one anothers life . according to that verse of the poet : vivitur ex rapto , non hospes ab hospite tutus , non socer a genero , fratrum quoque gratia rara est : immi●et exitio vir coniugis , illa mariti : lurida terribiles miscent aconita noverci , filius ante diem patrios inquirit in annos , &c. which i have late read thus paraphras'd , all live on spoile , the guest is not secure in his hosts house , nor is the father sure protected by the sonne : even brothers iarre , true love and friendship is amongst them rare . the husband doth insidiate the wife , and she againe seekes to subplant his life : the rough-brow'd step-dame her yong step-son hugs , tempering for him ( meane time ) mortiferous drugs : the sonne after the fathers yeares enquires , and long before the day , his death desires , &c. such were the passages of those times there amongst the heathens , when christianity was not knowne , but that they should be so familiar and conversant with us , is the more to be pittied and lamented . in the flourishing state of rome , there were many temperers of poyson , and these were call'd venificae , which word wee apply too , and conferre upon , effacination , sorcery , and witchcraft : concerning which the civill lawes of the empire thus speake , in institut . iur. in fine in lege cornelia , in the cornelian law , et venifeci capite damnantur , qui artibus odiosis tam veneno , quàm susurris magicis homines occiderint , vel mala mede camenta publice vendiderint , that is , let those be held guilty of capitall offence , who by odious and abhorrid arts , as well by poyson , as by magicke spells and wisperings , shall kill any man : in which state are likewise included all such , who shall publickly sell any evill confections : from which canon we may ground three severall sorts of delinquents in this kind , which passe under the name of venificium : the first poysoners , the second sorcerers , or witches , the third these apothecaries or empricks , who shall vend any mortiffarous drugs , knowing that by them any man or womans life , may bee infidiated , and in this case now in hand , though the seller ( as he hath apparently justified himselfe may be excused , yet the byer as the law hath openly convicted her , so we may presume that she is legally condemned . now what the reason may be conjectured in these our latest , but worst dayes : that so many nefarious acts , equalling , if not farre surpassing these perpretated in former ages , should be new committed : as catamatisme , sodometry , paracidy , many headed murders and the like : i can give no other reason then this , the contempt of the feare of god , and the neglect of his sabbath . but to leave off all forraigne prodigious acts of the like horrid nature . which as they are numerous , so they are manifest , in history and chronologie , and go no further then our owne nation , and these latter dayes . hath not one brother in the heat of wine slame another in the taverne ? a sonne transpersed the very wombe in which he was conceived , and suffered for the fault upon the gibbet ? a man in his drunkennesse casts his knife upon his wife , and missing her , pointed it into the brest of his innocent childe , and kild him dead in the instant : hath not the woman offered the like outtage , upon her husband in her fury , and left him dead in the place , and suffered lately for it , for remarkable example . within the compasse of foureteene moneths or there abouts , one enoch ap evans , upon a small difference betwixt his brother and him , tooke the advantage when he was asleepe cut his throat first , and after his head quite off with his knife , and when the mother hearing a busling above , came into the roome to heare the cause of such a noise , he prosecuted her downe the stayers , and afterwards cut of her head with an hatchet , for which he was apprehended , arraigned , convicted condemned at shrewsbury , and after , some distance from the place executed . since then , these grand malefactors , who went commonly by the name of country tom and canbery besse , their fearefull murders upon three severall gentlemen , at three sundry times , ( the discourse of whose actions , examinations , confession , and sufferings , because they are already published to the view of the world , i will no longer insist upon , or make any repetition of their hainous crimes to trouble the reader . but to come nearer to the matter of this fact now in agitation , i will onely remember you of mistresse arden , who caused her husband to bee murdered in her owne house at feversham in kent , the memorable cercumstances thereof deserving places in a most approoved chronicle , may be very well spared in this short discourse . as also of mistresse page of plimouth , who for poysoning her husband , suffered with her sweet-heart master george strangwich , who had beene before time betrothed unto her : her husband being old , she yong , by which may be apprehended the misery of inforced marriage . but not to tire your patience i will onely trouble you with the poore wretched creature , who last suffered in smithfield in this kinde , much commiserated , much lamented : give mee leave a little to to insist upon her cause , and compare it with this now in present . her injuries , and harsh and unmanly usage spurred on by the instigations of the divell , almost compeld her to what she did ; which , as they would be scarce modest for me to speake , so they were almost beyond the strength of nature for her to suffer : shee being young and tender , he old and peevish ; who notwithstanding his clownish behaviour , and churlish comportment towards her , as seldome or never affording her a smooth brow , or friendly countenance , used not onely to beat her with the next cudgell that came accidentally unto his hand , but often tying her to his bed-post to strip her and whippe her , &c. but enough , if not too much of that ; she then weary of so wretched a life , which she would have bin glad to be rid off , and loath in her modesty to ▪ acquaint any friend or neighbour with her desperate purpose , who perhaps , ( nay no doubt ) by their good counsell might haue diuerted her from so wicked a resolution , and the divell with all catching hold upon so fit an opportunity to worke upon her weaknesse , she pondered with her selfe how she might end both their lives by poyson , which having provided and prepared to that end , shee first gave him part , and after resolved with her selfe to drinke the rest : but better motions now comming into her thoughts , and she truely repentant of what she had done , finding the confection begunne to work with him , fell downe before him upon her knees : first acknowledging the fact , then humbly desiring from him forgivenesse , with all , beseeching him to take some present antidote to preserve his life , which was yet recoverable : on whom he sternly looking , as he lay in that agony gasping betwixt life and death , returned her answere in this manner ; nay thou strumpet and murderesse , i will receive no helpe at all but i am resolvd to dye and leave the world , be it for no other cause , but to have thee burnt at a stake for my death : which having said , and obstinate in that hethenish resolution , he soone after expired . and this resa●ion i received from those of credite , who were well acquainted with the conditions of them both . i know not how to parallell these two : her of whom i made this short discourse , or this miserable woman , who suffered by fire in smithfield upon wednesday in the whitson weeke last , being the twentieth of may , anno 1635. the passages of whose life , conviction , and death thus followes . the free and voluntary confession of alice clarke , the 18. day of may , 1635. concerning the death of fortune clarke her husband , at the time she was in prison . a iust cause , all persons may conjecture , was given on her part , of great dissensions likely to arise betweene her husband and her selfe , unto selfe-will shee to be so addicted , disobediently to frequent the company of one white , of whom oftentimes her husband hand had interdicted her his society and familiarity : which acquaintance of theirs was begun , before clarke her husband , entred into marriage with her , and therefore with no small difficulty could be forgotten , or shaken off , such former ancient entertainments . no admonitions or threats to either parties could prevaile , that proceeded from clarke unto his wife , or unto white , of continuall private meetings betweene them : which clarke perceiving , outragiously fell from words unto blowes with his wife , the smart whereof she feeling , incontinently begot in her heart dislike , and resolution of revenge on her husband clarke for the same , a fit humour for the devill to worke on , and to her old friend white , to give occasion , not of dislike , but content to put in practice what she intended , which he might easily perceive by many pensive declamatitions , in private utter'd betweene themselves of her husbands unkinde usage : the confirmation whereof appeares by the words that proceeded out of her owne mouth . first , she confessed , because she often companied with white , that stirred up her husbands iust anger against white and her selfe . secondly , that unawares unto them both , her husband finding her and white shut up together privately in a chamber in the house , on ascension-day last in the afternoone , was thereat so with fury enraged , that hee did beate white going out of the doores , and after that , freshly fell foule upon her , and so cruelly added blowe upon blow upon her body , that the markes thereof were very visible on her body at this present . her old love , white , instantly taketh this unto heart , and in a rage ( as she said ) uttered these words , that it were better for one to be hanged , then to endure so discontented a life , and presently putting his hand into his pocket , he tooke out 4 tokens , and gave them unto alice clarke , saying unto her , if he had had more money , hee would have given it unto her : which 4 tokens so given unto her , she went ▪ unto vxbridge forthwith , and that , afternoone bought a penny-worth of mercury of an apothecary in vxbridge , intending the same unto her husband , with a further reservation , that if her husband had not taken it , she would have administred the same unto herselfe , and so put an end unto all her sorrows , as she vainely supposed . thirdly , she said , that she was not the cause of her husbands death , because shee gave not unto him the poyson whereof he died , but he tooke it himselfe violently out of her pockets , which her husband had rifled , upon hope to finde some chinke or money there : but of such hopes he altogether was disappointed and deluded . whether this be not a lame excuse , or strange delusion , i referre it unto the censure of the judicious ; and no further discovery of the fact , could i get from her at that time . shee further said , that on ascension-day her husband violently attempted to drowne himselfe , which shee prevented by her language upon him : but in short space afterwards dyed that night of the mercury , taken by himselfe out of her pocket , as afore-said . fourthly , shee seemed to be very much afflicted in conscience , that shee was a yeare since gotten with child by her master , with whom shee last dwelt withall ▪ who perceiving the same , with a small summe of money , matched her unto fortune clarke her husband , about alhallontide last , whom she could not love , or have any matter of maintenance , but relied upon her masters former promises for the same : and hee fayling of giving her meanes , fell into folly and wickednesse . a great clog unto such a mans conscience , if it be true ; to seduce a woman unto his will , and so leave her . a short tract vpon the hainousnesse of poysoning . though there be sundry sorts of murther with their severall degrees , as open , or secret , acted upon a friend , a stranger , or ones selfe , yet in my opinion , i know not any of them which containes so much villany , neither including so many deepe circumstances in them , as that of poysoning : that i thinke is the reason that there are so few examples of it in holy writ , this way either being then not knowne ; followed , or practised ; therefore to descrbe the quality of it and to aggravate it , i must wish you to consider these foure things . first , the duplicem modum , secondly , the duplicem effectum : modus prior , the first manner , deliberando , meditando , is an act done by deliberation , or meditation , no waies carried , and hurried by the violence either of will or of passion , but done upon a cold blood , and not seldome upon fixed resolutions . modus posterior , celando , obtegendo , by a secret intent to hide it and conceale it from god if it were possible , so it is to the patient under the shadow of some physicke , or other medicine , coloured with an outward shew of an honest intent , and as far as they can from the publick magistrate ; or else to make a distance of time , either to excuse themselves , or flye away from the hands of justice : though , secondly , effectus prior , sensus 〈◊〉 by changing , stupifying , or absolutely taking away the senses , and depraving the operative organs of the soule , and sometimes infecting all the principles of life ; as the head , the heart , and the liver , howsoever altering and overthrowing the frame and constitution of mans body in generall , and making him unfit for a prepararation of himselfe for death , though it be upon him , so that without the speciall mercy of god , the party thus abused , dyes without either knowledge of his sinnes , or repentance for them . secondly , effectus posterior , creaturarum abusus , the abusing of the creatures , contrary to the end of their creation : they ▪ being brought forth for the use and health of mans body , by this meanes they are made deadly , nay this manner of killing any , makes not onely the prime agent guilty , but infects , and makes guilty others too ; or at least , causes them to be examined strictly by the magistrate : so that howsoever their good name for the present , is blotted and blemished , and what more is , they have but two wayes to comfort themselves , the first , is the witnesse of their owne consciences integrity , the second , is the judges knowledge of their innocence and ignorance , by a prudent examination , of the fact perpetrated by all circumstances , and suspicious arguments : and in this kinde the apothecary for selling , the messengers for buying , the composers of it , and the deliverers of it to the party , stand in an hazard either of their lives , or fortunes , or both . laying aside all these together , i hope it will easily appeare what a haynous sinne it is , when it is thus committed first , with deliberation : secondly ; with secresie : thirdly , with disabling the party to fit himselfe for mercy , and with the abusing the blessings of god and their owne knowledge : and lastly , for bringing others into danger as well as themselves , yet what is more , all this done under the gospell ; and often , as at this present , against one whose life , credit , goods , and good name , the offender ought to cherish and maintaine to the uttermost : so i may take up that saying of iacob to his two sonnes , my soule come not into their secrets , neither bee ioyned with their assemblies : nor have to doe with their practises , whose conclusions are so deepely dyed with the blood of innocents . the second confession of alice clarke this 10. day of may , 1635. at the place of execution , concerning the poysoning of her husband , fortune clarke . physitians of the soule ought to immitate those learned physitians of the body , frequent visitations of those sicke patients , whose diseases are desperate and inveterate ; and sometimes it chanceth , that they must desire , necessity so requireth , the advice and sound opinions of others their colleagues . even thus it happened betweene this obdurate malefactor and my selfe , who in adultery was so rooted , and insensible of the heavy burthen , and most intollerable plagues insuing for it . that at the first and second times of my visiting of her , little or no repentance i found in her , or her heart to be touched for her most horrid clamorous crimes . this is apparant , if you compare her first confession unto this , how different in truth , how improbable the one are unto the other ; nay what she confessed on munday , shee was so far off to proceede in a further revealing of her selfe , that what touched her home , concerning her husbands death , she would have denied , though formerly confessed by her most confidently true . i was thereuppon inforced to hold her unto it , and to extract the truth , and trye her spirit , called two of the keepers of the goale , to her unknowne , whom i appoynted to obserue and remember the speeches that passed betweene us , to verifie them unto her face , which attestation both of my selfe , and of them , shee would out-face , but could not . vppon wensday morning , on which shee was executed , there assembled unto newgate multitudes of people to see her , and some conferred with her , but little good they did on her , for shee was of a stout angry disposition , suddainly inraged , if you began to touch her to the quicke of her husband poysoning . being that morning of her death accompanied and also assisted by divers of my worthy , grave , and learned brethren in the ministery , before and at the time of her execution , for which i doe most heartily thanke them , but that god whose worke it was , their reward for it with him is layd up in store . like my selfe , they stood as men amazed , to perceive that none of theirs , or any other serious perswasions could for a great while prevayle with her , ioyned in opinion with me , that she was no fitting guest for the table of the lord iesus thereupon , i made as though i would have excluded her thence , in denying the benefit of the holy communion , of the body and blood of jesus christ , inferring the benefit of the unspeakeable blesse , by the worthy receiving of it by repentance and faith , and the most woefull malediction to all impenitent and unworthy receivers . whereupon , it pleased god , so to mollifie her heart , that teares from her eyes , and truth from her tongue proceeded , as may appeare by this her ensuing confession at the very stake , where she was executed , unto mr. cordall , she riffe of london , relating the same with as loud and audible a voice , as possible she could , that many others besides , there present , were also witnesses of such her ensuing confession . first she confessed that henry white , who was arraigned as a party with her , consenting unto her husbands death , did give unto her one ascension day in the after noon , foure brasse tokens , advising her therewith to goe and buy one penyworth of mercury , and give it unto her husband , saying , if that her husband were dead , she should live more quietly and contentedly with him , & after such his death , that he the said white would marry with her ; whereupon she went unto vxbridge , and that afternoone bought the mercury . secondly , shee confessed that her master got her with childe a yeare since , which was her overthrow , and mediated for the marriage , betweene her and her husband , whom shee could not love , nor no way affect . by her masters perswasion , who sent her up to london to be married , and payed the costs thereof , and further promised her maintenance during her life , if she did condescend unto his desiers , which were most unlawfull , dishonest , and unchaste , before and after her marriage , with fortune clarke her husband . thirdly , shee confessed , that one of hillinden inticed her , to run away from her husband , with him beyond the seas , and that she did lodge in that mans house , and lay with him a whole fortnight , and speaking unto him of her husband , that shee would not forsake him , hee thereupon advised her to pop him up with white bread and milke , and to put some thing else into it , to choak or stuffe up his throat . fourthly she confessed , for the mercury which she bought , shee intended it unto her husband , but having no conuenient opportunity to dispose of it , she put it into her sleeve , which her husband as she said tooke it out of her hand , and then being over charged with drink he immediatly swallowed it down , which she perceiving , was thereat so perplexed , that she uttred these words unto her husband , that he had undone both him selfe and her . and heere give me leave to note unto the world , what a deale of comfort she found , after shee had disburdned her loaded conscience by confession , beeing demaunded at the same instant of her death , yea , or nay ; that after such her confession , shee was by it the better prepared unto death , with comfort , and willingnesse to suffer the same : shee thus replyed with harty thankefulnesse unto god , that shee had better resolutions unto death , then formerly she had , and by her countenance , which was very ruddy confirmed her inward new begotten chearfulnesse , and that with harty prayer , and sweet tone of voice , surrenderd her soule into the hands of the lord iesu , who will have mercy on whom he will have mercy , unto whom wee all stand and fall . heere is nothing contained in her confession , but that which true , and what she uttered with her owne mouth ; which i was a witnesse off . h. goodcole . finis . the parricide papist, or cut-throate catholicke a tragicall discourse of a murther lately committed at padstow in the countie of cornewall by a professed papist, killing his owne father, and afterwardes himselfe, in zeale of his popish religion. the 11 of march last past. 1606. written by g closse, preacher of the word of god at blacke torrington in deuon. closse, george. 1606 approx. 28 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 13 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a19025 stc 5441 estc s118612 99853819 99853819 19217 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a19025) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 19217) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1093:16) the parricide papist, or cut-throate catholicke a tragicall discourse of a murther lately committed at padstow in the countie of cornewall by a professed papist, killing his owne father, and afterwardes himselfe, in zeale of his popish religion. the 11 of march last past. 1606. written by g closse, preacher of the word of god at blacke torrington in deuon. closse, george. [24] p. [by james roberts] for christopher hunt, dwelling in louells inne in paternoster-row, printed at london : 1606. printer's name from stc. signatures: a-c⁴. the first leaf is blank. reproduction of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 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clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng jeanes, inigo, d. 1606. jeanes, james. catholic church -controversial literature -early works to 1800. murder -england -cornwall -early works to 1800. 2006-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-08 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-10 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2006-10 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2007-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the parricide papist , or , cut-throate catholicke . a tragicall discourse of a murther lately committed at padstow in the countie of cornewall by a professed papist , killing his owne father , and afterwardes himselfe , in zeale of his popish religion . the 11 of march last past . 1606. written by g closse , preacher of the word of god at blacke torrington in deuon . virescit ❀ vvlnere ❀ veritas printer's or publisher's device ¶ printed at london for christopher hunt , dwelling in louells inne in paternoster-row . 1606. the parricide papist , or , cut-throate catholicke . perusing the plentifull and profitable labours of many learned & zealous writers of this time , and the christian forwardnes of all sorts bending their batteries against the bulwarks of superstition & popery , some with theyr pennes , others with their pikes , and all with theyr prudent policies pursuing the reculing miscreants : i thought it not impertinent to my place , profession , and occasion , to cut a few vacant houres out of my priuate businesses , ses , and to latch a blow ( amongst others , ) at the scull of the seauen-headed dragon , & whore of babylon , rather to testifie my consenting will to true religion , then my contenting skil as able , to adde any ornament vnto that which the lord hath so gloriously adorned with wisedome , and power to support it selfe against all malignitie of the world , and the gates of hell not able to preuaile against it . euery cleere eye , and iudicious care , hath sufficiently discerned the cause of rome to be deserted , and destitute of all defence by argument : enough ( if not too much ) hath beene answered to all theyr allegations in defence of theyr false sinagogue , and accusations in offence and derogation of our true reformed christian churches : and of these blinde wormes ; and deafe adders , may be verified the saying of salomon , that though you bray a foole in a morter , yet hee will be neuer the vviser . i shall therefore commend vnto your christian considerations , the tragicall act and euent , which lately hapned in the countie of cornwall , ( not farre from the place of my habitation : ) and seeing our popish pamphletors cuculate nothing more than surmised calumniations against the persons of our godly and most painfull ministers , not beeing otherwise able to discredite their doctrines , i wil expose to their owle-sight eyes examples of theyr owne sectaries to be looked vpon , and seriously considered . wherein to shunne the iust taxation of slaunder , ( which is most proper to their popish practises , ) i will propose matter in fact euident , by publique records , in qualitie execrable , in time newe , and freshly bleeding in our eyes . luther and beza , beeing surcharged with manifold fictions , and odious imputations , out-liued the enuy of theyr enemies , and in theyr life time confuted theyr forged imputations : but y e examples of these mens more then barbarous blood-thirstinesse , shall out-liue all ages liuing , and remaine inchronicled as prodigies , and stand enroled in publique acts , as memorialls to all posterities , so long as our lawes , or any ciuill gouernment shall be pracised in the land : and let them heare me to tell thē plainly , that which our blessed sauiour told their fore-fathers the pharisees roundly , that they are of their father the deuill , who was a murtherer from the beginning : they are the progeny of caine , sacrificing abell , because he sacrificeth to god a better smelling oblation then theyrs . if they will needes iudge the tree by the frutes , & the cause by the effects : then what pietie can bee imagined in that profession , which is so bloody , as theyrs is notified in all the world to be ? yea , theyr whore of babilon , in all her deliciousnes , is especially banquetted with the blood of the saints . if i should speake of vsuall murthers , which common cut-throates commit in theyr purse-takings , or that furious swaggerers shed in their hote bloods , and wrathfull reuenges , it were no more in cōparison of that which cōmeth in this argument , then a bloodie nose to a gasping wound . for though all killing is cruell , and an enemy to nature , yet the vnnaturall & detested parricides ( whereof this argument intreateth ) astonisheth all humaine reason to consider it , appalleth all the sences to apprehend it , and exceedeth all credulity to beleeue such a thing to bee doone , till they behold it actually performed . the wise law-giuer aunswered discreetly , excusing himselfe that hee made no lawe for him that murthered his father , because hee neuer imagined such an odious acte against nature would euer be imagined , much lesse attempted of any humaine creature . but see the blindnesse of heresie and false religion , which being a poyson of the soule , brought from the denne of darknes , and a drugge of the deuill , how it not onely opposeth the creature against the creator , man against god , and man against man , but transformeth theyr whole natures , ingendering in them vnnaturall thoughts and desires , and producing effects odious to god and nature . in these our latter dayes , men beeing departed from the faith , are become ( as the apostle saith ) vnnaturall : and god giuing them ouer into a reprobate sence , which would not receiue the loue of the truth , they haue changed the naturall vse of thinges , to that which is against nature ; as not onely theyr execrable sodomitries , but theyr thrise detested parricides , openly testifie , and cry out against them . doe i , or dare i enstile them parricide papists , or cut-throate catholicks , and be destitute of examples pathetically to mooue , and effectually to prooue it ? no , no , amongst many old , i will introduce one new exemplarie instance therof , lately acted in the midst of their smoaking broyles , irrefragably warranted by vnreprooueable witnesses . one inigo ieanes of padstow in the county of cornwall , being lately some-what reclaimed from his popish profession , & frequenting the church ( though as it appeareth with no great deuotion ) was in the haruest of their late politick platforme , assailed with y e perswasiue tongue of one william manfil , ( a professed romanist ) to returne to his old byas againe . who vpon better information of his friendes , replied , that it was in vaine now any longer to consect in that religion , seeing after the death of the late queene , the inauguration of a most religious king , forced the tide & streame against the romish church , so that both hap and hope , were drowned and perished together . yet the temptor , like sathan his master , desirous to cast downe the strong in faith from the pinacles of the temple , perswadeth incouragement , and confidence of better successe , assuring him , that platformes were thē in hand , not onely for redemption , but renowne of the catholicks , & that forces were in full preparation both at home and abroad to aduaunce the catholicke cause , as he termed it . onely it behoued them to apply their massings , and ceremoniall obseruances , to obtaine it by merit at gods hands . perhaps they imagined ( as the prophet speaketh ) that god was like vnto themselues , and would participate with them in any wickednes , if they could make him smell to theyr bloody vnbleeding sacrifice . but the poore credulous caytiffe , being led on by these faire pretences , and hopefull preparations , relapsed catholicke againe : and as busie as other waspes of that swarme , consorted with the crew of other corner-creepers , in obscure caues to doe seruice to the prince of darknesse . and although iames the father of thē said inigo ieanes often disswaded him from those dangerous courses , which the seuerity of the lawes would sharply correct , yet he desperately running on , and resolued to persist , not only refused to obey the admonitions of his father , but became an earnest perswader that hee would permit them a place of secrecie in his house , for the exercise of their idolatrous massings . the father , ( whether fearing god or the law more , i omit to censure ) still constantly contradicted his sonnes vnreasonable and vnseasonable request , alleaging , that at this time , lawes were making in y e parliament , to punish popery more seuerely then euer heretofore : and that vpon iust occasion of the late discouerie of so damnable a stratageme , as was neuer plotted against any christian or heathen state : and therfore in some round termes ( as it seemed ) checked & reiected his peeuish sonnes popish petition . but he , in the franticke spirit of a papist , hastily tooke vp a club or beetle ( where-with they vsed to cleaue wood ) and rudely , ( o let me studie a more apt word for such sauage inhumanitie ) barbarously assailed his owne naturall father , and strooke him violentlie on the head to the ground . and doubting that hee had not throughly dispatched him , tooke vp a barre of yron , & strooke him with maine force and brake his backe , so that hee presently died of those wounds . then this inigo ieanes , leauing his father groueling on the ground , and wallowing in his owne blood , immediatly fled to a chappell ( called saint sauiours ) neere padstowe , and hastily vnclothing himselfe , with a bad and blunt knife ( adding all his force thereto ) gastly in two or three places gashed his own belly athwart , that his bowels were to be seene . the mother of the saide inigo shortly after comming into her garden , and finding her husband thus cruelly murthered , and vtterly dismaid there-with , came into the house enquiring for her sonne inigo ieanes , and finding him fledde away , she caused another of her sonnes , and some other messenger to seek him : who comming vnto the foresaid chappell of saint sauiours , found him there leaning to one of his hands , & most greeuouslie wounded . vpon some speeches and conference , the said inigo confessed the murthering of his father , and wounding himselfe : and was very desirous to speake with maister nicholas prideaux ( then and nowe high sherieffe of cornwall , ) dwelling neere the said towne of padstow , to the intent he might reueale some speciall matters vnto him , where-with it seemed his conscience was surcharged . and being brought vnto his presence , hee instantlie made knowne vnto him , how he had been seduced by the foresaid manfill vnto his erronious religion : and that the same morning , himselfe , with seauen men , & eyght women more , had been at masse , at one richard hores house of s. eruin . heerevpon the said maister prideaux , sent for three other iustices of the peace next adioyning , namely maister arundell of trerise , maister michell , and maister cosworth esquires , to whom vpon further examination he confessed all that is before declared : and that he had beene there-vnto drawne & mooued by the instigation of the deuill , and seeming very sorrowfull for the fact , after some two or three daies languishing , departed this life . and so wee will leaue him to the tribunall seate of the most righteous , and all-seeing iudge to be censured . before i proceed further in examining the innumerable impieties in this one fact comprised , i may not omit to note vnto y e world , what a blinde & sencelesse guide they had for theyr priest , that from such a director , no hope of better fruites could bee conceiued . this paltry popeling , was well knowne a little before to be a badde and rude schoolemaister , and a fellow of such noted stupidity , that young gentlemen , seruingmen , and others , for an exercise and recreation , would practise to haue him stand still , whiles they with all theyr force , quoyted sbillings or testernes at his blockish browe , which for a small peece of mony he would as quietly endure , as if a stoicall stupidity had possessed his braines and body , euen till his face and fore-head was often-times most grieuouslie gashed , moouing many beholders to pittie him , which did not pitty himselfe . this dorus , was now lately become like one of ieroboams priests , taken as one out of the basest of the people , & consecrated with the popes vnguent , a priest of the deuill , or masse-monging catholick . this calfe of dan , beeing now become a bell-wether to the scabbed flocke , it is doubted whether the sheepe infected him more with the hope of hire , to become a micahs priest , or hee with his ramme-like forehead , had hardned the faces of his flock vnto this extreame impudencie and impiety : but sure the prouerbe was well shared amongst them , such a priest , such people . theyr mother was atheisme , theyr nurse ignorance , darknes theyr dwelling , and confusion theyr inheritance . let me returne to our seraphicall doctors of rome , which accuse all the world but thēselues of impurity : and let them answere me in earnest , shall wee know the tree by the fruites ? iudge of the soundnes of the profession by the workes of the professors ? will you try vs , not by rules of diuinitie , but examples of diuines ? looke vpon this patterne , peruse this picture of your parricide papist , whose offence is taxed , not as hee is a man falling through infirmitie , but as he is a papist , erring wilfully , no passion but his profession , no hope of gaine , but blind deuotion , no reason but his vnreasonable religion , plunged him into these execrable enormities . it is your religion that hath dubbed you man-quellers , king quellers , selfe-quellers . are you not parricides ? alas , your maisters are not like peter , that forsooke his maister , & repenting did counteruaile his triple deniall , with a three-fold confession of him : but as your legend noteth of iudas , that had murthered his father , and cōmitted incest with his mother , and became christes disciple for a cullour to shadowe his horrible impieties , and betraying his maister lastly hanged himselfe : such succession rightly correspondeth with your popedome , by bloodsheds they are hatched , grow great , and strengthen themselues . phocas murthered his maister the emperor mauritius , and was it not the first & surest step to the romish popedome ? but it may be you can allow this lay parricide to murther princes , for establishment of a popedome : your holy fathers , popes & bishops , haue by sundry poysonings , some lost their liues and places , & others gained them : how approue you this spirituall parricide ? christian kinges and princes , are designed to destruction by your holy popes ordinances : is it no parricide ? the prince of orenge , & the french-king deceassed , murthered by papists , and he that now raigneth , assailed to be slaughtered by your vnhallowed hands : will not all men abhor these portentuous parricides ? king iohn of england , long agoe poysoned by monks , & our late renowned maiden queene more often attempted with trecheries , then your popes crowne hath haires of an honest prelate , dooth it not proclaime to the world your damnable parricides ? let me make an end with you all , which would make an end with vs all , your late stratageme , to blow vp with gun-powder our potent king , queene , prince , prelate , nobilitie , & the whole state of parliament , was it not an vnheard of practise of parricide ? i heare some of your politikes vnder their visards to confesse , that it was an horrible proiect , which no religion can excuse , no reason defend , no authoritie maintaine : that god & heauen are against it , men and earth detest it , ( the sillie ( you should haue said , slilie ) delinquents ) themselues did lament it . goe to then , if to murther parents , ( which are in the highest degree of naturall loue ) if to murther princes , which are in most eminent dignitie of polyticall parentage , if to murther a whole common-wealth , your natiue country ( quae vna omnes omnium charitates complexa est ) compriseth the liues , and loues of vs all , be not an inexplicable parricide , then i must , and will confesse , i haue ouer-leaped my limits , & mistitled your professors of the popish religion , in terming them parricides . but a father of children , must needes be touched with a horrer in his hart , to conceiue how many fathers and mothers you would haue made childlesse , & children fatherlesse by your hellish proiects : a prince that is honoured as a father in his kingdome , and embraceth his subiects with an affectionate loue , abhorreth the remembrance of so vile an enterprise , to see a state so florishing , in a moment torne , and vtterly dissigured : all louers of god and religion , yea euery man that tasteth any sweetnes of ciuill societie , standeth amazed , and amated at the consideration of such barbarous immanitie , ouer-turning temples , palaces , citties , and families , without any remorse , or respect of religion , or order : and yet all these effects , cannot be denied to be the fruites of your romish religion . i will conclude , and hold it maintained with a world of witnesses , that though the terme be tart , yet it is true , papists are parricides . but why ( say they ) is this rude phrase of cut-throate catholicks ( so harshly sounding in vulgar eares ) applyed to our pope-holy professors ? let northumberland , aboue twentie yeres agoe murthering himselfe in y e tower , arden strangling himselfe in newgate , and this our cornish catholicke , ( so lately killing his father and himselfe ) stand forth as fresh-bleeding examples to verifie it . did not percy and catesby , which chose rather to die wilfully and desperately by the souldiers hand , then submit themselues , and liue to confesse their faults , satisfie the king and common-wealth , and permit themselues a breathing time to repent thē of their hideous attempts , beare witnes against them , & conuince them to be desperate selfe-murtherers ? i dare not charge all , nor any of their cōplices which died in prison , to be guilty of selfe-poysoning , but the manifest desperate attempt of nicholas oven , most bloodily mangling , and massacring him-selfe in the tower , and with his owne handes tearing out his fat and bowels , the second day of march last past , ( this our cornish cut-throate seconding him within nine dayes after ) cannot be denied , nor exempted frō the imputation of barbarous immanity in our popish professors . what is the whole practise of the romish church , wading through blood of princes and kingdoms to establish a popedome , continually complotting and practising massacres in the whole christian world , but a publique proclamation to beware of cut-throate catholicks . though they go in sheepes skinnes , wee know them to be wolues : howsoeuer disguised , the true prophet discerneth the dissembling of ieroboams wife , and will prophecie the renting of theyr kingdome . whatsoeuer theyr othes and protestations be , wee know theyr aequiuocations & dispensations ; not peace but warre , not loyaltie but rebellion , not the kings honor , but the popes aduauncement is theyr errand . and let the fauourers , and furtherers of your treasous vnderstand , that those which hate theyr naturall prince , will not long adhere to strangers . such as can consent to the confusion of theyr natiue country , will not be trusted for friends to any cōmon-wealth . such as murther their parents , wil not spare aliants . those that kill themselues , which is the fountaine of all loues , ( for sibi nequam cui bonus erit ) can neuer find any whō they will deeme worthy of preseruation , if they shall crosse theyr cursed courses . theyr pontificall bishop , ( that beast which sitteth vpō many waters , ) and hath brewed and broached these bloody broyles in the christian state , and glorieth in his title , to be called ecclesiae catholicae pontifex , a bridge-maker , to transport his passengers the catholicke creatures into his sea of rome , ouer the riuers and streames of blood , mixing his intoxicating potions of heresies , idolatries , and traditious , where-with the kings of the earth , ( quaffing & carousing the cuppes of his fornication ) are made drunken , as the euangelicall prophet speaketh . els let him be pontifaex , et terrae fax , the dregges of the sea , and firebrand of the earth , with his filth polluting the waters , and with his fierie faggots of persecution , scorching and consuming the inhabitants of the world . no doubt it shal be done vnto him , as hee hath done vnto others , and his measure shall be in seauen-folde manner , measured vnto him againe , when the beast shal be cast into the lake that burneth with fire & brimstone for euer-more . but for a monition to the simple seduced ones , ( for y e seducers seeme desperatly hardned in their pertinacie ) wee pray you to looke on the present state of things , with open and equall eyes , and consider the courses & carriages of the cause on both sides : and let them in plainenes confesse , whether they haue not discerned the hand of god against them and their attempts , turning theyr deepest deuises like achitophels policies , into foolishnesse , and bringing the wheele ouer their counsellors and conspirators , so that they both perish together , like achitophell and absalon , ioab and adoniah , corah and his complices . their hardened pharao , striuing to keepe gods people in bondage , & seruitude to his ordinances , and will not let them peaceably depart to serue their liuing god , according to his commaundement , shall no doubt in the end , receiue the condigne wages of his merit , and hardnes of hart : and our moses and aarons , ( our elected princes , priests & prophets ) shall prosper in the deliuerances , informations , and gouernment of gods people . the mighty god , who by little and little cast out the cananites , & planted israel in theyr land , hath his workings constant and consonant , alwaies like himselfe , ful of patience & iustice , with a slow and strong arme bringing mighty thinges to passe . the kingdom of antichrist is in short time by degrees cut short , and abated , and the israell of god , hath as mightily prospered , out of a few families enlarging his borders into many kingdomes , and what remaineth , but that he which letteth be taken out of the way , and that the man of sinne beeing reuealed , may be also remoued & rooted out , as a plant which is not of our heauenly fathers planting . we cōfesse the church of rome receiued , and for many yeeres retained the sinceritie of the gospell and true religion : and so there was a good pharao in egypt , which by holy iosephs direction ordered his kingdome , & gaue vnto the people of god a fruitful possession in the land of goshen , where they prospered , and multiplied exceedingly ; but there arose in processe of time another pharao , which knewe not ioseph , and became a tyrant vnto the people of god , and cruelly oppressed them . so rome is become babylon , her candlesticke is remoued , shee is fallen from her first faith , and the faithfull cittie is become an harlot , and her antiquitie without veritie , is but oldnes of errors , and wee must depart frō her , which is departed from god. if shee will returne vnto her spouse , & forsake her louers with whom shee committed all her fornications and abhominations , we will reioyce with her for such an holy reconciliation : else we will cry vnto the people of god to come out of her , & not to pertake with her sinnes , and idolatries , least they pertake of her grieuous plagues and punishments , when the cup of the lords wrath shall be powred vpon her . god of his vnspeakable goodnesse , make that your sinnes be not an hinderance vnto his rich mercies , but that he will speedily , for the elects sake , cut short the power of antichrist , and amplifie the borders of his kingdome , that our eyes may see it , and our posteritie may reioyce in his great saluation , and prayse him for all our corporall , and spirituall deliuerances . so be it . amen . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a19025-e150 apoc. 17. 3 prou , 27 , 22 23 , 9 , iohn ; 8 , 44 gene , 4 , 5 ▪ apoc , 17. 6 , solon . 1 , tim , 4 , 1 2 , tim , 3 , 2 , 3 , rom , 1 , 26 math , 4 , psal , 50 , 21 1 , reg. 13 , 13 2 , chro , 11 15 iudges , 17 , 10 , 11 , math , 7 , 16 , math , 26 , 34 iohn , 21 , 15 , au● . victor . answere to the discouery : praeface to the king. cicero . math , 7 , 15 1 , reg , 14 , 2 , 6. apo , 17 , 1 , 2 , 2 , sam , 17 , 14 , 23 , 18 , 9 , 1 , reg , 1 , 7 , 2 , 25. numb , 16 , 1 , 2 , 31 , exod , 21 , 51 2 , sam , 7 , 10. exod , 1 , 7 , 8 , 2 , thes . 2 , 6 , 7. math , 15 , 13 gene , 45. 10 gene , 47 , 6 exod , 1 , 8 , apoc , 18 , 2 , 3 , 4 , cap , 2 , 4 , 5. the vnnaturall father, or, the cruell murther committed by [one] iohn rowse of the towne of ewell, ten m[iles] from london, in the county of surry, vpon two of his owne children with his prayer and repentance in prison, his arrai[gn]ment and iudgement at the sessions, and his execution for the said fact at croydon, on munday the second of iuly, 1621. taylor, john, 1580-1653. 1621 approx. 31 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 11 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a13515 stc 23808a estc s1148 21467899 ocm 21467899 24008 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a13515) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 24008) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1737:5) the vnnaturall father, or, the cruell murther committed by [one] iohn rowse of the towne of ewell, ten m[iles] from london, in the county of surry, vpon two of his owne children with his prayer and repentance in prison, his arrai[gn]ment and iudgement at the sessions, and his execution for the said fact at croydon, on munday the second of iuly, 1621. taylor, john, 1580-1653. [21] p. printed for i.t. and h.g., london : 1621. attributed to john taylor by stc (2nd ed.) and nuc pre-1956 imprints. t.p. cropped with loss of print; bracketed title information suggested by nuc pre-1956 imprints. signatures: a⁴(-a1) b-c⁴. t.p. contains woodcut illustration. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng murder -england -anecdotes. great britain -history -early stuarts, 1603-1649. 2002-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2002-08 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2002-09 jennifer kietzman sampled and proofread 2002-09 jennifer kietzman text and markup reviewed and edited 2002-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the vnnaturall father : or , the cruell murther committed by iohn rowse of the towne of ewell , ten miles from london , in the county of surry , vpon two of his owne children . with his prayer and repentance in prison , his arraignment and iudgement at the sessions , and his execution for the said fact at croydon , on munday the second of iuly . 1621. london printed for i. t. and h. g. 1621. the vnnatvrall father . as a chaine consists of diuers linkes , and euery linke depends and is inyoak'd vpon one another : euen so our sinnes , being the chaine wherewith satan doth binde and manacle vs , are so knit , twisted , and sodered together , that without our firme faith ascending , and gods grace descending , wee can neuer bee freed from those infernall fetters ; for sloth is linked with drunkennes , drunkennes with fornication and adultery , & adultery with murder , and so of al the rest of the temptations , suggestions and actions , wherewith miserable men and women are insnared , and led captiue into perpetuall perdition , except the mercy of our gracious god be our defence and safegard . for a lamentable example of the diuels malice , and mans misery , this party , of whom i treat at this time , was a wretch , not to be matched , a fellow not be fellowed , & one that scarce hath an equall , for matchlesse misery , and vnnaturall murther . but to the matter . this iohn rowse being a fishmonger in london , gaue ouer his trade , and liued altogether in the towne of ewell , neere nonesuch , in the county of surry , ten miles from london , where he had land of his owne for himselfe and his heires for euer to the value of fifty pounds a yeere , with which hee liued in good and honest fashion , being well reputed of all his neighbours , and in good estimation with gentlemen and others that dwelt in the adioyning villages . vntill at the last he married a very honest and comely woman , with whom hee liued quietly and in good fashion some six moneths , till the diuell sent an instrument of his , to disturbe their matrimoniall happinesse : for they wanting a maidseruant , did entertain into their house a wench , whose name was iane bl●ndell , who in short time was better acquainted with her masters bed then honesty required , which in time was found out and knowne by her mistris , and brake the peace , in such sort , betweene the said rowse and his wife , that in the end , after two yeeres continuance , it brake the poore womans heart , that she dyed & left her husband a widdower , where he and his whore were the more free to vse their cursed contentments , and vngodly embracements . yet that estate of being vnmarried was displeasing to him , so that he tooke to wife another woman , who for her outward feature , and inward qualities was euery way fit for a very honest man , although it were her hard fortune to match otherwise . with this last wife of his he liued much discontented , by reason of his keeping his lewd tr●ll in his house , so that by his dayly ryot , excessiue drinking , & vnproportionable spending , his estate began to be much impouerished , much of his land morgag'd and forfeited , himselfe aboue two hundred pounds indebted , and in processe of time to be ( as a lewd liuer ) of all his honest neighbours reiected and contemned . his estate and credit being almost past recouerie wasted and impaired , he forsooke his wife , came vp to london with his wench , where hee fell in new league with a corrupted friend ; who ( as he said ) did most courteously coozen him of all that euer he had , & whom at this time i forbeare to name ; because it was iohn rowse his request before his execution , that he should not be named in any booke or ballad , but yet vpon a dye his name may be picked out betwixt a sinke & a trey . this false friend of his ( as he said ) did perswade him to leaue his wife for altogether , and did lodge and boord him and his paramore certaine weekes in his house , and afterward caused him and her to be lodged ( hauing chang'd his name ) as man and wife in an honest mans house neere bishopsgate , at beuis marks , where they continued so long , till his money was gone , ( as indeede he neuer had much , but now and then small petty summes from his secret friend aforesaid ) and he being fearefull to bee smoak'd out by his creditors , was counselled to leaue his country , and depart for ireland ; and before his going ouer-sea , his friend wrought so , that all his land was made ouer in trust to him , and bonds , couenants , and leases made , as fully bought and sold for a summe of two hundred and threescore pounds ; of all which money the said rowse did take the sacrament and his death , that hee neuer did receiue one penny , but hee said that now and then he had fiue or ten shillings at a time from his said friend , and neuer aboue twenty shillings , and that all that euer he had of him , being summ'd together , was not aboue three & twenty pounds , the which moneys his friend did pay himselfe out of his rents . but some more friend to him , then he was to himselfe , did doubt that he was cheated of his land : whereupon ( to make all sure ) he said that his false friend did so farre preuaile with him , that hee the said rowse tooke an oath in the open court at westminster hall , that hee had lawfully sold his land , and had receiued the summe abouesaid , in full satisfaction and paiment , and his said friend did vow and protest many times vnto him , with such oathes and vehement curses , that he neuer would deceiue his trust , but that at any time when hee would command all those forged bonds and leases , that hee would surrender them vnto him , and that hee should neuer be damnifide by them or him , to the value of one halfe-penny . vpon which protestations ( hee said ) he was enticed to vndoe himselfe out of all his earthly possessions , & by a false oath to make hazard of his inheritance in heauen . in ireland he stayd not long , but came ouer againe , and was by his friend perswaded to goe into the low countries : which he did , neuer minding his wife and two small children which he had by her , hauing likewise a brace of bastards by his whore ( as some say ) but he said that but one of them was of his begetting . but he , after some stay in holland , saw that he could not fadge there , according to his desire , and withall , suspecting that he was cheated of his land , and aboue all , much perplexed in his conscience for the false oath that he had taken , pondering his miserable estate , and ruing his vnkindnesse to his wife , and vnnaturall dealing to his children , thinking with himselfe what course were best to take to helpe himselfe out of so many miseries which did incompasse him , he came ouer againe into england to his too deare friend , demanding of him his bonds and leas●s of his land which hee had put him in trust withall . but then his friend did manifest himselfe what he was , and told him plainly , that he had no writings , not any land of his , but what hee had dearely bought and paid for . all which ( rowse replyed vnto him ) was false , as his owne conscience knew . then said the other , haue i not heere in my custody your hand and seale to confirme my lawfull possession of your land ? and moreouer haue i not a record of an oath in open court , which you tooke concerning the truth of all our bargaine ? and seeing that i haue all these especiall points of the law , as an oath , indentures , and a sure possession , take what course you will , for i am resolued to hold vvhat i haue . these ( or the like ) words , in effect passed betwixt rowse and his friend ( trusty roger ) which entring at his eares , pierced his heart like daggers ; and beeing out of money and credit , a man much infamous for his bad life , indebted beyond all possible meanes of paiment ; a periured wretch to coozen himselfe , hauing no place or meanes to feede or lodge , and fearefull of being arrested , hauing so much abused his wife , and so little regarded his children , being now brought to the pits brim of desperation , not knowing amongst these calamities which way to turne himselfe , hee resolued at last to goe home to ewell againe to his much wronged wife , for his last refuge in extremitie . the poore woman receiued him with ioy , and his children with all gladnesse welcomed home the prodigall father , with whom he remained in much discontentment and perplexitie of minde : the diuell still tempting him 〈◊〉 mischiefe and despaire ; putting him in minde of his 〈…〉 better estate , comparing pleasures past with present miseries , and hee re●oluing that hee had beene a man in that towne had beene a gentlemans companion , of good reputation and calling , that hee had friends , lands , money , apparell , and credit , with meanes sufficient to haue left for the maintenance of his family , and that now he had nothing left him but pouerty and beggery , and that his two children were like to be left to go from doore to doore for their liuing . being thus tormented and tost with restlesse imaginations ; hee seeing dayly to his further griefe , the poore case of his children , and fearing that worse would befall them hereafter , hee resolued to worke some meanes to take away their languishing liues , by a speedy & vntimely death , the which practise of his ( by the diuels instigation and assistance ) he effected as followeth . to bee sure that no body should stop or preuent his diuellish enterprise ; hee sent his wife to london in a friuolous errand , for a riding coate : and she being gone somewhat timely , and too soone in the morning , both her children being in bed and fast asleepe , beeing two very pretty girles , one of the age of sixe yeeres , and the other foure yeeres old , none being in the house but themselues , their vnfortunate father , and his ghostly counsellor , the dores being fast locked , hee hauing an excellent spring of water in the seller of his house ( which , to a good minde that would haue imploy'd it well , would haue beene a blessing : for the water is of that christaline purity , and cleerenesse , that queen elizabeth of famous memory would dayly send for it for her owne vse ) in which hee purposed to drowne his poore innocent children sleeping : for he going into the chamber where they lay , took the yongest of 〈◊〉 named elizabeth forth of her bed , and carried her 〈◊〉 the stayres into his seller , and there put her in the spring of water , holding downe her head vnder that pure element with his hands , till at last the poore harmelesse soule and body parted one from another . which first act of this his inhumane tragedy being ended , hee carried the dead corps vp three payre of stayres , and laying it downe on the floore , left it , and went down into the chamber where his other daughter , named marry , was in bed ; being newly awaked , and seeing her father , demanded of him where her sister was ? to whom he made answer that he would bring her where she was . so taking her in his armes , hee carried her downe towards the seller : and as hee was on the seller stayres , shee asked him what he would doe , and whither he would carry her ? feare nothing , my child ( quoth hee ) i will bring thee vp againe presently : and being come to the spring , as before hee had done with the other , so hee performed his last vnfatherly deed vpon her , & to be as good as his word , carried her vp the stayres & laid her by her sister ; that done , he laid them out , and couered them both with a sheete , walking vp and downe his house , weeping and lamenting his owne misery , and his friends treachery , that was the maine ground of all his misfortunes , & the death of his children : and though there was time and opportunity enough for him to flye , & to seeke for safety ; yet the burthen and guilt of his conscience was so heauy to him , and his desperate case was so extreme , that hee neuer offered to depart ; but as a man weary of his life , would , and did stay , till such time as hee was apprehended and sent to prison , where he lay till he was rewarded with a iust deserued death . what his other intents were , after hee had drowned his children , is vncertaine ; for hee drew his sword and laid it naked on a table , and after , he gate a poore woman downe into the seller , and in the same place where the two infants lost their liues , hee did helpe the woman to wring a bucke of his clothes , and then he requested her to help to conuey his goods out of his house ; for hee said that hee feared that the sheriffe of surry would come and seaze vpon all . but the woman not thinking of any of the harme that was done , imagined that he had meant that his goods would be seazed for debt , and not for murther . but to returne to the miserable mother of the murdered children , shee said that her heart throbbed all day , as fore-boading some heauy mischance to come : and hauing done her businesse that shee came about to london , as soone as shee came home , she asked for her children , to whom her husband answered that they were at a neighbours house in the towne . then said she , i will goe thither to fetch them home . no quoth he , i will goe my selfe presently for them . thē said his wife , let the poore woman that is heere goe and bring them home . but at last she saw such delay was vsed , she was going her selfe ; then her husband told her that hee had sent them to a kinsmans of his at a village called sutton , foure miles from ewell , and that hee had prouided well for them , and prayd ▪ her to bee contented and feare nothing , for they were well . these double tales of his , made her to doubt somwhat was amisse : therefore shee intreated him for gods sake to tell her truely where they were . wherevpon he said , if you will needs know where they are , goe but vp the staires into such a chamber , and there you shall finde them . but in what a lamentable perplexity of mind the poore woman was when shee perceiued how and which way they lost their liues , any christian that hath an heart of flesh may imagine . presently the constable was sent for , who tooke him into his custody , who amongst other talke , demanded of him why and how hee could commit so vnnaturall a fact , as to murder his children ? to whom he answered , that he did it , because he was not able to keepe them , and that hee was loth they should goe about the towne a begging : and moreouer , that they were his owne , and being so , that hee might doe what hee would with them , and that they had their liues from him , and therefore he had taken their liues from them , and was contented to lose his life for them : for he was sure that their miseries were past , and for his part , he had an assured hope to goe to them , though they could not come to him . so being had before a iustice , his examination was very briefe ; for he confest all the whole circumstances of the matter freely ; so that he was sent to the common prison of surry , cal'd the white lyon , where hee remained fourteene or fifteene weekes a wonderfull penitent prisoner , neuer , or very seldome , being without a bible or some other good booke meditating vpon ; and whon any one did but mention his children , he would fetch a deep sigh , and weepe , desiring euery one to pray for him and vpon his owne earnest request , he was praide for at pauls crosse , and at most of the churches in london , and at many in the country , and at the sessions holden at croydon , the latter end of iune last , he made such free confession at the barre , declaring the manner of his life , his odious drinking , his abominable whoring , his cruell murther , and the false dealing of his deceitfull friend , which was the cause of his finall wracke : with which relations of his pronounced , with such vehemency and protestations , he moued all that heard him to commiseration and pitie . so , according to law and iustice , he was there condemned and iudged ( for the murthering of his two children ) to be hang'd ; which iudgement was executed on him at the common gallowes at croydon , on munday the second day of iune , 1621. where he dyed with great penitency and remorce of conscience . this was the lamentable end of iohn rowse , a man of the age of fifty yeeres , and one that might haue liu'd and dyed in better fashion , if he had laid hold on the grace of heauen , and craued gods protection and fatherly assistance : but of all that herein is declared , this one thing which i now declare , is most lamentable & remarkable ; which is , that ewell being a market towne , not much aboue ten miles from london , in a christian kingdome , and such a kingdome , where the all-sauing word of the euer-liuing god is most diligently , sincerely , and plentifully preached ; & yet amidst this diligence , as it were in the circle or center of this sincerity , and in the floud of this plenty , the towne of ewell hath neither preacher nor pastor : for although the parsonage be able to maintaine a sufficient preacher , yet the liuing beeing in a lay-mans hand , is rented out to another for a great sum , & yet no preacher maintained there . now the chief landlord out of his portion , doth allow but seuen pounds yeerely for a reader , and the other that doth hyre the parsonage at a great rent , doth giue the said reader foure pound the yeere more out of his meanes and courtesie : and by this meanes the towne is serued with a poore old man that is halfe blinde , and by reason of his age can scarcely read : for all the world knowes , that so small a stipend cannot finde a good preacher bookes , and very hardly bread to liue on ; so that the poore soules dwelling there , are in danger of famishing , for want of a good preacher to breake the bread of life vnto them : for a sermon amongst them , is as rare as warm weather in december , or ice in iuly : both which i haue seene in england , though but seldome . and as the wolfe is most bold with the sheepe , when there is either no shepheard , or an impotent insufficient one , so the diuell ( perhaps ) tooke his aduantage of this wretched man , seeing he was so badly guarded , & so weakely guided to withstand his force and malice : for where god is least known and called vpon , there satan hath most power and domination . but howsoeuer , i wish with all my heart , that that towne and many more were better prouided then they are , and then such numbers of soules would not be in hazzard to perish ; nor so many sufficient schollers that can preach and teach well , liue in penury through want of maintenance . i could runne further vpon this point , but that i doe shortly purpose to touch it more to the quick in another booke . by this mans fall , we may see an example of gods iustice against drunkennes , whoredome , and murder ; the diuel being the first author , who was a murtherer from the beginning : who fil'd cain with enuy , that hee murdered his brother abel : who tempted dauid first to adultery , and afterwards to murther ; who prouoked herod to cause the blessed seruant of god iohn baptist to lose his head , because hee told him it was not lawfull for him to marry his brother philips wife ; and who was the prouoker of the aforesaid herod to murther all the innocent male children in his kingdome . and let vs but marke and consider the plagues and punishments that god hath inflicted vpon murderers , adulterers , and incestuous persons : first , cain , although by his birth hee was the first man that euer was borne , a prince by his birth , and heire apparant to all the world ; yet for the murther by him committed on his brother , he was the first vagabond and runnagate on the face of the earth , almost fearefull of his owne shaddow : and after he had liued along time terrifide in conscience , was himselfe slaine ( as is supposed ) by lamech . simeon and leu● the sonnes of iacob were accurst of their father for the slaughter of the sichemites ; ioab the captaine of dauids host , was slaine for the murthering of abner ; dauid himselfe , for the death of vrias , and the adultery committed with bethsheba , was continually plagued and vexed with the sword of warre , with the rebellion of his owne sonnes , and with the vntimely deaths of amnon , and abs●lon . baanah and r●chab , for the slaying of ishbosheth the sonne of saul , they were both by dauids commandement put to death , who had both their hands and feete cut off , & were afterward hanged ouer the poole in hebron : samuel 2. 4. the examples are infinite out of diuine and humane histories , that god did neuer suffer murder to goe vnrewarded : and this miserable man , of whom i haue heere related , is a most manifest spectacle of gods reuenging vengeance , for that crying and hainous sinne . as concerning lust and incontinency , it is a short pleasure , bought with long paine , a hunnied poyson , a gul●●● of shame , a pickpurse , a breeder of diseases , a gall to the conscience , a corrosiue to the heart , turning mans wit into foolish madnesse , the bodies bane , and the soules perdition : it is excessiue in youth , and odious in age ; besides , god himselfe doth denounce most fearefull threats against fornicators and adulterers , as the apostle saith , that whoremongers and adulterers shall not inherit the kingdome of heauen , 1. cor. 6. 