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<DATE>2013-06-20</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z130310.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="A77839">
<STC T="W">B5620</STC>
<STC T="T">E621_11</STC>
<STC T="C">R206418</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99865580</BIBNO>
<VID>117825</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A Wonder of Wonders. BEING A faithful <HI>Narrative</HI> and true <HI>Relation,</HI> of one <HI>Anne Green,</HI> Servant to Sir <HI>Tho. Reed</HI> in <HI>Oxford&s;hire,</HI> who being got with Child by a Gentleman, her Child falling from her in the hou&s;e or Office, being but a &s;pan long, and dead born, was condemned on the 14. of <HI>December</HI> la&s;t, and hanged in the Ca&s;tle-yard in <HI>Oxford,</HI> for the &s;pace of half an hour, receiving many great and heavy blowes on the bre&s;ts, by the but end of the Souldiers Muskets, and being pul'd down by the leggs, and was afterwards beg'd for an Anatomy, by the Phy&s;icians, and carried to Mr. <HI>Clarkes</HI> hou&s;e, an Apothecary, where in the pre&s;ence of many learned Chyrurgions, &s;he breathed, and began to &s;tir; in&s;omuch, that Dr. <HI>Petty</HI> cau&s;ed a warm bed to be prepared for her, let her blood, and applyed Oyls to her, &s;o that in 14 hours &s;he recovered, and the fir&s;t words &s;he &s;pake were the&s;e; <HI>Behold Gods Providence! Behold his mi|raculous and loving kindne&s;s!</HI> VVith the manner of her Tryal, her Speech and Confe&s;&s;ion at the Gallowes; and a Declaration of the Souldiery touching her recovery&punc; <HI>Witne&s;&s;ed by Dr. Petty, and Licen&s;ed according to Order.</HI></P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>depiction of a man and a woman in a bed; a coffin; a woman with a covered face hanging from a gallows with a man pulling down her feet, another man striking her with the butt of his rifle, and a woman kneeling at the base of the ladder</FIGDESC>
<P>Behold Gods providence.</P>
</FIGURE></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="account">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>A Wonder of Wonders, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_ON the 14. of <HI>December</HI> la&s;t, there happened a very &s;trange pa&s;&s;age con|cerning a Maid, <HI>Anne Green</HI> by name, which was got with Child, by an <HI>Ox|ford-&s;hire</HI> Gentleman, the particulars whereof follow.</P>
<P>This <HI>Anne Green,</HI> Servant to Sir <HI>Thomas Read,</HI> being very bu&s;ie at turning of <HI>Mault,</HI> over-reaching her &s;elf, found her &s;elf to be very ill; whereupon &s;he immediatly went into the hou&s;e of Office, remaining about a quarter of an hour, full of pain; at la&s;t, a Child, about a &s;pan long &s;prung from her, but abortive, which much impair'd her health and &s;trength; but being exceeding fearful, that a di&s;covery &s;hould be made thereof, &s;he laid it in a Cor|ner of the afore&s;aid hou&s;e, and covered it with du&s;t and rubbi&s;h.</P>
<PB N="2" REF="3">
<P>During which time, one of her fellow-Servants, admi|ring that &s;he &s;taid &s;o long, and hearing many heavy groans, went to &s;ee what was become of her, who found her in a very &s;ad and deplorable condition, and asking her what the matter was? &s;he reply'd, <HI>&s;he was utterly un|done, undone, undone;</HI> Why <HI>Anne,</HI> I hope thou art not with Child? Alas, alas! <HI>Mary,</HI> that ever I was born, to live and die in &s;hame and &s;corn: I was, but now I am clear of it; Why? what is become of it? &s;he an&s;wer|ed, look yonder, where it lies, and going to the place, ca&s;ting off the du&s;t, ran &s;hricking out into the hou&s;e, ac|quainting her Ma&s;ter and Mi&s;tri&s;s, with this &s;ad accident; in &s;o much, that they pre&s;ently &s;ent for her in, and de|manded who it was, that had committed that foul act, and contemptible crime with her? who an&s;wered, a Gentle|man of good birth, and kin&s;man to a ju&s;tice of Peace.</P>
<P>But after half an hours di&s;cour&s;e, &s;he was carried be|fore a Ju&s;tice, who upon examination, confe&s;&s;ed, that &s;he was guilty of the Act, in committing of the &s;in, but clear and innocent of the crime for murdering of it, for that it was dead born; yet notwith&s;tanding, after fur|ther examination, the Ju&s;tice cau&s;ed her <HI>Mittimus</HI> to be made, inditing her to an&s;wer it at the next A&s;&s;izes, and forth-with &s;ent her to the Ca&s;tle Goal at <HI>Oxford,</HI> where &s;he remained till the Se&s;&s;ions; at which time, &s;he was arraigned for her life, who being brought to the Bar, pleaded, <HI>not guilty;</HI> but after a &s;hort tryal, &s;he was con|victed for her life, and received &s;entence to be hanged on <HI>Oxford</HI> Gallowes, which was accordingly performed; and being brought to the place of execution, &s;he fell down on her knees at the ladder foot, humbly de&s;iring of God, that his Divine Maje&s;ty would be plea&s;ed, to &s;hew &s;ome remarkable judgement on her, for a &s;ignal
<PB N="3" REF="3"> and te&s;tification to the world of her innocency, which mo&s;t miraculou&s;ly was evidenced to her, to the great and wonderful admiration to all that &s;hall either hear of, or read the&s;e en&s;uing lines.</P>
<P>But before I in&s;i&s;t upon this miraculous deliverance, it is requi&s;ite that I &s;hould communicate her &s;peech and deportment upon the Ladder, which was with great comfort, and undauntedne&s;s of &s;pirit by this poor &s;oul performed, to the great admiration of the &s;pecta|tors.</P>
