<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2014-04-03</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Amanda Flynn</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z140110.pdcc.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="B13575">
<STC T="S">11090</STC>
<STC T="C">S117181</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99852396</BIBNO>
<VID>17717</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="frontispiece">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>Woodcut illustration of three men in cloaks and hats, standing beside a fire.</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>The Life and Death OF Griffin Flood Informer. Who&s;e cunning cour&s;es, churli&s;h manners, and trouble&s;ome Informations, mole&s;ted a number of plaine dealing people in this City of London.</P>
<P>Wherein is al&s;o declared the murther of Iohn Chipperford Vintner, for which fact the &s;aid Griffin Flood was pre&s;&s;ed to death the 18. day of Ianuary la&s;t pa&s;t.</P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>Woodcut illustration of an execution, showing the condemned man being pressed to death; he is staked to the ground while two executioners heap planks and weights upon his body.</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></P>
<P>LONDON, Printed for I. T. and are to be &s;old at the &s;igne of the Bible without New-gate. 1623.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>The Life and Death of <HI>Griffin Flood</HI> Informer.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Of the bad condition, foule &s;peaches, and ill demeanor of <HI>Griffin Flood,</HI> and how he became fir&s;t to be an Informer.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_NOW fir&s;t to make a character or de&s;cription of this <HI>Griffin Flood.</HI> He was a fellow of meane birth, rude bringing vp, ill in&s;tructed in eyther learning or good man|ners, har&s;h in &s;peach, and chur|li&s;h in condition, full of quarrels, &s;tubborne and vnruly, and in briefe, of a mo&s;t debauched condi|tion, as by the &s;equell may appeare.</P>
<P>But omitting the&s;e, and to come to particulars: he was in his yonger dayes bound Prenti&s;e with a Currier or Dre&s;&s;er of leather; in which time of his &s;eruice he picked &s;uch quarrels among his fellow &s;eruants, and followed them with &s;uch cunning, as they being ouer-awed with his &s;hamele&s;&s;e lying, were forced to &s;ubmit to what&s;oeuer he pleaded a|gain&s;t them, in &s;o much that &s;ometimes they were faine to buy their peace with their pur&s;es. And thus by his cunning informations of fal&s;hoods to his Ma&s;ter and Mi&s;tris, in which he commonly preuai|led, he learned to tread the fir&s;t &s;tep to this trou|ble&s;ome
<PB REF="3"> cour&s;e of life, now named an Informer, where after being made a free-man of this City, he followed the &s;ame wayes, and became a great troubler of diuers other &s;eruants and apprenti&s;es dwelling neere him, where if he found any that he knew, either in Tauerne, Alehou&s;e, Bowling-alley, or Play-hou&s;e, or el&s;e going abroad in Seruice time, when they &s;hould haue beene at the Church to the &s;eruice of God with their ma&s;ters, he would be &s;ure to pick &s;ome feeling of money from them, or make it knowne to the di&s;plea&s;ure of their pa|rents or ma&s;ters; all which the&s;e poore &s;eruants and apprenti&s;es would doe before their names and credits &s;hould come in que&s;tion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Of the manner of his informations again&s;t Tap&s;ters, Ho&s;tlers, Chamberlaines, and &s;uch like.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>AFter this, entring further into this kind of life, and perceiuing &s;ome &s;mall gaine to come thereby, he began to haunt Alehou&s;es, Innes, Ho|&s;teries, Cellars, and &s;uch like, where if hee found either forraine Tap&s;ter, Ho&s;tler, Chamberlaine, or any other party that was no free-man of this City; to him would he priuately come, and thus make his glo&s;e; My friend (quoth he) you being no freeman, but liue here by &s;ufferance vnder your ma&s;ter, I vnder&s;tand that there be certaine Infor|mers which I know, that meane to trouble and &s;ue you by action, and bring you in que&s;tion for the wronging of the cu&s;tomes of this City, where|in no man mu&s;t make his liuing by way of trading,