9. and god himselfe saith , that he will be a swift witnes against adulterers , mal. 3. 5. and the wise man saith , that because of the whorish woman , a man is brought to a morsell of bread , and a woman will hunt for the precious life of a man : for , saith he , can a man take fire in his bosome , and his cloathes not bee burnt ? or can a man goe vpon hot coales , and his feete not be burnt ? so hee that goeth in to his neighbours wife , shall not be innocent , prou. 6. 27 , 28 , 29. abimelech , one of the sonnes of gedeon , murdered threescore and ten of his brethren ; and in reward thereof ( by the iust iudgement of god ) a woman with a piece of a milstone beate out his braines , after hee had vsurped the kingdome three yeeres , iudges the 9. our english chronicles make mention , that roger mortimer , lord baron of wallingford , murdered his master king edward the second , and caused the kings vncle , edmund earle of kent , causelessely to bee beheaded : but gods iustice ouertooke him at last , so that for the said murders hee was shamefully executed . humphrey duke of glocester was murdered in the abbey of bury by william de la poole duke of suffolke , who afterward was beheaded himselfe on the sea by a pyrat . arden of feuersham , and page of plimmouth , both their murders are fresh in memory , and the fearefull ends of their wiues and their ayders in those bloudy actions will neuer bee forgotten . it is too manifestly knowne , what a number of stepmothers and strumpets haue most inhumanely murdred their children , and for the same haue most deseruedly been executed . but in the memory of man ( nor scarcely in any history ) it is not to be found , that a father did euer take two innocent children out of their beds , and with weeping teares of pittilesse pitie , and vnmercifull mercy , to drowne them , shewing such compassionate cruelty , and sorrowfull sighing remorcelesse remorce in that most vnfatherly and vnnaturall deede . all which may be attributed to the malice of the diuell , whose will and endeuour is that none should be saued , who layes out his traps and snares , intangling some with lust , some with couetousnesse , some with ambition , drunkennesse , enuy , murder , sloth , or any vice whereto hee sees a man or a woman inclined most vnto , as hee did by this wretched man , lulling him , as it were , in the cradle of sensuality , and vngodly delight , vntill such time as all his meanes , reputation , and credit was gone , and nothing left him but misery and reproach . then hee leades him along through doubts and feares , to haue no hope in gods prouidence , perswading his conscience that his sinnes were vnpardonable , and his estate and credit vnrecouerable . vvith these suggestions , he led him on to despaire , and in desperation to kill his children , and make shipwracke of his owne soule , in which the diligence of the diuel appeareth , that he labours and trauels vncessantly : and as saint bernard saith , in the last day shall rise in condemnation against vs , because he hath euer been more diligent to destroy soules , then wee haue been to saue them . and for a conclusion , let vs beseech god of his infinite mercy to defend vs from all the subtill temptations of satan . iohn rovvse his prayer for pardon of his lewd life , which hee vsed to pray in the time of his imprisonment . god of my soule and body , haue mercy vpon mee : the one i haue cast away by my folly , and the other is likely to perish in thy fury , vnlesse in thy great mercy thou saue it . my sinnes are deepe seas to drowne mee ; i am swallowed vp in the bottomlesse gulph of my own transgressions . with cain i haue beene a murderer , and with iudas a betrayer of the innocent . my body is a slaue to satan , and my wretched soule is deuoured vp by hell. blacke haue beene my thoughts , and blacker are my deeds . i haue beene the diuels instrument , and am now become the scorne of men ; a serpent vpon earth , and an out-cast from heauen . what therefore can become of mee ( miserable caitiffe ? ) if i looke vp to my redeemer , to him i am an arch traitor , if vpon earth , it is drowned with blood of my shedding , if into hell , there i see my conscience , burning in the brimstone lake . god of my soule and body haue mercy therefore vpon mee : saue mee , o saue mee , or else i perish for euer : i dye for euer in the world to come , vnlesse ( sweet lord ) thou catchest my repentant soule in thine armes ; o saue me , saue me , saue me . iohn rovvse of ewell his own arraignment , confession , condemnation , and iudgement of himselfe , whilst he lay prisoner in the white lyon , for drowning of his two children . i am arraign'd at the blacke dreadfull barre , where sinnes ( so red as scarlet ) iudges are ; all my inditements are my horrid crimes , whose story will affright succeeding times , as ( now ) they driue the present into wonder , making men tremble , as trees struck with thunder . if any askes what euidence comes in ? o'tis my conscience , which hath euer bin a thousand witnesses : and now it tels a tale , to cast me to ten thousand hels . the iury are my thoughts ( vpright in this , ) they sentence me to death for doing amisse : examinations more there need not then , than what 's confest heere both to god and men. the cryer of the court is my blacke shame , which when it cals my iury , doth proclaime vnlesse ( as they are summon'd ) they appeare , to giue true verdict of the prisoner , they shall haue heau 〈…〉 set , such , as may 〈…〉 uens debt . about me round sit innocence and truth , as clerkes to this high court ; and little ruth from peoples eyes is cast vpon my face , because my facts are barbarous , damn'd , and base . the officers that 'bout me ( thicke ) are plac't , to guard me to my death , ( when i am cast ) are the blacke stings my speckled soule now feeles , which like to furies dogge me , close at heeles . the hangman , that attends me is despaire , and gnawing wormes my fellow-prisoners are . his inditement for murder of his children . the first who ( at this sessions ) lowd doth call me , is murder , whose grim visage doth appall me , his eyes are fires , his voice rough windes out-rores , and on my head the diuine vengeance scores : so fast and fearfully i sinke to ground , and wish i were in twenty oceans drownd . he sayes i haue a bloudy villaine bin , and ( to proue this ) ripe euidence steps in , brow'd like my selfe : iustice so brings about , that blacke sinnes still hunt one another out : 't is like a rotten frame ready to fall , for one maine post being shaken , puls downe all . to this inditement , ( holding vp my hand , ) fettered with terrors mor● then irons stand , and being ask'd what to the bill i say , guilty i cry . o dreadfull sessions day ! his iudgement . for these thick stygian streams in which th' ast swom , thy guilt hath on thee laid this bitter doome ; thy loath'd life on a tree of shame must take a leaue compeld by law , e're old age make her signed passe-port ready . thy offence no longer can for dayes on earth dispense . time blot thy name out of this bloudy roule , and so the lord haue mercy on my soule . his speech what hee could say for himselfe . owretched caytiffe ! what perswasiue breath can call back this iust sentence of quicke death ? i begge no boone , but mercy at gods hands , ( the king of kings , the soueraigne that commands both soule and body ) o let him forgiue my treason to his throne , and whilst i liue , iebbits and racks shall torture limme by limme , through worlds of deaths i le breake to fly to him . my birth-day gaue not to my mothers wombe , more ease , then this shall ioyes , when e're it come . my body mould to earth , sinnes sinke to hell , my penitent soule win heauen , vaine world farewell . finis . speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at boston, december 29, 1689 : in the hearing and at the request of one hugh stone, [a mis]erable man [under a just sen]tence of [death] for a [tragical and] hor[rible murder : together with some account concerning the character, carriage, and execution of that unhappy malefactor : to which are added certain memorable providences relating to some other murders, & some great instances of repentance which have been seen amonst us / by cotton mather.] mather, cotton, 1663-1728. 1690 approx. 117 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 56 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-07 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a50164 wing m1156 estc w19439 11164395 ocm 11164395 46466 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a50164) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 46466) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1426:6) speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at boston, december 29, 1689 : in the hearing and at the request of one hugh stone, [a mis]erable man [under a just sen]tence of [death] for a [tragical and] hor[rible murder : together with some account concerning the character, carriage, and execution of that unhappy malefactor : to which are added certain memorable providences relating to some other murders, & some great instances of repentance which have been seen amonst us / by cotton mather.] mather, cotton, 1663-1728. [5], 87, 15, [1] p. printed by samuel green, and sold by joseph browning, boston : 1690. imperfect: pages cropped, faded, stained, tightly bound and torn with loss of print, lower portion of t.p. missing; t.p. information from nuc pre-1956 imprints. errata at end. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng stone, hugh, d. 1689. execution sermons. sermons, american -17th century. murder -new england. 2003-02 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-04 rina kor sampled and proofread 2003-04 rina kor text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion speedy repentance urged ▪ sermon preached at boston , decemb. 29. 1689. in the hearing , and at the request of one hugh stone , 〈◊〉 ●●●erable man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●●●tence of 〈◊〉 for a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hor●●●●● 〈◊〉 〈…〉 conscientia mea meruit damnationem , & paenitentia mea non sufficit ad satisfactionem : sed 〈◊〉 est quod mis●ricordi● 〈◊〉 super at 〈…〉 the introduction . our blessed saviour , hath given that character of his ministers , that they be rulers over his houshold , and that commandment to them , that they should give every one their meat 〈◊〉 du● season . whether or no our good neighbours will acknowledge our government , which we esteem to be not at all de●potio● but wholly ministerial , and would rejoice 〈◊〉 we could therein , with more universal edi●●●cation enjoy the assistence of those that mig●● rule well , though they labour 〈◊〉 word and d●ctrine ; yet i am sure 〈◊〉 ought with a very sollicitous fidelity to 〈…〉 our stewardship , in that 〈…〉 which conc●rns the feeding of the houshold . it is food and not 〈◊〉 which we are to entertain the soul● 〈…〉 people with ; 〈◊〉 windy and empty 〈◊〉 , and notions which 〈◊〉 dant quia non habent , are 〈◊〉 from us ; but solemn and useful 〈◊〉 , about faith and repentance and holiness , which make up , the one thing needful , and about those things without ●word4 no man shall see the lord. and if not froth , much less is poison , to be found in our discourses : not a snake instead of a fish ; which alas , is now adayes no less frequently , than fatally met withal in sermons about iustification , more than about any one article of religion but in all this there is to be had a special regard unto the due season too ; in which every thing 〈◊〉 beautiful . for , tho' the efficacy of grace consist not in moral perswasions applyed ( as the arminians dogmatize ▪ ) tempore & modo congruis , in a suitable and seasonable manner ; yet a spiritual physician ought t● wa●ch his time , as well as weigh his dose ; and we should prudently take what advantage may be given by provi●ence to make this 〈◊〉 that particular truth awakening to the mind● of them with whom we have to do . the sense of these things , caused me to preach a sermon , which might excite and assist speedy repentance , in that congregation , which i would awfully remember my self , accountable to the lord iesus for . the due season , which this homely , but i hope , wholsome food , was adopted unto , was at the request and presence of a miserable murderer , then under a just sentence of death , to be speedily executed on him . the man was one hugh stone , of andover ; who npon a quarrel between him and his own wife , about selling a piece of land , having some words as they were walking together , on a certain evening , very barbarously reached a stroke at her throat with a sharp knife , and by that one stroke , fetched away the soul of her , who had made him a father of several children , and would have brought yet another to him , if she had liv'd a few weeks longer in the world. the wretched man , was too soon surprised by his neighbour 〈…〉 be capable of denying the fact ; and so he pleaded guilty , upon his trial. being under condemnation , and his end hastening upon him , he gave me his desires to hear a sermon from me , before he dy'd ▪ wherefore , i thought there was now before me a due season , to make a food of such things , as i now also per others ( and to permit them , is all i have done ) to print for the edification of such as the publishers propound thereby to benefit . i confess that i had not so much as one day allow'd me for my original preparations of the sermon ; and therefore , not being able exactly to keep what i did not , could not write , necessitates me to alter , and doubtless to amend some imperfections in it . yet it is very near , what it was at its first delivery ; and from the experience which formerly i have had , in publishing a discourse of this kind , i encourage my self , with hopes , that notwitstanding all the weaknesses in it , i may find in the day of the lord iesus , that i have not laboured in vain . the sermon is plain ; but besides my inclination at all times to make none but such , even an heathen seneca would have taught me , that on this occasion any other would have been improper . i excuse not the ●eanness of the composure ; but am waitin●●pon the eternal spirit , 〈…〉 and blows where , he ●lease , 〈…〉 the sermon . iob. vii . 21. and why doest thou not pardon my transgression , and take away mine iniquity ? for now shall i sleep in the dust , and thou shalt seek me in the morning , but i shall not be . vve have now before us , a very miserable , but we cannot excuse the hardness of our own hearts , if it be not also a very profitable , spectacle . you see a poor man in irons here , whose crying murders have now procured unto him that sentence , which will not permit him to live many hours longer in the world . his case do's truly preach to 〈…〉 ●ame that my text will preach 〈…〉 but while i have an eye to his particular circumstances , i shall not so overlook yours , as to leave any one person in this vast congregation without the food proper in the present season for them . this malefactor does know that he quickly must ; and all of you do not know but you sooner may come to sleep in the dust ; wherefore let every one of you now hear as those that are concerned to get their transgression pardoned , and their iniquity taken away . the book of iob , in a sweet poesy , gives us a true history , of strange calamities , and stranger deliverances befalling a famous person , who made arabia the happy , by his dwelling there . had it not been real and certain matter of fact , which is here 〈…〉 , we may not imagine that 〈◊〉 prophet ezekiel , or the apostle iames , would have made such references , as they did unto it ; it only remains that we do our parts to make it as useful as 't is real and certain . it has been conjectured by some , that moses was the writer of this elegant narrative ; and the arabian idioms here and there occurring in it ▪ consist very well with the abode of moses in his exile : but it is as evident that iob lived before moses , as 't is that he lived after abraham . very wonderful afflictions at once did surprize this renowned man ! and under his troubles , we find him pouring out of his complaints . un●o whom ? it was a sigh that once passed from him as for me is my complaint to man ? alas , he found man a physitian of no value to be complained unto ; and therefore 't is unto god , that he now makes the complaints , which our context is the conclusion of . in the verse before our text , we have both a confession , and a petition of a distressed man. for the confession , we have both the matter of it , and the object of it . the matter of it , is contained in those words , i have sinned , what shall i do unto thee ? q. d. tho' i am clear of many things which my friends do accuse me of , yet my sins before god are so manifest and so multiplied , that i can do nothing for the vindication or expiation of my miscarriages . the object of it is intimated in those words , o thou preserver of men , which are by some rendred , o thou observer of men , q. d. god has observed more amiss in me , than ever i found in my self . for the petition , it is with an expostulation . it is , why hast thou set me as a mark against thee ; so that i am a burden to my self ? the sorrows of men , are the arrows of god ; they that 〈◊〉 shot full thereof are sensible of 〈…〉 in every one of their 〈◊〉 why hast thou ? is here a deprec●tion of the evil mentioned . well , if we now pass on to 〈◊〉 text , we shall have there , both● 〈◊〉 , and an argument . for the petition , it is here with an expostulation too . t is , why dost thou not pardon my transgression , and take oway my iniquity ? as before , why dost thou ? was as much as to say , o do it not ; so here , why dost thou not ? is equivalent unto saying , o do it . and it seems to follow upon the title newly put upon the great god , o thou preserver of men ; q. d. lord , since thou art the preserver and the pardoner of so many sinners in the world , why should not i share in thy mercies among the rest ? for the argument : the force of the plea for a pardon here , seems to ly in this , it will else quickly be too late ! the terms of it are , for now shall i sleep in the dust and thou shalt seek me in the morning , but i shall not be ; which in short is , i shall quickly be dead and 〈◊〉 ! to not be , is a scripture-sacred-phrase for dying : denoting not a total 〈◊〉 but a vast alteration comeing upon us by mortality ▪ which is also here styled sleeping , with respect unto the condition of the body in the grave . and whereas we read of the morning , in this place , it may be an allusion to the morning sacrifices usual among the people of god ; and it may carry this import with it , q. d. lord , if a morning or two hence , thou shouldest look to find me on my knees as i am now before thee , it will be too late ; i shall be departed into that state , where in , i can make no prayer to thee , and have no pardon from thee , world without end. wherefore the doctrine unto which you are now to give a very great attention , is this . men should be very impor●●●●● in their prayers to the eternal god , that their transgression may be pardoned , and their iniquity taken away , before the sleep of death bring their great change upon them . for the clearing of this truth , we have now two enquiries that ly before us . our first enquiry is to be , what is implied in the pardoning of transgression and the taking away of iniquity ? for answer to this ; in general , the glorious benefit of justification is herein implied . if you ask for a description of iusti●ication then know , that it is an act of gods free grace , releasing a believer from the guilt of sin , and accepting him as righteous , thro' the obedience of the lord iesus christ. there are two things which a religion still pretends to make provision for ; to remove th● greatest of our troubles , & to obtain the greatest of our desires . the christian religion does both of these in a very admirable manner . the first is done in iustification . the distress of a guilty sinner lies in this point ▪ what shall i give for the sin of my soul ? behold , that matter in iustification very wonderfully provided for . the psalmist of old , called this a parable , and a dark saying ; even this , the precious redemption of a soul , by the messias alone . blessed be god , that we can with satisfaction penetrate a little way into the mystery . but i may not give you a full discourse upon this illustrious head of divinity , whic● indeed the standing or the falling of the whole church is concerned in the right stating of ; and as i may not ▪ so i need not insist upon it , because , you have the published writings of many learned men ▪ on this very point ; which i 〈…〉 ●ecommend unto your 〈…〉 suppose you are all of the disposition , which our famous wilson would often express , by saying , i love nothing so much as to see a preacher keep close to his text , and the scope of it ; and therefore i shall now keep close to my text , by offering to you a few conclusions relating to ivstification , all which the terms used in my text suggest unto us ; but in all , i must also keep close to the man whom i do here most particularly design the edification of . conclusion 1. [ my transgression ] the hebrew word for it notes , a transgression out of pride : and my conclusion from it is , 〈◊〉 . there is a wicked and a cursed pride in the sins of men . the first of our sins was founded in a cursed pride , & the most of our sins are tainted with it . the first sin of adam had pride for a main ingredient of it . it was propounded unto him , in gen. 3. 5. ye shall be as gods , honour and grandeur was the bait which he was taken with , and his pride affected a higher condition that that which his maker had plac'd him in . the first sin of satan too had pride for its original . hence we are advised in 1 tim 36. he that is lifted up with pride , falls into the condemnation of the divel . it is thought that his dissatisfaction at some priviledges , which he foresaw mankind likely to be the subject of , was that which prompted him to the rebellion and apostasie , in which he is now king over the children of pride . t is thus in all the sins which those have been the parents of ; there lies pride at the bottom of them all . what s●l●mon sayes of one sin , only by pride comes contention ; the like may be said of all sin , mainly by pride comes transgression . upon the root of pride it is , that there grows all the disobedience to god , which is at any time com●mitted in the world. it was the s●ying of the prophet , in 〈…〉 . if ye will not hear , my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride . from our pride it is , that we do not hear the voice of god unto us in his ordinances o● in his providences ; t is pride that makes us thick o● hearing when ou● god councels us to do iustice and love me●cy , and walk humbly with him. every sin ( as one sayes of every man ) hath a pope in the belly of it ; something that exalts it self against all that is called god. the sinners whom solomon calls the fools , are those whom david calls the pro●d . if men were not proud fools they would never espouse a way of wickedness ; men sin with an high heart , and that makes them sin with an high hand against the god of heaven . through pride it is , that we must have our will , tho gods will be quite contrary thereunto . and when the most high 〈◊〉 his commands before us , we do , as if we were above ▪ him , say , we will not hearken therounto . through pride it is that we can't bear the order which the sovereign god has ●ixt us in , but we take indirect wayes to relieve and alter our circumstances . and here is the r●se of all our miscarriages . be sure you that are now in chains before us , must acknowledg this to be the rise of yours . your proud impatience of a little contradiction , and your proud resistance to the rules of good living , have brought you to the sin for which you are to dy . conclusion 2. [ my iniquity ] the hebrew word for it imports iniquity with crookedness and perverseness . and hence i form this conclusion . the sins of men have a world of ●●righteous crookedness & perversness in them . our sins are not right things , but there is a most uncomely obliquity in all of our iniquity . every sinner may say , as in iob. 33. 27. i have perverte● that which is right . the path which god in his word has directed 〈…〉 , is a right path , or as 't is called a path of righteousness ; but sin is a wandring from it ; the sinner goes astray in the greatness of his folly . sin is a deviation from a strait rule the psalmist could say in psnl : 119 : 128. i esteem thy precepts concerning all things to be right . but now every false way has a figure not conformed unto the precepts of god. the sinner walks in crooked paths , when god has required , make strait pathes for your selves : and he has no constant course . one while 't is one lust , and than another , which he is madly slaving unto ; sin is that harlot , whereof t is said , her wayes are moveable ! and the sinner is herein a most unrighteous man : he defrauds both god and man of their dues , with an injnstice too black to be described . but if ever there were a perverse and an unjust man in the world , i am sure you that are in irons here ought to account your self such an one . your f●o●ardness has pusht you on to the most unreasonable thing that was ever done in the land , in which you have not now long to live . conclusion 3. [ pardon my transgression ] the word , pardon , signifies the removing of a load ; yea , a transferring of it unto him who takes it off . whence this conclusion doth arise ▪ in iustification , the burden of sin is translated from the sinner unto the lord iesus christ. sin is an heavy burden upon the soul which it lies upon ; and the sinner may justly roar under it , as in psal. 38. 4. my iniquities , as an heavy burden , are too heavy for me . hence , the bearing of iniquity , is a phrase that sometimes occurrs in the book of god. every sensible soul , feels it like a ponderous mountain of lead upon him ; the thousands of talents which he owes unto the revenge of god , are ● weight upon him , which he finds there is no enduring of . ask the undone murderer that is now before you , whether he feels not sin like a load upon him ? that malefactor will be prest to death for ever , by the dead weight of sin , who shall be so mute under his guilt ▪ as not to cr● out , lord , i am oppressed , undertake for me . but in iustification this intollerable . burden is t●anslated unto the blessed lord iesus christ , who was made a curse for us . and thus we are told in isa. 53. 6. god hath laid on him the iniquity of us all . the burden of sin ▪ 〈◊〉 the obligation to make satisfaction for it ; this is a burden enough to break the backs of all the angels in heaven , if it were laid upon them . on supposition of a law given by god , and on supposition of that law broken by man , there follows a necessity ▪ of a satisfaction to be made unto the justice of that holy one , who will be known to be of purer eyes than to behold iniquity . the rule according to which the almighty god acts as the iudge of the vvorld , is the re●titude and holiness of his nature ; and the law which he hath given us is ratify'd with such a sanction , that there is now no pardoning of a sinner without a satisfaction to him , against whom only we have sinned . now the obligation to pay the debt which our sin has run us into , is in iustification made to fall upon our lord jesus christ , who is our surety for good. as one speaks well , nostram causam sustinebat , qui nostram sibi carnem aduniverat ; and as i remember , prosper expressed it , we were crucify'd in him ; or according to the language of the ancient cyprian , he bore both us and all our sins . the lord jesus now becomes the antitype of the ancient scape-goat , upon whose head , is laid all the sin , which we have to answer for . there is an imputation in this affair ; and as 't is said 〈…〉 5. 21. god made him to be sin for 〈◊〉 ▪ who knew no sin , that we might be made the righteousness of god in him ; 't is thus by a divine imputation and constitution . conclusion 4. [ take away mine iniquity ] the word , take away , signifies a causing to pass away , and indeed therein , a passing by . whence we have this conclusion . in iustification the great god causes the sin of men , to pass away , without notice of it . sin is passed by , and made to pass away , when it is forgiven to us . our god therein says unto us , as in 2 sam. 12. 13. the lord hath put away thy sin. as we do by gods law , in sinning , so god does by our sin in forgiving . hence the same word , is used for both . in sinning we pass by his law , as a thing not worthy of our notice ; thus in forgiving , he passes by our sin , without any such notice of it , as to damn us , or to judge us , for the same . our sin becomes now , in some sort as tho' it had never been at all ; but as 't is said , in jer. 50. 20. iniquity shall be sought for , and there shall be none ; and sins , and they shall not be found . and methinks , a poor murderer , such an one as is within hearing of what we are now speaking , should have his very heart leap within him at the mention of such a thing . what ? for such an one , when he stands at the bar of the lord jesus , to have such a verdict brought in for him , as , not guilty , there ! but thus it is in iustification ; god therein causes our sin to pass away but 〈…〉 does it pass ? we have a repl● 〈◊〉 ●hat in , isa. 38. 17. thou hast cast my sins behind thy back . our sin therein passes as far from the avenging eye of god , as what we cast behind us , never to be regarded any more . whither did i say , it passes ? nay , to advance a little further , 't is said in mic. 7. 19 thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. but shall they not rise and float again ? truly , a milstone thrown into the deepest ocean shall sooner be brought in sight , than the sin of one who has been a subject of iustification , shall ever be brought up for his condemnation any more . conclusion 5. it is observed , that the same words [ transgression , and iniquity ] are used both for sin it self , and for the punishment of sin. wherefore i shall here tender you this one conclusion more . in iustification the severe punishment of sin , is remitted , with the fault it self . there has been a vain distinction used about this matter , between [ reatus culpae ] guilt , as deserving of punishment ; and [ rectus paenae ] guilt , as obliging to punishment . but these are so inseparable , that when guilt is remitted , the punishment goes along with it . in iustification , our bonds are taken off , and nothing is demanded of us , as a price to a●one the righteous god. it was said in in isa. 33. 24. the inhabitant shall not say , i am sick ; the people shall be for given their iniquity . thus , when men are forgiven their iniquity , they shall not by vindictive justice be made to say , i am sick , or i am poor , or , i am pained , and the like . there are no proper paenalties remaining for a justify'd man. whatever troubles he may afterwards meet withal , there shall not be the wrath and the curse of god spicing of them ; and in regard of the second death , it is very peremptorily declar'd unto him , thou shalt not dy. it was the cry of the psalmist , in psal. 143. 2. enter not into iudgment with thy servant . the god of heaven , acts not so much like a iudg , as like a father , to a justify'd man ; and he not only secures him from the vengeance of eternal fire , but also , puts a new and a knd respect upon all the temporal afflictions , which do befal such a man. the afflictions which happen to him , are not so much punishments as chastisements ; and a reconciled god therein proceeds according to that rule in rev 3. 19. whom i love , i rebuke and chasten . yea , if a correction be at any time employ'd upon him , it is at the same time a benefit , in that very thing which called for it . as the dumbness of zachary was as much an argument for his faith , as a chastisement for his unbelief . and i am to tell the wretched malefactor here , that his prison , and his very gall●ws , will but be turned into his advantages , upon his true repentance . man , you shall find honey for your soul , in the bowels of those devourers , if your sins be once done away . but then , our next enquiry is to be : why should men be importunate in their prayers to the eternal god , for the pardon of their sins , before the sleep of death bring their great change upon them . for answer to this , let these three conclusions , all found in the text , be laid together . conclusion 1. none can forgive sins , but god. the scribes of old were so far well instructed , as to say , in marc. 2. 7. who can forgive sin , but god only ? the true answer is very short ; none . injuries done to men , may so far be forgiven by men , as men only are concerned in them . hence t is among the solemn charges of the lord jesus , to us all , in mat. 6. 14. forgive men their trespasses . but as it was of old said , if a man sin against the lord , who shall entreat for him ? even so if a man sin against the lord , who shall pardon him ? injuries done to god , are to be forgiven by him alone , whose great name is that in exod. 34. 7. the lord forgiving iniquity , and transgression , and sin. it is a maxim , nemo potest remittere de iure alieno ; no man can dispose of anothers right . who then can intrude , or dare invade upon the great god , so as to allow for a wrong which has been done unto his majesty ? to forgive sin , is a prerogative peculiar to the god of heaven ; and it is therefore mention'd among ▪ his regalia , in mic. 7 8. who is a god like unto thee , that pardoneth iniquity ? 't is one of his incomparable excellencies , and a flower in his glorious crown ; t is the glory which he will not give unto another . look upon sin as a debt ; still god is the creditor ; look upon sin as a fault ; still god is the governour , to whom alone belongs the remission of it . vve are advertised of this , rom 8 33. it is god that iustifies ministerially to declare a pardon , is one thing . this may be done by the churches of the lord jesus chirst ; as the priests were to pronounce upon the cleanness of the leper . 〈◊〉 which respect our lord said in iohn 20. 23. whose soever sins ye remit , they are remitted to them and in such a sense was the prophet ▪ ieremiah to pull down and pluck up nations ; that was , to declare what nations were so to be dealt withal . but authoritatively to dispense a pardon , is another thing , and it pertains to god alone . it was a passage of moses , in numb 14 ▪ 17 let the power of my lord be great [ the iews find a letter of a greater figure than usual there , to intimate , they say , something of an extraordinary greatness ; but what is it ? it follows ] pardon i beseech thee . none but one that has the great power of a god can pardon sin. the popish blasphemy and villany upon this point , was the scandal which first gave occasion to the protestant reformation ; and god forbid that any pr●testant should return to lick it up . wherefore you that here stand condemned both by god and man , are now to be put in mind , not only that we have no ▪ priest , to absolve you and deceive you , and that the rulers of this place may not pardon you , if they could : but also , if that your murdered wife had forgiven you before her expiration , this would not acquit you before the tribunal of the eternal god. to invert the words of elihu , when he gives quiet , who can make trouble ? i would say ▪ if he trouble you , who can quiet you ? i● he do not forgive , none can pardon you . conclusion 2 ▪ the god of heaven requires our importunate prayers , that our sins may be forgiven to us . t is an article in that platform of prayer , which our lord has given us , o our heavenly father , forgive us our trespasses . when a certain man had sinned at a grievous rate , there was this direction given to him , in acts 8. 22. repent of thy wickedness , and pray to god. and o that this direction might penetrate into the very soul of the sad man that is now before us here ▪ a man ( if he be worthy to be called so ) of whom we may say , o this man hath sinned a great sin ! behold , the course to be taken by every sinner . that would have a pardon from the lord ; pray to god , if perhaps thy sin may be forgiven thee . we have a promise of a pardon , in ezek. 36. 25. i will sprinkle clean water upon you , and ye shall be clean . but what follows ? thus saith the lord god , i will yet for this be enquired of , to do it . we must enquire of god , and entreat of god , if we would not perish without a pardon forever ▪ there is no sign of a pardon in any man , till it can be said of him , as in in acts 9. 11. behold he prayes ! t is in prayer that we confess our sins , 't is in prayer that we renounce our sins , 't is by prayer that we cast all our sins , upon the lord jesus christ ; and with out this , the least sin in the world is utterly unpardonable . even those that have been already pardoned , are to continue praying for a pardon still . t is a thing which none among the disciples of our lord jesus christ , are to be excused from . they need the comfort of a pardon to be sensibly renewed unto them ; and tho' it have been once told unto a david , the lord has put away thy sin , yet he keeps praying still in the terms of the fifty first psalm , a prayer fitted for the lips of all that want a pardon . luther sometimes distinguished between a secret pardon , & an open pardon ; a secret pardon , every true believer has , but an open pardon implies an assurance and evidence of a pardon , which many a believer wants . well , if we want assurance , we are to pray that it may be vouchsafed ; if we have assurance , we are still to pray , that it be continned . a prayer for a pardon is never out of season . conclusion 3. the sleep of death , brings upon men so great a change , that they had need make sure of a pardon before they are overtaken with it . to set this conclusion home , there are three assertions , which methinks may sound like so many claps of the loudest thunder , in the ears of all this numerous auditory ; but especially of that poor man , that must never come within these walls again ▪ assertion 1. the death of men , is a kind of sleep unto them . this is a scheme of speaking used by the holy spirit of god. death is a sleep to the godly : therefore it was said in iohn 11 : 11 , 12. our friend laz●rus s●eepeth ; howbeit iesus spake of his death . death is a sleep to the wicked also . hence it is said in dan. 12. 2. many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake , to shame and everlasting contempt . our burying places , are therefore not unfitly termed , caeme●ries , or dormitories , or sleeping places . thus the psalmist feared , in psal 13. 3. lest i sleep , the sleep of death . death is a sleep , how ? t is not for the spirit so . a psychopannychia , a sleeping of the soul on death , is too gross and sad a thing to be imagined : it is it self , a dream . the active apostle would never have said , as in phil. 1 ▪ 23. i desire to be dislodged and be with christ ; if he should have had nothing to do but sleep in the lodging which he was thus desirous to go unto . let no man imagine that his departed soul shall become stupid and senseless ▪ and with out all apprehensions after death . god forbid it should be so ! n●r do you that are here a dying prisoner , expect that within a few hours , you shall be fallen into a deep sleep of all your faculties . no , the souls of m●n at the hour of death , do rather begin to awake out of the slumbers and phan●a●ms , which they are here buried in , and they have a most exquisite feeling of the condition which they then pass into . how then is death a sleep ? t is thus for the body . the body then has a rest , in a bed ; a rest from a million weary travels : but as a sleep will have an end , so this rest will be not perpetual , not eternal ; the resurrection when the almighty god will call , awake yee that ly in the dust ! that is the morning which will put a period thereunto . assertion 2. the pardon of sin , is not after death , a thing to be obtained . as 't is said in isa. 38. 18 , 19. they that go down into the pit , cannot hope for thy truth ; the living , the living , he shall praise thee . even so , the living , the living , he may get a pardon , but if once a man be gone down to the pit. he is past hope of such a thing . the dead must cry out , as the dying have sometimes done ▪ with a woful desperation , 't is all too late ! all too late ! when once a man is dead , what is the next thing ? 't is answered in heb. 9. 27. after death , the iudgment . a iudgment , and not a pardon , is the thing to be then attended unto . and what kind of iudgment will it be ? truly , 't will be a iudgment which no pardon will reverse , none can repeal . we read an amazing property of it , in heb. 6. ● . eternal iudgment ; even the iews in their confession of faith call it so . when once we are dead , we pass into a vvorld , where all is eternal ; there we are fixed like rocks in an astonishing ocean of eternity ; 't is an eternity of vveal , or an eternity of wo , nothing but eternity which remains before us . and o how awful should the mention of eternity , eternity ! be to you , forlorn and setter'd man , who , if you do not get a pardon of the great god , before this week be ou● , must unto all eternity be deprived of it . assertion 2. but infini●e and horrible woes must be the portion of those whom death find● vnpardoned . a● the prophet said , wo unto the wicked , even so i say , wo unto the vnpardoned , it shall be ill with him , if death find him so . it is testify'd unto us , in rom. 6. 23. the wages of sin is death . our sins are every day crying in the ears of the lord of hosts , pay us our wages , pay us our wages ! when death arrives unto an unpardoned man , then pay-day comes , and the wages of death and hell for ever , are pay'd unto the sinner , whom 't is due unto . that good man took it for granted , if i be wicked , wo unto me ! so may a man upon the brinks of death [ and one of you is very certainly so ] assure himself , wo unto me , if i now be found vnpardoned ! then he that made me will not have mercy on me , and he that formed me , will show me no favour . where sin is the needie , there destruction is the thred ; if a pardon have not cut it off , before the t●●ed of our lives be broken , wo to us ! nothing will then remain for an unpardoned sinner , but a fearful expectation of a fiery indignation to devour him ; nothing will remain , but everlasting fire with the divel and his angels ; nothing will remain , but , the worm which dyeth not and the fire which never shall be quenched . but no tongue ma● express or heart conceive , the dolo● , the torment , and anguish of that estate , which after death is reserved for the unpardoned . by the help of an exalted fancy , a man may represent unto himself , racks , and boots , and fires , and rivers of ardent brimstone and running bel-metal , to cruciate a malefactor in , but all of them are little things in comparison of , that which is the portion of the vnpardoned , and the heritage appointed unto him by god. as one in trouble of conscience for sin , hearing some discourse about burning to death , cryed out , this is but a metaphor to what i feel ! truly , the most hideous tortures in the world , are but metaphors unto the terrible blows and wounds , which with immediate impressions of divine indignation , will in the other world , be inflicted , upon the unpardoned world without end. indeed , as a painter being asked to draw unto the life , the horrors of the spanish , inquisition , only besmeared his table with blood , intimating that the thing was too bloody to be otherwise described . so , could i cover my pulpit with nothing but blood and fire , it would give some little expressive characters of what the vnpardoned at their death are doom'd unto . but all words are here swallowed up . what remains must be the application of the truths which have been thus cleared unto us . and 1. there is an use of these things which every one of us all are to be addressed with . 't is this ; let every man among you seek , and secure a pardon before the sleep of death shall overtake you . we all own our selves to be sinners before that god , whose eyes are like a flame of fire . it was begg'd , by one , and may be begg'd by us all , as in psal , 19. 12 , 13. cleanse thou me from secret sins , keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins . besides , the corruption brought with us into the world , which concupiscence the apopostle to the romans , in two or three chapters together , calls by the name of sin more than twice seven times ; there have been actual sins of all sorts , which we have defiled our selves withal . and besides our presumptuous sins many thousands of times repeated in our lives , whereof i may say to every man , as once 't was said unto one , thou knowest the wickedness which thy own heart , is privy to ; there are also our secret faults which every day , without humble recollections , we fall into . some sin thro' ignorance ; and thus do many among us , with whom clip'd oathes are such frequent things . their common interjection is marry ; and they think not , that they swear by the virgin mary : ever now and then , a god so , passes from them , and they do not think that they swear , by gods soul , in speaking so . others do sin thro' carelesness , and heedlesness : and hence they let more spiritual sins wonderfully have dominson over them ; pride , passion , malice , and by-ends , do strangely carry them away . in short , it is impossible to reckon up , how many regards there are , wherein we have cause to acknowledge before the great god , father , we have sinned ! but why then do not we seek a pardon for our many and our mighty sins ? know we not , that we shall quickly sleep in the dust ? as we are sinners , we are also mortal ; and we are mortal sinners too . let me then urge a few counsils upon you all ; and let that man who is now just upon taking an eternal farewel of such counsils , give ● very particular attention thereunto . counsel 1. seek a pardon , and seek it earnestly . o be in good earnest , & ( to speak scripturally ) be in agonies about this grand concern . to awaken your zeal hereabout . consider , the vast blessings and comforts which a pardon is accompanied withal . t is an iterated exclamation about a pardoned man in psal. 3. ● 1 , 2. o the blessednesses of such a man there are blessednesses in this life which a pardon will bring unto us . a pardon will be the sugar of all our mercies . this was that which made health , to be health indeed unto hezekiah ; he could not only say , i am alive and healthy ! but he could say therewithal , as in isai. 38. 17. thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back . a pardon will also be the sweetner of all our troubles . it will be a piece of wood from the cross of our lord jesus , to dulcifie the waters of marah , whi●h are usually so bitter to us . when a man lay sick of a sore disease , this word was enough to make his bed for ever easy to him , in ma● . 9. 3 ▪ son , be of good cheer , thy sins be forgiven thee . but there are more marvellous blessednesses which a pardon brings in the life to come ▪ 〈◊〉 a link which the apostle finds , it ▪ ( that which the ancients call ) the golden chain of salvation , rom. 8. 30. whom he iustified , them he also glorified . there is no less than a kingdom to follow upon a pardon . tho' the sinner were here in the fetters of affliction , yet his very chains will be turned into crowns , when once a pardon has made him capable thereof . o 't is well worth your while , to be in earnest , about so desirable a thing as this ! what shall i say more ? a malefactor once receiving sentence of death , did with a most earnest noise cry to the iudge for mercy ; and being rebuked , for being so clamorous , replyed , why , it is for 〈◊〉 , it is for my life●l and shall not ● be in earnest for it . ? so , and more th●n that , may i say concerning a pardon from the hands of god ; seek it ; it 〈◊〉 for the life of a precious 〈◊〉 immortal 〈◊〉 which is worth your being in 〈…〉 . counsel 2. seek a pardon , and seek it presently . be able to say , concerning your seeking a pardon from , as the psalmist said about his keeping the precept of , the eternal god ; i made hast , and did not delay to do it . to awaken your hast here-about . consider the incredible dangers of all delays . your main business is to become well provided of a pardon for your sins . let me now say unto you , as in 2 cor. 6. 2. behold , now is the accepted time , behold now is the day of salvation ! if you slip th●s n●w , you may never have another ; you may miss of acceptance and salvation for ever more . o do not say , as 〈◊〉 unhappy faelix did i 'll concern my self about these matters at a more convenient season ; for a more convenient season will never com● the great god says , to day ! and our to morrow , cannot be a more convenient season than that which the all-wise god hath pointed us unto . you have now about you , a thousand conveniencies for the getting of a pardon , which no season hereafter will have blowing in the sails thereof . nay t is possible , you may never have any other season at all . we are told , in eccl. 9. 12. man knoweth not his time . we are bid in prov. 27. 1. boast not thy self of tomorrow . we do not know that the ●ime which is future , will ever come to be present with us , and he was but a well-advised man , who could say , i have not had a to morrow , for these many years . it was a prudent admonition given by a rabbi to a scholar , among the jews , child , be sure to repent at least a day before you dy. that person is worse than mad who does not make sure of this . but you cannot make sure of 〈◊〉 , if you do not repent within the 〈◊〉 three or four hours that are now before you . if any man propound an hereafter unto himself , to make sure of a pardon in , i would say unto him , thou fool , this night thy soul may be required of thee . and let me add the words once used in a case of sudden and extream hazzard , save thy self to night , for to morrow thou mayest be slain . counsil . 3. seek a pardon , and seek it hopefully . despair not of it , but that your sins which have been like scarlet , may yet become as wool , and that your sins , which have been as crimson may become like snow . to quicken this hope in your souls . consider the boundless mercy of the infinite god. it may be that your sins have had most bloody aggravations ; as being against much light , and much love , and against very solemn vows unto the contrary . yet a pardon is attainable , if you slight it not . what is gods design , in our pardon ? it is to magnifie his grace , and ( as the apostle speaks ) that he may commend his love. well then , then greater our pardon is , the greater will gods glory be . hence it was the plea of the psalmist , in psal. 25. 11. o lord , pardon my iniquity , for it is great . what a for is that ? how strange an argument is this ? the despairing soul thinks , god will not pardon my iniquity for it is great . but if we really turn to god , the greatness of our sins will become no less than a plea for the pardon of them . for great sinners will give great praises , if they may tast of his pardoning mercy . be not then discouraged from industrious endeavours hereabout ; but remember , that when our lord jesus hath said , in ioh. 6 37. him that cometh to me , i will in no wise cast out ; none of our names are excepted there . remember also that there are some now triumphing with god in heaven that once were guilty of the very same sins which we are now terrified withal . where is abraham , that once was an idolater ? what became of menasseh , the conjurer ? and of magdal●n the strumpet ? is it not an epitaph written by the apostle upon the grave of rahab , rahab the harlot perished not ? yea , did not even some of those that murder'd the lord jesus christ himself , afterwards partake in the pardoning vertue of his blood , which with wicked hands they had been shedding of ? see also 1 cor. 6. 9 , 10 , 11 , and why may not yov come to be pardoned as well as the● , if you tread in their steps , by a serious and sedulous making after it ? perhaps you have been ready to sin. but it is an attribute of god , in neh. 9. 17. he is ready to pardon . have you gone on a great while in sin , and grown old and gray , and horribly ripe in your evil wayes ? yet hear that charm , in ier. 3. 1. thou hast played the harlot with many lovers , yet return unto me saith the lord. in the primitive times there was one victorius , a very old man , converted unto christianity : the church would not receive him for some time , for thought they , old sinners do not use thus to turn and live : but he evidenced the reality of his conversion , so that they sang hymns about it , in the christian assemblies , and it was every where proclaimed , victorius is become a christian ! victorius is become a christian ! even so may it come to be a shout over the oldest sinner among you all , that old wretch has got a pardon after all ! behold i have an order to make an offer of a pardon within these walls this day ; and in the name of the eternal king , i make it unto every soul among the many hundreds of people here . a preface once angrily made by moses , let me chearfully and ioyfully make th●● day ; hear ye rebels : but that which i thus preface is , the glorious king ●f heaven will receive every one of you to mercy , if you will now at last lay down your arms. i am to assure you there is hope in israel concerning this thing . do not say with them , in eze. 7 3 : 11. our hope is lost . no , to all your other sins , i beseech you add not that of despair , which will be at least equal to the greatest of them , which you have already perpetrated . what a nefandous blasphemy was that of spira , one of whose roarings was , my sin is greater than the mercy of god! that is the cursed language of despair , which let no man indulge ! don't connt the day of yet over with you . saiest thou ? i am afraid the spirit of god has done striving with me ? nay , if thou art afraid of it , then it is not yet come to pass ; he may be striving in those very fears . saist thou , i fear i have committed the vnpardonable sin ? if thou fear it , then thou hast never done it . they that are conscienciously solicitous and suspicious about it , are yet clear from the great transgression . o then come to god at the door hope thus opened for you . counsel 4. seek a pardon , and seek it believingly . it is to be enjoy'd by none but a believing soul. to excite this faith. consider , the proper and only gospel-way , to a pardon . 't is by faith ; as we are minded in rom. 5. 1. we are iustify'd by faith. we must request , and expect our pardon to come swimming down unto us in the blood of the lord jesus christ alone ; and we must keep our eye upon him , under that notion , in john 1. 29. the lamb of god which takes away the sin of the world. we must look upon our pardon as purchased and procured for us , by the death of our lord jesus christ , who in the eternal covenant of redemption engag'd unto his father , that he would make his own soul an offering for the sins of all his chosen ones . we are to take the merits of the lord jesus christ , as they are profered unto us in the tenders of the gospel ; and lay the whole stress of our guilty souls thereupon for ever . it is said in 1 john 1. 7. the blood of iesus christ cleanseth us from all sin. wherefore we must renounce all dependence upon any righteousness of our own for our pardon . let us not place any trust , in any good works , or in any good frames of our own , as tho' they could render the holy god propitious to us . it is said in job 9. 2 , 3. how should man be iust with god ? if he will contend with him , he cannot answer him one of a thousand . the iews give this exposition of it ; the pleas which men fetch from any good thing in themselves , for the pardon of their sins , are so weak , and so trifling , and so foolish , that the great god would scorn to give an answer to one among a thousand of them . alas , we must not so much as ascribe the inclinations of god to impute the righteousness of jesus christ unto us , ●nto any humiliations and reformati●ns which we may be dispos'd unto . we are to ly before the lord , as loathsome , undone , wretched creatures , and shout grace ! grace ! concerning all the methods of our pardon . here , to speak as ierome of old , all hands are dissolved , because nothing done by our hands will be found to answer the righteousness of god. it was a thing prescribed in ancient directiores for the visitation of the sick , that the sick man should be taught to say , o my god , i now place the death of the lord iesus christ , between me and my sins . behold , words fitted for every sin-sick soul ! what else can we say , seeing we are told in acts 26. 18. men receive the forgiveness of sins , and are sanctify'd by faith in christ iesus . and hence even one of the greatest giants among the romish philistines , having argued a great while , for the interest of our own merits , in the pardon of our sins , at last he comes to that memorable issue of all [ tutissimum est ] by reason of the uncertainty of our own righteousness , and the danger of vain glory , 't is the safest course to repose our whole trust , in the mercy and grace of god alone . indeed ! i pray , why then did you , bellarmine , dispute with so long and strong a sophistry , against the safest course in the world ? i beseech you , let none of us take any other course for the pardon of our sins . counsel 5 seek a pardon , and seek it penitently . and there are especially two expressions of repentance , which we are to be exercised in , they are conjoyned in prov. 28. 13. he that confesseth , and forsaketh his sins , shall find mercy . vvherefore , 1. confess all your sins , if you would have the pardon of them . it was said upon a devout purpose of confession , in psal. 32. 5. i said , i will confess my transgressions unto the lord , and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. how much more , will an exact performance of it , have such a consequence ? in some cases our sins must be confessed unto men. indeed , our secret sins must not be divulged , until god himself have in a manner brought them out ; but then we are by our own ingenuous confessions to perfect the discovery , so david , so ionah thought , tho' they could say unto god , against thee , thee only have i sinned ; scarce any but god being privy to their miscarriages . and thus achan , when others were made sufferers by his being a sinner , and god was pointing at him as the troubler of all the neighbourhood , his duty then was that , my son , confess and give glory to god. but be sure , sins committed before men , must be confessed unto men. vvhen ioseph● brethren had been brethren in iniquity , they heard one another with a bitter confession saying , we are verily guilty ! when the publicans and souldiers & such people , that had sinned publickly of old , came to a better sense , they confessed their sins , no doubt a● publickly as they could . we must give all men to see that we do not approve of sin , by our taking shame to our selves for what sin they have seen us overtaken with , and like the convicted leper crying out , vnclean , vnclean ! but in all cases , our sins must be confessed unto god ; who knows them all ; and whom they have all affronted and ●●used , it is said in 1 john 1. 9. if we confess our sins , he is faithful and iust to forgive us our sins . we are to confess our sins before the god of heaven , both very particularly , and very sincerely . we may do well to take a catalogue of duties required , and sins forbidden , in all the commandments of god ; and examining by that glass , what spots we have had in our hearts and lives , we should bewayl them all before god. and bewayl them , without any excuses or defences to extenuate them , in our lamentations . an vpright man , lies in the dust ; let us lay our selves there , and so enlarge upon our own vileness , as becomes , a spirit without guile . such a confession as this , must be made if we would have any marks of a pardoned soul upon us . 2. forsake all your sins , if you would make genuine your confession of them . when you have once vomited up your sins by confessing of them , o do not return to them , as , a dog to his vomit . come to say , as in job 34. 31. i will not offend any more ; and study to do what you say . as , the burnt child will dread the fire , so let us dread all the sins which our souls have been scorched with ; and let us not espouse any way of wickedness . if any of us will go on still in our sins , let us not forget what will come of it ; no less truly than that in psal. 68 21. god shall wound the head of such an one , as goeth on still in his trespasses . but o what horrible wounds are those which the omnipotent hand of the great god shall be the inflicter of ! do not venture to go on in any course of sin ; but be able to say , i hate every false way ; and especially , be able to say , i kept my self from mine iniquitie . albeit any sin may have been as dear as a right-eye , or a right-hand unto you , nevertheless , away with it ! whatever bad course you have heretofore been us'd unto , abhor it now , with a very hearty and zealous detestation ; and say , what have i any more to do with idols ? 't is a new life that we are now to be studious of ; and we may not promise a pardon to our selves , while we continue in sin. tho' god at first iustify the vngodly , yet he will not let a iustified man remain ungodly any more ; no he teaches him to deny all ungodliness , and live godlily , soberly , and righteously in this present evil world. ii. but there is a very particular use of these things , to be regarded by one among us , who is never to see the light of another sabbath more . t is hugh stone , that i am now more immediately concerned with ; and therefore let him , as a man just come unto the very side of the black river of death , give earnest heed , unto what shall now be said before we part . unhappy man ; you must now dy before your time , for your being wicked ●vermuch , and because you have been a man of blood , you must not live out all your dayes . i am a little to invert the words of my text , in my speech ●nto you , and say , why don't you seek 〈◊〉 have your transgression pardoned , and your iniquity taken away ? for you shall sleep in the dust , before this week be out , and if we seek you next friday morning , you shall not be among us . t is a great favour of god unto you ▪ that you have liberty to hear a sermon or two ; before the execution which you are sentenced unto ; your monstrous hands hurried your poor wife out of the world with a greater and more cruel expedition . you may lament it with an inexpressible bitterness , that you have no better improved those hundreds of sermons which you have enjoyed heretofore . but i now beseech you , let not one more be lost . you are hearing for your last ; o let it be as for your life : look out for a pardon before it be too late , and let not the divels cheat you of a never-dying soul. every drop of that innocent blood in which you have imbrued your merciless hands has a tongue in it ; and it makes a fearful hideous clamour in the ears of the great god , saying , vengeance , o lord , vengeance on the cruel murderer ! methinks , you should be concerned for a saving interest in that blood , that speaks better things nothing but the blood of the lord jesus , will drown the voice of that horrible cry. this blood speaks for , a pardon , to them , whom it belongs unto 〈◊〉 o do you now speak for a title to that blood ; i say again , before it be too late ! what shall i say , that may stimulate the christward motions of you● fettered soul ! i am to tell you , first , that your slit is very great . the sin , for which you now stand condemned , is , a sin of a deep & bloody dye ▪ murder is the most barbarous and divelish , among all the crimes that are iniquities to be punished by the iudge . will a wolf kill a wolf ? no , and the very bears agree among themselves . but shall a man than be worse than a wolf unto a man ? if , he that loves another fulfils the law , 't is easy to tell what he does , that murders another . the most wretched pagans have observed of the murderer , that vengeance will not suffer him to live. but your murder is one hardly to be parallel'd in an age ! 't is said , no man ( if he have but the heart of a man in him ) ever hated his own flesh. what then are you , that have murdered yours ? find a name for yourself , if you think it possible ! you have murdered her whom you should have loved above all the world ; her whom you should have cherished with all the kindness and goodness of an holy conversation ; her whom you should have been willing even your self to have dy'd for the preservation of . and with her 't is said , you have murdered an infant , which never saw the light. this is your sin. and doubtless , they were not few or small sins , for which god left you unto this. you had long before , been guilty of those impious both omissions and commissions , which gave the divel at last a very entire possession of you . o consider of them all ; a●d especially trouble your own soul , for your unbelief in rejecting the saviour of it . you have sat long under the gospel ; but you have refused , yea you have crucify'd the blessed redeemer , who therein besought you to be reconciled unto god. how should the remembrance of this be to you , as the wormwood and the gall , and cause your soul to be humbled in you . i am to tell you , next , that your case is very sad . look round about , and say , is there any sorrow like your sorrow ? your house ; you have troubled it , and it is turned upside down by what you have done ; and , what anguish , what horrour , have you fill'd the hearts of your scattered children with ? your name ; you have blemish'd it , it must rot , without a grave-stone among civil people , & you must hereafter be known by this description , the man that murdered his wife . your body ; it has undergone the pains of chains and gaols , & there is a little more pain reserved for it , before it feed the worms . but above all , your soul , your soul , is brought into dangers too affrighting to be patiently thought upon . what is it that the word of god , pronounces upon the murderer ? no murderer has eternal life . it says , the murderer shall not inherit the kingdom of god. it says , the murderer shall have his portion in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone . surely , thy very heart must be moved out of its place , to hear of such an end as this , which indeed will never have an end what think you of changing your fetters , for the chains of darkness , in the dismal vault below ? what think you of changing your prison , your dungeon , for the outer darkness , in which there is gnashing of teeth for eevermore ! truly , it becomes you to lay your self in the dust , and cry out , wo is unto me , that i have sinned ! i may tell you thirdly , that your time is very short . you may not entertain the least thought of having your life now prolonged in the world ; the very world , will be defiled if you continue in it . were there a city of refuge among us , which you were fled into , yet we ought to fetch you thence , and see you made a sacrifice . the great god has required this co●cerning you ; let him hasten to the pit , let no man stay him ; and you must before this day s●'nnight be gone , thither , whence you cannot return . as it was said unto a better man than you , set thy house in order , for thou shalt dy and not live. thus , i would say to you , that cannot possibly set your desolate house in order any more , set thy soul in order , for thou shalt dy before this week expire , undone man , where shalt thou be within a few hours ? tho' this day se'nnight , you should roar , lord , lord , one sabbath more ! or , lord , lord , one sermon more , and one season more ! it will be in vain for ever and ever . and yet let me tell you , lastly , that there is a may be of mercy for you . tho' with cain , you have been a murderer ; yet let not the out-cry of cain be with you , my sin is greater than can be forgiven . you may be made a manasseh , for blessedness , as you have been such an one for wickedness . a pardon is to be had , if you slight it not ; and how should that mel● your very heart within you ? in an english plantation , that is not far from new-england , a while ago , there were two or three men● condemned to d● , as i have heard , for piracy . after their condemnation they broke prison , and fled into the woods ; from whence , after some weeks , they returned of their own accord , and surrendred themselves unto the authority , saying , we got away only that we might have time to make our peace with god , and get the pardon of our sins assur'd unto us , which thro' grace , we have done , and now we tender our lives , to satisfie the justice of the law. the iudges were so pleased with this ingenuity , that first they bestow'd a reprieve on them , and then procur'd a pardon for them ▪ for your part , you are utterly & for ever uncapable of a pardon , from the hands of men ; but were you in earnest about it , you might yet get a pardon from the hands of god without flying any whither , but unto the horns of the altar , the lord jesus for it . one which died of bleeding had that expression about the blood of the lord jesus , one blood kills me and another saves me . truly , as the blood of the person whom you have murdered calls for your death , so the blood of our dearest jesus will bespeak no less than eternal blessedness for you , if by impenitence you put it not away . our lord said once to one that was hanging on a tree , thou shalt be with me in paradise . you may go from the gallows to a kingdom , if after your abominable doings , you yet will but consent unto the terms of the new covenant . but i must acq●aint you , that the only remedy for you , is to carry a distressed soul unto the lord redeemer , who is exalted to be a prince & saviour ; o look unto him , whose call unto us is , look unto me ! look unto him , and sigh , and say , lord , grant unto me , both repentance and remission of sins . and while you are thus looking to him , study to do some remarkable thing for the honour and glory of god , and for the warning of such as are walking in those wayes , which have brought you to this , that men clap their hands at you , and hiss 〈…〉 of your place . this is the least you 〈◊〉 do by way of gratitude unto him 〈◊〉 has made you so capable of a pardon 〈◊〉 you are . i have done . but o that you ma● not be hard-hearted any more ! 