his Brother then in _England_; but about the latter end of _June_
following, he understood by the common ways of Communication, that the
_April_ before, his Brother going in haste by Night to call a Coach for
a Lady, met a Fellow then in Drink, with his _Doxy_ in his Hand: Some
way or other the Fellow thought himself Affronted with the hasty passage
of this _Beacon_, and immediately ran into the Fire-side of a
Neighbouring Tavern, from whence he fetch'd out a Fire-fork, wherewith
he grievously wounded _Beacon_ in the Skull; even in that very part
where the Apparition show'd his Wound. Of this Wound he Languished until
he Dyed on the Second of _May_, about five of the Clock in the Morning
at _London_. The Murderer it seems was endeavouring to Escape, as the
Apparition affirm'd, but the Friends of the Deceased _Beacon_, Seized
him; and Prosecuting him at Law, he found the help of such Friends as
brought him off without the loss of his Life; since which, there has no
more been heard of the Business.
This History I received of Mr. _Joseph Beacon_ himself; who a little
before his own Pious and hopeful Death, which follow'd not long after,
gave me the Story written and signed with his own Hand, and attested
with the Circumstances I have already mentioned.
* * * * *
But I shall no longer detain my Reader, from his expected Entertainment,
in a brief account of the Tryals which have passed upon some of the
Malefactors lately Executed at _Salem_, for the _Witchcrafts_ whereof
they stood Convicted. For my own part, I was not present at any of them;
nor ever had I any Personal prejudice at the Persons thus brought upon
the Stage; much less at the Surviving Relations of those Persons, with
and for whom I would be as hearty a Mourner as any Man living in the
World: _The Lord Comfort them!_ But having received a Command so to do,
I can do no other than shortly relate the chief _Matters of Fact_, which
occurr'd in the Tryals of some that were Executed, in an Abridgment
Collected out of the _Court-Papers_, on this occasion put into my hands.
You are to take the _Truth_, just as it was; and the Truth will hurt no
good Man. There might have been more of these, if my Book would not
thereby have swollen too big; and if some other worthy hands did not
perhaps intend something further in these _Collections_; for which cause
I have only singled out Four or Five, which may serve to illustrate the
way of Dealing, wherein _Witchcrafts_ use to be concerned; and I report
matters not as an _Advocate_, but as an _Historian_.
They were some of the Gracious Words inserted in the Advice, which many
of the Neighbouring Ministers, did this Summer humbly lay before our
Honorable Judges, _We cannot but with all thankfulness, acknowledge the
success which the Merciful God has given unto the Sedulous and Assiduous
endeavours of Our Honourable Rulers, to detect the abominable
Witchcrafts which have been committed in the Country; Humbly Praying,
that the discovery of those mysterious and mischievous wickednesses, may
be Perfected._ If in the midst of the many Dissatisfactions among us,
the Publication of these Tryals, may promote such a Pious Thankfulness
unto God, for Justice being so far executed among us, I shall Rejoice
that God is Glorified; and pray, that no wrong steps of ours may ever
sully any of his Glorious Works. But we will begin with,
A MODERN INSTANCE OF WITCHES,
DISCOVERED AND CONDEMNED IN A TRYAL,
BEFORE THAT CELEBRATED JUDGE,
SIR MATTHEW HALE.
It may cast some Light upon the Dark things now in _America_, if we just
give a glance upon the _like things_ lately happening in _Europe_. We
may see the _Witchcrafts_ here most exactly resemble the _Witchcrafts_
there; and we may learn what sort of Devils do trouble the World.
The Venerable _Baxter_ very truly says, _Judge +Hale+ was a Person, than
whom, no Man was more Backward to Condemn a Witch, without full
Evidence._
Now, one of the latest Printed Accounts about a _Tryal of Witches_, is
of what was before him, and it ran on this wise. [Printed in the Year
1682.] And it is here the rather mentioned, because it was a Tryal, much
considered by the Judges of _New England_.
