Explanation.

By the “English Lion” was meant the King of England; and by setting his “paw on the Gallic shore,” the landing of his army in France; by the “Lily beginning to drop for fear,” was signified the great trouble and perplexity of the French, the Lilies being the arms of France; the “weeping and wailing amongst the ladies of thatcountry,” denotes the miseries and destruction incident to war; by the “princely Eagle joining with the Lion, and treading down all that shall oppose them,” is meant the German Emperor (whose arms were the Eagle) who joined in amity with King Henry, and served him in his wars; by the “sagittaries that appeared in defence of the Lilies,” were meant the French cavalry, the chief strength of France, consisting of horsemen, who appeared like sagittaries, that is to say, half men and half horses; and whereas it was said, “yet they should not prevail,” it fell out so accordingly; for notwithstanding all the opposition of the French armies, King Henry proceeded on vigorously, conquering and taking several towns of importance. But to come to that which most nearly concerns thematter, viz., the success of our young heir in his expedition, which was hinted forth unto him in these words: “Because the dull animal of the North shall put them to confusion, and though it be against his will, yet shall cause great shame unto them;” by the dull animal of the North was meant this fresh-water soldier, who, according to the Prophecy, put the Frenchmen to confusion and great shame; for passing the seas with King Henry, being mounted on a stately horse, as both armies confronted each other, he being at the head of the battle, just before the charge, somebody striking his horse, he carried him upon the enemy with such violence, as put their front in some disorder, which being perceived by our men, they presently so seconded him that the French ran away, leavingthe English a glorious victory, purchased with little cost.

By this means was Mother Shipton’s predictions fulfilled, to the disgrace of the French, and great praise to the young gallant; for the rest of the Prophecy the interpretation runs thus:—

By the “mitred Peacock,” was intended Cardinal Wolsey, signified by that bird, because of his great pride, who, being but a poor butcher’s son of Ipswich, in Suffolk, grew to such a height, that he thought himself superior to the chief nobles of the land, living in such splendour as not to be paralleled; according to the new Prophecy, “whose train shall make a great show in the world;” and whereas it is said, “the peacock should then begin to plume,” so it was, that when King Henry had taken the city of Tournay,in France, he made Wolsey bishop thereof, who soon after rose to the highest degree of honour a subject could be capable of, which afterwards (as the Prophecy says) “vanished away, and his great honour came to nothing.” And lastly, whereas it said, he should “have his end at Kingston.” The cardinal being told of this prophecy, would never pass through the town of Kingston, though lying directly in the road from his own house to the court; but afterwards being arrested for high treason, by the Earl of Northumberland, and Sir Anthony Kingston, the Lieutenant of the Tower, sent unto him, his very name (remembering the prophecy) struck such a terror to his heart that he soon after expired.

Mother Shipton had now got a name far and near for a cunning woman, ora woman of foresight, that her words were counted oracles, nor was she visited only by private persons, but advised with by people of the greatest quality. Among which number at that time was Cardinal Wolsey; when it was reported that he intended to live at York, she publicly said, “He should never come thither,” which, coming to his ears, and being offended, he caused three lords to go to her, who came disguised to Dringhouses, near York, where leaving their men, they took a guide to Mother Shipton’s, and knocking at the door, she called from within, “Come in, Mr. Besley (the guide), and these noble lords with you,” which surprised them, that she should know them; for when they came in she called each of them by their names, and treated them with ale and cakes;whereupon, said one of the lords, “If you knew our errand you would not make so much of us; you said the cardinal should never see York.” “No,” said she, “I said he might see York but never come at it.” “Well,” said the lords, “when he does come thou shalt be burnt.” Then, taking off her linen handkerchief from her head, she said, “If this burns,” and immediately flung it into the fire, but it did not burn; and after it had laid in the flames a quarter of an hour, she took it out again not so much as singed. One of the lords then asked her what she thought of him. “My lord, the time will come when your lordship will be as low as I am, and that is low indeed,” which proved true, for shortly after he was beheaded.

Nor was her speech of the cardinal less verified; for coming to Cawood, hewent to the top of the tower and asked where York was, which being shown him, he inquired how far it was thither. For, quoth he, “There was a witch said I should never see York.” “Nay,” said one present, “your eminence is misinformed; she said, you might see it, but never come at it.” Then he vowed to burn her when he came there, which was but eight miles distant; but, behold, he was immediately sent for back by the king, and never returned.

Mother Shipton’s prediction coming thus effectually to pass, spread her fame far wider than it was; insomuch that many who before looked upon her as a crack-brained woman, now began to admire her, and to esteem her words as oracles. And as the nature of English people is rather to desire to know what is to come, than to seek to rectifyaught that is done amiss, so the greatest part of her visitants came only to be acquainted with what she knew would come to pass; of which number was the Abbot of Beverley, who fearing the downfall of religious houses, and a change of the religion then professed, putting on counterfeit clothes, came to Mother Shipton’s, and knocking at the door, she being within, called to him, and said: “Come in, Mr. Abbot, for you are not so much disguised but the fox may be seen through the sheep’s skin. Come take a stool and sit down, for you shall not go away unsatisfied of what you desire,” and thereupon she began to utter forth her Prophecies in this sort:—

“When the cow doth wive the bull,Then, oh! priest, beware thy skull!And when the lower shrubs do fall,The great trees quickly follow shall.The mitred Peacock’s lofty prideShall to his master be a guide.And one great court to pass shall bringWhat was ne’er done by any king.The poor shall grieve to see that day,And who did feast, must fast and pray.Fate so decreed their overthrow,Riches brought pride, and pride brought woe.”

These prophecies were thus explained: by the “Cow,” was made King Henry, by reason of the Earldom of Richmond, which was his inheritance; and the “Bull,” betokened Anne Boleyn, whom the king took to wife in the room of Queen Catherine; her father gave the black bull’s head in his cognizance; and when the king had married Queen Anne, then was fulfilled the second line of the prophecy, viz., “Then, oh! priest, beware thy skull!” for what a number of priests, religious and secular, lost their heads, foroffending against the laws, made to bring this matter to pass.

Cardinal Wolsey (who was intended by the “mitred Peacock”), in the height of his pride and vastness of his undertakings, intending to erect two colleges, one at Ipswich, where he was born, the other at Oxford, where he was bred; and finding himself unable to endow them at his own charge, he obtained licence of Pope Clement VII. to suppress forty small monasteries in England, and to lay their old lands to his new foundations, which was done accordingly, and the poor people that lived in them were turned out of doors. Many of the clergy were very much against this action of Wolsey, especially John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, alleging for the same an apologue of Æsop, that “the iron head of the axecraved a handle of the wood of oaks, only to cut off the boughs of the trees: but when it was a complete axe it felled all the wood;” applying it, that the suppressing of those smaller houses would prove destructive to all the rest, which came to pass accordingly; for King Henry, seeing the cardinal’s power to extend so far as to suppress these lower shrubs, he thought his prerogative might stretch so far as to fell down the great trees; and soon after dissolved the priory of Christ Church, near Aldgate, in London (now known by the name of Duke’s Place), the richest in lands and ornaments of the priories in London or Middlesex; which was a forerunner of the dissolution of the rest; and that not long after came to pass.

