CHAPTER III.
Ben Jonson’s Ridicule of the Early Newspapers—Fondness of the Old News-Writers for the Marvellous—The Smithfield Ghost—The Wonderful Whale—The Newbury Witch—Satirical Tracts and Caricatures at the Commencement of the Civil War—Religion Tossed in a Blanket—Caricatures of the Pope and the Bishops—Pluralists and Patentees—Taylor, the Water Poet—Mercurius Aulicus—Activity of the Pamphleteers—Welshmen Satirised—Satires on Prince Rupert—On the King and Queen—The Ladies’ Parliament—Illustrated Tracts relating to Social and Political Subjects—Sir Kenelm Digby’s Duel—The King entertained by the City of London, 1641—Executions in 1641—The Liquor Traffic and Sunday Closing in 1641—Abuses of the Ecclesiastical Courts—Ritualism and Nunneries in 1641—Truths enforced by Lieing—Stage Players and the Plague in 1641—Bartholomew Fair in 1641—Destruction of Charing Cross and Cheapside Cross—Strange Apparition—Method of Enforcing their Views adopted by the Puritan Pamphleteers—Parodies of Roundhead Sermons—Matthew Hopkins the Witch-finder—The Welsh Post of 1643—William Lilly the Astrologer—Three Suns seen in London on the King’s Birthday.
When Ben Jonson called the newspaper ‘a weekly cheat to draw money,’ and ridiculed the growing taste for news, he had some reason for satirising the journalism of the period. To satisfy the craving for news all kinds of impositions were freely circulated. Nothing was too wonderful for the credulity of the age, and people eagerly accepted what was placed before them, fully believing that whatever was in print must be true. It was not, however, till many years after Ben Jonson’s death that the so-called newspapers put forward their full powers as purveyors of the marvellous. Mercurius Democritus was the Punch of that day. While he satirised men and things he laboured to satisfy the popular taste for the wonderful, as in the following account of a ghost that was said to haunt the neighbourhood of Smithfield:—‘There is a great report of a ghoast that walks every Night amongst the Butchers at Smithfield Barrs, the Shambles, White-Chappell, and Eastcheape, in the habit of Mallet, the Lawyer, pulling the meat off the Butchers Tainters; many have adventured to strike at him with Cleavers and Chopping-knives, but cannot feel anything but Aire, every Saturday at night between 9 and 12, he walks his stations, in this very habit as you see, doing more mischiefe to the Butchers than ever Robin Goodfellow did to the Country Hindes.’
| THE SMITHFIELD GHOST. FROM ‘MERCURIUS DEMOCRITUS,’ 1654. |
Another example of the marvellous occurs in a tract entitled, ‘The Sea Wonder: a true and wonderful relation of a Whale pursued in the Sea, and incountered by multitudes of other Fishes as it was certified by divers Mariners of Weymouth, who, comming from France in the good ship called the Bonaventure, did shoote the said Whale, which making to Land did strike upon the Shore, within three miles of Weymouth, where being opened there was found in the belly of it a Romish Priest, with Pardon for divers Papists in England and Ireland, whose names are here inserted.’ Great pains appear to have been taken to give an air of truth to the narrative, which begins thus:—‘On the 19th of October being the Lord’s Day the good Ship called the Bonaventure of Weymouth being bound for England was bringing home her Merchandise from France which was wines, linning cloth, and abundance of Wall-nuts, the day was very fair and no wind stirring, so that the ship for above three hours space lay hulling upon the Seas, being not able to move either one way nor other for want of wind, although she was full sayled and prepared to take the advantage of every gale.’ The author gravely explains that the excitement of the fishes and their attacks on the whale were caused by their instinctively feeling the presence of the Popish Priest. Annexed is a copy of the woodcut on the title-page of this curious tract.
