Page:Wonderful progidies (sic) of judgment and mercy.pdf/22

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Dreadful Judgments upon Atheiſts,

ſo that the inhabitants were ready to die for fear; and ſoon after tore her body into four pieces, leaving a quarter of her in the four ſeveral highways, that all who came by might be witneſſes of her puniſhment; and then returning to the marriage, he threw her bowels upon the table before the mayor of the town, with theſe words; Behold theſe diſhes of meat belong to thee whom the like deſtruction awaiteth, if thou doſt not amend thy wicked life. The reporters of this history were John Herman, the miniſter of that town, with the mayor himſelf, and all the inhabitants, they being deſirous to have it known for example's ſake.—Beard's Theatre.


XXVII. Moſt dreadful is that relation of Johannes Fincelius; that 1553, near Belliſina, a city in Helvetia, there were three profane wretches that played at dice upon the Lord's day, without the walls of the city, one of whom called Ulrick Shaeterus, having loſt much money, and offended God by many curſed ſpeeches; at last expecting a good caſt, he brake forth into this horrible and blaſphemous ſpeech, If fortune deceive me now, I will thruſt my dagger into the very body of God as far as I am able; and the caſt miſcarrying, he immediately drew his dagger, and threw it up againſt heaven with all his ſtrength, when behold the dagger vaniſhed out of ſight, and five drops of blood fell immediately upon the table in the midſt before them, and ſoon the devil came, and carried away this blaſphemous wretch, with ſuch fury and dreadful noiſe, that the whole city was amazed and aſtonished thereat, the like never having been ſeen there before; the other two, half diſtracted with fear, ſtrove with all their might to wipe away the drops of blood from the table, but all in vain; for the more they wiped them, the more clearly they appeared. The rumour of this