〈◊〉 have the name of stone ; god forbid , that you should have the qualilities and properties of a stone , in your obduration . may these words 〈…〉 as deep into your●heart as your 〈◊〉 did into the throat of your 〈◊〉 wife ! may the god of 〈◊〉 therefore take away from you the 〈◊〉 of stone , and at the same time give you the white stone of absolution from 〈◊〉 many thousands of sins , with which you stand charged in the books of hi● remembrance . and may the good god sanctifie the condition of this man unto us all ; that all of us may learn to abhor and avoid sin , and be thankful for the grace without which , lord , what should th● very best of us all degenerate unto ! finis . the character and carriage and execution of hugh stone . the foregoing sermon having been preached unto the guilty murderer , i thought it my duty to observe what operation the truth and word of god might have upon him ; and to answer his own desires , that i would assist him in the last minutes of his life ; nor was i altogether ignorant that the labours that the famous perkins used with prisoners , were so successful , as to encourage those that should make an example of them . i have hardly met with so unintelligible a man , as this hugh stone . he could and would frequently speak very well , but with many very reasonabl● things which he uttered , he mingle as great impertinencies . i know no whether the use of his reaso● were not sometimes disturbe● by , the horrour of his mind ; fo● he thought himself sometimes haunte● with the ghost of his murdered wife . but his conversation in the prison before his condemnation , was in diverse things very scandalous ; and i could wish there had been more exactness in his repentance afterwards . his passions upon any provocation were so inordinate , as that we did not wonder to see what he was come unto . and as on the one side , i never saw a man express less fear of dying , so on the other , i never heard a man express more care about every trifle , which he counted himself concerned in . there was a minister that walk'd with him to his execution ; and i shall insert the principal passages of the discourse between them ; in which the reader may find or make something useful to himself , what ever it were to the poor man who was more immediately concerned in it . minister . i am come to give you what assistance i can , in your taking of the steps , which your eternal wea● or wo , now depends upon the well or ill taking of . hugh stone , sir , i thank you , and i beg you to do what you can for me . min. within a very few minutes your immortal soul must appear before god the iudge of all . i am heartily sorry ▪ you have lost so much time since your first imprisonment : you 〈◊〉 need use a wonderful husbandry of the little piece of an inch 〈…〉 remains . are you now prepared to stand before the tribunal of 〈◊〉 h. s. i hope i am . min. and what reaso●● 〈◊〉 that hope ? h. s. i find all my sins made so ●i●ter to me , that if i were to have 〈◊〉 given me this afternoon , to live such a life , as i have lived heretofore , i would not accept of it ; i had rather dy. min. that is well , if it be true. but suffer me a little to search into the condition of your soul. are you sensible , that you were born a sinner ? that the guilt of the first sin committed by adam , is justly charged upon you ? and that you have hereupon a wicked nature in you , full of enmity against all that is holy , and iust , and good ? for which you deserved to be destroyed , as soon as you first came into this world. h. s. i am sensible of this . min. are you further sensible , 〈◊〉 you have lived , a very ungodly life ? that you are guilty of thousands of actual sins , every one of which deserves the wrath and curse of god , both in this life , and that which is to come ? h. s. i am sensible of this also min. but are you sensible , that ●ou have broken all the laws of god ? you know the commandments . are you sensible , that you have broken every one of them. h. s. i cannot well answer to that . my answer may be liable to some ex●eptions . — this i own , i have broken every commandment on the account mentioned by the apostle james ; that he who breaks one is guilty of all , but not otherwise . min. alas , that you know your self no better than so ! i do affirm to you , that you have particularly broken every one of the commandments ▪ and you must be sensible of it . h. s. i cann't see it . min. but you must remember , that the commandment is exceeding broad ; it reaches to the heart as well as the life : it includes omissions as well as commissions , and it at once both requires and forbids . but i pray , make an experiment upon any one commandment , in which you count your self most innocent : and 〈◊〉 whether you do not presently conf●s your self guilty thereabout . i may not leave this point slightly passed ever with you . h. s. that commandment , thou shalt not make to thy self any graven image ; how have i broken it ? min. thus : you have had undue i●ages of god in your mind a thousand times . but more than so ; that commandment not only forbids our using the inventions of men in the worship of god , but it also requires our ●sing all the institutions of god. now have not you many and many a time turned your back upon some of those glorious institutions ? h. s. indeed , sir , i confess it ? i see my sinfulness greater than i thought it was . min. you ought to see it . god help you to see it ! there is a boundless ocean of it . and then for that sin , which has now brought a shameful death upon you , 't is impossible to declare the aggravations of it ; hardly an age will show the like . you have professed your sel● sorry for it ! h. s. i am heartily so . min. but your sorrows must be after a godly sort. not meerly because of the miseries which it has brought on your outward man , but chiefly for the wrongs and wounds therein given to your own soul ; and not only for the miseries you have brought on your self , but chiefly for the injuries which you have done to the blessed god. h. s. i hope my sorrow lies there . min. but do you mourn without hope ▪ h. s. i thank god , i do not . min. where do you see a door of hope ? h. s. in the lord iesus christ , who has died to save sinners . min. truly , there is no other name by which we may be saved ? the righteousness of the lord jesus christ , is that alone , in which you may safely anon appear before the judgment seat of god. and that righteousness is by the marvellous and infinite grace of god , offered unto you . but do you find , that as you have no rightetousness , so you have no strength ? that you cannot of your self move or stir , towards the lord jesus christ , though you justly perish if you do not run unto him ? that it is the grace of god alone which must enable you to accept of salvation from the great saviour ? h. s. sir , my case in short is this , i have laid my self at the feet of the lord iesus christ for my salvation ; and had it not been for his meer grace and help , i had never been able to do that . but there i have laid and left my self ; i have nothing to plead , why he should accept of me . if he will do it i am happy , but if he will not , i am undone for ever ; it had been good for me that i never had been born. min. and you must justifie him if he should reject you . you surprize me , with at once giving me so much of the discourse , which all this while i have been labouring for ▪ i can add but this ! the good lord make you sincere in what you say ! — your crime lay in blood ; & your help also , that lies in blood. i am to offer you the blood of the lord jesus christ , as that in which you may now have the pardon of all your sins . now you may try the sincerity of your faith in the blood of the lord jesus for a pardon , by this. have you an hope in that blood , for all the other saving effects of it ? shall i expl●in what i mean ? h. s. do sir. min. the blood of the lord jesu● , 〈◊〉 not only sin pardoning blood , but 〈◊〉 soul-purifying and heart-softening ●●ood . it embitters all sin unto the 〈◊〉 , that it is applied unto , and 〈◊〉 every lust in such a soul. are are you desirous of this ? h. s. with all my heart ? min. the lord make you so . the lord seal your pardon , in that blood , which is worth ten thousand worlds ! but what will you do for that god , who has given you these hopes of a pardon ? you must with a holy ingenuity now do something for the honour of that god , whom you have sinned so much against . h. s. what ' shall i do ? min. why , confess and bewail the sins that have undone you , and publickly advise , and exhort , and charge all that you can , to take heed of such evi● wages . h. s. i will endeavour to do it ●s god shall help me . min. i pray tell me plainly what special sin , do you think it was , t●a● laid the first foundation of your d●struction ? where did you begin to lea●● god ▪ and ruine your self ? h. s. it was contention in my f●mily . i had been used unto something of religion : and i was once careful about the worship of god , not only with my family , but in secret also . but upon contention between me and my wife , i left off the wayes of god , and you see what i am come to . min. i would pray you to vomit up all sin , with a very hearty detestation . you are going ( if i may so speak ) to disgorge your soul ; if you do not first cast up your sin , if your soul and your sin come away together you cannot but know something of the dismal condition which it must pass into . o what cause have you to fa●● out with sin forever ? it has been your only enemy . here is the only revenge which you may allow in your self . you must now bear any mu●●ce against any one man in the world , 〈◊〉 forgive even those that have done 〈◊〉 the greatest injuries . only upon 〈◊〉 , be as revengeful as you can : 〈◊〉 ●ould have you like samps●n so to 〈◊〉 taking of a just revenge , h s. i hope i shall . min. well , we are now but a very few paces from the place , where you must breath your last . you are just going to take a most awful step , which has this most remarkable in it , that it cannot be twice taken . if you go wrong now , it cannot be recalled throughout the dayes of a long eternity . i can but commit you into the arms of a merciful redeemer , that he may keep you from a miscarriage , which cannot be recal'd & redress'd throughout eternal ages . the lord show unto you the path of life ! attend unto these , as the last words that i may speak before the prayer , with which i am immediately to take a long farewel of you . you are now just going to be confirmed for ever . if the great god presently find you under the power of prejudice against any of his truths and wayes , or of enmity against what has his blessed name upon it , you shall be fixed , and settled , and confirmed in it , until the very heavens be no more . but they are very terrible plagues and pains , which you may be sure will accompany this everlasting disposition of your soul. on the other side , if god now find your soul , under the power of inclinations to love him , fear him , serve him ; and to esteem the lord jesus above a thousand worlds ; you shall then be confirmed in the perfection of such a temper , and of all the ioy , that must accompany it . which of these is the condition that i now leave you in . h. s. sir , i hope the latter of them . min. the good god make it so ; and grant that i may find you at the right hand of the lord jesus , in the day of his appearing . may this ladder prove as a iacobs ladder for you , and may you find the angels of the lord jesus ready here to convey your departing soul into the presence of the lord. after this discourse ; ascending the ladder , he made the following speech . the last speech of hugh stone . young men and maids ; observe the rule of obedience to your parents ; and servants to your masters , according to the will of god , & do the will of your masters : if you take up wicked ways , you set open a gate to your sins , to lead in bigger afterwards ; thou can'st not do any thing but god will see thee altho● thou thinkest thou shalt not be catched , thou thinkest to hide thy self in secret , when as god in heaven can see see th●e , though thou hast hid it from man. and when thou goest to thievery , thy wickedness is discovered , and thou ar● found guilty . o young woman that is married , and young man , look on 〈◊〉 here ; be sure in that solemn engagement , you are obliged one to another ; ma●●iage ●s an ordinance of god , have a care of ●reaking that bond of marriage-vnion ; if the husband provoke his wife , and cause a difference , he sins against god ; and so does she , in such carriage ; for sh● is bound to be an obedient wife . o you parents that give your children in marriage , remember what i have to say , you must take notice when you give them in marriage , you give them freely to the lord , and free them from that service & command you ought to have , yet you ought to have a tender regard to them . o thou that takest no care to lead thy life civilly and honestly , and then committest that abominable sin of murder , here is this murderer , look upon him ; and see how many are come with their eyes to behold this man , that abhors himself before god ; that is the sin that i abhor my self for , and defire you take example by me ; there are here a great many young people , and o lord , that they may be thy servants ! have a care , do not sin ; i will tell you , that i wish i never had had the opportunity to do such a murder ; if you say , when a person has provoked you , i will kill him : 't is a thous●nd to one , but the next time you will do it . now i commit my self into the hands of almighty god. his prayer . o lord our good god ; thou art a merciful god , and a gracious and loving father ; alas , that thou shouldest nourish up children that have 〈◊〉 against thee ! o lord , i must confess , thou gavest me opportunity to read thy written word ; thou art also my crea●or and preserver ; but , lord , i have not done according to the offers of thy grace ; thou hast not hid from me the opportunities of the good things and liberties of thy house and ordinances , but i have waxed wanton under the enjoyment of them . i have given thee just cause to provoke thee to anger , and thou hast left me to shame , not only on my self but on my relations . o lord god i do confess that i have sinned against thee , and done all these iniquities against thee , and before thine eyes . lord , i have sinned especially against thee ; pardon my sins of youth ; lord , pardon this bloody sin i stand here guilty of ▪ o lord , hide not thy face from me ; i humbly beg it of thee : for there is no man 〈◊〉 redeem his brothers soul , but only the blood of jesus christ must do it . let it be sufficient to satisfie for my poor soul. i h●●e not done any thing that thou shouldest be pleased to shew me thy love , or that i should have any thing from thee , but only everlasting misery . i am unworthy to come to thee ; yet lord , for thy mercies s●●e have pity on me . now i am coming 〈◊〉 iudgment , lord , let the arms of thy mercy receive my soul , and let my sin● be remitted ; good lord , let not my sin● which condemn me here in this world , rise up to condemn me in the world to come though they have condemned me in this world , shew mercy , lord , when i come be fore thy iudgment-seat . if my soul be not humbled , lord , humble it ; let my petition be acceptable in heaven thy holy mountain . i am unworthy to come into thy presence , yet o let me come into thy kingdom ; and deliver my soul from blood guil●iness , in the blood of jesus christ ▪ o let my wounded soul mourn for my sin that hath brought me here , sin brings ruine to the poor soul ; wo is unto me for mine iniquity . if i had gone to prayer in the morning when i committed this sin , lord god , thou wouldest have kept back my hands from shed●ing innocent blood : o gracious god , remember thou me in mercy ; let me be an object of thy pity and not of thy wrath ; the lord hear me and pardon my sins . take care of my poor children . i have scattered them like stragling sheep flying before the wolf ; pity the poor children that go like so many lambs that have l●st their keeter ; that they may not come to such a death as i do 〈◊〉 lord , for the sak● of jesus christ , and the righteousness o● thy son , accept my soul , and receive me into the arms of thy mercy ; that i may enjoy everlasting rest. pardon all my sins ; and let the prayers of all those that have put up their petitions for me , be accepted for the sake of jesus christ. now i am coming , now i am coming , thou mayst say , i called to thee , and thou wouldst not come ; i must say , my sin brought me here , o the world , and the corrupt nature of man , that has proved my ruine ! o lord , good lord , let me enjoy rest for my soul. the desire of my soul is to be with thee , in thy kingdom , let me have a share in that kingdom . now is the time , lord jesus ; the grave is opening its mouth ; i am now living , though dead in stn , let my prayers be heard in heaven thy holy place ; thy hands hath made me , & i know thou can'st save me ; hide not thy face from me ; and affect the hearts of thy people with this sad ob●●ct , that they may labour to serve thee betimes , and may not give themselves up to profaneness and wickedness , especially that sin of drunkenness , which is an in let of all ab●minations . [ when thou hast thy head full of drink , the remembrance of god is out of thy heart and thou art unprepared to commit thy self and family unto god ; thou art unfit to come into gods presence . i have cause to 〈◊〉 out an● be ashamed of it , that i am guilty of it , because . i gave may to that sin m●re than any other , and then god did leave me to practise wickedness , and to murder that dear woman , whom i should have taken a great deal of contentment in , which if i had done , i had not been here to suffer this death . ] thou art holy , just , and good , and therefore o lord have mercy on me , for the sake of thy son pity me , now lord , i am coming . o that i could do thee better service . [ many of you that behold me , i know , wish you never had seen me here . ] lord , receive my soul into a better place , if it be thy blessed will , 't is a day of great trouble with me ; my soul is greatly troubled ; give me one glimpse of com●ort in thy kingdom ; by & by let me have one dram of thy grace . accept of me now at this time , 't is the last time ; good ▪ lord , d●ny me not , give me , as the w●man , of sam●ri● , a taste of that living wa●er that my soul may thirst no more . i beg it for the sake of jesus christ. amen . after this , he was by the prayers of a minister then present , recommended unto the divine mercy . which being done ●he poor man poured out a few broken ejaculations , in the midst of which he was turned over , into that eternity which we must leave him in . the speech of hugh stone , in the prison , the morning before his execution . when young people are married they make use of prayer in their families , and when they pray , they do believe there is sincerity and affection in their prayer ; but when differance between a man and his wise doth arise , then that doth occasion hindrance of prayer in their family ; and when prayer is wholly omitted , it lets in all confusion ; and every evil work : he said . that he used to pray in his family , but when he did pray , it was in a formal manner , but now from the consideration of eternity that he was going into , he was made the more con●iderate in his prayers that he made , and did hope that now he had the spirit of prayer in his praying . finis . to contribute a little further unto the design of this book , i shall here annex two articles of observations , extracted from an hitherto-reserved collection of memorable providences . i have recorded them in such words ( and the rest in such wayes ) as these . article . i. act. xxviii . 4. a murtherer — vengeance suffereth not to live . among all the perpetrators of the more hideous and enormous impieties in the world , there is no person mor● abhorred by the lord , than the murtherer 〈◊〉 and there is none so much pursued by the lord as that bloody monster is . those children of cain , that rob their innocent neighbours of their lives , usually ●●dure first an hell in their own co●●●●nces , by which mark upon them , they are made more incapable of avoiding the halter which they are worthy of , and that halter is but a sling out of which their guilty souls are hurled into a further , a lasting , an endless hell. very trivial are the occasions and pretences for which often this peice of devilism is committed . no greater provocations truly , than what the two brothers at pad●a had , between whom there issued first quarrel and then a murder , only from this original , that on a certain evening together , one was wishing for oxen as many as the stars , the other was wishing for a pasture as large as the firmament . but the expectations of its concealment scarce ever escape a lamentable dissappointment in them who are so vain as to promise unto themselves a secrecy and impunity in this villanny ; for a ●●essus will find the very swallowes to chirr●p out his murder of his father . nor can a temporal recompence for this atrocious i●iquity ordinarily be avoided by the 〈◊〉 repentance it self ; besides the v●ngeance of eternal fire , which without 〈◊〉 ●nevitably followes thereupon . 〈…〉 his soul sw●● away to eternity in his blo●● to the innumerable exemples of these things , which all ages do admire , let these be added . exemple . i. the first murtherer of his neighbour in new-england ( as i take it ) was one billington at plimouth in the year 1630. he shott a poor man that he was a mortal enemy unto , & expected that for want of power or of people in that infant plantation he should have evaded the execution due to him for his capital offence ▪ but justice inflicted has deserved death upon him . exemple , ii. one mary martin , her father going away from hence to england , had left her in the house of one mr. mitten , a married man , who became so enamoured of her as that he attempted her chastity ▪ such was her weakness and folly , that she● yeilded unto the vile temptations ; tho' with such reluctancies , that begging of god for deliverance from the wicked ●ollic●atio●● , she pleaded , if ever she were over●●●en again , she would leave her selfe unto his 〈◊〉 , to be made a publick exemple , howev●● 〈◊〉 governing her self , nor remem●●●ng her promise , with the ●●me sin a third time was she overtaken . afterwards going to service in boston , she found her self to have conceived ; but living with a favourable mistriss , who would not allow any suspicion or suggestion of her dishonesty , and thinking her self unable to bear the shame or grief of the discovery , she wholly concealed it until the time of her delivery . being then alone by her self in a dark room she used violence to destroy the child , once and again , before she effected the unnatural ba●barity . hereupon she wrapt up the infant in her chest for fifteen days until her master & mistress went aboard the ship which they were transporting themselves to england . on this occasion she was put to remove unto another house where some that before had apprehended , now perceived that shee had lately been delivered of a c●●ld . they charging it upon her , she at first denied the murther , & said , it was still-born , but upon search it was found in her chest , and she being made to touch the face of it , before the jury , the blood came fresh thereinto ; whereupon she confessed the whole tru●● 〈◊〉 her imprisonment and at her 〈◊〉 the carried her self so exceeding ●●●●●●penitently , that the observers had great hopes of her true repentance . but this was particularly remarkable , that as she acknowledged her twice essaying to kill her insant before she could make an end of it ; so , through the unskilfulness of the hang-man , they were ●ain to turn her off the ladder twice before she co●id expire . exemple . iii. an english ship sailing from some-where about the mouth of the streig●ts , was manned with some cruel miscreants , who quarrelling with the m●●ter & some of the officers , turn'd them all into the long-boat , with a small quantity of provisions , about an hundred leagues to the westward of the spanish coast. these fellowes in the mean while saile for new-england , where as providence would have it , the master and his afflicted company in the long-boat arrived too ; all except one who died of their barbarous usage . his countenance was now become terrible unto them , who though they had es●aped the sea , yet vengeance would not suffer them to live ashoar , 〈◊〉 his instance , and complaint they were ●pprehended , and the ring-leaders of this ●●●derous piracy had a sentence of death 〈◊〉 on them . the horrours which attended the cheef of these m●●●●actors in his d●ing hours were such as exceedingly astonisht the beholders . though he was a very stout man , yet now his tremblings and agonies were inexpressible . one speech let fall by him was , i have been amongst drawn sword , flying bullets , roaring canons , amidst all which i never knew what fear meant ; but now i have apprehensions of the dreadful wrath of god in the other world , which i am going into , my soul within me is amazed at it . loud cries the spilt blood of a brother ; he kills himself that slayes another . clamitat ad caelum vox sanguinis . article . ii. isa. lv. 7. let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts , and let him return unto the l●rd and he will have mercy , and to our god , for he will abundantly pardon . it was once the affectionate out-cry of a c●ndemned but a converted and a comforted malefactor , god is a great forgiver , god is a great forgiver ! it is indeed rarely seen that bad livers to , ever become sincere paenitents in old age. when the devils have had a possession of many years , they plead a sort of praescription against the holy spirit of god , and make their interest so strong , that very extraordinary must be the influences of the grace that shall destroy it . scripture seems to pronounce a sinner of an hundred years old to be cursed , and experience commonly discovers a sinner of fifty years old to be hardened beyond all recovery . the generality of them that are brought home to god under the constant dispensations of the gospel , will find that between fifteen and thirty is the age in which most of the elect become called ones . but as nothing is more soveraign than the free-grace of god , he calls both whom and when he will ; and he leaves many civil and moral people in their , vnbelief , when he renewes the worst of men , and those that not only have done evil an hundred times , but likewise an hundred years been in the rebellious tents of the ungodly ; so nothing is more glorious than that free-grace which pardons without bounds , and forgives the sins which no conscience has vigour enough to describe all the aggravations of . let no man that begins to have sad thoughts about the state of his own soul , ●espair of mercy from god in christ ; it reaches even to , she chief of sinners . it is for a cain to roar , my sin is greater than can be forgiven ! but perphaps his despair was not inferiour to his murder , and , austin well replied upon him , mentiris , cain , cain , thou liest . the temp●er that once told thee ; t is too soon , may now tell thee , t is too la●e to repent ; and thou mayest have in thy thoughts the voice which once a flagitious man had in his ears , a little before he dyed , no mercy , no mercy ▪ but when he speaketh hard unto thee , beleeve him not . come , and confess and forsake all thy sins , and thou shalt have mercy . come , and cast the burdens of a guilty and wretched soul upon the lord jesus , and thou shalt have rest. unto the greatest and the oldest sinners , yet , return unto me , saith the lord. exemple , i. a while since , there dyed at lancaster , a man whose name was richard lenten , arrived in age to so many years above an hundred , that he had lived in wedlock with his wife for sixty three years , and yet she was thirty five years younger than himself ; and he was able to follow his toils at husbandry , very livelily but about a month before his end. this man had been all his dayes a poor ignorant carnal and sottish man , and unacquainted with the very principles of his ca●echism , after he had satt under so many hundreds of sermons as he had : nevertheless , when he was about an hundred years old , god blessed the ministry of his word unto this mans awakening ; and he became a diligent enquirer after the things of the life to come , and a constant serious attender on all that was religious . he arrived unto such measures of a well-informed devotion , that the church which was very strict in the terms of their communion , yet received him into their fellowship about two years before he dy'd ▪ wherein he continued under a good character , so long as he continued in the world. exemple . ii. there dwelt at a village in this countrey , one who dyed in december 1688. this man had been remarkable for his bad life , till he had spent fifty years in the lewd and rude courses if notorious ungodliness . though he had the benefit of a christian and pious education , yet he had shaken off all the yokes which that had laid upon him . hee became a foul-mouth'd scoffer at all good men and good things ; and a great mocker of church-members in particular . the vices of drunkenness and swearing and lying made the characters of his conversation . sabbath-breaking and promise-breaking , made him infamous among honest people , and his disobedience to his parents was not unequal to the rest of his miscarriages . original sin , in the furthest efforts of it , fill'd his whole man , and his whole way , for half an hundred years ; at which age he left the world ; and he had sat under & sinn'd against the meanes of grace all this while . but yet , which you will admire to hear ! yet this enormous liver was iudg'd to be converted unto god some few weeks before he died , the great god so blessed & owned the ministry which he enjoyed , that the efficacy of it on him , became conspicuous to astonishment . he became a serious paenitent , and so devout , so pensive , that every one saw a new-creature in him . he mourned for all his former faults , and caused his complaints to reach unto the plague of his heart as the root of all . he reformed what was amiss in him , and applyed himself with an exceeding vigour to the saviour , for the salvation of his soul. while the grace of god was thus beginning its impressions on him , he fell mortally sick , and it was not long before he passed out of this world with a marvellous assurance of his interest in a better . it were endless to reckon up the extraordinary expressions that fell from him , & behaviours that he had in the sick and last dayes of his life ; but some of them were such as these . — o ( said he ) what a wonder of mercy is it to my soul , that god halh not cast me immediately into hell , and given me no time to repent , or to beg for an heart to repent ! but 〈◊〉 mercy hath spared a great sinner . — the stoutest man ( said he ) that ever lived , should he but seriously think on eternity , and have no christ to fly unto , it will so sink the the heart of him , that he could never bear it ; but the lord will show mercy to my distressed soul. he gave himself wholly to prayer , and would excuse watchers from sitting with him , that he might be at leisure for communion with god alone . sometimes he would give a start as he lay , and being asked the reason of it , he said , o i have a great work to do ! and but a little time to do it ! the conflicts which he endured in his spirit were unutterable , under which , he● day & night kept wrestling with god for his mercy . one morning his brother enquiring of him how he did , he replied , o i have had as doleful a night as ever man had , i have had three great enemies this night encountering with me ; the world , the flesh , & the devil . i have been this night , both in hell & in heaven ; and i can truly say with david , all this night long i have watered my couch with my ●●ars , but as the day broke , my saviour came & vanquished the devil , & told him that he had no right in me , for he had redeemed with his own blood. to his father once he said , i have felt a great work on my distressed soul ; this your son was lost and is found , was dead and is alive . doleful nights have i seen ; the thoughts of my sins did sorely oppress me , when i would be crying to my dear saviour for his mercy , he would seem not to pitty me , but to say , thou hast been a servant of the devil and of thy lust , and dost thou now come to me ? i have been calling to thee , and thou hast been hardening thy heart at my calls , and dost thou expect mercy after all ? and then the devil would put in , saying , thou hast been my vassal so long , thy cries for mercy are now all too late . i have also seen the face of an angry god , and that is the most terrible thing that was ever seen . i then found no s●ay for my distressed soul , but free-mercy ! free-mercy ! the lord now put under me his everlasting arms , and gave me an heart still to pray & say , lord iesus , mercy for thy own sake , mercy for thy name 's sake ! my redeemer would say , thou art a great sinner and an old sinner ! the answer of my soul was , truth , lord , but even such sinners have already found mercy at thy hands , i come to thee , for with thee the fatherless find mercy . — he would break forth into very high expressions ; his great comfort was fetch'd from that promise in ma● . 11. 28. come to me — and i will give you rest . he would now cry out , o the riches of free-grace ! there are thousands of thousands , & ten thousand times ten thousand , in the third heaven , rejoicing over a great and an 〈◊〉 sinner coming to glory ! o glorify free-grace for ever . — he would say , o blessed sickness , blessed sickness ! what a friend hast thou been to me ! and now welcome death ! or wecome life , what my dearest redeemer please . o that i could declare to my relations and my neighbours ! yea that i could declare to kings and worlds what the lord has done for my soul ! — he would reflect on the humiliation of the lord jesus christ , with an amazed & a transported soul ; he would break forth into a great adoration of it , and say , o this wonderful mercy to undone sinners ! he would also make that one of his admirations , o the glorious work of faith , which doth role it self on christ alone ! [ he bewailed it with a peculiar bitterness , that he had been for the change of government . but 〈◊〉 said , he believed that god would restore 〈◊〉 us , the judges as at the first , & the counsellours as at the beginning , & pastors according to his own heart . he was likewise much concerned about the interest of christ in the world ; & about the success of the prince of orange , whose glorious expedition we had then by the edges , a small notice of , he talk'd in strains that seem'd surprisingly prophetical . ] his counsil to every one was , to make their calling & election sure . and he would often say , o i am an old sinner ▪ & & but a young convert ! i am fifty yeers old , and have lived but seven weeks all this whi●● . to his brethren he said , you are care full about a garment for me under my weakness this winter , but brothers , i have a better garment than you can provide for me ; the long white robe of the● righteousness of jesus christ , will cover me all over . he kept praying & praising , & singing psalms till his end came ; and then being taken speechless & senseless , his friends apprehended they should hear him speak no more . thus he lay for divers hours drawing on ; but at length he just came to himself again , and sprang up in his bed , spreading his arms abroad , as tho' going to leap into the arms of a redeemer , and shouting , o my friends , heaven rings all over at this ! they wonder at this , a great and an old sinner coming to heaven ! behold , in my father's house are many mansions ; if it had not been so , my saviour would not have said it , but he is gone to prepare a place for one , o the riches of grace ! o glorifie free-grace for ever more ! and so he went away to the rest of god. despair not . that alone will mercy bar to faults that like the sands & mountains are . finis . erratum . page , 46. line , 14. r. day of grace the cry and reuenge of blood expressing the nature and haynousnesse of wilfull murther. exemplified in a most lamentable history thereof, committed at halsworth in high suffolk, and lately conuicted at bury assize, 1620. cooper, thomas, fl. 1626. 1620 approx. 145 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 36 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-11 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a19288 stc 5698 estc s108664 99844321 99844321 9122 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a19288) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 9122) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1133:03) the cry and reuenge of blood expressing the nature and haynousnesse of wilfull murther. exemplified in a most lamentable history thereof, committed at halsworth in high suffolk, and lately conuicted at bury assize, 1620. cooper, thomas, fl. 1626. [8], 63, [1] p. : ill. printed by nicholas okes, for iohn wright, dwelling in pie-corner, london : 1620. dedications signed: tho. cooper. concerning the murder by one norton of three members of the leeson family. some running titles read: the cry and reuenge of bloud. reproduction of the original in the henry e. huntington library and art gallery. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is 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keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-09 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2004-09 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the cry and reuenge of blood. expressing the nature and haynousnesse of wilfull murther . exemplified in a most lamentable history thereof , committed at halsworth in high suffolk , and lately conuicted at bury assize , 1620. london , printed by nicholas okes , for iohn wright , dwelling in pie-corner 1620. ●o the right honorable , sir henry mountague , lord chiefe iustice of england , and his thrice honoured lady , all encrease of honour and true happinesse . seeing it hath pleased your good honour to giue life to this poore infant , by that gratious breath of yours , whereby you prepared the guitlie deseruedly to their death : pardon ( i beseech you ) my boldnes in committing it to bee fostered vnder your honorable patronage , who already haue a vowed the better part thereof . long haue i bene desirous to approue my selfe vnto your honour , in what poore measure i haue bene able : not only in respect of many fauors vndeseruedly receiued from your honorable lady in my former afflictions : but especially in regard of your lordships gratious clemencie , in releasing a poore distressed neighbour , at my request : whose follie by how much the more it prouoked your honours iust displeasure , by so much the greater was your benignitie in remitting his offence . and therefore , obseruing your meekenes extended to so vndeseruing , i haue bene the rather emboldned to put my selfe , and these poore labours vnder the couert thereof , that so the church of god may more warrantablie entertaine , and make better vse of this discouerie , being commended vnto them vnder such iustifiable protection : and the countrie may more earnestlie pray for yours honours happie returne amongst them , for the full discouery and censure of what yet lies hidden , concerning this most hellish and execrable murther . among whom my selfe also vnfaynedly wait gods holy prouidence herein : and shal not cease to cōmend your honour in my best deuotions vnto the god of iustice , to continue your lordship in all health and happines , not only to the finishing of this worke , so worthily proceeded in hitherto , but also to the perfiting of your saluation , in his feare , in a full discharge of this great and honorable calling hee hath placed you in . and so i commend your honour with your gratious ladie to the grace of god. from my house in white-crosse streete this 24. of august . 1620. resting in the lord at your honours , and the churches seruice . tho. cooper . to the right vvorshipfvll , sir henry north , high sheriffe of the county of suffolk , together withthe rest of his maiesties iustice of peace in that county . right worshipfull : it fell out by gods good prouidence , that at the last assize at berrie , i was an eare-witnesse of the discouery of the most strange and cruell murther that euer i read of : the detection whereof , together with the most fayre and honourable carriage of the businesse , did so affect me : that i could not think my time better spent , then in taking notes of such speciall passages as fell out therein . which howsoeuer i then onely entended for my priuate vse , yet considering , that such wonderful works of god , are to be declared to posterity : and being solicited by some worthies of the shire to that end : i thought it good to condiscend to their requests with the soonest , the rather to preuent such flying and suspitious pamphlets , wherewith the world in such cases , is too much abused : and so informe the world in the right vse of such strange occurrents . wherein if your worships shall find ought that may reuiue in your memory , ●o wonderfull a discouery , and shall stirre vp your affections to magnifie the prouidence of god herein : as i shall haue herein what i principally desire , so shall i not faile to take any other good occasion , to testifie my thankefulnesse vnto your worships , as god shall offer the same : to whose gracious protection i doe most hartily commend you all , resting in him , your worships poore remembrancer at the throne of grace . tho. cooper . the contents . chapter 1. the introduction to the history : where of the prouidence of god in permitting and ordering such horrible wickednesse . 1. for the confusion of the atheist : and secondly , awaking of the secure and prophane christians . chap. 2. wherein first an entrance is made by way of application vnto the particular sinne of murther , being the proper subiect of this treatise : where 2. the progeny and heynousnesse of this sinne is discouered and enlarged . 3. the causes and occasions thereof in generall are explained . 4. the dangerous effects , and consequences thereof are detected . and so 5. such seuerall vses are propounded as both tend to the preuenting of this sinne , as also for the wise suppressing and weeding out thereof . chapter . 3. of the particular murther at halsworth . and first of the occasions and causes thereof . 2 of the actors and accessaries therein . 3 of the parties that were murthered . 4 of the manner and circumstances how they were made away . 5 of the meanes to conceale the murther beeing committed . 6 and diuerse obseruations considerable on either side . chap. 4. where first of the reason why , howsoeuer other sinnes come after iudgement , yet this sinne of murther is seldome left vndiscouered . 2. of the many wayes whereby the lord hath discouered murther from time to time , with diuers instances thereof . 3. that it was the finger of god , that detected this blood . 4. of the manner and instruments imployed herein . 5. and the seuerall vses to bee made thereof . chap. 5. declareth the conuiction of the murtherers : 1. where the euidences against them are published and opened by the iudge . 2 their inditements found hereupon by the iury . 3 their obstinacy vpon their finding declared and discussed , with the vse of all . chap. 6. of the condemnation and iudgement giuen vpon the malefactors , where after entrance made hereto : 1 the religious and learned speech of the thrice reuerend iudge , is published , tending to iustifie the righteous hand of god herein , as also to prepare the delinquents to an holy vse thereof . 2 the sentence it selfe followeth , with the great clemency and moderation thereof . 3 with diuers passages and profitable vses of the same . chap. 7. 1 containing the execution of the murtherers . 2 and such accidents as fell out therein . 3 together with such vses as may be made thereof . chap. 8. containing the conclusion of the whole . with promise of further light . the cry and reuenge of bloud . chapter . 1. the introduction to the history : whereof the prouidence of god in permitting and ordering such horrible wickednesse . 1. for the confusion of the atheist : and secondly , awakening of the secure and prophane christians . it may seeme very strange , and almost incredible to carnall apprehension , that such glorious light of the gospell , especially so long continued among vs , and that not without some gracious effect , should yet notwithstanding , abound with so many strange and monstrous sinnes , as doe dayly breake out and are strengthned with so high an hand of obstinacy and deeperate impenitency . for whereas the powerfull preaching of the word hath this gracious promise annexed with it , that ( as at the comming of the sauiour of the world , all the heathen oracles and diuellish delusions ceased and vanished ) so all vncleane spirits should bee banished , and satan fall downe like lightning , by the power thereof , and his works be dissolued , and thorowly abolished : may not the ouer-flowing of high handed sins , so raigning in these euill dayes , either seeme so challenge the truth of the gospell , as if it yet appeared not in it liuely beauty , or else at least , question the efficacy thereof , as not preuayling to the subduing of iniquitie : surely if we consider on the one side , what hath opened the mouth of papists to challenge the truth of our religion , and still doat vpon their owne dreames ? is it any other then what hath beene occasioned from such desperate sinnes as haue broken out , and continued there with ? do they not hereby impeach the truth and power thereof , because iniquity notwithstanding aboundeth in the midst of so glorious light ? doth not this harden their hearts in their grosse and palpable darkenesse , euen that , i say , which hardned the iewes in their idolatry and obstinacy against the truth ; that because when they worshipped the queene of heauen and all the host thereof , then all things went better with them , more charity then abounded , lesse sinne and misery brake out : but since the discouery of the light , sinne hath appeared more out of measure sinfull , the wrath of god hath beene more discouered against the same , therefore their conclusion is , that we are in the wrong , and they maintaine the right ? and hath not his on the other side , hardned the atheist , not onely in his blasphemy , that there is no god , that religion is but policy , but also in his obstinate impiety , and obdurate impenitency , euen this , i say , is the maine stumbling blocke hereunto , that the gospell , being not powerfull to weed out such grosse wickednes , but that it swarms and rangeth , securely vnder the scepter thereof : either it is because there is no truth therein , or else , wanting power , it is no more to be regarded then a scarre-crow or bugbeare , to fright fooles and children : either he thinkes that god is like vnto him , because hee prospers in his sinne , or that hee likes well thereof , because sentence doth not speedily passe to his discouery and confusion . doth not the close conuayance of sinne , and long concealing thereof prouoke him to challenge the omnipresence of god , as if he were hid in the clouds , and could not see it ? doth not his long forbearance of sinne , and great pacience in suffering the vessels of wrath , giue further occasion to the atheist to chalenge the diuine prouidence , as if the lord would neither do good nor euill , nahum . 1. 12. and is not the mouth of the prophane christian hereby opened against heauen ? doth not his talke goe thorow the earth that sinne is but a trick of youth , that the more senselesse we are thereof , the lesse care we take for the same : the more our consciences are secure therein , the more secure we are of the mercy of god , the more wee may sinne that grace may abound : because hereby the conscience becomes more obdurate , and so secure of gods fauour . behold heere the righteous iustice of god , in causing his word to bee a sauour of death vnto death : obserue , i pray you , and admire gods wonderfull wisedome , in taking the wise in their craftinesse , that seeing they will not obey the glorious gospell of our lord iesus , in receiuing the loue of the truth : therefore the lord hath giuen them vp iustly to strong delusions , euen to peruert this glorious light , to the hardning of their hearts , because they will not bee perswaded , and subdued thereunto , imputing those things as the effects of the gospell , which are , indeeds , the fruits of their obstinate despising , and peruerting of the same . for to speake the truth in iesus christ , and to iustifie the truth of god , to the conuincing of these liars , and peruerters of his glorious grace : consider , i pray you , in the feare of god , these three things : first , the intent of god , in sending his gospell vnto a nation . secondly , the manner of gods wisedome , in the dispensation thereof . thirdly , the grounds and causes of stumbling at , and peruerting the same . concerning the purpose of god in bestowing his gospell vpon a nation : that wee may the better discerne the same , we must looke vp into the reuealed counsell of god , concerning the saluation of the elect , and reiection of the reprobate : for the execution of which his eternall decree . as the lord in his eternall wisedome hath ordained his mighty word , so seeing the number of his chosen is a little flocke in comparison of the cast-awayes , therefore doth hee also in his singular wisedome , send and dispose thereof , that howsoeuer it shall accomplish what he sends it for , namely , to conuince all sorts , of either side , both elect and reprobate , yet it shall be effectuall onely in those few , to their sound conuersion , as for the rest , they shall onely be hardned , and bee made inexcusable thereby . and to these contrary ends hath the wise and glorious god fitted and composed his blessed word , both in respect of the nature thereof , as also in the diuers manner of the conuayance of the same . as touching y e nature of the word : is it not a great mystery supposing some-what in shew , to y e stubling of y e flesh , euen while it seemes most easily to conceiue the same , and including that in substance which while it is onely conceiueable by the spirit , doth thereby also abase the flesh , that so it may renounce it selfe in the apprehension thereof , and seeke vnto the spirit for the opening of this mistery . by which it comes to passe , that the naturall man being onely able to conceiue , though but peruersly , the letter and outside of the word , doth thereby also stumble at it owne conceit , either measuring the power of the word , by the letter of it , and so abasing it in it owne conceit , as beeing so obuious to it carnall reach , and thereby seeming becomes offended at the outward simplicity and foolishnesse thereof : or else resting in it owne outward apprehension , as suiting with , and seruing it carnall and present ends , doth therefore stumble at the power thereof , as thinking it needelesse or dangerous , either because it is beyond his compasse , or crosseth his carnall ends , and so instead of submitting himselfe thereunto , doth in the height of it wisedome , despise and reiect the same . behold here how the lord taketh the wise in their craftinesse . the foolish worldling beeing the wiser in his owne eyes , by how much the lesse hee diserneth his folly , doth therefore thinke himselfe able ynough , to diserne the mystery of his happinesse , in the glasse of his owne false and counterfeit wisedome , and so being neither willing , nor able to goe out of himselfe , howsoeuer hee may pore at the outside of this mystery , so farre as hee may conceiue his present fading happinesse , that so hee may flatter himselfe therein , and thereby attaine some such motion of the deity , as may puffe him vp therewith , yet is hereby made more inexcusable , and farther off , from the inward search of the power thereof . and yet the wayes of the lord herein most equall and righteous . as both tendering the meanes indifferently vnto all , so that the wicked cannot say , but he hath had his choyce thereof , and liberty therein with the best ; yea , the pacience of the lord , in leading him to repentance , accompanyed with such an answering to his desires , concerning present ends , as it must much more iustifie the lord. what could he haue done vnto him which he hath not done ? so it shall also make him much more inexcusable . and if so now the lord deny vnto him his grace , for the effectuating of the meanes . as he not bound thereunto , because he will haue mercy vpon whom he will haue mercy , and whom he will he heardneth : so seeing the wicked doe neither dreame of any such assistance of his grace , as beeing blinded by selfe-loue , they cannot see the want thereof : nay , being puffed vp with carnall wisedome , they doe vtterly despise and reiect the same . is it any meruaile if they want the supply of that grace , which they so abase and contemne . is it not iust with god that the scorner shall seeke wisedome and yet not finde it ? because he despiseth the substance , white hee hunts after the shaddow . and if now it please the righteous lord , to giue him his desire , and send leanenesse into his soule , that not onely that which he seemed to haue , shall be taken away from him , the light hee hath shall be quenched , and by degrees extinguished ; yea , the spirit of god instead of restrayning him formerly from some outward euils , and so happily affrighting his conscience with sense of inward rottennesse , shall now giue him vp to his owne lusts , euen to commit sinne with greedinesse : is not this the happinesse that hee specially dreames of , to be past feeling of sinne , that so hee may make vp his measure without controulement . are not the wayes of god most equall herein ? shall not the mouth of iniquity be vtterly stopped ? haue not the wicked herein more at the hands of god then they can desire ? doth not he giue them herein much more then he oweth them of all outward blessings ? doth he not affoord them more plenty of spirituall meanes then they doe desire ? doth hee not respite them in his great patience , many a time beyond their owne fond and counterfeit vowes , in the day of their distresse , sparing them further then themselues doe wish , and repealing that sentence , which in their suddaine flashes they haue pronounced against themselues , if they should hereafter turne to their vomit againe : yea , still drawing them to him with the cords of loue , when they haue cast off his cords , and fall desperately from him ? is not the iustice of god most righteous , euen his enemies being iudges . and surely as is the lord , so is his word heerein , most holy and righteous . if it crosse the wicked in their desires to discouer that inward corruption , whereof they are ignorant , and wherein they fauour themselues : is it any lesse then stands with the power of the word , euen as fire to search the hidden parts , yea , as the light , to lay open the darkest corners . and if now the wicked vpon their first entertainement of the word desirous happily to gaine credit , and applause thereby , be iustly confounded by the power thereof , enraging their consciences by it inward search , is not the wisedome of god admirable , thus taking them in their craftinesse . is not his goodnesse iustifiable , thus preparing them hereby to repentance ? if now the loue of sinne , will giue no way to sound repentance : is not yet the wisedome of god herein more admirable , that whereas the wicked desire some sleight euidence to conceit a false conception , their slauish humiliation shall further hereunto , and hereby flatter them in a new birth . and if thus conceiting a false conuersion for a true , because they cannot endure the trauell of a true birth , they shall now encroach vpon the priueledges of the new man , mis-applying and challenging those ioyes and comforts vnto their festered and ranckling soares , which belong onely to those that are healed , and so instéed of being further searched and launched by the law of god , shall vnseasonably apply vnto themselues the sweete promises of the gospell , and will endure nothing but leuitures and cordials ? is the word of god vnequall , because they vnfitly apply it , nay is it not most equall , in offering that indifferently vnto them , which if they could wisely apply , would proue soueraigne vnto them : yea , though they apply it amisse , yet herein is iustifiable , in that themselues are their owne caruers in the misapplying thereof ? if now vpon the misapplying of the plaister before the soare be soundly healed , it doth hereby more fester , and putrifie inwardly , and so breake out to a cancerous vlcer . as the word was not first to be blamed , in discouering the soare , that so it might bée prepared to it cure , because , if there had beene no pray the lyon would not haue roared : so now much lesse , may it be iustly challenged , to be the cause of it further ranckling , seeing the misapplying thereof hath effected the same . and therefore as it were extreame folly to charge the heat of the sunne , to be the cause of stench and putrifieation in these inferior bodies , which being well disposed are purified thereby , and are onely subiect to tainture by their owne indisposition , and aptnesse thereunto : so let it be the shame of popish glory , to hate the light , because their vvorkes are euill . yea let this be the confusion of their carnall wisedome to challenge the glorious light of the preaching of the word , as the cause of sinnes aboundance , that hereby they might colour their despising and persecuting thereof , not onely in that by opposing the light they make vp the measure of their owne sinnes , by denying to themselues , and others , the meanes of life and happinesse . but hereby also prouoking the righteous lord to auenge vpon them the contempt of his word in giuing them vp to such outrage and monstrous wickednesse of combustions and murthers , which the true wisedome of flesh , for it owne safety , can no way indure , that so her owne louers , euen out of loue to themselues , must néedes hate the whore , and make her desolate : and so the iustice of the lord may shine more gloriously , in rewarding her as she hath done to others , and sheathing her owne sword , in her owne bowels . and is not the word glorious in iudging the whore euen by her owne mouth , and taking her in the snare , that she hath layd for others , and so ouertaking her in hee moneth and ripenesse of iniquity . who so is wise he shall vnderstand these things , and to whom the arme of the lord shall reueale them ; for the wayes of the lord are right , and the iust shall walke therein , but the transgressor shall fall in them . let it therefore be the shame of popery thus to traduce the light , and let it be the glory of the gospell , thus to discouer their shame , for , if it were not powerfull , why doe they spurne against it ? if they being galled thereby , doe spurne against the same , let them thanke their owne rottennesse , and iustifie the powerfull word . but if being couered thus with shame , they will not seeke the face of god in iesus christ , the lord will further glorifie his word in hastening their confusion , and gathering in the first borne to his glorious appearance . and shall the blasphemous atheist escape any better ? surely , as it is extreme folly in him , to barke against the moone , because it giues him light , to his desperate wickednesse ( for what wisedome is there to condemne that , which is so fauourable vnto vs ) so doth this folly threaten his confusion , as both discouering his accursed spirit , imputing that obstinacy in sinne , to the word , which ariseth from his ignorance of the power thereof , and rebellion against the same , and thereby hardening his neck against all hope of reclaiming , as reiecting the word , which is onely auayleable hereunto . for what though as the heate of the sunne doth harden the clay , so the power of the word indirectly occasions the encrease of sinne in the froward heart : is the word in vaine while it doeth that vnto which it is appoynted ? is not the wisedome of god herein more glorious , who as he would neuer haue permitted euill , but that he can bring good out of it : so he turneth the rage of man to his glorious praise . not onely making way hereby to the iust confusion of the wicked , for the aduancement of the glory of his righteous iustice : but also discouering herein the riches of his free grace , in softning the hearts of his elect by the same meanes , whereby the wicked are hardened , and so by these contrary effects aduancing the power of his mighty word , which with the same breath , is thus able to kill and to quicken . and therefore as the atheist hath no iust cause to stumble at the power of the word , because iniquity is discouered and enraged thereby , so much lesse may hee iustly challeng the prouidence of god , in accompanying his word with such great patience and common fauours , seeing as the lord hereby giues him his desire , to inioy the pleasures of sinne , that so he may haue nothing iustly to except against his goodnesse : so by this his long suffering , hee doth also inuite him to repentance , and so makes him more inexcusable if he abuse the same . but howsoeuer , the filthy will be filthy still , yet let the seruants of god magnifie his wonderfull mercy , and free kindnesse towards them , in softning them by the same meanes whereby hee hardens the wicked : yea , turning about the hardening of the reprobate to bee the meanes of their more close walking with their god , and dependance on his free grace , in the sense of their fayling , when they doe their best ; yea , let them euermore blesse the name of the lord , that seeing the righteous shall hardly be saued , they may yet haue some hope of life , in so great conscience of their corruptions , that they can yet follow after righteousnesse ; notwithstanding , the streame runnes contrary , and their labour is so thanklesse , and dangerous in regard of present successe , seeing iniquity doth so swarme and preuaile : yea , let this bee their euidence , that christ raignes ouer them , euen in the midst of their enemies : that euen where satan hath his throne , there god shall haue his glory : antipas his faithfull seruant shall seale it vp with his bloud : or if this bee not yet the triall , yet ieremie shall be smitten with the tongue , and holy iob shall esteeme the booke that his aduersaries writ against him , to bee the most glorious crowne that may adorne his head : yea ; the more that the word of god is blasphemed by the wicked , the more watchfull shall his children be , that they giue no iust offence , that so , either they which speake of them as euill doers , shall glorifie god on their behalfe , and so by their holy conuersation be won to the obedience of the gospell , or bee made more inexcusable , when their mouthes shall bee iustly stopped , if yet they shall not cease to speake euill of the righteous wayes of god. and this may also stop the prophane mouth of the filthy libertine , that though hee turne the grace of god into wantonnesse , imagining his security and senselesnesse in sinne , to bee the assurance of his happinesse , yet the word is holy , yeelding no apperance , much lesse allowance hereunto , yea righteous herein is the mighty word , in giuing him vp to such a reprobate sense , through his peruerting of the chiefe errand thereof , ( the mercy of god in christ jesus to repentant sinners ) which if he could rightly apply , might make him capable thereof : yea , meruailous is the wisedome of god herein , that by the contrary apprehension of the promise , and preparation thereunto by his seruants , hee confounds the peruersenesse and prophanenesse of the libertine : if yet the filthy will be filthy still , let him know this for his further confusion , that as the lord will not faile eft-soones , to awaken his senselesse conscience with some inward quawmes , or outward crosses to confound him in his security , that so hee may bee forced to acknowledge and seeke to the power of the word , which hee hath so abased : so if for all this he will not be reclaimed , but by mistaking and mis-applying the mercy of god , shall thereby bee cast into a deeper sleepe , the lord shall glorifie his word in giuing him vp to a spirit of giddinesse , euen to heape vp teachers vnto himselfe according vnto his lusts , that may answer him according to the stumbling blocke of iniquity , which he hath set vp in his heart , that so he which could not commit sinne so securely , but that his heart did sometimes smite him for the same , might new continue in it more freely and desperately , as being warranted hereunto by such accursed deceiuers . behold here the wisedome of the wicked in sin ; and obserue withall the wisedome of god in taking them in their craftines , that they may securely reuell in wickednes , their first policy is to make their conscience senselesse , and that they may bring it to this passe , their desperate wisedome is to multiply sin with greedines , that so by this custome and outrage , they may grow to an habite ; and so by often putting the iron in the fire , may in the end harden and stupifie their harts : that as it falls out with those which often drinke strong payson , that in the end they can digest the same without any sense or danger , so the wicked by often drinking in of iniquitie with gréedines , become senselesse at length , both of the euill and of the danger thereof : wherby as they take occasion to commit any notorious outrage whatsoeuer , so they become hereby obuious to the scandall and danger of the world , which cannot but take notice of what themselues are senselesse of , & by it clamorus and iust scandall , either awaken them to repentance , or conuince them to punishment . behold how the lord takes the wise in their craftines : they desire to be senselesse of sin , that they may commit it more greedily , and the more greedily they commit the same , the more they prouoke the world through their scandall , and it one danger , to awaken them thereout : what remedie is now left in carnall wisedome to make vp the breach , and lull them a sléepe againe . behold againe the hight of this wisedome in sin , and obserue how the lord takes the wicked in their craftines . if elia will prophesy no good , but euill vnto vs while wee sleepe in sin , yet welfare zidkiah , that will warrant good successe therein , flattering vs that wee may go vp and prosper , because hitherto it hath gone well with vs , and though he lie falsely ; yet he will walke in the spirit , that hee may deceiue more effectually , yea hee wants not his rough garment of tything mint and comin , yea he will not spare herein to humble flesh by voluntary deuotions of pilgrimage penances , and such like trash to the satisfying of the flesh , euen in a great shew of wisedome to abase the same . and what now shall be spared for the sinne of the soule , though it be to the parting with our substance , yea our first borne , and all yea which is the hight of this delusion shall not a greater sinne be made a price for the lesse ? shall not the murther of princes become an expiation for all our personall sinnes . behold here the depth of the mistery of iniquity , and admire with me the justice of god in taking the whore and her accursed brood in their owne craftines , that while they estéeme their owne blood vile , that they may murther the lords annoynted , they haue iustly brought the kings of the earth vpon their heads to secure themselues in subuerting antichrist , whom otherwise they could haue bene contented still to haue made their band for the satisfying of their lusts . oh! the vnsearchable riches of the wisedome , and mercy of our god , who turnes about the carnall wisedome of man , tending only to it present bodily good , to be meanes of remouing that great stumbling blocke , whereby their soules were ensnared , that so they might ascribe vnto him alone the glorie of their true happines , so farre aboue , and contrary to their corrupt intent . well , thus we see how the lord takes the wise in their craftines . that the world may securely reuel in sin , the false prophet must bee a snare vpon mispah to cry ayme thereto , that so the blind leading the blind , both may fall into the ditch . and is not this prouidence of god very remarkeable , in these daungerous dayes of the contempt and peruerting of the word of god ? that though the lord feedeth the hungry with good and wholesome food , yet the daintie and full stomake , is either choaked with chaffe , or puffed vp with wind , that so seeming that which he is not , he may not see what truely he is , and thereby be both preuented of sound curing , and withall hardened to destruction . behold here then some further light to iustifie the prouidence of god in the ouer-flowing of sinne , amidst so glorious light of the gospell , not that the word is any true cause thereof , but onely a meanes to discouer and conuince the same : whereby as through our naturall rebellion the more sinne is conuinced , the more it is enraged and so encreased thereby : so through carnall wisedome , the light being peruerted , becomes a broker vnto sinne , and thereby proues a further meanes to encrease and ripen the same . and yet all this in great iustice , and exceeding equity . the lord herein giuing the wicked their desires , for the accomplishment of his righteous decree in their condemnation , in that themselues are their owne caruers in the meanes there vnto . and all this executed by his mighty word , becomming thus vnto the wicked , a sauour of death vnto death : whereby as he taketh the wise papist and atheist in their craftines , so doth he , also iustly confound the prophane libertine , who while he fathers that vpon the word which proceeds from his owne corrupt sense and application thereof , doth therefore iustifie the word in his hardening thereby , and so is iudged by the word , while he peruerteth the same , to such ends , as are contrary thereunto . and thus hitherto for the iustifying of gods prouidence in disposing of such greuious sinnes , as do accompany and preuaile euen in the most glorious light of the gospell of iesus christ. chap. 2. wherein first an entrance is made by way of application vnto the particular sinne of murther , being the proper subiect of this treatise : where 2. the progeny and heynousnesse of this sinne is discouered and enlarged . 