<PB REF="3" MS="y"> but &s;uch as haue &s;erued &s;euen yeares an appren|ti&s;e, or el&s;e made free-man by adoption or pur|cha&s;e; now if you will (quoth <HI>Flood</HI>) preuent this trouble and be my cliant, I will for a &s;mall matter defend you from the &s;ame, and cleare you from all Informers what&s;oeuer, for I am an enemy to all &s;uch knaues who&s;e purpo&s;e is to wrong &s;uch hone&s;t meaning men as you are, for my con&s;ci|ence drawes me to it, and I will proue hone&s;t there|in. The poore country fellow being thus honied and loath to leaue his ma&s;ters &s;eruice, hath <HI>Flood</HI> downe into the cellar, makes him drinke, lends him money, and becomes &s;o pliable to his condi|tions, that he is led vp and downe as with a twine threed, till a part of his meanes fals into this <HI>Floods</HI> pur&s;e; but no longer peny, no longer <HI>pater no&s;ter,</HI> the fellow growes weary, and is no longer able to feed <HI>Floods</HI> de&s;ires, but leaues him off, and &s;ub|mits him&s;elfe to the triall of his action, where <HI>Flood</HI> as a cunning Iacke on both &s;ides, followes him &s;o clo&s;e, that after much money &s;pent, hee is forced to for&s;ake his &s;eruice, and to leaue the City, and the ma&s;ter of the &s;ame forraigner, is likewi&s;e brought to compo&s;ition to be rid of this crafty Informer.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Another way of information that Flood v&s;ed again&s;t forraigners and &s;uch like.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THis <HI>Flood</HI> al&s;o comes to another fellow being no free-man, where after the like conference as before, he takes vpon him, with the mans con&s;ent
<PB REF="4"> to bring him into action, and &s;o to preuens all o|thers of the like, declares again&s;t him by writ, and &s;o it hangs in Court many yeares vnfollowed by <HI>Flood</HI> for a monethly &s;tipend receiued from the fellow thus &s;ued: and &s;o all other Informers were preuented for bringing him in que&s;tion; for one of them by order of Law cannot take anothers ca&s;e in hand. And thus <HI>Flood</HI> to his great be|nefit, dealt with many poore people in London.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How he troubled an hone&s;t Ale-wife not farre from Cripplegate: and how finely &s;he requited him.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THere was an hone&s;t Alewife, who&s;e name and dwelling I omit, not farre from Cripplegate, well known and reputed of among her neighbors, who kept in her hou&s;e good lodging and orderly diet for entertainment of &s;trangers and wayfaring men. Among&s;t others that re&s;orted to her hou&s;e, there was a forraigne Tailor, a very poore man, who ran more on the &s;core for lodging and dyet, then he was able to pay, therefore to come out of her debt, he de&s;ired to work out the &s;ame, either in making new apparell, or mending of old: where|upon this Alewife put an old peticoat of hers to mend, which got the poore man but &s;ixe-pence. Which matter this <HI>Flood</HI> hauing notice of, warned both her and her husband into the Court for &s;et|ting this forraigner on worke: where, doe what eyther he or &s;he could, it co&s;t them forty &s;hillings, and &s;o came home without any other comfort, for <HI>Flood</HI> had &s;hared his part of the money, of which