By the “Great Court,” is meant theParliament, the supremest court of England; which, in the twenty-seventh year of King Henry’s reign, to support the king’s states, and supply his wants, conferred on the crown all religious houses which were not able clearly to expend above two hundred pounds a year; the great ones not long after following the same fortune of the smaller, which was not done (though attempted) by any king before.

By the dissolution of these houses, many thousands were driven to seek their fortunes in the wide world, and became utterly exposed to want; when monkish profession was without possession, many a young man proved an old beggar, and many forced to fast for want of victuals, who formerly had it provided for them to their hands.

The great riches and pride of themonks and friars, was, no doubt, the main cause of their overthrow; for whatsoever was the pretence, questionless profit was the rope which pulled these religious houses down.

All those things coming to pass before the abbot died, caused him to have a great esteem of Mother Shipton, and to value her prophecies more than ordinary conjectures; though at first he could not tell what to make of her ambiguous lines, which, like the oracles delivered at Delphos, rather brought one into a labyrinth of confused conjectures than satisfied the expectation, until by the clue of time, the riddles were manifest; and that which at first seemed so hard, now appeared to the understanding as easy; however, he at present kindly thanked Mother Shipton, and liberally rewarded her maid,much admiring that she could be so clear-sighted as to see through his counterfeit dress; resolving afterwards to be more informed by her concerning future events, he at that time took his solemn leave of her, and returned home.

Not long had the abbot been at home, but his abbey was visited by some instrument employed by the Lord Cromwell for that purpose. He who knew what was intended by this compliment thought it not safe to strive against the stream, and therefore quietly surrendered his monastery into the king’s hands. And now perceiving Mother Shipton’s prophecies plainly fulfilled in the downfall of those houses, which were judged to be impregnable against all the assaults of malice and time, considering the strangerevolution of so short a space, he was very desirous to be more fully informed of the future. In this resolution he repairs again to Mother Shipton, whom he now accosts more familiarly than he did before, making himself plainly known unto her; telling her that as what she had formerly spoken he had found to be true in the event, so his judgment persuaded him she was not ignorant of those things which were in the future to ensue; and therefore desired she would not be nice in imparting her foreknowledge to him; for which great favour, though it were more than his deserts could command, yet should there never in him be wanting a grateful tongue to acknowledge, and a grateful heart to be thankful unto her, for so great a favour.

“Mr. Abbot,” said she, “leave offcomplimenting, as it is more fit for courtiers and lovers, and not agreeable to an old woman, who will neither flatter nor be flattered by any; and for what you came about, I shall not be squeamish to fulfil your request; let me therefore desire you to lend me your attention;” and thereupon, after some short pause, she thus began—

“A prince that never shall be born,Shall make the shaved heads forlorn,Then shall commons rise in arms,And woman’s malice cause much harms.”

These lines being prophecies of the actions in King Edward’s reign, for the reader’s benefit we will unfold the meaning of them by themselves, that we may not too much burden his memory; but by variety add a pleasure to the reading of them.

By the “Prince that never shall beborn,” is meant King Edward VI., of whom all reports agree that he was not naturally delivered into the world, but that his mother’s body was opened for his birth, that she died of the operation the fourth day following: and by “shaved heads,” is understood the monks, friars, etc., who are said to become “forlorn;” the Reformation beginning with the commencement of King Edward’s reign.

King Edward set out certain injunctions for the reformation of religion; as the commissioners passed to divers places for the establishing of them, much scorn was passed upon them, and the farther they went from London, as the people were more uncivil, so did they the more rise into insolence and contempt; for in Cornwall, the commons flocked together, having killedone of the commissioners, and although justice was done upon the offenders (the principal of them being executed in several places), yet could not their boldness be beaten down by that severity, but that the mischief spread farther. In Wiltshire and Somersetshire, where the people, supposing that a Commonwealth could not stand without commons, beat down enclosures, and laid parks and fields bare. The like commotions followed in Suffolk, Hampshire, Kent, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, and Rutlandshire, but the greatest of all was in Devonshire, and Norfolk.

“A virtuous lady then shall die,For being raised up too high;Her death shall cause another’s joy,Who shall the kingdom much annoy.Mitres shall rise, mitres come down,And streams of blood shall Smithfield drown.England shall join in league with Spain,Which some to hinder strive in vain,The Lioness from life retires,And pontifical priest expires.”

The Lady Jane Gray, assuming the title of Queen upon her, for her offence lost her head. This Lady Jane was a woman of most rare and incomparable perfections; for besides her excellent beauty, she was the mirror of her time for religion and education, in the knowledge of the liberal sciences and skill in languages; and far exceeded all of her sex and years.

The death of the Lady Jane was supposed to be a rejoicing to Queen Mary, and who, by restoring Popery, and the persecutions that the professors of the Gospel suffered in her time, is said to bring the kingdom to much annoy.

By the “Mitres,” are meant thebishops, who in the change of religion found great change; very few keeping their seats wherein they had been seated by King Edward VI.

Great was the number of martyrs burned in Smithfield in this queen’s reign, under the bloody hands of Bonner, Bishop of London, and Dr. Story, Dean of St. Paul’s; the first persecuting by wholesale, the second by retail; the names of all those who in this place thus testified their faith by the loss of their lives, would be too long here to recite; the chief of them were Mr. John Rogers, Mr. John Bradford, Mr. Robert Glover, etc.

Queen Mary intended to match herself with Philip, King of Spain; the news thereof of being spread amongst the people, was by them ill-resented, as dreading to be under the yoke of astranger; but all to no purpose, for soon afterwards they were married, to the mortification of the English.

By the “Lioness” is meant Queen Mary, who having reigned five years and some odd months, died of a dropsy.

The “pontifical priest” signifies Cardinal Pole, who expired within a few hours after the death of Queen Mary. This prelate was of princely extraction, his mother, Margret, being daughter to George Duke of Clarence; when he was young, he was brought up together with Queen Mary, and being a zealous Catholic, during King Edward’s reign, suffered a voluntary exile for the same; when the marriage between Prince Philip and Queen Mary was made up, he returned into England, and was made Archbishop of Canterbury, but was more moderate thansome of his fellow bishops, having a favourable inclination towards the Protestants.

