ON the first day of March this present year , 1656. which is called Saint Davids day there was one David Harrison living in the Town of Meedly in Yorkshire , a Taylor by trade , who was given very much to mocking , scoffing , and jéering , Swearing , Drunkenness , and the like ; It chanced so that he comming into an Al-house where were som of his acquaintance , he sate down to drink with them , being half drunk before he came in ; so his Neighbours shewed him civil respect , and bade him sit down : Now mark what after came to pass , this David Harrison said , and did swear a most bloody Oath , that he would make all the folks in the house drunk of his own charge , in honour of his name , because it was S. Davids day , so calling in for a dozen together , he began to drink Healths to one , and to another , so long , that he had made himself so drunk , that he coule hardly go or stand , his Neighbours all perswaded him to forbear swearing and drinking , and ho go home , but the more they perswaded him , the worse he was , for every time he drunk he spew'd it up again , and every time he spake he swore a bloody Oath , and at the last he sware God dam him body and soul if he did not drink himself sober again , before he did go out of the house ; but in that he was falsly for sworn , for as he put the Flagon pot to his mouth , thinking to have swallowed down all the drink , his nose burst out a bleeding , and he fell backwards to tee round like a man distracted of his wits , where he lay cursing and swearing néer upon eight and forty hours , for his bleeding at nose could never be stopt nor stinted , till such time he had bled himself to death ; and now I le leave it for all men to judge whether this man had not his death deservedly .

But surely , though a man will say , that every one shall have that Death which is allotted for them ; My opinion is this , if he had served God in a better maner , he might have come to a better end , and that if he had made good use of his time , he might have lived many a fair year longer ; But to be brief , the matter that is here spoken of was sent up in a Letter from the Masters of the Parish were it was done , and desired to have it put in Print , to the end that all Mockers and Scorners , Swearers , and Pot-companions , both in the City of London , and in all other places may take warning hereby , and with speed amend their sinfull lives , which GOD grant we may all do .

Here followeth another strange and tru Relation of the deplorable life and untimely death of James Parnell , a Quaker .

SOme people of England are now grown to such a giddy-headed manness , the like was never known in any Age before , as it ma appear by one James Parnel a Quaker , which traveled up and down from place to place preaching and teaching false Doctrine , and telling them that all that were not of his Congregation were damned to eternity ; moreover he said , how that the Bible was of none effect , and that Davids Psalms were but Ballads : Furthermore he said , that he himself was a Prophet , and that he could do as many Miracles as Christ did do when he was living on the earth , and that he was able to make the deaf to hear , the dumb to speak , the lame to go , the blind to see , and to raise the dead to life again ; Now mark what became of him at the last , through his vain-glorious opinion of himself , After he had travelled through many Cities , Towns , and Countries , as London , Bristol , Glocester , Exester , Salisbury , Worcester , Hereford , Cicester , Chichester , Southhampton , the I le of Wight , Winchester , and many other places , still teaching the people after his own inventions ; He came at last into the County of Essex , where he finished up his last dayes , the manner how was thus , he told the people there , that if they would believe in him he would shew them a miracle , and said that as Christ fasted forty dayes and forty nights , so would he undertake to do , but for seducing the people , and bringing them to a false belief , and for his Blasphemies , he was apprehended , and sent to Colchester , and there kept in prison , where he undertook ( as he said he would do ) to fast forty days and nights , so because he should have no excuse for his falacy , he was watcht that none should come to give him victuals in private , but if he would eat openly in the sight of the people , he was allowed to have as much victuals as he would desire , to be set before him every day : But to be brief , he still continued in his own wilfull fopperies , and fasted ten days and nights together , and ne er tasted of one bit of bread nor drop of drink , and all this was done because he would have been though to have been a Prophet , but the eleventh day he became to be so hungry , that he had no longer power to forbear , but call'd for food , and had it brought unto him , but alas it did do him no good , for by reason of his over long fasting , his guts and intrails were clammed up , and clung together , insomuch that the victualls could not have its naturall passage into the parts of his body which it should have gone into , and so in that miserable taking was starved to death , having plenty of victuals at command , but could not eate .

And being dead a Iury of men went upon him , whereby to find the true manner of the cause of his death , and so at the last they gave up their Verdict to this purpose , that he was guilty of his own death , and that he had done wilfull murder upon himself , in that he restrained himself from that bodily sustenance that the Lord in mercy hath ordained for the relief of all mankind : And because no one shall have any cause to make any doubt of the truth hereof , it is witnessed by Master Jude Tayler the Fore-man of the Inquest , and Master Joseph Smith , another of the Inquest , who with the consent of Master Alderman Gael of Colchester , the Verdict was given in and approved , on May the fifth , 1656.

Here is a true Relation of a most horri● Murder commited on the River o● Thames by two Watermen , and afterwards discovered by themselves , who were excecuted for the same Murder in July last , 1656 at Maidstone in Kent and afterwargs brought to Graaefend and their hang'd in Chains both upon one Gibbet , for others to take warning there by ; The manner was as followeth .