<PB REF="4" MS="y"> he made no little brags among&s;t his Companions; but it fell out after a certaine time this <HI>Flood</HI> came againe to the &s;aid Alewifes hou&s;e, thinking to find out another like Prize, where ca&s;ting his knaui&s;h eye vp and downe, hee e&s;pied the good wife run downe into the Cellar with a blacke Pot or two, (mea&s;ures contrary to the Cities cu&s;tome) after followes <HI>Flood,</HI> and thinking to attach them, the woman hauing a ready wit, and now thinking to be reueng'd, caught vp a Pewter quart Pot, and lu&s;tily laid it vpon <HI>Floods</HI> pate, and mo&s;t grieuou|&s;ly broke both his head and face, and withall cryed out with a loud voyce, Oh help, murther, murther, the noy&s;e being heard not only vp into the hou&s;e but abroad into the &s;treets, cau&s;ed many people come running in, and inquiring the matter, &s;hee with fained teares cryed out hee would haue ra|ui&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> her and for&s;t her again&s;t her will, and that &s;he to defend her &s;elfe had with a Pewter pot broake his face, wherevpon all the beholders knowing <HI>Flood</HI> to bee a very knaue, and beleeuing the wo|man by her teares to tell true, called for a Con&s;ta|ble, who carried both <HI>Flood</HI> and the Alewife before a Iu&s;tice, where &s;he &s;tanding &s;tiffely in her accu&s;a|tion, he was committed to Pri&s;on, where hee lay with his broken pate and face, vntill &s;uch time as he had giuen the woman a good &s;umme of money in compo&s;ition for the &s;uppo&s;ed wrong hee had done her.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="5">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How <HI>Flood</HI> churli&s;hly handled two Informers, and of his hatred again&s;t all Firken-men.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>AFter this, <HI>Flood</HI> becomming a little kinder to poore Ale-wiues, and v&s;ing much to re&s;ort to a Cookes hou&s;e a Widdow, which often gaue him a breakfa&s;t to &s;tay his knaui&s;h &s;tomacke; where|vpon (as the Diuell is good to &s;ome body) &s;o this <HI>Flood</HI> &s;tood clo&s;e to this woman in courte&s;ie, and promi&s;ed to defend her from all actions what&s;oe|uer; for indeed as then there were a couple of In|formers had her in cha&s;e, and by no meanes could &s;hee bee rid of them; for commonly they came once a moneth to her hou&s;e and got mony of her: but it &s;o hapned whil&s;t <HI>Flood</HI> was talking with this woman, that the&s;e two afore&s;aid Informers came to her hou&s;e, according to their accu&s;tomed man|ner, which <HI>Flood</HI> perceiuing, and being a little Pot|&s;haken, tooke vp a broome-&s;taffe and fell a bum|ba&s;ting them, and being all together by the eares downe in the kennell, <HI>Flood</HI> like a cunning knaue all begraueld and bedurtied his owne face, crying out they would murther him, and by that meanes &s;o cunningly v&s;ed the matter that his fellow|knaues were carried both to the Counter, whil&s;t hee being the third and wor&s;t, e&s;caped impri&s;on|ment. But now marke the ie&s;t, as they were going to Pri&s;on, there comes by a lu&s;ty lubberly Firken|man, bearing out drinke to his Cu&s;tomers, a fami|liar friend and acquaintance of one of the&s;e Infor|mers thus beaten, &amp; hearing of the&s;e wrongs done
<PB REF="5" MS="y"> by <HI>Flood,</HI> falls vpon him and mo&s;t brauely behangs him, &amp; &s;o among&s;t the tumult of people gets him away vnknowne, and leaues <HI>Flood</HI> behind with the amends in his owne hands, &s;eeking for hee could not tell whom: wherevpon in mortall hatred, he &s;ought reuengement again&s;t all Firken-men; and for this one mans &s;ake vow'd to bee a plague to all the re&s;t, and &s;o after that there could not bee a Firken-man &s;tep out of dores, but hee would be on their iackes, e&s;pecially all tho&s;e that were forrai|ners, in&s;omuch, were hee but in the &s;hape of a Firken-man, it was enough for him to &s;et his kna|ui&s;h wit on worke: by this meanes many of them were inforced to buy their Freedomes, to their great charges. Others, that were of the poorer &s;ort, hee with his cunning-fram'd Actions affrigh|ted from London, where they liued as before in much Pouerty.