A WONDER WORTH THE READING, OR A True and faithful Relation of a Woman, now dwelling 〈◊〉 Kentstreet, who, upon Thursday, being the 21 of August last, was delivered of a prodigious and Monstrous, Child, in the presence of divers honest, and religious-women to their wonderful fear and astonishment.   depiction of deformed baby 
LONDON Imprinted by William jones dwelling in Red-crosse-streete 1617.   

To the Reader.  

I'll broach no lie, past man's belief or reason,  
For that I would keep custom with the Season,  
I Bring no news here of some hideous Dragon,  
Nor tell I of Charles Starre-bestudded Wagon  
New hurled from heaven: Nor of some Horse and Bear  
which ' fore the King did one another tear:  
Nor of strange Earthquakes swallowing worlds of people:  
Nor Prophecy, found in some ruined Steeple:  
But here I bring (in a new trueborn Story)  
A monstrous Message sent from the King of Glory.    

A True and faithful Relation of a Woman, now dwelling in Kentstreet, who upon Thursday last, being the 21 of August, was delivered of a Prodigious and Monstrous Child, in the presence of divers honest, and religious women, to their wonderful fear and astonishment.  
IT is reported of the famous Scythian, that when he went forth to war against his enemies; it was his fashion, first to display a white Ensign, as a token of his mercy, if his foes would yield to fair conditions: but if not, then would he display a red Ensign, in sign of effusion of blood and threatening death and destruction: but if at least they refused to stoop to his fair admonitions; then would he set up his black banner: betokning nothing but revenge, and bloody slaughter; and that not one should scape from his threatening fury. So hath Almighty God dealt with this our Country: hath he not from time to time sent down his Ensigns of anger amongst us to affright us from our sins and to stoup our feet in the way of Iniquity, and yet notwithstanding, we go one in our abominations? He hath devoured us with diseases, pinched us with famine, terrified us with accidental fires consuming our houses? he hath commanded the merciless waters to swallow the fruits of the Earth, so as they became utterly useless and unprofitable to you: he hath transposed the seasons, set Summer in Winter's place, & Winter in Summers' stead: He hath called from amongst you, the Noble, grave, and learned, the wise, the judge, & godly: nay hath he not come nearer unto you; and called the husband from the wife, the wife from the husband? the child from the mother? the father from the Son, one friend from another, and said them all up together in the grave of corruption by the hand of death to your sad sorrow and discomfort? These, and many more judgements hath God sent down amongst you, as so many Heralds to proclaim his just anger against you for your abominations, and yet you lie snorting in your sins, quaffing down iniquity like water, and securely stretching your limbs upon the bed of luxuritie, as if God were not jealous of his honour, and regarded not our transgressions. O England, England, delude not thyself with these golden dreams? but resol●● that God will come, and visit thee in some sharper measu●●●nd manner, than heretofore he hath done: the axe is already laid to thy root? his powerful hand hath long been heaved up over thee, and when it falls, it must be thy confusion: O remember, that God is said, to have feet of Lead, and hands of Iron, he is slow to wrath; but when he strikes, he pays home and heavy. Therefore abuse not thou Gods patiented.  
How many warning pieces of his displeasure hath he discharged upon thee (O England) and yet, thou takest no warning. What blazing Comets, what Apparitions, what unnatural Inundations, what malevolent Coniuntions of the Stars? what Conspiracies against our King and State? What miraculous, Monstrous, and Prodigious births have been presented to our eyes, as hideous spectators of deformity? yet all these cannot move us from our wickedness? For better confirmation here of, and meeting with so fair an occasion; I will briefly relate a most strange and monstrous accident in nature, which, howsoever in man's apprehension, it may seem unpossble. Therefore, lest any should meet my discourse with a scoff, and smilingly say? This is an usual trick put upon the world for profit? and that this monstrous Child birth (whereon my present subject is chief grounded) was begotten in some monster hatching brain; produced for a Bartholomew fair baby; and sent at this time (for order sake) to be nurced at the common charge of the news affecting multitude; let them know, that not one syllable shall be added to the making up of an untruth? but as it is approved to be true, by the attestation of many godly, honest, and religious women? so no less faithfully & truly will I relate it, to the general satisfaction of all those that read. And in brief, thus it happened. In Kent-streete there dwelleth one, whose name is john Ladyman? whose wife (upon the 21. of August 1617.) after long travel, was delivered of a Female child with a half forehead, without any skull, having a fair proportioned body from the breast downward: the said child had its mouth & eyez miraculously placed in the said half forehead near upon the breast, upon the said half forehead lay a piece of flesh of two fingers thick round about, the flesh being wonderfully curled like Gentle women's attire: being of a very blue colour like a turk Cock, the eyes being very bog staring and very fiery red, which greatly terrified the midwife and all that were present, the chid being dead, the midwife laboured to close the staring eyes but could not, they presently fell all to prayer desiring God to take from them this so sudden astonishment and fear, the midwife after prayer arising, and so the rest of the women, beholding again the Child, they saw the ears of it fastened to the half forehead, not being like to Christians ears, but stood pricking up, behind each ear, was two little bones standing up overgrown with flesh, and having very long hair. In this hideous and fearful form was this child brought