The Age of Wonders OR MIRACLES are not CEASED.  
BEING A true but strange Relation of a Child born at Burslem in Stafford-Shire, who, before it was three quarters old, spoke and prophesied strange and wonderful things touching the King, three nights together, contained in this ensuing Relation, as it was affirmed in a Letter by Mr. Colclough, Justice of the Peace, to Colonel Pury; and attested upon Oath by Elizabeth Locket and her Husband, the Child's Nurse.  
With divers other remarkable Predictions, Signs and Wonders, in relation to Monarchy, and the Child born with three Crowns.  PSAL. 8.2. 
Out of the mouth of Babes and Sucklings hast thou Ordained strength because of thine enemies.  
March. 23. 1659. London, Printed for Nehemiah Chamberlain, and are to be sold at the East end of St. Paul's, 1660.   

The Age of Wonders.  
IT is an ungracious quality of our English Islanders, rather than not to be babbling, to belie, deprave and scandalise one another, whereas the condoling our own miseries and glorifying God for the wonders which he daily revealeth, and the deliverances which we continually find, are subjects more becoming our Meditations.  
God will never shorten the evidence of his own Essence and omnipotence, were it only to the confutation and condemnation of Atheists, the holy Ghost is not confined to the rules of Nature, but doth declare his wonderful and secret determinations ofttimes by supernatural means, and not seldom by crossing the course of Nature.  
Not to ravel out the Scriptures which are full of such precedents, we need go no higher than the present times wherein we live, which may not unjustly be called The Age of Wonders; Where are our Histories Sacred and profane which can produce the parallel to the late years wherein we have lived for admirations.  
Not to mix ink with the Sacred Royal blood, so unnaturally, Sacriligeously and inhumanely drawn, which yet seems to sleep (a Wonder in comparison of God's Revenge for Murder, which hath never been known to fail, even to the most inconsiderable instance) we shall do well to take some Doctrines from Infants as well as from irrational and sometimes from inanimate Creatures, all of them naturally incapable by speech to utter any thing to our understanding, and first for Infants; To omit those serene and innocent Martyrs of Pharaoh and Herod, who (notwithstanding their incapacity of speech) confessed and showed forth the praise and glory of God, not in speaking but in dying, let us go no higher than a dozen years, within which time we shall make evident, that three cradle Infants have made audible & wonderful revelations in order to the restoring of Monarchy into this wretched Kingdom. One, a Boy, about the coming in of the present King Charles born a Sudbury, at eleven weeks old, was plainly heard as well by his Parents as others, to speak, before his Majesty's march to Worcester, and say A King, which he often repeated, a truth generally known to the inhabitants of those parts.  
A second, is another Boy, as yet under two years old and living, was born with Teeth in his mouth, with two tongues in his mouth, and three Crowns upon his head where others have but one, he walked in his Mother's hand at six months old, and from his birth spoke, and ever in his speech named A King, which to this day he not only continues with other expressions, but if any one in his presence do but name the word King, the boy seems to be overjoyed; how he behaved himself sometime since in the Commons House of Parliament, where, in his deportment and expressions, he foretell their declining, is better to be taken from their own Officers.  
A third, which is a Female Child, we have certified from Burslem in Stafford-Shire, which Child is nursed by Elizabeth Locket the Wife of John Locket in the said Parish of Burslem, who are people of very honest conversation; The said nurse about a Month or five weeks since undressing the Child at eight of the Clock in the evening, the said Girl Infant (being much under three quarters of a year old) was heard plainly to say A King, which she repeated seven times after each other, and did the same three nights together, about the same hour in the evening, which child never spoke before, nor since. This Relation was sent in a Letter to Colonel Pury, and is offered to be deposed upon oath by John Colclough Esquire, one of the Justices of Peace in the said County of Stafford, and this the said John and Elizabeth Locket dwelling in Burslem aforesaid.  
In this Miraculous Predection of an Infant, more things are observable then may be slightly passed over; First for an Infant to speak is so wonderful, as we have not seen the like Recorded, no not of the Son of God himself, who did fully accomplish all manner of his Relations to Humanity, sin only excepted, before he is mentioned to speak, but in these Infants the growth of Teeth, and strength to other Organs of speech seemed to be perfected, only for declaring a Miracle; The two first Children were born with Teeth, of which the last had only three a long while, the number of the first, or the relation of any born with the last, is not yet brought to our knowledge, therefore we will observe something upon the Number Three.  
Number is an Art, it is no Natural gift, for the Indians who want the use of Letters, have not the gift of Numbering, further than by their fingers they can prompt their memory, and even at that help, few of them can arrive at the number of a hundred, and by our own Children we find, that though we bring them early to the comprehension of Letters, yet they can retain no great number, till age have strengthened their memories.  
The Heathen Philosopher saith, That the first part of Wisdom, is well to Number, and the Divine Royal Prophet, makes it a chief of his Prayers to Number his days, that he may apply his heart unto Wisdom; Whereby it is evident that a principal part of Wisdom rests upon the Art of Arithmetic; in short it is the strongest link in the Chain of Assotiation, nor Government, nor Laws, nor Trade can subsist or continue without numeration.  