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How he troubled a poore Sheere-grinder, for relie|uing his owne father.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>FLood</HI> &s;till following the&s;e pittile&s;&s;e cour&s;es, came vpon a time to a Sheere-grinders &s;hop, where he &s;aw a very poore Country old man tur|ning the &s;tone, which old man was the Sheere|grinders own father, and in loue to his &s;onne took that paines to &s;aue him from hiring one to doe the &s;ame worke, all this <HI>Flood</HI> noted, and with a har&s;h and commanding language, &s;aid, my friend, quoth hee, how dare&s;t thou bee &s;o bold as to &s;et a For|reiner on worke, knowing that <HI>Flood</HI> &s;tands here
<PB REF="6"> as a witne&s;&s;e; I tell thee I will make thee repent it: the&s;e, and &s;uch like threatning words not onely a|mazed the poore Sheare-grinder, but much grie|ued the old man: but to bee &s;hort, in que&s;tion was hee brought, and cen&s;ured by Order to giue &s;ati&s;|faction to <HI>Flood</HI> for his Information, and the old man was di&s;charged from any further labour ther|in; but lay vpon his poore &s;onne to be kept in cha|rity: and thus was the cruelty of this <HI>Flood</HI> ex|pre&s;&s;ed to his &s;hame and di&s;grace.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How his har&s;h and churli&s;h dealing cau&s;ed a poore Flaxe-maid to hang her &s;elfe.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>I Mu&s;t not here omit his har&s;h dealing again&s;t a poore Flaxe-maid in London, who after &s;he had &s;erued twelue yeares Prenti&s;e, and wearyed with that &s;eruitude, tooke &s;hop for her &s;elfe, and &s;et vp; of which Flaxe-maid when <HI>Flood</HI> had notice, hee came vnto her, from whom hee oftentimes got much money, and &s;till to buy her owne quietne&s;&s;e, (being not free but a forreiner) prouided &s;till for his cunning bribery, and had &s;till her money in readine&s;&s;e, &s;o long, that in time &s;hee grew weary of him, and not able to hold out any longer, &s;hee reuealed it vnto a friend of hers, who coun&s;elled her to get her freedome, which &s;hee might ea&s;ily doe, hauing &s;erued twelue yeares Prenti&s;e, which coun&s;ell &s;hee followed, and was made free of a wor&s;hipfull Company, but not of the City, which was thought &s;ufficient for a womans &s;ecurity to follow Flaxe-dre&s;&s;ing. Hereupon <HI>Flood</HI> percei|uing
<PB REF="6" MS="y"> his wonted benefits to faile, hammer'd in his knaui&s;h pate another trick of Information again&s;t her; &s;o watching his time, hee e&s;pyed a Country Chapman buying a certaine parcell of Flaxe of her, and giuing her &s;ome earne&s;t thereof, as <HI>Flood</HI> tooke hold of by witne&s;&s;e, hee pre&s;ently tooke po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion thereof, as goods forreine bought and forreine &s;old, and recouer'd them by way of Acti|on, which was a great hinderance both to the Flaxe-maid, and to the Countrey Chapman: but to be &s;hort, the maid was &s;till haunted with the In|formations of this <HI>Flood,</HI> which draue her (as &s;ome reported) to &s;uch a melancholly, that &s;hee tooke no comfort in her bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, and as it was knowne afterward, &s;hee hang'd her &s;elfe in her owne girdle: the cau&s;e I will not &s;ay was <HI>Floods,</HI> but let &s;uch as vnder&s;tood the manner of her life and carriage, in di&s;cretion, iudge and cen&s;ure thereof rightly.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="7">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How Flood troubled an hone&s;t man onely for asking him a que&s;tion.