The Fruitful Wonder: OR, A Strange Relation from Kingston upon Thames.  
OF A Woman, who on Thursday and Friday, being the 5 th'. and 6 th'. days of this Instant March, 1673/4.  
WAS Delivered of Four Children at one Birth, Viz. Three Sons and one Daughter, all born alive, lusty Children, and Perfect in every Part; which lived 24 Hours, and then died all much about the same time.  
WITH Several Other Examples of Numerous Births From Credible Historians.  
WITH THE PHYSICAL and ASTROLOGICAL Reasons for the same.  
Published by J. P. Student in Physic.  
Printed for Rich. Roffe, 1674.   

THE Fruitful Wonder: OR, A Strange Relation from Kingston, etc.  
THat the first Riches of a Kingdom or Nation, is the Multitude of its Inhabitants, is a known Maxim in Politics: whence several of the Wisest Legislators that Antiquity can boast of, have made it a principal business in their Edicts, to endeavour the propagation and increase of humane kind: Inflicting several Mulcts and penalties on those wanton Libertines, who neglecting to Enrol themselves at a convenient age under Hymans' Banner, seemed to take no care at all for posterity: and on the other side, Encouraged with Rewards and privileges, those Laborious Husbandmen in Nature's Vineyard, who Enriched their Country with a Numerous Offspring.  

Nascitur Indignè, per quem non nascitur alter,  
Indignè vivit, per quem non vivit & alter.   

