John Slater's 1664 Verses

Related to all my frinds both fare and nere [?] I Intreat you for to heer [?] you [read and — struck out] attend and when you have don you shall understand what h[is] ye outher doth Intend nothinge of himselfe he doth preten[d] [blot] you I do declar wich [is] a truth as I do her[e] y[t] w[ill not] turne into delusion Because of frecunt opinion the p[er]sons nam read afterwards her nam is mary Edwards the person to whom she this avowes it is to be an esp[ous]ious spouse ther is an Intended porpose of mariag Between thes to if it donot miscarie the tim I cannot truly tell well becays they themselves so certainly cannot tel[l] o waite awhile tell the time com and then you shall see all thes things [done] if you require when this was dated on ye 14 day of feburary it may be re[lated] [B]oth I this mater doe rehearse and briefly set downe in vearce if you would know ye ocasion why I will not tell you truly if you aske me why soe why thanke you I [have nothing — struck out] else to do O nowe my frinde do you hearke and now I will fall to my worke Iff you would here and understand Ille tell you what I have in hand my mater Intended her[e] is thus I do declare and heering as I do accorde of a mach in concorde O do thou help me Milpomyne thou famed goddisse of poetry though I am left in the darke yet my frinds do you harke what this praty bird sayes in this wodde com cherish up my dying bloode Indeed my heart is now wone to the[e] my singular opinion her natures fury doth so rune that she thinks it will never be don she standeth up with horrid face and thus she argues the case my [?] doth pittiously sich I pray pinion set to a stich she answering unto her I will not prove false to the[e] my dere but as thou didst desire me thy groaning hole Ille search and see and loking in [it] peering wisse shee wept his nose and wipt his eyes [thus] sayed sire pinione when he was doing his conjunction Oh now quoth shee take [heed I pray?] And let nothing heare be loste From hence [swet] vertue for your nose From hence I such helping for your eyes This gut of wonder being burst Into her hole your head may thrust If all this will not serve now turne Then afterwards put [it] in your tongue

Truly this swet heart this is poor[ly] Returned to mee for all my paines If you heare no better sport I will no mor to you resort O wat pinion stay ye awhile and see ye frut of your bill be thankfull to mee my love for so it doth you behove And that befor you do goe away slake not what you mean to doe to ye fayr O kind sir be not discorraged but follow on till I am purged for if ever you [mean] to be a father do your worke well befor you give over So thus my dearest frind [to the] I will rest and mak an end desiring non of this emty paper may be lost therfor do thou now fill ye rest therfor commend I this to the[e] hopping well pleasing it may bee and as I unto the[e] I do request [Frinde?] heare you fill up ye rest Let non of it be left emty but fill thou it up w[ith] much plenty hopping thou wilt If it alowe and give unto them what is ye due [?] bishopp doctor thou sest well Frind fill up yo[ur] rest and so farwell when I did thes [?] peruse I [w]rot thereof and did not abuse my matter being thus ther and somthing I Intend now to declar[e] the matter which my muses ring[s] and unto my memory now it bringes O hearken to my [?] expedicion so read thou this thou[gh] [vermin one?] if natures quik bugge doe burn then quickly send for thy pinion If sicke thou art and like to dye get pinion to fucke ye quickly If sicke thou be and lak a purge borow pinnions glister pipe and bagg If thou art troubled w[ith] ye groaning [stone] borow pinnions [?] stones and [?] If thou art troubled w[ith] a aching bel[ly] spear not to borrow pinions quarter[s] If thou art troubled for want [of] breeding hast quickly horse and man and send for [him] if ever thou art troubled w[ith] dreams [?] never spear but let him the[e] often fu[?] I heaving received my paper empty I heave filled up the rest directly For fear I should lose all my paines I therfor must writ downe my [?] though it could not be published in febuary because it did fall out contrary therfore on the first day of marche I do To publish this contraction So [thus I] end and [rested?] [?] you [have] [?]

