At the Assizes held at Bury St. Edmunds, for the county of Suffolk, on
the 10th of March 1665, before Sir Matthew Hale,[50] Lord Chief-Baron
of Exchequer, Rose Cullender and Amy Duny, widows, both of Leystoff,
were indicted for bewitching Elizabeth and Ann Durent, Jane Bocking,
Susan Chandler, William Durent, Elizabeth and Deborah Pacy; and being
arraigned they pleaded Not Guilty.
Three of the persons above-named, viz. Anne Durent, Susan Chandler, and
Elizabeth Pacy were brought to Bury to the Assizes, and were in a
reasonable good condition; but that morning they came into the hall to
give instructions for the drawing of their bills of indictments, the
three persons fell into strange and violent fits, shrieking out in a
most sad manner, so that they could not in any wise give any
instructions in the court who were the cause of their distemper. And
although they did after some certain space recover out of their fits,
yet they were every one of them struck dumb, so that none of them could
speak, neither at the time, nor during the Assizes, until the conviction
of the supposed witches.
_Dorothy Durent_ was the mother of William Durent, an infant. She swore
that on the 10th of March 1669, she left her son William, who was then
sucking, in charge of Amy Durent while she was away from home, giving
her a penny for her trouble. She laid a great charge on Amy not to
suckle the child, and on being asked why she did this, she explained
that Amy had long gone under the reputation of a witch. Nevertheless,
when she came back Amy told her that she had given the child suck;--
whereupon the deponent was very angry with the said Amy for the
same; at which the said Amy was much discontented, and used many
high expressions and threatening speeches towards her; telling
her, That she had as good to have done otherwise than to have
found fault with her, and so departed out of her house; and that
very night her son fell into strange fits of swooning and was
held in such terrible manner, that she was much affrighted
therewith, and so continued for divers weeks. And the said
examinant farther said, that she being exceedingly troubled at
her child's distemper, did go to a certain person named Dr.
Jacob, who lived at Yarmouth, who had the reputation in the
country, to help children that were bewitched; who advised her
to hang up the child's blanket in the chimney-corner all day,
and at night when she put the child to bed, to put it into the
said blanket, and if she found anything in it, she should not be
afraid, but throw it into the fire. And this deponent did
according to his direction, and at night when she took down the
blanket with an intent to put her child therein, there fell out
of the same a great toad, which ran up and down the hearth, and
she having a young youth only with her in the house desired him
to catch the toad and throw it into the fire, which the youth
did accordingly and held it there with the tongs; and as soon as
it was in the fire it made a great and horrible noise, and after
a space there was a flashing in the fire like gunpowder, making
a noise like the discharge of a pistol, and thereupon the toad
was no more seen or heard. It was asked by the court, if that
after the noise and flashing, there was not the substance of the
toad to be seen to consume in the fire? And it was answered by
the said Dorothy Durent, that after the flashing and noise,
there was no more seen than if there had been none there. The
next day there came a young woman, a kinswoman of the said Amy,
and a neighbour of this deponent, and told this deponent, that
her aunt (meaning the said Amy) was in a most lamentable
condition, having her face all scorched with fire, and that she
was sitting alone in her house in her smock without any fire.
And thereupon this deponent went into the house of the said Amy
Duny to see her, and found her in the same condition as was
related to her; for her face, her legs, and thighs, which this
deponent saw, seemed very much scorched and burnt with fire, at
which this deponent seemed much to wonder, and asked the said
Amy how she came into that sad condition? and the said Amy
replied, she might thank her for it, for that she this deponent
was the cause of it, but that she should live to see some of her
children dead, and she upon crutches. And this deponent farther
saith, that after the burning of the said toad, her child
recovered, and was well again, and was living at the time of the
assizes. And this deponent farther saith, That about the 6th of
March, 11 Car. II., her daughter Elizabeth Durent, 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. And she this deponent going to the apothecary's
for something for her said child, when she did return to her own
house, she found the said Amy Duny there, and asked her what she
did do there, and her answer was, That she came to see her
child, and to give it some water. But she this deponent was very
angry with her, and thrust her forth of her doors, and when she
was out of doors, she said, You need not be so angry, for your
child will not live long: and this was on a Saturday, and the
child died on the Monday following. The cause of whose death,
this deponent verily believeth was occasioned by the witchcraft
of the said Amy Duny: for that the said Amy hath been long
reputed to be a witch and a person of very evil behaviour, whose
kindred and relations have been many of them accused of
witchcraft, and some of them have been condemned. The said
deponent further saith, that not long after the death of her
daughter Elizabeth Durent, she this deponent was taken with a
lameness in both legs, from the knees down-ward, that she was
fain to go upon crutches, and that she had no other use of them
but only to bear a little upon them till she did remove her
crutches, and so continued till the time of the Assizes that the
Witch came to be tried, and was there upon her crutches; the
Court asked her, That at the time she was taken with this
lameness, if it were with her according to the custom of women?
