The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1870-09-02
miscellaneous.
Cotton Mather.
by JAMES PARTON.

ceSe OF France, the records OF which
show that. during period of about one
hundred and fifty years, one thousand
persons were burned TO death for the
same imaginary crime. In the province
of Lorraine. there once lived Judge who
boasted, and truly. that he had condemn
cd To the stake nine hundred individuals
for witchcraft, none OF whom escaped
the fire. During the century when New
England hanged twenty or thirty witches,
Old England burned two hundred, and
Scotland burned SO many that the num-
Der is spoken Of rs ''some thousands"
And, what was even more remarkable.
the most enlightened and wise persons
.hen living had the firmest belief in WITCH
crsft, and in the constant, personal in
terference OF evil spirits in the affairs OF
men. Luther. rs we all know, was per-
fectly convinced that the devil had ac-
cess TO his room, and disturbed him by
various noiscs and devices.
"In the night times" SAYS Luther. ''my
gentleman. the devil. came and got the
nuts out OF the box In which kept them,
and cracked them against one of the bed
post, making n very great noise, and
rumbling about my bed; but / regarded
him rs nothing ut all. When afterward
l began to slumber. then he kept such n
racket and rumbeling upon the cham.
Der stairs, rs II many empty barrels and
hogsheads had been tumbled down."
NonsenicIl rs this Is, Luther believed
II fully; and even such men rs the Illus
trious Kepler found no difficulty In be-
licving tales equally absurd. When
Shakespeare brought upon tho stage the
witches In Macbeth, the fsrics in the MIDI
summer Nights dream, and the ghosts
in Richard and Hamlet, he exhibited
scenes in which no spectator saw any
thing improbable. And similar beliefs
fingered until only a few years ago, in
some of the most enlightened cities in the
world. Doctor johnson believed In
haunted houses rs late rs ITO; and in
1857, rs l read In newspaper OF the
day, n poor harmless old woman was
stoned and hootcd rs n witch in the
streets of Philadelphia.
When l consider such facts rs these, /
wonder that New England recovered
from the mania rs easily and quickly as
she did. am not sure that she would
not have escaped 1t altogether, but for the
presence in Boston Of that singularly
benevolent. credulous, vain and garrulous
clergyman, Cotton Mather. Tho son
and grandson. the father and grandfather
Of Puritan clergymen, Cotton Mathcr and
his family were chiefly instrumental in
developing the witchcraft frenzy in New
England; and 1t came to pass in this
way.
In tho 1868. four children of respect
able family. having heard much of the
antics and vagaries OF bcwitched people,
took il into their heads to play of some
of the same tricks themselves. They
would bark like dogs, purr like cats, and
ily over the ground with arms outstretch-
ed like frightened geese. The eldest of
the children. a girl of thirteen, pretended
hat the Evil Spirit came TO her In the
shape of horse and she would canter,
gallop, trot and amble about the house,
neigh and whinny. and bound up stairs
MS If borne irresistibly on horse. All
the children united In saying that the
person who bewitched them was u poor,
old. half-cr,zed Catholic Irish woman,
named Glover.
Instead Of whipping these silly chill
dren and sending them to bed. or. what
would have been better still. laughing at
their nonsense. these wise Bostonians OF
that day took the case into the most seri-
Gus consideration. Physicians were sum-
moned, who pronounced il clear case of
witchcraft. Clergymen were called in,
and they were of the same opinion. Cot
ton Mathcr. especially, was profoundly
Exercised. He took the eldest of the be-
witched children into his family. to see If
he could not drive out tho Evil Spirit.
The girl must have been an uncommonly
good actress. and well aware Of the good
mans foibles. particularly his egregious
vanity, and his unbounded credulity.
One day. when he wished 10 say some
thing in her hearing, which he desired
she should not understand, he said IL in
Latin; hut the cunning girl guessed his
meaning. He was astounded. He then
said something in Greek. and again she
had the acuteness to interpret him correct
". Then he spoke in Hebrew. and once
more she was lucky In her conjecture.
Finally he uttered n sentence in an Indian
language. This time, having no clue 10 his
meaning. she made no atteml I TO guess II.
| from which the learned Mather concluded
that the Evil Spirit, though well acquaint-
ed with Latin, Greek. and Hebrew, knew
nothing of the Indian tongues.
The girl showed great cunning in flat
tering him. When he put into her hands
a book written by Quaker. she. being
well aware Of his antipathy to Qu,kers,
affected TO read the book with the greatest
delight; but when he gave her u boo k
against the Quakers. she pretended not to
understand word OF IL. If he handed
her Roman Catholic work. she read II
with ease and avidity. but pretended not
To be able 10 make out n syllable OF the
catechism In which she had been instructed
from her childhood. Cotton Mather was
n warm opponent of Episcopal forms and
Ilituryies. The girl affected p,ssi N for
the Church of England prayer-book call.
ing Il her Bible. and saying that IL relieved
her Of her suffering II she only held II In
her hands. But the Bible she could not
read at all.
Sometimes she proceeded to fattery
moro direct. When he summoned the
family 10 prayers, abe would whistle and
! yell 10 drown his voice. strike Mt him with
her fists. and kick ut him. but never quite
touch him; thus conveying the idea that
about the sacred person Of DIR. Mather
there was an invisible garment of celestial
fabric. which the devil could not. touch.
All this completely deceived this most
credulous man Of most crcdulous age.
So entirely taken in was he. and such
, Importance lid he attach to the manifesta-
tions, that hc determined nj length To
! write n sermon on the subject. The girl
pretended tn bc offended at the idea. aud
disturbed him by various tricks while he
was writing the sermon. She threw large
books N, his head. Once she interrupted hin,
In his study. and tcld him that there was
somebody down stairs who would DO glad
; 10 see him. Upon going down stairs. he
found no ono there but the usual inmates
!. OF the house. lie acouscd her Of false
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