WHen I enter into the consideration of the aptnesse & gree­dinesse of our Nati­on (and not onelie of them, but almost of all people what­soeuer) both to en­tertaine and euen with a violent beliefe, to embrace the report of any Miracle whatsoeuer, howe euer deliuered from the mouthes or pennes of vaine Impo­stres, [Page 2]or the most vntrue speakers, with­out eyther examination of the grosse­nesse, or respect of the malicious or fan­tasticall inuentors, nay albeit it bee e­uen repugnant to holy Scriptures, I cannot chuse but admire at their want of faith, especially in these dayes, wher­in truth was neuer (since the dayes of the Apostles) more truely published, and yet such is our naturall blindnesse, or our willfull Ignorance that if we iour­ney neuer so safely in the perfect path of saluation yet we will bee drawne astray with the vainest & lightest report either of prodigious monster or false miracle, witnesse Garnets straw, being an imagi­nation and a report as false as Sathan himselfe who is the Author of all false­hood & yet it is harboured in the hearts and mouthes of many simple seduced people, witnes the Iewes Prophesie, being an idle, vaine Pamphlet, as grosse and grosser then Iohn of Calabria, and was printed many years agoe, and this last yeare onely renewed with the addi­tion of 1607. yet amongst fooles, women & children, retayned for such an appro­ued miracle that as if the gift of prophe­sie were hereditary to the Iewes & their [Page 3]tribes, there are fewe things better be­leeued when as in truth there was ne­uer any such Iew, nor any such prophesie but a meere inuention, witnes Haoker, that would be no lesse then Christ, & ma­ny other such like, all which being most absurd, & most improbable. And yet that in these latter dayes, the man of sin shal bring in false prophets, false prophesies, false miracles, & false deceiuers, it is most plaine in many places of holy Scripture & therefore if such falshods be the signes of a false Church, and a false religion, then questionles the Church of Rome hath no aliance with truth, since in her these euills are daily nourisht & ingen­dred almost howerly beguiling and in­chanting the people with the casting out off Diuells, and other vaine and false miracles, there may be Miranda multa, & yet indeed miracula nulla, many wonders as in the Sun, Moone Starrs, and fir­mament, many wonders in the earth, in the ayre, and in the waters, some as fore­runners of the last day, some as forwar­ning vs of the euills which hang ouer vs and some as punishments of our sins and of these wonders, the waters haue this yeare brought forth y ^e strangest that [Page 4]hath beene read of eyther in this age or any age since the generall flood which hath gone before it: as namely that which in the latter end of Ianuary last, hapned in Sōmerset shire, & other parts of the West-countries, the lamentable report whereof, hath already beene pub­lished and hath almost [...]ld euery eare both with pitty and wonder, so many soules perishing, so much goodes and Cattell consumed, & so many Townes-houses and good buyldings ouer-whell, med, that the consideration thereof is a­ble to moue remorse and astonishment in men of the most bloody and barbourous natures, euen such as Vergill writs of the Mirmidons, or Homer of the Thrasians that being as it were, he wed out off stint & moued with no cruelty, yet wept at the destruction of Troy, albeit themselues were the greatest actors in that hugh massacre: like soft hearted executioners that feele a touch of that affliction, with which the afflicte onely, but this first outrage of waters, proceeding from the great deepe, I meane the Sea, albe at, the first it apeared most fearefull & won­drous, and that the effects thereof were [Page 5]both most lamentable and at first beyond all bound of imagination, some not so strangely perishing, as others more strangely preserued (the true relation wherof is to bee read at pleasure) yet af­ter the dayes of sorrow were past ouer & that the finishing of nine dayes had fini­shed the remēbrance of the wonder, im­mediatly almost euery one could collect vnto himselfe a naturall cause and a pro­script & constant reason both how, why, and which way this inundation was effected: as one while the violence of the windes holding backe the springe tides that they wold