Her answer was, that it was so, and that she never had any
stoppages of those things, but when she was with child. This is
the substance of her Evidence to this Indictment.
There was one thing very remarkable, that after she had gone
upon crutches for upwards of 3 years, and went upon them at the
time of the Assizes in the Court when she gave her Evidence, and
upon the jury's bringing in their verdict, by which the said Amy
Duny was found Guilty, to the great admiration of all persons,
the said Dorothy Durent was restored to the use of her limbs,
and went home without making use of her crutches.
As concerning Elizabeth and Deborah Pacy, the first of the age
of 11 years, the other of the age of 9 years or thereabouts: as
to the elder, she was brought into the Court at the time of the
instructions given to draw up the Indictments, and afterwards at
the time of trial of the said prisoners, but could not speak one
word all the time, and for the most part she remained as one
wholly senseless, as one in a deep sleep, and could move no part
of her body, and all the motion of life that appeared in her
was, that as she lay upon cushions in the court upon her back,
her stomach and belly, by the drawing of her breath, would
arise to a great height: and after the said Elizabeth had lain a
long time on the table in the court, she came a little to
herself and sat up, but could neither see nor speak, but was
sensible of what was said to her, and after a while she laid her
head on the bar of the court with a cushion under it, and her
hand and her apron upon that, and there she lay a good space of
time: and by the direction of the judge, Amy Duny was privately
brought to Elizabeth Pacy, and she touched her hand: whereupon
the child without so much as seeing her, for her eyes were
closed all the while, suddenly leaped up, and catched Amy Duny
by the hand, and afterwards by the face; and with her nails
scratched her till blood came, and would by no means leave her
till she was taken from her, and afterwards the child would
still be pressing towards her, and making signs of anger
conceived against her.
Deborah the younger daughter was held in such extreme manner,
that her parents wholly despaired of her life, and therefore
could not bring her to the Assizes.
_The Evidence which was given concerning these two children was to this
effect._
SAMUEL PACY, a merchant of Leystoff aforesaid (a man who carried
himself with much soberness during the trial, from whom
proceeded no words either of passion or malice though his
children were so greatly afflicted), sworn and examined,
deposeth. That his younger daughter Deborah, upon Thursday the
10th of October last, was suddenly taken with a lameness in her
legs, so that she could not stand, neither had she any strength
in her limbs to support her, and so she continued until the 17th
day of the same month, which day being fair and sunshiny, the
child desired to be carried on the east part of the house to be
set upon the bank which looketh upon the sea; and whilst she was
sitting there, Amy Duny came to this deponent's house to buy
some herrings, but being denied she went away discontented, and
presently returned again, and was denied, and likewise the third
time and was denied as at first; and at her last going away, she
went away grumbling; but what she said was not perfectly
understood. But at the very same instant of time, the child was
taken with most violent fits, feeling most extreme pains in her
stomach, like the pricking of pins, and shrieking out in a most
dreadful manner like unto a whelp; and not like unto a sensible
creature. And in this extremity the child continued to the great
grief of the parents until the 30th of the same month. During
this time this deponent sent for one Dr. Feavor, a doctor of
physic, to take his advice concerning his child's distemper; the
Doctor being come, he saw the child in those fits but could not
conjecture, as he then told this deponent, and afterwards
affirmed in open court, at this trial, what might be the cause
of the child's affliction. And this deponent farther saith, That
by reason of the circumstances aforesaid, and in regard Amy Duny
is a woman of ill-fame, and commonly reported to be a witch and
sorceress, and for that the said child in her fits would cry out
of Amy Duny as the cause of her malady, and that she did
affright her with apparitions of her person (as the child in the
intervals of her fits related) he this deponent did suspect the
said Amy Duny for a witch, and charged her with the injury and
wrong to his child, and caused her to be set in the stocks on
the 28th of the same October: and during the time of her
continuance there, one Alice Letteridge and Jane Buxton
demanding of her, as they also affirmed in court upon their
oaths, what should be the reason of Mr. Pacy's child's
distemper? telling her, That she was suspected to be the cause
thereof; she replied, 'Mr. Pacy keeps a great stir about his
child, but let him stay until he hath done as much by his
children, as I have done by mine.' And being further examined,
what she had done to her children? She answered, 'That she had
been fain to open her child's mouth with a tap to give it
victuals.' And the said deponent further deposeth, that within
two days after speaking of the said words, being the 30th of
October, the eldest daughter Elizabeth, fell into extreme fits,
insomuch, that they could not open her mouth to give her breath,
to preserve her life, without the help of a tap which they were
enforced to use; and the younger child was in the like manner
afflicted, so that they used the same also for her relief.