3. the causes and occasions thereof in generall are explained . 4. the dangerous effects , and consequences thereof are detected . and so 5. such seuerall vses are propounded as both tend to the preuenting of this sinne , as also for the wise suppressing and weeding out thereof . from that which hitherto hath bene discoursed concerning the prouidence of god in disposing of such multiplicity and encrease of sinne , in this glorious light of the gospell , we may gather these conclusions . first , that the gospell is not properly the cause of these euils , but onely 1 the ignorance thereof , 2 peruerting the light , to the iustifying of sinne , or else our want of loue , and so obedience thereunto . 2 that as ignorance breeding error , and so disobedience to the truth , is the mother of all that grosse wickednesse that is discouered thereby : so in that popery is the chiefe and onely patron of ignorance , so it becomes also the very chaos of all errors and delusions , and so proues the maine broker to all grosse and desperate wickednesse . 3 that whereas the weapons of popish warfare are only carnall and diuellish vsing these as her last refuge , when her paper bolts , and enchantments will not preuaile , to roote out and destroy all her opposits : as being that scarlet-coloured whore , whom nothing will secure and satisfie but the bloud of saints , and all such as shall oppose her tyranny : therefore , howsoeuer all other sinnes are harbored in her bosome , as beeing ashamed to haue them knowne to the world : yet this sinne of murther is her cheife darling and glorious sinne , whereof she is so farre from being ashamed , as that she raignes only thereby , and triumphs therewith ; not onely vpon her pretended power of the secular sword , whereby she arrogates supreme authority ouer life & death : but especially vpon pretence of the power of her keyes , whereby presuming ouer the soules as well as the bodies of men , she thereby confirmes and iustifies this her vnsatiable thirst of bloud , as either seruing for the good of their soules , whose bodies she butchered , or else by cutting off such supposed leapers , thereby securing the estates of others . thus doth her progeny declare the same , who is of her father the diuell , that was a murtherer from the beginning . so her condition doth import no lesse , who being an harlot , hunts for the precious life of man : so her very name doth portend , and glorie therein , as being that apollyon , that child of perdition , ordained of god in his justice for the plaguing of vnbeléeuers , and thereby to ripen her owne destruction : yea her very habite proclaimes the same , as being died bloud-red with the slaughter of the saints , and her end also shall manifest the same , when she shall be made drunken with her owne bloud , and drowned therein , because she hath shed the bloud of the saints . behold here these the generation of this bloudy sinne . sathan , the arch enemy of mankind , enuying his happinesse , and that especially vnder the time of the gospell , that he might vtterly destroy him both roote and branches , head & taile , soule and body , to this end , abusing the security and pride of the times , begdt thereupon the whore of babylon , that great enchantresse and deceiuer of the world . and that he might by this bastard execute his malice more fully against the saints , when she came to age & began to reuell in pride and soueraignty , then he begat on her this monstrous and bloudy sinne : whereby as the viper eateth out the bowels of her mother , so the first aduentures of this cruel brat were atchieued against it damme , one pope cruelly making away each other : and being thus throughly fleshed and imbrued in her owne bloud . is it any maruaile if she spares not other ? is it not iust with god , that while she spares not her owne bloud , to take away the lines of the annointed of the lord , that the princes of the earth should secure themselues in letting out her life bloud , and consuming her vtterly with fire , that so her memoriall may perish from the earth . behold the righteous doome of iehoua against the whore : and obserue we wisely herein , the progeny of this bloudy sinne and issue thereof . shall we now further way this sinne in the ballance of the sanctuary , that thereby we may discerne the greatnesse thereof , & so be brought into greater detestation of y e same . first , then let vs measure it , by the obiect against which is committed : and heere consider wee these particulars . first the murtherer , doth what lies in him to take a way the life of god himselfe , in that hee destroyes his liuely image in man : not so much , that outward frame and substance of the body , as if god were like vnto man in his outward feature , as some carnal capernaites haue dreamed : as those acts of the diuine soule , which it exercised in the bodie , these the boudy hands , do wholy abolish , whereby man in regard of his better part was made after the image of god , yea hereby the life of god , his prouidence and other acts of his gouernment is in a manner extinguished in that creature who is thus by cruell hand cut off from that holie regiment . 2. the bloody minded man as he thirsts greedily after blood , so doth he lie in waite priuily for his pray , partlie fearing to attempt vpon equall termes , as being through his inward guilt a very dastard , and coward ; and partly hoping hereby to make surer worke , when all meanes of preuention shal be forestalled and frustrated . and doth he not hereby proue oftimes a murtherer of his brothers soule , taking him thus on the suddaine , and so preuenting repentance . may we not consider herein the malice of diasius the lawyer , who in a deadly hatred to his brothers soule , first enforced him to deny his faith in christ , and then instantly tooke away his life . 3 the murther in destroying his brother , destroyes himselfe , not only in that his brother wasis owne flesh , but in that he necessarily exposeth himselfe either to be his owne butcher , though the horror of his conscience , as many haue done , or else iustly lies open to the sword of the magistrate , who aboue all other sinnes will not suffer this vnreuenged . yea , doth not the murtherer in sinning willingly , & plotting his cruelty with deliberation , and desperatenes , doth he not heerein commonly murther his owne soule , as excluding himselfe through this wilfulnes , the mercy of god. what should i speake of those fearefull euents that haue followed the same ? hath not the father murthered the sonne comming home as a stranger , for lucre of his mony , & when he came to the notice thereof , did he not first murther his wife , that procured him thereto , and afterward layd violent hands vpon himselfe ? and did not this accident bring his onely daughter to an vntimely end , and so the whole roote and branches were wholly cut off vtterly . and if here wee shall consider , that hereby many a wife hath beene depriued of her husband , many children made orphanes , and so exposed to all extremitie , doth not the murtherer make faire worke for the diuell . and is not the common parents hereby depriued of many a good member , doth not the common mother hereby lament the losse of many a nursing father , and so is exposed to combustions and desolations . behold heere the haynousnesse of this sinne by the consideration of the obiect , against which it was committed . and may wee not hereby also guesse at it greatnesse , in regard of the subiect that committeth the same ? 1 is not the murtherer a traytor in the highest degree , both committing treason against god , whose image hee thus defaceth , and beeing guilty of treason , against his prince and countrey , whom he depriueth of their guard and glory : is not he a traytor to his brother , in surprizing him so cruelly ? is he not a traytor against himselfe , in betraying his owne life and soule hereby to the graue and destruction . surely , if of all other the hypocrite shall be beaten with many stripes , then must the murtherer looke for his ful payment , because hee crowcheth and boweth to onsnare his poore brother , he kisseth and betrayeth , fawneth and stabbeth , saluteth and smiteth , speakes peaceably with his tongue , when his hand is ready to shed bloud : and all this with a breath , to take away breath , and triumph more securely in his masked wickednesse . what should i say , the murtherer is an atheist ? if he thought the eye of god were vpon him , hee durst not thus wilfully deface the image of god. the murtherer is an idolater , in defacing the image of god , and setting vp the idoll of reuenge in his heart , which he adores aboue all that is called god , either gods presence , the magistrates sword , gods image in his brother , his life in himselfe . in a word , as there is not any sinne wherein the murtherer hath not a share , so herein is his case most fearefull , and desperate , that not sinning of infirmity but of malice , and digested hatred , as herein horesembles his father the diuell , so hereby he casts himselfe desperately vpon his malice , to indure vnquenchable torments , for the recompence of his vnsaciable malice . thus by the subiect of this grieuous sinne , wee may seeke some farther scantling of the haynousnesse thereof . shall we now proceede to examine this sinne by the causes thereof , that so we may take a further view of the odiousnesse of the same ? surely , if we looke vp to the first murtherer that euer was , may we not obserue , that enuy prouoked him therevnto , because his brothers was accepted , and his sacrifice was teiected , therefore did cain ( saith the apostle ) stay his brother abell , that was more righteous then he : and was not the pride of his heart the occasion of this enuy , because caine was not respected according to the conceit of his owne worth ; therefore he enuied his owne brother , that was better respected of god then himselfe , and so through enuy shed his innocent bloud . was not ioseph sold through enuy by his brethren : consider we the next murtherer , recorded in the booke of god : was not lamech an adulterer , and thereupon a murtherer : either inflamed thereto by iealousie , which is the rage of a man , and therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance , or enraged thereto by lust , which will admit no partner therein . did not dauids adultery end in murther ? 2. sam. 11. is not lust the firebrand to contentions and murthers , iam. 4. 1. 2. was not lust the cause of that treacherous murther of the shechemites ? did not lust bring a whole tribe in israel to this end ? and what caused absolon to seeke his fathers life , was it not ambition and desire of soueraignty ? what mooued ahab to take away naboths life ? was it not a couetous desire to enioy his vineyard , was not iudas blinded by couetousnesse , to betray his master to the death ? and may we not see all these causes concurring together in those cruell iewes , that murthered the lord of life ? to conclude . is not rage and furie vsually the spurre hereunto ? haue not bitter words sometimes ended in bloudy broyles , and barbarous murthers ? and is not drunkennesse an ordinary harnenger to this sinne , not onely murthering hereby it master suddenly , but also prouoking in his cuppes , to spill the blood of others ; so iust is the lord to meete with sinners in their kinde , that they which make no conscience to abuse and spill the good creatures of god , seruing for the encrease of bloud , and maintenance of life , but haue béene bretheren in such horrible sinnes , shall bee giuen vp to shed the bloud of each other , and so depriue themselues of that blessing which they haue abused . these are some causes and occasions of this grieuous sinne , vnto which , if we shall adde what may bee collected from the consideration of the subiect formerly deciphered , we may conclude , that as the want of gods feare , is a speciall cause of falling into this sinne , so obstinacy and hardnesse of heart , proceeding there-from , doth much enflame and harden therein : yea , an enraged and guilty soule , doth oft-times prouoke hereunto , out of hellish despaire . as touching the effects of this grieuous sinne , let that suffice which hath beene spoken concerning the haynousnesse thereof , onely giue mee leaue to adde some cautions herein . that though it be a grieuous sinne to shed bloud : yet this neither doth debarre the magistrate and his instruments , from executing of iustice against malefactors , because they are deputies vnto the lord herein , and haue authority hereunto from his word ; neither doth it priuiledge any priuate man vpon any instinct whatsoeuer , to presume hereunto , though some inferiour calling in the family hath beene wickedly thought by some to warrant the same , because the power of life & death , is in the hands of the supreame magistrate , and such as are immediately deputed from him thereunto . though aboue all other murthers , that of our selues is most vnnaturall and monstrous : therefore , as wee may not iustifie any such particular sinnes , by any example of sampson , or particular instinct . so wee must bee meruailous chary and tender in condemning absolutely their estates , that through violence of tentation , or such like distempers , haue made away themselues , because either they were not themselues in that distemper , and so it shall not be imputed vnto them , or it was done , not without some reluctation , and so the lord may haue mercy vpon them : onely let vs be carefull not to imitate them herein , and so leaue them to the lord , to whom they fall or stand . thus of the effects and iudgement of this sinne . proceed we now in the last place to consider such antidotes as may preuent the same . the principall whereof is to maintaine peace with our god : because , if our wayes do please him , he will not only make our enemies to be at peace with vs , that we may not feare to be prouoked , either by bridling their corruptions , as he did sometimes labans & esaus , or turning their hearts towards vs , as he hath done the hearts of many persecutors . but will also incline our hearts to be at peace with our enemies , either by giuing vs wisedome to ouercome their euill with good , or affording vs patience to beare with our enemies ; or sustaining vs with meeknesse , neither to prouoke , nor be prouoked by them . now we shall wisely maintaine peace with god. how , 1 if we walke closely with him according to his will , with all power and diligence , not leaning to our owne wisedome , but relying on his reuealed word , and not presuming of ought either beyond , or short thereof . 2 if , though we faile and slip daily ( as who can cleare himselfe therein ) yet we shall daily iudge our selues , and by repentance renue our couenant with the lord , warring daily with our corruptions , and maintaining the spirituall combat , hereby we may preserue our peace with god. 3 if , séeing our best workes are mixed with such corruption , that if the lord should be seuere to marke what is done amisse , euen when we doe our best , we shall neuer be able to abide it , we shall therefore daily deny our best righteousnesse , and labour to be found in christ , renuing our right in him : hereby we shall renue and maintaine our peace with god. 4 and yet seeing the grace of god shal be sufficient for vs , in what soeuer wants or extreamities may befall , if now we can in patience possesse our soules , not repining at the dispensation of our god , but being contented therewith in all occasions , we shall so hunger after what wee want , as that we can be thankfull for that which we haue , and so husband the same with all vprightnes and diligence to the glory of our god , and the generall good : this is an excellent meanes to maintaine peace with god , lastly , that we may maintaine peace with god , let vs still nourish enmity against the world : because the amity of the world is enmity against god : so vsing the good therein , that we hate the euill thereof , and so vsing the good that we trust not therein , so enioying the things thereof , as that we are still ready to part with them at the pleasure of the giuer : accounting all things as doing , that we may win christ , and yet by our wise husbandrie , laying vp a good foundation by them , against the day of christ. thus may we maintaine peace with god. a second preseruatiue against this bloody sinne is to maintaine peace with men , i say so farre , as possible we may to haue peace with all men . this we shall do , if we be carefull to giue vnto each his due , according to their callings and occasions , as comfort to whom comfort belongs , tribute to whom tribute . &c. 2 if we can in all wrongs , looke vp to god , and so leaue vengeance vnto him , as considering wee haue deserued in his justice a thousand fold more . 4 if we be quicke in prouoking to goodnesse , and recompensing the same , and slow to wrath or any such occasions as may breed discord , and such consequences , as follow thereupon . 5 being wise , not to further them in sinne , or smother the same , vnlesse it be of infirmity , where there is some signe of repentance , as knowing that brethren in euill will proue whippes to each other . they haue not loued so dearely , till their turnes be serued , as when they haue their will , they wil hate most deadly . witnes ammon his dealing with thamar his sister . 6 lastly , that wee may keepe peace with men , bee wee very wise in ruling our tongues , auoyding rash censuring , vpbraiding , taunting , &c , whereby anger is kindled , and reuenge prouoked . thus may we maintaine peace with men . a third preseruatiue against this monstrous sin , is wisedome to auoyd the occasions thereof . which are those before touched . as pride , enuie , lust , ielousie , ambition , couetousnes , rage , bitter speaking , drunkennes , and the like . unto which we may adde these that follow . 1. euill company as being a speciall firebrand as to all other sins , so this : how many murthers haue bene hatched and atchiued by the oportunity and benefit hereof . 2 discontent whereby the mind being inwardly at war with it selfe , cannot be at peace with any other , but hath this onely desperate remedie to ease it owne feuer , euen to fall vpon any that stands in it way , friend nor foe , nothing comes amisse . 3 superstition as bewitching the heart with such vnsatiable loue , that it thinkes no cost to deare , no losse to great for the satisfying of it will worshippe , no though it were to cause their children to passe through the fire , though it were to launch themselues with kniues , and offer vp their bodies for the sinne of their soules . math. 6. 5. 6. 4 vnlawfull recreation or abuse and excesse in lawfull . thus may we preuent this bloody sinne . lastly , also take we some good directions how to weede it out . and here there are . some instructions for the magistrate , that seeing the sword is put in his hands , therefore he beware how hee suffer the murtherer to escape , least he heare that sentence , because thou hast suffered a man to escape that was appoynted to death , therefore thy life shall go for his life , thy people for his people . 2 whereas there hath bene of antient time ( when trialls of titles depended rather vpon valour then truth ) an ordinary manner of disciding great differences , by single combate betweene two parties , this as it is vtterly vnlawfull , and so no better then murther , because they are not equall meanes to discide controuersies . and 2. it falleth out that he is conquerour before men , who is guilty before god : therefore the magistrate must in no wise giue way to these , lest he be guilty of the blood that is spilt hereby . 3 much lesse may he tollerate those single combates , that rise vpon quarrels , and vaine pleas of reputation , valour , disgracefull speeches , &c. because they haue neither any sound warrant from the word ; no , not in any reason , or equity may be endured . 4 as for sanctuaries and popish receptacles , for murtherers , neither may the magistrate allow of these , because the lord hath expresly commanded , that such an one shall be taked from his alter and die , exod. 21. 14. according as ioab was serued in the like case , 1. kings 2. 24. 5 seeing populous assemblies , vnder pretence of recreations , are vsually occasions of quarrels , and so of murthers : therefore the magistrate must be meruailous wise , in giuing an inch , lest the people take an ell , rather studying to restrains the vnbridled corruption of the people , with such as may humble the flesh , then to yeeld them any occasion , to turne their liberty into wantonnesse , remembring that the pretence of such liberty , hath beene the colour to draw vnlawfull assemblies together , and so prouoke to rebellion , and great blood shed . consider the blood that was spilt in iest , when ioab and abner met together with their companies , and tell me whether that iest were not in earnest , that merriment , madnesse . thus for the magistrate . for priuate men , let them wisely obserue those rules , deliuered formerly for preuention of this sinne , and the same will also enable them to wéede it out . and thus hitherto of this bloody sinne , together with the nature , haynousnesse , causes and meanes to preuent the same . it followeth now that wee make some particular application hereof vnto the instance in hand , that so wee may discerne the truth of this description , confirmed in this example : and therein wonder at the wisedome and prouidence of god , in permitting so horrible a wickednesse , and after so long concealing thereof , in due season discouering the same . chapter . 3. of the particular murther at halsworth . and first of the occasions and causes thereof . 2 of the actors and accessaries therein . 3 of the parties that were murthered . 4 of the manner and circumstances how they were made away . 5 of the meanes to conceale the murther beeing committed . 6 and diuerse obseruations considerable on either side . hauing thus discoursed of the nature of murther in generall , it now remaineth that we examine the particular instance that hath occasioned this discourse . namely , the murther that was lately discouered and conuicted at the last assize at berry . wherein first offers it selfe to our consideration such circumstances as occasioned and drew out this sinne . the maine roote , and ground whereof , was this . one m. norton dwelling in the towne of halsworth in high suffolke , being a man ( though of faire possessions ) yet of a very foule and euill fauour : both in regard of his profession , as being no better then a church-papist , the most dangerous subiect the land hath : as also in regard of his practise being sutable to his profession , and therefore of necessity debosht and desolate , hauing his neighbours vineyard lying by him , cast his eye vpon it ; and hauing got some hold in the land of his neighbour , widdow leeson , either beeing morgaged vnto him , or forfeited vpon the morgage , that he might cléere the land wholly to himselfe from the widow and her issue . first attempted by cunning sleights , and secret oppressions : yea , by feined kindnesses , as feeding them with money , and to draw the widow , and her children to his lure : or else to inwrap them so in his snares , that vpon any occasion he might either curbe them , or make pray of them . to this end when otherwise he could not bring them to his bent , vpon a pretended action , he cast the eldest of them into prison , that so his misery might terrifie the rest : where either by some secret stratagem , or else ( as the most credible report is ) being debarred of necessary sustenance , his friends not being suffered to minister vnto him , and his ( iaylor happily beeing feed to restraine him thereof ) he pined euen through want , and so perished in the goale . this was the first scoene of this bloudy tragedy . whereon , before we go further , let vs pause a little , and obserue somewhat thereout for our better instruction , both to iustifie the former discourse of murther , as also to preuent the like ends in our selues , laying to our hearts such things , as may be gathered hence . first obserue we the roote , and foundation of this misery , and that the rather , because it is not our owne conceit , but the sensure of the right honorable and thrice reuerend iudge , who vpon nortons appearing at the barre , did so diuinely challenge him , that he was the roote , of this practise , the other , that were his instruments therein , were but the branches springing vp there-from , he was the sword that cut those innocents liues asunder , his agents were but the hands to execute therewith . this roote thus branded and layd open in his colours . obserue we further therein these particulars , 1 his inward condition , as being a papist in heart , and so , as making no bones of any sinne , so especially lesse sticking at the sinne of blood , as being the glory of his idol , and prop to maintaine the same : & therefore honoured with no lesse then the imputation of merit . and yet withall being a protestant in shew , that so hee might the better colour and shuffell vp his sinne , and with the harlot wipe his mouth , as if he had done no iniquitie , whereby 1 wee may take the true scantling of a branded papist , that though hee be humble like the lambe , his pretence be saluation , yet he speakes like the dragon , nothing but blood and fire , when he cannot deceiue otherwise , he pretendeth like the harlot , offerings of peace and payment of vowes , yet her wayes go downe to hell , and her pathes to destruction . and so wee may be aduised to looke for no better at their hands , who eate of our bread and go vp into the house of god with vs , thē as dauid complained of such treacherous friends , euen to lift vp the heele against vs , and if they can doe it finely , euen to poyson vs with the host which they haue consecrated for our welfare . and therefore of all other to bee most iealous of such hollow friends . 2 from the inward condition of this bitter roote , also proceed we further to his outward estate . and that first in regard of his meanes , being of faire reuenew , sufficient if hee could haue bene content to his bountefull mantenance , yet if we cōsider withal his abuse of this large portion , by royoting and prodigality , wee may easily discerne euen great feare of want in much aboundance , and thereby imagine what such feare of want may prouoke vnto , euen an vnlawfull desire of what is not our owne , as a iust punishment for the abuse of our owne , and so as opportunity and power is on our hand , such an effecting our desires , as by the close conuayance thereof , may be free from blame or shame . behold here then the causes and prouocations to this bloody sin , luxurie threatens want , and feare of want breeds couetousnesse , couetousnesse leads vs blindfold to make pray where we fasten first , and opposition begets murther to conceale , or iustifie the same . thus ahabs prodigality in maintayning baals priests , prouokes him through diuine iustice to couet his neighbours vineyard , y t so his violation of gods honor might be iustly auenged by the crie of y e innocent blood , which he so cruelly spilled , and that hee might cloake and iustifie his deuouring thereof , the blood of naboth must write the deed , and pretence of religion , and iustce must peale and confirme the same . and thus our ahabs prodigality in maintayning happily such croaking frogges as runne vp and downe the world to make combustions and massacres , prouokes him to couet his neighbour leesons vinyard , that lay pat for his tooth , and that he might more securely make pray thereof , the blood of her children must confirme the same , when otherwise by cunning & fairer meanes they will not be brought thereto , and pretence of law , & equity must colour the fact , that so it may passe currant with men , what is abhominable in the sight of god. whereby we may learne , as to walke frugally in that competency which god hath allowed vs , least otherwise a great deale , may proue too little , and that in smallest measure we may be content , remember we that our liues consists not in aboundance , but in the blessing of god , who makes a small thing sufficient , where he affords no more , labouring with all dilligence to husband that little we haue , that so in the hand of the diligent may be plenty , whereas the reuenues of the sluggard do soone fade and molter away . a thing of very fearefull experience , for the most part in our gentry , that as no reuenue will vsually serue their luxurie and excesse , so they are so fine fingred that they cannot labour , and so high minded they are , that they are ashamed to begge , and therefore their last refuge is either to turne cheators in gaming , or huntsmen on the high way , or pandors to baudy houses , or which is the fayrest , laysie abby-lubbers , i should say almes-men , to be fatted vp in the sty , and hardned to destruction . before i passe this first scoene , obserue wee yet one thing more in this bitter roote , namely , his manner of proceeding in this bloody tragedy . at the first very fayre , and charitable to the outward shew , féeding them with money , and feasting them with good cheere , sorting them with boone companions , to passe the time away mercily , but indeede , to cheat them of their money , and make them secure : at the next bout , more roughly yet conuayed with great cunning , and secrecy , vnder pretence of law , casting into prison , and if this will not doe the feat , then at the last , murther & confusion : iust so dealt pharaoh with the israelits , and so this bloudy pharaoh dealt with these widdowes children , and surely such are all the wayes of sinne , such and no better , is the successe of all sinners , though the wine bee pleasant in the cuppe , and sweete in the going downe , yet in the end it bites like a serpent , and kils like a coskatrice , though iael inuite sisera into her tent , and lull him asleepe , yet in the end shee fastens him with a naile to the ground . looke we therefore to the end of sinne , and so the sweete beginning shall not deceiue vs , and distrust wee then the wicked most , when they most fawne vpon vs , because though their lips drop hony , yet swords are in their hearts , and they may be sheathed in our bowels , before wee are aware of them . thus of the first scoene of this bloody tragedy . the second followes , more bloody and desperate . the next sonne , iohn leeson , laying claime to his inheritance , hath his mouth stopped with a good round summe of money , and withall , a guard is set vpon him , of bloudy and desperate villaines , yet masked vnder pretence of good fellowes and acquaintance , both to fléece him of his money , and make him sure enough from making hugh-and-cry after them . by these hee is encountred , and trayned to an ale-house vp at the mill-hill , a place remote from much cōpany , and so fit to doe mischiefe , here his head is filled with drinke , and his mind secured by sports and gaming , from feare of danger , here hee is detained by these meanes till the night , and then he is knockt on the head , and stript of his money , and his body is dragd to a great pond , not farre off , & is fastned in the deepest part thereof with a stake and block thereupon , that so it might not rise vp to discouer the wickednesse . behold here first the progresse and encrease of sinne , if secret oppression will not preuaile , if cunning will not carry it , then open violence shall : if there be no remedy , then blood must quench the thirst . thus dauid when hee had abused vriah , by taking away his wife , howsoeuer hee would faine haue spared his seruants life , by making him an instrument to conceale his adultery , calling him from the campe to that end , giuing him wine to make him forward to his liberty : yet when he saw these meanes would not preuaile , then his last refuge was to take away vriahs life , that so in his end , his sinne also might séeme to dye , which indéede , was the onely meanes to make it crye loud for vengeance . and let this aduise sinners to preuent the beginnings of sinne , lest when they would , they cannot stay the rage thereof . if yet through carnall wisedome , they will still goe forward , hoping by one sinne to hide another , let them know , that their wisedome will prooue their confusion , séeing while they thus ripen their sinnes , they in the end cry loud in the eares of the lord for vengeance , who will in due time recompence innocent bloud vpon the shedders thereof : so dauids children re-payd the price of the blood of his seruants , and nortons blood is like to answer for the bloud of his neighbours children , as lands hath done already . lastly , obserue we heere , the iustice of god in making partakers in sinne instruments to punish each other . for to speake a little of those , that were conuicted of this murther , what were land & worlish any other , then prophane and loose persons , hauing sold them to doe wickednesse , euen to any that would hire them thereunto : as for land , why , he was nortons instrument from time to time , to serue his writs , and bring any into his snares and cruel clutches : nay , he was the diuels factor , to draw fooles from drunkennesse to shame and spoyle , as himselfe confessed euen vpon the gallowes . to speake more sparingly of worlish , because the lord hath yet respited him to repentance , in hope that he will further discharge his conscience and satisfie the world , in the more full discouery of what yet lies in darkenesse : yet as there is sufficient to condemne him at least , as an accessary , euen out of his owne mouth , as shall héereafter appeare : so were he not guilty of this sinne : yet , as he confessed on the gallowes , his loose and prohane life were sufficient to bring him to that shamefull end . such were these parties that are hitherto conuicted of the murther , whereof the one is already executed , the other onely respited for his owne , and the publick good . and what were they that fell into their bloody hands ? surely fit companions for such copesmates , brethren in euill , companions in prophanenesse , drunkards , and what not ; and therefore iustly dying in their owne sinnes , howsoeuer vniustly , in regard of the instruments and manner thereof , yet iustly , i say , by the righteous doome of the lord , who makes brethren in euill , instruments of each other punishment , that as land and worlish were the meanes to bring them to their ends , so their deaths hath , and will be the ouerthrow of their murtherers . thus of the second scoene of this cruell tragedy . the third followes yet more fearefull and bloody . about two yeares after a third sonne renues the suite for the land , and hauing procured a suppena to bring the oppresser into the chancery , carries his sister a long with him to serue the same , where being discouered hanging the same at nortons doore , because he either could not , or durst not meete his person , as being through former guilt become more iealous and outragious , they were both seased on , ( i hope you may imagine by the former bloody hands ) and so ( as the pond hath now discouered ) being cruely made away , were cast thereunto and staked downe therein , as their brother was , that so the fact might bee buried with them for euer : so vnsatiable is the thirst of blood , when once the sweet thereof is tasted , that still the wicked must bee drinking deeper thereof : so desperate is the estate of sinners , that they must plunge themselues still more deepely in wickednes , so foolish is sinne to mend it selfe by the encrease thereof , yea herein most foolish , when it seemes to be most wise , that while it seekes to preuent most securely it discouery , that so it may ease the conscience of the guilt thereof , the more it encreaseth the guilt , by the secret conuayance of sin , euen as the fire the more it is suppressed the more it striueth to breake out , yea the more man in wisedome labours the hiding of sin , and flatters himselfe in the security thereof , the more he prouokes the lord to discouer his skirts , the more he hastens himselfe to righteous vengeance , that so the lord may haue the only glory of his discouery & confusion , who out of his secret conuayance spares not to chalenge y e prouidence of god , as if he saw them not or could not disappoint them . thus while the wicked say peace and safety we haue made all sure , then shall a suddaine destruction come vpon them as the trauaile vpon a woman with child , and they shall not be able to escape . thus when babilon saith , shee sits as a queene and shall see no euill , then her plagues shall come vpon her in one day , so righteous is the lord that iudgeth the whore . well thus these poore soules are now buried in the pond , yea a block is layd vpon them y t they shall not rise againe . the murtherers they sing care away , and reuell with their spoyle , the world is at rest , no notice taken of them , no missing them by their freinds , who were informed that ireland had receiued them , no seeking them by their enemies , who knew well enough where they were . if guilt of sinne troubled , yet feare of discouery bit it in , and policy sought to drown the conscience by surfeiting in sin : that so peace might be at home , as all was quiet abroad . and so foure yeares are passed ouer in great iollity and security . and by this time euen the memory of these murthered soules was buried with them . what now remained ? surely , where man vsually ends , there god beginneth : and while the wicked slept securely , the vengeance of god was bestirring it selfe . behold , saith the prophet , when the lord makes inquisition for blood , hee remembers it , and forgets not the complaint of the poore : the blood of these murthered soules cried loud in the eares of the lord. from the bottome of the pond for vengeance , euen while the bloud-suckers sang a requiem to their soules . and the lord awakened at length out of the sleepe of his patience , discouering the murthered by his owne immediate arme , and by their discouery , discouered also the murtherers , and so brought them in due season to their iust triall and confusion , as shall appeare most wonderfully in the next chapter . which before we enter into for conclusion of this present , and preparation to the discouery . a speciall case of conscience comes heere to bee discussed , and resolued . namely , that seeing murther is so crying a sinne , that it calls for speedy and continuall vengeance in the eares of the lord , how notwithstanding it comes to passe , that the lord differs the discouery and recompen●e thereof , many yeeres ; yea , ages after . that the lord doth thus deferre this discouery and execution , is not onely apparant by the cry of those soules vnder the alter , slaine for the word of god , how long lord , holy and true , doest thou not iudge and auenge our blood on them that dwell vpon the earth . but also by the reuenge vpon sauls posterity , for his slaughter of the gibeonites , which was not executed many yeeres after , and the histories of our age doe witnesse no lesse , that many murthers haue laine hid , some 20. some ten yeeres , some more , some shorter time : if wée desire to bée satisfied in the true reasons of this diuine prouidence , 1 some may be giuen in respect of the murtherers : 2 others in regard of the murthered : 3 some concerne the information of the world : and 4 some immediately concerne god himselfe . concerning the murtherers , the prouidence of god is wonderfull in deferring the discouery of their sinne , euen to a long time after , for these reasons : some tending to their good . others tending to their further condemnation . those that tend to their good , are first , that by the patience of god , in deferring their discouery and vengeance , they might be prepared meane while to repentance , and so be better fitted to what end the lord hath appoynted , rom. 4. 2. secondly , by the patience of the lord towards them , if they will not make vse of it for themselues , yet hereby they may bée further seruiceable for the common good , in those places and callings wherein god hath set them : as for education of their posterity , for the maintaining of peace and order abroad , yea happily for the sauing of others , howsoeuer themselues are reprooued . so was iudas a long time concealed from others , though long before knowne to his master , for the execution of his calling , and seruing his lord therein . reasons tending to the condemnation of these blood-suckers , are , 1 that the lord forbeares the discouery of them , not onely to make them instruments of his further iustice , in peruerting and hardening others , but also , 2 this forbearance is a meanes to harden them in their sinne , and drowne them in se●urity , that so their surprizall being more suddaine , may prooue more deadly and fatall to them . 3 hereby they are also nourished in their atheisme and contempt of gods prouidence , and so prouoke the lord in due time to auenge himselfe in their confusion . as for the murthered , there may bee some reasons of gods silence and patience , euen in regard of them . 1 that the crying of bloud from the earth so long deferred to vengeance , may be a simbole vnto them , of an answer from god at length , because no crie shall be in vaine , which he hath warranted in this word . 2 that the cry of bloud , though a long time deferred , yet at length answered , may type vnto them , their resurrection from the dead . the case herein being much alike . that as the bloud though consumed , yet hath a loude cry for vengeance , and shall in due time be recompenced ; so the bodies , though rotten in the graue , yet because they rest in hope , doe therefore in their manner cry for their raising vp againe , and so in due time shall obtaine their desire . euen as the creature made subiect vnto vanity , not willingly , but by reason of him that hath subiected the same in hope , doth therefore earnestly waite for the reuelation of the sonnes of god , that it also may be deliuered from her bondage of corruption , into the glorious liberty of the children of god. touching the world. this patience of god respecteth it also . and that , to try it affection to gods iustice , and such as are taken away , whither they find any want of them , whither they thinke the world is not well rid of them , and that they may be heard of no more , and such like . but the maine ground of this prouidence is in regard of god himselfe : and that in these respects . as first to iustifie his great patience , to such horrible sinners : whom he is so farre from taking in their sinnes , that he respites them many times to commit greater euils , that so he may make them more inexcuseable in the day of vengeance . 2 his wisedome is herein magnified , that by respiting the wicked in such horrible sinnes , the guilt of the conscience is hereby so encreased , and at length enraged , that though all other meanes fayle , yet their owne tongues shall be forced to bewray them , to ease the inward pangs , and so to iustifie the lord euen out of their owne mouthes . 3 lastly , hereby the lord reserues vnto himselfe alone the glory of his iustice : that when all sides are husht , y e murtherers secure , the murthered forgotten , the world carelesse , all hope past : then doth the righteous lord make himselfe knowne by executing of vengeance , to the stopping of the mouth of atheisme , that saith , there is no god , because the wicked scape scot-frée , and to the opening of the mouthes of his children in that gratious acknowledgment , verily there is a reward for the righteous , doubtlesse there is a god that iudgeth the earth . 4 and doth not the lord discouer herein his absolute power ? that seeing the times and seasons are onely in his hands : and therefore when he seeth a conuenient time he will execute vengeance : that it may appeare , his thoughts , are not our thoughts , therefore howsoeuer we may thinke euery moment too much , wherein vengeance is deferred : yet the lord , will deferre the time , that it may appeare to be at his dispose , and yet will do it in the most conuenient time , which may make most for his glory , and affecting of a secure and faithlesse generation . and this may serue for the resoluing of this case of conscience . and thus farre of this third scaene of this bloudy tragedy . concerning ( as the two former ) the parties that were murthered , together with the manner thereof , and meanes to conceale the same . wherein howsoeuer all was done , that carnall wisedome could deuise : and the patience of god for six whole yeares together , seemed to applaud , and subscribe thereunto . so that now it might seeme , the tragedy was finished , and all further expectation preuented : yet as this was the lords time to put to his owne hand for the discouery of this horrible crime : so when he began once , each creature in his place ministred gratiously vnto him , for the full manifestation and conuiction thereof . attend therefore in the feare of god , three other scaenes of this tragedy . wherein now the murtherers are to play their parts vpon the stage of iustice. and if euer thou desirest to be 〈…〉 tisfied in the wonderful prouidence of god , both in the discouery of murther , and challenging of the murtherers , by a strange and secret hand : if euer thou wouldst obserue a full and honorable tryall of so foule a crime : attend i say in the name of god , to that which followeth , and if thou beest not fully satisfied in all these , i must needes conclude , that either thou wantest vnderstanding to discerne the power and wisedome of the lord , or thou wantest an heart , to adore , and magnifie the same . onely my desire is , that thou woldst not stumble at my weake handling thereof , thereby , to challenge so excellent matter , but rather hereby to prize the worth thereof , as if it could not be sufficiently handled . and if thou discernest any sparke of true light amidst so great darknesse and corruption , any power of god in so great infirmity , my earnest desire is , that hereby thou wouldst ascribe vnto god the glory of his mercy , that so thou mayst begin , where i haue ended , and still informè and inflame thy heart with such wonderfull workes of god. chap. 4. where first of the reason why , howsoeuer other sinnes come after iudgement , yet this sinne of murther is seldome left vndiscouered . 2. of the many wayes whereby the lord hath discouered murther from time to time , with diuers instances thereof . 3. that it was the finger of god , that detected this blood . 4. of the manner and instruments imployed herein . 5. and the seuerall vses to bee made thereof . hjtherto of the first part of this tragedy , concerning the parties that were murthered , and that exibited in three seuerall scoenes , according to the seuerall degrees whereby this murther was committed . th● second part of this tragedy now followeth , concerning the discouery and iudgement of the murtherers . and this also is enlarged in foure seuerall scoenes . the first whereof containes the discouery of the murther , and murtherers . the second expresseth their iudgement and conuiction . the third , their iudgement and condemnation . the fourth , representeth their righteous execution . as in the little world , the soule of man , the vnderstanding leads the conscience ; and the conscience leads the affection . so is it in the soule of the greater world , i mean iustice , and the due execution thereof : there must bee first a discouery of the crime , before it be conuicted , and it must be conuicted , before it be censured . for as conscience without knowledge is blind , and erronious , so the will and affections without conscience , are peruerse and exorbitant : euen so conuiction of sinne , before it be discouered , produceth erronious iudgement , and sentencing of sinne before it be conuicted , is no better then to peruert iustice , and condemne the innocent : and yet as it cannot be denied , but as the thunder breakes out before the lightning , so where the party delinquent is of that exorbitant power , that it cannot stand with the safety of a diseased state , to question him iudicially , because his greatnesse may either outbraue or suppresse iustice : if in this extremity sentence and execution , anticipate legall triall , as this is to be ascribed to the necessity of the state , so it may well stand with the prerogatiue of the prince , who in such exigents , may performe martiall law : and this also answerable to the diuine iustice , who in such like cases , vpon it prerogatiue royall hath executed vpon exorbitant sinners , before their legall conuiction , & iustified his ministers in the like executions . but as these extraordinary cases , may not prescribe to such persons , and offences as are ordinary , so we may obserue , that the wise lord in al ordinary trials , hath kept this ordinary course : as first to discouer , though not so much for his owne information , ( vnto whom all things past are present , nothing so hid as is not knowne before it is done , much moreafter ) as for our satisfaction : so also in the second plate , to conuince sinne being discouered , and then to execute vpon the same . and euen the same course hath our wise and glorious god taken , in méeting with bloudy and crying sinnes . long hath the bloud of these slaughtered soules cryed for vengeance from the bottome of the pond : long had the lord deserted the answering of their crie : but when he saw a conuenient time , he rowsed vp himselfe , he put on righteousnesse as a brest-plate , and an helmet of saluation vpon his head , and he put on a garment of vengeance for a clothing , and was clad with zeale as a cloake : and so according to their deedes he repayed fury to the murtherers , recompenee to his enemies . if wee doubt that it was the lords doing , that his onely hand , discouered the murther , and detected the murtherers , harken i pray you to the discourse that followeth : and if we shal not herein acknowledge the immediate finger of god , it is because there is no true knowledge of god in vs. you haue hitherto heard the rase of the murthered , how they were brought to their end , how disposed in their end , the bottom of the pond was their graue , and obliuion was their motto , and there i hope was an end of their part of the tragedy . now harken , i beseech you , to the second part of the tragedy concerning the murtherers . and here first are presented vnto you , as in a dumbe shew , the carcases of the murthered raised out of the pond by a diuine instinct , and in a strange and wonderfull manner , discouering and fastning vpon the murtherers , and these be the actors in this first scoene . will you heare the truth thereof confirmed by the story , then hearken i say againe vnto that which followeth , and conclude with the worthy iudge , that it was digitus dei , the immediate finger of god. the pond wherein these bodies lay ( you must imagine had a maister ) that occupied the farme and ground wherein it was , vnto whose custody the lord hauing committed in trust these slaughtered soules , doth now require of him the discouery and restoring of them , for the satisfying of his justice . but would you know the manner how the lord required them of him ? marke i beséech you , and wonder at the wisedome and power of god herein . because the bloud of the slaine could not cease crying for vengeance , till they were recompenced : therefore the farmer can haue no peace in his mind , till he clense the pond , that so their blood may be discouered . wil you sée the hand of god more cléerly in reiecting the wisedome of the flesh , and subduing all oppositions , to serue his will ? consider then i pray you the sequell hereof . the farmer cannot rest till the pond be cleased . why ? his owne profit was against it , because it would be great charge and no benefit to him , that had but a short time to enioy it . and therefore his wife and friends are also against it , as consulting no further then with flesh and bloud . but god was for it , and therefore he must be for god , or else he shall not be for himselfe , nothing will go gowne well with him , till this be done . and therefore he is resolute , it shall be done . well at length , with much ado , he sets workemen about it , but god will not be serued by deputies in so glorious a worke : he that had the sowre , while it was not done , shall haue the sweete and comfort in doing it himselfe . and therefore when workemen giue ouer , as dispairing of the successe , or being happily discouraged by friends , himselfe , with his brother , sets vpon the clensing of the pond . surely we must imagine , not for any profit he expected thereby , for he could not finish it without great cost and losse too : but the maine ground was , his mind must be satisfied , nay to looke vp higher , gods iustice must be satisfied , that so the glory thereof may be reserued intirely to himselfe alone : and therefore when that is satisfied , his mind is at quiet , and his labour is at an end : and so the feare of his charge , and losse graciously preuented . shall we obserue how the lord brought all this about , and that with great speed , and wisdome for his glory . oh consider and wonder at the wisedome of god herein . the worke is begun in the likeliest place for labour and carriage , but the lord will spare the poore mans labour , he meanes not to put him to that cost , as to lade and clense the whole pond ; but onely to discouer the murthered therein . and yet he meanes to abase him , in this discouery , euen by the bruit beasts that hath no vnderstanding . will you see the proofe hereof in the sequell of the story , oh marke againe , and wonder at the wisedome of god herein . our workmen by this time had made worke for the teame : the horses they are brought to the place of their loading . but this is not the loade the lord will haue carried out : and therefore the horses will not stay here , howsoeuer they smart , but away they must , where god will haue them : man now must bee lead by them , because they are lead by god , that so the glory of the discouery may be taken from man , and ascribed wholly vnto the lord. and so after much triall and leading them about the pond , they stay at length against the place where the bodies lay , & so gaue ayme to the workmen to renue their labour . and did they find it lost labour , to attend the lord ? no surely , they had not labored many houers , vntill they light vpon the bodies that made amends for all . the carcases are found , time and corruption hauing lest nothing else , and so the murther being discouered , the mind is at quiet , and the labour is at an end , farther cost is spared , and god hath the glory , in the vse of foolish and brutish meanes . thus of the first part of this first scoene , namely , the discouery of the murther . proceed wee now vnto the second part hereof , namely , the discouery of the murcherers . and herein also obserue with me a wonderfull and immediate hand of god. had these parties bene newly slaine , their blood is vsually a meanes to peach their murther ; or had their flesh not bene wasted , and countenance remayned , this might haue giuen some light to discerne their qualitie and condition ; and so to haue made some way for the finding out of the murtherers , but that carkases onely of bare bones , and those haply disordered , should haue any remaindures left , whereby they might be knowne what they were from others , and so bee meanes to make knowne the murtherers , seeing this is contrary to all sense , and reason , it must needs be ascribed to to the finger of god , euen in such impossibility yeelding some light to the discouery both of the murthered , who they were , and also of the murtherers . will you see the proofe hereof in the sequele of the story , oh then stir vp your harts to wonder at the prouidence of god. the carcases being thus found , and so murther being discouered , yet the great matter still remained , that gods iustice must bee satisfied in finding out the offenders ; and that these may be discouered , it is very fit to know who the murthered were , that so from them and theirs , matter may be gathered to sent out the murtherers . the next thing therefore now to bee done , is to find out who the murthered were . and because this neither concernes , nor indeed is ●astly to be compassed of a priuate braine : therefore the magistrate next adioyning , is acquainted therewith , whose paines and wisedome in this bustnes may with honour be remembred . he taking notice of this discouery , causeth the carcases to be taken charily out the mud , and vsing the helpe of a chyrurgeon herein , caused each carcase to bee layd out seuerally by it selfe , in it proportion , to farre as the bones would afford it , and so making speciall fearch into each carcase , concerning fractures , or any such defect , that might giue any light for the particular knowledge of them , somewhat here appeared that by the helpe of further intelligence , gaue some inkling hereunto . to this end the inhabitants thereabout were called vnto this spectacle , and so inquiry made amongst them concerning such parties , as were missing within compasse of remembrance : amongst these the mother of these children calls to minde hers , that haue beene missing , and with all remembers , what hath bene formerly related to her concerning the same , both how they were gone for ireland , which was the generall voyce , but especially she remembers what worlich , one of the accessaries ( if not a principall ) had told her many months before , that he had seene her sonne in the low countries , and was the last man that had him by the hand aliue and dead . hereupon suspition , and so much the rather , because vpon the discouery of these in the pond , worlich playd least in sight , and flying to londō , was there apprehēded vpon this euidence : but yet the day was but dawning , more light shortly appeared , by the wisedome of the iustice , the carcases were searched , and measured : and hereupon question made to the mother what markes she could discouer to own them . see the wisedome of god herein : all outward tokens might seeme to fayle , yet one remayned ; her sonne iohn was high of stature , sixe foote long , this she calls to minde , and ownes him thereby , and so the measure of the carcase giues him her . and so one sparke begets another . now the remembers againe , that her sonne iohn had two teeth broken out of his vpper iaw by a former accident , and the scull being searched approues the same : and so both markes concurring vpon the same carcase , the length and iaw marke : hereby vndoubted conclusion was made , that , that carcase was her sonne iohns , and thus by the one discouered , the other were gessed also to be hers , the brother and sister that 2 yeares after were cast into the pond , because they lay in one graue together , and therefore were like to lie in one belly : and so collected , that they that murthered the former , made also these latter away , as vsing one common graue to burie them in . now all the mistery was , who should be the murtherer of the first : suspition there might be in regard of norton , and his dealings with them formerly , as also of such instruments imployed by him to molest and oppresse them . emong whom the speciall was land the weauer , a man obserued not onely to bee imployed in busines to molest them , but also to insuiuate himselfe often in to their companies , and to draw them to much excesse of riot in gaming and drunkenes . these things were now called to minde by many , to nourish suspicion : but yet this was not sufficient directly to chalendge the partie . behold then the wisedome and power of god , in making the partie to chalenge himselfe : and that by that meanes , whereby he sought to hide his sin , and elude iustice . for hearing that such a scull wanted such teeth , and so was thereby owned by the mother , his guilty conscience drawes him to the pond , and yet in a shew of wisedome , to bewray him the more : he hopes if that marke bee defaced , the euidence wil be confounded : and therefore he takes away the scull with him , and foole as he was , that might haue knockt them out himselfe , yet first goes to a barbar to plucke out more teeth , that hee might bee a witnesse against him : and that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses the truth might be confirmed , loe the barbars toole shall not do the feat : and therefore vengeance sends this murther to the smith , and he at length serues his turne , to witnesse against him . and yet the sort must heape more coales one his head , and that in a shew of wisedome to bewray himselfe further : he comes to a woman thereby ( that knew him well enough & had obserued his comming & going from the pond and doings there ) yet i say he comes like a stranger , as hearing of such strange newes , and desirous to satisfie his curious eye therewith , enquires of her , where these carcases lay , she replies vnto him , that hee need make no such enquiry , he was better acquainted therewith , and charges him with what had formerly passed : his deniall hereof confirmes the suspition , and conuinceth him of the fact . and so hereupon being layd hold one by iustice ; diuers speeches and accidents formerly passed long before , are now reuiued , tending to his further chalenge and conuiction . now it is euidenced that 2 dayes after the murther , land meting with one of his consorts , asked him when he saw iohn leeson : marke saith the worthy iudge , the murtherer askes the other , the other doth not first enquire of him : a manifest token of his guilty conscience , and apparant euidence accusing himselfe . now it is proued that he and worlich were in the company of iohn leeson at the mill-hill , after which iohn was neuer seene againe . now many other speeches are remembred , that had formerly passed betweene land and others in their cuppes , tending to the particular fact , of casting them into the pond , & condemning them by their own mouthes . one special among the rest i may not omit that in a dry summer they talking of casting of ponds , and ditches , bolted out such words , that if such a pond were cast ( mentioning that where y e murthered lay ) it would go hard with three or foure of them : to passe ouer others , materiall hereunto . their examinations are manifest , that no lesse then 28 witnesses gaue in euidence concerning the fact , chalendging land by circumstance to bee the murtherer . but in so cleere a light , what need their many ? nay indeed any witnesses , when lands one actions and words are sufficient to conuince him : so iust is the lord , to cause the tongues of the wicked to fall vpon them , so wise hereby to satisfie the world , and gaine himselfe the glory of this discouery by taking the wicked in their owne craftines . well , thus we haue found out one of the murtherers , or rather he hath offered himselfe vnto vs vnsought for , or rather indeede , the lord hath brought him to the barre , euen by his owne wisedome . and so we may also conclued of worlich , faine would he haue béene gone , but the lord arrested him at yarmouth , with a fearefull sicknesse , and brought him backe againe , and his owne mouth must bewray him , to be priuy , at least , to the murther , when he told the mother , that hee was the last man that had iohn by the hand aliue and dead , in the low-countries : it being prooued that he was neuer there , and expounded wisely , by the reuerend lord chiefe justice , that he meant by the low-countries , the bottome of the pond . so now we haue two of the actors , or at least , accessaries , time will shortly ( god willing ) discouer others that are in hold . meane while , blesse we the lord , for this discouery hitherto , and iustifie we his prouidence in méeting with sinners in their kinde , euen by their owne mouthes . and aboue all , take we heede of wisedome in sinne , because it will prooue greatest foolishnesse in the end . blesse we the lord for good magistrates , that will sift and bolt out hidden wickednesse : and pray we heartily for their liues and welfare , by whose meanes we enioy our liues and liuelihoods : yea , that which is most precious aboue all , the hope of life to come , in the liberty of the gospell , being wise in our seuerall places , to shame and discouer sinne , that so wee may bee kept from participation and danger , there-from , and yet charitable in couering the infirmities of our brethren , least otherwise casting them off by our rigor and indiscretion , wee force them to breake out through despaire , into desperate wickednesse . thus of the first scoene of the second part of this tragedy , concerning the discouery of the murther and murtherers . chap. 5. declareth the conuiction of the murtherers : 1. where the euidences against them are published and opened by the iudge . 2 their inditements found hereupon by the iury . 3 their obstinacy vpon their finding declared and discussed , with the vse of all . by that which formerly hath beene related , concerning the discouery of the murtherers , and such euidences alleadged thereunto , howsoeuer it may séeme the matter to bee so cleere , as that it neede no further triall , yet this being but a preparatiue to ripen the businesse , that so it might haue it publicke and iudiciall triall at the barre : it shall be very necessary to adde somewhat concerning y e equity and solemnity , of that honorable trial , to the stopping of all gain-saying lippes , and to the aduancement of gods glory , in such righteous proceeding . and heere to say nothing of the manner of these trials by witnesses to proue the fact , and iurers to finde the same , ( a course so warrantable , both by the practice of god himselfe , and all nations , euen by the instinct of nature , that it shall bee in vaine to light a candle when the sunne shineth so cleerely : ) giue me leaue , i pray you , to poynt at some things especially remarkeable in this triall , for the more cléere iustifying , and benefit thereof . as , first , that whereas out of the mouth of two or three witnesses euery truth shall stand : we haue not onely heere apparant circumstances , euen from the mouth and actions of the delinquents , to conuince them sufficiently of the fact , but also no lesse then 28. euidences were taken by the worthy iustice , all of great moment , by way of circumstance and consequence to proue the same : whereof , though no more then 18. were produced at the barre , because time ( which there is precious ) would haue béene otherwise taken vp , and those that were produced in the iudgement of the honourable iudge , were sufficient , yea , more then enough : yet who could desire more then so many euidences , especially , seeing the rest all aymed at the same end ? so cléere was this triall , so fully iustified . secondly , whereas exception against witnesses , as it is vsually admitted in honourable trials so being denied , may seeme to challenge the equity of them , this is also obseruable for the iustifying of this triall , that howsoeuer the accused were obstinate in denying , or faint in acknowledging the fact : yet , as there was no iust reason , why they should except against the witnesses , so either they did not except against them at all , or onely made such cauils , as either were not consonant to reason , or did confound themselues by their contradiction , or were but triflings to differ or elude justice . thirdly , whereas in such infamous and strange cases , for the further conuiction of them . the voyce of the people is as the voyce of god , that what generally is currant and auouched , by the generallity , carries with it some warrant of truth : it may bee obserued also for the further iustifying of this triall , there hath not beene hard of a more generall consent of the people in any trialls , desiring the discouery of the truth , and approuing , yea , applauding the detection thereof , then was manifest at this triall . lastly , if contraries may be gathered by their contraries , seeing it is the policy and malice of satan , then to resist the light most , when it shiues most cléerely , may not the obstinacy of land , in opposing such cleere and manifest euidence , that was brought against him , as prouing hereby more effectuall to harden his heart , by making him desperate , the more cleerely he was conuinced thereby , may not this obstinacy , i say , of that accursed wretch , serue much more to iustifie the truth of this honorable triall . i touch this last poynt of speciall purpose , both to satisfie the wise in this particular , whereat the ignorant vsually stumble , and also to stop the mouth of all gaine-saying herein . for why should it seeme strange to any , that offenders should so differ in the issue of their conuiction , that the one should be penitent , and confesse the fact , as worlich in part hath done , by referring himselfe to the mercy of the judge , the other should still remaine obstinate , euen to the death , in the iustifying of himselfe . haue we not examples of the like in the booke of god , one thiefe beeing penitent on the crosse , and the other continuing obstinate to the death . and may not the eternall decree of god , of two in a bed , electing the one , and reiecting the other , iustifie the execution thereof , in the very last breath , the one iustifying his sinne on the gallowes , and so condemning himselfe , the other acknowledging his fault , and so interessing himselfe in the mercy of god. and is there not apparant reason of this desperate obstinacy ? may not common course preuaile in this case , which is to pleade not guilty to the fact ? may not hope of life induce thereunto , thereby to preuaile , if it may be , with a corrupt , or pittifull and ignorant iurie , and when once we haue denied the fact , may not credite or obstinacy continue in that note ? is it not too apparant , that many preferring their credit and good of their posterity , before their conscience and benefit of their soules , doe therefore stand obstinate in the deniall of that , which their owne conscience cōuinceth them of : what else meant y e answer of gardiner to bishop day , whē he exorted him on his death-bed , to trust onely in the mercy of christ , and renounce all popish trash and selfe-deseruing . did not the conscience of that bloud-sucker conuince him of the truth ? and yet did the glory and credit of his profession carry him contrary in that reply , that if that gap were opened all would be gone . nay , may not such consequences follow hereupon , that if they confesse the truth , others shal be drawne in danger , and so either by bribery or flattery , compassion , or such like , many are contented to sell away their owne soules to satan , for the preseruing of others . doe not these things vsually fall out , and might not land bee hardened in his sinne , by some or all these meanes ? howsoeuer let him die in his sinne , and let vs liue to glorifie god , in making a holy vse of these things : though not absolutely iudging of any by their ends : yet wisely iudging of the end , by the former life : that they which liue desperately , doe vsually die obstinately : and so let vs by the ends of such men , labour to reforme our liues , taking héede of custome in sinne , and hardening our hearts therein , lest when we would , we cannot leaue it , and when we cannot leaue it , we grow to iustifie it , and so not onely die therein , but dye eternally thereby . concerning further guidences , and acts of the iurie , because they are onely matters of forme , or needlesse in so great light , i willingly passe them ouer , resting myselfe on such collections , as i haue gathered for the iustifying of the proceedings . and thus farre of the second scoene of the second part of the tragedy , concerning the conuiction and casting of the murtherers . chap. 6. of the condemnation and iudgement giuen vpon the malefactors , where after entrance made hereto : 1 the religious and learned speech of the thrice reuerand iudge , is published , tending to iustifie the righteous hand of god heroin , as also to prepare the delinquents to an holy vse thereof . 