The forme and shape of a monstrous child, borne at Maydstone in Kent, the .xxiiij. of October. 1568 This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A06748 of text S113123 in the English Short Title Catalog (STC 17194). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 4 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-IV TIFF page image. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2018 A06748 STC 17194 ESTC S113123 99848362 99848362 13451 2248518189

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A06748) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 13451) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 1606:07) The forme and shape of a monstrous child, borne at Maydstone in Kent, the .xxiiij. of October. 1568 1 sheet ([1] p.) : ill. By John Awdeley, dwellyng in little Britain streete withough Aldersgate. the .xxiij of December, Imprinted at London : [1568] A ballad. Publication date from STC. Reproduction of the original in the British Library. eng eebo The forme and shape of a monstrous child, borne at Maydstone in Kent, the .xxiiij. of October. 1568. [no entry] 1568 1 689 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 A This text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. 2007-08 Assigned for keying and markup 2007-08 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-09 Sampled and proofread 2007-09 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion
The forme and shape of a Monstrous Child / borne at Maydstone in Kent , the .xxiiij. of October . 1568.

1568 ventral and dorsal view of deformed infant As ye this shape abhorre In body for to haue : So flee such Vices farre As might the soule depraue In Gods power all fleshstands , As the clay to the Potters hands . To fashion euen as he wyll Jn good shape or in yll .

AT Maydstone in Kent there was one Marget Mere , Daughter to Richard Mere of the sayd Towne of Maydstone , who being vnmaryed , played the naughty packe , and was gotten with childe , being deliuered of the same childe the .xxiiij. daye of October last past , in the yeare of our Lord . 1568. at .vij. of the clocke in the after noone of the same day being Sonday . Which child being a man child , had first the mouth slitted on the right side like a Libardes mouth , terrible to beholde , the left arme lying vpon the brest , fast therto ioyned , hauing as it were stumps on the handes , the left leg growing vpward toward the head , and the ryght leg bending toward the left leg , the foote therof growing into the buttocke of the sayd left leg . In the middest of the backe there was a broade lump of flesh in fashion lyke a Rose , in the myddest whereof was a hole , which voyded like an Issue . Thys sayd Childe was borne alyue , and lyued .xxiiij. houres , and then departed this lyfe . Which may be a terrour aswell to all such workers of filthynes & iniquity , as to those vngodly liuers . Who ( if in them any feare of God be ) may mooue them to repentance and amendement of lyfe , which God for Christes sake graunt both to them and vs . Amen . Witnesses hereof were these , William Plomer , Iohn Squier Glasier , Iohn Sadler Goldsmith , besides diuers other credible persons both men and women .

❧ A warnyng to England . THis monstrous shape to thee England Playn shewes thy monstrous vice . If thou ech part wylt vnderstand , And take thereby aduice . For waying first the gaspyng mouth , It doth full well declare : What rauine and oppression both Is vsed wyth greedy care . For , for the backe , and gorging paunch , To lyue in wealth and ease : Such toyl men take that none may staunch Their greedy minde , nor please . For in such sort , their mouthes they infect , With lying othes , and slaightes : Blaspheming God , and Prince reiect , As they were brutish beastes . Their filthy talke , and poysoned speech , Disfigures so the mouth : That som wold think ther stood the breech Such filth it breatheth forth . The hands which haue no fingers right But stumps fit for no vse : Doth well set forth the idle plight , Which we in these daies chuse . For rich and poore , for age and youth , Eche one would labour flye : Few seekes to do the deedes of truth , To helpe others thereby . The leg so clyming to the head , What meaneth it but this ? That some do seeke not to be lead , But for to leade amis . And as this makes it most monstrous , For Foote to clyme to head : So those Subiects be most vicious , That refuse to be lead . The hinder part doth shew vs playne , Our close and hidden vice , Which doth behind vs run amayne , In vyle and shameful wyse . Wherefore to ech in England now , Let this Monster them teach : To mend the monstrous life they show , Least endles death them reach .

Imprinted at London by Iohn Awdeley , dwellyng in little Britain streete without Aldersgate . The .xxiij. of December .