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THe debauched cariage of this <HI>Flood</HI> was &s;uch, that if any but gazingly lookt vpon him, hee would be &s;ure to picke quarrels with him, and if he v&s;ed not his &s;peeches with adui&s;ement, this <HI>Flood</HI> would take aduantage on his words, for the lea&s;t occa&s;ion was &s;ufficient for him to make an action of, who&s;e trouble&s;ome cour&s;es are verified as fol|loweth: There was an hone&s;t man, belonging to Blackwall-hall, who as he &s;tood in Guild-hall yard, &s;aw <HI>Flood</HI> come forth with a payre of Taylors &s;heares in his hand, of whom this man demanded what they co&s;t; why fellow (quoth <HI>Flood</HI>) in a clowni&s;h manner, Do&s;t thou thinke I &s;tole them. Why no (quoth the other) yet I may aske a que|&s;tion: A que&s;tion (quoth <HI>Flood</HI>) I pray thee what art thou? I am a man (quoth he.) A man (&s;aid <HI>Flood</HI>) I will haue money from thee then. Money from me? (quoth the other) doe thy wor&s;t, I care not for thee, and &s;uch like were the words that pa&s;&s;ed betwixt them, and &s;o they departed. But within a while after, <HI>Flood</HI> brought this hone&s;t man in que&s;tion about the Statute for buildings, which was about a little &s;hop that he kept to &s;ell flaxe in, not, as <HI>Flood</HI> alledged, &s;o &s;ufficiently pla|&s;tered with lime and haire, of which he made &s;uch a long declaration to the Court, that he &s;o pu&s;led the man, that he knew not well how to an&s;wer the &s;ame: and though <HI>Flood</HI> little preuailed in his &s;uit, yet by his har&s;h roring language, and foule words
<PB REF="7" MS="y"> which he &s;o clamoured again&s;t this hone&s;t man, that for quietne&s;&s;e &s;ake he was forced to giue &s;ome &s;atisfaction to be rid of him.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How <HI>Flood</HI> deceiued an Officer, and cunningly made him arre&s;t his owne ma&s;ter.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>VPon a time this <HI>Flood</HI> comes to one of the Cities officers, and tels him he hath a Writ to &s;erue vpon a free-man for &s;etting a forraigner on worke, of which this Officer was glad to heare of, and thinking thereby to get money, as hee had of|tentimes before &s;o done by <HI>Floods</HI> meanes, goes with him; where coming together to a Wor&s;hip|full Gentlemans of this City, they found a foraine painter, new colouring the Gentlemans hou&s;e wals, which Gentleman (to &s;peake truly) a Wor|&s;hipfull Knight, though not named, &s;eeing <HI>Flood</HI> and the other Officer in the yard, comes forth and demanded what newes: Marry (quoth <HI>Flood</HI>) here is a Writ to &s;erue on your Wor&s;hip for maintai|ning forraigners, and thereupon giues the &s;ame to the Officer to doe his duty; at which the Officer lookes very blancke, con&s;idering it was his owne Ma&s;ter on whom he &s;hould &s;erue it, yet notwith|&s;tanding according to his oath &s;o done it was, and his Ma&s;ter was forced to compound with <HI>Flood:</HI> who after tooke a pride in &s;uch trecherous actions, making him&s;elfe merry at the Officer, whom hee had cunningly brought to arre&s;t his owne ma&s;ter.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="8">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Of <HI>Floods</HI> ingratitude for a Dutch Chandlers bene|uolence to him lying in the Compter.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THis <HI>Flood,</HI> in acting of many of the&s;e his arch knaueries, was at length out&s;tripped by a fel|low cunninger then him&s;elfe, and being ouer|throwne in an action, and condemned in a round &s;um of money, for want of &s;ureties was laid in the Compter; where lying in pri&s;on in much nece&s;&s;i|ty, there was a Dutch Chandler, I will not &s;ay dwel|ling neere vnto Newgate, that in pitty oftentimes &s;ent him much reliefe, as meat and drinke from his owne table both at dinner and &s;upper, and now and then &s;ome &s;mall peeces of money to comfort him, with an intent after his impri&s;onment to draw him to his friend&s;hip, and that <HI>Flood</HI> &s;hould be a tru&s;ty &s;taffe to defend him from all