2 the sentence it selfe followeth , with the great clemency and moderation thereof . 3. with diuers passages and profitable vses of the same . wee are now come vnto the dismall day , wherein the murtherers receiued their sentence of condemnation and iudgement thereupon . a day most comfortable to the godly , as wherein they obserue , the law of god executed , that the murtherer without any admittance of priuiledge , or psalme of mercy , must die the death , that so blood might be recompensed with blood , and the land may be clensed from the guilt thereof . and so according thereunto , justice administred without respect of persons , & yet with great wisedome , according to the different degrees and circumstances in the committing of the crime . heere is no admittance of sanctuarie , nor any such like protection to frustrate the course of justice , and nuzling of the wicked in their sinne ; so happy are we that god hath taken from our necks that cruell and bloody yoake of antichrist , who not onely maintained his owne tyranny by blood , but also protected others therein : and yet much more in this respect miserable , if we shall not bee more thankefull for the light of the gospell , and improoue the time of our visitation , with more profit and aduantage . but blessed bee the lord for the fruit of his word , that justice hath his due course , iniquity braues it not vncontrould , and righteousnesse may haue countenance enough , if it bee accompanied with sobriety and meekenesse of wisedome . if sincerity be made a cloake for contentions and priuate lucre : is it not wisedome to pluck off this vizard , that so the hypocrite may be ashamed , and the sober christian iustified . but whither am i going ? i must retire my selfe to my present station . we are now expecting the judgement giuen vpon these malefactors : and blessed be god , our expectation was more then satisfied . oh how true is it , that judges are in the place of god , that he honoureth them as his deputies , and furnisheth them extraordinarily with diuine gifts : what maiesty doth shine in their honourable persons , what wisedome and equity flowes from their lippes , what righteousnesse mixed with clemency , appeares in their sentences ? harken , i pray you , vnto that which followeth , & witnesse with me the truth of all these . the bench being set , the prisoners are called to the barre : doubtfull matters are referred to a further cleering , smaller offences are censured accordingly : the greater and capitall crimes of blood , and such like , come now to be sentenced : and that the sentence may be better layd to heart , and take déeper impression to worke repentance , and so thereby prepare the offenders to their deaths : harken , i pray you , vnto the diuine and graue speech , the reuerend judge , makes vnto them in such words as these . the speech at the giuing of iudgement . you prisoners at the barre , whose liues now stand wayting vpon death , as you looke vp to vs with feare , so wee looke downe vpon you with sorrow . your feare is to receiue punishment for your mis-doing , and our sorrow is that wee must pronounce it . yet not without hope to bring you to repentance , which may gaine you pardon for your sin . but as wee haue the commaundement of god , to warrant , and comfort vs herein , that the malefactor must die : so wee hartily desire of god , that your condemnation may not bee of death vnto death , but rather a meanes to a better life . now in these cases three things best befit a iudge , which are discretion , correction , and comfort . 1 discretion , to make an offender know his fault . 2 correction , to pronounce , and inflict the punishment . 3. comfort , that notwithstanding the denouncing , and inflicting of the punishment yet so to prepare the delinquent vnto death , that he may find life in death , and so see heauen vpon earth , before the world leaues him , and he the world . concerning the knowledge of your fault , that will best appeare by your acknowledgment thereof . for without this acknowledgment , there can be no sound repentance . thus did god himselfe deale with his seruant dauid in those his vncleane and bloody facts , first to bring him to the sight of those sinnes , he put the case by another , and so brought dauid to pronounce sentence vpon himselfe , so my desire is , that each of you would make dauids case your owne . and as in the like facts you would bee ready , in another mans case to pronounce sentence as he did , against the man that had dealt so cruelly ; so now to make his example your paterne , to make it your owne case . that as hee being conuinced by the prophet to bee the man , whom he had condemned in the like case of another , was thereby brought to an acknowledgement of his owne sin , and so receiue a gratious acquittance : so you also being now conuicted of your heauy and bloody facts , by such apparant euidence : may by dauids example , bee brought to an acknowledgement thereof , and so with dauid obtaine an answere of the pardon of your sin : howsoeuer for the satisfying of the world , and humbling of the flesh , you are like with dauid to answere bloud for bloud . the second thing i noted was correction . but the better to prepare you for it , tell mee you poore soules that haue had a great portion of sorrow by your imprisonment , if these three things do not now trouble you more then euer before , that is , sorrow , shame and feare . 1 sorrow for your life past so wickedly missed . 2 shame for your present facts . 3 feare not so much of your present punishment , which ends in the punishment : as of the iudgement to come , bringing with it eternall torments , and yet beginning but where the other ends . to begin with this last : ( because if it had beene well remembred by you , it might haue preuented the former , and yet being well applyed may release you from the latter : ) that you may take a deeper impression of that great and generall assizes . be you aduised , not so much to looke vpon vs , who haue only power to kill the body , as to looke vp vnto the lord , who hath power to destroy both body and soule : and remember his last and dreadfull comming in the clouds , where each of you must appeare personally , without deputy , delay , or aduocate , to receiue according to your workes which you haue done in your bodies , be they good or euill . and that you may preuent the extremity of that iugdement ; my aduice vnto you is , that you would erectin a iudgement seate your owne soules , iudging your selues by the euidence of your owne consciences , that so you may not be iudged of the lord. so did dauid obtaine the pardon of his sinne , he had no sooner iudged himselfe for his sinnes : and confessed them vnto the lord , but the lord forgaue him the iniquity of them all : and no sooner shal you acknowledge your selues worthy to die , but the lord will answere you , you shall not die , but liue . for if you be now dead in sin , by hardening your harts in the deniall thereof : though you be liuing to the world , yet you are dead vnto god , and so shall neuer die out of the punishment of sin , how soeuer you be euer dying in the horror thereof . but if you shall now dievnto sin by vnfayned repentance : though you may die for your sin , by the hand of man , yet you shall liue for euer without sin , by the power of god. and therefore howsoeuer you must die temporally to satisfie the law , yet remember , this is but of the body , and that for a time : and consider with all that there is another death co come , both of body and soule , wherein you shall die eternally from-god , and yet liue eternall to intollerable torments . consider then i pray you the terrour of that great day : where the fire howsoeuer spirituall , yet shall thereby bee the more intollerable ; and yet the conscience shal be more stinging , then the fire tormenting : and the euerlasting exclusion from the presence of god , shall make vp the measure of those vnsufferable torments . if they were but for a hundred , or a thousand , nay a million of yeares : yet there were some hope at length of release : but remember , that the worme neuer dyeth , the fire neuer goet out , because the wrath of god like a riuer of brimstone , doth continually maintaine the same . thus you may meditate vpon those endles torments . and this by gods mercy , may worke in you that hartie and seasonable sorrow for your present sinnes , whereby you may prepare to your present ends , and so preuent those endles torments . but be not too suddaine in applying mercy , when your sinnes haue beene so many . for it is not euery one , that saith lord , lord , shall enter into the kingdome of heauen . consider , also that there can be no comfort in god , till there be true sorrow for sinne : the best sacrifices were sodden in the sowrest hearbs : and the sacrifice best pleasing vnto god , is that , of a broken and contrite heart . onely bee you wise to try your sorrow . there is a sorrow vnto death which is carnall and hypocritical , rather greiuing for the punishment , then the offence : if therefore you will bee sorry in hope of 〈…〉 y , you must in 〈…〉 god in your punishment , 〈◊〉 〈…〉 ere farre greater , and greiua for your sinnes , that haue deserued more . for your punishment is not great or then your faint , but your 〈…〉 t greater then your punishment . if you would farther trik the sinceritie of your sorrow : examine it then by the fruit thereof . godly sorrow breeds repentance , and true repentance expresseth it selfe in the hearty confession of sin : and true confession , is not forced , but voluntarie : not only of what apparant euidence wrings from vs , but what is secret , and only knowne to our selues , and vnto god. and thi●●e it not enough to satisfie the world , of what you are now conuicted of , vnlesse you also discharge your conscience ( so farre as possibly you may remember ) of all that hidden burthen of sin , which at the day of iudgement will be certainely layd open , and charged vpon you , euen to your vtter pressing downe , and ouerwhelming for euer : and withall lay it to your harts , that if you shall fayle to acknowledge , what you are now conuicted of : as you shall least of all satisfie god , who knoweth your harts , to shall you not satisfie the world in this your obstinacy , which must needs bee conuicted , with such apparant euidences , as haue bene deliuered : and so iustly condemne you , in that wherein you seeke to iustifie your selues let me heare speak vnto you euen from my very soule , and set you in a way for your soules eternall good . do not thinke that euery psalme of miserere is sufficient to expiate your fault , or to giue you an interest in the pardō of your sin : no , i tell you , you must confesse your faults to the world ; be-before you leaue the world . you haue offended god , and man ; as farre as confession may yeeld satisfaction , do it care you die . oh feare and remember that saying . as the tree falls , so it lies . if you bee dead while you liue , you cannot hope to liue when you are dead . if we forget our sinnes , god will remember them , and if we confesse them , god will forget them . remember the good successe of the prodigall child : hee no sooner came home to his father , and confessed his sin , but his father ran to meete him , and kissed him , killed the fatted calfe for him , and cloathed him with the be 〈…〉 〈…〉 yment . euen so our heauenly eather , hath offered his onely sonne , as the fatted calfe , for the redemption of all penitent sinners , he is ready to meete vs , if wee bee comming to him by repentance , nay to kisse and embrace vs , if we cast of our sinnes , and insteed of those theenish raggs , you weare to cloath you with that glorious robe of his perfect righteousnesse . this i hope and wish that you may be so happie as to finde . and therefore i desire you to embrace the mercy of god that is now offered vnto you . labour to breake your hard harts with the consideration of his tender compassions , and ease your distressed soules by the the acknowledgement of your sinnes . remember , that god will not endure a stubborne sinner but they which are heauie laden with the burthen of their sins , shal be welcome vnto him . and to this end , aboue all things , take heede of desparing . consider that the mercy of god is aboue all your mysery whatsoeuer , and that you shall more offend in disparing of gods mercy , then in shedding of the blood of so many innocents : euē as iudas more offended in despayring of the pardon of his sinne , then in betraying of that iust one , who was the ransome for his sinne : and let this last part be the best , which is to comfort you . now i commend you with my best affections , to the mercy and goodnesse of god , wishing you to glorifie god in the confession of your greinous faults remembring that no time can priueledge , no place conceale , nor persons beare downe , and smother the shedding of blood : but god in his due time will discouer the same , and make the places of concealement , the stages of discouery . yea , he will make the actors themselues to discouer their owne sinnes . the blood of abel shall crie for vengeance from the earth ; and the blood of these murthered soules hath cried for vengeance from the bottome of the pond . and therefore iustifie god in this wonderfull discouery . and so the lord giue you wisedome in time , to make your peace with him . this was the effect of the reuerend iudges exhortation , as himselfe pleased to anow the same . which beeing ended , their iudgement was pronounced , and so respited till manday , for their execution , that so , in the méan time , they might bee prepared by repentance to the comfortable issue thereof . and this of the third scoene of this second part of this tragedy . chap. 7. 1 containing the execution of the murtherers , 2 and such accidents as fell out therein . 3 together with such vses as may be made thereof . vve are now come to the last scoene of this tragedy , concerning the execution of the murtherers . and herein we may first behold the singular wisedome of god in disposing thereof , according to the diuers condition of the murtherers . for , wheras there was two conuicted & condemned , for this haynous murther ; namely , land and worlich : though these both were brought to the gallowes , and knew no more but they should both dye , yet such was the prouidence of god , guiding the heart of the reuerend iudge , that the one being more tractable to confesse the truth , and giuing sou 〈…〉 hope of his repentance , both for his owne and the countries good ( who expect yet a further discouery of foure principall offenders , not yet knowne or conuicted : ) hee was therefore onely brought vpon the ladder , and so prepared to execution , that so he might conuince the other of the crime , being still obstinate therein , and satisfie the world concerning his owne guiltinesse of the fact : wherein , as he did not obscurely bewray himselfe , at least an accessary , though not so cleerely and particularly as was expected for his comfort , yet he spared not to challenge his fellow , standing obstinate on the dentall , and by many circumstances conuicted him to 〈…〉 es the chiefe murtherer : whereby , as it may seeme , hee was not an actor in the murther himselfe , but onely priuie thereto by relation or consequence , so was hee therefore repriued , for the further cleering of the truth , and freeing of his owne conscience from any secret burthen yet lay therevpon . as for the other , who the more hee was conuicted , remained still more obstinate : whether in policy , that hee might be also repriued , in hope of mollifying his heart , and bringing him to repentance , or vpon desperatenesse , and so seeing no way but one , must now prepare himselfe to the vengeance of god , and confound the worlds expectation , or harden the world in such like sinnes : therefore was he iustly cut off , that he might doe no more mischiefe , though to his owne greater confusion , thus dying in his sinne . and yet behold the power of gods iustice preuayling on his conscience , though he would not confesse his sinne in particular , yet he acknowledged to his shame , what the world tooke too much notice of , and himselfe did formerly much glory in , that he was much delighted in drunkennnsse himselfe ; yea , which was the hight of his sin , he was strong to be are his drinke , and so gloried to draw others into the same excesse , that so hee might pride himselfe in his great power , that could out drinke others , and thereby also more easily make prey of them . which , as it was the meanes whereby hee caught iohn leeson in his snare , so if consequents may be gathered by their antecedēts , it must needs follow hereupon that he made prey of him : especially , seeing he could not deny , but he accompanied him that day at the mill-hill , when he was made away , and his pretences that iohn was gone for ireland , as were disprooued and confounded by contradictions in his owne , and wiues speeches . but howsoeuer such apparent conuictions , both at the barre and gallowes , euen from his owne mouth , though he stil denied the : fact , as 〈◊〉 hath bin giuen heretofore the t 〈…〉 , so wee hope time will more 〈…〉 eetely discouer his madnesse herein . and so we leaue him to the fruite of his si 〈…〉 . but before we end this sc 〈…〉 , one scruple is to be cleered , that wheras justice so 〈…〉 ends the 〈…〉 ying thereof in the punishment of the body , as that it specially aymes at the good of the soule : it might seeme therefore to haue beene fitter , that worlich being more penitent , would haue dyed presently , and land being so obstinate , should haue beene respited for his better preparing to his end . for satisfaction where of , we must know , that as the iudgement against sinne is directed by a speciall in 〈…〉 ct scour god , and so therin doth vsually 〈…〉 ble his 〈…〉 teous 〈◊〉 , which is , th 〈…〉 to h 〈…〉 that hath shal be giuen , but to him th 〈…〉 nothing , shall be taken away 〈◊〉 that which he s 〈…〉 th 〈…〉 haue : therefore to worlich that hath some spacke of grace , and 〈…〉 rse , opportunity was further yeelded to encrease and perfect the worke , and from land that hath nothing , in truth if wee may c 〈…〉 e by the effect , therefore that was taken away which it seemed belonged vnto him , euen longer time and space of repentance , a notable image of gods righteous decras , in the hardening of y e one & softning of the other , and a wise item to obstinate sinners , that what they haue beene in their liues , they likely prooue in their deathes . and withall , a sweete word of comfort , to al broken and bleeding hearts , that the lord wil waite vpon them that he may haue mercy vpon them . and this we wish hartily , may be portion of that poore soule that now is respited in the hope thereof . and thus endeth the history of this bloudy tragedy . iustifying the righteous do 〈…〉 e of the lord , that he that sheddeth mans bloud by man shall his bloud be shed againe . chap. 8. containing the conclusion of the whole . with promise of further light . thus hast thou , christian reader , a briefe of the most lamentable history which euer i heard or read of concerning the cruell murther of this widowes children . together with the admirable discouery thereof by the finger of god , as also the procéedings against so many of the malefactors as are yet discouered . what now remaineth but that thou glorifie god with me for the execution of his righteous iudgements . assuring thee that as i was an eye witnesse of these particulars , so i haue deliuered thee therein the truth , according to the euidences confirmed by the consent of the best warrants to establish the same : onely i haue forborne to specifie the particular information of many witnesses , because as many of them were spared at the barre , séeing the rest were sufficient ; so of those that were giuen in , i haue also spared some , as specifying the same in effect with those that are wouen into the history : because i did not so much respect the order of their allegations at the barre , as the fitnesse of their application , to the vse and life of the story . if herein i haue giuen any light or spirit by this manner of handling , remember i wrote it not , for a nine dayes wonder to vanish like a dreame ; but that it might leaue such impression in thy heart , as might prouoke thée to know the lord by his executing of justice : and so hereby learne to make vse of his prouidence in all his workes : promising thee , that if thou shalt profitably vse this discouery to this end , thou shalt be fitted not onely with further light herein , as occasion shall be offered , but as thou maiest make profitable vse of many other labours published by me formerly for the common good : so thou shalt shortly be furnished with my long expected paines , concerning the delusions of the time , and cure of a wounded spirit , which i am reuising and polishing at my best leysure , s for thy good herein . and so desiring thy harty prayers vnto god for his furtherance hereunto , i commend thee to the grace of our glorious lord. in whom i rest , thine and the churches seruant tho. cooper . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a19288-e920 heb. 2. 13. ierem. 44. 16. rom. 7. 8. 9. psalm . 50. eccle. 8. iob 22. rom. 6. 1. 1. thes. 2 , 12. hos. 14. 13. 14. ioh. 8. 44. the heynnusnesse and greatnesse of this sinne . by the obiect . psal. 10. causes of murther . 1 enuy. 2 pride . 3 adultery . 4 iealousie . 5 lust. 6 ambition . 7 couetousnesse . 7 rage : 9 bitter speaking : two cautions . antidotes to preuent murther . to mainetain peace with god. reuel . 13. 11. pro. 7. psal. 55. math. 6. psal. 37. vse . pro. 23. vse . thomas leeson . 1. thes. 5. 5. psal. 9. 13. 14. reuel . 6. 9 rom. 8. 19 20. psa. 58. 12. psal. 75. 2. plato in timeo . case of the guise iustified , and marquesse d'ancre . as in the case of nadab and abiu , cosbi and zimri . sir henry mountague , lord chiefe iustiée . a murderer punished and pardoned, or, a true relation of the wicked life and shameful-happy death of thomas savage imprisoned, justly condemned, and twice executed at ratcliff for his bloody fact in killing his fellow-servant on wednesday, octob. 28, 1668 / by us who were often with him in the time of his imprisonment in newgate and at his execution, robert franklin ... [et al.]. to which is annexed a sermon preached at his funeral. 1671 approx. 138 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 41 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a26716 wing a997 estc r26456 09471210 ocm 09471210 43212 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a26716) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 43212) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1298:10) a murderer punished and pardoned, or, a true relation of the wicked life and shameful-happy death of thomas savage imprisoned, justly condemned, and twice executed at ratcliff for his bloody fact in killing his fellow-servant on wednesday, octob. 28, 1668 / by us who were often with him in the time of his imprisonment in newgate and at his execution, robert franklin ... [et al.]. to which is annexed a sermon preached at his funeral. r. a. (richard alleine), 1611-1681. franklin, robert, 1630-1684. 72 p. [s.n.], london : 1671. attributed to richard alleine--wing. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng savage, thomas, d. 1668. blay, hannah. murder -great britain. 2006-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-12 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-07 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2007-07 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a murderer punished , and pardoned . or , a true relation of the wicked life , and shameful-happy death of thomas savage , imprisoned , justly condemned , and twice executed at ratcliff , for his bloody fact in killing his fellow-servant , on wednesday , octob. 28. 1668. by us who were often with him in the time of his imprisonment in newgate , and at his execution ; robert franklin , thomas doolitel , thomas vincent , james janeway , hugh baker . to which is annexed a sermon preached at his funeral . the thirteenth edition : with the addition of the leud life , and shameful death of hannah blay , who was condemned and executed for being guilty of the bloody murther committed by tho. savage . with other new additions . london , printed in the year , 1671. to the reader . in the following narrative you have a relation of the bloody murther committed by t. savage , with an account of the wonderful mercies of god to his poor soul after the commiting so bloody a sin . to which is added a short relation of the carriage and behaviour of that vile strumpet hannah blay , during the time of her being in newgate to her execution : which ( though it had nothing in it worthy to be related , yet ( she being an instrumental cause of that bloody resolution , was thought fit to be inserted , that she may remain as an example of shame to all lewd women , and a severe example of gods justice upon such cruel monsters , who are not content with endangering the souls of such ignorant young men ( that have not the fear of god before their eies ( with their abominable whoredoms and adulteries , but as it were to make sure of destroying both body and soul together , by adding to their former sins the guilt of shedding innocent blood . and as you have a wonderful instance of gods free-grace to the soul of t. s. so the foulness of his fact , the danger of damning his soul , and the twice shameful execution which he suffered , may be a means to preserve all young men and apprentices from being guilty of the like fact . and as a help to you herein , you are advised to be careful what company you keep . that you addict not your selves to drinking , or gaming , or company keeping , which is the ruin of many young men , who by getting a habit of keeping company , or other vices , are very often drawn to purloin from their masters to maintain them in their extravagancies : by which means , they do not only run the hazard of exposing their bodies to publick shame ( if they be discovered ) to the great grief , and even heart-breaking of their friends , ( when they hear of ill courses ) but the wrath of god , and eternal damnation of their poor souls , as you may see in the narrative of t. s. who first began with company keeping , from company keeping to whoring , from whoring to thieving and murther . and lastly , be careful to spend the lords day , and all other spare time in the service of god , as reading , praying , hearing the word preached , &c. which may be a means to preserve thee from the guilt of sins of this nature ; and other sins likewise , if thou apply thy self seriously to this work . but whiles i am advising of others , i my self commit an error in exceeding my bounds ( being confined to a page , ) i rest a real well-wisher to the eternal happiness of thy immortal soul. blood doth cry aloud ; the blood of man , when violently shed by cruel hands for private revenge or covetousness , or the satisfaction of some such base lust doth cry as far as from earth to heaven for vengeance : and however some horrible murders may be seeretly plotted , and as secretly effected , yet seldom are they long unpunished , even in this world ; for besides that , sometimes the guilty-accusing consciences of such persons who have committed this hainous crime , do so inwardly lash and torment them , that they can find no rest untill they have made discovery of the fact with their own mouth ; there is the all-seeing eye of a sin-revenging god which doth find them , and a strange hand of his providence which doth often follow them , and entangle them in their steps ( when they are flying , and seeking some hidden place ) which doth as it were bind them before they are in chains , and deliver them before they are aware into the hands of justice to be punished . but there is another blood which doth send forth a louder cry , namely , the blood of the lord jesus christ , which was shed for the sins of men , which speaketh better things than the blood of abel , crying for mercy and forgiveness : this blood hath such prevalency and virtue , that when it is applied by faith unto the most notorious malefactor guilty of blood as well as other wickedness , it doth out-cry and drown the voice of blood , and every other sin , and washeth the most impure soul died in sin , unto a scarlet and crimson hue . this blood we hope was sprinkled upon the conscience of this murderer , who had a little before , embrued his hands in the blood of his fellow-servant : for having given such evidences of his sincere repentance , and true faith unto several of its ministers and other christians that were with him before , and at his execution ; we hope , though he were justly punished with the first death by the hand of man for his crime , that through infinite free grace and christ's blood , he hath escaped the second death , and wrath of god in hell. the narrative may give the same satisfaction to others which we the publishers hereof have received ; which is as followeth . thomas savage born in the parish of giles's in the fields , was put out apprentice to mr. collins vintner , at the ship-tavern in ratcliff , where he lived about the space of one year and three quarters , in which time he manifested himself to all that knew him , to be a meer monster in sin ; in all that time he never once knew what it was to hear one whole sermon , but used to go in at one door , and out at the other , and accounted them fools that could spare so much time from sin , as two or three hours on a lords-day , to spend in the lords service : he spent the sabbath commonly at the ale-house , or rather at a base-house with that vile strumpet hannah blay , which was the cause of his ruine ; he was by a young man ( now gone to sea ) first enticed to go drink there , and after that he went alone , and now and then used to bring her a bottle or two of wine , which satisfied not her wicked desires , but she told him , if he would frequent her house , he must bring mony with him ; he told her often he could bring none but his masters , and he never wronged his master of two pence in his life ; still she enticed him to take it privately ; he replied , he could not do it , because the maid was alwaies at home with him ; hang her jade , saith this impudent slut , knock her brains out , and i will receive the money . this she many times said ; and that day that he committed the murder , he was with her in the morning , and she made him drunk with burnt brandy , and he wanted one groat to pay of his reckoning : she then again perswaded him to knock the maid on the head , and she would receive the mony ; he going home between twelve and one of the clock , his master standing at the street-door , did not dare to go in that way , but climeth over a back-door , and commeth into a room where his fellow-servants were at dinner : o , saith the maid to him , sirrah , you have been now at this bawdy house , you will never leave till you are undone by them : he was much vexed at her , and while he was at dinner , the devil entred so strong into him , that nothing would satisfie but he must kill her ; and no other way , but with the hammer : to which end , when his master was gone with all the rest of the family to church , leaving only the maid and this boy at home ; he goeth into the bar , fetcheth the hammer , and taketh the bellows in his hand , and sitteth down by the fire , and there knocketh the bellows with the hammer : the maid saith to him , sure the boy is mad ; sirrah , what do you make this noise for ? he said nothing , but went from the chair , and lay along in the kitchen window , and knocked with the hammer there ; and on a sudden threw the hammer with such force at the maid , that hitting her on the head , she fell down presently , screeching out ; then taking up the hammer three times , and did not dare to strike her any more : at last the devil was so great with him , that he taketh the hammer , and striketh her many blows with all the force he could , and even rejoyced that he had got the victory over her : which done , he immediately taketh the hammer , and with it strikes at the cupboard-door in his master chamber , which being but slit deal , presently flew upon , and thence he taketh out a bag of money , and putting it under his arm under his cloak , he went out at a back-dore strait-way to this base house again , when he came thither , the slut would fain have seen what he had under his cloak , and knowing what he had done , would very fain have had the money ; he gave her half a crown , and away he went without any remorse for what he had done ; going over a stile , he sat down to rest himself , and then began to think with himself , lord , what have i done ! and he would have given ten thousand worlds he could have recalled the blow ; after this he was in so much horror , that he went not one step but he thought every one he met came to take him ; he got that night to greenwich , and lay there , telling the people of the house that he was to go down to gravesend ; that night he rose and walked about , and knew not what to do , conscience so flew in his face . the mistress of the house perceiving the lad to have money , and not sealed up , said , i wish this lad came by this money honestly ; the next morning ▪ he going away towards woollidge , the mistress of the house could not be satisfied , but sent for him back , and told him , sweet heart , i fear you came not by this money honestly ; yes indeed mistress ( saith he ) i did , for i am carrying of it down to gravesend to my master a wine-cooper , we live upon london-bridge , and if you please to send any one to my mistress , i will leave the money with you ; so there were some people going to london , and he writ a note to send to his mistress , and he left the money with the woman of the house , and went his way , wandering towards woollidge , and there was in the ship-yard ; about which time news came to greenwich of the murther that was committed at ratcliff by a youth upon his fellow servant , and that a bag of money was taken away ; the mistress of the house forthwith concluded that sure it was the same youth that was at her house , and that that was the mony ; whereupon she sent men out presently to seek him , who found him in an alehouse , where he had called for one pot of beer , and was laid down with his head on the table , and faln asleep : one of the men calling him by his name , tom , saith he , did not you live at ratcliff ? he said yes ; and did not you murther your fellow-servant ? he confessed it ; and you took so much mony from your master ? he acknowledged all ; then said they , you must go along with us , he said , yes , with all my heart . so they went forthwith to greenwich to the house where he lay that night , where when he came , he met his master with some friends , and when his master spake to him of it , he was not much affected at first , but after a little while burst out into many tears ; thence he was conveyed to the justice at ratcliff , where he fully confessed the fact again ; and by him was committed close prisoner in the goal of newgate , where mr. h. b. ( who after some acquaintance with him , and this preceding narrative from his own mouth ) came to see and speak with him , and he seemed but little sensible of what he had done : are you ( said he ) the person that committed the murther upon the maid at ratcliff ? he said yes , o what think you of your condition ? what think you will become of your precious soul ? you have by this sin not only brought your body to the grave , but your soul to hell , without infinite mercy : were you not troubled for the fact when you did it ? not for the present sir , said he , but soon after i was , when i began to think with my self what i had done . the next time he asked him , whether he were sorry for the fact ? he said , wringing his hands , and striking his brest , with tears in his eyes , yes , sir , for it cuts me to the heart to think that i should take away the life of a poor innocent creature ; and that is not all , but for any thing i know , i have sent her soul to hell. o how can i think to appear before gods bar , when she shall stand before me , and say , lord this wretch took away my life , and gave me not the least space that i might return to thee : he gave me now no warning at all , lord. o then what will become of me ? soon after the imprisonment of this thomas savage , in newgate , upon the desire of one of his friends , mr. r. f. and t. v. went to him in the prison , and had liberty , with much readiness , from the keepers to discourse with him : they asked him , if he were the person that had murthered the maid ? he answered , that he was : they did then open to him the hainous nature of that sin , endeavouring to set it home upon his conscience ; telling him of the express law of god , thou shalt not kill , and the express threatning , that whosoever sheddeth mans blood , by man shall his blood be shed . they spake to him of the law of the land , and the punishment of death which would certainly be inflicted upon him ; that he had but a few weeks more to live , and then he would be tryed , and condemned , and executed : but they told him , that the punishment of temporal death was but small in comparison with the punishment of eternal death in hell , which he had deserved , and was exposed unto . they told him , that so soon as death should make a separation between his soul and body , that his soul must immediately appear before the dreadful tribunal of the sin-revenging god , and there receive its final doom , and be irreversibly sentenced to depart from the presence of the lord , in everlasting fire , if he were found under the guilt of this or any other sin . they asked him if he knew what hell was ? telling him what a fearful thing it would be for him to fall into the hands of the living god , how intollerable the immediate impressions of gods wrath would be upon his soul ! what horrour and anguish he would there be filled withal ! and how he would be bound up in chains of darkness until the judgement of the great day ! and then told him of the glorious appearance of the lord jesus christ to judgment , that soul and body should be then joyned together , and condemned together , and punished together , with such exquisite torments as never entered into the heart of man to conceive ! declaring the extremity and the eternity of the torments of hell , which were the just demerit of his sins . then they asked him , whether he had any hopes of escaping this dreadful punishment of hell ? he answered that he had . they enquired into the grounds of his hopes ; he told them that he repented of his fault , and hoped god would have mercy on his soul. they asked him , whether he thought his repentance would procure for him a pardon ? he knew no other way . they told him that god was just , and his justice must be satisfied , and there was no way for him to do it , but by undergoing the eternal torments of hell , and did he know no way of satisfying gods justice besides , and pacifying his anger that was kindled against him ? no , he knew not any ; and 〈◊〉 did he hope to be saved ? he answered , yes . they ●●quired whether ever he had experience of a gracious change wrought in him . herein he could give no account , and yet hoped to be saved . yes . they told him his hopes were unsound , having no good foundation , and he would find himself disappointed ; that it was not his repentance , his tears , and prayers ( though he ought to use them as means ) that would save him , if he fixed the anchor of his hope upon them . that if he hoped to be saved in the condition which for the present he was in , he would certainly be damned . that he must cast away all those groundless hopes he had conceived , and endeavour to despair in himself , that being pricked and pained at heart , through the apprehensions of the wrath of god ready to fall upon him , and seeing no possibility of flying and and escaping , if he looked only to himself , he might cry out , what shall i do to be saved ? and enquire after a saviour : and then they spake to him of the lord jesus christ , and the way of salvation by him , which before he was sottishly ignorant of , as if he been brought up in a countrey of infidels , and not of christians . the words spoken to him by these two ministers , seemed to take little impression upon him , whilst they were present ; yet after they were gone , the lord did begin to work , and he did acknowledg to mr. b. that two had been with him ( he knew not their names ) whose words were like arrows shot into his heart , and he did wish that he had those words in writing , especially one expression of t. v. that he would not be in his condition for ten thousand worlds , did affect and so affright him , that he said , it made his hair stand an end . an account of a discourse betwixt t. d. and t. s. about fourteen daies after he was prisoner in newgate . vvhen i came in and saw him in irons , i said , were these fetters for the sake of the gospel , they would be far more precious than chains of gold ; but see here the cursed fruits of sin , that thou shouldst all thy life-time have been a faithful servant of god , hast neglected no time to serve the devil . i asked him how old he was ? he said , 16 years old ; i told him he was a young man , but an old sinner ; then i began to set my self to bring him to a sense of his sin , and of his miserable and lost estate ; and asked him whether he believed there was a god ? he answered , yes ; and dost thou believe that this god is true ? he said , yes , and taking up the bible , i asked him , dost thou believe that this is the word of god ? he answered , yes ; then i told him , according to this word , he was a damned wretch , and god had past a sentence of death upon him ; and told him plainly that he should not enter into the kingdom of god , but be a companion of devils in a lake of brimstone to all eternity , ( meaning without repentance , conversion , and faith in christ . ) then i turned him to several scriptures , and told him this was the word by which he must be judged at the 〈◊〉 of god , and be damned or saved , according 〈◊〉 then he should be found to be , converted , o●●●…converted ; the scriptures were these , 1 cor. 6. 9. know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of god ? be not deceived : neither fornicaters , nor idolaters , nor adulterers , nor esseminate , nor abusers of themselves with mankind , ver . 10. nor thieves , nor covetous , nor drunkards , nor revilers , nor extortioners , shall inherit the kingdom of god. another scripture i read to him , was gal. 5. 19. now the works of the flesh are manifest , which are these , adultery , fornication , uncleanness , lasciviousness , ver . 20. idolatry , witchcraft , hatred , variance , emulations , wrath , strife , seditions , heresies , ver . 21. envyings , murders , drunkenness , revellings , and such like , of the which i tell you before , as i have also told you in time past , that they which do such things , shall not inherit the kingdom of god. the next scripture to the same purpose was rev. 21. 8. but the fearful , and unbelieving , and the abominable , and murderers , and whoremongers , and sorcerers , and idolaters , and all lyars , shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone , which is the second death . i told him these were the words of the holy , true , and infallible god ; this was the sentence which god had passed upon him , as the desert of those abominable sins which he was guilty of : for these scriptures pointed at several of the sins which he confessed he had lived in , and had committed , as drunkenness , lying , uncleanness , and murder . i cryed , you confess your self guilty of these sins , and that god threatneth you with eternal death , with everlasting torments , and exclusion from his presence and kingdom ; not only god's justice , but god's truth also , stood betwixt him and eternal happiness ; and told him , that i spake it with reverence , that the holy god must be a lyar , or else he dying in the guilt of these sins , must be certainly and eternally damned . i asked him , what do you think ? how will you escape the damnation of hell , and the great wrath that is to come ? you have heard what god saith , what do you say ? what course will you take , and what means will you use , that you may not according to gods threatning be cast among devils into eternal devouring flames ? to this , at present , he made no reply , but did often shake his head , and lifted up his eyes towards heaven . next i endeavoured to bring him to a sight and sense of the corruption of his nature , and of the sinfulness of his heart ; and told him all those sins were in his heart before they were actually committed ; and turned him to the saying of christ , matt. 15. 19. for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts , murders , adulteries , fornications , thefts , false-witnesses , blasphemies ; and told him that in his repentance for those sins , he must not only lay to heart , and be grieved for the outward acts , but lament and bewail the inward principle of corruption , whereby he was so strongly inclined to such horrid abominations , according to the example of david after his sins of adultery and murder , in his confession did follow them up to the rise and original from whence they did spring , psal . 51. 5. behold i was shapen in iniquity , and in sin did my mother conceive me . by this time i perceived some workings of heart within him , and that he was in some measure sensible of his lost estate , and by his deportment and carriage , to be cast down , not knowing what to do ; i was unwilling to leave him without some grounds of hope that it may be he might be saved ; that there was a possibility that he might obtain pardoning mercy , and be delivered from that great damnation that was due to him for his great transgressions . i began to open to him the readiness of christ , the fulness and sufficiency of christ to save the greatest sinners , and that god ( i hoped in mercy to his soul ) had sent me one of his embassadors to offer him a pardon , and eternal life , if he were but willing to accept of christ upon the terms of the gospel , for his lord and saviour , and did encourage and assure him , upon repentance and faith in christ , there was mercy yet for him , though a murderer , from these scriptures , isa . 1. 18. come now and let us reason together , saith the lord , though your sins be as scarlet , they shall be as white as snow ; and though they be red as crimson , they shall be as wooll . as i opened to him the great mercy of god in christ towards sinners , died in grain , that were sinners of a scarlet colour , that had committed hainous transgressions , he brake forth into tears , and wept plentifully at the tidings of mercy and possibility that such a one as he might be saved . besides , i turned him to some scripture promises , that god would certainly forgive his sins , and save his soul , if he could repent , and get faith in christ , such as , prov. 28. 13. he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin , shall find mercy ; and isa . 55. 7. let the wicked forsake his way , and the unrighteous man his thoughts : and let him return unto the lord , and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our god , for he will abundantly pardon . this scripture he diligently heeded , and turned it down in his bible ; and these two scriptures , ( the night before he suffered ) amongst others , he alledged as the grounds of his hope of mercy . i also gave him some scripture instances of great sinners that had obtained mercy , turned him to the example of manasseh , 2 chron. 33. to that of mary magdalen , luke 7. 37 , 38. to that of the jews , acts 2. 37 , 38. that were guilty of the blood of christ , that had murdered the son of god ; a greater murther than which could not be committed ; and yet upon repentance and faith , many of them were pardoned and saved . to that of paul , 1 tim. 1. 13 , 14 , 15 , 16. shewed him how god had set up paul as a pattern of free-grace , towards great sinners , for the encouragement of such , that ( though guilty of great sins ) afterwards should believe . to all these he hearkened very carefully , and took notice of the places of scripture for his meditation after i left him . and last of all , i endeavoured to set before him jesus christ , as the only remedy and saviour for his soul , and shewed him the insufficiency of all his duties , prayers , and tears , to get off the guilt of the least sin ; that if he could shed a thousand tears of blood for any one vain thought , it would be no better than puddle water to justify , or to save him . much discourse i had with him at this time , besides what is here inserted , and several other times when i went to visit him in newgate , which i willingly omit , because this book should not swell to too great a bulk . after all , i went to prayer with him ; in which duty he was much dissolved into tears ; he seemed to me , and his faithful friend that was most with him above all others , to be very earnest in prayer , and with weeping eyes to beg for pardon and converting grace , and christ to be his saviour , which was much insisted on in the prayer that was made for him . after which , advising him to consider of what i said , for that time i took my leave of him . the next time , after this discourse , that mr. baker came to him , he enquired how it was with him : he said , what t. d. had said , did very much startle him , that he knew not what to reply , and cryed out very much of the hainousness of his sins , that he should commit that horrid sin of murder ; and knew not what to do , for that left a deep impression upon his heart , that god must be a lyar , or else he ( in that condition of impenitency ) must be damned : yet he laid hold upon that promise that was unfolded to him , that if a sinner turned from his wicked ways , god would abundantly pardon ; and afterwards read on the verse that followed , isa . 55. 8. for my thoughts are not your thoughts , neither are your ways my ways , saith the lord. upon which considering , said , men cry out for death and vengeance , no mercy to be had from men ; but gods thoughts to a repenting sinner were life , for he delighteth not in the death of a sinner . about four or five days after this , he was puzled about his performing of duties , and resting only upon christ for salvation ; for he was tempted , if he perform duties , to rest upon them ; or to let them alone , and leave them off , if he must rest only upon christ . at which time h. b. coming to him , enquired how it was with him now ? and how he hoped to be saved ? he answered , by repentance and faith ; and i could easily tell you , to satisfie you , that i do repent , and do believe ; but truly so to do as i ought , i find it the hardest thing in the world : i do believe , and i do not ; i cannot tell how to believe that christ died for sinners , so as to throw my self wholly and fully upon him , and to think my tears and prayers will do me no good . but here , reader , we must take notice of the unwearied diligence of the devil , in using all means , from time to time , to undo , ruine , and wound the soul of this poor malefactor , who would not forbear to sollicit him to sin , after he was cast into prison for former iniquities he had committed ; for we cannot but judg that the devil was loath to lose such a prey , as his immortal soul , when he had brought him to the very mouth and gates of hell , to have him snatched out of his hands by the free grace of god ; the devil did work the more ( because he knew his time to tempt him was but short ) to blemish and eclipse the gracious work of god upon his heart , and cloud the glory of god's mercy in saving such a sinner . he was by some former acquaintance visiting of him , ( who shewed their love to a death-deserving sinner , no other way than by calling for drink , and desiring him to drink with them , ) overcome therewith , and after some former convictions of sin , and his lost estate , did twice relapse into the sin of drunkenness , whereby he caused many to fear that all this while he had no more than some common workings of the spirit ; and put us to a stand , that we knew not what would be the issue of these things ; but yet not daring to omit endeavors ( if possible ) as instruments , under god , to save his soul : we did after this , visit him again , and again , and set forth unto him the greatness of his sin , that he should sin yet more against the lord ; and in his affliction and chains to provoke the lord to greater wrath against his soul ; with many words to that purpose . after which , his soul was wounded , his heart was pierced , he knew not what to do ; he asked , may mercy be had for a backsliding sinner ? to which were given him some scriptures , where god called to backsliding sinners to return , and invited them to repent , and promised mercy to them if they did , even after they had done as wickedly as they could : and this was much enlarged upon before him from jer. 3. 1 , to 15. verse . but god that had begun to awaken and to rouse his conscience , that he might set him up as a pattern of free-grace , would not let the devil go thus away with his soul , but brought him to a deep sense of his falling into sin , that he much lamented , with many tears , the sadness of his state , the misery of his soul , saying , what will become of my soul ! my immortal soul ! i cannot think what will become of my soul ! i deserve hell ten thousand times over , and have i now but one grain of sand left in the glass to work for eternity ! shall i neglect god any longer ? o i have neglected god too long already ! striking his hand upon his brest , and wringing his hands , and shaking his head , and weeping abundantly , said , lord , what shall i do ? o god , what shall i do ? lord , what will become of me ? if god had dealt justly with me , i had now been in hell , i had been dashed into hell when i murthered that poor innocent creature ; i wonder that i am not now in hell ; that such a wretch as i , am not in hell ; god hath been pleased to manifest more mercy to me in sparing of me , and affording me so long time for repentante , but i have neglected time , and relapsed into drunkenness and vain talking , time after time . i thought this place ( meaning the hole in newgate ) a hell upon earth , and did account it a heaven to be among the other prisoners ; but now god hath tried me , whether sin will be bitter and displeasing to me or not , i have this day ( being lords day ) been among the prisoners , and they asked me to play at cards , but instead of complying with them , i reproved them , and told them for my part , i had profaned sabbaths enough already , i have but a little time to work for my soul , and i ought not to neglect time now ; that they likewise ( he told them ) if they rightly considered , had something else to do , and striking his hand upon his breast , with much earnestness he cried out with tears . now , now , i find that god hath been at work , that god hath been at work upon my soul ; he hath , i am sure , been at work , for now i see so much evil , and tast such bitterness in sin , that i am not so much troubled that i am to die , nor so much troubled that i am in danger of hell , as to think i should so dishonour god , that i should so offend so gracious and merciful a god , and spurn against all his mercies . oh my soul , my immortal soul , i know not what will become of it to all eternity , it is the grief of my very soul that i have neglected time as i have done , now i see so much need of christ , and so much preciousness and excellency in christ , that if the greatest king in the world should come and throw his crown at my foot , and tell me i should enjoy it , and all the glory of it for millions of years , and should have my liberty presently , and should say , but it must be without christ , i would sooner choose to die this moment , nay , to be racked to pieces by ten thousand deaths , or burn ten years together , so i may have a christ , i speak freely from my heart , so far as i know my heart ; and now i find it is not only the devils tempting me , hath brought me to this , but this cursed , wretched , devillish heart of mine within . it is within me , so that it was in me before it was committed by me . i deserved hell ten thousand times over before i committed this horrid sin ; well , now i am resolved i will pray as much as i can , and weep , and wrestle with god , as if i were to have heaven for it ; but when i have done all , i will deny all , for my prayers and tears cannot save me , and i will fully and wholly throw my self at the feet of christ , and if i am damned , i will be damned there ; and more he spake to this purpose in mr. bakers hearing . about three dayes after , mr. b. coming to him , asked him how it was with him ? he told him that the devil was very busie with him , and did sollicite him grievously with his temptations , perswading him to have thoughts of escaping ; these things ( said he ) hindred my minding of god one part of the day , the other part of the day the devil fills me with drowsiness , that i can neither pray nor read , nor perform any duty , nor mind any one that prays with me ; sometimes he tempts me to delay , telling me that it is time enough for me to think of repentance when i am condemned , and that god is a merciful god ; and sometimes he tempted ▪ me to despair , telling me that it was impossible that so monstrous a sinner as i had been should be saved ; but blessed be god , that he made me to think that these were but the devils temptations , although i have been sadly hurried with them for some days ; but that which did most fill me with terror , was the frequent fears of the devils appearing personally to me , which did so exceedingly trouble me in prayer , so that i could say nothing when i kneeled down , but was fain to set the candle down before me , and durst not look one way or other , for fear i should see him ; and my thoughts have been so vain many times when you have been reading to me , that i have scarce heard a word of what you said . a discourse betwixt h. b. and t. s. prisoner in newgate , after some friends went away dissatisfied , fearing he had not a sense of his sin , &c. h. b. asking him how it was with him ? he replied , it was the grief of my soul that i should be no more affected , i think i have the most rocky , stony heart in the world , if ever there was an heart of iron , i have one , it is not fit to be called an heart . to have others come and pray with me , and instruct me , and see how they are affected with my condition , and yet i not at all affected with my own condition ; oh it is the grief of my soul to see it so ! and yet as soon as ministers and good people are gone , and i walk about and consider , oh it melts me , and breaketh my heart in pieces , to think i can mourn for sin , and grieve for sin no more , when god's people are with me ! because it causeth them to think that i am not sensible of my sin , though , blessed be god , i am in some measure sensible of the evil of my sins , and it is the grief of my soul to think how i have dishonoured god , and abused his mercy , and spurned against his mercy and patience . after this they both spent some time in prayer , and h. b. asked him , how it was with him now ? he said , i find so much sweetness in prayer , although i cannot find god loveth me , that to think i am not cursing and swearing as others are , but be confessing my sin , my very tears trickle down my cheeks for joy ; sometimes i find my heart so dead and dull in duty , that i know not what to say in prayer ; at other times i find my heart so full , and so much affected in duty , that i could wish i might never rise from off my knees . the night before the sessions , h. b. coming to him , asked him if it was not terrible to him to think of appearing before the bar of men ? he answered , methinks when i consider seriously of it , what a light poor thing mans bar is in comparison of gods bar , yet mans bar is enough to daunt one , to hear them say ; take him jaylor , tie him up : but to appear before gods bar , who knoweth all the sins that ever i committed ; he saw all my secret sins , and for god to say , take him jaylor , take him devil , shut him up in the dungeon of hell : oh! that is enough , i believe , to make the stoutest heart in the world to tremble , for there is no recalling that sentence , and i believe there are many go out of this prison , as i saw formerly three that went to be hanged , and they were almost drunk , and did sing all the way they went , but oh their note was soon changed ; when they came to stand before gods bar. the morning before he went to the sessions , h. b. and the prisoner spent some time in prayer , the prisoner in his prayer did earnestly beg of god that he would keep him from those temptations he might be exposed unto by bad company ; after this he was taken down to the sessions-house , but was not called , because the jury of middlesex did not sit that day . at night h. b. came to him again , and asking how it was with him , he answered , he found it no easie thing to be a true christian ; i thought before i came to prison , that reading a chapter now and then , and saying the lords prayer and the creed at night when i went to bed , would have saved me , though many times i was a sleep before i had half done ; but now i find it no such easie thing to get to heaven , nay , i find it the hardest thing in the world , for my prayers , and tears , and duties , if i could fall upon my knees , and never rise off from them while i live , they would not save me , for all this is but duty , but now i know there is merit enough in the blood of christ to save me ; and he did earnestly beg of god in prayer , that god would wash his soul in the blood of christ and blot out all his sins out of the book of his remembrance , and turn them behind his back ; though i as earnestly beg they might be all spread before my face , that i might have a more humble and throughly broken heart for them ; lord , one drop of that blood is enough to wash away all my sins ; and so after some conference h. b. left him for that night , who heard from one that was with him that night , that he spent that time most in prayer and reading . the second morning in the time of the sessions , mr. baker , that was a careful friend for the good of his soul , went to the sessions-house , where he found him well , and in good frame , and continued with him for the space of two or three hours that morning , after which time mr. baker was from him to hear the trial of the person that was arraigned , and afterward executed for the fire upon the house burnt down in mincing-lane , for the space of half an hour , or thereabout ; in which time , in company of other prisoners , he was much distempered with something that he had drank amongst them , which did take from him his understanding , that he was not his own man , we judge ( that though this did cast a blemish upon the profession that he had made after he came to newgate ) it was not a voluntary act , but some surprizal or design of the other upon him ; partly because the quantity was far less than what at other times he could drink without any disturbance to his head . a friend also heard hannah , the strumpet , that enticed him to his former wickedness : say , others have made you drunk to day , but i will make you drunk to morrow : but afterwards he was afraid to drink in their company , but rather denied to take what was necessary for his refreshment . the prisoners were much against his accusing of that harlot , and did much perswade him to take something to cheer his spirits ; and when t. d. was with him on saturday before he died , he charged him with this sin , which had caused such a blot upon all the profession he had made , and what great cause he had to be humbled before god , and desired him to tell him as a dying man , whether it was his voluntary act and delight in excessive drinking , or no ? and he did profess that he knew it was not the quantity that he had drunk , which was not neer so much as at other times he did use , without distempering himself . however , god was pleased to make him tast the bitterness of that cup , in that he had given such occasion to sinners to speak evil of the ways of himself ) upon the stones cried out ; oh that i should offend god! and though he did much lament the scandal , yet he always said , that he looked not upon it as a sin of drunkenness , but a circumvention ; or to use his own words , that something was put into the drink to distemper his head . on saturday during the sessions , he was arraigned , and pleaded guilty , confessing , with many tears , and wringing his hands , that he did , through the instigation of the devil , and enticement of that wretched creature ( meaning his harlot ) th●● he had committed that bloody fact , which was suc● an horror to his conscience , that he would not do it again for ten thousand worlds ; his carriage and confession was such , that he much moved the honourable bench and jury , and most of the beholders . on munday next , he received his sentence of death , after which time he was with the other condemned prisoners , and did pray with them four times a day , and read to them , and sung psalms with them . after the execution of the rest , he had time given , or procured him by the honourable sheriff of london , for some daies ; which he improved to the great advantage of his soul. on friday night he uttered these expressions in company with h. b. being the day that the other prisoners were executed . i find , saith he , so much sweetness , and delight , and pleasure in gods ways , and so much folly in the ways of sin , that if there were no heaven to reward , nor any hell to punish , i could not but love the waies of god , and the people of god ; o it is so sweet to be in company with them , praying and conversing with them , over what is in hearing others swear and curse , that i account it as great a mercy as any almost , that i may be in their company ; o methinks it is a heaven to me to be with gods ministers and people ; and prayer now is so sweet , that i grudge the time alwaies when i am off from my knees , or go down to the grate : now there is nothing in the world i prize like christ , one christ above ten thousand worlds ; now i do repent , and i do believe through mercy , it is the lord's work , but i earnestly beg and pray for a more humble , and a more broken heart , and a more through sense of sin , and a greater sorrow for it , and beg that god would enable me to come to him , to believe in him ; lord , saith he , faith is thy work , repentance is thy work , do thou enable me to repent , nay , thou hast enabled me to repent , and i do from the very bottom of my heart , lord , as far as i know my own heart : i repent that i should offend so gracious , and so merciful a god as thou art ; lord , and faith is thy work ; lord , saith he , hast not thou said , no man can come to thee except the father draw him ; draw me o lord , and i shall run to thee , enable me to believe , lord , and i shall believe ; nay , i do believe , lord , that jesus christ his blood was not shed in vain ; did christ die for nothing , lord , did he not die to save all repenting and believing sinners , of whom i am chief ? on saturday at night , in company with mr. baker , he discoursed thus , o my dear friend , taking me by the hand , come hither , saith he , and opening the coffin , look , here is the ship , saith he , in which i must lanch out into the ocean of eternity : and is it not a terrible thing ( saith he ) to see ones own coffin and burying cloaths , when at the same time i am as well as you ; do you think it would not daunt you , and to go to the gallows to have the halter , and to die there ? were this for the sake of the gospel , i should not care , were it ten hundred times a worse death , but to suffer this cursed death for such horrid sins , o this is sad ! why , said i , you have a greater mercy , in some respect , than those that die in their beds , for they are full of sickness and pain , and