| THE WONDERFUL WHALE, 1645. |
‘Newes, True Newes, Laudable Newes, Citie Newes, Country Newes; The World is Mad, or it is a Mad World my Masters especially now when in the Antipodes these things are come to pass.’ Such is the lengthy title of a pamphlet containing an imaginary account of things at the Antipodes, and illustrated with a fanciful woodcut on the title-page. Then we have news from Boston in New England of a strange and prodigious birth of a child with two heads, also illustrated. Mercurius Democritus, besides such waggeries as giving an account of ‘a sight seen in the air by a blind philosopher,’ communicates ‘Many strange wonders out of the World, in the Moon, the Antipodes, Maggy Land, Tenebris, Fary-Land, Greenland, and other adjacent countries. Published for the right understanding of all the Mad-merry-people of Great Bedlam.’ Another example of the wonderful stories put forth to entertain the multitude relates to the discovery and punishment of a witch during the civil war. It occurs in a pamphlet entitled ‘A most Certain, Strange and true Discovery of a Witch, being taken by some of the Parliament Forces, as she was standing on a small planck-board and sayling on it over the River of Newbury.’ The illustration is of the rudest description, and the story is told in a breathless sort of way, without a full stop in the whole narrative:—
‘A part of the Army marching through Newbury, some of the Souldiers being scattered by the reason of their loytering by the way, in gathering Nuts, Apples, Plummes, Blackberries, and the like, one of them by chance in clambring up a tree, being pursued by his fellow or comrade in waggish merriment, jesting one with another, espied on the river being there adjacent, a tall, lean, slender woman, as he supposed, to his amazement, and great terrour, treading of the water with her feet, with as much ease and firmnesse as if one should walk or trample on the earth, wherewith he softly calls, and beckoned to his fellows to behold it, and with all possible speed that could be to obscure them from her sight, who as conveniently as they could they did observe, this could be no little amazement unto them you may think to see a woman dance upon the water, nor could all their sights be deluded, though perhaps one might, but coming nearer to the shore, they could perceive there was a planke or deale overshadowed with a little shallow water that she stood upon, the which did beare her up, anon rode by some of the commanders who were eye witnesses, as well as they, and were as much astonished as they could be, still too and fro she fleeted on the water, the boord standing firm boult upright, indeed I have both heard and read of many that in tempests and on rivers by casualty have become shipwracked, or cast overboard, where catching empty barrells, rudders, boards, or planks have made good shift by the assisting Providence of God to get on shore, but not in this womans kind to stand upon the board, turning and winding it which way she pleased, making it pastime to her, as little thinking who perceived her tricks, or that she did imagine that they were the last she ever should show, as we have heard the swan sing before her death, so did this devilish woman, as after plainly it appeared make sport before her death, at last having sufficiently been upon the water, he that deceived her alway did so then, blinding her that she could not, at her landing see the ambush that was laid for her, coming upon the shore, she gave the board a push, which they plainly perceived, and crossed the river, they searched after her but could not find her she being landed the Commanders beholding her, gave orders to lay hold on her, and bring her to them straight, the which some were fearful, but one being more venturous than other some, boldly went to her and seized on her by the arms, demanding what she was? but the woman no whit replying any words unto them, they brought her to the Commanders, to whom though mightily she was urged she did reply as little; so consulting with themselves what should be done with her, being it so apparently appeared she was a witch, being loth to let her goe & as loth to carry her with them, so they resolved with themselves, to make a shot at her, and gave order to a couple of their souldiers that were approved good marksmen, to charge and shoot her straight, which they prepared to doe; so setting her boult upright against a mud bank or wall; two of the souldiers according to their command made themselves ready, where having taken aime gave fire and shot at her, but with a deriding and loud laughter at them she caught their bullets in her hands and chew’d them, which was a stronger testimony than the water, that she was the same that their imaginations thought her for to be, so resolving with themselves if either fire or sword or halter were sufficient for to make an end of her, one set his Carbine close unto her brest; where discharging, the bullet back rebounded like a ball, and narrowly he mist it in his face that was the shooter; this so enraged the Gentleman, that one drew out his sword and manfully run at her with all the force his strength had power to make, but it prevailed no more than did the shot, the woman still though speechless, yet in a most contemptible way of scorn, still laughing at them, which did the more exhaust their furie against her life, yet one amongst the rest had heard that piercing or drawing bloud from forth the veins that crosse the temples of the head, it would prevail against the strongest sorcery, and quell the force of Witchcraft, which was allowed for triall; the woman hearing this knew then the Devill had left her and her power was gone, wherefore she began alowd to cry, and roare, tearing her haire, and making pitious moan, which in these words expressed were: And is it come to passe that I must die indeed? Why then his Excellency the Earle of Essex shall be fortunate and win the field, after which no more words could be got from her; wherewith they immediately discharged a Pistoll underneath her ear, at which she straight sunk down and died, leaving her legacy of a detested carcasse to the wormes, her soul we ought not to judge of, though the evils of her wicked life and death can scape no censure.’
| THE NEWBURY WITCH, 1643. |
On the outbreak of the great Civil War an immense number of tracts and pamphlets were published relating to social and political questions, many of which were illustrated. Satire was a weapon freely used, and many hard hits were made, the point and bitterness of which cannot now be understood. Caricatures, which are generally supposed to have made their appearance in England at a much later date, are of frequent occurrence. The wonderful and supernatural were freely dealt in, and many tracts were published which were not strictly news, yet had some reference to public men and passing events. The woodcuts in the tracts and pamphlets of this period were frequently repeated, being sometimes used where they had no relation to the subject treated.