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… There is not one among us so just as Jacob was nor scarce one on whom the Lord will pronounce the like sentence, so lamentable is our time and so detestable our iniquities. Our eyes have beheld such signs as Jerusalem did but we esteem them as fantasies, descanting whence they come but not remembering wherefore they were sent. Our ears have heard many Jonasses, threatening death, destruction, and damnation to Nineveh, crying over us with tears for our abomination, yet we rather desire silks than sackcloth, and when we should repent, we study to increase our pride.

… How dare all foul offenders but to tremble and quake when they hear the fearful noise of the thunder and see the dreadful blasts of lightning to descend from the heavens and sent from an angry God as tokens of his fearful indignation? In a word, how dareth every obstinate sinner to delight and boast of his wickedness when he knoweth that "upon the ungodly shall rain snares, fire and brimstone and stormy tempest; this shall be their portion to drink" (Psalms 11.6). but such is our ungodliness that what we should do, we slide back from, forgetting God and calling vengeance upon ourselves, haling sorrow upon sorrow, envying those that live well and loving those that hate goodness. Whoever read of more royalty in a king than we may justly write of our learned, gracious and godly King James? (whose blessed peaceful and happy reign, the Lord for his mercy long continue over us). What land had evermore plenty of all things than this realm of England? and yet what country under the sun may be compared with it for unthankfulness? We have the light of the glorious Gospel set upon an hill and yet too many - rather than they will see it - will sit blindfold in the valley of ignorance.

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Let us learn by the consuming of Sodom and Gomorrah to fly from their sins, and let us leave the wickedness of the Old World lest God devise a worse end for us. Let us be warned by the sins of Jerusalem to be armed with the word of truth. At the preaching of Jonas to Nineveh, let the ignorant leave to be obstinate and the learned cease to be slothful, and labour by all means to make the world know that the fearful day of the Lord's coming is at hand, exhorting therefore to watch, continuing in prayer. For assuredly this fearful accident - I mean the burning of this man and child by fire from heaven - ought not to be attributed to any natural cause. But it is even the finger of God, threatening greater plagues to ensue without our earnest and hearty repentance. Neither may we think that this judgement lighted upon them for their own proper sins, which might be greater than ours, but rather that out sins are far greater than were theirs, and God whose mercy is greater than all hath sent this for our example to call us unto repentance. Wherefore let us not think that those one in whom the Tower of Siloam fell were greater sinners than all those that dwell in Jerusalem, but rather let us assure ourselves that unless we repent, we shall also perish (Luke 13). And to speak of the life and conversation of the man, I cannot find or by any means understand )no, not by reports of the worst affected of his neighbours) but that he behaved himself every way in the judgement of the world as an honest poor man, and a painful laborer in his vocation.

The manner of the accident is as followeth:  He having been on Saturday the 26. of June last at work at the house of one John Deane of Parly-Court, where he truly and painfully labored at his trade being a carpenter, and having ended his day's work went home to his house as an honest man to comfort his family with the money which he had painfully gotten. (And went not as too many tradesmen use to do to be drunken and careless of their poor households at home, wherein he showed and gave testimony to the world of a religious care). And after his coming home, betook himself to his rest, and being in bed with is wife and child in the deep of the night, the lightning came on so secretly that an old woman named Agnes Russell (mother to the wife of the said John Hitchell) having received a terrible blow on her cheek, by what means I know not, was therewith awakened and cried to the said John Hitchell and his wife to help her. But the they not answering, the poor old woman start out of the bed and went unto the bed where they lay and awakened her daughter, who was upon the sudden most lamentably burnt all one side of her, and her husband and child dead by her side. Yet nevertheless his poor wife, when she her husband and child had thus strangely finished their days, she (as it seemeth) thought not so much of the the hurt she had received herself, as she was careful to have preserved the life of her husband if by any means possibly she could. And therefore, notwithstanding all her grievous wounds she dragged him out of the bed into the street, and there by reason of the vehemency of the fire, she was enforced to her no small grief to forsake him. Where he lay burning upon the ground for the space of three days after or thereabouts - not that there was any appearance of fire outwardly to be seen on him, but only a kind of smoke ascending upwards from the carcass, until it was consumed to ashes, except only some small show of part of his bones, which were cast into a pit made by the place. O fearful judgement! Hearken to this O ye that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you.