informa|tions that any other Informer &s;hould haue again&s;t him, for commonly the&s;e Dutch Chandlers are much troubled with tho&s;e kind of people, and therefore this <HI>Flood</HI> he purcha&s;ed to make his pil|lar to leane on: This pa&s;&s;ed on, and many cour|te&s;ies were &s;ent to him lying in pri&s;on by the Dutch Chandler, which were all as butter melted in the Sunne; for after when <HI>Flood</HI> had got his liberty, and followed againe his former cour&s;es of life, this Dutch Chandler was the fir&s;t man he brought in action, and for all his forepa&s;&s;ed fauours recei|ued at his hands, he was the party hee made mo&s;t prize of.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="8" MS="y">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How <HI>Flood</HI> came to &s;earch a Tauerue in &s;eruice time, and how finely the Vintner requited him.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>FLood</HI> growing malitious again&s;t a Tauerne|keeper of London, who&s;e name I omit, came vpon a Sabbath day in Seruice time, and brought the Church-wardens to his hou&s;e, where finding certaine good fellowes taking their mornings draught, fought to haue him pre&s;ented: but the Vintner hauing a ready wit, wrought as cunning a trick to bring both <HI>Flood</HI> and the Churchwardens into the &s;ame tre&s;pa&s;&s;e; &s;o the fore&s;aid Tauerne|keeper &s;eeing him&s;elfe fallen into the danger of the Law, &s;ayd as followeth; Ma&s;ter Churchwar|dens, and you Ma&s;ter <HI>Flood,</HI> I pray you be good vnto me, I am a young beginner, and a little trou|ble will much hinder me, therefore I pray you &s;tand my good friends, and inkindne&s;&s;e take a cup of wine, and withall called for a &s;lice of ro&s;t beefe, which the plaine dealing Church-wardens well accepted of, and witha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Flood</HI> being a hungry fellow, was nor behind in the fame giuen break|fa&s;t; which being fini&s;hed, quoth <HI>Flood,</HI> this &s;hall not &s;erue your turne, for I mu&s;t haue money from you, and it is not your bribing breakfa&s;t &s;hall &s;a|tisfie my turne, Why knaue, replied the Vintner, Thou art as doope in the fault as I, or any of the&s;e my cu&s;tomers, for the Churchwarders and thy &s;elfe al&s;o haue both eaten and drunke here in my hou&s;e in &s;ernice time, of which I now take witne&s;&s;e, there|fore doe thy wor&s;t, I care not for thee: At which
<PB REF="9" MS="y"> words <HI>Flood</HI> grew a little pacified, and was con|tented to let the Vintner goe vnpre&s;ented for that time, and euer after tho&s;e Churchwardens much fauoured the &s;aid Tauerne.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How <HI>Flood</HI> out braued a Citizen with a red no&s;e.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>VPon a time <HI>Flood</HI> being railing and roring in Guild-hall, as his manner was, a Citizen who had a red no&s;e, a very &s;ub&s;tantiall man, rebuked him, calling him brazen fac'd fellow to be &s;o auda|cious in &s;o reuerent a place as that was. Brazen fac'd fellow (quoth <HI>Flood</HI>) if your copper no&s;e Sir were &s;et on my brazen face it would make a very rich &s;how, which words not onely daunted the Citizen, but made him filently pa&s;&s;e away much aba&s;hed. For rogue, rackall, &s;laue, and runnagate, were as common in <HI>Floods</HI> mouth, as <HI>how doe you &s;ir</HI> to a man of court&s;ie.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Of his churli&s;h keeping the walkes in Moore fields.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>TO &s;peake yet further of churli&s;h condition, he was cho&s;en (being fit for a trouble&s;ome office) to ouer&s;ee the walkes in Moore fields, and like the Pinder of <HI>Wakefield</HI> to preuent the intercour&s;e of people ouer the graffe, and not to &s;uffer them to make other paths be&s;ide the walkes. To which of|fice being cho&s;en, he got him a &s;turdy browne bill, and like a valiant champion intercepted all in|rodes
