The Devil in Britain and America

CHAPTER XXIV

We now come to the time of Cotton Mather, whose name is a ‘household word’ in connection with witchcraft in Massachusetts. He was the son of Increase Mather, D.D., one of the early presidents of Harvard College, was born in 1633, studied at Harvard, and at the age of twenty was appointed co-pastor with his father at Boston. He begins his first witch story thus: ‘There dwells at this time, in the south part of Boston, a sober and pious man, whose name is John Goodwin, whose Trade is that of a Mason, and whose Wife (to which a Good Report gives a share with him in all the Characters of Virtue) has made him the Father of six (now living) Children. Of these Children, all but the Eldest, who works with his Father at his Calling, and the Youngest, who lives yet upon the Breast of its mother, have laboured under the direful effects of a no less palpable than stupendous Witchcraft.’128

As the reader will see that it is impossible to quote Cotton Mather very much at length, on account of his excessively rotund style, I must tell the story as briefly as possible. Sometimes these unhappy children would be by turns either deaf, dumb, or blind, or all three at once, their jaws be dislocated, and then close sharply with a loud snap. ‘They would bark at one another like Dogs, and again purr like so many Cats… Yea they would fly like Geese; and be carried with an incredible Swiftness thro’ the air, having but just their Toes now and then upon the ground, and their Arms waved like the Wings of a Bird. One of them, in the House of a Kind Neighbour, flew the length of the Room, about 20 foot, and flew into an Infant’s high armed Chair; none seeing her feet all the way touch the floor.’

Cotton Mather took the eldest daughter home to live with them, in order that he ‘might be furnished with Evidence and Argument as a Critical Eye Witness, to confute the Saducism of this debauched Age.’ For some days all went well, but on November 20 she was once more possessed. She tried to fly, to dive, her eyes sunk into her head, so that they thought they would never return to their normal position, and she complained that Goody Glover, a poor crazy Irish woman, had put an invisible but very potent chain round her leg. She could not read the Bible, but a Quaker book she was able to read, with the exception of the names of God and Christ. Queer books, like the ‘Oxford Jests’ and ‘Cambridge Jests,’ she could read well enough, but could only pronounce the words ‘Devils’ or ‘Witches’ with extreme difficulty.

‘Every now and then an Invisible Horse would be brought unto her by those whom she only called them, and, Her Company: upon the Approach of Which, her eyes would be still closed up; for, (said she) They say I am a Tell-Tale, and, therefore, they will not let me see them. Upon this would she give a Spring as one mounting an Horse, and Settling her self in a Riding Posture, she would, in her Chair be agitated as one sometimes Amble-ing sometimes Trotting, and sometimes Galloping very furiously.’

This state of things would not do, so divers ministers and devout friends fell to a-praying, but all to no purpose, her invisible adversaries on one occasion dragging her to an oven which was heating, and another time choking her, till she was black in the face, with an invisible rope and noose; she even began to torment good Mr. Mather. ‘When I had begun to study my Sermon, her Tormentors again seized upon her; and all Fryday and Saturday did they manage her with a special Design, as was plain, to disturb me in what I was about. In the worst of her extravagancies, formerly, she was more dutiful to myself than I had reason to Expect, but, now, her whole carriage to me, was with a Sauciness that I had not been us’d to be treated with. She would knock at my Study Door, affirming That some below would be glad to see me; when there was none that ask’t for me. She would call to me with multiplyed Impertinences, and throw small things at me, wherewith she could not give me any hurt. Shee’d Hector me at a strange rate for the work I was at, and threaten me with I know not what mischief for it.’

By dint of energetic prayer she began to amend, but she had one more very bad breakout. ‘Moreover, Both she at my house, and her Sister at home, at the time which they call Christmas, were by the Dæmons, made very drunk, though they had no strong Drink (as we are fully sure) to make them so. When she began to feel herself thus drunk, she complain’d, O, they say they will have me to keep Christmas with them! They will disgrace me when they can do nothing else! And, immediately the Ridiculous Behaviour of one drunk, were with a wonderful exactness represented in her Speaking, and Reeling, and Spewing, and anon Sleeping, till she was well again.’