“The Lion fierce being dead and gone,A maiden Queen shall reign anon.The Papal power shall bear no sway,Rome’s creed shall hence be swept away.The western monarch’s wooden horsesShall be destroyed by the Drake’s forces.More wonders yet! a widowed QueenIn England shall be headless seen.The Harp shall give a better sound.An Earl without a head be found.Soon after shall the English RoseUnto a male her place dispose.”

These lines being a prophecy of the most remarkable actions during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, are to be interpreted after this manner:

Queen Mary is here meant, not so much for the cruelty done by her, as by the bishops and priests under her; in respect to the blood that was shed, andthe persecutions then suffered, she is here termed a fierce “Lion;” after whom is said, “A maiden Queen to reign anon,” meant by Queen Elizabeth, one who was the mirror of her age and sex, who for above forty years managed the affairs of this kingdom; having, when she began, few friends that durst help, and leaving no foes when she died that could hurt her; acting her part so well whilst here she reigned, that history can scarce afford us one prince to be matched to her fame in all considerable particulars.

Soon after the queen coming to the crown, a Parliament began at Westminster, wherein the laws of King Henry VIII. against the see of “Rome” were renewed, and those of King Edward VI. in favour of the Protestants revived, and the laws by Queen Mary made against them, repealed.

Uniformity of prayer and administration of sacrament were enacted, and the queen acknowledged to be the only and supreme governor of her kingdom. The people in each place beating down superstitious pictures and images, which misguided zeal had set up.

By the “western monarch’s wooden horses,” is meant the King of Spain’s great Armada, by them termed invincible, though the success of it answered not the name; being by Sir Francis Drake and others fought with and really vanquished; most of it sunk, and the rest, destitute and scattered, being chased by our ships into the northern latitudes, and there left to be pursued by hunger and cold; a victory so remarkable, that neither time nor age will ever wear the remembrance thereof away.

The “widowed Queen” signifies theQueen of Scots, the mother of King James, who was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle, some say by the privity, others say to the great discontent of Queen Elizabeth; a lady of sharp wit, undaunted spirit, comely person, beautiful face, and majestic presence; a fluent orator, and an excellent poetess, as appears by several things of her writing now extant; she was beheaded on the 8th of February, 1587, and was first buried in the choir of Peterborough; and afterwards by her son, King James, solemnly removed from thence to Westminster, where, in the south side of the chapel of King Henry VII. he erected a stately monument to her memory.

“The Harp” signifies Ireland, as being the arms of that country, when Queen Elizabeth, by reducing it to abetter obedience, made it give a better sound, that is, made it more civilized and profitable to the exchequer than it ever was before.

“An Earl without a head be found.” This was spoken of the Earl of Essex, one who was the favourite of the queen and darling of the people (two things which seldom come together), and yet could not both of them protect him from the scaffold, but thereon he lost his head.

By the “English Rose” is meant Queen Elizabeth, as we said before, by whose death the right and title to the crown came to James VI., King of Scotland, as lineally descended from Margaret, eldest daughter to King Henry VII., the male issue failing by the death of Queen Elizabeth; and here is to be remembered the policy of KingHenry VII., who having two daughters, married the eldest of them to the King of Scotland, and the youngest to the King of France, that if his male issue should happen to fail, as it afterwards did, then Scotland might wait upon England as the greater kingdom, and not England upon France as the lesser. Besides, there was an old prophecy which intimated King James coming to the English crown; for when King Edward I. harassed Scotland, amongst other things he brought from thence their royal chair (still preserved at the Abbey, in Westminster), upon which chair these verses were written:

“If Fates go right, where’er this chair is pight,The regal race of Scots shall rule that place.”

Which by the coronation of King James there performed, made good the words of the prophecy.

“The Northern Lion over Tweed,The maiden Queen shall then succeed,And join in one, two mighty States;Janus then shall shut his gates;Hell’s power, by a fatal blow,Shall seek the land to overthrow,Which by mistake shall be reverst,And heads from shoulders be disperst.The British Olive next shall twineIn marriage with the German Vine.”

Next follows the remarkable actions of King James’s reign, predicted in the foregoing lines, which may be thus explained:

By the “Northern Lion” is meant King James, and by the “maiden Queen,” Queen Elizabeth, whom King James, being King of Scotland, succeeded to the English crown, joining thereby the two nations of England and Scotland, which had often been attempted before.

The lines “Hell’s power,” etc., havereference to the Gunpowder Plot, which was planned to blow up the Parliament House with gunpowder—king, princes, peers, bishops, judges, knights, and burgesses, being all designed to destruction. To bring the purpose about, a vault was hired under the Parliament House, wherein were stowed thirty-six barrels of gunpowder, with several iron bars, to make the force of the fire more effectual, all which were covered with billets and coals. The 5th of November, the day of Parliament first sitting, was the time appointed to put this design in execution; but Providence had ordered it otherwise, that those who intended mischief should taste the effects of it. In the evening before, Lord Monteagle received a strange letter from an unknown hand, without date or name to it, and which, when it was opened,was even still sealed. The letter being communicated to the king, he commanded the rooms under the Parliament House to be searched, where the mystery of iniquity was quickly discovered. Some of the traitors were taken in London, others in the country; the hands of justice overtaking them, they became its examples, and tasted of that cup which they intended others should have drunk of.

By the “British Olive” is meant the Lady Elizabeth, daughter of King James; and by the “German Vine” the most illustrious Prince Frederic, Count Palatine of the Rhine. This Lady Elizabeth was enriched with all the endowments of both body and mind which make to the completing of a princess; most dearly beloved of the English, as one that deserved well ofall. They were married with great solemnity at Westminster, February 14, 1602.

Mother Shipton having proceeded thus far with her prophecies, broke up abruptly with a deep sigh, the tears trickling down her cheeks, accompanied by a wringing of her hands, as if some extraordinary mischance had befallen her. The abbot wondered greatly what should be the cause of this sudden alteration, having observed all along before a settled composedness in her countenance, and now to break out in such exclamations. He therefore said unto her, “Mother Shipton, it is more than some extraordinary matter which hath made you break out into this sudden passion; and if it may not be troublesome unto you, I shall desire that, as hitherto you have not been scrupulous in revealingthose secrets unto me, which have wrought in me both wonder and amazement, so that you will not so abruptly break off as to leave me in suspense of the cause of your sorrow.” “Ah! Mr. Abbot,” said she, “who can with dry eyes repeat what must next ensue, or but think upon it without a heart full of agony? to see virtue trampled on, and vice exalted; beggars on horseback, and princes on foot; the innocent condemned, and the bloodthirsty go scot free; but since my promise binds me to fulfil your request, I shall proceed from where I left off:

“The crown then fits the White King’s head,Who with the Lilies soon shall wed;Then shall a peasant’s bloody knifeDeprive a great man of his life.Forth from the North shall mischief blow,And English hob shall add thereto.Then shall the Council great assemble,Who shall make great and small to tremble,The White King then (O grief to see!)By wicked hands shall murdered be.”