<PB REF="9" MS="y"> ouer the Fields, &s;auouring neyther old nor young, rich nor poore, Gentleman or other, in &s;uch &s;ort that he had many roring combats, and much mi&s;chiefe was done by his har&s;h behauiour, where he not onely brake many a man pate, but &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> tenter hookes vnder the Railes, wherby &s;undry people (&s;tooping vnder the Railes) tore their cloakes, bands and apparel, and &s;o &s;poiled their cloathes in &s;uch &s;ort, that he was not without ma|ny bitter cur&s;es, and now and then hee cau&s;ed &s;un|dry of the ruder &amp; vnrulier &s;ort of people to &s;it in the &s;tockes, for their &s;tubborne&s;&s;e in cro&s;&s;ing the Walkes. And many other pranckes hee there plaid, which though he were not a&s;hamed to act, you mode&s;ty forbids me relate: in which he &s;hew|ed him&s;elfe rather a bea&s;t then a man, &s;o farre he forgat Chri&s;tianity and hone&s;tly, that he lo&s;t all humanitie: and for that cau&s;e hee was very de|&s;eruedly put from that meanes, which had beene &s;ufficient (if hone&s;tly v&s;ed) to haue maintained a man to liue well vpon.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Of his &s;hamele&s;&s;e bragging and boa&s;ting of ba&s;e conditions.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>NEuer was there (I thinke) the like audacious and &s;hamele&s;&s;e fellow liuing in this Citie, nor any of a more impudent carrage before his betters, for to &s;ome, to whom hee was farre vn|equall would he mo&s;t vpbraidingly &s;ay with a full mouth, what, know you not <HI>Criffin Flood?</HI> bring I not the mo&s;t milke to your payle? is it not I that
<PB REF="10" MS="y"> bring &s;acks to your <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 span"> you <HI>Goi&s;&s;in Flood</HI> (by his Informations) &s;hall make men quake fur|thermore, to my knowledge I &s;aw him once &s;tand in the middle of Guild-hall, with his armes akem|bow on both &s;ides, with a number of people about him, where hee being not a&s;homed, bea&s;tingly &s;aid, I thinke in my con&s;cience I am the verie&s;t knaue in all England, and when I am buried, this &s;hall bee my Epitaph:
<Q><LG TYPE="epitaph">
<L>Here lyeth <HI>Griffin Flood</HI> full low in his graue,</L>
<L>Which liued a Ra&s;call and died a Knaue.</L>
</LG></Q></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Of his manners and trouble&s;ome carriage in the time of his impri&s;onment.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>REturne wee now to his impri&s;onment in <HI>New|gate,</HI> where &s;ince his comming thither, the o|ther pri&s;oners haue beene &s;o troubled with his rai|ling language, that the, accounted him rather a mon&s;ter then a man, and &s;uch quarrels hee bred among&s;t them, that they many times fell together by the eares, &s;o that day nor night could they bee quiet for him, for what with his cur&s;ing, banning, roaring, and bla&s;pheming, hee &s;hewed him&s;elfe ra|ther an Athei&s;t then a Chri&s;tian, and little remor&s;e of con&s;cience po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed him, and all his former of|fences <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ame little to his remembrance, e&s;pecially the&s;e petty abu&s;es before rehear&s;ed; but the maine groued of his impri&s;onment, which was for the murther of <HI>Iohn Chipperfield</HI> Vintener, &s;omething terrified him, and a little troubled his Con&s;cience; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 span"> heauy on a murtherers &s;oule, and the
