XVIII. CHAP condemn political measures, and its liberty to do so was amply vindicated. This was thirty-seven years before the 1733. same principle was established in England by the decision in the trial for libel brought against the publisher of the · famous letters of Junius. 1684. We have now to relate the story of that sad delusion so identified with the early history of the quiet and respectable town of Salem, in Massachusetts. The belief in witchcraft appears to have been almost universal in the age of which we write. As Christians were in covenant with God, so, it was believed, witches were in covenant with the devil; that he gave them power to torment those whom they hated, by pinching them, pricking them with invisible pins, pulling their hair, causing their cattle and chickens to die, upsetting their carts, and by many other annoyances, equally undignified and disagreeable. As Christians had a sacrament or communion, witches had a communion, also, at which the devil himself officiated in the form of a "small black man." He had a book in which his disciples signed their names, after which they renounced their Christian baptism, and were rebaptized, "dipped" by himself. To their places of meeting the witches usually rode through the air on broomsticks. or This delusion, absurd as it seems to us, was in that age believed by learned and good men, such as Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England; Richard Baxter, author of the "Saints' Rest ;" and Dr. Isaac Watts, whose devotional "Psalms and Hymns" are so familiar to the religious world. For this supposed crime many had, at different times, been executed in Sweden, England, France, and other countries of Europe. Before the excitement at Salem, a few cases in the colony of Massachusetts had been punished with death. As the Bible made mention of witches and sorcerers,to disbelieve in their existence was counted infidelity. To disprove such infidelity, Increase Mather, a celebrated XVIII. 1688. clergyman of New England, published an account of the CHAP cases that had occurred there, and also a description of the manner in which the bewitched persons were afflicted. 1684. After this publication, the first case that excited general interest was that of a girl named Goodwin. She had accused the daughter of an Irish washerwoman of stealing some article of clothing. The enraged mother disproved the charge, and in addition reproved the false accuser severely. Soon after, this girl became strangely affected; her younger brother and sister imitated her "contortions and twistings." These children were sometimes dumb, then deaf, then blind; at one time they would bark like. dogs, at another mew like cats. A physician was called in, who gravely decided that they were bewitched, as they had many of the symptoms described in Mather's book. The ministers became deeply interested in the subject, and five of them held a day of fasting and prayer at the house of the Goodwins, when lo! the youngest child, a boy of five years of age, was delivered! As the children asserted that they were bewitched by the Irish washerwoman, she was arrested. The poor creature was frightened out of her senses, if she had any, for many thought she was "crazed in her intellectuals." She was, however, tried, convicted and hanged. There was at this time at Boston a young clergyman, an indefatigable student, remarkable for his memory and for the immense amount of verbal knowledge he possessed; he was withal somewhat vain and credulous, and exceedingly fond of the marvellous; no theory seems to have been more deeply rooted in his mind than a belief in witchcraft. Such was Cotton Mather, son of Increase Mather. He became deeply interested in the case of the Goodwin children, and began to study the subject with renewed zeal; to do so the more perfectly, he took the girl to his home. She was cunning, and soon discovered the weak points of his character. She told him he was under a XVIII. CHAP. special protection; that devils, though they tried hard, could not enter his study; that they could not strike 1688. him; the blows were warded off by an invisible, friendly hand. When he prayed, or read the Bible, she would be thrown into convulsions; while at the same time, she read with zest Popish or Quaker books, or the Book of Common Prayer. Mather uttered prayers in a variety of languages to ascertain if these wicked spirits were learned. He discovered that they were skilled in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, but deficient in some Indian tongues. He sincerely believed all this, and wrote a book, a story all made up of wonders," to prove the truth of witchcraft; and gave out that, hereafter, if any one should deny its existence, he should consider it a personal insult. Mather's book was republished in London, with an approving preface written by Richard Baxter. This book had its influence upon the minds of the people, and prepared the way for the sad scenes which followed. 