Strange and wonderful history and prophecies of Mother Shipton/Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
By what name Mother Shipton was christened and how her Mother went into a Monaftery.
THE child being thus brought into the world, under such strange circumstances; was though not without some opposition, ordered at last, by the Abbot of Beverly, to be christened, which was performed by the name of Ursula Seathiel, for the latter was her mother's and consequently her maiden sirname; as for Shipton, it was the name of her busband whom she afterwards married, as will appear in the sequel of this history, and in these particulars most of the authors I have read have been fully mistaken But to proceed, when she was about two years old, her mother coming to be sensible of her evil, in holding a correspondence with a wicked fpirit, applying herself to several religious men of great note in those times, by whose grave advice she grew truly penitent, and, according to the fashion of that age's devotion, put herself into a neighbouring monastry, having put out her child, with a piece of money, to a friend, and so spent the remainder of her days in the famous convent of the order of St Bridget; near Nottingham, in prayers and tears, and other acts of penance to expiate the wickedness of her youth; but wonderful it is to relate the troubles that befel the nurse she was put to; for her father the foul fiend, is reported several times to have visited her; particulary one day, the nurse having been abroad, when the returned, she found the door open: whereupon, fearing that she was robbed, she called three or four neighbours and their wives to go into the house with her, but before they got into the entry, they heard a noise, as if there had been a thousand cats in consort, which so dismayed them, that they all ran towards the door, endeavouring to get out again; but in vain, for every one of them had got yokes on their necks, that they could not possibly return; but soon after the yokes fell-off, and then a coult-staff was laid on two of the men's shoulders; upon which an old woman presented herself stark naked, sometimes hanging by the heels, sometimes by the toes, anon by the middle, with divers other postures; while, the women having all their coats turned over their ears, exposed their shape to public view, and so continued till a fryar accidently came to the house, and then they were suddenyly released; but still the child being taken out of the cradle, could not be found, till at last one of the company looking by chance up the chimey saw it stark naked, sitting astride upon the iron, to which the pot-hooks were fastened; whence they took it down without the least hurt, and so far from being frightened, that it seemed by its monstrous smiles to be very well pleased at these pleasant exploits.