The doome warning all men to the iudgemente wherein are contayned for the most parte all the straunge prodigies hapned in the worlde, with diuers secrete figures of reuelations tending to mannes stayed conuersion towardes God: in maner of a generall chronicle, gathered out of sundrie approued authors by St. Batman professor in diuinite.

A good Example against wicked Blasphemers, of vvhat estate soeuer they be.

AT Stondon a little vilage 20. miles from London, not far frō y^e high way to Cambridge, where for a time the writer her∣of did abide, auoiding the great plague that then was in Lō∣don and also in Cambridge, a Gentleman that was named mayster Barington, whose wife was afterwarde maryed in Cambridge to one mayster Carington, and of her also he (the authour of this prodigie) hearde the same: the sayd Gentleman Barington, was a greate swearer, and did customablye vse great othes, specially by the blood of oure Lorde, and vpon a Sonday or else a festiuall holy day, he went forth on hū∣ting or hauking, and nothing spéeding after his mind, he came vnto an ale∣house, at a thorow faire called Puckrych, 5. miles from Ware, in the high way to Cambridge, the one side of the which thorowfare was in the sayde parrish of Stondon, where the Gentleman was, and called for drinke, and a∣non he began to sweare after his vnhappy custome, saying, by Gods blood this day is vnhappy, & w^tin a while after in swearing so, he bled at the nose and therewith more and more vexed, he began to raile and blaspheme the name of God, in swearing passion, woundes, flesh, nayles, blood and body, till at the last he fell farther to bléede at the eares, at the eyes, at his wrests, the ioynts of his hands, and of al his body, at the Nauil and foundament, in maruailous great quantitie and streames of blood, loathsomelye blea∣ring out his tongue in a fearefull manner as black as pitche, so that no per∣son durst come nere him: this continued till the Diuell and death had made an ende of him: on the morrow they layde thē body on a carte, carying it to Stondon: the body bléeding after a strange sort, was buryed in the high way. A manifest token of Gods heauie displeasure againste swearers and abu∣sers of the Saboth.

In the Iland of Iseland there are 3. very high mountains, y^e tops of which are very white with snowe, & from the top towarde the foote issueth fire, y^e first which lieth towardes y^e weast is called Heccla, y^e other Mons Crisis, the third Helga▪ that is, holy, &c. Whē Hecla rageth, he maketh a noise like hor∣rible thūder, he casteth out huge stones, he vomiteth out brimstone, he doth couer the earth al about so far with y^e ashes y^t he auoideth, y^t it cannot be in∣habited for the space of 20. mile. They which desire to search out y^e nature of so gret a burning, & for y^e cause come nere y^e burning, some one hole vpon the sodayne swalloweth them aliue, for there are many so couered w^t ashes that no man can sufficiētly beware of them, & also thereby fire issueth out, which doth consume water, but it doth not burne flaxe: that place of some

is thoughte to be the prison of vncleane soules, for the Ice being sundered and caste into manye small péeces, doth for eighte monethes fléete aboute the Ilande, and dashing againste the Sea shore in greate heapes, doeth with his rubbing againste the rockes make a horrible sounde, represen∣ting a miserable wayling and howling of mans voyce, whiche maketh the ignoraunte sorte beléeue, that the soules of men are there tormented with colde. There are founde Spirites shewing themselues manifest to doe mens worke, but especially the likenesse of suche as be drowned or slaine by some other violente chaunce, doe méete with manye of theyr acquain∣taunce so manyfestlye, that by giuing them theyr hande, they be imbraced of those that knewe not theyr deathe, as if they were liuing, ney∣ther is the error perceyued before the sighte vanishe awaye: they being demaunded of their acquaintaunce and friendes touching theyr going home, they say with great wayling that they go to mount Heccla, and by & by they vanish away.

At Frankeforde by Odera there was a mayde, whyche whatsoeuer she tooke in hyr handes, turned into siluer, whyche she dyd eate. Vp∣on a tyme a péece was taken out of hyr handes and sente to the Prince and to Melancthon also, who recordeth the same by Manlius in his com∣mon places.

In Italy a mayden being possessed by the Diuel, althoughe she coulde speake no latine: yet being asked of Lazarus Bonamicus a reader in the Vniuersitie of Bologna whiche was the best verse in Virgil: whiche the di∣uel knew and aunswered by hir.

Discite iustitiam moniti & non temnite diuos.

that is:

Learne iustice when you warned are, and not the Gods dispise.

Not manye yeares before was the like woman in the Dukedome of Luneburge, ignoraunt of the Latine and Gréeke tong: yet being possessed by the Diuel, she coulde speake perfectly the Latine and Gréeke tongue. Manlius Folio. 40.

[illustration]

Not many yeres paste in Bohemia, a Ghoste appeared to one that was a sléep, and sayde: arise and go with me: he be∣ing not afraide bold∣ly aunswered: I wil not goe with thée. The seconde nighte he returned, and so also y^e third, saying: arise let vs go, he an∣sweared I wil not. Then said y^e Ghost, vnlesse thou arise, thou shalt repent it: he being afrayde of himselfe arose. Hée led him into a plaine and open field, & whē he was there, the Ghoste asked him, what séest thou? he aunswered, I sée on the one side a great armie as it were of Turkes: what séest thou more? on the other side a smal number as it were of Christians readye to fighte: and what besides? I sée the victorie to be on the Christians side. Then sayde the Ghoste: These things shall shortly so come to passe as thou haste séene, and so he vanished away. Manlius Fol. 32.

Certaine learned men in the counsel of Basil, where almost al the best learned and excellentest men being at that time were assembled for recrea∣tion sake, went to a groue without the Citie, friendly to confer of the con∣trouersies of y^t time: as they were going they heard by chance a lyttle byrde singing most swéetly in manner of a Nightingale: at the firste they mar∣uelled at the swéetenesse of his voyce, and they knewe not what Byrdes song it was, being not able to discerne it from the song of other byrds: And goyng neare the groue, they came to the Trée where sate a little Byrde, they determined wyth a common consente to goe vnto hyr. Then one that séemed stouter than the reste, spake to the Byrde wyth these wordes: I adiure thée in the name of Iesus Christe to tell vs what thou arte? He

made aunswere that he was a damned soule, and appointed to be there vn∣til the latter day, and then to suffer euerlasting punishment, and that there was no deliuerance for him. When they had thus saide, he flewe from the trée, crying out in the Dutch tong: O ewig ô ewig wie ist das ein lange zeit, that is: O how long and vnmeasurable is euerlastingnesse. I iudge it was a Diuel abyding in that place. All they that were present at that coniurati∣on, fel sore sicke and not long after dyed. Fol. 33.