An Essay on Demonology 10

An Essay on Demonology 10

This ridiculous experiment appears to have been soon after abandoned.

In 1663, Mary Johnson was tried and hanged. She said the devil

appeared to her, and cleaned her hearth of ashes, and hunted the hogs

out of the corn. In 1688, a female named Glover, an Irish papist, was

hung for bewitching four children of one John Goodwin, of Boston. This

affair was attended by such extraordinary circumstances as to arrest a

general interest and sympathy. Goodwin was a man of unexceptionable

moral character, and his children were religiously educated, and

discovered mild and amiable tempers. 'These children,' says the

celebrated Dr Cotton Mather, 'were arrested by a stupendous

witchcraft. The eldest, a daughter thirteen years old, was first

seized with odd fits, in appearance diabolical; it was not long before

one of her sisters, and two brothers, were similarly affected.' They

were at times deaf, dumb, and blind. Their tongues would be drawn down

their throats, and then pulled out upon their chins. Their mouths were

thrown open with great violence, and then the jaws clapped together

again with a force like that of a spring lock, and all their limbs and

joints were strangely distorted. They made piteous outcries that they

were cut with knives, and struck with blows. The ministers of Boston

and Charlestown, had recourse to fasting and prayer, and during the

devotions, the children it is said were deprived of hearing; but the

youngest child was entirely relieved. The poor ignorant woman, above

mentioned, was suspected of employing demons to afflict these

children; she was arrested, and committed to jail in chains. On her

trial she rather bragged than denied her guilt, but she would converse

only in Irish, though she understood the English language very well.

Her house being searched, several images and puppets, or babies made

of rags and stuffed with goat's hair, were found, and she confessed

that her way to torment the objects of her malice, was by wetting her

finger with spittle and stroking those little images. The afflicted

children were present in court, and the woman appeared to be greatly

agitated. One of the images being presented to her, she oddly and

quickly snatched it into her hand, and instantly one of the children

fell into a fit. The judges ordered a repetition of the experiment,

with the same result. Being asked if she had any one to stand by her

as a friend, she replied that she had, and looking round in the air,

she added, no, he is gone. The night after, she was heard

expostulating with the devil for his deserting her, telling him that

because he had served her so basely and falsely, she had confessed

all. The court appointed several physicians to examine whether she was

in any degree crazed in her intellect; but they pronounced her sane,

and the court passed sentence of death upon her, and she was executed.

After the condemnation of the woman, Dr Mather made her many visits;

she declined answering his questions, or attending to his prayers,

pretending that her spirits would not consent to it. At her execution

she said the afflicted children should not be relieved by her death,

as others were concerned in it; accordingly the three children

continued to be tormented. They frequently discerned spectres around

them, and when a blow was aimed at the place where they saw the

spectre, the boy always felt the blow in the part of his body

answering to that stricken at, and it was very credibly affirmed that

a dangerous woman or two in the town, received blows thus given to

their spectres. At length, the children would bark at each other like

dogs, and pur like so many cats. They would complain that they were in

a hot oven, or roasting on an invisible spit, and that knives were

cutting them. They would complain of blows from a great cudgel, and

though we could see no cudgels, we could see the marks of the blows in

red streaks upon their skin. They would complain that their heads were

nailed to the floor, and it required more than ordinary strength to

pull them from thence. They would be so limber sometimes, that it was

judged every bone might be bent, and anon so stiff, that a joint could

not be moved. Sometimes they would fly like geese, with incredible

swiftness, through the air, their arms waving, like the wings of

birds, and the feet scarcely touching the ground once in twenty feet.

The sight of the Bible, and all religious discourse, would throw them

into distressing fits. Dr Mather took the eldest of these children

into his own family, that he might have opportunity to observe the

doings of Satan more critically; but unhappily his own imagination was

so continually haunted by ideas of wicked demons and witches, that he

was unconscious of the imposition he was suffering. When he prayed,

her hands with a strong force would be clapped upon her ears, and if

pulled away by force she would cry out. She complained that she had

Glover's chain round her leg, and would imitate her in her gait. An

invisible chain would be clapped about her, and she would, in much

pain and fear, cry out when they put it on. Sometimes we could with

our hands knock it off as it began to be fastened. But when it was on

she would be pulled out of her seat, with such violence that it was

difficult to keep her out of the fire. I may add, says the learned,

but credulous doctor, that the demons put an unseen rope with a cruel

noose about her neck, by which she was choked till she was black in

the face, and though it was got off before it killed her, yet there

were the red marks of it, and of a finger and thumb, remaining for

some time. She once said, if she could steal or get drunk, she would

be well. At one time an invisible horse was brought to her, and she

would put herself in the posture of a riding woman. She would in her

chair throw herself into a riding posture, sometimes ambling,

sometimes trotting, and sometimes galloping very furiously, and

attempting to ride up stairs. Dr Mather observes, that the girl having

learned that he was about to prepare a sermon on the occasion of the

witchcraft, became very turbulent and insolent, constantly endeavoring

to interrupt his studying the sermon. In prayer time, the demons would

throw her on the floor, where she would whistle and sing to drown the

voice, and attempt to kick and strike the speaker. But to conclude

this tedious story. At Christmas, says the doctor, this girl and her

sister in another house, were by the demons made very drunk, though

the people in the house were well satisfied that it was without strong

drink. They imitated, with wonderful exactness, the actions of one

drunk in speaking, and reeling, and vomiting, and anon sleeping, till

they recovered. These children were all restored to their natural

health, and lived to adult age. Governor Hutchinson, in his History of

Massachusetts, says he was acquainted with the eldest daughter; she

sustained an unblemished character; but he believes she never made any

confession of fraud or imposition in this transaction.