not haue their free course according to their dispositions, made that two tides ioyning in one and com­ming both with a double power and quantity, it must of necessity follow that they must rise to a double height & haue double boundes wherein to be contay­ned, which not being found there would not chuse but followe this most sodaine fearefull, and vnexpected Ouer-flow: others imagined, that the furie of the winds driuing the waters before them and raysing as it were a double quanti­ty made the spring tides double their ac­customed greatnesse, and so ouerflowing [Page 4]their bankes to dround all within the compasse of that leuell. thus men forget­ting the powreful hand of the Almighty, & turning the wallet of their sins behind their backes, began to imagine likē natu­rall men, that sith there was a naturall reason for these natural causes sure they were not punishments for our transgres­sions, neyther had God in his displea­sure, or for our amendment laid this gē ­tle affliction vpon vs, but questionlesse they were deceiued, as may appeare eui­dently by the sequell of this relation: For in Couentry a Citty seated in Warwick-shire vpon the mount of a small hill, be­ing not neare any part of the Sea or falt-water by many scores of miles, nei­ther where there is any ebding or flow­ing, neyther any fresh Riuer of any quantity, more then such as a man may at any reasonable time of the yeare, ey­ther leape or stride ouer, this Citty being euer accounted a very drie Citty as wan­ting water eyther for traffick, or to beare a vessell of burden. In this Citty vppon Thurseday at night beeing the [...]6. of A­prill the dores of heauen beeing opened there fell a great raine, mixed with thun­der & lightning, to the amazement of the [Page 7]Cittizens, I do not meane such an amaze­ment as draue them either to feare or despair but such an amazement as doth common­ly follow and depend vpon thunder & light­ning which are the dartes and arrowes of the highest: this raine, this thunder & light­ning cōtinued the most part of all that night euen in the greatest extremity that could be imagined, the heauens as it were euen o­pening and spreading the lightning abroad like acurtaine, and making the darkenes of the night as bright as day, for the moment it lasted, and the thunder roaring so loud, that it broke the weariest Laborer from his sleepe and recreation: about morning the thunder ceassed and the rayne not falling so thicke as before, was then no more but an ordinarye drizling, so that the Plow-man betooke him to the field, the Laborer to his worke, and the Artificer to his occupation not any whatso­euer eyther fearing or seeing any cause to feare eyther extraordinary or ordinary flood or inundation, now about eyght of the clock this morning beeing Fryday the 17. of Aprill, according to the vsual custome of that religi­ous Cittye, the Cittizens repayred to the Church to heare a Lecture, which is vsually preache deuery Friday throughout the whole yeare, and when they went from their hou­ses, the left them drye neither sawe they any [Page 8]cause of suspition why they should not so continue, but when they returned backe frō the Lecture, they found all the lower partes of the Citty ouer-flown, with a most strange and wonderfull floode, such a one as no age, memory or record hath euer knowne in that place frō y ^e first beginning: the waters being risen within the Cittye in the space of three quarters of an howre, better then nine foote high, so that their houses stoode like little I­landes about which the water beat and see­med to contend with all violence, much hurt there was done of houshold goodes, many sellers of salte, corne and other commodities spoyled, but vnto the high praise of the great God of heauen not any man, woman, or child nor any other liuing creature, that was of a­ny valuable estimation perished in the wa­ters, onely the affliction of their mindes, who being the owners of those houses sawe this fearefull combate betwixt their goodes and this mercilesse enemy, howe farre they were transported with agonie, feare and desperat­nesse none can truely iudge or write of, but such as haue felt & known the like or a grea­ter extremity, for in these sodain and misera­ble disasters, there is euer a diuers and furi­ous combate of many passions and many afflictions.

