Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1849-05-18

M bAt ANASAA IthN 4
on, upon their cHrNs, 10 a prodigious
Their mouths were forc'd open
TO such n Wilderness, that their JAWS
went out of Joint; and anon clapped to-
oe,her again, with q force like that Of a
'Spring lock, and the like would happen
10 their shoulder-blades and their elbows
and hand wrists and several of their
Joints. They would lie in a benumb'd
condition, and be drawn together like
those that are ty'd neck and heels; and
presently be stretch'd out, yea, drawn
back enormously"
How perfectly unsupernatural The
children had been religiously educated,
stories of witchcraft included, one Of
them was violently provoked, the idea OF
making a witch of the poor Irish woman
was not very hard for them 10 appre-
bend, 10 crown all, the physicians, in
that oge only second to the clergy, pro-
nounced it pr%eternaturall The case now
went on strong. The ministers of Bos-
Ton and Charlestown observed a day of.
fasting and prayer on account Of it.
The Reverend historian is careful 10 tell
us that when devotions had been perform
ed with the children before, "lhcir hear
ing was utterly taken from them; SHUT
on this occasion, at the troubled house,
the youngest of the four children was
Immediately, happily, finally delivered
from all its trouble"
But in that age Of New England the
civil magistrates were the humble SER
wants Of the ministers, and they also in
%terfere, not TO put these cunning and
mischievous children in the House of
Correction, as would now be done, but
TO examine the poor old w%asherwoman,
Glover by name, whom the children had
accused of bewitching them, or shaving
employed these troublesome DEMONS" as
Cotton Malher expresses it. And the
devout and learned Divine adds, "she
gave such a wretched account of herself,
that she was committed into the Gaolcr's
custody"
The poor old Irish was not
very communicative. She bothered the
judges by talking only in Irish and requi-
ring interpreters 10 make The court UNI
.derstand what she said. These inter-
pr,ters were so puzzled that they con-
cluded some other witch had laid a SPELL
upon her TO keep her from communica-
ting any thing. To help on the trial, the
poor creatures house was searched
when, marvellous 10 relate "sevcral i'm
ages, or poppets, or babies, made of rags
and stuffed with goats hair, were thence
Produced" and, says the learned Cotton
Malher, "the vile woman confessed that
her way 10 tormen the objects of her
malice was by wetting of her finger with
her spit,le, and stroaking of those Little
images" When one OF these dolls was
brought to the old woman in couri, doubt.
less surprised enough 10 see it, she
snatched it up, and at that instant one O
the children fell into fits. This so much
startled the Judges that they had the ex-
pertinent repeated, and at every time
there was the same result, though the
historian tells us the children did not sec
The hand laid upon the image. She al.
so confessed that she had had n super
natural assistant for the occasion who
had deserted her. ''Howevcr, saws DR.
Malher, "to make all clear, the court an
, pointed five or six physicians to examine
her very strictly, whether she was ne
way craZed in her intellectuals." Tc
I these physicians the woman talked YER,
nationally. professed herself a Roman
: Catholic, showed that she could recit,
4 the PATER NosTER, except a clause O
f iwo-which of course the devil proven
n ted her from pronouncing-and the doc.
!. Tors returned her compQs meniis. Sh,
/. was accordingly condemned and hanged
for a witch. 1t is quite remarkable how
The three liberal professions, Divinity
II Physic and Law cooperated to produc,
s This murder Of a poor washcrwoman.-
y Docs any body suppose that either godli
a ness, health or justice was promoted b,
lii?
Ibis case is not 10 be passed owe
without remarking that as soon rs III
s woman Glover was committed for witch
C cralt, every neighbor who had ever ha,
n a quarrel with her came forward wit
c some mysterious tale against her. an,
other children were afflicted and laid IN
blame on her.. Cotton Mather luxuriate
J., IKE a hungry COW in a clover field O,
The marvellous things which happened t
- all those afflicted children, going TO con
hrm The judgment of the court while III
poor wretch was awaiting her execution
C AT This extremity his excellent pietv lie,
him TO offer her the aid of his powerfu
e prayers, but she said the spirits woul
not give her leave TO accept his aid, an,
v she would not consent without il Oh
also said that the afflicted children woul
not be relieved by her death, for other
n had a hand in their afliction.
accordingly" says Mather, "th
three children (Goodwin's) continued i
e 'helr iurnace as before; and it grew rath
d er seven times hotter than it was" BIZ
d the old Irish washerwoman being dea
e and gone, the afflicted children still i
N their tantrums were puzzled IN 6v mo