The next example Cotton Mather gives us is that of ‘Mr. Philip Smith, aged about Fifty years, a Son of eminently vertuous Parents, a Deacon of the Church at Hadley, a Member of our General Court, an Associate in their County Court, a Select-man for the affairs of the Town, a Lieutenant in the Troop; and, which crowns all, a man for Devotion and Gravity, and all that was Honest, exceeding exemplary. Such a man, in the Winter of the year 1684 was murdered with an hideous Witchcraft, which filled all those parts with a just astonishment.

‘He was concerned about Relieving the Indigencies of a wretched woman in the Town; who, being dissatisfied at some of his just cares about her, expressed her self unto him in such a manner, that he declared himself apprehensive of receiving mischief at her hands; he said he doubted she would attempt his Hurt.’

In the beginning of the following January he fell sick, and took to his bed; but he could not rest, he was delirious and spoke in sundry voices and languages, and felt hundreds of pins pricking him all over. Sometimes there was a strange smell of musk about the place. As, in his agony, he called upon the supposed witch, his kind friends ‘did three or four times in one Night go and give Disturbance to the Woman that we have spoken of: all the while they were doing of it, the good man was at ease, and slept as a weary man; and these were all the times they perceived him to take any sleep at all.’

Sometimes fire was seen on the bed, but when attention was called to it, it vanished. Something as big as a cat moved in the bed, but no one could catch it; and ‘a discreet and sober Woman, resting on the Bed’s Feet, felt as it were, a Hand, the Thumb and the Finger of it, taking her by the side and giving her a Pinch; but turning to see What it might be, nothing was to be seen.’ Many more marvels occurred, and at last the poor man died, yet even then his bed moved of itself more than once, and at night, when they were preparing for his funeral, noises were heard in the room ‘as though there had been a great Removing and Clattering of stools and chairs.’ I cannot find that the witch was punished.

He next gives an instance of a boy at Tocutt, who held a great deal of communication with the Devil without absolutely resigning his soul to him, and who must have lived a very uncomfortable existence. ‘He speaks of men coming to him before they come in Sight; and, once, two being with him, their Backs turned, the Devil carried him away, they knew not how, and after search, they found him in a Cellar, as dead, but, after a little space, he came to Life again. And another time, threw him up into a Chamber, stopped him up into a Hole where they after found him. Another time, he carried him about a Bowshot, and threw him into a Hog-Stye amongst Swine, which ran away with a terrible noise.’

He gives two more instances of possession by the Devil; but they are mild cases which yielded to prayer. There are other minor cases of witchcraft which I have omitted, because I would fain have space to tell of the works of the Devil at Salem in 1692.

Salem was then a small village, about sixteen miles north-east of Boston, and its minister was the Rev. Samuel Parris, born in London in 1653. He entered Harvard College, but could not take a degree, went to Barbados, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and finally turned religious, and was ordained minister of Salem congregation in 1689, naturally taking a leading part in the little community.

At his house, during the winter of 1691-92, a society of girls met, curiously enough, for the purpose of practising palmistry, fortune-telling, necromancy, magic, and spiritualism; and they soon became so far advanced in these arts as to be seized with unnatural spasms, falling insensible on the floor, writhing in agony, and uttering piercing cries. As this conduct was decidedly abnormal, as was their amusement, it was settled that they were bewitched, and they were sympathized with as being ‘afflicted Children.’ Fasting and prayer were tried, but with no good result. On being questioned as to who had bewitched them, they answered ‘Good,’ ‘Osborn,’ and ‘Tituba.’ Sarah Good was a woman generally disliked, Sarah Osborn was a bed-ridden woman who did not bear a very good character, and Tituba was an Indian woman in Mr. Parris’ service.