_I._ _Rose Cullender_ and _Amy Duny_, were severally Indicted, for
Bewitching _Elizabeth Durent_, _Ann Durent_, _Jane Bocking_, _Susan
Chandler_, _William Durent_, _Elizabeth_ and _Deborah Pacy_. And the
Evidence whereon they were Convicted, stood upon divers particular
Circumstances.
_II._ _Ann Durent_, _Susan Chandler_, and _Elizabeth Pacy_, when they
came into the Hall, to give Instructions for the drawing the Bills of
Indictments, they fell into strange and violent Fits, so that they were
unable to give in their Depositions, not only then, but also during the
whole Assizes. _William Durent_ being an Infant, his Mother Swore, That
_Amy Duny_ looking after her Child one Day in her absence, did at her
return confess, that she had _given suck to the Child_: (tho' she were
an Old Woman:) Whereat, when _Durent_ expressed her displeasure, _Duny_
went away with Discontents and Menaces.
The Night after, the Child fell into strange and sad Fits, wherein it
continued for Divers Weeks. One Doctor _Jacob_ advised her to hang up
the Childs Blanket, in the Chimney Corner all Day, and at Night, when
she went to put the Child into it, if she found any Thing in it then to
throw it without fear into the Fire. Accordingly, at Night, there fell a
great Toad out of the Blanket, which ran up and down the Hearth. A Boy
catch't it, and held it in the Fire with the Tongs: where it made an
horrible Noise, and Flash'd like to Gun-Powder, with a report like that
of a Pistol: Whereupon the Toad was no more to be seen. The next Day a
Kinswoman of _Duny's_, told the Deponent, that her Aunt was all
grievously scorch'd with the Fire, and the Deponent going to her House,
found her in such a Condition. _Duny_ told her, she might thank her for
it; but she should live to see some of her Children Dead, and her self
upon Crutches. But after the Burning of the Toad, this Child Recovered.
This Deponent further Testifi'd, That Her Daughter _Elizabeth_, being
about the Age of Ten Years, was taken in like manner, as her first Child
was, and in her Fits complained much of _Amy Duny_, and said, that she
did appear to Her, and afflict her in such manner as the former. One
Day she found _Amy Duny_ in her House, and thrusting her out of Doors,
_Duny_ said, _You need not be so Angry, your Child won't live long._ And
within three Days the Child Died. The Deponent added, that she was Her
self, not long after taken with such a Lameness, in both her Legs, that
she was forced to go upon Crutches; and she was now in Court upon them.
[It was Remarkable, that immediately upon the Juries bringing in _Duny_
Guilty, _Durent_ was restored unto the use of her Limbs, and went home
without her Crutches.]
_III._ As for _Elizabeth_ and _Deborah Pacy_, one Aged Eleven Years, the
other Nine; the elder, being in Court, was made utterly senseless,
during all the time of the Trial: or at least speechless. By the
direction of the Judg, _Duny_ was privately brought to _Elizabeth Pacy_,
and she touched her Hand: whereupon the Child, without so much as seeing
her, suddenly leap'd up and flew upon the Prisoner; the younger was too
ill, to be brought unto the Assizes. But _Samuel Pacy_, their Father,
testifi'd, that his Daughter _Deborah_ was taken with a sudden Lameness;
and upon the grumbling of _Amy Duny_, for being denied something, where
this Child was then sitting, the Child was taken with an extream pain in
her stomach, like the pricking of Pins; and shrieking at a dreadful
manner, like a Whelp, rather than a Rational Creature. The Physicians
could not conjecture the cause of the Distemper; but _Amy Duny_ being a
Woman of ill Fame, and the Child in Fits crying out of _Amy Duny_, as
affrighting her with the Apparition of her Person, the Deponent
suspected her, and procured her to be set in the stocks. While she was
there, she said in the hearing of Two Witnesses, _Mr. +Pacy+ keeps a
great stir about his Child, but let him stay till he has done as much by
his Children, as I have done by mine:_ And being Asked, What she had
done to her Children, she Answered, _She had been fain to open her
Childs Mouth with a Tap to give it Victuals._ The Deponent added, that
within Two Days, the Fits of his Daughters were such, that they could
not preserve either Life or Breath, without the help of a Tap. And that
the Children Cry'd out of _Amy Duny_, and of _Rose Cullender_, as
afflicting them with their Apparitions.
