Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1855-12-08
| In inculcate that belief in all others. am,

&c."
a hundred years ago three men were tried
ut lIertIord for the murder of Ruth Osburn.
who was suspected as witch. The over.
sccrs of the parish, wishing to save the wo-
man (who was seventy years Of age) from
threatened danger, removed her and her hus-
band TO the workhouse. A body of about
five thousand people, however. assembled at
Tying. and behaved with so much violence
that the authorities were at length obliged to
give up the victim. The poor woman was so
much ill-treated by the ignorant mob in their
experiments to prove whether she was a
witch that she died soon after.
1t is not fifty years since Mr.. Nicholson.
the incumbent Of Great Paxton. in Hunting
donshire, preached against the belief in witch
craft TO his ignorant parishioners, and told
them some Of his experience. poor wo-
man, the mother of eight children, prosecuted
as Il witch, had gone to him weeping, protest
ing innocence, and asking leave to prove it by
being weighed against the pulpit Bible. Mr.
Nicholson then expostulated with his people
in the church, but to no purpose. for soon al
terwaris their violence increased. At ST.
Noets market, woman coming home in the
wagon was about to put her parcel of grocer.
les on the top of some corn sacks, and was
advised by Anne lizard. neighbor, not to
do so she did it, nevertheless, and on the
way home by some accident, the wagon was
upset. This set the whole village in an up
roar. and on the following Sunday night its
inhabitants went in mass to the unhappy
womans cottage, dragged her naked from
her bed dashed her head against the stones
of the canseway. mangled her arms with Plus,
and beat her on the face, breast and stomach
with the wooden bar of the door When left
to herself she crawled for protection to the
constable and was refused it; but in the
house of Il merciful woman, who was widow,
she found refuge, and the widow. Alice Rus.
sell, hound her neighbours wounds, and put
her into her own bed. By this Christian
deed she incurred the wrath of the people,
brutalized by superstition, and was subjected
by them to indignities and kept 10y them in II
state of incessant terror. whereof, twelve days
afterwards, size died. But on the day after
the first outrage Anne lizard was again
dragged ont for ill-usage, after which she took
refuge under the roof Of the clergyman, who
was blamed sorely for the shelter he afforded.
The belief in witches, even at this day. SUR
wives in many corners of the land, among nn
untaught people; while superstition Of the
grossest kind, though not the most atrocious,
is to be met with everywhere. In the Lon.
don drawing room of the wealthy connosseur
! in rappings in the remote hovel of the poor
mar, who. to avoid misfortune, is induced to
swallow necromantic mixtures, and among
whose household treasures are to be found
constantly such documents as this The
gar (jar) Of mixture is to be MKT with half O
pint of gen (gin.l and then a table spoon to
be took mornings at eleven o'clock, four and
eight. and four of the pills TO be took every
morning fasting, and the paper of powder tc
BIZ divided in ten parts, and one part to be
took every night going to bed in little hon
ey. The paper of arhs (herbs) is to be burn
Il small bit at time, on few coolies with
little hay and rosemary, and whes i, is burn
ing read the two first verses of the Is Salnl
and say the Lords prayer after"