At this time we shall have occasion to touch and only to touch three of the said numbers, that is to say, one, Three and Seven; by that number, or rather beginning of numbers one, we are lead to the serious consideration of the Word KING, which was the subject, and the whole Subject of all the three children's miraculous speech, like the one Prophet amongst the Lions, or like the three children in the fiery Furnace, whose discourse was of one God in Three Persons, as this is of KING Monarchal by three Children.  
One is a number uncomposed, and not numerable because it cannot be divided, nevertheless it createth and produceth innumerable accounts, and being again repeated, it maketh two, and so runs ad infinitum, and indeed one and two are the Number of God who is Infinite, one relating to the Godhead which is indivisible, and one and two, making three (which is Infinite) to the personal Description of the Sacred Trinity; God therefore willing to make a wonderful Revelation of his Essential and Personal presence with Kings, who are his Chosen and Anointed Servants, hath given Supernatural Power to Babes and Sucklings, to reveal this Mystery to them who are Babes in Grace, that they may become Babes of Grace by their obedience to his Ordination, for though the Powers that are indifinitely the ordained Powers of God, yet some are of wrath, as those seem to be which are composed, and others of Mercy which best suits with Monarchy, judgement being within the Office of Magistrates, but Mercy only within the the Power of Kings.  
It is therefore an evidence of God's great Mercy intimated to these distracted Nations, in conveying to the people by these innocent Mouths the Name of King, who is the Image and Earthly Angel of God, by whom he hath given more deliverance to his Church in all Ages, then by any multiplied Magistrates; his Israel was never so much under slavery, as when they had no King, for because every man did what was good in his own eyes, no man did what was right or acceptable in God's eyes, which are single, pure, and can behold do compositions which are not of his own Creation.  
The next number we are to consider is Three, which we apply as well to the Infants speaking, as to the repetition of the Word KING; The number itself is a most Sacred Number, denoting the Holy, Blessed and Sacred Triniry in Unity, which God delineated to mankind by Kings, who in their Government have no less than a Divine Trinity, themselves are the Fountain of Mercy, their Divine Counsellors are the Sanctum Sanctorum of Wisdom, and their politic Magistracy are the Conduits by whom Justice flows to their people.  
In this number of Three, all things are confirmed, there are Three which bear witness in Heaven to the Eternal Godhead, and there are Three which in earth do witness the Truth of this; There are Three Dominions under a King Monarchal in his Godlike Power over his people, Aristocratical in his constant Counsel of Nobles, and Democratical in his Legal Contistutions by Parliaments, and in the mouth of these Three witness all Peace, Unity and Amity is composed between a King and his people,; These are like three Angels which appeared to Abraham, which foretold the blessed Events which should come to pass, which we have heard with our ears from Antiquity, and do see with our eyes performed in their Unity, and must therefore (unless we be Athenists and Infidels) believe, with our hearts shall be confirmed to all Eternity; Therefore this still and secret Revelation by three Babes, is a great and indubitable confirmation to us, that God is in their peaceable infallible Voice.  
Our little Female Prophetess is not without her Mystical Excellencies and Numbers, the Holy Scripture hath recorded to the end of time the prophecies of divers Women, some in the Birth of their Children have given them names foretelling their dispositions; Holy Huldah in the old Testament, & St. Anna in the new, were Prophetesses most famous though of great age and experience, but that an Infant of about seven month's old should articularly and audibly become the prophetical bringer of such happy Tidings to a distracted people, that the God of mercies after such Gyantick provocations as these sinful Nations have produced, should renew his mercies and again become their King, and in earnest of this unmeasurable Blessing give them his Deputy anointed by his own appointment, and in all Sacred accomplishments made the Image of his own Son, and declared all this out of the mouths of Babes and Sucklings in whom he hath ordained supernatural strength, what is it but that he may still and pacify his and his Anointed, and his chosen people's enemies.  
And further in this his mighty, though small Champion, he hath showed his Visible Power, by Testimony of his Sacred Number of Seven; For this Infant continued naming the Word KING seven times, and did so every night, for three nights and no more, both which numbers were exactly observed by such as heard the Infant deliver this wonderful Truth.  
This number of Seven is accounted the most excellent of numbers, and hath been the Conduit to convegh divers of God's great blessings to us; the first Consecration of it, was to his own rest, after the Creation in the next place he used it to number our days into weeks; Again he made it the Messenger of Jubilee and Deliverance to his People from their hardhearted Oppressors and Pursuers, he made it the Measure of his Gracious Plenty and Provision in Egypt, which he had prepared to be a Storehouse, Trial and Advancing of his Chosen Israel; and Finally he made it the Accomplisher of that distance between his Mighty Resurrection and Glorious Ascension.  
These and many other great Mysteries hath he most Graciously coushed under this his Sacred Gift of Numeration, which when they are become such Miraculous Conveyances of his Sacred and Secret Mercies to Mankind, who is he that shall dare to resist them when his power and Justice and mercy so evidently appear in them, and not be found to fight against God himself.  
Let our Brethren therefore take Gamaliels counsel, and seeing they have desparately tried and sadly found that these late Rebellions against Gods holy institution of Monarchy, are not of him, they having been so far from prevailing, as not only their Inventions and Inventors are alike confounded and come to nought, but that the abused people also whom they made their unhappy and now most miserable Instruments, are brought into calamities irrecoverable, as to themselves and their own power; Let them we say return lest they be found fighters against God, who will assuredly go on in his punishments upon all them who do not honour and obey, and say,  
GOD SAVE THE KING.  
FINIS.