If this happened unto a man of so upright a conversation who labored painfully all day in a lawful calling, O what may befall you which sit night and day at the tavern, whose profane mouths are filled with impious oaths and filthy ribaldry, whose whole lives and conversations are nothing else but sinks of impiety.

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Therefore again I say, sith mercy and judgement thus stir in the night - the one for God's children, the other for his enemies - awake thous that sleepest in most dull security, going to the bed as the dog to his kennel without any thought either of God or the devil. Full little dost thou know what may happen to thee before it be day. It may be with thee as with the first born of Egypt, with the five kings, with the city Ai, with this poor (though now rich) man and his child. Thyself may be dead as he is, thy house on fire as his was, thy goods spoiled and children destroyed as his were, and as may woeful miseries upon thy wife and friends as there are upon his. Wherefore go to bed with prayer, awake with prayer, and rise with prayer. Let God and grace be in thy first thoughts and not malice and wrath, not sheep and oxen, not money and muck, which all perish with thee when God is angry.

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And to come a little nearer to ourselves, hath not the Lord shaken once more near our towns his rod of correction sithence this lamentable accident? Namely, by the burning of one Edward Burton's house and all his substance whilst they were in their beds? It is an old saying that, when our neighbour's house is on fire it is high time to look to our own. God's judgements we see have lighted on both sides of us already, and shall we still be careless? Moreover, it is not unworthy this the noting that as on both sides of the town these fearful judgements have happened, so likewise upon the first day of May last within the town was born a monster. Which may well teach us that although these things have happened without the town, yet the monsters for whose ugly sins' sake these judgements have come to pass may seem to remain within the town. God open our eyes that we may behold these things aright, and mollify our hearts, good Lord we beseech thee, that we may repent as we ought.

And although I will not particularize the unnatural proportions of that monster, yet I observe that it wanted lips - to teach us (as I suppose) that we want sanctified lips to glorify the powerful name of our gracious God. Moreover it wanted the place of evacuation, by means whereof the body could not be exonerate or cleansed of the excrements. To teach that whatsoever pretence or show we make of religion outwardly, yet the filth of sine remaineth still within because there wanted true repentance in us whereby our souls might be cleansed in the blood of Jesus Christ.

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Fire and brimstone to Sodom and Gomorrah, a Deluge over the old world, with infinite other cities that he hath justly plagued for their iniquities:  and we think to escape, that have not only practised to be perfect in their sins but daily study to devise new offences.

The times we see have almost changed their natures and our summer become even a winter, yet nothing can provoke us to repent.

§§

Hereunto is annexed the lamentable and fearful burning of the town of Dorchester upon the 6. of August last. 1613.

If this dolorous discourse aforesaid of God's fiery judgement (written by Master Hilliard) late happening in Hampshire have any whit penetrated the reader with remorse, I am here presumingly bold (without disparagement to the author) to add unto his book a second sorrow to our country - a sudden calamity late befallen upon the town of Dorshester in the west of England. The heavy news whereof even strikes trembling hearts of people that so famous a town and the only storehouse of those parts for merchandise commodities, should in less than four-and-twenty hours be ruinated by this great commanding element, fire.

Dorchester (as it is well known) is one of the principal places of traffic for western merchants, by which means it grew rich and populous, beautified with many stately buildings and fair streets, flourishing full of all sorts of tradesmen and artificers. Plenty with abundance revelled in her bosom, maintained with a wise and civil government to the well-deserving commendation of the inhabitants. But now mark how their golden fortunes faded and their cheerful sun of prosperity eclipsed with the black veil of mournful adversity. For upon the sixth of August last, being Friday, this then flourishing town of Dorchester about the midday flourished in her greatest state, but before three of the clock in afternoon she was covered with a garment of red flaming fire, and all their jollity turned to lamentation

This instrument of God's wrath began first to take hold in a tradesman's work-house. For a tallow-chandler there dwelling, making too great a fire under his kettle or lead, took hold upon the melted and boiling tallow in such violent manner that without resistance it fired the work-house, and immediately one room after another till the chandler's whole dwelling was all on a light burning flame.

