“More likely thou art a harlot, and the children basely begotten. Away with thee from my door, or I will have the constables after thee, and thou shalt be publicly whipped for a low woman.”
Then, losing her temper completely, she called for her serving men.
“Ho, there. Rid me of this pest. Turn out this old sow and her litter, for there is the smell of the stye about them.”
At this outrage the poor woman fled. Some say she called down the vengeance of heaven upon the haughty dame, others state that divine justice asserted itself of its own accord. Be that as it may, the wealthy lady was in due course with child, and she brought forth a daughter having a face shaped like an animal with a pig’s snout thereon, who in after years married the parson of Mottram. Thus did pride and want of charity bring its own reward.
[XVII.]
The Devil and the Doctor.
