The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-07 00:00:00

IVITC iICRAFT IN THE PRESENT DAY.

The following letter has been addressed to the
Editor of the Times :

Sir,--I send you the particulars of an application
made tag myself, as a magistrate, for au order to
have a -witch " proved." All was written down by
me at the time, and, as the date—last November
—will prove, long before the trial on witchcraft
which you lately reported and remarked upon. The
belief in. witchcraft is very general among the poor,
and not uncommon in a class above them. Mere
ability to read and write does not counteract it.
The believers in this case are very fairly educated,
in a manner, but they still receive with unreasoning
credulity the old wives' fables, handed down, as the
applicant told me, "from generation to genera-
tion," and kept alive, no doubt, in each actual in-
stance by knaves making their harvest of fools. In
Mr. Anderson's interesting work, " Lake Gnami,"
there are passages which are true of my own neigh-
bourhood, though written of savages, e. g.—" The
Namaquas, like most nations who are suck in bar-
barism, have great faith in sorceries, and male and
female witch-doctors play conspicuous parts. They
are crafty creatures, and know how to take advan-
tage of popular ignorance." Again—" Dealers in
the black art are numerous among the Bechuanas,
who place implicit confidence in the prescriptions
of wizards," tke. No Namaqua, or Bechuana re-
cipe can surpass my friend's mixture of "
.~iq,
prop. ammon., noddlehair, toenails, fingernails,
horse-shoenails ; quant. soff."
Thus barbarism and civilisation have alike their
" cute coons," favouring the darkness in which
they fatten, to counteract whom should be the aim
of those educational projects which we are so much
discussing. It must be useful at starting to sound
the real depths of common ignorance, and, if my
communication will contribute towards it, you may
depend on its correctness.
I am, yours very obediently,
E.

. April 3.

"November 17, 1856.
"J. 8., who farms about 40 acres of land in the
parish of Hockham, makes appiication to Mr. a
magistrate, as follows :
" J. B.—Your worship, I come to ask your advice
concerning of my wife.
" Mr. —.—What's the matter
" J. B.—Why, your worship, she's harassed about
night and day—continual worrying—like wind teasing
her stomach, and like a sow with all her young pigs a-
pulling her to pieces.
" Mr. —.—l don't see what I can do for that. Why
don't you send for a doctor ?
"J. B.—Doctor, Sir ! We've been to all the doctors
about. We've spent every shilling to get remedy. All
my family know it, poor dears. NVe're wholly done up.
" Mr. —.—Still I don't see how I can help you.
" J. B.—Well, Sir, it's thought by many people in
the parish that my wife's bewitched ; that it's put upon
her by evil disposed persons through envy. There's a
family named L—, who got turned out when we was
put la, and we think it's through them that they set old
Mrs. C. to do it.
" Mr. —.—Who is Mrs. C. ?
"J. B.—She's an old woman, your worship, who live
near the Lion, and she have the character of being a
witch, and I thought I'd step down and ask your wor-
ship whether you would give me a grant to have her
proved.
" Mr. —.—How is she to be proved ?
" J. B.—Why, Sir, I thought you could have her
swum, I've beard say that, if they be witches, and if
you take a line (not to do them any harm, but just to
swim 'em), then, if they be Witches they won't sink.
I've heard say that there was a gentleman at who
had one swum in the river. I don't know exactly how
it finished, but I heard she didn't live long after it. He
had it done right public. Her name was Pointer. They
tied her clothes about her legs and used her decent. She
had a line put round her waist, and one on each side, to
keep her from sinking if she was an upright woman ;
but if she's a witch they can't sick her no how. Old Mr.
L—, who done it, jumped upon her, but couldn't sink
her no how ; when her head was down her heels was up,
and when her heels was down her head was up. They
do say, your worship, that sick folks are increased
about in the world, and if you have so many as even one
in this or any other parish, they do a sight of harm. Al-
most every one who sees my wife says they never seed
such a complaint, and call out that she's certainly be-
witched. She fare (appear) hunted eight and day. She
fare dried up like a crisp. She say Will, I can't lie
still—l might as well try to sink a bladder in water.' 1
do hope your worship will grant the police to take old
Mrs. C. all of a sudden—by surprise like—and take her
to a pit, and swim her (not to hurt her). If she's an up-
right woman she'll sink, and if she don't sink it'll prove
her guilty.
" Mr. --,—According to this she won't gain much
even if she is upright.' But now, 8., seriously, how
can you believe such nonsense ?
" (Here followed an argument, in which he brought
forward the witch of Endor, the demoniacs of the New
Testament, eec. It ended in the applicant being appa-
rently convinced against his will,' and, therefore, of
the same opinion still.'
"J. B. (returning to the charge).—Well, your wor-
ship, at least I hope you'll take her to a room, and have
her stripped, and see if She have anything bad about her.
" Mr.--.—What is she likely to have bad about
her !