forth alive, to the great astonishment of the beholders, and grievious lamentation of the parents; If any curious censurer call in question the truth hereof, let him inquire at the place before recited, for his better satisfaction: In the mean time let me thus stop his mouth: That he, who bade the Sun retire, & it obeyed: that he, who reared up the divided waters like walls of brick? and maid a pathway through the deep: that he, who graspeth the thunder in his right hand, and the Rainbow in his left: that he, whose throne is heaven? whose footstool is earth? that this terrible God, I say, who created all of nothing, can as easily divert the usual and orderly course of procreation, into dreadful and hideous deformity. Therefore let me induce every honest heart, to apply this to his own conscience, and seriously to weigh and consider the sins of the land in a holy consideration? then shall he clearly discern this monstrous production, to be a merciful message sent from the Almighty, for our further admonition and instrustion. And thou O London, that art entitled the beauty of the world, the blazing beacon of Europe. That in the midst of judgements, God hath always remembered mercy, and hath not suffered, of a long time, his wrath to lie hard and heavy upon thee, and further that thou shouldst not reach forth thy hand to iniquity? he hath endowed thee with many great and infinite favours, turning thy sickness into health, thy penury into plenty, thy mourning into mirth? and most abundantly (out of his gracious goodness) hath dispersed the glourious light of his word, both in the public Ministry, and private exercises thereof, whose all-spreading lustrie breaks forth (like the swallowing of the Sea) in every street, yet still thou hatest to be reform: Thus hath he led thee with the lines of his love, to walk more uprightly with him, who is the God of thy life, liberty, health, wealth and peace: and yet for all this (O London) art thou misted by the malice of Satan, and thine own corruption, miserably deceived with the pleasures of sin, which last but for a moment: and still dost thou lift up thy heels & hands against God: and steelest thy heart, & face, against his ways, works, judgement, and mercy. No man takes heed to his paths: he that was filthy, is become more filthy: and the crew of the abominations (under whose burden the earth groans: and men should mourn if they were not senseless, and graceless) are so far from diminishing, that they infinitely increase, and get head over thee. What need I point out unto thee, thy pride, extortion, oppression, bribery, usury, with the rest of those crying sins? give me leave to be silent: why the very stones in thy streets, beasts in the field, all dumb & insensible Creatures, do in their kind, jointly cry out against thee, as the prophet did in his days: justice is turned into gall & wormwood, the poor are sold for silver, and the needy for shoes, why should I capitulate, thy great pride and excess in apparel for back, with attires for head, thy whoredom, luxury, drunkenness? (sins daily committed, in the presence both of God and man, as though the Magistraite had no law to punish them: nor the Minister courage to reprove them: for fear of offending a great man in his parish, or losing part of his pension. Thus doth the Snake devour the Toad, and the Toad the snake: thus one wicked man strives to Canopy the wickedness of another, lest his own should be unmasked and laid bare. As for that fearful sin of profaning the Saboth, that is slighted off with the title of Recreation: O where should one find that man, woman, or child who with care and conscience sanctifies the Saboth day? either by their religious and reverent preparing of themselves to come to the public assemblies? or being come, to demean themselves as beseemeth such heavenly exercises, as prayer, and preaching? who regards, to spend the holy Saboth in meditation, and conference of instructions publicly taught: in singing of Psalms, Prayer, in visiting the sick, in doing works of charity and Christian love? Or who rather doth not publicly profane it, privately abuse it: some holding it to be but a day of bodily rest, & therefore betake themselves to their pillow, and sleep longer then on any day of the week: some accounting of the Church assemblies, and the religious exercises therein, no better, then of common meetings for sports: nor receive the word with no more reverence & attention, than a profane Stageplay, or winter's tale: some sitting idly at their doors, gaping and gazing: suffering, nay, commanding their servants and children to profane it, by dancing, stoolball playing, with the like unlawful and wicked recreations: some also posting over their worldly affairs, casting up their accounts: telling of money in Sermon time, repairing to justices for execution of Law, banqueting their kinsfolks? with a thousand such like abominations, fearfully committed upon the Lord's day?  
For these (O London) may not I (with the Prophet) cry out in the bitterness of my soul: Shall not the Land tremble for this? and shall not every one mourn that dwelleth within thee? The which to prevent then, O let my admonishment beat upon the anvil of thy heart, and force thee to fall low upon the knee of submission: repent thee betimes, while it is called to day, cease to provoke thy Maker with obstinate ambition: thy sins are at full height, and with open mouths call for vengeance and destruction to consume thee: O send out thy prayers & repentance to stop the violence of the Lords just anger breaking forth against thee, which (as a starved Lion) waits at thy doors, and watches in thy highest streets, to devour thee, & to overcloude thy beauty in dark, comfortless, and woeful desolation: The which, God of his gracious mercy, and favourable goodness towards thee, prevent in his due time.  
FINIS.   

judicious Reader,  

judge mildly: & what faults thou meetest with, mend.  
For in two hours, this had both birth, and end.  
Ass, for the foule-tounged speller, I not fear him;  
Let him scowl, scoff, and scold, I scorn to hear him.