Mother Shipton.'
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The Strange and. W on<lerfu! H 1 ~ 'To. R: Y , . A ,ND~t1tiJ.1:;. PR·OPHECiltS . ' ' Mother Shipton. , Printed and Sold ~t the .Printing-Offi,e in -Bow-Churcl,-Y-ar4. Lof]-dQn. ~ .. ~· . \ , HISTORY OF Mother SHIPTON~ C H A P. I. - ·OJ her Birth. MOther Shipton· ( as all hiftories agree) was born in Y orkfhire, the place is much difputecl, but the received opinion is Knareshorough near the dropping-welt Concerning her parentaie, there are like wife various reports: Some fay her fa ther was a necromancer, and thereby i became entailed on his inheritance. Bu the common ftory, which therefore : ihall follow, is, that her mother was .J .daughter of very poor parents, who die when .fue was f carce fifteen years of ag 3 ) Agatha ( for that was her .name) being ~ of a rn.dancholy temper,' and reduc'd .to extreme poverty, was 'one .day fittii1g in . a 1n.e1ancholy pofit1-re, . by the fide of i __river, when ·fhe was accofl:'ed by the Df vil, in the ihape of a_, h ndfome youn~ man, in this manner, f-Io now, pretty maid, why are you fo fad? Does -all'y ~hing trouble you?- Difcover but your malady, and I'll foon eafe yoqr troubles. , Agatha, not thinking of the:- Devil, took hi1n fer fame compaffionate ·mortal~ and Jo let him underil:and, that her great wants were the occafion cf her · trouble. J>i(h, faid the infernal courtier, that's .a tri_fle, for ,if you like me, I'll marry you, and take care of you. This is too good news to lie true, faid .Agatha. -Meet me at this place to-1norrow morning, faid he. · and I'll be as good as my. werd. To this Agatha. confented, and came to the fame place at the time -appointed, ·and 1nd the Devil was as punctual as ihe, md it feems; came provided to carry a\vay 1is bride, having a horfo with a pillli0n·. i fo without many \\"ords, when both fides were agreed, !he got up behinei him, and tway they rid. _ ·, I 4- 1 .. .-, I 1 . Hfs ..courfcr being of the -idfernal kind, ~eedecd neither whip .nor fpur, but f wife a~ the wind, im.rnediately brought then1 to their jo.urney's end ; where alighting, ihe was conducred into a ftately roan:. · ,fion, and rich garments being brought her, lhe was' bid to attire herfelf in 'them, which ·fhe did, and was then le .into a fl:~tely hall, where ih_e found 'a large table, furniilied with all vari~ties, herfelf being placed at the upperend ·next to her inferpal huiband; the other gue{L " placed themfelves as they pleafed . · Having dined, they went to dancing . -~n the midfi: of \vhich, Agatha's luftfu Devil took her into a private room, an'C · there inticing her to luft, the fimph wench confented, and they went to-bee without more ceremony. His embraces as !he told the mid wife, were as cold ~ ·ace, without any thing 0£ genial warmth After t~is acting of theirs was over h told he'r what he was, and that ihe fhouli -have power to command the winds, rail ternpefts, or do ,vhatcver ilie pleafed, an Jhe believed him, whereupon he taugr. her a parcel of unintelligible g_ibberi!h . ( 5) ' His ,infernal cetemonie·s-being over,. it 'thu.ndered after a prodigious mann~r, and. the poor wretch was ftript of her gaudy ~ttire, and fouAd herfelf in the middle of a difmal wood, wheire fhe faw· a chariot. drawn' by t\"° flaming dragons,. coming · towards her, and was,. by fome invifib_le rand put into it,. a-nd in an infiant car~ ried thro) the air• to her own 't:ottage. I ' ~~~~ffi~~~~~~ffl C 1-l A P.. J:i,. ow Shipton's Mother pr-crved 1.ttiih .Cbild; how jhe fitted the jeruere Jujtice, a11d qf , w1ba,t happe~ed at her Birt~. HE neighbours feeing i\gatha live · T to handforn.e, with any en1ploy, were furprized to fee her big with child, ,which coul.d not be concealed by reafon of her bignefs. So .ibe was carried be ....: fore a ju!tice of · peace, who chid het for her incont.inency, but was foon fi. lenced, for his wife and family being pre fent, Agatha L'lid to him, Mr. jufiict; tho' ygu talk fo much, your worfhip fa not f o free, for there fiand two of yeur fervant-wenches,. both with child by. you,, . , ' ( 61. ) pointing to ' them ~with her finger, upon .. which -they were iall fo blank, that his wife faw wtiat ilie [aid was true, and fo .fell- upon the harlots 1ike-~fury, for no-' - t!li.ng could afTua.ge her. So Agatha was -difn1jffed> and Vv'as foon afterwa\:ls dcli- vr;red in the ~1onth of July, in the 4th yclr of the reign of king .Henry 'VJI. ' .