A Full and True RELATION Of the most Terrible and Dreadful Tempest of Thunder & Lightning, Hail and Rai● That ever yet was seen or heard in England.  
Giving a Faithful Account ●f the vast Losses, Damages, and Calamities sustain●● theirby in the Towns of Hitching Off●y, Eccleford, Pott●● Clifton, Henl●, Bigglesworth, with several other Villag●● and Market-Towns in the Counties of Hartford, Bedfor● Huntingdon, &c Wherein even Men have some by Lightning, and others by the Fury of the Hail been miserab●● and suddenly slain, particularly one at Offley, whose Dea● Body by the force was driven three Miles towards a Tow● called Hitching, nigh to which place three Horses wer● taken up with Saddles, etc. On their Backs, their Ride●● having miserably perished by the Hail.  
To which is added, 〈◊〉 particular Account of the sad and dismal Disasters that happened at Potton in Bedfordshire, where the Lightning wa● so extraordinary scorching, as to burn up the very greet Corn as it grew in the Fields, with this hightening circumstance of Wondert that one Acre should be Burnt to the ●old Clods, and the very next not in the least touched A●● also a particular Relation of the great Damages sustained by Sq. Harvey and others, in their Houses, Corn, Cattle etc.  
●he Whole communicated in a Letter out of Hartfordshier from Mr. 〈◊〉 Tord, to his Son-in-law Mr Burchfield near the Bluecoat at Bishopsgate Barrs  
〈…〉▪ The truth of this Relation will be Confirmed by 〈…〉 Mr Beaumond, at the sign of the Hand in Hand 〈◊〉 〈…〉   

