The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-01-01
The Belief in witchcraft in England.

Inc BelleI In WlIcncraIt In Engianus
A belief in witchcraft fingered in
most of the villages which l was in the
habit of visiting. ! know it to be fact
that whatever subtitle disease laid hold
of either man or beast. or whatever IA
tality befel family, it was by some laid
to the charge of an evil-eye, or to the
wicked Vaccinations of a woman in
league with the Wicked One. There
must be many who buy the wisdom of
the +" wise-man'' and +" wise woman"
else the latter could not lay up the
riches which they do. 1t is not more
than ten years since woman died in one
of our large West Yorkshire towns who
had for many years flourished on the
superstitious credulity of her fellow
creatures. She combined the wisdom
of the astrologer with the skin of the
medical botanist; and, under the guise
of parcel of dried herbs, she received
pay tor prescription for the dissolu-
ton of spell of witchery, or for we'll
drawn-up nativity. At this witch's
death young woman who had lived
with her from childhood, and had acted
as servant and companion, became
heiress to her possessions. Every drawer
in the house was crammed with rich and
costly dresses and shawls; and the cup
boards contained over three dozen silver
or siiver-gilt tea and coffee-pots, with q
vast number of silver cups and silver
spoons all the presentations of wealthy
ladies, whose fortunes she had told, or
whom she had delivered. according to
fhas hnl Of hxyh n ckc<sD
from the power of some evil spell. But
are not such persons themselves more
worthy of punishment than the I" WISE
one." seeing that, were it not for the
purchasers of such like wisdom or pow
er there would be none to sell it?
During his residence in rural places,
the writer came into contact with not q
few who had been at one time or other
in mind, body, or estate, under the sup
posed power of witchcraft. The witch,
unlike the generality of such folks, was
not always old or ugly. Sitting one day
in the house of a respectable mechanic,
he was startled by the sudden action of
the mechanics wife, who, rising from
the seat by the fireside, rushed In NOR
tai fear toward the door, where, Selling
by the shoulders goodly-looking wom-
an, who that moment was in the act of
entering the house, she pulled her over
the threshold, saying with quivering
lip and flashing eye: "Come in here If
ia dare, thou bogtrash, thour' The
woman evicted, the door was put to
with bang and the poor old lady re-
took her place at the fireside, trembling
in every limb. Need add that the
| elected woman was, in the judgment
of the ejector, veritable witch-one
who had the power of assuming the
form, or entering into the body of cat
or hare, hurting whomsoever she listedp
1t was my lot, while q resident in
rural parts to lodge for q time with q
singular couple, whose belief in witch
craft, and, indeed, in all sorts of super
stition, was as profound as it was con-
firmed. My bedroom had been made
by cutting off small portion of large
room by partition of thin wood; and,
as the room was open to the states a
ceiling of lath and paper was put over
my portion thereof. This sounded,
when touched. like drum. One night
l was awaked out of sleep by hearing a
tambourine-like noise overhead, occa-
stoned by something going across this
ceiling; then the something leaped
down on to the room floor. scampered
down stairs, and away into the street
out of an open window.
"Or' said /, f" it is only stray cat;'
and so tried to get to get to sleep again.
But anon 1 heard my hostess on the
floor, and soon she was hard at work
down stairs, rummaging in cupboards
and corners. knew her search would
be fruitless one; so it was; but in a
while, on returning to her bed, long,
earnest, whispered dialogue was held
between her and her "owd mon."
At breakfast next morning, believing
that something more was thought about
my visitor by them than by myself, /
asked the old lady what had led her to
make so diligent q search after the cat,
as she had made.
Looking me earnestly in the face she
said: +" Ugh! A cat, we call it! If ah
he'd a-got hod ont, ah wad a-cleaved its
skull wi tn fire-point, (poker) see yo,
an a-laid its carkase on tn dur-stane;
an it wad a-been vary soon reported
at woman had been fand deead i bed
wi her skull cleavedr'
"What! Do you really believe that
the cat and a woman are somehow
mixedP" ttt -
"Ah knaw yo'l do nowt but laugh
at me; but ah've suffered moore than
onybody knaws fra sich-lake cratures;
an ali dunnot want 20 to be hurt by
'em whale 20 live wi us. We're in q
bad naybr' hoodT'
A few weeks after this incident was
passing the house just as it was becom-
ing dark; and, slyly looking over the
window-curtain, saw my hostess sit
ting on low stool with her chin in the
palm of her right hand, and her elbow
resting on her knee, staring into
the fire. 1 had just entered upon
manhood at the time, and so had
the relics of boyish larking strong in
me; wherefore, acting on the prompt
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