cannot so well mind repentance as you who are well , and have nothing else to mind . ( ah sir , saith he , their sins are of a far less nature than mine , and so they do not need so much repentance as mine do ; my dying for such horrid sins makes my repentance to be so much the more hard . oh , saith he , i believe it , it is a hard work to die , i could carry it out as bravely as any , ( do you think i could not ? ) but to consider that as i die , and am sentenced from gods bar , so i must be for ever , immediately either be everlastingly happy , or everlastingly miserable : to consider this , would make a stout heart to tremble ; those poor creatures that were here the other night , ( meaning the other condemned prisoners ) they know not what it is to be in an eternal state , and if they are gone to hell , o lord , how miserably are they disappointed , who hoped for to have gone to heaven , and are sent from thy bar to endless burning : lord , what a mercy is it that i have a little time longer left , let it be improved to thy glory , and let my soul live , and i shall praise thee . the last lords-day he lived , he desired to be alone , and spent it in wrestling with god by prayer , and in other duties in order to his preparation for his great change by death , that then he expected the next day , in which duties he found so much of god , that he had some fore-tasts of the joys of heaven , and when we asked him what of god he had found that day , he replyed , that he had such pleasure and delight in mourning for sin , and praying unto god , that he was loath to come off from his knees ; at night there were some ministers that sate up with him , and spent that night in prayer with him , and for him , and in conference ; on munday morning came t. d. to him before day ( thinking it was his last day , for an order was sent on friday for his execution on munday ) and said to him , thomas , how is it with you now , your last day begins to dawn ? he said , blessed be god i am not affraid to die , because i hope i shall go to jesus christ ; after some time in prayer for him , we desired him to spend some time in that duty , which he performed with so much affection , and earnest pleading with god , that all the company were exceedingly melted , and their hearts beyond ordinary measure warmed , and raised , that the room did ring with sighs and groans ; and there was such a mighty presence of the spirit poured out upon him , and on those that joyned with him , that we do not remember the time when ever we had experience of the like ; in which prayer , after the confession of his sins , he begged earnestly for pardon , and for an interest in christ , saying , o lord , wilt thou let me die without a christ ? shall i leave this world before thou smilest upon my soul ? thou hast promised pardon , and mercy , and salvation to those that do repent , and to those that do believe ; lord , i do repent , i do believe , if i know my own heart , i do repent , i do believe ; lord , i roll my self upon thy son , i cast my self at his foot for mercy ; thou wouldst be just if thou dost damn me , but thou hast pardoned others , and it will be to the praise of thy free-grace to pardon me ; lord , shall those prayers that have been made , and all those tears that haue been shed for me , and all those instructions which have been given me , be all in vain ? with many other expressions in that prayer , which wonderfully affected the hearts of those that were with him ; that afterwards we looked upon one another , wondering at the grace of god towards him , that one so wicked all his days ; so young ( being 16. years old ) so lately acquainted with the wayes of god , should have such a spirit of prayer poured out upon him : after this he prayed with more life and fervency then before , and the nearer he came to his end , the more we perceived god was ripening him for his glory . after this , we took our leave of him , not knowing but that was the last day ; for the cart stood below , and the coffin fetched down , and some of the honourable sheriffs of london's men , came into the prison ; but the sheriff of middlesex having not notice to be ready , his execution was deferred till wednesday following . reader , here take notice , that the report that the reason why he was not executed on munday , was because he was drunk , is an abominable falshood , for to our knowledge , that were with him , he did not eat nor drink that morning . when we went up to him again , we told him that we perceived he was not to dye that day , giving him caution , not to think there was any pardon intended for him : and one came from the sheriff to acquaint him with the reason of the delay of his execution . when his coffin was carried up to him again , one asked what he thought , and what were the workings of his heart , when he saw his coffin brought back , he said , he was much troubled , and it daunted him to see it ; for he could willingly have dyed that day to go to christ . on munday in the afternoon he had an excessive pain in his teeth ( as we judged occasioned by his leaving off his cloaths , and putting on some thin apparel to die in ; ) and that evening he expressed great willingness to dye and leave this world , he said , i see and find so much excellency in christ , that he is so pure , pure in grace , pure in holiness , pure in all things ; lord , i count it an hell to be upon earth , i so long to be where i might enjoy thee : and he spent some time in prayer ( notwithstanding his pain ) with much affection , wherein he said , the pain of thee teeth was great , but the pain of hell was greater ! on tuesday , the day before he died , after some time spent in prayer both by him and h. b. being full of joy , he expressed himself thus ; o my dear friend , what a welcome shall i give you when you come to heaven ; and say to you , come , see , come , see , this is the glory that you told me of , but all that you ever told me , was nothing to what i have found , o what a place is this ! o how shall we love one another then ! sure it cannot be , but heaven must be a glorious place , where god , and christ , and angels be . the night before he died , a minister came to thomas savage , and after other serious discourse , for satisfaction of a christian friend that had seen him before , he demanded of him what were now the grounds of his hopes of salvation ? he made this reply ; god both in infinite mercy made me deeply sensible of great sins , and not only of them , but of the vileness of my heart and nature , and god hath made me to abhor my self for my sins , and i hope truly to repent of them , for that which hath been the delight of my soul , is now as bad as hell ; and god hath given me to see , that all my own prayers and tears , and all the prayers of all the good people that come to me , are not able to save : a christ alone ; i throw my self at the feet of christ for mercy , and if i perish , i will perish there . i feel longings and breathings after christ , and love him more than my life ; i long to be with him , and i would not be to live any longer ; this world is a little hell because of sin ; i fear not death , for i hope the sting of it is taken out for me . this last night before his death , he desired us to sit up with him , in order to his better preparation for the great work he had to do the next day , that we might wrestle with god on his behalf , that when death approached so near unto him , he might have some nearer accesses of god into his soul , that when pale death stared him in the face , he might see god's smiling countenance ; which opportunity we readily embraced , and spent the former part of the night in prayer , till two of the clock in the morning ; about which time he desired us to go down into the lodge , that he might have some part of the night for prayer and meditation alone , and to discourse a while with his friend mr. baker , to whom he most of all did open his very heart , and spake more freely to , than to any others ; ( whom for that reason we left with him ) and when we were gone down , his friend being with him , who told us afterwards , he fell into admiration , and said , what a prodigy am i ? what a wonder of mercy , that god should incline the hearts of his ministers to come and pray with me , and pour out their souls in prayer thus for me ? for me a murtherer ; for me a drunkard ; for me so vile and sinful ? well , i cannot but love god , and though i go to hell , yet i will love god for his goodness and graciousness to me already manifested in this world ; yea , though i should be damned for my sin , yet i could , and would love god. what , would they venture to come and pray with me a murtherer ? how did they know but i might have murthered some of them ? pray for me ! wrestle for me ! well , i know god loves me ; i am sure god loves me . when he was in prayer , some of us heard him say ; now lord i am coming to thee , thou art mine , and christ is mine , and what need i be afraid of death ? lord give me some sense , and some signe of thy love , that when my soul shall be separated from my body , it might be received into glory . afterwards when he looked upon his cloaths he had put on to dye in , said , what! have i got on my dying cloaths ? dying cloaths did i say ? they are my living cloaths , the cloaths out of which i shall go into eternal glory , they are the best cloaths that ever i put on . about four of the clock in the morning we went up to him again , full of expectations what he would say to us , and what we should hear from him , and t. d. stood behind him and took his expressions as he spoke them , from his own mouth ; and first he told us , i account it a great mercy that god hath shewed me the evil of sin , before he cast me into hell , sin hath not only brought my body to the grave , but my soul in danger of everlasting burnings . the lord will have mercy on me i hope ; i am filled with joy , i am no more afraid to dye , than to stand in this place , the lord make me thankful . the lord hath been working on my soul ; for it was not i that could pray , nor refrain from company , nor delight in any thing that is good ; i have cause to bless god that ever i was taken ( and this we have heard him often say ) for if i had escaped i had gone on in my sin , and might have lost my soul for ever . one asked him which he thought was worse , hell or sin ? using some gesture of body , said , hell is very dreadful , but sin is worse than hell , because sin brings mens souls to hell , and sin is that which offendeth god. one asked him what he thought of heaven ? with a smiling countenance said , heaven ! it cannot be , but heaven must be an excellent place , for it is an holy place . we spake to him concerning his coffin , that was by him , whether it did not trouble , and amaze him to have it in his sight ; he replyed , with all my soul i could go into my coffin ; oh it is a comfortable place . ( he spake it with joy ) i can comfortably die . i have found such a deal of joy and comfort , that i would not for a world have been without it . we enquired , whether death did not affright him , morning light will presently appear , he answered , death indeed did trouble me , but now not at all , i long for day , i am not daunted at death . die ! it is nothing : this life is nothing : but to die eternally , and to loose god , and christ , and heaven , that is death . hell torments is not so much , as to be shut from the presence of god. alas ! who would not die this death to go to jesus christ ? when my body is upon the gibbet , my soul shall be carried by angels into heaven . my heart is so drawn out after god , that i could leave this world to be with him . this world is nothing , those that have the pleasure of it , they have nothing . i desire to die , because i long to be with christ , there i shall never sin more ; there is no sin , but joy , where i shall sing hallelujahs & praise to god. we asked what he thought of the company of gods people , for he now had had experience of company , good and bad . he said , i had rather be here ( meaning the hole in newgate ) with bread and water with such company , than to have the company of wicked persons , with the greatest dainties . it was wicked company that drew me away . i account it the greatest mercy , to have the prayers of gods people for me , had i had my deserts , i had been now in hell , where i should have had no prayers , no instructions ; god doth love me , for he hath inclined the hearts of his people and ministers to pray for me , and their prayers have prevailed . being asked what promises he found to be his support against the guilt of sin , now he was to die , he alledged these , repeating the words himself , whosoever will , let him come and drink of the waters of life freely ; and he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin , shall find mercy ; & let the wicked forsake his way , & the unrighteous man his thoughts , and let him return unto the lord , and he will have mercy on him , and to our god , for he will abundantly pardon . this word ( abundantly pardon ) did often refresh his soul ; i have sinned abundantly , but god will pardon abundantly . after these , he mentioned another , viz. this is a faithful saying , and worthy of all acceptation , that jesus christ came to save sinners , of whom i am chief : & said , i do rely and throw my self upon jesus christ , i do believe there is merit enough in him , and all-sufficiency in him to save me ; it is nothing that i can do , will save me . he complained , that it was the grief of his soul , that he could love god no more , and love christ no more for his mercy towards him , in giving him so much time , & so many helps , in sending so many ministers to instruct him , but added , when several ministers had been with me , i threw off all , & returned to sin , & did as vainly as any . i could not have repented , and believed of my self , it is the work of god. he often said , i fear not death , it was nothing with him to die , & to go to christ . he often said , that he had rather die imediatly , having an interest in christ than to live a thousand years in this world , in the enjoyment of all the pleasures of it , without christ . and , that he had found more pleasures and delight in the ways of god , since he came into prison , than ever he found in all the ways of sin . he confessed his sins , saying , he first neglected and profaned the sabbath , and said this was the beginnig of all his wickedness , that on the sabbath morning , he studied what company to go into , in what place of sin he might spend the sabbath , then to wicked society , then to ale-houses , then to brothel-houses , then to murder , then to theft , then to newgate , and yet at last he hoped to heaven . he lamented , saying , i have striven to dishonour god , and to run into sin : oh that i should spend so much time in serving of the devil , and now have but a little moment of time to spend in the service of god , and to the glory of god. this discourse being ended , we desired him now on his last morning before he went into eternity , to pray with us , and he willingly consented , and his prayer was as followeth , being taken from his mouth by thomas doolittel , that also took in writing his preceding discourse ; verbatim . the prayer of thomas savage in newgate , with those that sate up with him the night before his execution . o most merciful and ever blessed lord god , i beseech thee , o lord , look down upon me with an eye of pity if it be thy blessed will , it is thy infinite mercy that i am on this side the grave , and out of hell : o lord i have deserved to be cast into torments to all eternity . how have i offended thee , and run on in sin , and thought i could never do enough to abuse thy mercy ! pardon the sins that i have committed , wash that bloud from off my soul , let not my soul perish to eternity . it was 〈◊〉 horrid crime to shed innocent bloud ; pardon that sin , o lord , let the blood of christ cry more for mercy , than the blood of that creature cry for vengeance . o lord , thou hast been merciful to me in giving me time to repent , for ought i know , her soul is undone for ever , lord forgive me , lord forgive me , i knew not what i did . forgive my sabbath-breaking , lying , cursing , forgive my drunkenness , blot them out of the book of remembrance , turn them away behind thee . lord i have repented of them from my soul , that ever i should offend god , so good , and so merciful and gracious , i do believe on thee , and do wholly throw my self upon thee . i acknowledge it would be just in thee to damn my soul , but it will be infinite mercy in thee to save me , and what free grace will it be in the to pardon me . it is dreadful to lose the body , but how dreadful will it be to lose the soul to all eternity ! lord let it not be in vain that i have had so many instructions , o let me not go down to hell , let my soul bless and praise thy name for ever , for what thou hast done for me , thou hast been at work upon my heart , and thou hast helped me to repent , the lord be praised . lord i desire to be more and more humbled under the sense of my sins , for they are dreadfull ; there are many souls that have not committed those sins that are now in hell. o what mercy is it that i am not in those flames , in those devouring flames ! lord as thou hast spared me here , spare me to eternity . let not my soul perish , lord reveal thy self unto me , make known thy love unto me , tell me my sins are pardoned , tell me , that i have an interest in christ before i go hence , and be seen no more , that i might leave some testimony behind me , that i might tell thy ministers , what thou hast done for me , and tell thy people what thou hast done for my soul ; lord this will not be only for my satisfaction , but for thy glory . blessed lord , pardon the sins that i am guilty of , and take away this cursed base heart of mine , break this rocky stony heart in pieces , these sins of murder and drunkenness , &c. were in my heart before , i thought no eye did see me commit those sins , but thou didst see me , lord turn my heart to thee , and take away this heart of stone , and take away this cursed nature ; for it was this cursed nature that brought me to these sins , and to this end , and i was in danger of losing my soul to all eternity ; but , lord , though i am a great sinner , christ is a great saviour , he is able to save me from my sins , though they be never so great ; i do believe , lord , i speak freely from my heart , so far as i know my heart , i do believe , it is my grief i can sorrow no more for my sins , which have been the cause of my offending thee so long , and so much . one drop of thy blood sprinkled upon my soul , will pardon all my sins ; lord , cross the black line of my sins with the red line of thy blood : i am not able to answer for one vain thought , much less for all my horrid crimes . lord , save my immortal soul , that i might sing praise to thee to all eternity . thou hast pardoned manasseh that was a great sinner , and mary magdalen , and paul , that were great sinners , and the thief upon the cross ; and thy mercies are as great , thy mercy and thy love to repenting sinners is not shortned ; though my sins be great , yet thy mercies are greater than my sins ; lord , be with me in my death , then let me have some comfortable assurance of thy love unto my soul , of the pardon of my sin ; do thou be my god and my guide now , and to all eternity . amen . this prayer he put up with much earnestness , with great brokenness of heart for sin , that all that joyned with him , were exceedingly affected ▪ and blessed god for the spirit of prayer they discerned god had so plentifully poured out upon him . after we had some other discourse with him , we took our leave of him , telling him we purpo●… 〈◊〉 see him again at the place of execution . after two or three hours , when the time of his going from newgate drew near , we were willing to return to see him once more there , and the rather , because one minister that had not yet been with him , was desirous to visit him : and then again after some few words with him , we asked him to go to prayer again , once more , saying now , this will be the last time that we shall pray with you in this place . and he did perform this duty with great liveliness , that now he excelled himself , and the nearer he came to his end , the more fervently we perceived he prayed ; but we took notice , that in this last duty in newgate he was much in praising god , and blessing god for his mercy to him , to our great astonishment . after a few words , when this duty was over , we took some of us our final farewel of him ; & he expressing his thanks to gods people for their prayers for him , and to the ministers for their love and pains with him , was commended by us to the grace of god , saying , thomas , the lord be with you , the lord of heaven be with you , o the lord of mercy help you , and have compassion on you . this morning he expressed himself to his friend h. b. thus , oh my friend , we cannot tell how glorious a place heaven is , but if once i get thither , & could drop down a letter to you , and tell you of the glorious things i there shall find , how would it rejoyce your heart ? and to this friend parting with him , said , i know god loveth me , and that i am going to the kingdom of heaven . the last speech of thomas savage at the place of his execution at ratcliff . gentlemen , here i am come to die a cursed & ignominious death , and i most justly deserve it , for i have murthered a poor innocent creature , and for ought i know , have not only murthered her body , but if god had no more mercy on her soul , than i had of her body , she is undone to all eternity ; so that i deserve not only death from men , but damnation from god. i would have you all that look upon me , take warning by me ; the first sin i began with , was sabbath-breaking , thereby i got acquainted with bad company , and so went to the ale-house , from the ale-house to the bawdy-house , there i was perswaded to rob my master , as also to murder this poor innocent creature , for which i am come to this shameful end . i was drawn aside , i say , by ill company , pray take heed of that , for it will not only bring your bodies to the grave , but your souls to hell ; have a care of neglecting the sabbaths , it is that which hath not only brought my body to the grave , but my soul in danger of eternal torments . and try the waies of god , for , the lord be praised , i have found so much of excellency and sweetness in gods waies , that i bless god that ever i came into a prison . and now , though i am leaving this world , i know i shall go to a better place ; for i have repented from my soul for all my sins , not because i am to die for them , but to see that ▪ i should do that whereby i should deserve hell ten thousand times over , and so dishonour god. now the lord have mercy on my soul. the prayer of thomas savage at the place of execution . o most merciful and for ever blessed lord god , i beseech thee look down upon my poor immortal soul , which now is taking its flight into another world , which now is ready to appear before thy bar , lord , i beseech thee prepare me for it , and receive my soul into the arms of thy mercy , and though my body die , and i come to die this shameful death , yet let my soul live with thee for ever ; lord , pardon all the horrid sins that i have committed , the sabbath-breaking , lying , swearing , cursing , vncleanness , and all the rest of my sins that ever i have committed ; lord , give me a n●w heart , and give me faith , that i may lay hold and throw my self fully and wholly upon thee ; enable me , o lord , give me saving repentance , that i may come to thy bar , and thence be received into glory , let me not be a prey to devils to all eternity : let not my soul perish ▪ though my body die , let my soul live ; lord , let me not be shut out from thy presence , and let not all the prayers , and tears , and counsels , and instructions that have been made and shed on my behalf , be in vain ; pitty my poor soul , lord , my immortal soul . lord , it would be just with thee to cast me into everlasting burning . i have been a great sinner , but christ is a great saviour . o lord , thou hast pardoned great sinners , and thou canst do it , lord , and lord , wilt thou not do it ? lord , let me not be a fire-brand of hell , and a prey to devils to all eternity , let me not then be shut up with devils and damned souls , when my soul takes its flight into another world ; lord , i haue repented for what i have done , from the bottom of my heart , i have repented ; and lord , if thou wouldst damn me , thou wouldst be just , but how infinitely more would it be for the glory of thy free grace to save such a sinner as i am ; good lord pour down thy spirit upon my soul , o tell me that i have interest in christ's blood , good father , good lord , before i go hence ; lord , i am willing , i am willing to leave this world , i ●an prize thee above all , there is nothing i can prize like to thee , wilt thou not receive my soul ? receive it into thy arms , and say , come thou blessed of my father , dear father , for jesus christ sake pitty my poor soul , for pitties sake . lord , it is not my prayers , or tears , will save my soul , but if ever i am saved , it must be through free grace , and the blood of christ , and if there be not enough in that blood , lord , i am willing to be damned . lord , look down upon my poor soul , and though i have been such a sinner , thou art able to pardon me , and wash me , apply one drop of thy blood to my soul , lord , my immortal soul , that is more worth than ten thousand worlds ; it is true , lord , i confess i have taken a great deal of pleasure in sin , i have run on in sin , and could not invent where to go on thy day , and was wont to study into what place , and into what company i might go upon the sabbath-day : forgive me , lord , wash me , receive me into thy arms , o lord ; oh for one glimps of mercy ; lord , if thou wilt please to reveal thy self to me , i shall tell it to all that behold me ; it is a mercy , lord , that i am not in hell , and that thou shewest me the bitterness of sin before i come into hell ; it is a mercy , lord , that i have had the prayers , converse and instructions of so many of thy ministers and people ; lord , receive my soul , one smile , lord , one word of comfort for jesus sake ; o let me not go out of this world , let not my soul perish , though i killed a poor innocent creature , lord deal not with me as i dealt with her , but pitty me , pitty me for jesus christ's sake , amen . one asked him in the cart , well , now thomas , how is it with your soul , what sense have you of god's love ? sir , i thank god , though infinite mercy , i find god loves me , and that now i can chearfully go . after his cap was over his eyes , he used these expressions , lord jesus receive my spirit . lord , one smile . good lord , one word of comfort for christ's sake , tho death make separation between my soul and body , let nothing separate between thee and my soul to all eternity . good lord hear me . good father hear me . o lord jesus receive my soul . whilst he did thus pathetically express himself to the people , especially to god in prayer , there was a great moving upon the affections of those who stood by , and many tears were drawn from their eyes by his melting speeches . all this was the more remarkable in this young man , being under sixteen years of age when he was first apprehended . after he was turned off the cart , he strugled for a while , heaving up his body , which a young man ( his friend ) seeing , to put him quickly out of his pain , struck him with all his might on the breast several times together , then no motion was perceived in him , and hanging some considerable time after that , and as to all outward appearance dead , insomuch as one said to another friend of his , namely mr. b. now he is in eternity , and the people beginning to move away , the sheriff commanded him to be cut down , and being received in the arms of some of his friends , he was conveyed by them into a house not far distant from the place of execution , where being laid upon a table , unto the astonishment of the beholders , he began to stir and breath , and rattle in his throat , and it was evident his life was whole in him ; from the table he was carried to a bed in the same house , where he breathed more strongly , and opened his eyes , and his mouth ( though his teeth were set before ) and offered to speak , but could not recover the use of his tongue ; but his reviving being known , within 4 hours the officers came to the house where he was , and conveyed him to the place of execution again , and hung him up again , until he was quite dead , whence he was carried by his mourning friends to islington , where he now sleepeth in the bed of his grave , until the morning of the resurrection ; from whence , though buried in dishonour , he will then be raised in glory . thus you have had the relation of one that was but young in years , but old in wickedness : you have read of his sabbath-breaking , profaneness , swearing , lying , stealing , drunkenness , fornication , and the like sins , which he confessed himself frequently and deeply guilty of ; and to compleat and fill up the measure of his sins , he added to the rest the horrid sin of murder . i believe you have scarcely heard of sin grown up to such maturity in so short a time , as it did in him , who when he was imprisoned , was under sixteen years of age . and what could any expect should be the issue & product of sin arrived to such perfection , but death , and wrath , and the vengeance of eternal fire ? but behold here an instance of free grace ! his sins did abound , but gods grace did super-abound . sometimes god doth sow the seed of grace in the heart that is most unlikely to receive it , & reapeth great glory to his name by pardoning great sins . we read that when ephraim was bent upon wickedness , so that a man could hardly expect the restraining of gods anger any longer , but that it should kindle in his breast , & break forth in a flame to devour a people so rebellious , yet the lord expresseth himself in a way of wonderful mercy , and astonishing free grace , hos . 11. 8 , 9. how shall i give thee up o ephraim ? how shall i make thee as admah ? how shall i set thee as zeboim ? my heart is turned within me ( not against ephraim , but towards him ) my repentings ( not mine anger ) are kindled together , i will not execute the fierceness of mine anger . and the reason is not drawn from any thing in ephraim to move him , but only from himself , for i am god , & not man. if one man had been so provoked by another , & it had lain in the power of his hand to have avenged himself upon his enemy , surely he would not have spared , or shewn any favour ; but because he is god & not man , whose thoughts are not like our thoughts , and whose mercies are not like our mercies , but further removed above them , than the heavens are removed above the earth ; in comparison with whose mercies , our most tender mercies are no less than cruelty : therefore , because he is god & not man , and herein would act like himself , he hath pity , & sheweth favour unto ephraim . take another instance in israel , who had made god to serve with his sins , and wearied him with his iniquities , having pressed god herewith as a cart is pressed with sheaves , and nothing but vengeance could rationally be expected , & that god should say as at another time ( for god doth not shew such favor to all , & at all times , that the freeness of it might be the more evident ; ) ah , i will ease me of my adversaries , and avenge me on my enemies ; and i , even i am he that will make such audacious sinners see and feel what an evil and fearful thing it is to affront and provoke me ; yet read how graciously god pardoneth israel , declaring the ground of it to be only for the glory of his own name , isa . 43. 25. i , even i am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake , and will not remember thy sins . surely no motive from this young mans person , or any good previus disposition ( he being so exceeding vitiated by such defiling sins ) could in the least incline god to have mercy upon him ; but the motive was taken from himself , & his own bowels . he had mercy on him only , because he would have mercy , & compassion on him , because he would have compassion . if some , yea many are passed by , who have escaped the more gross pollutions which are in the world through lust , & never committed such god-provoking sins , as you read in the narrative that he committed ; but for lesser faults are punished everlastingly , when god hath had mercy upon him , and thrown the skirt of his love over him , and wrought a gracious change in him ; we must say with our saviour , matth. 11. 26. even so father , because it so seemed good in thy sight ! it is through free grace that any are saved ; but in the salvation of such a one , god hath demonstrated the exceeding riches of his grace towards him through jesus christ , eph. 2. 7. let not any from this example of gods free grace presume to continue & indulge themselves in a sinful course , hoping to obtain mercy at the last as he hath done , and to turn gods glory into shame , & his grace into wantonness : for it is a rare example , hardly again to be parallel'd : will a man run himself through the body , because some have been healed of such wounds ? will a man drink down poyson , because some by an antidote have expelled the poyson and escaped with life ? is not presumption the bane and ruin of millions of souls ? may not god cut you off in the act of some of your sins , and not give you time for repentance ? and if life doth continue , may not he deny you the grace of repentance ? doth not custome and continuance in sin harden your heart , and fasten you in satans chains ? hath not god threatened that such who cry peace , peace to themselves , though they walk after the imagination of their hearts , to add drunkenness to thirst , that he will not spare them , but his anger and his jealousie shall smoke against them , and that he will blot out their name from under heaven , deut. 29. 19 , 20. the great improvement which should be made of gods gracious dealings with this young man , is for all to admire gods free grace ; and especially for poor distressed souls , that are upon the brink of hell in their own apprehensions , and are ready to despair of gods mercy , because of the greatness of their sins ; to take encouragement from hence , and hopes , that there may be mercy in store for them ; they have not been murderers , whatever their sins have been , and if a murderer hath been received into favour , why may not they hope ? let such think with themselves that it is free grace hath saved him , and let them sue out at the throne of grace , for the same grace which is freely tendred unto them . a recollection out of this narrative of those passages , from which in charity we do conclude , that the work of grace was really wrought in his soul ; or the evidences of t. s. of his title to eternal happiness . 1. he bitterly lamented his sins , and loathed himself for them , especially as they were against a good and gracious god , according to ps . 51. 4. and luc. 15. 18. ( 2 ) he was deeply sensible of , and grieved for , the corruption of his heart , from whence his actual sins did proceed , according to psal . 51. 5. ( 3 ) he mourned over his back-slidings , because god was thereby dishonoured . ( 4 ) he found it hard to believe , yet professed he would roll himself , and rely upon the merits of christ alone for salvation , and if he perished , he would perish there . ( 5 ) he was much in a little time in duty , yet did protest he saw the insufficiency of them to justifie or save him , according to phil. 3. 9. ( 6 ) he made choice of christ before all , before life it self , according to phil. 3. 8. ( 7. ) he longed for morning when he was to die , because he desired to be with christ , according to phil. 1. 23. ( 8 ) he greatly loved god , because much was forgiven him , according to luke 7. 47. and said , though god should damn him , yet he could and would love god. ( 9 ) he loved the company of gods people , and professed , he had rather be with gods people in prison , with bread and water , than with the ungodly with liberty and greatest dainties , according to 1 joh. 3. 14. ( 10. ) he blessed god that ever he was taken and imprisoned ; thinking it better to be in chains , and brought to die , than to go on in sin . ( 11 ) he was most broken and melted for his sins , when those that came to visit him were gone from him , and not in their presence ; when hypocrites mourn before others , and are less affected when alone ; yet this was sometimes his trouble , lest god should lose the glory of the work he had wrought in him . this was observed by one that was usually with him , when others went from him . ( 12 ) he wept for joy at that time , when he could not find that god loved him ; that he was not cursing , and swearing , and sinning against god , as others did , and he himself formerly . ( 13 ) he found and tasted more sweetness in the waies of god , in praying , and mourning for sin , than he ever found in the commission of sin . ( 14 ) he accounted sin to be worse than hell . ( 15 ) he had a spirit of prayer given to him so plentifully , that it was an astonishment to many that joyned sometimes with him , considering how ignorant he was a little before , according to acts 9. 11. for behold , he prayeth . ( 16 ) he looked upon the loss of god , more than than the torments of hell , and feared it more . ( 17 ) he prized heaven , because there he should sin no more . these were his own expressions , and what we observed that were frequently with him : and reader , do thou pray , and watch , that thou maist not be guilty of this young man's sins , but pray , and labour that thou mightest obtain the like evidences for heaven . a relation of what passed in the imprisonment , and at the execution of hannah blay . h. b. belonged to a bawdy-house in ratcliff , where t. s. used to frequent , and was always welcome so long as his mony lasted , but having spent his mony , and denied entertainment , except he brought more mony : to which he replied , he knew not where to have any , h. b. presently puts him upon robbing his master , ( which he could not easily accomplish , by reason of the diligence of the servant maid ) and to murther the maid rather than fail of getting the mony : which he accordingly did , & goes again to h. b. and tells her what he had done , then flies . but the justice of god pursued him so fast , that he was soon apprehended , and committed to newgate . after he had accused h. b. for putting him upon the murder , she was apprehended , and committed also . at the sessions she was endicted , and condemned for being accessary to the murther committed by t. s. in the time of her imprisonment , she was very rude and debauched , being seldom sober , except at such times when she could by no means procure drink to be drunk withal . she often endeavoured to make t. s. drunk with her , which she once or twice effected , & endeavoured very much to draw him off from his repentance , by driving his old trade of sin & wickedness . if any advised her to repentance , & to take care for the future estate of her soul , she would laugh at them , & reply in some such language as she had learned in the devils school , with which she was well stored . she was , from that sessions , reprieved till the next , fully perswading her self she should scape that bout , and spending her time according to her former course of living , taking as little care what should become of her soul , as if she had never offended a gracious god , & as of there was no devil to torment her , nor hell to be tormented in . but now sessions being again come , and she again brought down to the sessions-house in the old baily , had sentence to be executed at ratcliff where the fact was committed the night before her execution , the ordinary of newgate came to administer the sacrament to her , which she refused , saying , she could not die in charity with some ( whom she named ) judging them the cause of her second judgment & execution . the next day , being friday , feb. 26. she was conveyed in a cart from newgate to the place of execution , where she ended her wicked life by a shameful death , without the least sign of sorrow or repentance for her abominable whoredome and wickednesses : so that howsoever notoriously wicked she had been in her life , answerable thereunto was she in her shameful end , in impenitency and hardness of heart . 2 tim . 2. 22. flee also youthful lusts . i am come this day to speak to you in the name of a dying man ; and dying mens words should leave living affections , and lasting affections upon hearts of the hearers . nay , that which is infinitely more , i am come to speak to you in the name of the living god : and therefore , i beseech you , be serious ; remember that we are not now about a laughing-business ; it is no less then for lives and souls : and for ought that i know , as you demean your selves now , it may fare with you to all eternity : and if that will make you mind what i say the more , know this , that what i shall now speak , is but a comment upon what was yesterday delivered in brief , from one that was in perfect health , and in the grave the same day . and who knows whether there be not some here alive , and in health , that before to morrow morning shall be lumps of clay , and this the last sermon that ever they shall hear ! wherefore i beseech you sirs , if you love the life of your souls , hearken as if you expected to die as soon as my sermon were ended . the shortness of my time , will give me leave to spend no time at all , by way of reflexion , upon the context ; but i shall immediately fall upon the words , as they lie before us : flee youthful lusts . in which you may observe , 1. an act , flee . 2. the object , lusts . 3. the quality of the object , youthful lusts . the doctrine that i shall take notice of from these words , is this . doct. that it is the great duty of young people , to be exceeding careful to avoid the sins which usually attend their age . or , if you please , that it highly concerns young men , to flee youthful lusts . it 's no cowardise to flee from sin . in the prosecution of this doctrine , i shall shew , 1. what are the common sins of young people . 2. what it is to flee from youthful lusts . 3. why they should flee from youthful lusts . 4. i shall apply it . i shall name some of those sins which young ones are subject to . first , young people are very apt to be disobedient to their parents , or masters . o how great a rarity is it , to see young people as ready to obey , as their parents are to command ! most children are children of belial ; that is , without a yoak . let parents command , advise , nay intreat , all 's to little purpose : how ready are they to break the bond which god and nature lay upon them to dutifulness ! though the command of god be plain enough , though his threatnings are terrible , and though this sin seldom goes unpunished in this life ; yet children take little or no notice of them : one would think that one scripture should scare them , prov. 30. 17. the eye that mocketh at his father , and desp●seth to obey his mother , the ravens of the valley shall pick it out , and the young eagles shall eat it . what is the english of that ? why , they shall come to an untimely end . have not the sad complaints of many , at tyburn , sufficiently demonstrated this to be true ? have not many cried out , with a halter about their neck , children , if you value your lives and souls , take heed of disobeying your parents . that was the sin which brought me to this untimely and shameful end . 2. another youthful sin is , lying : poor children quickly learn this lesson of their father the devil . it is not without good reason , that the psalmist , psal . 58. 3. gives such a character of wicked children which went astray from the womb , telling lies and the older they grow , the more skilled they be in this devilish art : it 's like they are not ignorant , that it is a sin that cuts the bonds of all society : it may be they are told how dear ananias and saphira paid for one lie , act. 5. 3. nay , though the word of truth tell them more than once , that liars must dwell with their father the devil , in that black prison , hell ; though they hear of a lake of fire and brimgone that burns for ever , [ rev. 21. 8. ] and that such as they are , must be cast into it : yet for all this they 'll venture still . 3. sabbath-breaking is another youthful sin . o how little do most of the young people of this city , 〈◊〉 the sanctifying of the sabbath ? doth not the multitude of apprentices and children that wander up and down monefields on the lord's-day , speak this to be too true ? they dare not make bold with their masters time on the week-daies ; but as for god's day , that they spend as if god had set apart one day in the week for young people to sleep , drink , and play in . they dare as well eat a piece of their fingers , almost , as to do that of another day , which they do then : and the truth of it is , they look upon the displeasure of a dying man as terrible ; but the anger of a holy god ▪ they make light of . o! little do they think what precious time that is ! their souls are naked , and they may then have cloathing ; they are starving , and they may then have food , the market is then open ; provisions for eternity may then be had . but , o prodigious madness ! the hearts of most young ones speak in this language , as for christi heaven , and soul , let them go ; we have better things to think on ; more weighty matters to mind . and is it true indeed , o young man ? what , is the company of vain wretches , like thy self , the wanton embraces of a whorish woman , the turning off thy cups , and damnation , more needful than the hearing of sermons , than praying , and reading , and salvation ? sure you shall not alwaies be of that mind ! o! little do you imagine how dear you shall pay for all the pleasures you have on the sabbath , out of god's house . this , this was the sin which lay like a load upon the soul of this poor young man , the profaning of the sabbath ; that was the bane of him . this carried him out of god's way , into the devils quarters . o how bitterly did he bemoan himself for this sin , as the cause of all the rest ! o! ( said he ) when i should have been begging the life of my soul , i was plotting the death of my soul and body too . did none of you stand by the cart , when he wept so bitterly , and cried to the lord to forgive this great and dreadful sin ? did none of you hear how earnestly he begged of you to have a care of that sin , as you loved your lives and souls . o wretch ( said he ) that i was ! i studied how i might spend the lords day in the devils work . i thought i could never dishonour god enough : and that time that i should have served god most in , i did most for satan : in them , then , i plaid my mad pranks ; i went into the church indeed , sometimes , but ( i may speak it with shame and deep sorrow now ) i never heard one whole sermon all the time i was with my master , and indeed , i laughed at those that spent the sabbath in hearing of sermons , and praying ; and looked upon them as the veriest fools in the world . i was glad when the sabbath came , that i might have time to run to my vile comrades : i rejoyced that i could then go to satisfie my cursed lusts with whorish women . o! tell young m●n from me , that the breaking of the sabbath is a costly and dangerous sin . sirs , the substance of this sermon i received from his mouth : and will you not believe a dying man ? do you think he did but jest ? 't was on the sabbath day he went to a whore ; 't was on the sabbath he robbed his master , and 't was on the sabbath that he killed the maid . but because this sin is epidemical , i leave a short story with you , and desire you to think of it ; and the if you like what follows , break the sabbath still . the story is this ; a dear friend of mine was preaching about the sanctifying of the sabbath , and had occasion to make mention of that man that by the special command of god was stoned to death for gathering sticks upon the sabbath-day . whereupon one of the congregation stood up , and laughed , and made all the hast he could out of the church , and went to gathering of sticks , though he had no need of them ; but when the people came from the sermon , they found this man stark dead , with the bundle of sticks in his arms , lying in the church-porch . and yet for all this , there stands a young man in that corner that makes nothing of idling away the sabbath ; and there sits another that minds not the lord's day , except it be to get into wicked company , and take his pleasure in it . and how canst thou endure to hear of this , without trembling ? but i fear thy heart is so hard , that thou art ready to rage against this reproof . well , if the case be so , i have done with thee : but , believe it , god hath not yet do●e with thee , and the devil hath not done with thee ; and though thy conscience say nothing now , yet i tell thee , that hath not done with thee neither . let none think i am tedious upon this head : if young men will but reform this sin , i promise i will never tell them of it more . christians ( i hope that there be some such here ) would it not be a blessed sight to see the fields , the tavern , the whore-houses empty , and the churches full ? would it not be a blessed reformation ? o when shall it once be ! which is the sweeter musick , to hear the air eccho with the confused hollowing and roaring of lewd young men playing upon the lord's day , or to hear the sound of singing of psalms , repeating of sermons , praying , reading of scriptures ? which is like to end best ? isa . 56. 2. amos 8. isa . 58. 14 , 15. ezek. 20. 12. 4. another youthful sin is , mispending of time . young ones think they have time enough before them ; and therefore make nothing of trifling it away . how far are most from following the apostles counsel , in redeeming of the time ? what , do you think many hours discourse of filthy bawdy stories , is that redeeming of time ? is sitting up whole nights to play at cards and dice , redeeming of time ? is robbing your selves of sleep , to lie in the bosom of daliah , redeeming time ? if this be redeeming of time , then some of our young ones , and many of our gallants , redeem time bravely . 't was a notable one , that of seneca ; if ( saith he ) one ask me for my purse , i am not ve●y willing to give it him ; if he beg all my estate , i think it a mad request : but if he ask me to pass away time with him , two or three daies of time , i pass not much upon it , but it 's easily granted ; and thus one of the most precious things in the world is vilified . o little do people think how glad they shall be one day of one of those hours that they spent in foolery ! oh call time again , will be the language of more than one , upon a death-bed . could you talk with some of the mad young ones that are in hell , that lived five or six years ago in as much pleasure as you do now , and spent their time like you ; but it may be , little dreamed of being in hell so soon , but might reckon of forty or fifty years to live ; could you , i say , talk with them , and ask them what they think of time now ? they would quickly say , oh! a world for one praying hour . oh! where are the people to be found , that seriously consider , that there is not a moment of time but we must be accountable for . 't was excellently spoke of that poor young man , when he was in newgate amongst the ●●mmon prisoners ; one sabbath-day they asked 〈◊〉 to play at cards with them : oh ( saith he ) you and i have something else to do with our time , than to play at cards ! is it now a time for us to be sporting away the sabbath , when we have but one poor sand left to work for eternity ? 5. another youthful sin is , keeping bad company . are there not many of the devils emissaries , that make it their business to decoy poor young ones ? o what a happiness do they promise them ! a goodly happiness indeed to carry them to the devil ! 't was not without cause that david ( in psal . 1. 1. ) did pronounce them blessed that had least to do in wicked company . whatever deluded creatures think of their mad jovial company ; one that is well in his wits , looks upon their society as an emblem of hell , psal . 120. the young man , upon whose account we are here met this day , told me , that two or three wicked fellows first , got him out to spend a penny ; but little did he think whither they were leading of him ; and after they had been at one place , they carried him to another , till at last they brought him to that house , out of which few go without their deaths-wound . this was the general complaint of them that went this last assizes to tyburn . and yet how are silly souls pleased with such company ; whose greatest kindness is to make them go merrily to hell ? and are they still such sweet natur'd creatures , that you can't love too much , who do what they can possibly to deprive you of your truest happiness , and make you miserable for ever ? o how will your boon companions greet one another in hell , nay , it may be , upon earth too ? i remember i was once with a drunkard that lay a dying , and after i had prayed with him , in comes one of his old companions in sin , and asked him how he did : at which he was ready to gnash his teeth , and made this dreadful reflection concerning him , to me . o that , that was the wicked wretch that drew me away : if it had not been for him , i had not been in so lamentable a case upon a death-bed , prov. 1. 10 , 11. 6. the sixth youthful sin is , cursing and swearing . how ready are young ones to learn the language of their father ? it was not long since that i heard a little boy swear at every sentence he spoke . o what will such be when they come to be old , if they begin so soon ? scarce creep on their feet , and yet running post to hell ! o how many are there of this daring generation , that bend their tongues like bows , and shoot those arrows against heaven , which will fall down dipt in the poison of divine fury . it would make ones heart ake , to hear how some belch out their hellish oaths ! to hear how cruelly they take in the wounds of christ , and crucifie him afresh ; not considering that at the same time they are butchering of their own souls : and if one tell them of their swearing , how ready are they to swear , that they did not swear ; and turn and laugh , as if it were a creditable thing to be like the devil , and an honour to make hast to hell ? o how many are there of his black crew , that brave it out with their damn-me and sink-me , and oaths , as if they would dare the almighty to his very face , and as if there were little of truth in god's threatnings , and his anger a very light matter ! o sinner ! what if god should take thee at thy word , when the next damn-me is in thy mouth , and stop thy breath , with an oath in thy mouth ? what if god should go to cursing too ? do you know what a dreadful word that is , go thou cursed ? o! what if god should swear too , that thou shalt never enter into his rest ? couldst thou but see the flaming tongues of those horrid sinners that know what the meaning of that word , damn-me is couldst thou but see how they bite those tongues for madness , it may be it would make thee think , that an oath is no such light matter . you say , words are but wind : but believe it , this wind will rise to such a storm , as will not be allaid , without deep repentance , till it hath blown thee into hell . did you never read the third of mal. v. 5. i will come near to judgment , and will be a swift witness against the false swearers , and such as fear not me , saith the lord of hosts . but you 'l say , your tongues are your own , who is lord over us , psal . 12. 4. you shall hear one shortly , that will answer that question , and let you know , that he is lord over that , and that your own tongues shall be made to condem you . but what is it that i see ? how does that swearing wretch storm and rage there at me , for telling him of his sins ? come , come , sinner , if you spare not god , i promise you i will not spare you : and i tell thee , what thou hearest , is nothing to what thou shalt feel . 7. the next youthful lust that i shall mention , is drunkenness . do not many ( i wish old ones were not here too guilty ) act as if their business in this world , was to eat , and drink , and take their pleasures ? the devil bids them read the text , eccles . 11. 9. rejoyce , o young men ; and they are easily perswaded to take his counsel : and so they drink , and roar , and consider not what a reckoning will be brought in at last ; neither do they stand till they have read the latter part of that verse ; but know that for all these things god will bring thee to judgment . not considering the meaning of that whole scripture , which is but this ; go , young man , lie at the taverns and alehouses , do ; drink , and be drunk ; but remember this , you shall be damn'd for it ; and god will make you take off t'other cup , whether you will or no , and that is a cup spiced with wrath and fury . but you see not , neither do you yet feel it ; and therefore you do but laugh at all this ; you say with those in matt. 24. 49. my master delaies his coming , and therefore you eat and drink with the drunkards : you say , let him talk till his heart akes , i will never leave my pleasure for you : why man ! wilt thou then be desperate ? dare you say , i 'll drink , though there be death in the pot , though hell be at the bottom of the cup ? or do you think that god will be worse than his word ? and , that though he threaten high , yet he means no such matter . o sinner , deceive not thy self , and if you forget the rest , carry home but that one text , deut. 29. 9 , 10. if any one hear the words of this curse , and yet bless himself in his heart , saying , i shall have peace , though i walk in the imagination of mine own heart , and add drunkenness to thirst , the lord will not spare him , &c. do you read on , and read it again , and think of that scripture the next time that you sit down to your cups . little do poor creatures think how dreadful a sin drunkenness is , and how many it bringeth with it : i 'll tell you of one story of my own knowledg , and then i shall leave this : a certain drunkard that i knew very well , when he was in drink , quarrelled with his fellow-servant , and after a few words , knocked him down with his flail , and killed him at one blow . afterwards , by friends , he made a shift to escape the halter , and comes home again , and swears , and curses , and drinks at as high a rate as ever : but at last , when he was in the same yard where he did this murder , he dropt down dead in a moment ; and i was one of the first that saw him . 8. another youthful sin is , vncleanness . is not england too near a kin to france ? do not many of our young ones act as if they took pattern by sodom , and had learned of gomorrah ? jeremiah made sad complaint , jer. 5. 7. and are we less guilty ? doth not the scripture speak plain enough against this sin ? though the pope count it a vemal fault , yet those that are guilty of it , will find , that his pardon will give them little ease , when they are cast into a bed of flames . sure our hot young men seldom read the book of proverbs , but act as if that simple young man ( prov. 7. 13. ) did run no great hazzard . what was it that brought thomas savage to theft and murder ? what brought him to that shameful death ? o how bitterly did he take on , that he should ever see the face of that vile woman ! o! had he but considered whither he was going , and that most of her guests go to hell ? had be but thought seriously , how bitter that sin would prove , i believe he would have lain in flames , as soon as with that abominable woman . did none of you hear what he said when he was upon the cart ? did none of you see with what earnestness he spoke ? why , this was one great thing that he begg'd of you young ones , as his dying request , that you would have a care of this sin . 9. the next youthful sin that i should mention , is theft . drunkenness and vncleanness are two costly sins , especially the latter ; and poor creatures are usually so bewitched with that , that credit , purse , body , soul , and all , must go , rather than that beastly sin should not be gratified . how many servants are there that wrong their masters , imbezel their goods , and secretly wast them by the fore-mentioned sin : and i believe i need not tell you what a tragical end theft hath . that prodigy of her sex , and disgrace of women , could not be satisfied with wine and good chear ; her purse must be fed as well as her stinking carcase : what do you come hither ( said she ) for without mony ? why , where should i have it , said he ? what hath your master none ? replied that monster . yes , said he , but i never wronged him , neither can i. nay , said she , if you be thereabout , come no more here . but alas ! the poor creature is insnared , so that he cannot but go to ask counsel of this daughter of the devil , how he should manage his matters , so as to get that money which his master had . she makes a ready reply , and adviseth , to murder the maid , to bury the theft . o that unfaithful servants would think of these things , and now and then read that scripture , tit. 2. 10. and luk. 16. 6. i should here speak something of the bloody sin of murder ; but the word of god , the laws of men , the power of conscience , and the signal judgments of god against such , puts me in some hope , that i need not much insist upon that . i shall add but one sin more . 10. another youthful sin is , incorrigibleness . how resolutely do most young ones go on in their sins ? how hardly brought so much as to debate the business soberly with themselves or others ? how do they fly in the face of them which reprove them , as if it were ten times a greater fault for to reprove sin , than to commit it . nay , some are come to that heighth , that they make but a mock of hell and judgment , as well as sin , isa . 5. 19. but these are so vile a generation , that i have little hopes of prevailing with them , psal . 28. 4 , 5. jer. 22. 21. gen. 19. 14. 11. the next thing i proposed to speak to , was , to sh●w you what it is to flee sin . in this i shall be very brief . 1. not to commit it . take not up this serpent , for it hath a deadly sting in the tail of it . embrace not this dalilah , for she will betray thee . hast away , avoid it ; if you do not , it is as much as your life , the life of your soul is worth , isa . 1. 16. 2. flee ; that is , avoid the very occasions of sin . it 's ill jesting with edge-tools . they are safest , that are farthest from it . a hundred to one but thou art caught , if thou play with the bait. who , but a mad-man , would take strong poison into his mouth , and say that he will then spit it out ? who would chuse to sleep upon the top of a mast ? believe it , sin is one of the most dangerous things in the world , and he that tampers with it , plays with hell , and is sporting with the devil , 1 thes . 5. 22. 3. flee ; that is , hate it with a perfect hatred . say , what have i to do with idols any more ? how shall i do this , and sin against god ? labour for a spiritual antipathy against sin , and to loath it , as david and paul , yea , as god himself , psal . 139. 23. 4. flee , and perswade others to flee : for the danger is not inconsiderable . tell others what sin will prove at last , and perswade them to consider what the wages of such work will be , psal . 119. 157. iii. why should we flee youthful lusts ? 1. because our captain bids us flee : we have his commission , nay , his absolute command ; may i not say , his entreaty too ? what is the meaning of all those pathetical expostulations , turn you , turn you , why will you die ? why doth he bid us to beseech you to look about you ? what is the design of all the scripture ? wherefore do we preach , and pray ? methinks the ministers of christ should be like those angels that warned lot to flee out of sodom ; and when he lingred , they pulled him , and bid him haste , and flee for his life . i might be infinite in scriptures for the proof of this , psal . 34. 11 , 14. 2. because of the danger of not fleeing . if the wrath of god , if hell and damnation , if everlasting misery be to be avoided , then sin is : for as sure as god is true , sinners must be damned if they flee not sin . 3. because of the benefit we shall have by fleeing sin . we shall be everlastingly secured , if heaven and glory be worth the getting , if happiness and salvation considerable , if a kingdom and crown be worth the having , this may be obtained by fleeing f●om sin . application . iv. vse 1. is it so , that it is our duty to flee youthful lusts : then let all this congregation of young men and women , consider how well they have obeyed the command . sirs , be faithful to your souls , and ask your selves speedily , what you have done ? young men , are you guilty , or not guilty ? it 's better you should be ask'd this question at the bar of conscience , than at the bar of god's judgment . children , how say you , are you as ready to obey , as your parents are to command ? doth not your conscience tell you , that you can tell a lie to cover a fault , and yet not be much troubled ? some of you are come here this day to hear news , more than to hear your sin reproved : but where are you on the sabbath-day ? may not i see you idling in the streets , and sitting at your doors ▪ nay , may i not see you in the company of wicked creatures , in an alehouse ? well , sinner , well , the reckoning will come up by and by . i pray tell me , how do you spend your time ? is it in your chamber upon your knees , and at your honest callings , and in civil and christian society ? who are the persons that you take most delight in ? are they those that discourse of god and their souls , and warn one another with words of grace ? what think you of cursing and swearing ? do you fear an oath ? or do you think the deepest oaths the best rhetorick , and most graceful , if i may so speak , to your discourse ? what language do you speak , the language of canaan , or the language of ashdod ? can you stretch your selves upon beds of ivory , and drink wine from morning to night , and look upon this as the only life ? is is not a pleasing thing to lie in the embraces of a wanton woman ? and cannot you use unseemly dalliance , and say , am i not in sport ? did you never wrong your master in your life ? and dare you do so still ? and how would you take it , if i should come to you , and tell you roundly of all your sins ? could you bear it if i should come close to you , and set hell and damnation before you ? young men , i beseech you answer me . i tell you again , it 's better for you that i should ask you this question here than god hereafter . well , have you put it to your conscience ? and are you guilty ? i must tell you plainly , i cannot but thing that abundance of this congregation are in many of these sins deeply guilty ; and yet there stands ▪ a sly sinner , no more affected than the ground he treads on : thou thinkst i do not know thee ; but that , if possible , i may stop thee before thou comest to the gallows and hell ▪ i shall do what i can for my soul to reach thee . wherefore give me leave , in the next place , to speak one word by way of conviction . young people , i am not come this day to tell you news ; my business is not to tickle your ears , but to do what i can possibly to keep you from that place of shame , the gibbet ; and that place of torment hell. i believe that here are many here , that i shall never see nor speak to while the world stands ; and that our next meeting will be before the judgment-seat of christ : and therefore i must tell you , i must not iest with you . i speak to those that are guilty ; you know well enough who i mean. let me ask you soberly , do you believe that there is a god ? and that he is privy to all you do ? and dare you out-face god with your wickedness ? or do you make account his eye is nothing , so man doth not know ; say you so ? believe it , sinner , you will shortly know , that god and your conscience are witnesses enough to cast you : and is this nothing ? are not the threatnings of a god to be regarded ? shall the lion roar , and will not such a beast as you tremble ? know this , as stoutly as you brave it out now , you will shortly quake . but you are resolved , come on it what will , venture you will : but hold sinner , i prethee let 's reason the case a little ; do not act like a fool and a mad-man : were you ever in newgate ? do you know what a prison is ? are fetters such desirable things ? hath the devil done you so much kindness , as that you must venture your liberty for his sake ? come tell me , sinner , what good did the devil ever do for thee willingly ? is it worth the while to do and suffer so much for one that never intended any good to any in the world. consider a little , young man , is it nothing to come gingling in your chains before an earthly judge ? is the sight of the bench nothing ? is it nothing to have your villany laid open before the world ? how do you think you shall look , when evidence comes in clear , and the jury shall cast you ? what , brave it out still ! but what will you say , when the judg shall pass sentence upon you , to be carried from thence to the prison ; and from that , to the place of execution ? it is nothing to have ten thousand spectators of your shameful end ? but methinks i hear some of that hellish rout laughing , and saying , it is but a swing or two , and then all 's over , their misery 's at an end . but hold there sinner , then thy misery will begin , for thou shalt appear immediately before the bar of god , and there receive another sentence ten thousand times more dreadful than the former . what , do you make nothing of that dreadful word , depart thou cursed ? and then immediately the devil takes your soul . they wait for their prey ; and thou must be reserved in chains of darkness , in unspeakable and unavoidable torments , to the judgment of the great day , and then thy cursed body and soul shall meet ; o what a dreadful greeting will that be ! when body and soul shall be cast into everlasting flames . well , young man , now what do you say ? is it best venturing still ? but it may be , thou beginnest to think what a strange censorious man is this ? such preaching is enough to make one out of their wits : what , is there no such thing as repentance , a grace a god one may be saved for all your railing . what do you think of tho. savage ? did not he repent ? i hope you will not say that he is in hell. no indeed , for i verily believe that he is a saint in glory ; but how do you know whether god will give you repentance ? i must tell you , he is a singular instance , such a one as we shall scarce hear of in an age : and i remember , that he that is oft reproved , and hardens his heart , shall suddenly be destroyed , and that without remedy . but though i speak thus , brethren , i hope better things of many here , and things that do accompany salvation . i am perswaded here are some young ones that had as live venture their lives , as indulge themselves in the forementioned youthful lusts . i think i have some ground to say what i do . brethren , i beseech you make not my boasting void ; neither let me be ashamed of my confidence . i am perswaded , i say again , that some of you now hate what sometimes you did delight in ; and though it may be in the days of your darkness , you lived in your sins , yet now fear to fall into them , as much as you fear hell. courage my brethren , go on bravely , and the lord be with you ; you are the hopes and joy of old christians , they bless god from their hearts to see such flowers in gods garden ; hold but out , be strong , and quit you like men , and heaven shall be yours , as sure as if you were already there . vse . 