<PB REF="10"> reuenge there of hourely thunders in his cares; &s;o by this <HI>Flood</HI> was it here verified; for vpon a night in New-gate as hee lay in his bed, in his dreame a fearfull vi&s;ion appeared vnto him, which was (as hee thought) the gha&s;tly &s;hape of the man hee had murthered, with a bleeding wound in his bre&s;t ga|ping wide open, threatning as it were a &s;peedy re|uengement, at which <HI>Flood</HI> in his &s;leepe cryed out mo&s;t fearefully, the Diuell, the Diuell pur&s;ues me, helpe, helpe, hee will teare me in pieces, with &s;uch like words of tertor and amazement, that many of the Pri&s;oners affrighted ro&s;e from their &s;leepes, and came to pacifie him in this his di&s;tracted ago|nie: for &s;uch were his fits in New-gate, and &s;o di|&s;tempered was his braine, that he continued there in great di&s;content without any patience.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Of a reuenge certaine Tap&s;ters tooke vpon him in New-gate.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>A Man he was, that few loued, neither in Pri|&s;on nor without, and therefore came many thither to vexe and torment him: among&s;t the re&s;t in a merry vaine came certaine Tap&s;ters to him in Pri&s;on, belike &s;ome which hee had wron|ged by his trouble&s;ome informations, who in &s;tead of comforts brought him flours and in &s;tead of re|liefes gaue him griefes; for euery one called for his Can of beere, &s;aying to him in mockage, heere M^r. <HI>Flood,</HI> I drinke to you, heere Mr. <HI>Flood,</HI> a health to you, and &s;uch like &s;euerally, each of them to&s;&s;ing off his beere, giuing him onely the
<PB REF="11"> empty Cans, but therein neuer a drop of drinke, wherevpon <HI>Flood</HI> grew &s;o inraged, that he en&s;til'd them with no better then Slaues and Rogues, and for their &s;akes vow'd a reuenge (if euer at liberty) again&s;t all other Tap&s;ters.</P>
<P>And to put the &s;ame in practice, hee pre&s;ently &s;ent for a debtor of his which was a Tap&s;ter, that owed him a certaine &s;um of money, which fellow in pitty, by rea&s;on of his impri&s;onment brought him a part thereof, thinking therewith in that his extremity to content him; but <HI>Flood</HI> as his chur|li&s;h cu&s;tome euer was, &s;o kept hee his old order, and would not receiue le&s;&s;e then his whole debt; whereupon the fellow goes his wayes and bids him recouer it by action: which <HI>Flood</HI> with a &s;terne looke threatned to doe, but afterward con&s;idering how his ca&s;e &s;tood, and how that (in pri&s;on) hee lay much impoueri&s;hed, &s;ent for &s;ome part of his money before promi&s;ed. Not &s;o, quoth the Tap|&s;ter, for I am otherwi&s;e minded; returning him this an&s;wer, according to the Prouerbe:
<Q><L>He that will not while he may,</L>
<L>When he would he &s;hall haue nay.</L></Q></P>
<P>So was it with <HI>Flood,</HI> when he might haue liued well, and in good gouernment, the want of grace and &s;eruing God, cut him off with a nay, where then being tempted by the deuill, hee ranne him|&s;elfe &s;o deepe into the danger of the law, that his life an&s;wered it with an vntimely death.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="11" MS="y">
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How after all the&s;e his trouble&s;ome cour&s;es of life, he was for a murther pre&s;&s;ed to death.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>NOw to come to the la&s;t period of his &s;hame and deuilli&s;h manners, in an agony of wrath (furthered on by Satan) he mo&s;t wickedly &s;tabbed a Con&s;table, and withall a Vintner both at one time, whereof the Vintner, after he had long lyen langui&s;hing, died as a man murthered by wilfull violence, for which this <HI>Flood</HI> was atached, impri|&s;oned, arraigned, and put to tryall, but by no per|&s;wa&s;ions would he commit him&s;elfe to the Law, but mo&s;t ob&s;tinately &s;tood to the &s;euere iu&s;tice of the Bench, who according to cu&s;tome, cen&s;ured him to the Pre&s;&s;e, where he receiued his de&s;erts, by being brui&s;ed in terrible manner to a mo&s;t fearfull death: who&s;e execution was performed in the pre&s;&s;ing yard at Newgate, vpon the 18. of <HI>Ianuary</HI> this pre&s;ent yeare.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