By the “White King,” is meant King Charles I., so called not only in respect of the purity and uprightness of his life, signified by white; but also at the time of his coronation he was clothed in white. He had, previous to the death of King James, married the Lady Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV., King of France; who is hereupon said to wed the “Lilies,” the lilies being the arms of France.

By the “great man,” who was to lose his life by a bloody knife, was meant the Duke of Buckingham, the greatest man in favour of those times, and (as is commonly seen) most hated of the people, who laid the blame of all miscarriages in state upon him; being made general for the relief of Rochelle (then besiegedby the French forces), before he embarked at Portsmouth, he was stabbed by one Felton, an officer in his army; who, so far from flying for the same, though he might pass away undiscovered, boldly avowed himself to be the man that did it. He was hanged in chains at Portsmouth, in the year 1627.

The next part of this prophecy alludes to that ancient proverb, “From the cold ‘North’ all ills come forth,” and may be understood of our troubles commencing in 1630, taking their original rise from Scotland, and fermented by several factious spirits in England, the venom of which poison so infected the veins of the English, that it broke forth into a most bitter war, and ended not but with the deaths of many thousands of people.

By the “great Council” is meant thelong-lasting Parliament, as known to all posterity for the remarkable transactions therein. By them fell the wise Strafford, and Reverend Laud; by them was Episcopacy voted down, and Presbytery voted up; by them was the common-prayer denied, and the Directory exalted; by them was the Church and State turned topsy-turvy; but this cannot be reported of all amongst them; many of them hated their doings, dissented from them, and suffered by them.

The “White King by wicked hands,” etc., alludes to the beheading of King Charles I., who was the principal victim of these savage wars.

“The White King dead, the Wolf shall thenWith blood possess the Lion’s den.But Death shall hurry him away;Confusion shall awhile bear sway;But Fate to England shall restoreA king to reign as heretofore.Great death in London shall be though,And men on tops of houses go.”

By the “White King,” as we said before, is meant King Charles I., and, by the “Wolf,” Oliver Cromwell, whose ambition was such that he left no means unattempted until he had got into the “Lion’s den,” that is to say, until he had attained the sole government.

“But Death shall hurry him away.”

Very remarkable was the day in which the Protector died, being September 3, 1658, wherein the wind was so violent, that it overthrew many houses, tore up many trees by the roots, tumbled down chimneys, and unroofed barns and stables; but it is a very ill wind that blows none good, so with all the hurt this wind did, it maderecompense to some folks who had lost their estates in the civil wars, by blowing this Oliver away.

“But fate to England shall restoreA king to reign as heretofore.”

Which part of the prophecy was fulfilled in the restoration of King Charles II., which put a period to all the Commonwealth, and restored the land to its ancient government.

“Great death in London,” verified by the great plague in London, in 1665, which, for number, was the greatest that hath been known in these latter centuries of years.

“And men on tops of houses go.” This was suddenly fulfilled in that great conflagration of fire which happened in London, September 2, 3, and 4, 1666, by which so many houses weredestroyed, that men afterwards, in the ruins, went on the tops of those houses whose lofty structures not long before seemed to brave the sky.

It will be observed that some of the following prophecies of Mother Shipton relate to the present time, while others more closely concern the future. We will leave them to the reader’s own interpretation:—

I.Ploughed with swords the earth shall be,And blood will mingle with the sea.II.Soon as the fiery year has passed.Peace again shall come at last.III.Great accidents the world will fill,And carriages without horses go;Whilst, in the twinkling of an eye,Around the world our thoughts shall fly.IV.In England, now will come to passA house that shall be built of glass.V.State and State, in most deadly strife,Will fight and seek each other’s life;Then, when the North divides the South,The Eagle will build in the Lion’s mouth.VI.Three tyrant rulers France shall see,And each of a different dynasty.But when the greater fight be done,France and England shall be as one.VII.In the water shall iron float,The same as now a wooden boat.More wonders still shall water do,And England yet admit a Jew.VIII.Gold and riches will be shownIn a land that’s not now known.IX.Under rivers man shall walk,Shall ride, shall sleep, and shall talk.X.A river and a town shall be on fire.

Ploughed with swords the earth shall be,And blood will mingle with the sea.

II.

Soon as the fiery year has passed.Peace again shall come at last.

III.

Great accidents the world will fill,And carriages without horses go;Whilst, in the twinkling of an eye,Around the world our thoughts shall fly.

IV.

In England, now will come to passA house that shall be built of glass.

State and State, in most deadly strife,Will fight and seek each other’s life;Then, when the North divides the South,The Eagle will build in the Lion’s mouth.

VI.

Three tyrant rulers France shall see,And each of a different dynasty.But when the greater fight be done,France and England shall be as one.

VII.

In the water shall iron float,The same as now a wooden boat.More wonders still shall water do,And England yet admit a Jew.

VIII.

Gold and riches will be shownIn a land that’s not now known.

IX.

Under rivers man shall walk,Shall ride, shall sleep, and shall talk.

A river and a town shall be on fire.

The following remarkable Prophecy,which is known as“Mother Shipton’s prophecies,”was first published in 1448,and republished in 1641.It will be seen that the events it predicts have come to pass,except that contained in the last two lines,which is still in the future.

XI.Over a wild and stormy sea,Shall a noble[184]sail,Who to find, will not fail,A new and a fair countree.From whence he shall bringA herb[185a]and a root[185b]That all men shall suit,And please both the ploughman and the king.And let them take no more than measure.Both shall have the even pleasure.The world to an end shall comeIn eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

XI.

Over a wild and stormy sea,Shall a noble[184]sail,Who to find, will not fail,A new and a fair countree.From whence he shall bringA herb[185a]and a root[185b]That all men shall suit,And please both the ploughman and the king.And let them take no more than measure.Both shall have the even pleasure.The world to an end shall comeIn eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

Here follow other Prophecies which Mother Shipton stated at various times in her life to different persons:—

The first coming in of the King of the Scots (James I.) shall be at Holgate Town, but he shall not come through the bar. And when the King of the North shall be at London Bridge, his tail shall be at Edinburgh.

This was fulfilled in the following manner—When King James arrived there was such a multitude of people at Holgate bar to behold him, that toavoid the danger of the crush he was forced to ride another way. When King James was at London, his children were at Edinburgh, preparing to come into England.

Water shall come over Ouse Bridge, and a windmill shall be set upon a Tower, and a Elm Tree shall lie at every man’s door. At that day women shall wear great hats and great bands.