_IV._ The Fits of the Children were various. They would sometimes be
Lame on one side; sometimes on t'other. Sometimes very sore; sometimes
restored unto their Limbs, and then Deaf, or Blind, or Dumb, for a long
while together. Upon the Recovery of their Speech, they would Cough
extreamly; and with much Flegm, they would bring up Crooked Pins; and
one time, a Two-penny Nail, with a very broad Head. Commonly at the end
of every Fit, they would cast up a Pin. When the Children Read, they
could not pronounce the Name of, _Lord_, or _Jesus_, or _Christ_, but
would fall into Fits; and say, Amy Duny _says_, _I must not use that
Name._ When they came to the Name of _Satan_, or _Devil_, they would
clap their Fingers on the Book, crying out, _This bites, but it makes me
speak right well!_ The Children in their Fits would often Cry out,
_There stands_ Amy Duny, or _Rose Cullender_; and they would afterwards
relate, _That these Witches appearing before them, threatned them, that
if they told what they saw or heard, they would Torment them ten times
more than ever they did before._
_V._ _Margaret Arnold_, the Sister of Mr. _Pacy_, Testifi'd unto the
like Sufferings being upon the Children, at her House, whither her
Brother had Removed them. And that sometimes, the Children (_only_)
would see things like Mice, run about the House; and one of them
suddenly snap'd one with the Tongs, and threw it into the Fire, where it
screeched out like a Rat. At another time, a thing like a Bee, flew at
the Face of the younger Child; the Child fell into a Fit; and at last
Vomited up a _Two-penny Nail_, with a Broad Head; affirming, _That the
Bee brought this Nail, and forced it into her Mouth._ The Child would in
like manner be assaulted with Flies, which brought Crooked Pins, unto
her, and made her first swallow them, and then Vomit them. She one Day
caught an Invisible _Mouse_, and throwing it into the Fire, it Flash'd
like to Gun-Powder. None besides the Child saw the _Mouse_, but every
one saw the _Flash_. She also declared, out of her Fits, that in them,
_Amy Duny_ much tempted her to destroy her self.
_VI._ As for _Ann Durent_, her Father Testified, That upon a Discontent
of _Rose Cullender_, his Daughter was taken with much Illness in her
Stomach and great and sore Pains, like the Pricking of Pins: and then
Swooning Fits, from which Recovering, she declared, _She had seen the
Apparition of +Rose Cullender+, Threatning to Torment her._ She likewise
Vomited up diverse Pins. The Maid was Present at Court, but when
_Cullender_ look'd upon her, she fell into such Fits, as made her
utterly unable to declare any thing.
_Ann Baldwin_ deposed the same.
_VII._ _Jane Bocking_, was too weak to be at the Assizes. But her Mother
Testifi'd, that her Daughter having formerly been Afflicted with
Swooning Fits, and Recovered of them; was now taken with a great Pain in
her Stomach; and New Swooning Fits. That she took little Food, but every
Day Vomited Crooked Pins. In her first Fits, she would Extend her Arms,
and use Postures, as if she catched at something, and when her Clutched
Hands were forced open, they would find several Pins diversely Crooked,
unaccountably lodged there. She would also maintain a Discourse with
some that were Invisibly present, when casting abroad her Arms, she
would often say, _I will not have it!_ but at last say, _Then I will
have it!_ and closing her Hand, which when they presently after opened,
a Lath-Nail was found in it. But her great Complaints were of being
Visited by the shapes of _Amy Duny_, and _Rose Cullender_.