Useless his life, and to no purpose spent,  
By whom no have to the World is lent.   
Upon this Account Sterility or Barenness hath in all Ages and Countries been esteemed a Reproach, and Fruitfulness an Happiness and Honour: Of which latter kind, Nature to show that she is not yet grown so weak and decripit, as some sneaking Doelittles to excuse their own Impotency, would represent her, has just now given a very Pregnant Instance, in a person of very good Credit and Reputation, of Kingston upon Thames, in the County of Surry.  
This Good Woman being lately with Child, found herself exceeding heavy and cumbersome, and appeared bigger than ordinary, especially when her Reckoning began to grow near expiring: so that Neighbours began generally to imagine she would bring Twins ●●or were their Expectations herein frustrated, but surpass.  
For behold! On Thursday the fifth of this Instant March, her appointed time approaching, she is seized with those terrible Child-bed-pangs, which Eves Transgression has unhappily entailed on all her Daughters. In which tormenting Throws she continued all that day, and the next: In which space of time, she was [to the great admiration of all the Women present] delivered of no less than four Children, [to wit) three Sons and one Daughter, they being all born alive, of a handsome large size and proportion, and had all their Limbs complete and perfect, nor was there any apparent cause to despair of their Living, but they continued not long, for within four and twenty hours after such their respective births they were all snatched away by Death, like early Flowers nipped in the Budd: passing, as it were, Post through this troublesome Stage of Mortality, from the Womb of their particular Parent, to that of our common Mother, the Earth.  
The Woman, though much weakened with so hard and tedious a Labour, is like to do very well, but is much afflicted for the loss of her Children.  
Aristotle (heretofore accounted the Philosopher's Pope) whose Dictates passed for Infallible) tells us of Women in Egypt, that usually brought five Children at a time, which both he and Solinus attribute to the fecundity of the River Nilus, whereof they used to Drink. And saith, that it was never known, that ever any was brought to Bed of more at once.  
But herein we must crave leave to descent from this great Secretary of Nature, Experience Evidencing the contrary, that some Women have had Seven at a Birth.  
And the Learned Enstathius (an Author of sufficient judgement and credit) in his Notes upon Homer, asserts on his Veracity, That he knew a Noble Matron, who was at one birth Delivered of Nine Children in the absence of her Husband: but being a Person of Quality, and One in whom it seems Pride had overpowred Nature, and cruel fancy swayed more than religious duty, she took a conceit that her Husband would slight her henceforwards, and that she should lose something of her Interest in his Affections by bringing forth such a Litter of Children; Hereupon she resolves to drown seven of them, and having given the Midwife a Bribe to look up her Tongue, she chooses out two of her nine Children which she fancied best, and gave the rest to the Nurse to go drown them in a River in the Evening, who most barborously consented to do its but just when she was come down to the River and was standing upon the Bride, ready to put the S●●●ge design in Execution; Her Master the Father of t●●●●●ldren returning homewards from a journey happened to Ride by, who knowing the Nurse and being much concerned to hear the cries of so many Children (for she had all the seven Children in a Hand basket) she at first endeavoured to put him off by pretending they were only a parcel of Kitlings which she was going to destroy, but he being a great lover of Cats, would needs see them to save the prettyest, which she seeming strongly loath to admit, he at last by force compelled her to show him, when to his amazement falling on her knees and begging his pardon, she produced seven of his own Children devoted for death by her wicked hands, if she had not been thus miraculously prevented, and withal told him the whole story, and the reasons that prompted his Wife to this unnatural intention. whereupon making her haste home, he put them out severally to Nurse immediately, & they all lived till they were grown to Maturity; but the Gentleman would never afterwards live or associate with his bloody inhuman Wife.  
To this we might add a thousand the like strange Relations, if we had the unity to make ostentation of Reading, such as that Erasmus mentions in Chiliade of a Woman named Comb that dwelled in Euboeia that had a hundred children by one Husband.  
Or that which Ludovicas Vives asserts himself to have seen, viz. A Countryman in Spain (a place and people none of the fruitfullest) whose Children whilst he was living had peopled a Town of above one hundred dwelling houses, and were spread so far that they had left off the Name of Relations, nor need this seem incredible, since there was (within this twelve months if not still) a Woman living in Lancashire, that has often been heard truly and properly to say, Do you hear daughter, run and tell your Granddaughter that her Daughter's Child cries.  
What shall we say of Hieorom King of Arabia whom Justin tells us had above six hundred natural Sons by several Concubines, of Artaxerxes who had a hundred and fifteen, or that lusty Roman Bellswagger, Proculus Caesar, who (as Mizeldus an eminent Physician assures us) got more than one hundred Virgins with-child in the space of fifteen days.  
This is certain, Augustus Caesar saw his Granddaughters Grandson, M. Sillanus, and one Stetini an Italian Lady, dying in the 87th. year of her age, beheld with her own eyes sprung from her own body of Children and Grandchilds, etc. To the number of one hundred twenty and five. And the Illustrious John Count Nassaw in the last age in like manner eighty and five persons of his own and his children's begetting all alive at once before his death.  
We might be tedious in such instances since every Postiler and Breivary can furnish us with such pocket Learning: These are more than enough to prove the matter of fact, and it might now perhaps be no more grateful and divertising to the Reader if we would leave the sterile road of History to take a walk or two in the more pleasing Gardens of Philosophy, enquiring how it comes to pass that such numerous births are produced; But these are Arcana Nature, not fit to be prostituted in a Pamphlet, some Anatomists, & not a few Physicians have done it too much to our Hand, we shall conclude with an Aphorism of Astrology on this Theme, from Guido Bonatus, part. 2. Cap. 5. Which we conceive very pertinent to our present Subject. Vide si fuerit ascendens Gemini, aut Virgo, Pisces, vel Sagitarius, aut si duo boni planetae fuerint in ascendente vel quinta, Concepit hinos; si autem fuerit ibi cum eis Caput Draconis, dic quod partet 〈◊〉 utero plus quam duobus, & possibile est quod portet quatuor 〈◊〉; When 'tis enquired how many children a Woman goes with, see if Gemini, Virgo, Pisces, or Sagitary ascend, or if there be two good planets in the ascendant or 5th. house, then hath she conceived two, but if the Dragon's head be there with them, say, she carries more than two, and that 'tis possible she may have Four.  
FINIS.