This was verified by the conducting of water into York streets through bored Elms; and the Conduit-house had a windmill on the top that drew up the water.

When there is a Lord Mayor living in Minster-yard in York, let him beware of a stab.

A Lord Mayor, whose house was in Minster-yard, was stabbed by an assassin in three places, which caused his death.

When two Knights shall fall out in the York Castle-yard, they shall never live kindly all their after lives.

Sir Thomas Wentworth and Sir John Savile in choosing Knights for the Shire in the Castle-yard at York, did so fall out, that they were never after well reconciled.

When all Colton-hag hath borne crops and corn for seven years; seven years after that you shall hear news.

Colton-hag in Mother Shipton’s time was a woodland ground full of trees, which some long time after her death was cultivated and bore crops and corn for seven years; and the seven years after that, was the year of the coming in of the Scots, and their taking of Newcastle.

You shall have a year of pining hunger, andthen a dearth without corn. You shall not know of the war over-night, yet you shall have it in the morning; and when it comes it shall last three years.Between Calder and AireShall be great warfare,When all the world is aloft,It shall be called Christ’s Croft.

You shall have a year of pining hunger, andthen a dearth without corn. You shall not know of the war over-night, yet you shall have it in the morning; and when it comes it shall last three years.

Between Calder and AireShall be great warfare,When all the world is aloft,It shall be called Christ’s Croft.

Calder and Aire are two rivers in Yorkshire; and this Prophecy relates to the Civil War in the time of Charles I.

When the battle of warfare begins, it shall be where Crookback Richard made his fray.

It was near Leicester where Richard the Third was slain in battle. There Colonel Hastings was one of the first in arms at the commencement of the civil war. Or it may thus be understood—That as King Richard began his march from Nottingham when he first set out against the Earl of Richmond, so alsoshould these wars take rise from thence. And indeed at Nottingham, on Aug. 25th, 1640, Charles I. set up his standard, and there continued it to little purpose.

They shall say to warfare for your King for half-a-crown a day, but stir not. They will say to warfare for your King on pain of hanging, but stir not.

At the time of the Civil War in 1642, many Lords promised two shillings and sixpence a day for each horseman who would join the King’s service.

For he that goes to complain,Shall not come back again.

This seems to refer to the Welsh and the Irish serving the King, for very few lived to return back again to their own country.

The following Prophecies by Mother Shipton, (extracted from Lilly’s collection,with his remarks,)being rather quaint in the composition,are left for the reader to decypher.

(a) There will be a great battel between England and Scotland, and they will be pacified for a time; and when they come at (b) Bramma-moore they fight, and are again pacified for a time: Then there will be a great battel between England and Scotland at (c) Knavesmore: Then they will be pacified for a while: Then there will be a great battel between England and Scotland at (d) Storktonmore; then will Ravens sit on the (e) Crosse, and drink as much blood of Nobles as of the Commons. Then wo is me, for London shall be destroyed.

(a) God I hope will prevent this threatened mischief. (b) Brammish is a river in Northumberland. (c) I conceive it should be Knaresborough, by which the river Nidd runs. (d)Storkton I conceive mistaken for Stanemore, in Richmondshire. (e) It is to be noted and admired, that this Crosse in the North in Mother Shipton’s days, was a tall stone Crosse which ever since hath been by degrees sinking into the ground, and is now (1640) sunk so low, that a Raven may sit upon the top of it and reach her bill to the ground.

Then will come a woman with one eye, and she shall tread in men’s blood to the knee; and she shall meet a man leaning on a staff, and shall say to him, What art thou? and he shall say, I am King of the Scots. And she shall say, Go with me to my house, for there are three Knights. And he will go up with her, and stay there three days and three nights. Then will England be lost; and they will cry twice in one day, England is lost. Then there will be three Knights in Petergate in York, and the one shall not know of the other. There shall be a child born in Pomfret with three thumbs, and these three Knights will give their horses to this (f) child with three thumbs to hold, whilst they win England again: then come in Clubs and Clouted shoes, and they withthe three Knights win England again: and all Noble blood shall be gone but one, and they shall carry him to Sheriff Hutton’s Castle, six miles from York, and he shall die there; and they shall chuse their Earl in the field, and hang their horses on a thorn, and rue the time that ever they were born to see so much blood shed.

(f) There was a child not many years since born at Pomfret with three thumbs, and credibly reported.

(g) Then they will come to York to besiege it; and they shall keep them out for three days and three nights: and a peny-loaf shall be within the Bar at half a Crown, and without the Bar at a peny; and they will swear, if they will not yield, to blow up the Town-walls. Then they will let them in: and they will hang the Maior, Sheriffs, and Aldermen. There will three Knights go into Crouch-Church, and but one of them come out again; and he will cause Proclamation to be made, That any man may take House, Tower, or Bower, for One and twenty yeers. And while the world endureth, there shall never be warfare again, nor any more (h) Kings or Queens; but the Kingdom shall be governed by three lords; then York shall be London.

(g) This is yet unacted. (h) All old Prophecies do intimate a final subversion of the Monarchy in England.

After this, shall be a white Harvest of Corn gotten in by women. Then shall be in the North, that one woman shall say to another, Mother, I have seen a man to day. And for one man there shall be a thousand women. There shall be a man sitting on Saint James church hill, weeping his fill.The time will come when England shall tremble and quake for fear of a (i) Dead-man, that shall be heard to speak: Then will the Dragon give the Bull a great snap; and when this battel is done they will all go to London Town.

The time will come when England shall tremble and quake for fear of a (i) Dead-man, that shall be heard to speak: Then will the Dragon give the Bull a great snap; and when this battel is done they will all go to London Town.

(i) This Dead-man hath not yet appeared, but is at hand doubtless.

Here follow other Prophecies she uttered,which because they concern Future Times we shall leave to the Interpretation of the reader.

I.The Fiery Year as soon as o’er,Peace shall then be as before;Plenty everywhere is found,And men with Swords shall plough the Ground.II.The time shall come, when seas of Blood,Shall mingle with a greater Flood.III.Great noise there shall be heard, Great Shouts and Cries,And Seas shall Thunder louder than the Skies;Then shall three Lions fight with three, and bring,Joy to a People, Honour to their King.

The Fiery Year as soon as o’er,Peace shall then be as before;Plenty everywhere is found,And men with Swords shall plough the Ground.

II.

The time shall come, when seas of Blood,Shall mingle with a greater Flood.

III.

Great noise there shall be heard, Great Shouts and Cries,And Seas shall Thunder louder than the Skies;Then shall three Lions fight with three, and bring,Joy to a People, Honour to their King.

