The National Register.
London, England, 1815-08-13 00:00:00

r. NATIONiAT, ROMSTER.

LE SUPERSTITION AND CRUELTY.

4
...r.._
intom THE FRENC,II PApEns.l

It Alt,/ 19.—The Royal Court tlii4 day ent(46ined
agateust live prrsotN avorst.d of a most atrocious

netee,lh centnry, in the mi►kt of the most enlizhtene►l
Ander the reign of the most humane religion, ignor-
Iperstition have just presented the trighifilt spectacle,
'llO ha• been burnt alive on a charge ►of witchcraft.
are the facts connected vtith this I►orr.ble proceed.

at Blois had a child afflicted with a laneui,hintt sick-
,:lll4 were called in t 0 rro purpose; the aid of their art
sire ; the complaint resisted all means applied for its
ighhours, infected with that prejudice which still pre
to (-amnion people, believed that the child laboured
They pirated out to the parents a woman who was
very akilfitl in discoveting those who dealt in charms,
them to restore the persons bewitched to their
This woman was called in. After examining 11w
tired that it bad been bewitched, mei that the spill
three years. She undertook the cure, observing at
, that it would be neoessary to have seventeen masses,
infs. Sc votive') ave mules amid seventeen wax-can-
ok every thing upon herself, and demanded thirty-five
repaired to an adjoining garden, there fastened loge-
des eight's', and affirmed, that she stopped the eharm,
sly the progress of the disease.
Iman had already received a part of the thirty-five francs,
'tare on the 11th of July. On that day the father of
.Tived that so far from being itesproved, it was grow-
He sent for the sorceress, who promiserl him to disco-
' of the charm. When the woman arrived, she dr.
...would not leave him till she wade known the ea.
that her art did Lint permit her to name the person;
could only deSerihe him. "It is," said she, " a little
)herd by trade--he is married—he has a child—he pass
by your door with his sheep,"—" It ine,t he Antoine,
hairnet' the another of the child, " Co and inquire," eL,
lreeress, anti you shall see." Inquiries were ;mane-
coneerping Antoine, who appeared to agree exactly
description given lay the modern syhil. In order to remove
I of suspicion, a person was sent to desire him to come
sheep.
• came immed;ately to the house. The sorceress con-
the bed where the child lay. " Behold," said she,
e speak off you must immediately relieve this child,
have thrown a charm for eight mouths past."—An-
he did not understand her, and that he never dealt
It was then that, in order to force him to confess
the imaginary crime, the unfortunate shepherd under-
'Motu from two to six o'clock in the evening. They
fire of faggots, thrust his feet repeatedly into the
awing them only to inflict blows, all the time requir-
.move 11w enchantment, and to inflict it npon a cat or ;
animal that they brought fur the purpo,e.
Itestatious of the victim were useless, and six times he'
the tire, while he called upon them rather to cut his
.'. Neither the torture of this moat cruel punishment
'king cries which they excited, nor the suppliant eu-
immediate death, or the constant denial of an act plky-
wally impossible—nothing could appease the assassins,
el their cruelty for four boors. -
at six o'clock in the eveuitte, the Commissary of the
I, and rescued the unhappy shepherd front the bide-
rarity.of those ignorant wretches. He, however, died
hrtti-es, and injuries he had teceisted tone clays after-
persons have been charged with beiag accessaries to
. crime. The prophetess, who was to disclose the en.
persist( d, in a most confident maimer, prn her iotadi.
id ion the efficacy of the modes in whit it she was to dis.
tor of time spell. Sic pretended that it was dime by
prayers. The parents still continue to think that the
,nod have removed the enchantment, and that filial affix-
them a right to carpel him to do so. Thus a crime was
' in the name of the sacred irligirm which it hats ootrai:ed,
lame of the fittest sentiment of nattne, w!ticit fcvdtli

These two grand luminaries of heaven, the supreme ge4
of the heathen mythology, acrd the goddess of love anti
beauty, have a remarkable treble conjunction as follows
About the middle of July, Jupiter began rapidly to ap.
preach Venus from the East ;_by the end of the month gets
within 10 deg' et's of her, and by the middle of Atq.rust Is in
full conjunction with this beauty of the skies; Venus is at
this time an horned crescent in great splendour, and threo
hours behind the sun. They now run a lace together to.,
wards the sun for a month or six weeks, Jupiter 6iit taking
the lead, and then waiting for his companion ; about tit,
middle of October they are again in conjunction with each
other and with the sun. They now become =tiring stars..
Venus emerges from the sun with great celeri►v, followed by
Jupiter; she is 80 deg. a-head of him the beginning of No.
vember, and 90 deg, foremost by November 15. Jupiter
now begins to gain ground, and by the middle of December
again approaches her; this (as seen from the earth) is in the
sign Scorpio, the former conjunctions referred to haviog
been in Libra. They now separate finally, and are 17 tle►g,
apart before the year's end; 46 deg. apart before February,'
and 64 deg. asunder by Febrwary 15, 1810.

THE SLEEPING WOAMN OR 3roNTßosc
-,.....--

The followinz articles relative to this new wonder of Scotland
are taken rrolll the journals published in the scene.—not of I►rr
tion—but of her extraordinary repose, which tbie local Editnrebad
personal opportunities of observing
" Motirrnosy, Aec. 4.—We have nothing to add this week to
account of the young woman whose case hast beep twice meutiobed
in this paper, but that she remains in nearly the same state as dep.
scribed in our paper of last week, having remained in that torrid
state for upwards of a ntontl►."—(Mouirose Courier),

"We frankly aoknowledgo our incredulity of the state of the,
young woman, Lvall, the daughter of an honest and industrious stion.
soaker, at Denhearl, of Dminiirald ; nor were our doubts altogethep
removed, although the veracity of so many respectable persons, who
had seen her, could not he suspected. On Tuesday eseuiug we
visited her, in company with two friends, one ot them a professional
Gentleman, who had soon her before, She was lying in bed ma,

tionless, with her left hand resting upon the cheek, the right
stretched flown by the side ; and we were infOrmesi that sh* had
.been in this state of stupor during the last live weeks, without
speaking or moving the eyelids. We were also told, that the first
time she eontinned in this state for Cie hours; had then a short itt,
terval of watchfulness, daring which she converged in her &mita;
manner, and then relapsed into the same state of insensibility in
which we now sow her. The pulse was about 60 in a minute, and
rather full ; the pupils of both eyes, when the lids wero opened,
skewed very little sensibility when approached with a ligl►te4
candle. She appears to have lost both motion and feeling of the
right arm, which remained immoveable, even when pricked with
pill so deep as to draw blood, She now and then made
motion of the fingers of the left hand neon her cheek. The tear
tares of the (ace are placid, and not in the least shrunk. but resemblit
those of a person in profound and refreshing sleep. of harts,
horn and small have been applied to the nostrils without producing
sneezing, or any other effect, than gentle moving of the lips. Her
deglutition is perfect, as we sriw her swallow some fluid, and also
masticate a bit of bumd sot tritid ith tea, when put tutu her nioutls
by her mother-inlaw : the other (Unction* are natural, hijght pot
galvanism or electririty be lieEclicial in this uncommon case of
torpor ? Upon the whole, we intyst sad, the interesting and ph,
eitily quiescent appearance of this girl. who may be said to be dead
and yet alive; ani living, although dead to every external object
around her, excited in us feeling: which we want language to eon.
vey to our readers ; but we pledl:c ourselves for the accuracy of 04
factb we !ia%l: just —(.l.lw.tt ost