_VIII._ As for _Susan Chandler_, her Mother Testified, That being at the
search of _Rose Cullender_, they found on her Belly a thing like a Teat,
of an Inch long; which the _said Rose_ ascribed to a strain. But near
her Privy-parts, they found Three more, that were smaller than the
former. At the end of the long Teat, there was a little Hole, which
appeared, as if newly Sucked; and upon straining it, a white Milky
matter issued out. The Deponent further said, That her Daughter being
one Day concerned at _Rose Cullenders_ taking her by the Hand, she fell
very sick, and at Night cry'd out, _That +Rose Cullender+ would come to
Bed unto her._ Her Fits grew violent, and in the Intervals of them, she
declared, _That she saw +Rose Cullender+ in them, and once having of a
great Dog with her._ She also Vomited up Crooked Pins; and when she was
brought into Court, she fell into her Fits. She Recovered her self in
some Time, and was asked by the Court, whether she was in a Condition to
take an Oath, and give Evidence. She said, she could; but having been
Sworn, she fell into her Fits again, and, _Burn her! Burn her!_ were all
the words that she could obtain power to speak. Her Father likewise gave
the same Testimony with her Mother; as to all but the Search.
_IX._ Here was the Sum of the Evidence: Which Mr. Serjeant _Keeling_,
thought not sufficient to Convict the Prisoners. For admitting the
Children were Bewitched, yet, said he, it can never be Apply'd unto the
Prisoners, upon the Imagination only of the Parties Afflicted; inasmuch
as no person whatsoever could then be in Safety.
Dr. _Brown_, a very Learned Person then present, gave his Opinion, that
these Persons were Bewitched. He added, That in _Denmark_, there had
been lately a great Discovery of Witches; who used the very same way of
Afflicting people, by Conveying Pins and Nails into them. His Opinion
was, that the Devil in Witchcrafts, did Work upon the Bodies of Men and
Women, upon a _Natural Foundation_; and that he did Extraordinarily
afflict them, with such Distempers as their Bodies were most subject
unto.
_X._ The Experiment about the _Usefulness_, yea, or _Lawfulness_ whereof
Good Men have sometimes disputed, was divers Times made, That tho' the
Afflicted were utterly deprived of all sense in their Fits, yet upon the
_Touch_ of the Accused, they would so screech out, and fly up, as not
upon any other persons. And yet it was also found that once upon the
touch of an innocent person, the like effect follow'd, which put the
whole Court unto a stand: altho' a small Reason was at length attempted
to be given for it.
_XI._ However, to strengthen the Credit of what had been already
produced against the Prisoners, One _John Soam_ Testifi'd, That bringing
home his Hay in Three Carts, one of the Carts wrenched the Window of
_Rose Cullenders_ House, whereupon she flew out, with violent
Threatenings against the Deponent. The other Two Carts, passed by Twice,
Loaded, that Day afterwards; but the Cart which touched _Cullenders_
House, was Twice or Thrice that Day overturned. Having again Loaded it,
as they brought it thro' the Gate which Leads out of the Field, the Cart
stuck so fast in the Gates Head, that they could not possibly get it
thro', but were forced to cut down the Post of the Gate, to make the
Cart pass thro', altho' they could not perceive that the Cart did of
either side touch the Gate-Post. They afterwards, did with much
Difficulty get it home to the Yard; but could not for their Lives get
the Cart near the place, where they should unload. They were fain to
unload at a great Distance; and when they were Tired, the Noses of them
that came to Assist them, would burst forth a Bleeding; so they were
fain to give over till next morning; and then they unloaded without any
difficulty.
_XII._ _Robert Sherringham_ also Testifi'd, That the Axle-Tree of his
Cart, happening in passing, to break some part of _Rose Cullenders_
House, in her Anger at it, she vehemently threatned him, _His Horses
should suffer for it._ And within a short time, all his Four Horses
dy'd; after which he sustained many other Losses in the sudden Dying of
his Cattle. He was also taken with a Lameness in his Limbs; and so vexed
with Lice of an extraordinary Number and Bigness, that no Art could
hinder the Swarming of them, till he burnt up two Suits of Apparel.