Mother Shipton, the authoress of these Prophecies, continued for years esteemed as the Sybil or Oracle of her time;and though she was generally believed to be a Witch, yet all persons that either saw or heard of her, held her in great esteem, and her memory is much honoured by those of her own country, especially in Yorkshire. A long time before her death, she foretold the day and hour she was to take her departure; and the time approaching which she had Prophecied, and which was in the year 1561; she took solemn leave of her friends, who were all greatly attached to her, laid down on her bed, and died, at the good old age of 75 years. Many more “Prophecies” are current in Yorkshire as of her utterance, but the Publisher being unable to find them either properly authenticated, or in any old works, they have been omitted, being desirous of not adding anything whichmight tend to destroy her sterling reputation.

A stone was erected to her memory near Clifton, about a mile from the city of York, upon which was the following inscription:

Here lyes she who never ly’dWhose skill often has been try’d;Her prophecies shall still survive,And ever keep her name alive.

London may appear an unbefitting scene for a story so romantic as that which I have here set down: but, strange and wild as is the tale I have to tell,it is true; and, therefore, the scene of action shall not be changed; nor will I alter or vary from the truth, save that the names of the personages, in my domestic drama shall be fictitious.

To say that I am superstitious would be, in the minds of many wise personages, to write myself down an ass; but to say that I do not believethatwhichfollows, as I am sure it was believed byhimwho related it to me, would be to discredit the testimony of a friend, as honourable and as brave as ever trod the earth. He has been snatched from the world, of which he was a bright ornament, and has left more than his sweet suffering widow and his orphan children affectionately to deplore his loss.

It is, I find, right and judicious most carefully and publicly to disavow a belief in supernatural visitings: but it will be long before I become either so wise or so bold as to make any such unqualified declaration. I am not weak enough to imagine myself surrounded by spirits and phantoms, or jostling through a crowd of spectres, as I walk the streets; neither do I give credence to all the idle tales of ancient dames, or frightened children, touching suchmatters: but when I breathe the air, and see the grass grow under my feet, I cannot but feel that HE who gives me ability to inhale the one, and stand erect upon the other, has also the power to use for special purposes such means and agency, as in his wisdom he may see fit; and which, in point of fact, are not more incomprehensible to us than the very simplest effects which we every day witness, arising from unknown causes.

Philosophers may pore, and in the might of their littleness, and the erudition of their ignorance develope and disclose, argue and discuss; but when the sage, who sneers at the possibility of ghosts, will explain to me the doctrine of attraction and gravitation, or tell me why the wind blows, why the tides ebb and flow, or why the lightshines—effects perceptible to all men—then will I admit the justice of his incredulity—then will I join the ranks of the incredulous. However, a truce with my views and reflections: proceed we to the narrative.

In the vicinity of Bedford-square lived a respectable and honest man, whose name the reader will be pleased to consider Harding. He married early: his wife was an exemplary woman, and his son and daughter were grown to that companionable age, at which children repay, with their society and accomplishments, the tender cares which parents bestow upon their offspring in their early infancy.

Mr. Harding held a responsible and respectable situation under the government, in Somerset House. His income was adequate to his wants and wishes;his family a family of love: and, perhaps, taking into consideration the limited desires of what may be fairly called middle life, no man was ever more contented, or better satisfied with his lot than he.

Maria Harding, his daughter, was a modest, unassuming, and interesting girl, full of feeling and gentleness. She was timid and retiring; but the modesty which cast down her fine black eyes could not veil the intellect which beamed in them. Her health was by no means strong; and the paleness of her cheek—too frequently, alas! lighted by the hectic flush of our indigenous complaint—gave a deep interest to her countenance. She was watched and reared by her tender mother, with all the care and attention which a being so delicate and soill-suited to the perils and troubles of this world demanded.

George, her brother, was a bold and intelligent lad, full of rude health, and fearless independence. His character was frequently the subject of his father’s contemplation; and he saw in his disposition, his mind, his pursuits, and propensities, the promise of future success in active life.

With these children, possessing as they did the most enviable characteristics of their respective sexes, Mr. and Mrs. Harding, with thankfulness to Providence, acknowledged their happiness, and their perfect satisfaction with the portion assigned to them in this transitory world.

Maria was about nineteen, and had, as was natural, attracted the regards, and thence gradually chained theaffections, of a distant relative, whose ample fortune, added to his personal and mental good qualities, rendered him a most acceptable suitor to her parents, which Maria’s heart silently acknowledged he would have been toher, had he been poor and penniless.

The father of this intended husband of Maria was a man of importance, possessing much personal interest, through which George, the brother of his intended daughter-in-law, was to be placed in that diplomatic seminary in Downing-street, whence, in due time, he was to rise through all the grades of office, (which, with his peculiar talents, his friends, and especially his mother, was convinced he would so ably fill,) and at last turn out an ambassador.

The parents, however, of young Langdale and of Maria Harding were agreed,that there was no necessity for hastening the alliance between their families, seeing that the united ages of the couple did not exceed thirty-nine years: and seeing, moreover, still, that Mrs. Langdale, who was little more than six-and-thirty years of age herself, had reasons, which she also meant to be private, for seeking to delay as much as possible a ceremony, the result of which, in all probability, would confer upon her, somewhat too early in life to be agreeable to a lady of her habits and propensities, the formidable title of grand-mamma.

How curious it is, when one takes up alittle bitof society (as a geologist crumbles and twists a bit of earth in his hand, to ascertain its character and quality,) to look into the motives and manœuvrings of all the persons connected withit; the various workings, the indefatigable labours, which all their little minds are undergoing to bring about divers and sundry little points, perfectly unconnected with the great end in view; but which for private and hidden objects, each of them is toiling to carry. Nobody, but those who really understood Mrs. Langdale, understood why she so readily acquiesced in the desire of her husband to postpone the marriage for another twelvemonth. A stranger would have seen only the dutiful wife according with the sensible husband; but I knew her, and knew that there must be something more than met the eye, or the ear, in that sympathy of feeling between her and Mr. Langdale, which was not upon ordinary occasions so evidently displayed.

Like the Waterman who pulls oneway and looks another, Mrs. Langdale aided the entreaties and seconded the commands of her loving spouse, touching the seasonable delay of which I am speaking; and it was agreed, that immediately after the coming of age of Frederick Langdale, and not before, he was to lead to the hymeneal altar the delicate and timid Maria Harding.

The affair got whispered about; George’s fortune in life was highly extolled—Maria’s excessive happiness prophesied by everybody of their acquaintance; and already had sundry younger ladies, daughters and nieces of those who discussed these matters in divan after dinner, began to look upon Miss Harding with envy and maliciousness, and wonder what Mr. Frederick Langdale could see in her: she was proclaimed to be insipid, inanimate, shy, bashful, andawkward: nay, some of her female friends went so far as to discover that she was absolutely awry.

