would touch me dishonestly, but reclaimed himselfe, abstained from me, and became true to his friend. I wondring, that, according to his wonted custome, he did not seeke my company; he and I being one day in the chamber alone, and he in his dumps, I began to dally with him, and to aske him, Why he was so strange, and used not his accustomed favours to me? He solemnly made answere, That, though he had played the foole, in setling his fancy upon another mans wife, and in wronging his friend, yet his conscience was now touched with remorse, and, ever since he heard the tale afore rehearsed, he had vowed in himselfe, never to do my husband the like wrong againe. My husband, quoth I, he is none of mine, he hath brought me here from my friends, and keepes me here unmarried, and therefore am I as free for you, as for him, and thus began to grow clamorous, because I was debard of my lust. The gentleman, seeing me shamlesse, wisht me to be silent, and sayde, Although you be but his friend, yet he holds you as deare as his wife, and, therefore, I will not abuse him, neither would I wish you to be familiar with any other, seeing you have a friend that loves you so tenderly: Much good counsell he gave me, but all in vaine, for I scorned it, and began to hate him, and resolved both to be rid of him, and my supposed husband; for, falling in with another familiar of my husbands, I so inveagled him, with sweete words, that I caused him to make a peece of mony to steale me away, and so carry me to London; where I had not lived long with him, but he, seeing my light behaviour, left me to the wide world, to shift for my selfe.

I now being brought to London, and left there at random, was not such a house-dove, while my friend stayd with me, but that I had visited some houses in London, that could harbour as honest a woman as my selfe; when as therefore I was left to my selfe, I removed my lodging, and gate me into one of those houses of good hospitallity, whereunto persons resort, commonly called a Trugging-house, or, to be plaine, a Whore-house, where I gave my selfe to entertaine all companions, sitting or standing at the doore like a staule, to allure or draw in wanton passengers, refusing none that would, with his purse, purchase me to be his, to satisfie the disordinate desire of his filthie lust: Now I began not to respect personage, good qualities, or the gracious favour of the man, when I had no respect of person; for the oldest lecher was as welcome as the youngest lover, so he brought meate in his mouth. Thus, to the griefe of my friends, hazard of my soule, and consuming of my body, I spent a yeare or two, in this base or bad kind of life, subject to the whistle of every desperate ruffian; till, on a time, there resorted to our house a cloathier, a proper young man, who, by fortune, comming first to drinke, espying me, asked me, if I would driuke with him; there needed no great entreaty, for, as then, I wanted company, and so clapt me downe by him, and began very pleasantly to welcome him: The man, being of himselfe modest and honest, noted my personage, and juditially reasoned of my strumpetlike behaviour, and inwardly (as after he reported unto me) grieved, that so foule properties were hidden in so good a proportion, and that such rare wit and excellent beauty were blemisht with whoredomes base deformity; in so much that he began to thinke well of me, and to

wish that I were as honest as I was beautifull. Againe, see how God wrought for my conversion; since I gave my selfe to my loose kind of life, I never liked any so well as him, in so much that I began to judge of every part, and me thought, he was the properest man that ever I saw: Thus, we sate both amorous of other, I lasciviously, and he honestly; at last, he questioned with me, What country woman I was, and why, being so proper a woman, I would beseeme to dwell or lye in a base alehouse, especially, in one that had a bad name? I warrant you, I wanted no knavish reply to fit him, for I told him, the house was as honest as his mothers: Marry, if there were in it a good wench or two, that would pleasure their friends at a neede, I guessed by his nose, what porridge he loved, and that he hated none such. Well, seeing me in that voyce, he said little, but shooke his heade, paid for the beere, and went his way, onely taking his leave of me with a kisse, which, me thought, was the sweetest that ever was given me. As soone as he was gone, I began to thinke what a handsome man he was, and wisht, that he would come and take a nights lodging with me, sitting in a dumpe to thinke of the quaintnesse of his personage, till other companions came in, and shaked me out of that melancholly; but, as soone againe as I was secret to my selfe, he came into my remembrance. Passing over this a day or two, this cloathier came againe to our house, whose sight cheered me up, for that, spying him out of a casement, I ranne downe the staires, and met him at the doore, and heartily welcom'd him, and asked him, if he would drink; I come for that purpose, sayes he, but I will drinke no more below, but in a chamber: Marry, Sir, quoth I, you shall, and so brought him into the fairest roome. In our sitting there together drinking, at last, the cloathier fell to kissing, and other dalliance, wherein he found me not coy; at last told me, that he would willingly have his pleasure of me, but the room was too lightsome, for, of all things in the world, he could not in such actions away with a light chamber. I consented unto him, and brought him into a roome more darke, but still he sayde it was too light: Then I carried him into a further chamber, where drawing a curtaine before the window, and closing the curtaines of the bed, I asked, smiling, If that were close enough? No, sweete love, sayes he, that curtaine is not broad enough for the window, some watching eye may espy us, my heart misdoubts, and my credit is my life; Love, if thou hast a closer roome then this, bring me to it: Why then, quoth I, follow me, and with that, I brought him into a backe loft, where stood a little bed, only appointed to lodge suspicious persons, so darke, that at noone day it was impossible for any man to see his owne hands: How now, Sir, quoth I, is not this darke enough He sitting him downe, on the bedside, fetcht a deepe sigh, and said, Indifferent, so, so; but there is a glimpse of light in at the tiles, some body may, by fortune, see it: In faith, no, quoth I, none but God. God, sayes he, I why, Can God see us here? Good Sir, quoth I, why I hope you are not so simple, but you know, Gods eyes are so cleere and penetrating, that they can pierce through walls of brasse: And alas, quoth he, sweete Love, if God see us, shall we not be more