_XIII._ As for _Amy Duny_, 'twas Testifi'd by one _Richard Spencer_ that
he heard her say, _The Devil would not let her Rest; until she were
Revenged on the Wife of +Cornelius Sandswel+._ And that _Sandswel_
testifi'd, that her Poultry dy'd suddenly, upon _Amy Dunys_ threatning
of them; and that her Husbands Chimney fell, quickly after _Duny_ had
spoken of such a disaster. And a Firkin of Fish could not be kept from
falling into the Water, upon suspicious words of _Duny's_.
_XIV._ The Judg told the Jury, they were to inquire now, first, whether
these Children were Bewitched; and secondly, Whether the Prisoners at
the Bar were guilty of it. He made no doubt, there were such Creatures
as Witches; for the Scriptures affirmed it; and the Wisdom of all
Nations had provided Laws against such persons. He pray'd the God of
Heaven to direct their Hearts in the weighty thing they had in hand;
for, _To Condemn the Innocent, and let the Guilty go free, were both an
Abomination to the Lord._
The Jury in half an hour brought them in _Guilty_ upon their several
Indictments, which were Nineteen in Number.
The next Morning, the Children with their Parents, came to the Lodgings
of the Lord Chief Justice, and were in as good health as ever in their
Lives; being Restored within half an Hour after the Witches were
Convicted.
The Witches were Executed; and _Confessed_ nothing; which indeed will
not be wondred by them, who Consider and Entertain the Judgment of a
Judicious Writer, _That the Unpardonable Sin, is most usually Committed
by Professors of the Christian Religion, falling into Witchcraft._
We will now proceed unto several of the like Tryals among our selves.
I.
THE TRYAL OF G. B. AT A COURT OF
OYER AND TERMINER,
HELD IN SALEM, 1692.
Glad should I have been, if I had never known the Name of this Man; or
never had this occasion to mention so much as the first Letters of his
Name. But the Government requiring some Account of his Trial to be
inserted in this Book, it becomes me with all Obedience to submit unto
the Order.
I. This _G. B._ Was Indicted for Witch-craft, and in the prosecution of
the Charge against him, he was Accused by five or six of the Bewitched,
as the Author of their Miseries; he was Accused by Eight of the
Confessing Witches, as being an head Actor at some of their Hellish
Randezvouzes, and one who had the promise of being a King in Satan's
Kingdom, now going to be Erected: He was accused by Nine Persons for
extraordinary Lifting, and such feats of Strength, as could not be done
without a Diabolical Assistance. And for other such things he was
Accused, until about thirty Testimonies were brought in against him; nor
were these judg'd the half of what might have been considered for his
Conviction: However they were enough to fix the Character of a Witch
upon him according to the Rules of Reasoning, by the Judicious _Gaule_,
in that Case directed.