Still, however, Frederick and Maria went loving on; and their hearts grew as one; so truly, so fondly were they attached to each other. George, who was somewhat of a plague to the pair of lovers, was luckily at Oxford, reading away till his head ached, to qualify himself for a degree, and the distant duties of the office whence he was to cull the bunches of diplomatic laurels, and whence were to issue rank and title, and ribbons and crosses innumerable.

Things were in this prosperous state, the bark of life rolling gaily along before the breeze, when as Mr. Harding was one day proceeding from his residence, to his office in Somerset-place, through Charlotte-street, Bloomsbury, he wasaccosted by one of those female gypsies who are found begging in the metropolis, and especially in the particular part of it in question: ‘Pray remember poor Martha, the gipsy,’ said the woman: ‘give me a halfpenny for charity, sir, pray do.’

Mr. Harding was a subscriber to the Mendicity Society, an institution which proposes to check begging by the novel mode of giving nothing to the poor: moreover, he was a magistrate—moreover, he had no change; and he somewhat sternly desired the woman to go about her business.

All availed him nothing; she still followed him, and reiterated the piteous cry, ‘Pray remember poor Martha, the gipsy.’

At length, irritated by the perseverance of the woman—for evensubordinates in government hate to be solicited importunately—Mr. Harding, contrary to his usual custom, and contrary to the customary usages of modern society, turned hastily round, and fulminated an oath against the supplicating vagrant.

‘Curse!’ said Martha; ‘have I lived to this? Hark ye, man—poor, weak, haughty man! Mark me, sir—look at me!’

He did look at her; and beheld a countenance on fire with rage. A pair of eyes blacker than jet, and brighter than diamonds, glared like stars upon him; her black hair dishevelled, hung over her olive cheeks; and a row of teeth whiter than the driven snow displaying themselves from between a pair of coral lips, in a dreadful smile, a ghastly sneer of contempt which mingled in her passion. Harding was riveted tothe spot; and, affected partly by the powerful fascination of her superhuman countenance, and partly by the dread of a disturbance in the street, he paused to listen to her.

‘Mark me, sir,’ said Martha; ‘you and I shall meet again. Thrice shall you see me before you die. My visitings will be dreadful; but the third will be the last!’

There was a solemnity in this declaration which struck to his very heart, coming too as it did only from a vagrant outcast. Passengers were approaching; and wishing, he knew not why, to soothe the ire of the angry woman, he mechanically drew from his pocket some silver, which he tendered to her.

‘There, my good woman—there,’ said he, stretching forth his hand.

‘Good woman!’ retorted the hag,‘Money now? I—I that have been cursed! ’tis all too late, proud gentleman—the deed is done, the curse be now on you.’ Saying which, she huddled her ragged red cloak about her shoulders, and hurried from his sight, into the deep and dreary recesses of St. Giles’s.

Harding experienced, as she vanished from his eye, a most extraordinary sensation: he felt grieved that he had spoken so harshly to the poor creature, and returned his shillings to his pocket with regret. Of course, fear of the fulfilment of her predictions did not mingle with any of his feelings on the occasion; and he proceeded to his office in Somerset-place, and performed all the arduous official duties of reading the opposition newspapers, discussing the leading politics of the day with the head ofanother department, and signing his name three times, before four o’clock.

Martha the gipsy, however, although he had ‘poophoohed’ her out of his memory, would ever and anon flash across his mind; her figure was indelibly stamped upon his recollection; and though, of course, as I before said, a man of his firmness and intellect could care nothing, one way or another, for the maledictions of an ignorant, illiterate gipsy, still his feelings—whence arising I know not—prompted him to call a hackney-coach, and proceeden voitureto his house rather than run the risk of again encountering the metropolitan sibyl, under whose forcible denunciation he was actually labouring.

There is a period in each day of the lives of married people, at which, I am given to understand, a more thanordinarily unreserved communication of facts and feelings takes place; when all the world is shut out, and the two beings, who are in truth ‘but only one,’ commune together freely and fully upon the occurrences of the past day. At this period, the else sacred secrets of the drawing-room coterie, and thetellablejokes of the after-dinner convivialist, are mutually interchanged by the fond pair, who, by the barbarous customs of uncivilized Britain, have been separated during part of the preceding evening.

Then it is, that the husband informs his anxious consort how he has forwarded his worldly views with such a man—how he has carried his point in such a quarter—what he thinks of the talents of one, of the character of another; while the communicative wife givesherviews of the same subjects, founded upon whatshe has gathered from the individuals composing the female cabinet, and explains why she thinks he must have been deceived upon this point, or misled upon that. And thus, in recounting, in arguing, in discussing, and descanting, the blended interests of the happy pair are strengthened, their best hopes nourished, and perhaps eventually realized.

A few friends at dinner, and some refreshers in the evening, had prevented Harding from saying a word to his beloved Eliza about the gipsy; and perhaps, till the ‘witching time’ which I have attempted to define, he would not have mentioned the circumstance, even had they been alone. Most certainly he did not think the less of the horrible vision; and when the company had dispersed, and the affectionate couple had retired to rest, he stated thecircumstance exactly as it had occurred, and received from his fair lady just such an answer as a prudent, intelligent, and discreet woman of sense would give to such a communication. She vindicated his original determination not to be imposed upon—wondered at his subsequent willingness to give to such an undeserving object, particularly while he had three or four soup tickets in his pocket—was somewhat surprised that he had not consigned the bold intruder to the hands of the beadle—and, ridiculing the impression which the hag’s appearance seemed to have made upon her husband’s mind, narrated a tour performed by herself and some friends to Norwood, when she was a girl, and when one of those very women had told her fortune, not one word of which ever came true—and, in a discussion of somelength, animadverting strongly upon the weakness and impiety of putting faith in the sayings of such idle creatures, she fell fast asleep.

Not so Harding: he was restless and worried, and felt that he would give the world to be able to recall the curse which he had rashly uttered against the poor woman. Helpless as she was and in distress, why did his passion conquer his judgment? Why did he add to the bitterness of refusal the sting of malediction? However, it was useless to regret that which was past—and, wearied and mortified with his reflection, he at length followed his better half into that profound slumber, which the length and subject of his harangue had so comfortably ensured her.

The morning came, and brightly beamed the sun—that is, as brightly asit ever beams in London. The office-hour arrived; and Mr. Harding proceeded,notby Charlotte-street, to Somerset-house, such was his dread of seeing the ominous woman. It is impossible to describe the effect produced upon him by the apprehension of encountering her: if he heard a female voice behind him in the street, he trembled, and feared to look round, lest he should behold Martha. In turning a corner he proceeded carefully and cautiously, lest he should come upon her unexpectedly; in short, wherever he went, whatever he did, his actions, his movements, his very words, were controlled and constrained by the horror of beholding her again.