ashamed to do such a filthy act before him, then before men? I am sure, thou art not so shamlesse, but thou wouldst blush to have the meanest commoner in London see thee, in the action of thy filthy lust, and dost thou not shame more to have God, the maker of all things sce thee, who revengeth sinne with death; he whose eyes are cleerer then the sunne, who is the searcher of the heart, and holdeth vengeance in his hands to punish sinners? Oh, let us tremble, that we but once durst have such a wanton communication, in the hearing of his Divine Majesty, who pronounceth damnation for such as give themselves over to adultery. It is not possible, saith the Lord, for any whoremaster, or lascivious wanton, to enter into the kingdome of God; for such sinnes, whole cities have sunke, kingdomes have beene destroyed; and, though God suffer such wicked livers to escape for a while, yet, at length, he payeth home in this world, with beggry, shame, diseases, infamy; and in the other life, perpetuall damnation. Weigh but the inconvenience, that growes through thy loose life, thou art hated of all that are good, despised of the vertuous, and only well thought of, of reprobates, rascals, ruffians, and such as the world hates, subject to their lust, and gaining thy living at the hands of every diseased leacher. O, what a miserable trade of life is thine, that livest of the vomit of sin, in hunting after maladies: But suppose, while thou art young, thou art favoured of thy companions; when thou waxest old, and that thy beauty is faded, then thou shall be lothed and despised, even of them that profest most love unto thee: Then, good sister, call to mind the basenesse of thy life, the hainous outrage of thy sin, that God doth punish it with the rigour of his justice. Oh, thou art made beautifull, faire, and well formed; and wilt thou then, by thy filthy lust, make thy body, which, if thou be honest, is the temple of God, the habitation of the divell? Consider this, and call to God for mercy, and amend thy life: Leave this house, and I will become thy faithfull friend in all honesty, and use thee as mine owne sister. At this, such a remorse of conscience, such a fearefull terror of my sin strook into my mind, that I kneeled down at his feet, and with teares besought him, that he would helpe me out of that misery, for his exhortation had caused in me a lothing of my wicked life, and I would not only become a reformed woman, but hold him as deare as my father that gave me life; whereupon, he kist me with teares, and so we went downe together, where we had further communication, and presently he provided me another lodging, where I not only used my selfe honestly, but also was so penitent, every day in teares for my former folly, that he tooke me to his wife; and how I have lived since, and lothed filthy lust, I referre my selfe to the Majesty of God, who knoweth the secrets of all hearts.

Thus, country-men, I have publisht the conversion of an English curtezan, which, if, any way, it be profitable, either to forwarne youth, or withdraw bad persons to goodnesse, I have the whole end of my desire; only craving, every father would bring up his children with carefull nurture, and every young woman respect the honour of her virginitie.

THE

ANATOMY OF A WOMANS TONGUE

DIVIDED INTO FIVE PARTS:

A MEDICINE, A POISON, A SERPENT, FIRE, AND THUNDER.

Whereunto is added divers new Epigrams nevers before printed. The fifth Edition, with more new Additions.

London, printed for Richard Harper, and are to be sold at his shop, at the Hospital-Gate, 1638. Duodecimo, containing eighteen pages,

The Frontispiece, or Meaning of the wooden Picture, in the Title-Page

This little emblem here doth represent
The bless'd condition of a man content,
Bless'd with a blessing sent him from above,

A quiet wife wholly compact of love;

In middle of the title I have plac'd them,

With hand in hand, my muse so much hath grac'd them.

The smiling sun, that o'er their heads doth shine,

Doth shew true love is heavenly and divine.

Now, at each corner of the title here,

Men discontented in their minds appear.

One sadly sits, his wife is grown so curst,

Her words like poison make him swell and burst.
Another man is by a serpent stung,

What is this serpent but a woman's tongue?
Another from the fire seems to turn,

To shew that women's tongues like fire will burn.
Another sounds his horn, and doth rejoice,
To drown a scolding woman's clamorous voice.
The cloud of thunder o'er his head, you see,
Doth shew what thund'ring tongues in women be.
Horns roar, and thunder rattles from the sky,
Yet women they will strain their voice as high.
Reader, no longer on the title look,
But cast thine eye a little on the book:
Read it quite o'er, and surely thou wilt say,
Thy money is well laid out, not cast away.

To the new-married Man.

YOUNG man, that now hast ventur'd on a wife,
And know'st not the conditions of her life;
For thou may'st live perhaps with her a year,
Before her qualities to thee appear:

Make much of her on whom thy love is plac'd,
Be sure thou offer not the first distaste:
For, if thou dost, thou openest a way,
For discontent to enter in I say;

If she be kind of nature, mild, and chaste,
Make much of her, for thou a jewel hast;
If she be quarrelsome, and curs'd of nature,
Why policy will tame the fiercest creature.
Lions and tigers by policy are tamed,

And other creatures, which here are not named.
Some men will beat their wives, but that's the way,
To make them obstinate and go astray;
Others no means unto their wives allow,
And say, that is the way to make them bow;
But such as these are knaves and clownish boors,
For that's the way to make them to be whores.
But, if thou seest her strive to wear the breeches,
Then strive to overcome her with kind speeches.
If this will not prevail, why then be sure,
That such a wife as she is quite past cure.
With evil company refuse to go,

For that's enough to make a sheep a shrew.
And to this end that thou should it careful be,
Here thou shalt know what I have done for thee.
If that a woman's tongue seem strange unto thee,
I'll shew what good or evil they may do thee.
Into five parts this tongue I will divide,
The first part is the best, as shall be try'd;
And these be they in order written under,

A Salve, a Poison, a Serpent, Fire, and Thunder:
And first a woman's tongue a salve I'll prove,
If she be one that doth her husband love.