curl'd shagpate squint-ey'd purblind—loveable

© Roy R. Behrens 2026

Above Roy R. Behrens, Hammerlock. Digital collage 2026.

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Anthony Wood (17th century Oxford antiquary), The Life and Times of Anthony a Wood (London: Oxford University Press, 1961), p. 71—

…a handsome maid living in Catstreet, being deeply in love with Joseph Godwin, a junior fellow of New College, poyson'd herself with rats-bane. This is mention'd because it made a great wonder that a maid should be in love with such a person as he, who had a curl'd shagpate, was squint-ey'd and purblind, and much deform'd with the small pox.