[Deare] My [deare] and most lovinge frind sir Thomas pinion I would intreat you to forgive what you may find offensive to your mind Let not my paines labour and cost be cast away as a thing of nought if it does ofend ye little [?] for it

To your dreadfull and most Soueraign lord [Haywood high Con[stable]] the cunt searcher [Ye] all you madens in this town that dwell Read and mearke my story welle Looke and beware all your wayes Lest ye constable bringes you to disgrayce See unto your privit[s] [?] Lest ye constable search you when you com abroad & when he would see your cunts apparint Let him not goe w[ith]out his arrante for he is the arrants rogge that ever searcht a cunt abroad Keep fast ye doares of your tombes for he will not spare to search your wombes O peeping knave what wants thou a cunt or som such thing to doe that thou must send thy [s]ervants befor yee [to] [?] yea the way for mee what thinkest thou there to finde or what came Into thy minde thought thou to find ther less or worse Either jewells pearles or such like stones If that thou could w[ith] y[our] Implymente [?] all the bones Didst thou thinke to find ye [?] stone ore thought thou to find ther ye [?] or thought thou ther had ben som clear cristall or thought thou ther had ben som clear bright spott or thought thou ther had ben som silver knotte that mad thy desier so to lingen or mad the[e] thear to be so busy with thy finger swet hearts do thou him not blame nither upon his actions do thou cast shame the reson why he [?] at that charge the reson thou shalt [hear] at large the reson why he searches thy conny is because that he wants monys it is not out of good conscience neither to god or to his saints but because he wants mony & I say Doth not spare to search thy cunt every lecturday be cause he is in debt as thinkes he may scrap mony out of cunts to paye he thinkes every man ought so to doe I mean not to search cunt but to pay wha[t they owe] If I be in thy debt as thou canst tell [?] I thinke my paines herein may satisfie [well] truly I thinke then that thou ought to scrape and search a cunt for every groat [?] ther best in [?] and knows not how to pay but must set a score O take my counsell and donot scorne Every lecturday search a cunt so every day by thy devotion quickly thou mayst com to promotion but if they say this is the way to devision then out of thy pokett pull thy commission if they demand the seall therof tell them it is the seall of a nott of a groat if they would have the[e] somthing more debate tell them it is a dear yearnd groate

[?] doctor my pains [?] [I] call this hard to articulate let not all my labor be in vaine O thou spear any pains I throw out my orthographie [and] thou hast don call it quickly [?] her defaim [?] is a cursed famine [Le]st thou thus judge of us kind reader This had never ben if ther had ben no leader I scorn to take upon myselfe to Indict any matter or to beat my brain or that my pen [should be the] [?] of any untruth or libelle as thou mayst call it crazy idle fancy or dreame but be it known unto all men that this was never don w[ith] idle dream[s] but that hellish act was the cause herof howsoever men tak it for a scoffe if that be the constables office to [?] [?] [?] truly [?] every constable cannot do by [?] act or go[?] so I end.

Be it knowne unto all to whom this writing shall com to [?] that it was not [?] done [?] som moving cause at first of all [?] who was the cheate actor in this case was Sire John haywood Lord high constable of concord the moving cause was suspition but what was [th]at that was suspected a maid being w[ith] child who was the father of it the constable himselfe for ought I know but will Satan fight against Satan but when the [?] or devill got rogge he may well grunt or call it his trade [?] I understand of what occupation [that] [?] he is a [taylor?] by trade but you know that every surgeon [?] that taketh a care that is much torn or rent he is som tims forced to put a needle and thrid So the man [?] about this worke of searchinge the privit members of a maid [?] for it [?] som [?] he may quickly bring his needle and thread [?] then why [?] [?] chaunce to [?] what [?] be don afterwards [?] wash his tongue w[ith] [?] new broth afterwards [?] that meane[s] [?] him like the sor[e] tell it is well and so [?] that [?] [?] like [?] you have spoken so much of the [?] and abilities [?] and also of his [?] [a] man of an exquisit wit and und[erstanding] hidden thinges the [?] on to [?] the [?] belly this wisdome goe[s] [?] of [?] body slandrest about [?] a black [?] countenance [?] lord john [?]

8. march: 63 64: A cause brought before us the Comissioners of Concorde of lybills writ in papers & set upon a post on ye meetinghouse; (we) were informed that John Slater was suspected to be ye writer of them whereupon we sent for him before us; John heywood being on[e] mentioned in ye lybills who brought him before us; did say to Slater that if he would freely confesse that he wrote them he will freely forgive him; upon examination of him he was in a humbill frame & we discerned [him] that som others did joyne with him; we said to him if he will discover all; we will promise him to show him what faviour we could; whereupon he did confesse that he did writ them; & was sory that he had done it, & that it was ye first time that he had done so, & should be ye last; & testified his sorrow & shame of the thing in a writing which he set upon ye meetinghouse, to ye view of all; this was heard, & promised, before us; & it being ye first time of him, & who[?] it will be ye last; have passed it by for this time; if it may please ye honoured Court to doe the same; Robert meriam Tho: T Brooke his marke Georg Wheeler (Docketed below: "1663/4 March 8th Case of John Slater … Concord")