IN the year that is here spoken of , on the time which is called my Lord Maiors day , a young man that lived neer Smithfield-Bars , whose name was Christopher Savage unfortunate●y kill'd his Mother-in-law with a stab of a knife , the cause wherefore it was done there 's no man can tell , for so soon as ever he had done the bloody deed he ran away , and so took Boot to go by water because he would not be discovered , but as they were upon the water , he began to tell the watermen strange matters , and said that he was a Grasier , and had been at a Fayre and sold a great many head of Cattle ; moreover he said that his businesse was in great haste , and that if they ●ould row apace he would pay them well for their pains , for he said he had money enough ; whereupon the Watermen seeing the Coast to be clear , laid by their Oars and ran suddenly upon him , to one held him that he should not stirre whilst the other cut his throat ; No sooner was this bloody murder performed , but they took away his money , tyed a great stone about his body , because he should sink to the bottom , & so threw him over-boord into the water , thinking that he should never be seen nor heard of again : But now mark the wonderfull works of the Lord , how strangly murder will be brought to light , though it be don never so secretly , these two Watermen which had don the Murder afterwards fell out about sharing the Money , one of their names was Smith , and the others name was Gurney , both of them dwelling in Gravesend ; Sometimes Smith would say when they were in a place where they thought no body could hear them , that Gurney had more share of the Money then he dad ; Sometimes Gurney would say that Smith had the greatest part of the Money ; but at one time amongst the rest they fell out grievously , and were ready to fight about it , and one of them told the other in plaine terms that he was the party that cut the mans throat , and cast him over-boord , which words were heard and taken notice of , whereupon they were both apprehended and sent to Maidstone Gaole , and at the Assizes were found guilty by the Iury , condemned by the Iudge , and according to their deserts were both hang'd in Chaines neer Gravesend in Kent , where all the Passengers that goes or comes that way either by Land or by Water may see them .

Here followeth another strange Relation which is very well known to be true .

UPon the twentieth day of Iuly , this presant year 1656. in the county of Norfolk there hapned such a dreadfull tempest of Thunder . Lightning , Hayle Rayne , and Whirle-winds , that the li●e thereof was never seen nor known in England by the oldest man or woman that is now alive , which tempest first of all began at the City of Norwich , it being then the Sabath of the Lord about four or five a clock in the afternoon ; the maner how the tempestious weather began in Norwich was in this manner ; The first aparitions that were seen and taken notis of was Lightning and thunder in a most strange and vyolent maner which made the people all amazed that saw the lightning and heard the thunder , in so much that som thought that the world was then at an end , but t is very known that their ws sorrowas was not then at an end , let them think what they would , for it was so that in a little time after there appeared a mighty black Hitchy Cloud , which darkned both the Sun and the Skye , insomuch that the that stood one close to another , could hardly know one from another , yet that Cloud afforded store of fire , in such plenty , as if it had come from the mouth of a Furnace , with such a smoakes if it had proceeded from hell it self .

Then presently after followed a bright shining Cloud , which the people understood to be a token of Gods mercy towards them , and so it was indeed , for had the black Clowd continued a longer time there , it is supposed by men of good understanding , that matters had hapned worse then they did , and it was too bad as it wwas , for why immedietely there came such a mighty storme of Hayl and Rain that powred down as if Heaven and Earth would come together , with a strong whirl-wind , that the force thereof beat down many Buildings ; and made the Glass windows to flye in pieces , insomuch that five thousand pou●ds will not suffice to make that good that was spoyled at that time , Some of the Hail-stones being taken up were found to be as big as Pidgeons Eggs , some as big as Hens Eggs , and some bigger .

But that 's not all , for the Countrey round about felt and suffered greater extremities ; for by the means of the dreadfull Lightning that fell from the Sky , there were many Ricns of Hay and Corn set on fire , and by the violence of the Thunder , and Whirl-wind , houses were beaten to the ground , and many people lost their lives . A multitude ef Corn was quite destroyed by Lightning and Thunder , and Trées were torn up by the yoots ; Birds flying in the ayre were stricken dead , and Herbs and Flowers in fields and Gardens blasted Some grounds that were fruitfull and b●re Corn on Saturday night , was made like Plou'd land before Monday morning : These things ( dear Christans ) are hard to be believed , but it is known to be too true .

And now to draw to a conclusion let us consider that this was the handy work of the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth , and that he that did so by them , can do the like to us therfore let us all with faithful hearts and true repentance seek the Lord whilst he may be found in mercy .

One thing more is to be considered concerning the hayle-stones that fell in the City of Norwich how them that were the bigest and greatest of all were of divers severall shapes and fashions , som of them had the likeness of a mans eye to be seen in them , some had the likeness of a mans face ; some of them were like Great Buttons which is a fashion that is now in great request in the City ; some of them were like pieces of Ice , and had the likeness of a Lion upon them , and many other strange shapes were then to be seen : These things in the judgment of the world seems to be impossible , but there is nothing impossible to God ; and verile I am perswaded that God sent these wonderfull signs and tokens amongst them so sudden and unexpectedly , to put us all in mind of a greater sorrow that will shortly come upon the World , except we speedily repent and amend our sinful lives .

UPon the five and twentieth day of Iuly , at Lemster , and the Countrey thereabouts there was such a horrible Tempest of Thunder and Lightning , which destroyed and blasted a numberless deal of Corn , of Hops , and of Garden fruits , and Orchard fruits , insomuch that many people are undon by the means thereof : And at Bransyard in Wrcestershire the Lightning set four Barns on fire that self-same nigh● .

The 26. day of Iuly in Nottinghamshire there was a wonderfull strange tempestuous weather , the like whereof there 's no man alive can remember , for in the darksom time of the night there arose such a terrible Tempest of Thunder , Lightning , Hail and Rain , as if heaven and earth would come together ; insomuch that the people that were travelling upon the road , might by means of the flashes of Lightning sée every way what was before & behind them , as brief as if it had been at noon day , by means whereof were many Barns , Ricks , and Fields of standing Corn burned and consumed to ashes , and many people kild with the Thunder .