<P>At the going up the Ladder, &s;he fixt her eyes on the Executioner, &s;aying, God forgive my fal&s;e accu&s;ers, as I freely forgive thee, and then turning her &s;elf on the Lad|der uttered the&s;e words.</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="speech">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Dear Friends,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>YOur bu&s;ine&s;s hither to day, is to &s;ee a &s;ad &s;pectacle, an innocent woman to be in a moment cut off, in the prime of her years, which &s;udden change doth not in the lea&s;t &s;trike dread or terror to my heart, but rather incites me to a motion of eternal joy and happine&s;s; for I con|ceive, there is no more but this Rope and Ladder between me and Heaven, and I doubt not but that I am now go|ing to receive that ble&s;&s;ed Portion, which my ble&s;&s;ed Sa|viour and Redeemer Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed for me, by ran&s;oming my &s;oul with his precious blood, and bit|ter pa&s;&s;ion.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="4">
<P>And as for this untimely end, I do unfaignedly ac|knowledge and confe&s;s, that it is Gods ju&s;t judgement and wrath upon me, for &s;ins long unrepented, of many judgements with&s;tood, and mercies &s;lighted: therefore God hath whipped me by his &s;evere rod of correction, that he might not lo&s;e me.</P>
<P>I pray joyn with me in prayer, that it may not be a fruitle&s;s rod, that when by this rod I have laid down my life, by this &s;taffe I may be comforted, and received into glory.</P>
<P>One thing more I de&s;ire, and to you dear Cou&s;en, be|ing a young man, &s;tanding at the foot of the ladder) I re|pre&s;ent my &s;uit, That when the doomful turn from off the ladder comes, that you would u&s;e all po&s;&s;ible means to di&s;patch me of my pain; and then ca&s;ting up her eyes to Heaven, being prepared for a new change of life, breathed forth her la&s;t words, &s;aying, <HI>&s;weet Je&s;us receive my &s;oul;</HI> upon the uttering of which words, the Execu|tioner did his Office; and being turned off the ladder, her kin&s;man took hold of her feet, and hung with all the weight and force of his body on them, that &s;o he might the &s;ooner rid her of her pain.</P>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>A <HI>Souldier</HI> &s;tanding by, gave her 4. or 5. blowes on the bre&s;t, with the but end of his Musket, and having hung half an hour, &s;he was cut down, (being quite dead) and put into the Chyrurgions Che&s;t, (who had beg'd her for an Anatomy) and carried to Mr. <HI>Clarkes</HI> hou&s;e, an <HI>A|pothecary,</HI> where the <HI>Phy&s;itions</HI> met to try their skill; and having prefixed a time for the reading a Lecture over her, (being u&s;ual upon the anatomizing of either man or woman.)</P>
<P>When they were all met, her body was taken out of the Coffin, and laid upon a large Table, where in the pre&s;ence of them all, &s;he began to breath, which was no
<PB N="5" REF="4"> &s;mall terror nor admiration, to all that were then pre&s;ent; whereupon a large di&s;pute aro&s;e about her, and one among&s;t the re&s;t, Dr. Petty by name, went to her, took her by the hand, and laid his eare to her temples, and perceiv|ing life, declared that there was a great hand of God in the bu&s;ine&s;s, and imediately let her blood in 3 places. After which he cau&s;ed a warm bed to be prepared for her, and a woman to lie with her, and applied &s;everal Oyls unto her, u&s;ing many other circum&s;tances of art, until she recovered, which was within 14 hours: And even in the la&s;t minute of the 14 hour, she o|pened her eyes, uttering the&s;e words. Behold Gods providence, and his wonder of wonders, which indeed, is a deliverance &s;o remarkable, &s;ince the cea&s;ing of Miracles, that it cannot be parallel'd in all Ages, for the &s;pace of 300 years, And withall, it may remain upon record, for a pre&s;ident to all Magi&s;trates, and Courts of Ju|dicature, to take a &s;pecial care in denoun&s;ing of &s;entence, without a due and legal proce&s;s, ac|cording to the known Laws of the Land, by an impartial and uncorrupted Jury, either of men or women, &amp;c. This poor Creature, which God of his infinite mercy hath evidently mani|fe&s;ted
<PB N="6" REF="5"> his love unto, is now indifferent well recover|ed, and can walk up and down her Chamber, but her neck is very &s;ore, and black withall, her bre&s;t and &s;tomack much brui&s;ed, yet her pain di&s;&s;wages daily, and divers both in City and Countrey frequent hourly to behold her. At her fir&s;t recovery &s;he &s;eemed to be much aga&s;t, and lookt &s;trangly, her eyes being ready to &s;tart out of her head; but by the great pains of hone&s;t and faithful Dr. Petty, &s;he is m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">raculou&s;ly recover|ed which moved &s;ome of her enemies to wrath and indignation, in&s;omuch that a great man a|mong&s;t the re&s;t, moved to have her again car|ried to the place of execution, to be hanged up by the neck, contrary to all Law, rea&s;on and ju&s;tice; but &s;ome hone&s;t Souldiers then pre&s;ent, &s;eemed to be very much di&s;contented thereat, and declared, That there was a great hand of God in it, and having &s;uffered the Law, it was contrary to all right and rea&s;on, that any fur|ther puni&s;hment &s;hould be inflicted upon her, which words brought a final end and period to their di&s;pute and controver&s;ie; where I &s;hall (at pre&s;ent) de&s;i&s;t from reciting any further cir|cum&s;tances, and remain,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your obliged Servitor, <HI>W. BURDET.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE><HI>Oxford</HI> <DATE><HI>Jan</HI> 13. 1651.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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