And further the said children being grievously afflicted would
severally complain in their extremity, and also in the
intervals, that Amy Duny (together with one other woman whose
person and clothes they described) did thus afflict them, their
apparitions appearing before them, to their great terror and
affrightment: and sometimes they would cry out, saying, There
stands Amy Duny, and there Rose Cullender, the other person
troubling them.
Their fits were various, sometimes they would be lame on one
side of their bodies, sometimes on the other: sometimes a
soreness over their whole bodies, so as they could endure none
to touch them: at other times they would be restored to the
perfect use of their limbs, and deprived of their hearing; at
other times of their sight, at other times of their speech;
sometimes by the space of one day, sometimes for two; and once
they were wholly deprived of their speech for eight days
together and then restored to their speech again. At other times
they would fall into swoonings, and upon the recovery to their
speech they would cough extremely, and bring up much phlegm, and
with the same crooked pins, and one time a two-penny nail with a
very broad head, which pins (amounting to forty or more)
together with the two-penny nail, were produced in court, with
the affirmation of the said deponent, that he was present when
the said nail was vomited up, and also most of the pins.
Commonly at the end of every fit they would cast up a pin, and
sometimes they would have four or five fits in one day.
In this manner the said children continued with this deponent
for the space of two months, during which time in their
intervals this deponent would cause them to read some chapters
in the New Testament.
Whereupon this deponent several times observed, that they would
read till they came to the name of Lord, or Jesus, or Christ;
and then before they could pronounce either of the said words
they would suddenly fall into their fits. But when they came to
the name of Satan, or devil, they would clap their fingers upon
the book, crying out, This bites, but makes me speak right well.
At such time as they be recovered out of their fits (occasioned
as this deponent conceives upon their naming of Lord, Jesus, or
Christ), this deponent hath demanded of them, what is the cause
they cannot pronounce those words: they reply and say, that Amy
Duny saith, I must not use that name.
And further, the said children after their fits were past, would
tell, how that Amy Duny and Rose Cullender would appear before
them holding their fists at them, threatening, that if they
related either what they saw or heard, that they would torment
them ten times more than ever they did before.
In their fits they would cry out, There stands Amy Duny or Rose
Cullender; and sometimes in one place and sometimes in another
running with great violence to the place where they fancied them
to stand, striking at them as if they were present; they would
appear to them sometimes spinning, and sometimes reeling, or in
other postures, deriding or threatening them.
Afterwards the witness sent the children to the house of Margaret
Arnold, his sister, at Yarmouth, to make trial whether the change of air
might do them any good.
_Margaret Arnold_ gave no credit to what was related to her when the
children were committed to her care, 'conceiving that possibly the
children might use some deceit in putting pins in their mouths
themselves'; she therefore 'took all the pins out of their clothes, and
sewed them all instead'; but 'notwithstanding all this care and
circumspection of hers,' they raised at least thirty pins in her
presence, and had most violent fits. They would cry out in their fits,
against Rose Cullender and Amy Duny, alleging that they saw them.
At some times the children (only) would see things run up and
down the house in the appearance of mice; and one of them
suddenly snapt one with the tongs, and threw it in the fire, and
it screeched out like a rat.