True and particular Account of the ●ate terrible and dreadful Storm of Hail, etc.  
I Having received the full Particulars of the ensuing dreadful Relation, not only from the aforesaid Worthy Gentleman, but also from several other … berating Circumstances, and being well satisfied with Truth thereof, as a subject worthy of our most serous ●●●sideration, I have carefully published the same from the ●●●●inal Copy, which is as follows.  
〈◊〉 ●on William,  
〈◊〉 here send you a very dreadful and strange Relati●● from Hitching, Potton, and Offly, but indeed it 〈◊〉 ●ot more strange than true; for so it happened, that 〈◊〉 the Fourth of this Instant, about Three of the Clock ●he Afternoon, at Offly, about Three Miles from ch, in the County of Hartford, there arose out 〈◊〉 ●he Southwest a very strange dark Cloud and seve●●● other great dark Clouds arose from the East, and ●●●e from the West and some North, meeting with 〈◊〉 fury as tho' they designed to rush in Battle, break●●● out into most dreadful cracks of Thunder, and … es of great Lightning one against another, in an ●●usual and strange manner, being so very great in ●●ny places that the very Houses shook and tottered, even where I was tho' I was not near the big … 〈◊〉 the Tempest by Five, or Six Miles.  
About Offley it began to be so very dreadful, the People began to be very sorely affrighted, n●●●ly with the Lightning, and Thunder, but also the greatness of the Hail, which came down in s … 〈◊〉 prodigious manner, that never the like was se●● 〈◊〉 read of in this Kingdom, there fell, some as b●● 〈◊〉 Hen Eggs, some as big as Penny Loves, and some ●●●ger. Many People do affirm there were as big as 〈◊〉 Crown of a Hat, most of them in strange shapes forms, much like pieces of thick Ice, which held alowring down for about half an Hour, in which 〈◊〉 it covered the Earth in several places Five, or Six 〈◊〉 in Thickness, especially on the Hills and dry ch●●pion Ground notwithstanding the Rain which 〈◊〉 with it  
It did much harm about Offley, one Man being an adjacent Field, was either killed by the Lightning or knocked on the Head by the Violence of the H●●● and Rain, by which his Body was driven away do●● 〈◊〉 Hills, and taken up near Hitching, after having flo●●ed near three Miles: There was also taken up t … 〈◊〉 Saddle-Horses, and an Horse with a Panel on 〈◊〉 Back, the Riders whereof, 'tis feared where killed 〈◊〉 the Hail, though their Persons, perhaps covered w●●● Earth, are not yet found; for the Ground being ve●● dry, and the Storm sudden and violent, it was ov● flowed in some places five or six Foot deep, to the Consternation of the People of those parts, it happening to be on the Market-Day, many were in the Mark●● ●assing and repassing on the Road: I believe several, getting the Rainbow, the Seal of God's Covenant ●●●h Noah, expected nothing less than a Universal ●●●uge; the Hail was measured, and (when much waist … some were Eight and others Ten Inches round: credibly reported that the weight of several were ●●●teen, sixteen, and some twenty Ounces.  
One Man that was in the Field, though in the very … 'tis of the Storm, told me himself, that notwithstanding he crept into a thick Hedge for shelter, yet a … stone struck through and hit him such a blow as … ded him for a long time, and he verily believed, ●●●t the same Hailstone would have beat his Brains 〈◊〉, had he not been sheltered by the Hedge.  
The Harm done at Hitching is very considerable, 〈◊〉 I believe the whole is not as yet known; for it's … read there are more slain than are yet found out, ●●●w●thstanding we have an account of seven persons suddenly destroyed. From Lightning and Tempest; ●n Plague, Pesilence, and Famine, from Battle and ●urder, and from Sudden Death, Good Lord deliver 〈◊〉  
In Offley field or near it in the forenoon of the same 〈◊〉, it is affirmed, by several that saw it, that where ●●●y had Ploughed, and laid their Land upon Stich●s 〈◊〉 in the Afternoon the violence of the Hail had ●t all the Earth down again, and laid it as plain tho' it had not been Ploughed, but rolled with a wheven and plain to the great Astonishment of the ●●●olders. Besides the dreadful fright and Amazement the People were in, lest their Houses should be beat down on their Heads, (for their Tiles and W●●dows were all shattered to pieces) there was also m●●● Harm done by the Water in several Cellars, S … and Warehouses, some particular persons hav● two-Hundred pounds worth of Harm done in than half an Hours time.  
This dreadful and Astonishing Tempest, with 〈◊〉 fury, passed from Hitching, where it left Hail, aforesaid. Five Foot in Thickness, and so raised. Water in a short time that no person could pass, 〈◊〉 went over the Fields and came near to Clifton and … lie in Bedfordshire, and so towards Bigglesworth, 〈◊〉 so to Potton, another Market-Town, and from the down into Huntingtonshire, where, for the prese●● we shall leave traceing it, and proceed to an ex●●● Relation of the Loss, damage, and Harm sustained and about the Township of Potton.  
And first, On the South-West side of the To●● there was Rye growing, a great deal whereof ev●● Green as it was entirely was consumed and Burnt 〈◊〉 but what scaped the fiery Lighiening, fell by the f … of the Hail, and was beat down beyond Hopes of a●● Recovery: But what is most astonishing is That 〈◊〉 part of the Crop of a Field or Close should be destroyed, and the other not in the least harmed: One Ma●● Corn burnt up, another Man's beat flat to the Ea●●● and yet prehaps a Plate of Ground betwixt both 〈◊〉 ●●ther on one Hand or the other in the least wrong notwithstanding the Corn in each was of eq●●● growth, But yet we cannot attribute this so wonder a Judgement to any thing of Sin more in one M●● than another, if we remember what Christ told his disciples in the 13 of Luke, when some told him of 〈◊〉 Galileans Whose Blood Pilate had mingled with ●●●ir Sacrifice; Suppose ye (said he) that those Galile●●●, were sinners above all the Galilans, becase they suf●●●●d such things? I tell you, nay; but except ye repent, ye ●●●●l all likewise perish. Or those Eighteen upon whom the … o of Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye they were ●●●ners above all Men that dwelled in Jerusalem? I tell 〈◊〉 nay, etc. I could hearty wish that those principally concerned, would look upon it as a Warning Repent, and that others would esteem it as a Me●●nto not to be ungrateful to Heaven, which in Mer … has preserved their Persons and Substances from the … y, Misery, and Calamity of so dreadful and sud●●● a Judgement. Ingrato homine terre pejus nil create 〈◊〉 very Heathens could say; but to be concise.  
●n the Town of Potton, as aforesaid, so terrible and … sterous was the Tempest that besides several greatly ●●maged, two New Houses were entirely levelled with 〈◊〉 Ground; And indeed so strange and wonderful ●●s the Shower or rather Storm, that the People ●●●ld neither discern any thing that was above Two ●●●es off them, there was no intermission of Drops, but 〈◊〉 Water powered down like a River out of the Clouds ●●●hout any separation.  
●t Eccleford near Sandy, the Hail broke most part ●he Tiles and Windows of a great House, belong●●● to one Squire Harvies the reparation whereof 〈◊〉 a modest compution will cost about a Hundred … and.  
Of any particular persons in or about this Tow● Killed I have no certain Account, yet there is seve●●● (more is the Pity) in the Borders of Huntingtonshir● Nor is the Loss amongst , of all sorts, less th●● the Damage in Corn: The whole being indeed without any addition in respect both of the Thunder Lightning and Hail, even more dreadful and terrible th●● can be well related, or easily conceived.  
Upon the whole I crave leave to observe, that this terrible Judgement is little inferior in dread those fearful ones executed, at several times on 〈◊〉 sinful and rebellions Israelites, obstinate Pharaoh 〈…〉 so there is all reason imaginable to believe that t●● … does, as those did formerly, forebode and forer … something very extraordinary: I could hearty wi●● it would be every man's particular care and goo● prudence (let his profession be what it will) seriously to examine whither this so very visible Finger of G●● is pointed out unto us, as a Trial of our Faith, Patience, etc. or as a just reward for our heinous Sir and vile Iniquities; for my own part, I am veri●● persuaded; that now, even now, the Axe is laid un●● the Root of the Tree; therefore every Tree that bring not forth good Fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the Fi●●  
Jehovah, like a tender hearted Father, deals wi●● us, and happy were we would we but see it, he fi … allures and strives to win us by Mercies and Favours and then upon refusal, gently corrects, not furiously in rage and passion, but with a sweet Mixture and a … lay of Mercy shows us the evil of our ways and foolisness of our do. Woe be unto us if we take n● note of these things, if we do not, then as the Scrip●●●● says it will certainly be more tolerable for So●●●●nd Gomorrah in the great day of the Lord than … s.  
〈◊〉 sum up the whole, and to prevent, as much 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be, the world from being abused with false Re … s I could not but think myself obliged to de … that this before recited dreadful Relation con … nothing but very matter of fact, as the same was … y abstracted from the Original Letter sent to Mr. … field next door to the Bluecoat in Bishopsgate- 〈◊〉 near the Barrs: which said original Letter, for ●urther and better Satisfaction of such as may be … tful of the truth hereof, is to be seen at Mr Ni … Beaumont's at the Sign of the Hand in Hand-Ally ●●●●out Bishopsgate.  
FINIS.   

Licended and Entered according to Order.   

●●NDON, painted and Sold by J. Wilkins, 〈…〉 ●nd the green Dragon Tavern, in Fleetstreet. 1697.