Lanthorne and candle-light. Or, The bell-mans second nights-walke In which he brings to light, a brood of more strange villanies than ener [sic] were till this yeare discouered.

Moone men.

A discouery of a strange wild people, very dangerous to townes and country villages.

CHAP. VIII.

A Moone-man signifies in English, a mad-man, be∣cause the Moone hath greatest domination (aboue any other Planet) ouer the bodies of Frantick persons. But these Moone-men (whose Images are now to be carued) are neither absolutely mad, not yet perfectely in their wits) Their name they borrow from the Moone, because as the Moone is neuer in one shape two nights together, but wanders vp & downe Heauen, like an An∣ticke, so these changeable-stuffe-companions neuer tary one day in a place, but are the onely, and the onely base Ronnagats vpon earth. And as in the Moone there is a man, that neuer stirres without a bush of thornes at his backe, so these Moone-men lie vnder bushes, & are indéed no better then Hedge creepers.

They are a people more scattred then Iewes, and more hated: beggerly in apparell, barbarous in conditi∣on, beastly in behauior: and bloudy if they meete aduā∣tage. A man that sees them would sweare they ha•• all the yellow Iawndis, or that they were Tawny Moores * 1.1 bastardes, for no Red-oaker man caries a face of a more

filthy complexion, yet are they not borne so, neither has the Sunne burnt them so, but they are painted so, yet they are not good painters neither: for they do not make faces, but marre faces. By a by name they are called Gipsies, they call themselues Egiptians, others in moc∣kery call them Moone-men.

If they be Egiptians, sure I am they neuer discended from the tribes of any of those people that came out of the Land of Egypt: Ptolomy (King of the Egiptians) I warrant neuer called them his Subiects: no nor Pharao before him. Looke what difference there is betwéene a ciuell cittizen of Dublin & a wilde Irish Kerne, so much difference there is betwéene one of these counterfeit Egiptians and a true English Begger. An English Roague is iust of the same liuery.

They are commonly an army about foure-score cong, yet they neuer march with all their bagges and * 1.2 baggages together, but (like boot-halers) they forrage vp and downe countries, 4. 5. 026. in a company. As the swi∣zer has his wench and his Cocke with him whē he goes to the warres, so these vagabonds haue their harlots with a number of litle children following at their héeles: which young brood of Beggers, are sometimes caried (like so many gréene geese aliue to a market) in payres of panieres, or in dossers like fresh-fish from Rye y^e comes on horsebacke, (if they be but infants.) But if they can stradle once, then aswell the shee-roagues as the hee-roagues are horst, seauen or eight vpon one iade, strong∣ly pineond, and strangely tyed together.

One Shire alone & no more is sure stil at one time, to haue these Egiptian lice swarming within it, for like flockes of wild-géese, they will euermore fly one after another: let them be scattred worse then the quarters of a traitor are after hées hang'd drawne and quartred, yet they haue a tricke (like water cut with a swoord) to come together instantly and easily againe: and this is their pollicy, which way soeuer theformost•• anckes lead,

they sticke vp small boughes in seuerall places, to euery village where they passe, which serue as ensignes to waft on the rest.

Their apparell is od, and phantasticke, tho it be neuer so full of rents: the men weare scarses of Callico, or any other base stuffe, hanging their bodies like Morris-dan∣cers, * 1.3 with bels, & other toyes, to intice the coūtrey people to flocke about them, and to wounder at their fooleries or rather rancke knaueryes. The women as ridicu∣lously attire them-selues, and (like one that plaies, the Roague on a Stage) weare rags, and patched filthy mantles vpermost, when the vnder garments are han∣some and in fashion.

