Diary of Ralph Josselin (Private Collection)

16.12.1677 (Tuesday 16 December 1677)

document 70018900

Dec. 16. Sensible of the discord in some families. parents neglected by children their deaths gaped for to enjoy that they have. I shall observe gods returns. lord let it not be so with us. open season: sheep decaying. my hearty thoughts to do god some service in his holy day. read in my family the judgement of god on John Duncalf of old Swinford in Staffordshire, who running from his trade. to idleness and intemperance came to want a morsel of bread, to theft and of a bible and being charged with it denied it with this imprecation would his hands might rot off if he stole it. within a fortnight a symptom of rotting appeared and so both did and his legs. god set this home to me and mine to make us more careful of our ways.