4. i shall here speak something by way of advice to masters of families , and parents . it lies much in your power to set a stop to that mighty torrent of wickedness , that doth almost overflow this city . remember sirs , what a dreadful sin the sin of murder is . what then do you think of those that murder souls , that starve souls ? how do you think god will take it at your hands that you should be so careful that your work be done , and never mind his at all ? is it nothing to you , that one that dwells under your roof , must dwell in everlasting burnings ? are you so barbarous as to be indifferent whether your servants and children are damned or saved ? what can you answer , when those of your own house shall stand before the great god , and say , lord , if it had not been for my master , i had never sinned against thee at the rate that i did . he never told me any thing of the danger of sin , he would be sure to call me up betimes to look after his business ; and if i neglected that , i should quickly hear of it : but as for the lords day , praying or reading , or any thing that concerned god or my soul , i never was so much as reproved for the neglecting of them . o! if i had been but told of such a dreadful place as this is , and what sin would end in , sure i should never have ventured as i did . sirs , i beseech you think how you shall answer such an accusation at the day of judgment ; as sure as you live , you will then be speechless . parents , methinks you have something within you , to put you upon your duty . what , have you no love at all to the fruit of your bodies ? is it no great matter whether your children sink or swim ? would you be contented to see them in a house that is in a flame , & do nothing to get them out ? would you have your children fire-brands of hell for ever ? will you do nothing to rescue them from that devouring lion , who would tear them in pieces ? can you bear to hear them cry out against you , and ready to fly in your faces ? doth it never trouble you to think what a greeting you shall have in another world , when they shall curse the day that ever they saw you , when they shall say , i may thank you for this dreadful misery ; you never catechised me ; you never told me one word of this place of torment ; you never corrected me for my sin ; if you had , it may be i should not have lain under this intollerable anguish . what do you say , sirs , to these things ? methinks they call for your serious consideration . really , if these be not weighty matters , i know not what be . let me ask you in meekness , whether it be not a piece of the most barbarous cruelty in the world , to let your children and servants run to hell , without doing what in you lies to stop them ? but i hope , by this time , some of you are a little convinced of the dreadfulness of the loss of a soul , & are loth to have the guilt of the blood of souls to lie upon you for ever ; and therefore begin to ask , what shall you do , that you and yours may be saved , and your servants and children might escape the snares of satan , and flee youthful lusts ? and you in good earnest friends ? and will you promise , as in the presence of god , that you will do what you can possibly , to discharge your duty , and to follow those directions that i shall give you ? in hopes that some are resolved , by the help of god , to do what in them lies , for the keeping all under their charge from everlasting burnings , i shall advise you : 1. be good your selves , and labour to be patterns of holiness , and to shew your children and servants by your conversation , that you your selves believe that there is a god , an immortal soul , heaven , hell , and eternity : let your language be savoury , and speak you to be one that hath been with jesus . let your actions be regulated by the word , and endeavour to let them know , that you are not in jest when you speak of god and their souls , psal . 10. 1. 2. 2. i charge you , as in the presence of god , as you will answer the neglect of it at the bar of that great judg , take an exact account of your servants how they spend their time , what company they keep , what they do upon the sabbath ; & if you would make any thing of religion , be as careful that the sabbath be spent in god's service , as the week-daies in yours . i could tell you of a servant that was wont , many a time and oft , to complain of his master , and say , if my master had ever examined me the text on the lords-day , or called one to any account where i had been , or what i had heard , i am perswaded i should never have come to so sad an end as i am like to do . 3. instruct them oft in the matters that concern their eternal welfare . sirs , tell them i beseech you , with all the earnestness that you can for your lives , of the danger of sin ; give them wholsome advice ; tell them of the necessity of conversion ; allow them a little time to pray and read , and let them know that you take notice of any thing that is good in them . 4. pray for them ; cry to the lord mightily , and say , o that ishmael may live in thy sight : lord , hast thou not a blessing , o my father , for me and mine ? o pity dear lord , my children and my servants ; and let all under my roof be of the houshold of faith , and of the family of the lord jesus . and now once more i beg you to be in good earnest ; 't will be the truest evidence of the truth of your grace , to be faithful in this work . 't will be your joy upon a death-bed ; 't will be your crown in another world . vse 5. one word by way of advice to you young people . brethren , you saw yesterday what it was to fall into youthful lusts ; and to day you have heard something of the danger of these sins . methinks by this time you should be in a rage against sin : methinks you should all say , well , now i will never spend the sabbath day as i have done : i 'le never come near the company of vile women : this , i hope shall be a warning to me as long as i live . are you ( in sober sadness ) of this mind ? o that the lord would keep this always upon your hearts . o that you may not now get out into the cold world , and shake off the sense of these things . but do i not see some weeping eyes , aking hearts ? and what dost thou say , poor soul ? o sir , i am the man you mean ! but is it possible for me to escape hell ? i have lived in almost all those sins for many a year ; what shall i do ? i shall answer this honest request , and the god of love and power send it home . 1. labour to be acquainted with the principles of religion . be much in reading of the scriptures , search , & you will find never a word there to encourage sin , but all against it ; they will make you wise to salvation ; consult the word , and you will escape the wrath to come , which shall surely fall upon those that live and die in youthful sins , psal . 119. 9. 2. labour to understand wherein your happiness lies . it lies not in riches , pleasures , and honours , but in the favour of god , psal . 4. 6. seek first the kingdom of heaven , and the righteousness thereof ; set your affections on things that are above , and not on things below . 3. to be sure , keep the sabbath strictly , and attend upon a powerful ministry . then is the time to buy provisions to live upon for ever . 4. keep good company . get out of wicked mens society . mark those that walk soberly , and that mind their souls , and make much of them ; and beg an interest in their prayers , and take their advice . if you once grow weary of good company , i shall have little hopes of you ; and it 's a sign god means good to poor souls , when they are very desirous to be in with them that are dear to god ; a warm christian-companion , o sirs , you cannot value him too highly , 1 cor. 15. 33. 1 pet. 4. 4. heb. 6. 12. 5. take heed of sinning against conscience . let david's prayer be yours , ps . 19. 13. keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins , let them not have dominion over me . 6. take heed of putting off repentance ; remember now thy creator ; now is the acceptable time : o , if you value your lives , make hast , and delay not an hour , but go home , & fall upon your knees , & beg of god to give you repentance unto life ; give god no rest day nor night till he have charged your heart , and made you see your need of a christ , and made you to give your self to christ . o cry out this night , a christ , dear lord , a christ for my poor soul , or i am lost for ever . eccles . 12. 1. psal . 119. 62. 7. be much in consideration ; commune now and then with your heart , & think seriously whither you are going , and ask your soul what a condition it is in , & what it hath to bear it up against the fear of death , & what provisions are made for eternity ; look into your purse , what mony hast thou that will go currant in another world . spend much time in thinking . i askt this poor boy how he spent his time in prison : he answered , in prayer , reading , and consideration . 8. neglect not prayer ; ask and you shall have , seek and you shall find , knock and it shall be opened unto you ; be frequent and serious in this duty , forget not secret prayer , and look after your prayers , and be not content except you hear of them again . 9. be diligent in your calling ; be not slothful in your worldly business , idleness is the devils shop , rom. 11. 12. 10. hold out to the end : remember what they shall have that conquer , resolve for christ and heaven upon any terms well sirs , now my work is done ; have i been beating the air ? what will become of these two sermons ? yesterday you heard one out of the cart , and from the gibbet , and to day from the pulpit ; and what are you resolved to do ? what , shall the tears , prayers , and intreaties of that dying young man be so soon forgotten ? if they are , can the commands of the living god be so easily contemned ? is there nothing in all that i have been speaking ? what , are you still of the same mind that you were , or are you not ? i say again , i must leave you , and a thousand to one whether i shall ever see you or speak to you more ; once more i charge you , as you love your own soul , as you fear the wrath of god , and the flames of hell ; flee youthful lusts . finis . a murderer punished and pardoned, or, a true relation of the wicked life, and shameful-happy death of thomas savage imprisoned, justly condemned, and twice executed at ratcliff, for his bloody fact in killing his fellow-servant, on wednesday, octob. 28, 1668 / by us who were often with him in the time of his imprisonment in newgate, at at his execution, robert franklin, thomas vincent, thomas doolitel, james janeway, hugh baker ; to which is annexed a sermon preached at his funeral. 1679 approx. 137 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 29 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a76061 wing a997a estc r42788 38875755 ocm 38875755 152165 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a76061) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 152165) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2281:10) a murderer punished and pardoned, or, a true relation of the wicked life, and shameful-happy death of thomas savage imprisoned, justly condemned, and twice executed at ratcliff, for his bloody fact in killing his fellow-servant, on wednesday, octob. 28, 1668 / by us who were often with him in the time of his imprisonment in newgate, at at his execution, robert franklin, thomas vincent, thomas doolitel, james janeway, hugh baker ; to which is annexed a sermon preached at his funeral. r. a. (richard alleine), 1611-1681. janeway, james, 1636?-1674. franklin, robert, 1630-1684. the twelfth edition: 54 p. printed for p. p., london, in the year, 1679. attributed to richard alleine by wing (2nd ed.). the sermon is by james janeway--cf. bm catalog. imperfect: stained, torn and tightly bound, with slight loss of print. reproduction of original in: william andrews clark memorial library, university of california, los angeles. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng savage, thomas, d. 1668. blay, hannah. bible. -n.t. -timothy, 2nd, ii, 22 -sermons. murder -england. trials (murder) -england. 2007-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-06 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2009-01 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2009-01 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a murderer punished ; and pardoned or , a true relation of the wicked life , and shameful-happy death of thomas savage ; imprisoned , justly condemned , and twice executed at ratcliff , for his bloody fact in killing his fellow-servant , on wednesday , octob. 28. 1668. by us who were often with him in the time of his imprisonment in newgate , and at his execution : robert franklin , thomas vincent , thomas doolitel , james janeway , hugh baker . to which is annexed a sermon preached at his funeral . the twelfth edition : with the addition of the leud life , and shameful death of hannah blay , who was condemned and executed for being guilty of the bloody murther committed by thomas savage . with other new additions . london , printed for p. p. in the year , 1679. to the reader . in the following narrative you have a relation of the bloody murther committed by t. savage , with an account of the wonderful mercies of god to his poor soul after the committing so bloody a sin . to which is added a short relation of the carriage and behaviour of that vile strumpet hannah blay , during the time of her being in newgate to her execution : which , though it hath nothing in it worthy to be related , yet , she being an instrumental cause of that bloody resolution , was thought fit to be inserted , that she may remain as an example of shame to all leud women , and a severe example of gods justice upon such cruel monsters , who are not contented with endangering the soul of such ignorant young men , that have not the fear of god before their eyes , with their abominable whoredomes and adulteries , but as it were to make sure of destroying both body and soul together by adding to their former sins the guilt of shedding innocent blood : and as you have a wonderful instance of gods free-grace to the soul of t. s. so the foulness of his fact , the danger of damning his soul , and the twice shameful execution which he suffred , may be a means to preserve all young men and apprentices from being guilty of the like fact . and as a help to you herein , you are advised to be very careful what company you keep . that you addict not your selves to drinking , or gaming , or company-keeping , which is the ruin of many young men , who by getting a habit of keeping company , or other vices , are to often drawn to purloin from their masters , to maintain them in their extravagancies . by which means they do not only run the hazard of exposing their bodies to publique-shame , if they be discovered , to the great grief , and even heart breaking of their friends , when they hear of their ill courses but the wrath of god and eternal damnation of their poor souls , as you may see in the narrative of t. s. who first began with company-keeping , from company-keeping to whoring , from whoring to thieving and murther . and lastly , be careful to spend the lords-day , and all thy other spare time in the service of god , as reading , praying , hearing the word preached , which may be a means to preserve thee from the guilt of sins of this nature , and other sins likewise , if thou apply thy self seriously to this work . but whiles i am advising of others , i my self commit an error in exceeding my ●onds , being confined to a page , i rest . a real well-wisher to the eternal happiness of your immortal soul . blood doth cry aloud ; the blood of man , when violently shed by cruel hands for private revenge or covetousness , or the satisfaction of some such base lust , doth cry as far from earth to heaven for vengeance : and however some horrible murder may be secretly plotted and as secretly effected , yet seldom are they long unpunished even in this world , for besides that sometimes the guilty accusing consciences of such persons who have committed this heinous crime , do so inwardly lash and torment them , that they can find no rest until they have made discovery of the fact with their own mouth ; there is the all-seeing eye of sin revenging god , which doth find them , and a strange hand of his providence which doth often follow them , and entangle them in their steps ( when they are flying and seeking some hiding-place ) which doth as it were bind them before they are in chains , and deliver them before they are aware , into the hands of justice to be punished . but there is another blood which doth send forth a louder cry , namely the blood of the lord jesus christ , which was shed for the sins of men , which speaketh better things than the blood of abel , crying for mercy and forgiveness , this blood hath such prevalency and vertue , that when it is applyed by faith unto the most notorious malefactor guilty of blood , as well as other wickedness : it doth out-cry and drown the voice of blood and every other sin , and washeth the most impure soul , dyed in sin unto a scarlet and crimson hue . this blood we hope was sprinkled upon the conscience of this murtherer , who had a little before embrued his hands in the blood of his fellow-servant : for having given such evidence of his sincere repentance , and true faith , unto several of us ministers and other christians that were with him , before and at his execution : we hope , though he were justly punished with the first death by the hand of man for his crime , that through infinite free grace and christs blood , he hath escaped the second death and wrath of god in hell. the narrative may give the same satisfaction to others , which the publishers hereof have received , which is as followeth . thomas savage , born in the parish of giles in the fields , he was put out apprentice to mr. collins , vintner at the ship-tavern in ratcliff , where he lived about the space of one year and three quarters : in which time he manifested himself to all that knew him , to be a meer monster in sin : in all that time he never once knew what it was to hear one whole sermon ; but used to go in at one door , and out at the other ; and accounted them fools that could spare so much time from sin as 2 or 3 hours on a lords day to spend in the lords service . he spent the sabbath commonly at the ale-house , or rather at a base house with that vile strumpet hannah blay , which was the cause of his ruine ; he was by a young man ( now gone to sea ) first enticed to go drink there , and after that he went alone , and now and then used to bring her a bottle or two of wine which satisfied not her wicked desires ; but she told him , if he would frequent her house , he must bring money with him : he told her often , he could bring none but his masters , and he never wronged his master of two-pence in his life : still she enticed him to take it privately : he replyed he could not do it , because the maid was always at home with him . hang her jade saith this impudent slut , knock her brains out , and i will receive the money ; this she many times said , and that day that he committed the murther , he was with her in the morning , and she made him drunk with burnt brandy , and he wanted one groat to pay of his reckoning : she then again perswaded him to knock the maid on the head , and she would receive the money ; he going home between twelve and one of the clock , his master standing at the street-door , did not dare to go in that way , but climbed over a back-door , and commeth into the room where his fellow-servants were at dinner : o saith the maid to him , sirrah , you have been now at this bawdy-house , you will never leave till you are undone by them : he was much vexed at her ; and while he was at dinner , the devil entered so strong into him , that nothing would satisfie him but he must kill her ; and no other way , but with the hammer ; to which end , when his master was gone with all the rest of his family to church , leaving only the maid and this boy at home ; he goeth into the bar , fetcheth the hammer : and taketh the bellows in his hand , and sitteth down by the fire , and there knocketh the bellows with the hammer : the maid saith to him ; sure the boy is mad , sirrah , what do you make this noise for ? he said nothing , but went from the chair , and lay along in the kitchin window , and knocked with the hammer there ; and on a sudden threw the hammer with such force at the maid ; that hitting her on the head she fell down presently , screaking out , then he taketh up the hammer three times , and did not dare to strike her any more , at last the devil was so great with him , that he taketh the hammer , and striketh her many blows with all the force he could , and even rejoyced that he had got the victory over her ; which done , he immediately taketh the hammer , and with it strikes at the cupboard door in his masters chamber , which being but slit-deal presently flew open , and thence he taketh out a bag of money , and putting it upon his arm , under his cloak , he went out at a back-door straight-way to this base house again : when he came thither , the slut would fain have seen what he had under his cloak , and knowing what he had done , would very fain have had the money : he gave her half a crown , and away he went without any remorse for what he had done . going over a stile he sat down to rest himself , and then began to think with himself ; lord what have i done ! and he would have given ten thousand worlds he could have recalled the blow . after this , he was in so much horrour , that he went not one step but he thought every one he met came to take him . he got that night to green-wich , and lay there ; telling the people of the house that he was to go down to gravesend : that night he rose and walked about , and knew not what to do , conscience so flew in his face , the mistress of the house percieving the lad to have money , and not sealed up , said , i wish this lad came by this money honestly . the next morning he going away towards woolliedge , the mistress of the house could not be satisfied , but sent for him back , and told him , sweetheart , i fear you came not by this money honestly . yes indeed mistress , saith he , i did ; for i am carrying of it down to gravesend to my master , a wine cooper . vve live upon london-bridge , and if you please to send any one to my mistress i will leave my money with you . so there were some people going to london , and he writ a note to send to his mistress , and he left the money with the woman of the house , and went his way , wandring toward vvoolliedge , and there was in the ship-yard ; about which time news came to greenwich of the murther that was committed at ratcliff by a youth , upon his fellow-servant , and that a bag of money was taken away : the mistress of the house forthwith concluded that sureit was the same youth that was at her house and that that was the money ; whereupon she sent men out presently to seek him : who found him in an ale-house , where he had called for a pot of beer , and was laid down with his head on the table and fallen asleep : one of the men calling him by his name , tom , saith he , did you not live at ratcliff ? he said , yes , and did you not murther your fellow-servant ? he confessed it : and you took so much money from your master ? he acknowledged all : then said they , you must go along with us : he said , yes , with all my heart . so they went forthwith to greenwich , to the house where he lay that night : where when he came , he met his master with some friends , and when his master spake to him of it , he was not much affected at first , but after a little while burst out into many tears : thence he was conveyed to the justice at ratcliff , where he fully confessed the fact again , and by him was committed close prisoner in the gaol of newgate , where mr. h. b. ( who after some acquaintance with him , had this preceeding narrative from his own mouth ) came to see and speak with him : and he seemed but little sensible of what he had done . are you ( said he ) the person that committed the murther upon the maid at ratcliff ? he said , yes : o what think you of your condition ) what do you think will become of your precious sou ? you have by this sin not only brought your body to the grave , but your soul to hell , without gods infinite mercy : were you not troubled for the fact when you did it ? not for the present , sir , said he ; but soon after i was , when i began to think with my self what i had done . the next time he asked him , whether he were sorry for the fact ? he said , wringing his hands , and striking his breast , with tears in his eyes yes , sir , for it cuts me to the heart to think that i should take away the life of a poor innocent creature ; and that is not all , but for any thing i know , i have sent her soul to hell : o how can i think to appear before god's barr , when she shall stand before me , and say , lord , this wretch took away my life , and gave me not the least space that i might turn to thee : he gave me no warning at all , lord. o then what will become of me ? soon after the imprisonment of this thomas savage , in new gate . upon the desire of one of his friends , mr. r. f. and t. v. went to him in the prison , and had liberty , with much readiness , from the keepers , to discourse with him : they asked him , if he were the person that had murthered the maid ? he answered , that he was ; they did then open to him the heinous nature of that sin , endeavouring to set it home upon his conscience , telling him of the express law of god , thou shalt not kill , and the express threatnings , that whosoever sheddeth mans blood , by man shall his blood be shed . they spake to him of the law of the land , and the punishment of death which would certainly be inflicted upon him ; that he had but a few vveeks more to live , and then he would be tryed , and condemned , and executed : but they told him , that the punishment of the temporal death was but small in comparison with the punishment of eternal death in hell , which he had deserved , and was exposed unto . they told him , that so long as death should make a separation between his soul and body , that his soul must immediately appear before the dreadful tribunal of the sin revenging god , and there receive its final doom , and be irreversibly sentenced to depart from the presence of the lord , into everlasting fire , if he were found under the guilt of this , or any other sin . they asked him if he knew what hell was ? telling him what a fearful thing it would be for him to fall into the hands of the living god ; how intolerable the immediate expressions of gods wrath would be upon his soul , what horror and anguish he would there be filled withal , and how he would be bound up in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day ; and then told him of the glorious appearance of the lord jesus christ to judgment : that soul and body should be then joyned together , and condemned together , and punished together with such exquisite torments as never entred into the heart of man to concieve ; declaring the extremity and the eternity of the torments of hell , which were the just demerit of his sins . then they asked him , whether he had any hopes of escaping this dreadful punishment of hell ? he answered , that he had : they enquired into the grounds of his hopes ? he told them , that he repented of his fault , and hoped god would have mercy on his soul : they asked him , whether he thought his repentance could procure for him a pardon ? he knew no other way . they told him that god was just , and his justice must be satisfied : and there was no way for him to do it , but by undergoing the eternal torments of hell : and did he know no way of satisfying god's justice besides ? and pacifying his anger that was kindled against him ? no , he knew not any , and yet did he hope to be saved ? he answered , yes . they enquired whether ever he had experience of a gracious change wrought in him . herein he could give no account , and yet hoped to be saved . they told him his hopes were unfound , having no good foundation ; and he would find himself disappointed : that it was not his repentance , his tears , and prayers ( though he ought to use them as means ) that would save him , if he fixed the anchor of his hope upon them . that if he hoped to be saved in the condition which for the present he was in , he would certainly be damned : that he must cast away all those groundless hopes he had conceived , and endeavour to despair in himself , that being pricked and pained at heart , through the apprehensions of the wrath of god ready to fall upon him , and seeing no possibility of flying and escapeing , if he looked onely to himself , he might cry out , vvhat shall i do to be saved ? and enquire after a saviour : and then they spake to him of the lord jesus christ , and the way of salvation by him , which before he was sottishly ignorant of , as if he had been brought up in a country of infidels , and not of christians . the words spoken to him by these two ministers , seemed to take little impression upon him whilst they were present ; yet after they were gon , the lord did begin to work , and he did acknowledge to mr. b. that two had been with him ( he knew not their names ) whose words were like arrows shot into his heart , and he did wish he had those words in writing especially one expression of t. v. that he would not be in his condition for ten thousand worlds , did affect and affright him that he said it made his hair stand an end . an account of a discourse betwixt t. d. and t. s. about fourteen dayes after he was prisoner in newgate . vvhen i came to him and saw him in irons , i said , were these fetters for the sake of the gospel , they would be far more precious than chains of gold : but see here the cursed fruits of sin ; thou that shouldst all thy life-time have been a faithful servant of god , hast neglected no time to serve the devil . i asked him how old he was ? he said , sixteen years old : i told him , he was a young man , but an old sinner ; then i began to set my self to bring him to a sense of his sins , and of his miserable and lost estate ; and asked him , whether he belived there was a god ? he answered , yes : and dost thou believe that this god is true ? he said , yes : and taking up the bible , i asked him , dost thou believe that this is the word of god ? he answered , yes : then i told him , according to this word he was a damned wretch , and god had past a sentence of death upon him , and told him plainly , that he should not enter into the kingdom of god , but be a companion of devils in a lake of brimstone to all eternity , ( meaning without repentance , conversion and faith in christ . ) then i turned him to several scriptures , and told him , this was the word by which he must be judged at the barr of god , and be damned or saved according as then he should be found to be , converted or unconverted : the scriptures were as followeth , 1 cor. 6. 9. know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of god ? be not deceived ; neither fornicators , nor idolaters , nor adulterers , nor effeminate , nor abusers of themselves with mankind , verse 10. nor thieves , nor covetous , nor drunkards , nor revilers , nor extortioners , shall inherit the kingdom of god. another scripture i read to him , was gal. 5. 19. now the works of the flesh are manifest , which are these , adultery , fornication , vncleanness , lasciviousness , v. 20. idolatry , witchcraft , hatred , variance , emulations , wrath , strife , seditions , heresies , v. 21. envyings , murders , drunkenness , revellings , and such like , of the which i tell you before , as i have also told you in time past : that they which do such things , shall not inherit the kingdom of god. the next scripture to the same purpose , was , rev. 21. 8. but the fearful and unbelieving , and the abominable , and murderers , and whoremongers , and sorcerers , and idolaters , and all lyars , shall have there part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone , which is the second death . i told him these were the words of the holy , true , and infallible god ; this was the sentence which god had passed upon him , as the desert of those abominable sins which he was guilty of : for these scriptures pointed at several of the sins which he confessed he had lived in , and had committed , as drunkenness , lying , uncleanness , and murther . i cryed , you confess your self guilty of these sins , and that god threatneth you with eternal death , with everlasting torments , and exclusion from his presence and kingdom , not only gods justice but gods truth also , stood betwixt him and eternal happiness ; and told him , that i spake it with reverence that the holy god must be a lyar , or else he dying in the guilt of these sins . must be certainly and eternally damned . i asked him , what do you think ? how will you escape the damnation of hell , and the great wrath that is come ? you have heard what god saith ? what do you say ? what course will you take , and what means will you use , that you may not , according to god's threatning , be cast amongst devils , into eternal devouring flames ? to this , at present , he made no reply , but did often shake his head , and lifted up his eyes towards heaven . next i endeavoured to bring him to a sight and sense of the corruption of his nature , and of the sinfulness of his heart : and told him , all those sins were in his heart , before they were actually committed : and turned him to the saying of christ , in the 15th of matthew , ver . 19. for out of the heart proceedeth evil thoughts , murders , adulteries , fornications , thefts , false-witnesses , blasphemies , and told him , that in his repentance for those sins , he must not only lay to heart and be grieved for the outward acts , but lament and bewail the inward principle of corruption , whereby he was so strongly inclined to such horrid abominations , according to the example of david after his sins of adultery and murther , in his confession did follow them up to the rise and original from whence they did spring , psal . 15. 5. behold , i was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me , by this time i perceived some workings of heart within him , and that he was in some measure sensible of his lost estate , and by his deportment and carriage , to be cast down , not knowing what to do ; i was unwilling to leave him without some grounds of hope , that it may be , he might be saved ; that there was a possibility that he might obtain pardoning mercy , and be delivered from that great damnation that was due to him for his great transgressions , i began to open to him the readiness of christ , the fulness and sufficiency of christ to save the greatest sinners : and that god ( i hoped , in mercy to his soul ) had sent me , one of his embassadors , to offer him a pardon , and eternal life , if he were but willing to accept of christ upon the terms of the gospel , for his lord and saviour : and did encourage and assure him , upon repentance and faith in christ , there was mercy yet for him , though a murderer , from these scriptures , isa . 1. 18. come now and let us reason together , saith the lord , though your sins be as scarlet , they shall be as white as snow ; and though they be as red as crimson they shall be as wool . as i opened to him the great mercy of god in christ toward sinners , dyed in grain , that were sinners of a scarlet colour , that had committed heinous transgressions , he brake forth into tears , and wept plentifully at the tydings of mercy , and possibility that such a one as he might be saved . besides , i turned him to some scripture-promises , that god would certainly forgive his sins , and save his soul , if he could repent , and get faith in christ : such as prov. 28. 13. he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin , shall find mercy : and isa . 55. 7. let the wicked forsake his way , and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him return unto the lord , and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our god , for he will abundantly pardon . this scripture he diligently heeded , and turned it down in his bible ; and these two scriptures ( the night before he suffered ) amongst others he alledged as the grounds of his hopes of mercy . i also gave him some scripture instances of great sinners that had obtained mercy ; turned him to the example of manasseh , 2 chron. 33. to that of mary magdalen , luke 7. 37 , 38. to that of the jews , acts 2. 37 , 38. that were guilty of the blood of christ , that had murdered the son of god , a greater murther than which could not be committed : and yet upon repentance and faith many of them were pardoned and saved : to that of paul , 1 tim. 1. 13 , 14 , 15 , 16. shewed him how god had set up paul as a pattern of free-grace , towards great sinners , for the encouragement of such , that ( though guilty of great sins ) afterwards should believe . to all these he hearkned very carefully , and took notice of the places of scripture , for his meditation after i left him . and last of all , i endeavoured to set before him jesus christ , as the only remedy and saviour for his soul ; and shewed him the insufficiency of all his duties , prayers and tears , to get off the guilt of the least sin : that if he could shed a thousand tears of blood for any one vain thought , it would be no better than puddle water to justifie or to save him . much discourse i had with him at this time , besides what is here inserted , and several other times when i went to visit him in newgate ; which i willingly omit , because this book should not swell to too great a bulk . after all , i went to prayer with him : in which duty he was much dissolved into tears : he seemed to me , and his faithful friend that was most with him above all others , to be very earnest in prayer , and with weeping eyes to beg for pardon and for converting grace , and christ to be his saviour ; which was much insisted on in the prayer that was made for him . after which , advising him to consider of what i had said , for that time i took my leave of him . the next time after this discourse , that mr. baker came to him , he enquired how it was with him : he said , what t. d. had said , did very much startle him , that he knew not what to reply , and cryed out very much of the heinousness of his sins , that he should commit that horrid sin of murder : and knew not what to do , for that left a deep impression upon his heart , that god must be a lyar , or else he ( in that condition of impenitency ) must be damned : yet he laid hold upon that promise that was unfolded to him , that if a sinner turned from his wicked ways , god would abundantly pardon : and afterwards read on the verse that followed , isa 55. 8. for my thoughts are not your thoughts , neither are your ways my ways , saith the lord. upon which considering , said men cry out for death and vengeance , no mercy to be had from men : but gods thoughts to a repenting sinner were life , for he delighteth not in the death of a sinner . about four or five days after this , he was puzled about his performing of duties , and resting only upon christ for salvation ; for he was tempted , if he performed duties . to rest upon them : or to let them alone , and leave them off , if he must rest only upon christ . at which time . h. b. coming to him , enquired how it was with him now ? and how he hoped to be saved ? he answered by repentance and faith : and i could easily tell you , to satisfie you , that i do repent , and do believe : but truly so to do as i ought , i find it the hardest thing in the world : i do believe , and i do not : i cannot tell how to believe that christ dyed for sinners , so as to throw my self wholly and fully upon him , and to think my tears and prayers will do me no good . but here , reader , we must take notice of the unwearied diligence of the devil , in using all means from time to time , to undo , ruine , and wound the soul of this poor malefactor , who would not forbear to solicit him to sin , after he was cast into prison for former iniquities he had committed ; for we cannot but judge that the devil was loth to loose such a prey as his immortal soul ; when he had brought him to the very mouth and gates of hell , to have him snatched out of his hands by the free-grace of god , the devil did work the more ( because he knew his time to tempt him , was but short ) to blemish and eclipse the gracious work of god upon his heart , and cloud the glory of gods mercy , in saving such a sinner . he was by some former acquaintance visiting of him , ( who shewed their love to a death deserving sinner , no other way then by calling for drink , and desiring him to drink with them ) overcome therewith , and after some former convictions of sin , and his lost estate , did twice relapse into the sin of drunkenness , whereby he caused many to fear , that all this while he had no more than some common workings of the spirit ; and put us to stand , that we knew not what would be the issue of these things : but yet not daring to omit endeavours ( if possible ) as instrumenents under god to save his soul , we did after this , visit him again and again , and set forth unto him the greatness of his sin , that he should sin yet more against the lord , and in his affliction and chains , to provoke the lord to greater wrath against his soul ; with many words to that purpose . after which , his soul was wounded , his heart was pierced , he knew not what to do : he asked , may mercy be had for a back-sliding sinner ? to which were given him some scriptures , where god called to back-sliding sinners to return , and invited them to repent , and promised mercy to them if they did , even after they had done as wickedly as they could : and this was much enlarged upon before him , from jer. 3. ver . 1 , to 15. verse . but god that had begun to awaken and to rowse his conscience , that he might set him up as a pattern of free-grace , would not let the devil go thus away with his soul , but brought him to a deep sense of his falling into sin , that he much lamented with many tears the sadness of his state , the misery of his soul , saying what will become of my soul ! my immortal soul ! i cannot think what will become of my soul ! i deserve hell ten thousand times over ; and have i now but one grain of sand left in the glass to work for eternity ? shall i neglect god any longer ? o , i have neglected god too long already ! striking his hand upon his breast , and wringing his hands , and shaking his head , and weeping abundantly , said , lord , what shall i do ? o god , what shall i do ? lord , what will become of me ? if god had dealt justly with me , i had now been in hell , i had been dashed into hell when i murthered that poor innocent creature , i wonder that i am not now in hell ; that such a wretch as i , am not in hell : god hath been pleased to manifest more mercy to me , in sparing of me , and affording me so long time for repentance ; but i have neglected time , and relapsed into drunkenness and vain talking , time after time . i thought this place ( meaning the hole in newgate , ) hell upon earth , and did account it a heaven to be among other prisoners : but now god hath tryed me , whether sin will be bitter and displeasing to me , or not ; i have this day ( being the lords day ) been among the prisoners , and they asked me to play at cards : but instead of complying with them , i reproved them , and told them , for my part i had profaned sabbaths enough already , i have but a little time to work for my soul , and i ought not to neglect time now ; that they likewise ( he told them ) if they rightly considered , had something else to do , and striking his hand upon his breast , with much earnestness he cryed out with tears , now , now i find that god hath been at work upon my soul ; he hath , i am sure , been at work : for now i see so much evil , and taste such bitterness in sin , that i am not so much troubled that i am to dye , nor so much troubled that i am in danger of hell , as to think i should so dishonour god , that i should so offend so gracious and merciful a god , and spurn against all his mercies . oh my soul , my immortal soul ! i know not what will become of it to all eternity . it is the grief of my very soul , that i have neglected time as i have done : now i see so much need of a christ , and so much preciousness and excellency in christ , that if the greatest king in the world should come and throw his crown at my foot , and tell me i should enjoy it , and all the glory of it for millions of years , and should have my liberty presently , and should say , but it must be without christ , i would sooner chose to dye this moment ; nay , to be racked to pieces by ten thousand deaths , or burn ten years together , so i may have a christ , i speak freely from my heart , so far as i know my heart ; and now i find it is not only the devil 's tempting me , hath brought me to this , but this cursed , wretched , devilish heart of mine within . it is within me , so that it was in me before it was committed by me : i deserved hell ten thousand times over , before i committed this horrid sin : well , now i am resolved , i will pray as much as i can , and weep and wrestle with god , as if i were to have heaven for it : but when i have done all , i will deny all ; for my prayers and tears cannot save me : and i will fully and wholly throw my self at the feet of christ ; and if i am damned , i will be damned there . and more he spake to this purpose in mr. baker's hearing . about three days after , mr. baker coming to him , asked him how it was with him . he told him , that the devil was very busie with him , and did solicit him grievously with his temptations , perswading him to have thoughts of escaping : these things ( said he ) hindred my minding of god one part of the day ; the other part of the day the devil fills me with drowsiness , that i can neither pray , nor read , nor perform any duty , nor mind any one that prays with me . sometimes he tempts me to delay , telling me that it is time enough for me to think of repentance when i am condemned ; and , that god is a merciful god ; and sometimes he tempted me to despair , telling me that it was impossible that so monstrous a sinner as i had been , should be saved . but blessed be god that he made me to think that these were but the devils temptations , although i have been sadly hurried with them for some days : but that which did most fill me with terror , was the frequent fears of the devil 's appearing personally to me ; which did so exceedingly trouble me in prayer , so that i could say nothing when i kneeled down , but was fain to set the candle down before me , and durst not look one way nor other , for fear i should see him ; and my thoughts have been so vain many times , when you have been reading to me , that i have scarce heard a word of what you said . a discourse betwixt h. b. and t. s. prisoner in newgate , after some friends went away dissatisfied , fearing he had not a sense of his sin , &c. h. b. asking him how it was with him ? he replied , it is the grief of my soul that i should be no more affected : i think i have the most rocky , stony heart in the world : if ever there was an heart of iron , i have one , it is not fit to be called an heart . to have others come and pray with me , and instruct me , and see how they are affected with my condition , and yet i not at all affected with my own condition ; oh it is the grief of my soul to see it so ! and yet as soon as ministers and good people are gone , and i walk about and consider , oh it melts me , and breaketh my heart in pieces to think , i can mourn for sin , and grieve for sin no more , when gods people are with me ! because it causeth them to think that i am not sensible of my sin ; though blessed be god i am in some measure sensible of the evil of my sins ; and it is the grief of my soul to think how i have dishonoured god , and abused his mercy , and spurned against his mercy and patience . after this , they both spent some time in prayer , and h. b. asked him , how it was with him now ? he said , i find so much sweetness in prayer . although i cannot find god loveth me , that to think i am not cursing and swearing as others are , but be confessing my sin , my very tears trickle down my cheeks for joy : sometimes i find my heart so dead and dull in duty , that i know not what to say in prayer : at other times i find my heart so full , and so much affected in duty , that i could wish i might never rise off my knees . the night before the sessions , h. b. coming to him , asked him if it was not terrible to him to think of appearing before the barr of men ? he answered , methinks when i consider seriously of it , what a light poor thing mans barr is in comparison of gods barr , yet mans barr is enough to daunt one , to hear them say , take him gaoler , tye him up : but to appear before gods barr , who knoweth all the sins that ever i committed ; he saw all my secret sins ; and for god to say , take him gaoler , take him devil , shut him up in the dungeon of hell : oh! that is enough . i believe , to make the stoutest heart in the world to tremble : for there is no recalling that sentence ; and i believe there are many go out of this prison , as i saw formerly three that went to be hanged , and they were almost drunk , and did sing all the way they went : but oh , their note was soon changed , when they came to stand before gods barr. the morning before he went to the sessions , h. b. and the prisoner spent some time in prayer , the prisoner in his prayer did earnestly beg of god that he would keep him from those temptations he might be exposed unto by bad company : after this he was taken down to the sessions house , but was not called because the jury of middlesex did not sit that day . at night h. b. came to him again , and asking how it was with him ; he answered , he found it no easie thing to be a true christian : i thought before i came to prison , that reading a chapter now and then , and saying the lords prayer , and the creed at night when i went to bed , would have saved me , though many times i was asleep before i had half done : but now i find it no such easie thing to get to heaven ; nay , i find it the hardest thing in the world , for my prayers and tears and duties , if i could fall upon my knees and never rise off from them while i live , they would not save me ; for all this is but my duty : but i now know there is merit enough in the blood of christ to save me ; and he did earnestly beg of god in prayer , that god would wash his soul in the blood of christ , and blot out all his sins out of the book of his remembrance , and turn them behind his back , though i as earnestly beg they might be all spread before my face , that i might have a more humble and throughly broken heart for them : lord , one drop of that blood is enough to wash away all my sins : and so after some conference , h. b. left him for that night , who heard from one that was with him that night , that he spent that time most in prayer and reading . the second morning , in the time of the sessions , mr. baker , that was a careful friend for the good of his soul , went to the sessions house , where he found him well , and in good frame , and continued with him for the space of two or three hours that morning ; after which time mr. baker was from him to hear the tryal of the person that was arraigned , and afterward executed for the fire upon the house burnt down in mincing-lane , for the space of half an hour , or thereabout ; in which time , in company of other prisoners , he was much distempered with something that he had drank amongst them , which did take from him his understanding , that he was not his own man ; we judge ( that though this did cast a blemish upon the profession that he had made after he came to newgate ) it was not a voluntary act , but some surprisal or design of the other upon him ; partly , because the quantity was far less than what at other times he could drink without any disturbance to his head . a friend also heard hannah the strumpet that enticed him to his former wickedness , say , others have made you drunk to day , but i will make you drunk to morrow . but afterwards he was afraid to drink in their company , but rather denied to take what was necessary for his refreshment . the prisoners , were much against his accusing of that harlot ; and did much perswade him to take something to chear his spirits ; and when t. d. was with him on saturday before he dyed , he charged him with his sin , which had caused such a blot upon all the profession he had made , and what great cause he had to be humbled before god ; and desired him , to tell him , as a dying man , whether it was his voluntary act and delight in excessive drinking , or no ? and he did prosefs , that he knew it was not the quantity that he had drank , which was not near so much as at other times he did use without distempering of himself however , god was pleased to make him taste the bitterness of that cup in that he had given such occasion to sinners to speak evil of the wayes of god , and beating his hands ( being returned to himself , ) upon the stones , cryed out , oh that i should offend god! and though he did much lament the scandal , yet he always said , that he looked not upon it as a sin of drunkenness , but a circumvention ; or to use his own words , that something was put into the drink , to distemper his head . on saturday during the sessions , he was arraigned , and pleaded guilty , confessing with many tears and wringing his hands , that he , through the instigation of the devil , and enticement of that wretched creature ( meaning the harlot ) had committed that bloody fact , which was such an horror to his conscience , that he would not do it again for ten thousand worlds : his carriage and confession was such , that he much moved the honourable bench and jury , and most of the beholders . on monday next he received his sentence of death ; after which time he was with the other condemned prisoners , and did pray with them four times a day , and read to them , and sung psalms with them . after the execution of the rest . he had time given or procured him by the honourable sheriff of london , for some days , which he improved to the great advantage of his soul. on friday night he uttered these expressions , in company with h. b. being the day that the other prisoners were executed . i find , saith he , so much sweetness and delight , and pleasure in gods ways , and so much folly in the ways of sin , that if there were no heaven to reward , nor any hell to punish , i could not but love the ways of god , and the people of god : oh , it is so sweet to be in company with them , praying and conversing with them , over what is in hearing others swear , and curse , that i account it as great a mercy as any almost , that i may be in their company . o methinks it is a heaven to me to be with god's ministers and people : and prayer now is so sweet , that i grudge the time always when i am off from my knees , or go down to the grate . now there is nothing in the world i prize like christ ; one christ above ten thousand worlds : now i do repent , and i do believe through mercy : it is the lords work ; but i earnestly beg and pray for a more humble , and a more broken heart , and a more through sense of sin , and a greater sorrow for it , and beg that god would enable me to come to him , to believe in him ; lord , saith he , faith is thy work , repentance is thy work ; do thou enable me to repent ; nay , thou hast enabled me to repent , and i do from the very bottom of my heart , lord , as far as i know my own heart : i repent that i should offend so gracious , and so merciful a god as thou art , lord ; and faith is thy work . lord , saith he , hast thou not said , no man can come to thee , except the father draw him . draw me , o lord , and i shall run to thee ; enable me to believe . lord , and i shall believe ; nay , i do believe , lord , that jesus christ his blood was not shed in vain . did christ die for nothing , lord ? did he not die to save all repenting and believing sinners of whom i am chief ? on saturday at night , in company with mr. baker , he discoursed thus . oh! my dear friend . taking me by the hand , come hither , saith he , and opening the coffin , look here is the ship , saith he , in which i must lanch out into the ocean of eternity : and is it not a terrible thing ( saith he ) to see one's own coffin and burying-cloaths , when at the same time i am as well as you ? do you think it would not daunt you ? to go to the gallows , to have the halter , and to dye there ; were this for the sake of the gospel , i should not care , were it ten hundred times a worse death : but to suffer this cursed death for such horrid sins , o this is sad ! why , said i , you have a greater mercy in some respect , than those that dye in their beds ; for they are full of sickness and pain , and cannot so well mind repentance as you , who are well , and have nothing else to mind . ah sir , saith he , their sins are of a far less nature than mine , and so they do not need so much repentance as mine do : my dying for such horrid sins , makes my repentance to be so much the more hard . o , saith he , i believe it , it is a hard work to dye : i could carry it out as bravely as any , ( do you think i could not ? ) but to consider , that as i die , and am sentenced from god's barr so i must be for ever , immediately either be everlastingly happy , or everlastingly miserable : to consider this , would make a stout heart to tremble : those poor creatures that were here the other night ( meaning the other condemned prisoners ) they know now what it is to be in an eternal state , and if they are gone to hell , o lord , how miserably are they disappointed , who hoped for to have gone to heaven , and are sent from thy barr to endless burning ! lord , what a mercy is it that i have a little time longer left , let it be improved to thy glory and let my soul live , and i shall praise thee . the last lords day , he lived , he desired to be alone , and spent it in wrestling with god by prayers , and in other duties in order to his preparation for his great change by death , that then he expected the next day ; in which duties he found so much of god , that he had some fore-tasts of the joys of heaven ; and when we asked him what of god he had found that day ; he replyed , that he had such pleasure and delight in mourning for sin , and praying unto god , that he was loath to come off from his knees . at night there were some ministers that sat up with him , and spent that night in prayer with him , and for him , and in conference ; on monday morning came t. d. to him before day ( thinking it was his last day ; for an order was sent on friday for his execution on monday ) and said to him , thomas , how is it with you now ? your last day begins to dawn . he said , blessed be god i am not afraid to dye , because i hope i shall go to jesus christ . after some time in prayer for him , we desired him to spend some time in that duty ! which he performed with so much affection , and earnest pleading with god , that all the company were exceedingly melted , and their hearts beyond ordinary measure warmed and raised , that the room did ring with sighs and groans ; and there was such a mighty presence of the spirit poured out upon him , and on those that joyned with him , that we do not remember the time when ever we had experience of the like . in which prayer , after the confession of his sins , he begged earnestly for pardon , and for an interest in christ ; saying , o lord , wilt thou let me dye without a christ ? shall i leave this world , before thou smilest upon my soul ? thou hast promised pardon , and mercy , and salvation to those that do repent , and to those that do believe : lord , i do repent , and do believe , if i know my own heart , i do repent , i do believe ; lord i roll my self upon thy son , i cast my self at his foot for mercy . thou wouldst be just , if thou dost damn me ; but thou hast pardoned others , and it will be to the praise of thy free-grace to pardon me . lord , shall those prayers that have been made , and all those tears that have been shed for me , and all those instructions which have been given me , be all in vain ? with many other expressions in that prayer , which wonderfully affected the hearts of those that were with him ; that afterwards we looked upon one another , wondring at the grace of god towards him , that one so wicked all his days , so young , ( being sixteen years old ) so lately acquainted with the ways of god , should have such a spirit of prayer poured out upon him : after this , he prayed with more life and fervency than before ; and the nearer he came to his end , the more we perceived god was ripening him for glory . after this we took our leave of him , not knowing but that was the last day ; for the cart stood below , and the coffin fetched down , and some of the honourable sheriffs of londons men , came into the prison : but the sheriff of middlesex having not notice to be ready , his execution was deferred till wednesday following . reader , here take notice , that the report that the reason why he was not executed on monday , was because he was drunk , is an abominable falshood ; for to our knowledge that were with him , he did not eat nor drink that morning . when we went up to him again , we told him we perceived he was not to dye that day , giving him caution , not to think there was any pardon intended for him : and one came from the sheriff to acquaint him with the reason of the delay of his execution . when his coffin was carried up to him again , one asked what he thought , and what were the workings of his heart when he saw his coffin brought back ? he said he was much troubled , and it daunted him to see it ; for he could willingly have dyed that day to go to christ . on monday in the afternoon he had an excessive pain in his teeth , ( as we judge occasioned by his leaving off his cloaths , and putting on some thin apparel to dye in ) and that evening he expressed great willingness to dye and leave the world. he said , i see and feel so much excellency in christ , that he is so pure in grace , pure in holiness , pure in all things . lord , i count it an hell to be upon earth , i so long to be where i might enjoy thee : and he spent some time in prayer , ( notwithstanding his pain ) with much affection , wherein he said , the pain of the teeth was great , but the pain of hell was greater . on tuesday , the day before he dyed , after some time spent in prayer both by him and h. b. being full of joy , he expressed himself thus : o my dear friend , what a welcome shall i give you when you come to heaven , and say to you , come see , come see , this is the glory that you told me of : but all that you ever told me , was nothing to what i have found : o what a place is this ! o how shall we love one another then ! sure it cannot be , but heaven must be a glorious place , where god , christ , and angels be . the night before he dyed , a minister came to thomas savage , and after other serious discourse , sor satisfaction of a christian friend that had seen him before , he demanded of him , what were now the grounds of his hopes of salvation ? he made this reply , god both in infinite mercy made me deeply sensible of great sins , and not only of them , but of the vileness of my heart and nature , and god hath made me to abhor my self for my sins , and i hope truly to repent of them : for that which hath been the delight of my soul , is now as bad as hell ; and god hath given me to see , that all my own prayers and tears , and all the prayers of all the good people that come to me , are not able to save . a christ alone ; i throw my self at the feet of christ for mercy , and if i perish , i will perish there . i feel longings and breathings after christ , and love him more than my life : i long to be with him ; and i would not be to live any longer : this world is a little hell because of sin . i fear not death , for i hope the sting of it is taken out for me . this last night before his death , he desired us to sit up with him , in order to his better preparation for the great work he had to do the next day , that we might wrestle with god on his behalf , that when death approacheth so near unto him , he might have some nearer accesses unto god into his soul , that when pale death stared him in the face , he might see gods smiling countenance , which opportunity we readily embraced , and spent the former part of the night in prayer , till two of the clock in the morning ; about which time he desired us to go down into the lodge , that he might have some part of the night for prayer and meditation alone , and to discourse a while with his friend mr. baker , to whom he most of all did open his very heart , and spake more freely to , than to any other ( whom for that reason we left with him ) and when we were gone down , his friend being with him , who told us afterwards , he fell into admiration , and said , what a prodigy am i ? what a wonder of mercy that god should encline the hearts of his ministers to come and pray with me ! and pour out their souls in prayer thus for me ! for me a murtherer , for me a drunkard , for me so vile and sinful ! well , i cannot but love god ; and though i go to hell , yet i will love god for his goodness and graciousness to me already manifested in this world : yea , though i should be damned for my sin , yet i could and would love god. what , would they venture to come and pray with me a murtherer ? how did they know but i might have murthered some of them ? pray for me ! wrestle for me ; well , i know god loves ; i am sure god loves me . when he was in prayer , some of us heard him say , now lord i am coming to thee , thou art mine , and christ is mine ; and what need i be afraid of death ? lord , give me some sense and some sign of thy love , that when my soul shall be separated from my body , it may be received into glory . afterwards when he looked upon his cloaths he had put on to dye in , said , what have i got on my dying-cloaths ; dying-cloaths did i say ? they are my living-cloaths ; the cloaths out of which i shall go into eternal glory ; they are the best cloaths that ever i put on . about four of the clock in the morning ; we went up to him again , full of expectation what we would say to us , and what we should hear from him ; and t. d. stood behind him , and took his expressions as he spake them , from his own mouth : and first , he told us , i account it a great mercy that god hath shewed me the evil of sin , before he cast me into hell : sin hath not only brought my body to the grave , but my soul in danger of everlasting burning . the lord will have mercy on me , i hope ; i am filled with joy , i am no more afraid to die , than to stand in this place , the lord make me thankful . the lord hath been working on my soul , for it was not i that could pray , nor refrain from company , nor delight in any thing that is good : i have cause to bless god that ever i was taken , ( and this we have often heard him say ) for if i had escaped , i had gone on in my sin , and might have lost my soul for ever . one asked him , which he thought was worse , hell or sin ? using some gesture of body ; said , hell is very dreadful , but sin is worse then hell . because sin brings mens souls to hell , and sin is that which offendeth god. one asked him what he thought of heaven ? and he with a smiling countenance said , heaven ! it cannot be , but heaven must be an excellent place , for it is an holy place . we spake to him concerning his coffin that was by him , whether it did not trouble and amaze him to have it in his sight : he replyed , with all my soul i coul go into my coffin : oh ! it is a comfortable place ( he spake it with joy ) i can comfortably dye : i have found such a deal of joy and comfort , that i would not for a world have been without it . we enquired whether death did not affright him ; morning light will presently appear : he answered , death indeed did trouble me , but now not at all : i long for day , i am not daunted at death . dye , it is nothing : this life is nothing : but to dye eternally and to loose god , and christ , and heaven , that is death . hell-tormens is not so much , as to be shut from the presence of god. alas ! who would not dye this death to go to jesus christ ? when my body is upon the gibbet , my soul shall be carried by angels into heaven . my heart is so drawn out after god , that i