1692. About four years after the cases just mentioned, two young girls, one the niece and the other the daughter of Samuel Parris, the minister at Salem village, now Danvers, began to exhibit the usual signs of being bewitched. They seem to have done this at first merely for mischief, as they accused no one until compelled. Between Parris and some of the members of his congregation there existed much ill-feeling. Now was the time to be revenged! And this "beginner and procurer of the sore affliction to Salem village and country," insisted that his niece should tell who it was that bewitched her, for in spite of all the efforts to "deliver" them, the children continued to practise their pranks. The niece at length accused Rebecca Nurse, a woman of exemplary and Christian life; but one with whom Parris was at variance. At his instigation she was hurried off to jail. The next Sabbath he announced as his text these words: "Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" Imme TRIAL OF WITCHES AT SALEM. 191 XVIII. diately Sarah Cloyce, a sister of the accused, arose and left CHAP. the church,-in those days, no small offence. She too was accused and sent to prison. The excitement spread, and 1692 in a few weeks nearly a hundred were accused and remanded for trial. After the people had driven off Andros, Bradstreet had still continued to act as governor. A new charter 1691. was given, under which the governor was to be appointed by the crown. Sir William Phipps, a native of New England, "an illiterate man, of violent temper, with more of energy than ability," was the first governor, and William Stoughton the deputy-governor. These both obtained their offices through the influence of Increase Mather, who was then in England, acting as agent for the colony. Stoughton had been the friend of Andros, and a member of his council, and, like Dudley, was looked upon by the people as their enemy. Of a proud and unforgiving temper, devoid of humane feelings, he was self-willed and selfish. The people in a recent election had slighted him; they scarcely gave him a vote for the office of judge; this deeply wounded his pride. In his opinions, as to spirits and witches, he was an implicit follower of Cotton Mather, of whose church he was a member. The new governor, bringing with him the new charter, arrived at Boston on the fourteenth of May. The General Court alone had authority to appoint Special Courts; but the governor's first official act was to appoint one to try the witches confined in prison at Salem. The triumph of Mather was complete; he rejoiced that the warfare with the spirits of darkness was now to be carried on vigorously, and he "prayed for a good issue." The illegal court met, and Parris acted as prosecutor, producing some witnesses and keeping back others. The prisoners were made to stand with their arms extended, lest they should torment their victims. The glance of the witch's eye was terrible to the "afflicted;" for its evil 1692. May 14. XVIII. CHAP. influence there was but one remedy; the touch of the accused could alone remove the charm. Abigail Williams, 1692. the niece of Parris, was told to touch one of the prisoners; she made the attempt, but desisted, screaming out, "My fingers, they burn, they burn!" She was an adept in testifying; she had been asked to sign the devil's book by the spectre of one of the accused women, and she had also been permitted to see a witch's sacrament. All this was accepted by the court as true and proper evidence. If a witness contradicted himself, it was explained by assuming that the evil spirit had imposed upon his brain. A farmer had a servant, who suddenly became bewitched; his master whipped him, and thus exorcised the devil, and had the rashness to say that he could cure any of "the afflicted" by the same process. For this he soon found himself and wife in prison. Remarks made by the prisoners were often construed to their disadvantage. George Burroughs, once a minister at Salem, and of whom it is said Parris was envious, had expressed his disbelief in witchcraft, and pronounced the whole affair a delusion. For this he was arrested as a wizard. On his trial the 66 witnesses pretended to be dumb. Why," asked the stern Stoughton of the prisoner, "are these witnesses dumb?" Burroughs believed they were perjuring themselves, and promptly answered, "The devil is in them, I suppose." "Ah! ah!" said the exulting judge; "how is it that he is so loath to have any testimony borne against you?" This decided the case; Burroughs was condemned. From the scaffold he made an address to the people, and put his enemies to shame. He did what it was believed no witch could do; he repeated the Lord's Prayer distinctly and perfectly. The crowd was strongly impressed in his favor; many believed him innocent, and many were moved even to tears, and some seemed disposed to rescue him; but Cotton Mather appeared on horseback, and harangued the crowd, maintaining that Burroughs |