The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1878-05-23
aioLL PiTCHER.

s~N Ns1EA e k0ihA W uihutFf
aoLL PiTcHER.
The vicinity OF High Rock was long
memorable a. the residence OF Moll Pitch
er, the iortune-teller Of Lynn. Twenty
five years ago there were very few fre.
sides in New England that her fame bad
not reached, perhaps disturbed and hei
successful predictions, alike astounding
to the vulgar or perplexing TO the en-.
lighlcued, were the theme ofmAny q mid.
night watch or forcas.ie oonfab. She
was not The wlhered, decrepit, and
toothless crone Of Spenser, or otway'a
'prinkled bag, with age grown doublc,
Picking dry sticks aud mumbling to hsrself =
but woman who lived In tho full gaze
aud gossip Of the world, which only &C.
eepted ber claim, to foreknowedge upon
the unequivocal testimony Of a thousand
witnesses. DO you contend that her rep.
utation was due solely TO the sbrew dness,
penetration and ready wit with which
she was undoubtedly and 10 a renarka.
bic degree gifted? How, then, will you
explain revelations Of the future made
ten and twenty years before the predicted
even took place?
When she was in the meridian OF her
fame and life the ordinary applicant saw
woman OF medium statue, having an
unusually large head, pale face shaded
by masses Of dark brown hair, who was
as thoroughly sclf.possessed as lie was III
at ease, and whose comprehensive glance
measured his mental capacity before he
could utter n asyllable. People Of better
discernmenl, who recoleei her, say that
her face had none Of the wldness of the
traditional witch, but was clouded with
habitual sadness, as ofa mind over bur
dened with being the depository OF 80
many condolences, perhaps crimes. She
had full capacious forehead, eyes that
read the secret thoughts Of suitor,
nose inclined to be long, and thin lips--S
physiognomy wholly unlike the popular
ideal, but rather that Of modern Egeris
In short, the witch of the nineteenth cen.
tury.
During the fifty years that ste pursued
her traffic of forlune.teiling, In what was
then lonely and little frequented part OF
the town, not only was she consulted by |
the poor aud ignorant, but by the rich
and intelligent class. Love affairs, lega-
cies, the discovery Of crime, lotteries,
ventures, and the more com.
mon contingencies Of fortune formed, we
may well imagine, the staple of her pre-.
1ictions; but most OF her valued clients
came from the opulent sea-ports within
sight of High Rock. The common sailor
md the master, the cabin-boy and the
'wner, equally resorted to her humble
abode TO know the luck 0. a voyage. II
asserted that many vessel has been
deserted on the eve of sailing, In conse-
luence OF Moll's unlucky vaticination.
She was also much besought by treasure
eekers--a rather numerous class In her
lay, whose united digging along the
'oast Of New England would, II usefully
lirected, have reclaimed for cultivation
10 considerable area of virgin soil. For
uch applicants the witch had short and
sharp reply. Fools, she would say,
{ knew where money was buried, do
ou think ! wonld part with the secret?
Mol Pitcher died in 1918, at the age OF
evenly. She was originally of Marble
ead, and was said to have inherited the !
1T OF prophesy from her grandfather,
Ohm Dimond, who must, however, have
wed In time when II was neither wise !
or safe TO exercise powers then univer. j
ally attributed TO the Evil One. Her
ither sailed out OF Marblehead as the
iaster of small vessel. Mary Dimond
larried John Pitcher, shoemaker, In f,
100. Mr.. Lewis, the historian OF Lynn, :
sserts that she was connected with some :,
the best families In Essex, that, except
er fortune-telliDg pretension, there was
othing disreputable in her life, and that i
er descendants were living and respect a
] when be wrote. Her life see med :.
1ther to mark the line which divides old !
ld new superstition than sny decay Of !
at inextinguishable craving to pry into /,
turity which has distinguished the hu- q
an family In all ages. One Of our native !,
,ets regretiully exclaims:
Even she. our own weird heroine, :,
Fole Pythoness cf ancient Lynn,
slecps calmly where the living laid her;
Aud the vide realm Of sorcery,
Left by iis latest mistress free, q
Hath found no gray and skilled invader"
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DIDN'T Know uE WAS LOADED. as