-md j L.. th-e year of CI1r ifi 1frh ~. I-I er .. travail ~-as very grjevous, and a moft (erribie clap of thunder happened at the birth of her, ·who was afterwards called mother Shipton, nor could the tempe!t affright the ,vomen more than the prodi gious phifiognomy of the child, the bo-J dy was long- and very big-bon'd, great goggling eyes, very {harp and fiery, an un proportionable nofe, having many crooks and turnings1 adorned with great pimples, and wLich gave fuch a lufire ,in the night that her .our[e needed no other candle to drefs her by, and befides this horrid fbape it was obki:ved, as foon as ihe was bor.n 1he fell a laughing, and a grinning, after a jeerir mannt r, and immediately the em pefi ceafed. { 7 ) ~~$(1~~4'~~ e H ~A P. III. - By what (}fher .lV11me 1Vlo_ther Shipton·-'l.f..'{JS chri//ened, atzd how her J.11..other 'Wf.'(1! ' into a .l~fonsfti!ry. ' HE child being thus born, ,~as or- T der::d by the acbot of Beverly to. be chriflen~d, which v.;,as perfonned' by , the nan1e of U [[ula Sontible. Jo was her .mother 11a1~ed, and Shi_pt~n i5 her· h\1t: band's nan1e. But to proceed, when fhe WlS about t\VO year5 old, her mother,be-_ ing fenfible of her evil, in holding a cor refpoudence ,vit:h a wicked fpirit. So.ap plying hede1f to ievr:ral 1-eligious n1en of great note; by whofe grave advice fhe grew truly penitent, put herfeJf into a neighbouring n1onafi:ery, having firfi put out .her child, with a piece of rnoney to her friend, and to {pend the remainder of her days in the fa1nous convent of the order .of St. Bridget, near N ottinghan1, in. prayers and tears, and other acts of pennance, for the wickednefs of her youth. But ·wonderful it \Vas . to relate the acci=. -( 8 ) dents that befel the the old nurfe fhe wa pu-t to, for the .fiend her father often vi fited her,-particularly, one day fhe fol:}n I .her'door open. So fearing ·{he was robb'd, fh(t aiked three or four neighbours wive to go int0 the entry. They heard a noife as· jf 1 oo cats had been in concert, which fo difn1ayed thern, that they all endea voured-who fhould fir.fi: get out of doors; . but in vain, for every one of them had a yoke on. But foo:1 after the yoke felr ,of( and a coul-flaff ,laid on two n1en's fuoµlders, on which an old woman pre iented herfelf fiark na,ked, hanging fome times by the middle. \Nhile the women, having theit cloaths over their heads, ex pofed their .iharne to public view, and fo continued 'till a friar accidentally came to the h0ufe, and then they were f uddenly releafed ; but {till the child could nnt be found, 'till one of the company looking by chance into the chimney) faw it ftark naked, fitting r1firide upon the iron to whi~h the pot-hook,s w~re fafiened, from whence they took it down_without the )eaft hurt; and fo far from being frjght ened, that it feemed, by it's monfl:rous ( ,.) · frnile, to be very well pleafed, at th~:ple-a~ fant exploits. , · ~~·~~=®~=~~·~ C H A P. IV . Several other ve~y nierry Pranks played by . Mother Shipton, in Revenge to )itch as . a bu.fed her. S our Urfula gtewi up,. fhe was of;te.R A affronted hy reafon of h~r d.efor mity~ but fhe n.everr fa1led to tPk~ reyepg,e on d1ofe that clid it,. As one-da.y th¢ pa riili w~re inet~ 0ne abufed h~r ,_ by cal .. ling her eevil's,.. baflard,, hag!s-f-i;J.ce, ind the like; whereupon Ihe grumbled, .1nd went a-way: But when they fat dowll to dinner, one of them in an iuftant had his ruff pulled oft: and the feat of an houfe of office clapt in its place. He that fate n~xt hiw. budl: into a laughter, upon this his hat was conveyed away, and a ck>fe fiool-pan put in its reom ; befides this, a modefi: young gentlewoman, fitting· at the table, looking on the· two, endeavoured · to refrain laug4ing, but cotild not, and continued breaking wind backwards for a _ quarter of an hour~ like fo m~,ny broad- - ( IO ) fid~s; w,ll1ch m·ade all th cornpany laugh f o heart rl y, ·that the mafter ot th~ houfe was -alar~ed therew ~th~; and being defi- · rous tg iliare w_ith his guefl:s iti their mirth, .