The battailes these Out-lawes make, are many and * 1.4 very bloudy. Whosoeuer falles into their hands neuer escapes aliue, & so cruell they are in these murders, that nothing can satisfie thē but the very heart bloud of those whom they kill. And who are they (thinke you) that thus go to the pot? Alasse! Innocent Lambs, Shéep, Calues, Pigges, &c. Poultrie-ware are more churlishly handled by them, thē poore prisoners are by kéepers in the counter it'h Poultry. A goose comming amongst them learnes to be wise, that hee neuer wil be Goose any more. The bloudy tragedies of al these, are only acted by y^e Womē, who carrying long kniues or Skeanes vnder their man∣tles, do thus play their parts: The Stage is some large Heath: or a Firre bush Common, far from any houses: Upō which casting them-selues into a King, they inclose the Murdered, till the Massacre be finished. If any pas∣senger come by, and wondring to sée such a cōiuring cir∣cle kept by Hel-hoūdes, demaund what spirits they raise there? one of the Murderers steps to him, poysons him 〈◊〉〈◊〉 sweete wordes and shifts him off, with this lye, y^e one of the womé is falne in labour. But if any mad H••let hea∣ring this, smell villanie, & rush in by violence to sée what the taw••y Diuels are dooing: thē they excuse the fact, lay the blame on those that are the Actors, & perhaps (if they

see no reme••e) deliuer them to an officer, to be had to punishment: But by the way a rescue is utely laid and very valiantl•• (tho very villanously) do they fetch them off, a guard them.

The Cabbines where these Land-pyrates lodge in the night, are the Out-ba••es of Farmers & Husband-men, (in some poore Uillage or other) who dare not deny them, for feare they should ere morning haue their thatched houses burning about their eares: inthese Ba••nes, are hoth their Cooke-roomes, their Supping P••ors and their Bed-chambers: for there they dresse after a beastly manner: what soeuer they purchast after a théeu••h fashion: sometimes they eate Uenison, & haue Grey houndes that kill it for thē, but if they had not, they are Houndes them-selues & are damnable Hunters af∣ter flesh: Which appeares by their vgly-fac'd queanes that follow them: with whom in these barnes they lie, as Swine do together in Hogsties.

These Barnes are the beds of Incests, Whoredomes Adulteries, & of all other blacke and deadly-damned Im∣pi••ies; * 1.5 here growes the Cursed Tree of Bastardie, that is so fruitfull: here are writtē the Bookes of al Blasphe∣mies, Swearings & Curses, y^t are so dreadfull to be read. Yet the simple country people will come running out of their houses to gaze vpō them whilst in the meane time one steales into the next Roome, and brings away what∣soeuer hee can lay hold on. Upon daies of pastime & liber∣tie, they Spred them-selues in smal companies amōgst * 1.6 the Uillages: and when young maids & batchelers (yea sometimes old doting fooles, that should be beatē to this world of villanies, & forewarn others) do flock about thē, they then professe shil in Palmestry, & (forsooth) can tel fortunes which for the most part are infallibly true, by reason that they worke vppon rules, which are groūded vpon certainty: for one of them wil tel you that you shal shortly haue some euill luck fal vpon you, & within halfe an houre after you shal find your pocket pick'd, or your

purse cut. These are those Egiptian Grashoppers that eate vp the fruites of the Earth, and destroy the poore corne fieldes: to sweepe whose swarmes out of this king∣dome, there are no other meanes but the sharpnes of the most infamous & basest kinds of punishment. For if the vgly body of this Monster be suffred to grow & fatten it selfe with mischiefs and disorder, it will haue a neck so Sine ••y & so brawny, that the arme of y^e law will haue much ado to strike of y^e Head, sithence euery day the mē∣bers of it increase & it gathers new ioints & new forces by Priggers, Anglers, Cheators, Morts, Yeomens Daughters (that haue taken some by blowes, & to auoid shame, fall into their Sinnes: and other Seruants both men & maides that haue beene pil••erers, with al the rest of that Damned Regiment, marching together in y^e first Army of the Bell-man, who running away from theyr own Coulours (w^t are bad ynough) serue vnder these, being the worst. Lucifers Lansprizado that stood aloof to behold the mustrings of these Hell-hoūds took delight to see them Double their Fyles so nimbly, but held it no pollicy to come neere thē (for the Diuell him-selfe durst scarce haue done that.) Away therefore hee gallops, knowing that at one time or other they would all come to fetch their pay in Hell.

Notes

• * 1.1

  What a moone man is,
• * 1.2

  His orde•• in marching on foote or ser∣uing open horse.
• * 1.3

  His Furniture
• * 1.4

  His manner of night.
• * 1.5

  His qualities w••st he lies intrenched.
• * 1.6

  What peeces of desperate seruice hee ventures vpō