oh dear

[swan_tower]

You remember when, a little while ago, I referred to John Stow's A Survey of London, Vols. 1 and 2 as More Than I Ever Wanted to Know About Elizabethan London, Vols. 1 and 2?

Looks like I should amend that to More Than I Ever Wanted to Know About Elizabethan London and Printed With Unmodernized Spelling to Boot, Vols. 1 and 2.

Sample:

Thames the most famous riuer of this Iland, beginneth a little aboue a village called Winchcombe in Oxfordshire, and still increasing passeth first by the university of Oxford, and so with a maruelous quiet course to London, and thence breaketh into the French Ocean by maine tides, which twice in 24. howers space doth eb and flow, more than 60. miles in length, to the great commoditie of Trauellers, by which all kind of Marchandise bee easily conueyed to London, the principall store house, and Staple of all commodities within this Realme, so that omitting to speake of great ships, and other vessels of burden, there pertayneth to the Citties of London, Westminster, and Borrough of Southwarke, aboue the number is supposed of 2000.

It isn't impenetrable . . . but it will be slow going.