could leave this world to be with him . this world is nothing , those that have the pleasures of it , have nothing : i desire to dye , because i long to be with christ , there i shall never sin more : there is no sin , but joy , where i shall sing hallelujahs and praise to god. we askt what he thought of the company of gods people ; for he had now experience of company good and bad : he said , i had rather be here , ( meaning the hole in newgate ) with bread and water with such company , then to have the company of wicked persons , with the greatest dainties . it was wicked company that drew me away . i account it the greatest mercy to have the prayers of gods people for me : had i had my deserts , i had been now in hell , where i should have had no prayers , no instructions : god doth love me , for he hath inclined the hearts of his people and ministers to pray for me , and their prayers have prevailed . being ask'd what promises he found to be his support against the guilt of sin , now he was to dye , he alledged these , repeating the words himself . whosoever will , let him come and drink of the waters of life freely : and , he that confesseth and for saketh his sin , shall find mercy : and , let the wicked for sake his way , and the unrighteous man his thoughts , and let him return unto the lord , and he will have mercy on him : and to our god , for he will abundantly pardon . this word ( abundantly pardon ) did often refresh his soul , i have sinned abundantly , but god will pardon abundantly . after these , he mentioned another , viz , this is a faithfull saying , and worthy of all acceptation , that jesus christ came to save sinners , of whom i am chief : and said , i do relie and throw my self upon jesus christ : i do believe there is merit enough in him , and all sufficiency in him to save me : it is nothing that i can do will save me . he complained , that it was the grief of his soul that he could love god no more , and love christ no more for his mercy toward him , in giving him so much time , and so many helps , in sending so many ministers to instruct him ; but added , when several ministers had been with me , i threw of all , and returned to sin , and did as vainly as any : i could not have repented and believed of my self , it is the work of god. he often said , i fear not death , it was nothing with him to die and go to christ . he often said , that he had rather die immediately , having an interest in christ than to live a thousand years in this world , in the enjoyment of all the pleasures of it , without christ . and that he had found more pleasure and delight in the ways of god since he came into prison , than ever he found in all the ways of sin . he confessed his sins , saying , he first neglected and profaned the sabbath ; and said , this was the beginning of all his wickedness , that on the sabbath morning he studied what company to go into , in what place of sin he might spend the sabbath , then to wicked society , then to ale-houses , then to brothel-houses , then to murther , then to theft , then to newgate , and yet at last he hoped to heaven . he lamented , saying , i have striven to dishonour god , and to run into sin : oh that i should spend so much time in serving of the devil , and now have but a little moment of time to spend in the service of god , and to the glory of god. this discourse being ended , we desired him now on his last morning before he went into eternity , to pray with us , and he willingly consented , and his prayer was as followeth , being taken from his mouth by thomas doe-little , that also took in writing his preceding discourse , verbatim . the prayer of tho. savage in newgate , with those that sat up with him the night before his execution . o most merciful and ever blessed lord god , i beseech thee , o lord , look down upon me , with an eye of pity , if it be thy blessed will : it is thy infinite mercy that i am on this side the grave , and out of hell : o lord , i have deserved to be cast into torments to all eternity . how have i offended thee , and run on in fin , and thought i could never do enough to abuse thy mercy ! pardon the sins that i have committed , wash that blood from off my soul ; let not me perish to eternity . it was an horrid crime to shed innocent blood ; pardon that sin ; o lord , let the blood of christ cry more for mercy than the blood of that creature cry for for vengeance . o lord , thou hast been merciful to me in giving me time to repent ; for ought i know her soul is undone for ever : lord forgive me , lord forgive me , i knew not what i did . forgive my sabbath-breaking , lying , cursing , forgive my drunkenness , blot them out of the book of thy remembrance , turn them away behind thee . lord , i have repented of them from my soul that ever i should offend a god so good , and so merciful , and gracious . i do believe on thee , and do wholly throw my self upon thee . i acknowledge it would be just in thee to damn my soul , but it will be infinite mercy in thee to save me ; and what free grace will it be in thee to pardon me ! it is dreadful to lose the body , but how dreadful will it be to lose the soul to all eternity ! lord , let it not be in vain that i had so many instructions : o let me not go down to hell , let my soul bless and praise thy name for ever , for what thou hast done for me ; thou hast been at work upon my heart , and thou hast helped me to repent , the lord be praised . lord , i desire to be more and more humble under the sence of my sins , for they are dreadful : there are many souls that have not committed those sins , that are now in hell , o what a mercy is it that i am not in those flames , in those devouring flames ! lord , as thou hast spared me here , spare me to eternity . let not my soul perish . lord , reveal thy self unto me , make known thy love unto me , tell me my sins are pardoned ; tell me that i have an interest in christ , before i go hence , and be seen no more ; that i might leave some testimony behind me , that i might tell thy ministers what thou hast done for me , and tell thy people what thou hast done for my soul. lord , this will not be onely for my satisfaction , but for thy glory : blessed lord , pardon the sins that i am guilty of , and take away this cursed base heart of mine , break this rocky stony heart in pieces , these sins of murder and drunkenness , &c. were in my heart before : i thought no eye did see me commit those sins , but thou didst see me : lord , turn my heart to thee , and take away this heart of stone , and take away this cursed nature ; for it was this cursed nature that brought me to these sins , and to this end ; and i was in danger of loosing my soul to all eternity : but lord , though i a great sinner , christ is a great saviour , he is able to save me from my sins , though they be never so great : i do believe , lord , i speak freely from my heart , so far as i know my heart , i do believe : it is my grief i can sorrow no more for my sins , which have been the cause of offending thee so long , and so much . one drop of thy blood sprinkled upon my soul , will pardon all my sins . lord , cross the black line of my sins , with the red line of thy blood : i am not able to answer for one vain thought , much less for all my horrid crimes , lord , save my immortal soul : that i might sing praise to thee to all eternity . thou hast pardoned manasseh , that was a great sinner , and mary , magdalen , and paul , that were great sinners , and the thief upon the cross ; and thy mercies are as great , thy mercy and thy love to repenting sinners is not shortned ; though my sins be great , yet thy mercies are greater then my sins : lord be with me in my death , then let me have some comfortable assurance of thy love unto my soul , of the pardon of my sins : do thou be my god and my guide now , and to all eternity , amen . this prayer he put up with much earnestness , with great brokenness of heart for sin , that all that joyned with him , were exceedingly affected , and blessed god for the spirit of prayer , they discerned god had so plentifully poured out upon him . after we had some other discourse with him , we took our leave of him , telling him we purposed to see him again at the place of execution . after two or three hours , when the time of his going from newgate drew near , we were willing to return to see him once more there : and the rather , because one minister that had not yet been with him , was desirous to visit him ; and then again after some few words with him , we asked him to go to prayer again once more , saying , now this will be the last time that we shall pray with you in this place . and he did perform this duty with great liveliness , that now he excelled himself , and the nearer he came to his end , the more fervently we perceived he prayed : but we took notice , that in this last duty in newgate he was much in praising god , and blessing god for his mercy to him , to our great astonishment . after a few words , when this duty was over , we took some of us our final farewell of him : and he , expressing his thanks to gods people for their prayers for him , and to the ministers for their love and pains with him , was commended by us to the grace of god , saying ' thomas , the lord be with you , the lord of heaven be with you , o the lord of mercy help you , and have compassion on you . this morning he expressed himself to his friend h. b. thus : oh my friend , we cannot tell how glorious a place heaven is : but if once i get thither , and could drop down a letter to you , and tell you of the glorious things i there shall find ; how would it rejoyce your heart ? and to his friend , parting with him said , i know god loveth me , and that i am going to the kingdom of heaven . the last speech of thomas savage at the place of his execution at ratcliff . gentlemen , here i am come to dye a cursed and ignominious death , and i most justly deserve it , for i have murthered a poor innocent creature , and for ought i know , have not only murthered her body , but if god had no more mercy of her soul , then i had of her body , she is undone to all eternity : so that i deserve not only death from men , but damnation from god. i would have you all that look upon me , take warning by me : the first sin i began with , was sabbath-breaking , whereby i got acquaintance with bad company , and so we went to the ale-house , from the ale-house to the bawdy house , there i was perswaded to rob my master , as also to murther this poor innocent creature , for which i am come to this shameful end . i was drawn aside i say , by ill company , pray take heed of that , for it will not only bring your bodies to the grave , but your soul to hell : have a care of neglecting the sabbaths , it is that which hath not only brought my body to the grave , but my soul in danger of eternal torments . and try the ways of god , for the lord be praised i have found so much of excellency and sweetness in gods ways , that i bless god that ever i came into a prison . and now , though i am leaving this world , i know i shall go to a better place : for i have repented from my soul for all my sins ; not because i am to dye for them , but to see that i should do that whereby i should deserve hell ten thousand times over , and so dishonour god. now the lord have mercy on my soul. the prayer of thomas savage at the place of execution . o most merciful , and for ever blessed lord god , i beseech thee look down upon my poor immortal soul , which now is taking its flight into another world , which now is ready to appear before thy barr . lord , i beseech thee prepare me for it , and receive my soul into the arms of thy mercy ; and though my body die , and i come to die this shameful death , yet let my soul live with thee for ever . lord pardon all the horrid sins that i have committed , the sabbath breaking , lying , swearing , cursing , vncleanness , and all the rest of my sins that ever i have committed . lord , give me a new heart , and give me faith that i may lay hold and throw my self fully and wholly upon thee : enable me , o lord , give me saving repentance , that i may come to thy bar , and thence be recieved into glory : let me not be a prey to devils to all eternity : let not my soul perish ; though my body die , let my soul live . lord let me not be shut out from thy presence , and let not all the prayers , and tears , and counsels , and instructions , that have been made and shed on my behalf , be in vain ; pity my poor soul . lord , my immortal soul ; lord , it would be just with thee to cast me into everlasting burning . i have been a great sinner , but christ is a great saviour . o lord , thou hast pardoned great sinners , and thou canst do it lord ; and lord , wilt thou not do it ! lord , let me not be a fire-brand in hell , and a prey to devils to all eternity , let me not then be shut up with devils and damned souls , when my soul takes its flight into another world. lord , i have repented for what i have done , from the bottom of my heart i have repented : and lord if thou wouldst damn me , thou wouldst be just : but how infinitely more would it be for the glory of thy free grace , to save such a sinner as i am : good lord pour down thy spirit upon my soul . o tell me that i have an interest in christs blood , good father , good lord , before i go hence lord i am willing , i am willing to leave this world : i can prize thee above all : there is nothing i can prize like to thee ; wilt thou not recieve my soul ? recieve it into thy arms , and say , come thou blessed of my father ; good father for jesus christs sake pity my poor soul , for pities sake . lord , it is not my prayers or tears will save my soul ; but if ever i am saved , it must be through free-grace , and the blood of christ ; and if there be not enough in that blood , lord , i am willing to be damned . lord , look down upon my poor soul ; and though i have been such a sinner , thou art able to pardon me , and wash me , apply one drop of thy blood to my soul , lord , my immortal soul , that is more worth then ten thousand worlds . it is true , lord , i confess i have taken a great deal of pleasure in sin , i have run on in sin , and could not invent where to go on thy day , and was wont to study into what place , and into what company i might go upon the sabbath day : forgive me , lord wash me , receive me into thy arms , o lord : oh for one glimp of mercy : lord if thou wilt please to reveal thy self to me i shall tell it to all that behold me . it is a mercy , lord , that i am not in hell , and that thou showest me the bitterness of sin before i come into hell : it is a mercy , lord , that i have had the prayers , converse , and instructions of so many of thy ministers and people . lord , recieve my soul , one smile , lord , one word of comfort for jesus sake . oh , let me not go out of this world , let not my soul perish : though i killed a poor innocent creature , lord , deal not with me as i dealt with her ; but pity me , pity me for jesus christ sake , amen . one asked him in the cart , well now , thomas , how is it with your soul ? what sense have you of god's love ? he answered , sir ▪ i thank god through infinite mercy , i find god loves me , and that now i can chearfully go . after his cap was over his eyes , he used these expressions . lord jesus recieve my spirit . lord one smile . good lord one word of comfort for christs sake : though death make a separation between my soul and body , let nothing separate between thee and my soul to all eternity . good lord hear me . good father hear me . o lord jesus receive my soul . vvhilst he did thus pathetically express himself to the people , especially to god in prayer , there was a great moving upon the affections of those who stood by , and many tears were drawn from their eyes by his melting speeches . all this was the more remarkable in this young man , being under sixteen years of age when he was first apprehended . after he was turned off the cart , he strugled for a while , heaving up his body , which a young man ( his friend ) perceiving , to put him quickly out of his pain , struck him with all his might on the breast several times together , then no motion was perceived in him ; and hanging some considerable time after that , and as to all outward appearance dead , insomuch as one said to another friend of his , namely mr. b. now he is in eternity ; and the people beginning to move away , the sheriff commanded him to be cut down , and being receiv'd in the arms of some of his friends , he was conveyed by them into a house not far distant from the place of execution , where being laid upon a table , unto the astonishment of the beholders , he began to stir and breath , and rattle in his throat , and it was evident his life was whole in him ; from the table he was carried to a bed in the same house , where he breathed more strongly , and opened his eyes and his mouth ( though his teeth were set before ) and offered to speak , but could not recover the use of his tongue ; but his reviving being known within an hour the officers came to the house where he was , and conveyed him to the place of execution again , and hung him up again , until he was quite dead , whence he was carried by his mourning friends to islington , where he now sleepeth in the bed of his grave , until the morning of the resurrection , from whence , though buried in dishonour , he will then be raised in glory . thus you have had the relation of one that was but young in years , but old in wickedness : you have read of his sabbath-breaking prophaness , swearing , lying , stealing , drunkenness , fornication , and the like sins , which he confessed himself frequently and deeply guilty of : and to compleat and fill up the measure of his sins he added to the rest the horrid sin of murther . i believe you have scarcely heard of sin grown up to such maturity in so short a time as it did in him , who when he was imprisoned , was under sixteen years of age . and what could any expect should be the issue and product of sin arriv'd to such perfection , but death and wrath , and the vengeance of eternal fire ? but behold here an instance of free-grace ! his sins did abound , but gods grace did super abound . sometimes god doth sow the seed of grace in the heart that is most unlikely to receive it ; and reapeth great glory to his name by pardoning great sins . vve read that when ephraim was bent upon wickedness , so that a man could hardly expect the restraining of gods anger any longer , but that it should kindle in his breast , and break forth in a flame , to devour a people so rebellious ; yet the lord expresseth himself in a way of wonderful mercy and astonishing free-grace , hos . 11. 8 , 9. how shall i give thee up , o ephraim ? how shall i make thee as admah ? how shall i set thee as zeboim ? my heart is turned within me : ( not against ephraim , but towards him ) my repentings ( not mine anger ) are kindled together , i will not execute the fierceness of mine anger . and the reason is not drawn from any thing in ephraim to move him , but only from himself , for i am god and not man. if one man had been so provoked by another , and it had lain in the power of his hand to have avenged himself on his enemy , surely he would not have spared or shewn any favour . but because he is god and not man , whose thoughts are not like our thoughts , and whose mercies are not like our mercies , but further removed above them , then the heavens are removed above the earth : in comparison with whose mercies , our most tender mercies are not less then cruelty : therefore because he is god and not man , and herein would act like himself , he hath pity , and sheweth favour unto ephraim . take another instance in israel , who had made god to serve with his sins , and wearied him with his iniquities , having pressed god herewith , as a cart is pressed with sheaves , and nothing but vengeance could rationally be expected , and that god should say as at another time ( for god doth not shew such favour to all , and at all times , that the freeness of it might be the more evident ) ah , i will ease me of my adversaries , and avenge me on my enemies , and i , even i , am he that will make such audacious sinners see , and feel , what an evil and fearful thing it is to affront and provoke me : yet read how graciously god pardoned israel , declaring the ground of it to be only for the glory of his own name , isa . 43. 25. i , even i , am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake , and will not remember thy sins . surely no motive from this young mans person , or any good previous disposition ( he being so exceeding vitiated by such defiling sins ) could in the least encline god to have mercy upon him ; but the motive was taken from himself and his own bowels . he had mercy on him , only because he would have mercy , and compassion , only because he would have compassion . if some , yea many , are passed by , who have escaped the more gross pollutions which are in the world , through lust , and never committed such god-provoking sins as you read in the narrative that he committed , but for lesser faults are punished everlastingly , when god hath had mercy upon him , and thrown the skirt of his love over him , and wrought a gracious change in him , we must say with our saviour , mat. 11. 26. even so father , because it so seemed good in thy sight . it is through free grace that any are saved ; but in the salvation of such a one , god hath demonstrated the exceeding riches of his grace towards him , through jesus christ . eph. 2. 7. let not any from this example of gods free grace , presume to continue and indulge themselves in a sinful course , hoping to obtain mercy at the last , as he hath done , and so turn god's glory into shame , and his grace into wantonness : for it is a rare example , hardly again to be parallel'd : will a man run himself through the body , because some have been healed of such wounds ? will a man drink down poyson , because some by an antidote have expelled the poyson , and escaped with life ? is not presumption the bane and ruine of millions of souls ? may not god cut you off in the act of some of your sins , and not give you time for repentance ? and if life doth continue , may not he deny you the grace of repentance ? doth not custom and continuance in sin , harden your heart , and fasten you in satans chains ? hath not god threatned , that such who cry peace , peace , to themselves , though they walk after the imagination of their own hearts , to add drunkenness to thirst : that he will not spare them , but his anger and his jealousie shall smoak against them , and that he will blot out their name from under heaven , deut. 29. 19 , 20. the great improvement which should be made of gods gracious dealings with this young man , is for all to admire god's free-grace ; and especially for poor distressed souls that are upon the brink of hell in their own apprehensions , and are ready to despair of gods mercy because of the greatness of their sins , to take encouragement from hence , and hopes that there may be mercy in store for them : they have not been murderers , whatever their sins have not been , and if a murderer hath been received into favour , why may not they hope ? let such think with themselves , that it is free grace hath saved him , and let them sue out at the throne of grace , for the same grace which is freely tendred unto them . a recollection out of this narrative of those passages ; from which in charity we do conclude that the work of grace was really wrought in his soul : or the evidences of t. s. of his title to eternal happiness . 1. he bitterly lamented his sins , and loathed himself for them , especially as they were against a good and gracious god , according to psal . 51. 4. and luk. 15. 8. 2. he was deeply sensible of , and grieved for the corruption of his heart , from whence his actual sins did proceed , according to psal . 51. 5. 3. he mourned over his back-slidings , because god was thereby dishonoured . 4. he found it hard to believe , yet professed , he would roll himself , and relie upon the merits of christ alone for salvation ; and if he perished , he would perish there . 5. he was much in a little time in duty , yet did profess himself , he saw the insufficiency of them to justifie or save him , according to phil. 3. 9. 6. he made choice of christ before all , before life it self , according to phil. 3. 8. 7. he longed for the morning when he was to dye , because he desired to be with christ , according to ph. 1. 23. 8. he greatly loved god , because much was forgiven him , according to luk. 7. 47. and said though god should damn him , yet he could and would love god. 9. he loved the company of gods people , and professed he had rather be with gods people in prison with bread and water , than with the ungodly with liberty and greatest dainties , according to 1 jo. 3. 14. 10. he blessed god that ever he was taken and imprisoned ; thinking it better to be in chains , and brought to dye , than to go on in sin . 11. he was most broken and melted for his sins , when those that came to visit him , were gone from him , and not in their presence ; when hypocrites mourn before others , and are less affected when alone : yet this was sometimes his trouble , lest god should lose the glory of the work he had wrought in him . ( this was observed by one that was usually with him , when others went from him . ) 12. he wept for joy at that time , when he could not find that god loved him , that he was not cursing , and swearing , and singing against god as others did , and he himself , formerly . 13. he found and tasted more sweetness in the ways of god , in praying and mourning for sin , than ever he found in the commission of sin . 14. he accounted sin to be worse than hell . 15. he had a spirit of prayer given to him so plentifully , that it was an astonishment to many that joyned sometimes with him , considering how ignorant he was a little before , according to act. 9. 11. for behold he prayeth . 16. he looked upon the loss of god , more than the torments of hell , and feared it more . 17. he prized heaven , because there he should sin no more . these were his own expressions , and what we observed that were frequently with him : and reader , do thou pray and watch , that thou mayst not be guilty of this young mans sins , but pray and labour that thou mightest obtain the like evidences for heaven . a relation of what passed in the imprisonment , and at the execution of hannah blay . h. b. belonged to a bawdy-house in ratcliff , where t. s. used to frequent , and was always welcome so long as his money lasted : his money being gone , h. b. presently puts him upon robbing of his master , which he could not easily accomplish by reason of the diligence of the servant-maid , and to murther the maid rather than fail of getting money , which he accordingly did , and goes again to h. b. and tells her what he had done , then flies : but the justice of god pursued him so fast that he was soon apprehended , and committed to newgate . after he had accused h. b. for putting him upon the murder , she was apprehended and committed also . at the sessions she was indicted and condemned for being accessary to the murder committed by t. s. in the time of her imprisonment , she was very rude , and debauched , being seldom sober , except at such times when she could not by no means procure drink to be drunk withal . she often endeavoured for to make t. s. drunk with her , which she once or twice effected , and endeavoured very much to draw him off from his repentance , by driving his old trade of sin and wickedness , if any advised her to repentance , and to take care for the future estate of her soul , she would laugh at them , and reply in some such language as she had learned in the devils school , with which she was well stored . she was from that sessions reprieved till the next , fully perswading her self she should escape that bout , and spending her time according to her former course of living , taking as little care what should become of her soul , as though she had never offended a gracious god , and as if there was no devil to torment her , nor hell to be tormented in : but now sessions being again come , and she again brought down to the sessions-house in the old-baley , had sentence to be executed at ratcliff , where the fact was committed . the night before her execution , the ordinary of newgate came to administer the sacrament to her , which she refused , saying , she could not dye in charity with some , whom she named , judging them the cause of her second judgment , and execution . the next day , being friday , feb. 26. she was conveyed in a cart from newgate to the place of execution , where she ended her wicked life by a shameful death , without the least sign of sorrow or repentance for her abominable whoredoms and wickedness . 2 tim . 2 22. flee also youthful lusts . i am come this day to speak to you in the name of a dying man , and dyings mens words should leave living-affections , and lasting-impressions upon the hearts of the hearers : nay , that which is infinitely more , i am come to speak to you in the name of the living god ; and therefore , i beseech you , be serious : remember that we are not now about a laughing-business ; it is no less than for lives and souls ; and , for all that i know , as you demean your selves now , it may fare with you to all eternity : and if that will make you mind what i say the more , know this , that what i shall now speak , is but a comment upon what was yesterday delivered in brief , from one that was in perfect health , and in the grave the same day . and who knows whether there be not some here alive , and in health , that before to morrow morning shall be lumps of clay , and this the last sermon that ever they shall hear ? wherefore , i beseech you sirs , if you love the life of your souls , hearken as if you expected to dye as soon as my sermon were ended . the shortness of my time will give me leave to spend no time at all by way of reflection upon the context : but i shall immediately fall upon the words , as they lye before us : flee youthful lusts : in which you may observe . 1. an act , flee . 2. the object , lusts . 3. the quality of the object youthful lusts , the doctrine that i shall take notice of from these words , is this : doct. that it is the great duty of young people , to be exceeding careful to avoid the sins which usually attend their age . or if you please , that it highly concerns young men to flee youthful lusts . it 's no cowardise to flee from sin . in the prosecution of this doctrine , i shall shew , 1. what are the common sins of young people . 2. what it is to flee from youthful lusts . 3. why they should flee from youthful lusts . 4. i shall apply it . i shall name some of those sins which young ones are subject to . first , young people are very apt to be disobedient to their parents or masters . o how great a rarity is it , to see young people as ready to obey , as their parents are to command ! most children are children of belial , that is , without a yoak . let parents command , advise , nay , intreat , all 's to little purpose . how ready are they to break the bond which god and nature lay upon them to dutifulness ! though the command of god be plain enough ; though his threatnings are terrible ; and though this sin seldom goes unpunished in this life , yet children take little or no notice of them . one would think that one scripture should scare them , prov. 30. 17. the eye that mocketh at his father , and despiseth to obey his mother , the ravens of the valley shall pick it out , and the young eagles shall eat it . what is the english of that ? why , they shall come to an untimely end . have not the sad complaints of many at tiburn , sufficiently demonstrated this to be true ? have not many cryed out with a halter about their neck , children , if you value your lives and souls , take heed of disobeying your parents . that was the sin which brought me to this untimely and shameful end . 2. another youthful sin is , lying . poor children quickly learn this lesson of their father the devil . it is not without good reason that the psalmist , psal . 58. 3. gives such a character of wicked children which went astray from the womb , telling lyes ; and the older they grow , the more skil'd they be in this devilish art : it 's likely they are ignorant that it is a sin that cuts the bonds of all society : it may be they are told how dear ananias and sapphira paid for one lye , act. 5. 3. nay , though the word of truth tell them more than once , that lyars must dwell with their father the devil , in that black prison , hell ; though they hear of a lake of fire and brimstone that burns for ever , rev. 2. 18. and that such as they are , must be cast into it : yet for all this they 'l venture still . 3. sabbath-breaking is another youthful sin . o how little do most of the young people of this city mind the sanctifying of the sabbath ? doth not the multitude of apprentices and children that wander up and down moorefields on the lord's day , speak this to be too true ? they dare not make bold with their masters time on the week-days : but as for god's day , that they spend as if god had set apart one day in the week for young people to sleep , drink , and play in : they dare as well eat a piece of their fingers almost , as to do that on another day , which they do then ; and the truth of it is , they look upon the displeasure of a dying man as terrible ; but the anger of a holy god they make light of . o little do they think what precious time that is ! their souls are naked , and they then may have cloathing ; they are starving , and they may then have food , the market is then open , provisions for eternity may then be had . but , o prodigious madness ! the hearts of most young ones speak in this language : as for christ , heaven , and soul , let them go , we have better things to think on , more weighty matters to mind . and it is true indeed , o young man : what is the company of vain wretches , like thy self ; the wanton embraces of a whorish woman , the turning off thy cups , and damnation , more needful than the hearing of sermons , than praying , and reading , and salvation ? sure you should not alwaies be of that mind ! o little do you imagine how dear you shall pay for all the pleasures you have on the sabbath , out of gods house . this , this was the sin which lay like a load upon the soul of this poor young man , the profaning of the sabbath ; that was the bane of him . this carried him out of gods way into the devils quarters . o how bitterly did he bemoan himself for this sin , as the cause of all the rest ! of ( said he ) when i should have been begging the life of my soul i was plotting the death of my soul and body too . did none of you stand by the cart when he wept so bitterly , and cryed to the lord to forgive this great and dreadful sin ? did none of you hear how earnestly he begged of you to have a care of that sin , as you loved your lives and souls ? o wretch ( said he ) that i was ? i studied how i might spend the lords day in the devils wo●● ▪ i thought i could never dishonour god enough ; and that time that i should have served god most in , i did most for satan● in them then i play'd my mad pranks . i went into the church indeed sometimes , ( but i may speak it with shame and deep sorrow now ) i never heard one whole sermon all the while i was with my master ; and indeed i laugh'd at those that spent the sabbath in ●●aring of sermons , and praying ; and looked upon them as the ver●●●t fools in the world . i was glad when the sabbath came , that i might have time to run to my vile comrades . i rejoyced that i could then go to satisfie my cursed lusts with whorish women : o! tell young men from me , that the breaking of the sabbath is a costly & dangerous sin . sirs , the substance of this sermon i received from his mouth : and will you not believe a dying man ? do you think he did but jest ? 't was on the sabbath day he went to a whore , 't was on the sabbath he robbed his master , and 't was on the sabbath that he killed the maid . but because this sin is epidemical , i leave a short story with you , and desire you to think of it , and then if you like what follows , break the sabbath still . the story is this : a dear friend of mine was preaching about the sanctifying of the sabbath , and had occasion to make mention of that man , that by the special command of god was stoned to death for gathering sticks upon the sabbath-day . whereupon one of the congregation stood up and laughed , and made all the hast he could out of the church , and went to gathering of sticks , though he had no need of them , but when the people came from the sermon , they found this man stark dead , with the bundle of sticks in his arms , lying in the church-porch . and yet for all this , there stands a young man in that corner that makes nothing of idling away the sabbath : and there sits another that minds not the lord's day , except it be to get into wicked company , and take his pleasure in it . and how canst thou endure to hear of this , without trembling ? but i fear , thy heart is so hard , that thou art ready to rage against this reproof : well , if the case be so , i have done with thee ; but believe it , god hath not yet done with thee , and the devil hath not done with thee : and though thy conscience say nothing now , yet i tell thee , that hath not done with thee neither : let none think i am tedious upon this head : if young men will but reform this sin , i promise i will never tell them of it more . christians , ( i hope that there be some such here ) would it not be a blessed sight to see the fields , the taverns , the whore-houses empty , and the churches full ? would it not be a blessed reformation ? o when shall it once be ! which is the sweeter musick , to hear the air eccho with the confused hollowing and roaring of lewd young men , playing upon the lords day , or to hear the sound of singing of psalms , repeating of sermons , praying , reading of scriptures ? which is like to end best ? isa . 56. 2. amos. 8. isa . 58. 13. 14. ezek. 20. 12. 4. another youthfull sin is mis-spending of time , young ones think they have time enough before them , and therefore make nothing of trifling it away . how far are most from following the apostles counsel ▪ in redeeming of the time ? what do you think many hours discourse of filthy bawdy stories , is that redeeming of time ? is sitting up whole nights to play at cards and dice redeeming of time ? is robbing your selves of sleep , to lye in the bosom of dalilah , redeeming time ? if this be redeeming of time , then some of our young ones , and many of our gallants , redeem time bravely . 't was a notable one , that of seneca ; if ( saith he ) one ask me for my purse , i am not very willing to give it him ; if he beg my estate , i think it a mad request ; but if he ask me to pass away time with him , two or three days of time , i pass not much upon it , but it 's easily granted : and thus one of the most precious things in the world is vilified . o little do people think how glad they shall be one day of one of those hours that they spent in foolery oh call time again , will be the language of more then one , upon a death-bed . could you talk with some of the mad young ones that are in hell , that lived five or six years ago in as much pleasure as you do now , and spent their time like you , but it may be little dreamed of being in hell so soon , but might reckon of forty or fifty years to live ; could you i say , talk with them , and ask them what they think of time now : they would quickly say , oh a world for one praying hour . oh where are the people to be found that seriously consider that there is not a moment of time but we must be accountable for . 't was excellently spoke of that poor young man when he was in newgate amongst the common prisoners ; one sabbath-day they asked him to play at cards with them ? oh ( saith he ) you and i have something else to do with our time , than to play at cards : is it now a time for us to be sporting away the sabbath , when we have but one poor sand left to work for eternity ? 5. another youthful sin is , keeping bad company . are there not many of the devils emissaries , that make it their business to decoy poor young ones ? o what a happiness do they promise them ! a goodly happiness indeed , to carry them to the devil ! 't was not without cause that david ( in psal . 1. 1. ) did pronounce them blessed that had least to do in wicked company : whatever deluded creatures think of their mad jovial company ; one that is well in his wits , looks upon their society as an emblem of hell , psal . 120. the young man upon whose account we are here met this day , told me , that two or three wicked fellows first got him out to spend a penny ; but little did he think whither they were leading of him ; and after they had been at one place , they carried him to another , till at last they brought him to that house , out of which few go without their deaths-wound . this was the general complaint of them that went this last assizes to tiburn . and yet how are silly souls pleased with such company , whose greatest kindness is to make them go merrily to hell ? and are they still such sweet natur'd creatures , that you can't love too much , who do what they can possibly to deprive you of your truest happiness , and make you miserable for ever ? o how will your boon companions greet one another in hell , nay , it may be upon earth too ? i remember i was once with a drunkard that lay a dying , and after i had prayed with him , in comes one of his old companions in sin , and askt him how he did : at which he was ready to gnash his teeth , and made this dreadful reflection concerning him to me , o that , that was the wicked wretch that drew me away : if it had not been for him , i had not been in so lamentable a condition upon a death-bed , prov. 1. 10 , 11. 6. the sixth youthful sin is , cursing and swearing . how ready are young ones to learn the language of their father ? it was not long since that i heard a little boy swear at every sentence he spoke . o what will such be when they come to be old , if they begin so soon ? scarce creep on their feet , and yet running post to hell ! oh how many are there of this daring generation , that bend their tongues like bowes , and shoot those arrows against heaven , which will fall down dipt in the poyson of divine fury . it would make one's heart ake , to hear how some belch out their hellish oaths , to hear how cruelly they rake in the wounds of christ , and crucifie him afresh ; not considering , that at the same time they are butchering of their own souls ; and if one tell them of their swearing , how ready are they to swear ? that they did not swear ? and turn and laugh , as if it were a creditable thing to be like the devil , and an honour to make hast to hell . o how many are there of this black crew , that brave it out with their damn-me , and sink-me , and oaths as if they would dare the almighty to his very face , and as if there were little of truth in gods threatnings , and his anger a very light matter ! o sinner ! what if god should take thee at thy word , when the next damn-me is in thy mouth ? and stop thy breath with an oath in thy mouth ? what if god should go to cursing too ? do you know what a dreadful word that is , go thou cursed ! o! what if god should swear too . that thou shalt never enter into his rest ? couldst thou but see the flaming tongues of those horrid sinners that know what the meaning of that word damn-me , is : couldst thou but see how they bite those tongues for madness , it may be it would make thee think , that an oath is no such light matter . you say , words are but wind : but believe it , this wind will rise to such a storm as will not be allay'd without deep repentance , till it hath blown thee into hell . did you never read the third of mal. ver . 5. i will come near to judgements and i will be a swift witness against the false swearers , and such as fear not me , saith the lord of hosts . but you 'l say , your tongues are your own ; who is lord over us ? psal . 12. 4. you shall hear one shortly that will answer that question , and let you know , that he is lord over that , and that your own tongue shall be made to condemn you . but what is it that i see ? how does that swearing wretch storm and rage there at me , for telling him of his sins ? come , come , sinner if you spare not god , i promise you i will not spare you , and i tell thee , what thou hearest , is nothing to what thou shalt feel . 7. the next youthful lust that i shall mention , is drunkenness . do not many ( i wish old ones were not here too guilty ) act as if their business in this world was to eat and drink , and take their pleasures ? the devil bids them read that text , eccles . 11. 9. rejoyce o young ; and they are easily perswaded to take his counsel : and so they drink , and roar , and consider not what a reckoning will be brought at last : neither do they stand till they have read the latter part of that verse ; but know , that for all these things god will bring thee to judgment . not considering the meaning of that whole scripture , which is but this : go , young man , lye at the taverns and ale-houses , do , drink ; and be drunk ; but remember this , you shall be damn'd for 't , and god will make you take off t' other cup , whether you will or no , and that is a cup spiced with wrath and fury . but you see not , neither do you yet feel it ; and therefore you do but laugh at all this : you say with those in matth. 24. 19 , my master delays his coming ; and therefore you eat and drink with the drunkards , you say , let him talk till his heart akes , i will never leave my pleasure for you ; why man ! wilt thou then be desperate ? dare you say , i 'le drink , though there be death in the pot , though hell be at the bottom of the cup ? or do you think that god will be worse than his word ? and , that though he threaten high , yet he means no such matter ? o sinner : deceive not thy self ; and if thou forget the rest , carry home but that one text , deut. 29. 9 , 10. if any one hear the word of this course , and yet bless himself in his heart , saying , i shall have peace , though i walk in the imagination of mine own heart , and add drunkenness to thirst , the lord will not spare him , &c. do you read on , and read it again , and think of that scripture the next time that you sit down to your cups . little do poor creatures think how dreadful a sin drunkenness is , and how many it bringeth with it . i 'le tell you of one story of my own knowledge , and then i shall leave this . a certain drunkard that i knew very well , when he was in drink , quarrelled with his fellow-servant , and after a few words , knocked him down with his flail , and killed him at one blow . afterwards , by friends he made shift to escape the halter , and comes home again , and swears , and curses , and drinks at as high a rate as ever : but at last , when he was in the same yard where he did this murder , he dropt down dead in a moment , and i was one of the first that saw him . 8. another youthful sin is , vncleanness . is not england too near a kin to france ? do not many of our young ones act as if they took pattern by sodom and had learned of gomorrah ? jeremiah made sad complaint , jer. 5. 7. and are we less guilty ? doth not the scripture speak plain enough against this sin ? though the pope count it a venial fault , yet those that are guilty of it , will find , that his pardon will give them little ease when they are cast into a bed of flames . sure our hot young men seldom read the book of proverbs , but act as if that simple young man ( prov. 7. 10. ) did run no great hazzard : what was it that brought thomas savage to theft and murder ? what brought him to that shameful death ? o how bitterly did he take on , that he should ever see the face of that vile woman ! o! had he but considered whether he was going , and that most of her guests go to hell : had he but thought seriously how bitter that sin would prove , i believe he would have lain in flames as soon as with that abominable woman . did none of you hear what he said when he was upon the cart ? did none of you see with what earnestness he spoke ? why , this was one great thing that he begged of you young ones , as his dying request , that you would have a care of this sin . 9. the next youthful sin that i shall mention , is theft , drunkenness and vncleanness , are two costly sins , especially the latter , and poor creatures are usually so bewitched with that , that credit , purse , body , soul , and all must go , rather than that beastly sin should not be gratified . how many servants are there that wrong their masters , imbezil their goods , and secretly wast them by the fore-mentioned sin ? and i believe i need not tell you what a tragical end theft hath . that prodigy of her sex , and disgrace of women , could not be satisfied with wine and good cheer ; her purse must be fed as well as her stinking carcase : what do you come hither ( said she ) for , without money ? why , where shall i have it , said he ? what , hath your master none ? replied that monster , yes , said he ; but i never wronged him , neither can i. nay , said she , if you be thereabouts , come no more here . but alas ! the poor creature is insnared , so that he cannot but go to ask councel of this daughter of the devil , how he should manage his matters , so as to get that money which his master had . she makes a ready reply , and adviseth to murther the maid , to bury the theft . o that unfaithful servants would think of these things , and now and then read that scripture , tit. 2. 10. and luke 16. 6. i should here speak something of the bloody sin of murder ; but the word of god , the laws of men , the power of conscience , and the signal judgments of god against such , puts me in some hope that i need not much insist upon that . i shall add but one sin more . 10. another youthful sin is , incorrigibleness . how resolutely do most young ones go on in their sins ? how hardly brought so much as to debate the business soberly with themselves or others ? how do they flye in the face of them which reprove them ? as if it were ten times a greater fault for to reprove sin , than to commit it . nay , some are come to that height , that they make but a mock of hell and judgment , as well as sin , isa . 5. 19. but these are so vile a generation , that i have little hopes of prevailing with them , psal . 28. 4 , 5. jer. 22. 21. gen. 19. 14. ii. the next thing i proposed to speak to , was , to shew you what it is to flee sin . in this i shall be very brief . 1. not to commit it . take not up this serpent , for it hath a deadly sting in the tail of it . embrace not this dalilah , for she will betray thee , hast away , avoid it ; if you do not , it is as much as your life , the life of your soul , is worth , isa . 1. 16. 2. flee , that is , avoid the very occasions of sin . it 's ill jesting with edg-tools . they are safest , that are farthest from it . a hundred to one but thou art caught , if thou play with the bait. who , but a mad man would take strong poyson into his mouth , and say that he will then spit it out ? who would choose to sleep upon the top of a mast ? believe it , sin is one of the most dangerous things in the world , and he that tampers with it , plays with hell , and is sporting with the devil , 1 thes . 5. 22. 3. flee ; that is , hate it with a perfect hatred . say , what have i to do with idols any more ? how shall i do this , and sin against god ? labour for a spiritual antipathy against sin , and to loath it , as david and paul , yea , as god himself , psal . 139. 23. 4. flee , and perswade others to flee : for the danger is not unconsiderable . tell others what sin will prove at last , and perswade them to consider what the wages of such work will be , psal . 119. 157. iii. why should we flee youthful lusts ? 1. because our captain bids us flee : we have his commission , nay , his absolute command : may i not say , his entreaty too ? what is the meaning of all those pathetical expostulations , turn , you , turn you ; why will you dye ? why doth he bid us to beseech you to look about you ? what is the design of all the scripture ? wherefore do we preach and pray ? methinks the ministers of christ should be like those angels that warned lot to flee out of sodom , and when he lingred , they pulled him , and bid him hast , and flee for his life . i might be infinite in scriptures for the proof of this , psal . 34. 11 , 14. 2. because of the danger of not fleeing . if the wrath of god , if hell and damnation , if everlasting misery be to be avoided , then sin is : for as sure as god is true , sinners must be damned if they flee not sin . 3. because of the benefit that we shall have by fleeing sin . we shall be everlastingly secured . if heaven and glory be worth the getting , if happiness and salvation considerable , if a kingdom and crown be worth the having , this may be obtained by fleeing from sin . application . iv. vse 1. is it so , that it is our duty to flee youthful lusts ? then let all this congregation of young men and women , consider how well they have obyed the command . sirs , be faithful to your souls , and ask your selves speedily , what you have done ? young men , are you guilty , or not guilty ? it 's better you should be asked this question at the bar of conscience , than at the bar of god's judgement . children , how say you , are you as ready to obey , as your parents are to command ? doth not your conscience tell you , that you can tell a lye to cover a fault , and yet not be much troubled ? some of you are come here this day to hear news , more than to hear your sin reproved : but where are you on the sabbath-day ? may not i see you idling in the streets , and sitting at your doors ? nay , may i not see you in the companny of wicked creatures , in an ale-house ? well , sinner , well ; the reckoning will come up by and by . i pray tell me , how do you spend your time ? is it in your chamber upon your knees , and at your honest callings , and in civil and christian society ? who are the persons that you take most delight in ? are they those that discourse of god and their souls , and warn one another with words of grace ? vvhat think you of cursing and swearing ? do you fear an oath ? or do you think the deepest oaths the best rhetorick , and most graceful , if i may so speak , to your discourse ? vvhat language do you speak , the language of canaan , or the languague of ashdod ? can you stretch your selves upon beds of ivory , and drink vvine from morning to night , and look upon this as the only life ? is it not a pleasant thing to lye in the embraces of wanton vvoman ? and cannot you use unseemly dalliance , and say , am i not in sport ? did you never wrong your master in your life ? and dare you do so still ? and how would you take it , if i should come to you , and tell you roundly of all your sins ? could you bear it if i should come close to you and set hell and damnation before you ? young men i beseech you answer me ; i tell you again it 's better for you that i should ask you this question here , than god hereafter . vvell , have you put it to your conscience ? and are you guilty ? i must tell you plainly , i cannot but think that abundance of this congregation are in many of these sins deeply guilty ; and yet there stands a slye sinner , no more affected then the ground he treads on : thou think'st i do not know thee ; but that , if possible , i may stop thee before thou com'st to the gallows , and hell , i shall do what i can , for my soul to reach thee : wherefore give me leave , in the next place , to speak one word by way of conviction . young people , i am not come this day to tell you news ; my business is not to tickle your ears , but to do what i can possibly to keep you from that place of shame , the gibbet ; and that place of torment , hell. i believe here are many , that i shall never see nor speak to while the world stands ; and that our next meeting will be before the judgment-seat of christ : and therefore i must tell you i must not jest with you . i speak to those that are guilty : you know well enough who i mean. let me ask you soberly . do you believe that there is a god ? and that he is privy to all you do ? and dare you outface god with your wickedness ? or do you make account his eye is nothing , so man do not know : can you so ? believe it , sinner , you will shortly know that god , and your conscience are witnesses enough to cast you : and is this nothing : are not the threatnings of a god to be regarded : shall the lyon roar , and will not such a beast as you tremble ? know this , as stoutly as you brave it out now , you will shortly quake . but you are resolved , come on what will , venture you will. but hold , sinner , i prithee let 's reason the case a little ; do not act like a fool and a mad-man : were you ever in newgate ? do you know what a prison is ? are fetters such desireable things ? hath the devil done you so much kindness , as that you must venture your liberty for his sake ? come tell me , sinner , what good did the devil ever do for thee willingly ? is it worth thy while to do and fuffer so much for one that never intended any good to any in the world ? consider a little , young man , is it nothing to come gingling in your chains before an earthly judge ? is the sight of the bench nothing ? is it nothing to have your villany laid open before the world ? how do you think you shall look , when evidences comes in clear , and the jury shall cast you ? what , brave it out still ! but what will you say when the judge shall pass sentence upon you , to be carried from thence to the prison , and from that , to the place of execution ? is it nothing to have ten thousand spectators , of your shameful end ? but methinks i hear some of that hellish rout laughing , and saying , it is but a swing or two , and then all 's over , their misery 's at an end . but hold there , sinner , then thy misery will begin ; for thou shalt appear immediately before the bar of god , and there receive another sentence ten thousand times more dreadful than the former , vvhat , do you make nothing of that dreadful word , depart thou cursed ? and then immediately the devil takes your soul . he waits for his prey ; and thou must be reserved in chains of darkness , in unspeakable and unavoidable torments , to the judgment of the great day , and then thy cursed body and soul shall meet . o what a dreadful greeting will that be , when both body and soul shall be cast into everlasting flames ! vvell , young man , now what do you say ? is it best venturing still ? but it may be thou beginst to think , what a strange censorious man is this ? such preaching is enough to make one out of their wits ! what , is there no such thing as repentance ? a grace , a god one may be saved for all your railing . vvhat do you think of t. savage ? did not he repent : i hope you will not say that he is in hell. no indeed , for i verily believe that he is a saint in glory : but how do you know whether god will give you repentance ? i must tell you , he is a singular instance , such a one as we shall scarce hear of in an age : and i remember , that he that is oft reproved , and hardens his heart , shall suddenly be destroyed , and that without remedy . but though i speak thus , brethren , i hope better things of many here , and things that do accompany salvation . i am perswaded here are some young ones that had as lief venture their lives as indulge themselves in the fore-mentioned youthful lusts . i think i have ground to say what i do : brethren , i beseech you make not my boasting void , neither let me be ashamed of my confidence . i am perswaded , i say again , that some of you now hate what sometimes you did delight in , and though , it may be , in the days of your darkness you lived in your sins , yet now fear to fall into them , as much as you fear hell : courage my brethren , go on bravely , and the lord be with you ; you are the hopes and joy of old christians , they bless god from their heart to see such flowers in gods garden : hold but out , be strong , and quit you like men , and heaven shall be yours , as sure as if you were already there . 4. vse . i shall here speak something by way of advice to the masters of families and parents : it lies much in your power to set a stop to that mighty torrent of wickednesse that doth almost overflow this city . remember , sirs , what a dreadful sin the sin of murder is : what then do you think of those that murder souls , that starves souls ? how do you think god will take it at your hand , that you should be so careful that your work be done , and never mind his at all ? is it nothing to you , that one that dwells under your your roof , must dwell with everlasting burnings ? are you so barbarous , as to be indifferent whether your servants and children are damned or saved ? what can you answer , when those of your own house shall stand before the great god , and say , lord if it had not been for my master , i had never sinned against thee at that rate which i did : he never told me any thing of the danger of sin , he would be sure to call me up betimes to look after his business : if i neglected that , i should quickly hear of it : but as for the lords day , praying , or reading , or any thing that concerned god or my soul , i never was so much as reproved for the neglecting of them : o! if i had been but told of such a dreadful place as this , is , and what sin would end in , sure i should never have ventured as i did . sirs , i beseech you think how you shall answer such an accusation at the day of judgment , as sure as you live , you will then be speechless . parents me thinks you have something within you , to put you upon your duty : what ? have you no love at at all to the fruit of your bodies ? is it no great matter whether your children sink or swim ? would you be contented to see them in a house that is in a flame , and do nothing to get them out ? would you have your children fire-brands of hell for ever ? will you do nothing to rescue them from that devouring lion who would tear them in pieces ? can you bear to hear them cry out against you , and ready to fly in your faces ? doth it never trouble you to think what a greeting you shall have in another world when they shall curse the day that ever they saw you , when they shall say , i may thank you for this dreadful misery you never catechis'd me , nor told me one word of this place of torment ; you never corrected me for my sin : if you had , it may be i should not have lain under this intolerable anguish ? what do you say ; sirs , to these things ? methinks they call for your serious consideration : really , if these be not weighty matters , i know not what be , let me ask you in meekness , whether it be not a piece of the most barbarous cruelty in the world , to let your children and servants run to hell , without doing what in you lies to stop them ? but i hope , by this time , some of you are a little convinced of the dreadfulness of the loss of a soul , and are loth to have the guilt of the blood of souls to lie upon you for ever , and therefore begin to ask . what shall you do that you and yours may be saved , and your servants and children might escape the snares of satan , and flee youthful lusts ? are you in good earnest , friends ? and will you promise , as in the presence of god , that you will do what you can possibly , to discharge your duty , and to follow those directions that i shall give you ? in hopes that some are resolved , by the help of god , to do what in them lies for the keeping all under their charge from everlasting burnings : i shall advise you . 1. be good your selves , and labour to be paterns of holiness , and to shew your children and servants by your conversation that you your selves believe that there is a god , an immortal soul , heaven , hell , and eternity , let your language be savoury , and speak you to be one that hath been with jesus . let your actions be regulated by the word , and endeavour to let them know , that you are not in jest when you speak of god and their souls . psal . 10. 1 , 2. 2. i charge you as in the presence of god , as you will answer the neglect of it at the bar of that great judge , take an exact account of your servants how they spend their time , what company they keep , what they do upon the sabbath , and if you would make any thing of religion , be as careful that the sabbath be spent in gods service , as the week-days in yours . i could tell you of a servant that was wont many a time and oft , to complain of his master , and say , if my master had ever examined me the text on the lords day , or called me to account where i had been , or what i had heard , i am perswaded i should never have come to so sad an end as i am now like to do . 3. instruct them oft in the matters that concern their eternal welfare . sirs , tell them , i beseech you , with all the earnestness that you can for your lives , of the danger of sin , give them wholesome advice ; tell them of the necessity of conversion : allow them a little time to pray and read , and let them know that you take notice of any thing that is good in them . 4. pray for them , cry to the lord mightily , and say , o that ishmael may live in thy sight : lord , hast thou not a blessing , o my father , for me and mine ? o pitty , dear lord my children and my servants , and let all under my roof , be of the houshould of faith , and of the family of the lord jesus . and now once more i beg you to be in earnest , 't will be the true●t evidence of the truth of your grace , to be faithful in this work . 't will be your joy upon a death-bed ; 't will be your crown in another world . vse . 5. one word by way of advice , to you young people : brethren , you saw yesterday what it was to fall into youthfull lusts ; and to day you have h●●rd something of the danger of these things . methinks by this time you should be in a rage 〈…〉 methinks you should all say , well , now i will never ●p●●● the sabbath day as i have done , i 'le never come near the company of vile women ; this i hope shall be a warning unto me as long as i live . are you ( in sober sadness ) of this mind ? oh that the lord would keep this always upon your hearts : o that you now may not get out into the cold world , and shake of the sense of these things . but do i not see some weeping eyes , and aking hearts ? and what dost thou say , poor soul ? o sir , i am the man you mean ! but is it possible for me to escape hell ? i have lived in almost all these sins for many a year ; what shall i do ? i shall answer this honest request , and the god of love and power set it home . 1. labour to be acquainted with the principles of religion : be much in reading of the scriptures ; search , and you will find never a word there to encourage sin , but all against it ; they will make you wise to salvation : consult the word , and you will escape the wrath to come , which shall surely fall upon all those that live and dye in their sins , psal . 119. 9. 2. labour to understand wherein your happiness lies : it lies not in riches , pleasures , and honours , but in the favour of god , psal . 4. 6. seek first the kingdom of heaven , and the righteousness thereof ; set your affections on things that are above , and not on things below . 3. to be sure , keep the sabbath strictly , and attend upon a powerful ministery . then is the time to buy provisions to live upon for ever . 4. keep good company . get out of wicked mens society . mark those that walk soberly , and that mind their souls , and make much of them ; and beg an interest in their prayers and take their advice . if you once grow weary of good company , i shall have but little hopes of you , and it 's a sign god means good to poor souls , when they are very desirous to be in with them that are dear to god. a warm christian-companion , o sirs , you cannot value him too highly , 2 cor. 15. 33. 1 pet. 4. 4 heb. 6. 12. 5. take heed of sinning against conscience . let davids prayer be yours , psal . 19. 13. keep back thy servant from presumptious sins , let them not have dominion over me . 6. take heed of putting of repentance , remember now your creator , now is the acceptable time : o if you value your lives , make haste , and delay not an hour ; but go and fall upon on your knees , and beg of god to give you repentance unto life , give god no rest day nor night , till he have changed your heart , and made you to see your need of a christ , and to give up your self to christ : o cry out this night , a christ , dear lord , a christ for my poor soul , or i am lost for ever , eclesc . 12. 2. psal . 119. 62. 7. be much in consideration ; commune now and then with your heart , and think seriously whither you are going , and ask your soul what a condition it is in , and what it hath to bear up against the fear of death , and what provisions are made for eternity , look into your purse , what money hast thou that will go currant in another world ? spend much time in thinking . i askt this poor boy how he spent his time in prison ? he answered , in praying , reading , and consideration . 8. neglect not prayer ; ask and you shall have ; seek , and you shall find ; knock , and it shall be opened unto you : be frequent and serious in this duty ; forget not secret prayer ; and look after your prayers , and be not content , except you here of them again . 9. be diligent in your callings , be not slothful in your worldly business , idleness is the devil's shop , rom. 11. 12. 10. hold out to the end : remember what they shall have that conquer , resolve for christ and heaven upon any terms . well sirs now my work is done ; have i been beating the air ? what shall become of these two sermons ? yesterday you heard one out of the cart , and from the gibbet , and to day from the pulpit ; and what are you resolved to do ? what , shall the tears , prayers and entreaties of that dying young man , be so soon forgotten ? if they are , can the commands of the living god be so easily contemned ? is there nothing in all that i have been speaking ? what , are you still of the same mind that you were , or are you not ) i say again , i must leave you , and a thousand to one whether i shall ever see you , or speak to you more : once more i charge you , as you love your own soul , as as you fear the wrath of god , and the flames of hell. flee youthful lusts . finis .