 

Hutchinson was truly an excellent historical writer, whatever may have

been his political principles and conduct as chief magistrate. From

the history and from the collections of the Historical Society, I copy

the following narrative, with the view of evincing to what extent

artful children may impose on credulous persons.

 

In the year 1720, there was at Littleton, in the county of Middlesex,

a family who were supposed to be bewitched. One J. B. had three

daughters, eleven, nine, and five years old. The eldest was a forward

and capable girl, and having read and heard many strange stories,

would surprise the company by her manner of relating them. Pleased

with the applause, she went from some she had heard to some of her own

framing, and so on to dreams and visions, and attained the art of

swooning, and of being, to all appearance, breathless. Upon her

revival she would relate strange things she had met with in this and

other worlds. When she met with the word God, and other solemn words

in the Bible, she would drop down as if dead. Strange and

unaccountable noises were often heard in, and upon the house, stones

came down the chimney and did considerable mischief. She complained of

the spectre of Mrs D--y, a woman in the town, and once she desired her

mother to strike at a place where she said there was a yellow bird,

and she said to her mother, you have hit the side of its head, and it

appeared that Mrs D--y's head was hurt about the same time. Another

time the mother struck at the place where the spectre was, and the

girl said, you have struck her on the bowels, and on inquiry it was

found, that Mrs D--y complained of a hurt on her bowels about the same

time. It was common to find her in ponds of water, crying out she

should be drowned; sometimes upon the top of the house, and again

upon the tops of trees, pretending she had flown there, and some

fancied they had seen her in the air. There were often the marks of

blows and pinches upon her, which were supposed to come from an

invisible hand. The second daughter, after her sister had practised

the art for some months, and had succeeded so well, imitated her in

complaints of Mrs D--y, and outdid her in feats of climbing the barn

and trees, ascending where she could not descend without assistance

with a ladder. What was most surprising, the youngest, of five years

old only, attempted the same feats and in some instances went beyond

her sisters. The neighbors agreed they were under an evil hand, and it

was pronounced witchcraft, as certain as there ever had been at Salem.

Physicians had been at first employed, but to no purpose, and

afterwards ministers and elders were called to pray over them, but

without success. The children had numerous visitors, and the more they

were pitied, the more loud and constant were their moans and

distractions; few spectators suspected that they were acting the part

of perverse and wicked impostors. The afflicted parents treated them

with all possible care and tenderness, believing that they were

objects of pity and compassion. At length Mrs D--y, not long after the

supposed blows from the mother, sickened and died, and the two oldest

girls ceased complaining; the youngest held out longer, but all

persisted in it that there had been no fraud. But their consciences,

that inward monitor, finally severely lashed and tortured them. The

eldest, for some years, wore a gloominess upon her mind, and when

questioned by her parents and others on the subject, she would

artfully turn the discourse. Not having been baptised, she applied to

a minister for baptism, who examined her closely relative to the

affair, telling her she was suspected of falsehood and fraud; but this

she denied and asserted her innocence. In 1728, having removed to

Medford, she applied to Rev. Mr Turell, to be admitted into his

church. She gave him a very good account of the state of her soul, and

discoursed sensibly and religiously respecting her past temper and

conversation in life. Mr Turell knew nothing of her having been an

actor in the fraud above detailed, and propounded her for full

communion. The next Sabbath, without any reference to her, he happened

to preach from this text, 'He that telleth lies shall not escape.' The

day before she was to be admitted into the church she visited Mr

Turell in great distress and anguish of mind, inquiring of him what

dreadful things he had heard about her, that made him preach so

awfully against the practice of lying and liars. Mr Turell being much

surprised, replied that no one had made any complaint against her and

that he had no particular reference to her. With great grief she

frankly confessed that she had been a great sinner, but was now

awakened and convinced by the word preached, and that she was resolved

no longer to conceal the truth, but confess it before God and man. She

then proceeded to acknowledge herself guilty of the wicked deception

which she had practised, bewailing and weeping bitterly for her

egregious folly and wicked conduct. She then desired Mr Turell to draw

up a suitable confession to be read before the congregation, and she

would publicly own and acknowledge the same; which was accordingly

done, and she was admitted to full communion, and ever after

conducted in a manner becoming the Christian profession. She

acknowledged to Mr Turell as follows: that the motives which excited

her and her sisters to act the part of impostors, were from folly and

pride. Finding that she pleased others or caused admiration, she was

over pleased with, and admired herself, grew conceited and high

minded. She thought to be able to deceive her parents and neighbors,

was a fine accomplishment. She never dreamed of witchcraft in her

case. The wounds, pinches, and bruises on their bodies, were from

their own hands, and the noises and stones falling down the chimney,

were the effects of their contrivance. She was often sorry she ever

began the deception, but could not humble herself to desist, and was obliged to tell one lie to hide another.