Then began the cry of fire to be spread through the whole town. Man, woman and child ran amazedly up and down the streets, calling for water, water! so fearfully as if death's trumpet had sounded a command of present destruction. Many were the affrights of the inhabitants. Amongst which - next unto the chandler's house (then all on a fire flaming) was a warehouse of gunpowder filled into barrels belonging unto a merchant of the town, which to preserve they much adventured, and with wet sheets and other linen saved the house from burning till they had carried the powder safe into the fields. Otherwise taking fire it had been sufficient with one blast to have blown up a whole town, with all the inhabitants therein remaining. But, God be praised, it was preserved and not one living creature therein perished.

The fire, as I said before, began between the hours of two and three in the afternoon, the wind blowing very strong, and increased so mightily that in very short space, the most part of the town was fired, which burned so extremely, the weather being hot and the houses dry, that help of man grew almost past. But yet as in such extremities, people will show their endeavours, so these amazed townsmen strived to succour one another, but to small purpose for the tyrannous fire had taken too great a head and likewise there was too much want of water.

The reason the fire at the first prevailed above the strength of man was that it unfortunately happened in the time of harvest when people were most busied in reaping of their corn, and the town most emptiest. But when this burning beacon of ruin gave the harvestmen light into the field, little booted it them to stay, but in more than reasonable haste posted they homeward, not only for the safeguard of their goods and houses but for the preservation of their wives and children - more dearer than all temporal estate or worldly abundance.

In like manner, the inhabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages at the fearful sight red blazing element ran in multitudes to assist them, proffering the dear adventure of their lives to oppress the rigor of the fire if possible it might be, but all too late they came and to small purpose showed they their willing minds. For almost every street was filled with flame, every house covered with the robe of destruction, every place burning beyond help and recovery. There might they in woeful manner behold merchants' warehouses full of riches commodities, being shops of silks and velvets, on a flaming fire; garners of bread corn consuming; multitudes of linen and woollen clothes burned into ashes; gold and silver melted with brass, pewter and copper; trunks and chests of damasks and fine linens with all manner of rich stuffs made fuel to increase this universe sole conqueror which levelled and made waste all things it laid hold of. The fierceness of the fire was such that it even burnt and scorched trees as they grew and converted their green liveries into black burned garments; not so much as herbs and flowers flourishing in gardens but were in a moment withered with the heat of the fire. Many living creatures as horse, swine, pullen and such like at this woeful time were consumed into ashes to the great grief of the beholders. Was it not a sorrow for a tradesman to see all his estate burning at an instant which he had laboured for twenty years before? Was it not a sorrow for a man to rise rich in the morning and to be brought unto poverty before night? And was it not a sorrow for parents to see the portion of their children thus consumed? Oh grief upon grief.

When this burning invader comes he shows no pity, he spareth neither rich nor poor - the rich he makes poor, and the poor miserable. Dorchester was a famous town, now a heap of ashes for travellers that pass by to sigh at. Oh Dorchester, well mayest thou mourn for those thy great losses, for never had English town the like unto this. The value, by the judgement of the inhabitants without partiality, is reckoned to come to two hundred thousand pounds, besides well near three hundred houses, all ruinated and burned to the ground. Only a few dwelling houses that stand about the church was saved and withal the church, by God's providence, preserved for people therein to magnify his name. All the rest of the town was consumed and converted into a heap of ashes. A loss so unrecoverable that unless the whole land in pity set to their devotions, it is like never to re-obtain the former estate but continue like ruinated Troy or decayed Carthage. God in his mercy raise the inhabitants up again, and grant that by the mischance of this town both us, they and all others may repent us of our sins. Amen.

pullen = poultry