This water after it was growne to his full [Page 9]height and strength, it so continued as in a stay for the space of three howers, giuing mē leaue as it were to behold his dreadfulnes, and to tremble at the work of the highest, and after the three howrs were expired, it sodain­ly vanished away beyond all expectation ma­king his comming in, & his going forth of e­quall wonder, the stay of the Flood being al­most three times so long, as both his increase and falling, his increasing, abyding & decay­ing beeing in all little aboue foure howers, yet his extraordinary depth full nine foote by measure, & his boundes many miles in com­pas, a wonder more then euer hath bin read of, and an examplary punishment so great & so mercifull that it is worthy the recording to all after ages, for it came onely to affright and forwarne, not to afflict or confound: For first no liuing soule hath perished, no cattell are destroyed, no houses are ouer-whelmed, and for the losse of priuate goodes and com­modities, it is supposed that the valew of 200. markes, will make a full restitution and yet neuer came Flood more sodaine, neuer was water in shewe more cruell: nor euer were men more secure, or lesse suspitious of so vn­lookt for a danger, but the hand of the Lord is vpon his seruants, and hee will chastice those which offend, and haue mercy where he pleaseth.

[Page 10] About 19. yeares agene when the same Gentleman which now is Maior of the Cit­ty of Couentry was then Maior, it is repor­ted there was then a very strange flood and so great a Water, that the amazement and rumour therof ran through the whole King­dome, but such as saw both this and that for­mer affirme, that the flood which fel 19 years agoe beeing cōpared with this that fell nowe was but a small puddle to a great Sea: from which I gather that as our sins do increase, so these signes and warnings for the amend­ment of our faltes are likewise both multi­plyed and redoubled, and wee that will not put on Sack-cloth and ashes at the crye and preaching, not of one Ionas, but of many mil­lions must eyther be warned by these won­ders, or else looke for most sodayne destructiō.

In the weeke before Easter last past in this present yeare of our Lord God 1607. the Sea forcing a breach through the banke a little from Lynne, Floodes at Lynne. came flowing in with such a furious spring tide, that it drowned vp a great part of the Towne together with the marshes and groundes thereunto adioyning and so passing like an inuincible host, along the Sea coast, it ouer-flowed to the number of almost a dozen Townes and Villages; on­ly the people with great difficulty, and by the fore-warning of the former flood which hap­ned [Page 11]the 20. of Ianuary, escapt with safety of their liues, but most of their cattell were lost and all their corne and graine consumed.

Flood at Boston.The like to this the same weeke before Ea­ster last happened at Boston where the Sea brake in aboue the hauen and drowned a great part of the Towne euen almost to the great-Crosse, and if the vigilancy and indu­stry of the Countrey and the Commanders thereof had not exceeded both hope and ex­pectation, it was fear'd that a great part of that Towne and countrey would haue been within the hazard of bure couerable euill, so mighty was the breach, and so extreame the swelling of the sea.

Flood in Kent.The same weeke before Easter, the Sea brake in vpon the Ile of Sheppe, and drowned the most part of all those grounds, and if the vigilance and wildome of one priuate Gen­tleman had not preuented the fury of the wa­ters, it had borne away many thousandes of sheepe and many hundreds of great cattle, but praise bee giuen to our great God, they were preserued for the benefit of this nation, only some fewe were lost, which fewe it is hoped will bee no occasion of dearth or ensu­ing scarcitie, at the same time that this Ile of Sheppy was thus drown'd, the Riuer of Thames breaking ouer her bankes drowned a great part of all those Marishes and lowe [Page 12]grounds which border vppon her, wherein many cattel were lost, and an infinit deale of good grasse made vtterly vnfit for this years seruice.

Lastly & which of all was most strange and miraculous at the Towne of Stopworth vp­on the edge of Ches-shre, Flood at Stop­worth. through which there passeth a riuer from thence down to Waring­ton, vpon a nights caine in the weeke before Easter last the water risse & ouerflowed both some part of the towne, & al the plaines that were adioyning, a thing neuer till that time beheld by any man, and as diuers men dwel­ling about those parts, and which were eye­beholders of the inundation haue reported, that the riuer for many howres together see­med to be carried against his course, euen to­wards the head and vpper part of the riuer a thing both strange, vnreasonable and vn­naturall, from which we may gather many obseruations for our soules health, as the testimonies of Gods great power, the mar­quable signes of his mercies and the true touch and feeling of our owne sinnes which touch breeding in vs remorce and penance & that pennance a satisfaction for our sin? and a detestation of our sinnes no doubt but wee shall haue the threatning of Gods wreath re­moued and be the inioyers of the blisse of his Kingdome.