The malediction she had uttered rang incessantly in his ears; nay, such possession had it taken of him, that he had writtenthe words down, and sealed the document which contained them. ‘Thrice you shall see me before you die. My visitings will be dreadful, but the third will be the last.’

‘Calais’ was not more deeply imprinted on our Queen’s heart, than these lines upon that of Mr. Harding; but he was ashamed of the strength of his feelings, and placed the paper wherein he had recorded them at the very bottom of his desk.

Meanwhile Frederick Langdale was unremitting in his attentions to Maria; but, as is too often the case, the bright sunshine of their loves was clouded. Her health, always delicate, now appeared more so, and at times her anxious parents felt a solicitude upon her account, new to them; for decided symptoms of consumption had shown themselves,which the faculty, although they spoke of them lightly to the fond mother and to the gentle patient, treated with such care and caution, as gave alarm to those who could see the progress of the fatal disease, which was unnoticed by Maria herself, who anticipated parties, and pleasure, and gaieties, in the coming spring, which the doctors thought it but too probable she might never enjoy.

That Mr. Langdale’s ‘punctilio,’ or Mrs. Langdale’s excessive desire for apparent juvenility, should have induced the postponement of Maria’s marriage, was, indeed, a melancholy circumstance. The agitation, the surprise, the hope deferred, which weighed upon the sweet girl’s mind, and that doubting dread of something unexpected, which lovers always feel, bore down her spirits, and injured her health; whereas, had themarriage been celebrated, the relief she would have experienced from all her apprehensions, added to the tour of France and Italy, which the happy couple were to make immediately after their union, would have restored her health, while it ensured her happiness. This, however, was not to be.

It was now three months since poor Mr. Harding’s rencontre with Martha; and habit, and time, and constant avocation, had conspired to free his mind from the dread she at first inspired. Again he smiled and joked, again he enjoyed society, and again dared to take the nearest road to Somerset House; nay, he had so far recovered from the unaccountable terror he had originally felt, that he went to his desk, and selecting the paper wherein he had set down the awful denunciation of the hag,deliberately tore it into bits, and witnessed its destruction in the fire, with something like real satisfaction, and a determination never more to think upon so silly an affair.

Frederick Langdale was, as usual, with his betrothed, and Mrs. Harding enjoying the egotism of the lovers, (for, as I said before, lovers think their conversation the most charming in the world, because they talk of nothing but themselves) when his curricle was driven to the door to convey him to Tattersall’s, where his father had commissioned him to look at a horse, or horses, which he intended to purchase; for Frederick was, of all things in the world, the best possible judge of a horse.

To this sweeping dictum, pronounced by the young gentleman himself, Mr. Harding, however, was not willing toassent; and therefore, in order to have the full advantage of two heads, which, as the proverb says, are better than one, the worthy father-in-law elect, proposed accompanying the youth to the auctioneer’s yard at Hyde-Park Corner, it being one of those few privileged days when the labourers in our public offices make holiday. The proposal was hailed with delight by the young man, who, in order to show due deference to Mr. Harding, gave him the reins, and bowing their adieus to the ladies at the window, away they went, the splendid cattle of Mr. Langdale prancing and curvetting, fire flaming from their eyes, and smoke breathing from their nostrils.

The charioteer, however, soon found that the horses were somewhat beyond his strength, even putting his skill wholly out of the question, and inturning into Russell-street, proposed surrendering the reins to Frederick. By some misunderstanding of words in the alarm which Harding felt, Frederick did not take the reins which he (perfectly confounded) tendered to him in great agitation. They slipped over the dashing iron between the horse, who thus freed from restraint, reared wildly in the air, and plunging forward, dashed the vehicle against a post, and precipitated Frederick and Harding on the curbstone; the off-horse kicked desperately as the carriage became entangled and impeded, and struck Frederick a desperate blow on the head. Harding, whose right arm and collar-bone were broken, raised himself on his left hand, and saw Frederick weltering in his blood, apparently lifeless before him. The infuriated animals again plungedforward with the shattered remnant of the carriage, and as this object was removed from his sight, the wretched father-in-law beheld, looking upon the scene with a fixed and unruffled countenance—Martha,the Gipsy.

It was doubtful whether the appearance of this horrible vision, coupled as it was with the verification of her prophecy, had not a more dreadful effect upon Mr. Harding, than the sad reality before him. He trembled, sickened, fainted, and fell senseless on the ground.

Assistance was promptly procured, and the wounded sufferers were carefully removed to their respective dwellings. Frederick Langdale’s sufferings were much greater than those of his companion, and, in addition to severe fractures of two of his limbs, the woundupon his head presented a most terrible appearance, and excited the greatest alarm in his medical attendants.

Mr. Harding, whose temperate course of life was greatly advantageous to his case, had suffered comparatively little: a simple fracture of the arm, and dislocation of the collar-bone (which was the extent of his misfortune,) were, by skilful treatment and implicit obedience to professional commands, soon pronounced in a state of improvement; but a wound had been inflicted which no doctor could heal. The conviction that the woman, whose anger he had incurred, had, if not the power of producing evil, at least the power to foretell it, and that he had twice again to see her before the fulfilment of her prophecy, struck deep into his mind; and although he felt himself more at ease when he hadcommunicated to Mrs. Harding the fact of having seen the gipsy at the moment of the accident, it was impossible for him to rally from the shock which his nerves had received. It was in vain he had tried to shake off the perpetual apprehension of again beholding her.

Frederick Langdale remained for some time in a very precarious state. All visitors were excluded from his room, and a wretched space of two months passed, during which his affectionate Maria had never been allowed to see him, nor to write to, nor to hear from him. While her constitution was gradually giving way to the constant operation of solicitude and sorrow.

Mr. Harding meanwhile recovered rapidly, but his spirits did not keep pace with his mending health; the dread he felt of quitting his house, the tremorexcited in his breast by a knocking at the door, or the approach of a footstep, lest the intruder should be the basilisk Martha, were not to be described; and the appearance of his poor Maria did not tend to cheer the gloom which hung over him.

When at length Frederick was sufficiently recovered to receive visitors, Maria was not sufficiently well to visit him: she was too rapidly sinking into an early grave, and even the physician himself appeared desirous of preparing her parents for the worst, while she, full of the symptomatic prospectiveness of disease, still talked anticipatingly of future happiness, when Frederick would be sufficiently re-established to visit her.

At length, however, the doctors suggested a change of air—a suggestioninstantly attended to, but, alas! too late; the weakness of the poor girl was such, that upon a trial of her strength it was found inexpedient to attempt her removal.

In this terrible state, separated from him whose all she was, did the exemplary patient linger, and life seemed flickering in her flushing cheek; and her eye was sunken, and her parched lip quivered with pain.

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