On March 1, 1692, they were brought before the court charged with bewitching the children. One indictment must serve as a specimen for all:

‘The Jurors for our Sovereigne Lord & Lady King William & Queen Mary Doe present: That Sarah Good, ye wife of William Good of Salem Village, In the County of Essex, husbandman, upon ye first day of March in ye fourth year of ye Reigne of our Sovereigne Lord & Lady Wm & Mary, by ye Grace of God, of England, Scotland, ffrance & Ireland King & Queen, defendrs of ye faith etc & Divers other days & times as well before as after, Certaine Detestable Arts, Called Witchcrafts & Sorceries, wickedly & ffeloniously hath used, practised & Exercised at & within ye Township of Salem aforesaid, In, upon & against An Puttman, Single woman of Salem Village, by which said Wicked arts, the said An Puttman ye said first day of March, in ye fourth year abovesaid & divers other other days & times, as well before as after, was & is hurt, Tortured, afflicted, Pined, Consumed, wasted & Tormented, & also for Sundry acts of Witchcraft by said Good Committed & done before & since that time against ye peace of our Soveraigne Lord & Lady ye King & Queen Their Crowne & dignity & against ye forme of Statues In that Case made & provided.

‘Witness. Ann Putman. Jurat. Eliz. Hubbard. Abigail Williams. Jurat.’

On examination, Good and Osborn denied the accusation in toto, but Tituba, the Indian woman, gave damning evidence against them, and it is worthy of being given in extenso:

‘Titibe what evil Spirit have you familiarity with? – None.

‘Why do you hurt these children? – I do not hurt them.

‘Who is it then? – The Devil for ought I know.

‘Did you never see the Devil? – The Devil came to me and bid me serve him.

‘Who have you seen? – Four women sometimes hurt the children.

‘Who were they? – Goode Osburn and Sarah Good, and I doe not know who the other were. Sarah Good and Osburne would have me hurt the children, but I would not. She further saith there was a tall man of Boston that she did see.

‘When did you see them? – Last night at Boston.

‘What did they say to you? – They said, hurt the children.

‘And did you hurt them? – No, there is 4 women and one man. They hurt the children, and they lay all upon me, and they tell me if I will not hurt the children, they will hurt me.

‘But you did not hurt them? – Yes, but I will hurt them no more.

‘Are you not sorry you did hurt them? – Yes.

‘And why then doe you hurt them? – They say hurt children or wee will doe worse to you.

‘What have you seen? – An man come to me and say serve me.

‘What service? – Hurt the children; and, last night, there was an appearance that said kill the children; and if I would not go on hurting the children, they would do worse to me.

‘What is this appearance you see? – Sometimes it is like a hog, and sometimes like a great dog; this appearance shee saith shee did see 4 times.

‘What did it say to you? – It, the black dog said, serve me, but I said, I am afraid. He said, if I did not, he would doe worse to me.

‘What did you say to it? – I will serve you no longer; then he said he would hurt me; and then he looked like a man, and threatened to hurt me. Shee said that this man had a yellow bird that kept with him, and he told me he had more pretty things that he would give me if I would serve him.

‘What were those pretty things? – He did not show me them.

‘What, also, have you seen? – Two rats – a red rat and a black rat.

‘What did they say to you? – They said, serve me.

‘When did you see them? – Last night, and they said, serve me, but I would not.

‘What service? – Shee said, hurt the children.

‘Why did you goe to Thomas Putnams last night, and hurt his child? – They pull and hall me, and make me goe.

‘And what would they have you doe? – Kill her with a knife.

‘Left. Fuller and others said at this time when the child saw these persons, and was tormented by them, that she did complayn of a knife, that they would have her cut her head off with a knife.

‘How did you go? – We ride upon stickes, and are there presently.

‘Do you goe through the trees, or over them? – We see nothing, but are there presently.

‘Why did you not tell your Master? – I was afraid they would cut off my head if I told.

‘Would you have hurt others if you could? – They said they would hurt others, but they could not.

‘What attendants hath Sarah Good? – A yellow bird, and she would have given me one.

‘What meate did she give it? – It did suck between her fingers.

‘Did you not hurt Mr. Currin’s child? – Goode Good and Goode Osborn told [me] that they did hurt Mr. Curren’s child, and would have me hurt him too, but I did not.