II. The Court being sensible, that the Testimonies of the Parties
Bewitched, use to have a Room among the _Suspicions_ or _Presumptions_,
brought in against one Indicted for Witch-craft; there were now heard
the Testimonies of several Persons, who were most notoriously Bewitched,
and every day Tortured by Invisible Hands, and these now all charged the
Spectres of _G. B._ to have a share in their Torments. At the Examination
of this _G. B._ the Bewitched People were grievously harrassed with
Preternatural Mischiefs, which could not possibly be Dissembled; and
they still ascribed it unto the endeavours of _G. B._ to Kill them. And
now upon the Tryal of one of the Bewitched Persons, testified, that in
her Agonies, a little black Hair'd Man came to her, saying his Name was
_B._ and bidding her set her hand to a Book which he shewed unto her;
and bragging that he was a _Conjurer_, above the ordinary Rank of
Witches; That he often Persecuted her with the offer of that Book,
saying, _She should be well, and need fear nobody, if she would but Sign
it;_ But he inflicted cruel Pains and Hurts upon her, because of her
denying so to do. The Testimonies of the other Sufferers concurred with
these; and it was remarkable, that whereas _Biting_ was one of the ways
which the Witches used for the vexing of the Sufferers; when they cry'd
out of _G. B._ Biting them, the print of the Teeth would be seen on the
Flesh of the Complainers, and just such a Set of Teeth as _G. B's_ would
then appear upon them, which could be distinguished from those of some
other Mens. Others of them testified, That in their Torments, _G. B._
tempted them to go unto a Sacrament, unto which they perceived him with
a Sound of Trumpet, Summoning of other Witches, who quickly after the
Sound, would come from all Quarters unto the Rendezvouz. One of them
falling into a kind of Trance, affirmed, that _G. B._ had carried her
away into a very high Mountain, where he shewed her mighty and glorious
Kingdoms, and said, _He would give them all to her, if she would write
in his Book;_ but she told him, _They were none of his to give;_ and
refused the Motions; enduring of much Misery for that refusal.
It cost the Court a wonderful deal of Trouble, to hear the Testimonies
of the Sufferers; for when they were going to give in their Depositions,
they would for a long time be taken with Fits, that made them uncapable
of saying any thing. The Chief Judg asked the Prisoner, who he thought
hindred these Witnesses from giving their _Testimonies_? And he
answered, _He supposed it was the Devil._ That Honourable Person
replied, _How comes the Devil then to be so loath to have any Testimony
born against you?_ Which cast him into very great Confusion.
III. It has been a frequent thing for the Bewitched People to be
entertained with Apparitions of _Ghosts_ of Murdered People, at the same
time that the _Spectres_ of the Witches trouble them. These Ghosts do
always affright the Beholders more than all the other spectral
Representations; and when they exhibit themselves, they cry out, of
being Murthered by the Witch-crafts or other Violences of the Persons
who are then in Spectre present. It is further considered, that once or
twice, these _Apparitions_ have been seen by others, at the very same
time they have shewn themselves to the Bewitched; and seldom have there
been these _Apparitions_, but when something unusual or suspected, have
attended the Death of the Party thus Appearing. Some that have been
accused by these _Apparitions_ accosting of the Bewitched People, who
had never heard a word of any such Persons ever being in the World, have
upon a fair Examination, freely and fully confessed the Murthers of
those very Persons, altho' these also did not know how the Apparitions
had complained of them. Accordingly several of the Bewitched, had given
in their Testimony, that they had been troubled with the Apparitions of
two Women, who said, that they were _G. B's_ two Wives, and that he had
been the Death of them; and that the Magistrates must be told of it,
before whom if _B._ upon his Tryal denied it, they did not know but that
they should appear again in Court. Now, _G. B._ had been Infamous for the
Barbarous usage of his two late Wives, all the Country over. Moreover,
it was testified, the Spectre of _G. B._ threatning of the Sufferers,
told them, he had Killed (besides others) Mrs. _Lawson_ and her Daughter
_Ann_. And it was noted, that these were the Vertuous Wife and Daughter
of one at whom this _G. B._ might have a prejudice for his being
serviceable at _Salem Village_, from whence himself had in ill Terms
removed some Years before: And that when they dy'd, which was long
since, there were some odd Circumstances about them, which made some of
the Attendents there suspect something of Witch-craft, tho none Imagined
from what Quarter it should come.
Well, _G. B._ being now upon his Tryal, one of the Bewitched Persons was
cast into Horror at the Ghost of _B's_ two Deceased Wives then appearing
before him, and crying for _Vengeance_ against him. Hereupon several of
the Bewitched Persons were successively called in, who all not knowing
what the former had seen and said, concurred in their Horror of the
Apparition, which they affirmed that he had before him. But he, tho much
appalled, utterly deny'd that he discerned any thing of it; nor was it
any part of his _Conviction_.