" J. B.—Why, sir, some say that they have imps
about them, but I don't know.
" Mr. --.—What is an imp ?
"J. B.—l don't know, sir, unless it be some bad
spirit or other from the power of old Satan ; but I ne-
ver seed one.
" INIr.--.—But now tell me why you fix upon this
poor old woman Mrs. C-- hi particular ?
" J. B. I'll tell your worship how we come at it. My
wife was advised to send for the woman of --,
who is wonderful clever in these things. She came and
told us to take some particular liquid and put it in a
bottle with some of the hairs out of the noddle of my
wife's neck, and the parings of her finger and toe nails
(these we cut quite close) and, some old horseshoe nails.
(These, you see, Sir, are little schemes which go from.
one generation to another, there's always something to
be learned out of the weakest and ignorantest). Well,
sir, we put the bottle on the fire, and we waits while it's
boiling and burning, and what not; and when it bursts
we look out of the window, and the evil-disposed person
stands before us. Last Friday night was a month that
my wife did this ; and after she done it she got out of
bed, as she do sometimes, to take a drop of drink or a
little magnesia, and she looked out of the window, and
there she saw the woman C— standing before the
window, at a most unsealable hour, in the moonlight, in
an agony sort of state.
" Mr. —.—What became of her I

"J. B.—l don't know, sir ;my wife got into bed, and
I suppose some one come and took the woman away.
We have not seen her since, but our girl says that she
has heard her rattling at the door.
"Mr. —.—Weil, I can't listen any more to such
nonsense.
"J. B.—Ask the squire's gamekeeper, sir, and ask
Tom T., steady, not fast-talking men. Let the squire
call these men before him. Give me them writings if
you please, sir, and let me take them to the clergyman
and the squire. We wished to csme to you first.
"Mr. —.--I have merely been writing down what
you said, but you must not trouble the squire about
such rubbish.
"J. B.—Sir, if our squire knew that there was any
such bad things as witchcraft in the parish, he would
have it altered; because, you know, sir, I have to pay
the rates and taxes, hard and fast.
"Mr. —.—l really can't listen to you any longer.
"J. B.—What, sir! arn't you going to nave it proved!
Can't you at any rate have her hitched tc the Union
House ! That might be a benefit. -
" Mr. —.—l will make inquiries, and will do what
is advisable."

[Exit applicant, protesting aTainst anything short of
full proof by "swimming IP'r."]
The district policeman has since informed me that on
a certain night he was asked by J. B. to come and
watch his premise., under pretence that his ducks were
stolen. He did so, but discovered afterwards that they
were "working their spell," and they wanted him to see
the witch appear. He saw no ono. Tne old woman C.
is harmless and respectable, and so infirm that she can-
not possibly have been so far as J. B.'s house for a very
long time past. The "bewitched" woman herself has
since described to me what she saw—viz., the woman
G—, " whinnying" like ado ut up, not barking
nor bowling, but " whinnying," and moving herb hands
like a dog's paws when sitting up. Mrs. B— told me
that she knew all her allbctions to come from God, but
she does not understand why He sends such persons as
the witch to witness them. A. few days afterwards I
was in a cottage in an adjoining parish, h
made some observation about "the strange thienn s that people believed even in these days," to whichgl
the woman of the cottage replied that she supposed I
was alluding to Mrs. B—, of D-----, aid to her be-
ing bewitched. I said that I was thinking of that.
" Mrs. F —Well, sir, there certainly is such
things.

"kr. F.-- (her husband).—There certainly is.
"Mrs. sir, only last Monday was a
week, that their witch sent poor Mrs. B— up to the
top of the house, and then up the haystack, and then
on to the horses, and made her even toilJw the pleuph
on them. "('was all done first from jealousy. The pee_
pie who could not have the land were determined that
those ‘sho did get it should not enjoy it, and so they
bet this vl.l witch to disturb them.
"Mr. • --.----But am told that Mrs. G— is a
most harmless, inoffensive woman.
that/A a h're th.y overcome
people----501..ving and land, with their dudish tongue to
betray peoyle; and they come askio,:.• for butter, and
cheet,e, and milk, and all such things, and no one dares
to deny them.

" Mr. —.—Ent Mrs. C— is so infirm that she
could not possibly have got so tar as 11-28 farm'
" MrA. Goa kuo it was either
she or her shadow. I should not like to have anything to
do with such ; and Mr. mistake on that there
Fri.'ay night was that he spoke to her. If he hadn't
spoke to her she'd have died, and then they'd have been
rid of her. I suppose, Sir, you've heard of Mrs. S
case—the wife of S—, the sheep-dreg,er of G ?
.. Mr. —,—No, I have not heard of it.
gr F--.—No more had I, Sir, till MO w days ago,
w'ner, my neighbour, Mrs. P—, asked me mve you
heard, says she, that the man S—of G. has kit;
a woman ?' Kilt a woman ?' says Yes,' says she—
' a witch.' And then I heard all about it, just au the .