‘What hath Sarah Osburn? – Yellow dog. Shee had a thing with a head like a woman, with 2 legges, and wings. Abigail Williams that lives with her Uncle Parris said that she did see the same creature, and it turned into the shape of Goode Osburn.

‘What else have you seen with Osburn? – Another thing, hairy; it goes upright like a man; it hath only 2 legges.

‘Did you not see Sarah Good upon Elizabeth Hubbard, last Satterday? – I did see her set a wolfe upon her to afflict her. The persons with this maid did say that she did complain of a wolfe. Shee further saith that she saw a cat with Good, at another time.

‘What cloathes doth the man go in? – He goes in black cloathes, a tal man with white hair, I think.

‘How doth the woman go? – In a white whood, and a black whood with a top knot.

‘Doe you see who it is that torments these children now? – Yes, it is Goode Good, shee hurts them in her own shape.

‘And who is it that hurts them now? – I am blind now, I cannot see.’

In the end, all three were sent to gaol. Mrs. Osburn died in gaol on May 16. Sarah Good was hanged, and Tituba lay in prison for thirteen months, and was then sold to pay her gaol fees.

Evidently the taste for notoriety in the ‘afflicted children’ was developing. One of them, Ann Putnam, denounced one Martha Corey for pricking and tormenting her. Mrs. Corey seems to have been a harmless church-member, and denied all the imputations of witchcraft cast on her; but even her husband bore testimony against her anent an ox which he thought had been bewitched. She was hanged. Her husband was afterward arrested on a similar charge, and his was a most singular case. By law, if found guilty, his goods, etc., were forfeited. He had the singular courage to defeat the law by the law itself. He caused a deed to be drawn up, duly witnessed, etc., by which he left his property to two out of his four sons-in-law, who befriended his wife (the other two gave witness against her). He then refused to plead either guilty or not guilty. He was had up the legal three times before the judge, but as he continued dumb he was sentenced to the Peine forte et dure, that of ‘pressing’ until he pleaded or died. If he died under the punishment his goods were not forfeited.

The punishment was that he was stretched out upon his back, his arms and legs drawn out by cords and fastened to the four corners of his dungeon. A board, or plate of iron, was laid upon his stomach, and upon this was placed a certain weight. Next day he was given, at three different times, three little morsels of barley bread, and nothing to drink. The next day, three little glasses of water, and nothing to eat, and if he continued obstinate and dumb, he was left uncared for till he died. Corey begged them to add weights until they killed him, and they mercifully did so. Verily, he expiated his testimony against his wife.

It would be impossible to give, within the limits of this volume, an account of all the trials of the Salem witches. Suffice it to say that the little clique who met at the house of the Rev. S. Parris continued to accuse their neighbours all round. The following is a list taken from the ‘Records of Salem Witchcraft, copied from the original Documents. Privately printed for W. Elliot Woodward, Roxbury;’ Massachusetts, 1864. Those in italics were hanged; the fate of the others except in two or three instances I know not:

Sarah Good,* Sarah Osburn (died in gaol), Tituba, Indian (sold), Martha Corey,* John Procter,* Dorcas Good, Rebecca Nurse,* Elizabeth Procter,* (pleaded she was enceinte), Mary Warren, Bridget Bishop, Abigail Hobbs,* Sarah Wilds,* Philip English, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Hart, Dorcas Hoar,* George Jacobs,* John Willard,* Ann Pudeater, Rebecca Jacobs, Roger Toothaker, Mary Eastey,* Sarah Procter, Susannah Roots, Benjamin Procter, Martha Carrier,* Elizabeth How,* William Procter, Wilmott Reed, Elizabeth Fosdick, Elizabeth Paine, Mary Ireson, George Burroughs,* Abigail Faulkner,* Ann Foster,* Mary Lacey,* Rebecca Eames,* Samuel Wardwell,* Mary Parker,* Mary Bradbury,* Giles Corey,* (pressed to death), Alice Parker, Margaret Scot.

