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Chapter Sixth.
THE MOTHER SHIPTON OF ART—AN EARLY PICTURE OF MOTHER SHIPTON AND CARDINAL WOLSEY—THE ORIGIN OF "PUNCH"—PUNCH IN ENGLAND AND ITALY—PUPPET-SHOWS—SURVIVAL OF MOTHER SHIPTON IN MR. PUNCH OF FLEET STREET—MOTHER SHIPTON IN WESTMINSTER ABBY—A KICKING EFFIGY OF MOTHER SHIPTON IN FLEET STREET—MOTHER SHIPTON'S SKULL—A CURIOUS PICTURE OF MOTHER SHIPTON AT STILTON—MOTHER SHIPTON IN SCOTLAND.
The cover of the earliest pamphlet extant in relation to Mother Shipton, namely, that dated 1641, has a coarsely executed alleged likeness of her on the front page. The artist seems to have had no deliberate intention to make her specially ugly; she has no hooked nose, hump, or abnormal dress. The portrait would equally well have done for Queen Elizabeth or any other respectable woman of about Mother Shipton's time.
The 1663 pamphlet has a picture of a more dramatic nature, on the front page. An accurate copy of it is given in the engraving printed upon page eight herein. In this cut
