it; and yet he could go presently and lift a bedstead and bed, and a man lying on it, without any strain to himself at all. Mr. Smith dies; the jury that viewed his corpse, found a swelling on one breast, his privates wounded or burned, his back full of bruises, and several holes that seemed made with awls. After the opinion of all had pronounced him dead, his countenance continued as lively as if he had been alive; his eyes closed as in a slumber, and his nether jaw not falling down. "Thus he remained from Saturday morning about sunrise, till Sunday in the afternoon, when those who took him out of bed found him still warm, though the season was as cold as had almost been known in any age; and a New England winter does not want for cold. On the night following, his countenance was yet fresh as before; but on Monday morning they found the face extremely tumefied and discolored. It was black and blue, and fresh blood seemed running down his cheek upon the hairs. Divers noises were also heard in the room where the corpse lay; as the clattering of chairs and stools, whereof no account could be given. This was the end of so good a man!" CHAPTER VIII. The Origin of the Witch Persecutions-Character of Cotton Mather-Cotton Mather and his Invisibles-Parris his associate and conspirator— Hanging of George Burroughs-Decline of the delusion and Mather's despair-Quaint specimens from Mather's Works-White Slavery. SUCH is the sententious conclusion of this marvelous tale. We would suppose that Sam would always step behind the Alleghanies to grin, when he heard this story now-a-days; but such is by no manner of means the express fact, for, as we hear, spirit rappings, table knockings, dancing chairs, etc., seem to constitute quite as real a portion of his pet superstitions, in these modern times, as ever, and a Judge Edmonds appears only to have stepped into the shoes of that quaint ancient, Cotton Mather, who, by the way, concludes a philippic against those who ventured to doubt concerning the doings of his pet "Invisibles" and to deny the prestige of his "wandering demons" in the following words: 66 Flashy people may burlesque these things; but when hundreds of the most sober people in a country where they have as much mother wit, certainly, as the rest of mankind, know them to be true; nothing but the absurd and froward spirit of sadducism can question them. "I have not mentioned so much as one thing that will not be justified, if it be required, by the oaths of more consistent persons than any that can rule these odd phenomena—nor are these a tenth part of the prodigies that fell out among the prodigies of New England." The reverend old sinner who talks thus has already been accessory to the fact-a chief accessory at that of the burning, pressing and hanging of nineteen, beside the arrest and imprisonment, with intent to hang, of hundreds more of human trophies to his fantastic passion for these "Invisibles;" yet so strong is his belief in spirits, that he coolly condemns all unbelievers, as possessed of one of his "wandering demons," we suppose, under the cabalistic title of the "spirit of sadducism. Fie! for shame, Sam, it was bad enough to deal in the black art yourself with your pet saints, without condemning in this wise, all the world and the rest of mankind to the fate of the herd of swine. Yes, the darling exploit of himself and his crony Cotton, referred to above, was the famous Salem witch burning of 1692, and it is quite an illustration of the progressive spirit of the modern Sam, to observe how interestingly candid this same historian, the same who tells us about his first treaty with the Indians and its "ceremonies!" has suddenly become in speaking of this achievement. Hear first how Cotton Mather was characterized: "Was Cotton Mather honestly credulous? Ever ready to dupe himself, he limited his credulity only by the probable credulity of others. He changes or omits to repeat his statements without acknowledging error, and with a clear intention of conveying false impressions. He is an example how far selfishness, under the form of vanity and ambition, can blind the higher faculties, stupefy the judgment, and dupe consciousness itself. His self-righteousness was complete till he was resisted." But hear, in the same connection, some titbits of description from the same source, of one Samuel Parris, of Salem, with whom this pleasant business seems to have originated in that town. He was, it seems, the minister, and there had been between him and a part of his people a strife so bitter that it had even attracted the attention of the General Court. "The delusion of witchcraft would give the opportunities of terrible vengeance. The family of Samuel Parris, his daughter, a child of nine years, and his niece, a girl of less than twelve, began to have strange caprices. He that will read Cotton Mather's Book of General Providences, may read of what these children suffered; and Tituba, an Indian female servant, who had practiced some wild incantations, being betrayed by her husband, was scourged by Parris, her master, * Bancroft, vol 3, page 97. |