Who can say, after reading the above list, that, if the Devil were in anyone at Salem, he was not in that precious lot of ‘afflicted children’? In fact, people began to fight shy of them; they even accused a member of Increase Mather’s family, and made charges against Mrs. Hale, wife of the Minister of the First Church in Beverley, so that their testimony at last received no credence. After the Sessions of September 22, no one was hanged, even if convicted; and in April, 1693, the Governor-General, by proclamation, gave freedom to all suspects that were in confinement, and in 1711 a reversal of attainder was granted in those cases marked with an asterisk, and compensation made to their representatives to the amount of £578 12s.

APPENDIX

Harl. MSS., 1766, f. Dan John Lydgate’s Translation (or Paraphrase) of John Boccace de Casu Principum, in English Verse: done by the command of Duke Humfrey, about the beginning of the Reign of Henry the Sixth.

Tboeck van den leuen ons heeren ihesu christi. Gheraert de leeu. Tantwerpen, 1487, 4to.

Von den unholden oder hexen. Molitor (Ulrich). Rütlingen, 1489, 4to.

Registrum hujus operis libri cronicarum in figuris et ijmagibus ab inicio mūdi. Schedel (Hartmannus), A. Koberger. Nuremberge, 1493, fol.

Introductio in Chaldaicam Linguā, Syriacā, atq Armenicā, & decē alias linguas. Characterum Differentiū Alpha beta, circiter quadraginta, & eorūdem innicem cōformatio. Mystica et Cabalistica quā plurima scitu digna. Et descriptio ac simulachrū Phagoti Afranij. Theseo Ambrosio ex Comitibus Albonesii IV. Doct. Papieñ. Canonico Regulari Lateranensi, ac Sancti Petri in Cælo Aureo. Papiæ Præposito Authore. 1539.

Hexen Meysterey. Dess … Fürsten … Sigmunds von Ostereich mit U. (Ulrich) M. (Molitor) und C. Schatz, wielandt Burgermeister zu Costentz … ein schön Gesprech von den Onholden … Weitleuffiger mit mer Exempeln der Alten, dann vor nie kains aussgangen, &c. Costentz, 1545.

Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus, earum que diversis statibus, conditionibus, moribus, ritibus, superstitionibus, disciplinis, exercitiis, regimine, victu, bellis, structuris, instrumentis, ac mineris metallicis, & rebus mirabilibus, nec non universis penè animalibus in Septentrione de gentibus eorumque natura … Autore Olao Magno Gotho Archiepiscopo Upsalensi. Suetiæ & Gothiæ Primate. Romæ, 1555.

The Examination of John Walsh before Master Thomas Williams, Commissary to the Reverend father in God, William, bishop of Excester, upon certayne Interrogatories touchyng Wytchcrafte and Sorcerye, in the presence of diuers gētlemen and others. ¶ The xx of August, 1566. ¶ Imprynted at London by John Awdely, dwelling in litle Britain streete without Aldersgate 1566. The xxiij of December.

The disclosing of a late counterfeyted possession by the deuyl in two maydens within the Citie of London. Printed at London by Richard Watkins. 1574.

A Dialogue of Witches, in foretime named Lottellers, and now commonly called Sorcerers. Wherein is declared breefely and effectually, what soeuer may be required, touching that argument. A treatise very profitable, by reason of the diuerse and sundry opinions of men in this question, and right necessary for Judges to understande, which sit upon lyfe and death. Written in Latin by Lambertus Danæus, And now translated into English. Printed by R. W. 1575.

A most strange and rare example of the iust iudgement of God executed upon a lewde and wicked Coniurer the xvij day of Januarie 1577. In the parish church of S. Mary Overis in Southwark, in the presence of divers credible and honest persons. ¶ Imprinted at London by Henrie Bennyman.

A Rehearsall both straung and true, of hainous and horrible actes committed by Elizabeth Stile, Alias Rockingham, Mother Dutten, Mother Deuell, Mother Margaret. Fower notorious Witches apprehended at Winsore in the Countie of Barks, and at Abbington arraigned, condemned and executed, on the 26 daye of Februarie last, Anno 1579. Imprinted at London for Edward White at the little North-doore of Paules, at the signe of the Gun, and are there to be sold.