Sharp County record., 1881-01-13
The Belief in Witchcraft in England.

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 tlouriShed on the
supersttious credulity of her fellow
creatures. She combined the wisdom
of the astrologer with the skill of the
medical bOtanist; and, under the guiSe
of a 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
JrsiIver-gilt tea and cofee-pots, with
Tast number of silver cups and silver
ions the presentations of wealthy
lies, whose fortunes she had told, or
om she had delivered according to
cir belief, by her occult incantations,
pm the power of some evil spell. But
Q not such persons themselves more
=, Worthy of punishment than the /" wise
one" seeing that, were it not for the
purchasers of such like wisdom or pow
Z er there would be none to sell it?
During his residence in rural places,
the writer came into contact with not a
few who had been at one time or other
in mind, body, or estate, under the sup
posed power of witchcraft. The witch,
Synlike 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 fre.ide, rushed in NOR
tai fear toward the door, where, seizing
by the shoulders goodly-Iooking wom-
n, who that moment was in the act of
nterng the house, she pulled her over
ne threshold, saying with quivering
lip and flashing eve: "Come in here if
ia dare, thou bogtrash, thouH The
woman evicted, the door was put to
with bang and the poor old lady re-
took her place at the tireside, trembling
in every limb. Need | add that the
elected woman was, in the Judgment
of the eiectOr veritable witch-one
who had the power of assuming the
form, or entering into the body of cat
or hare, hurting whOmsoever she listed?
1t was my lot, while resident in
rural parts to lodge for time with a
singular couple, whose belief in witch
craft, and, indeed, in all sorts of super
stition, was rs profound as it was con-
frmed. My bedroom had been made
by cutting off a small portion of large
room by partition OF thin wood; and,
as the room was open to the states q
ceiling of lath and paper was put over
my portion thereof This sounded,
when touched, like a drum. One night
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.
"Op' said |, " it is only stray cat;"
and so tried to get to get TO sleep again.
But anon | 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 a fruitless one; so it was; but III a
while. on returning to her bed, q 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, l
asked the old lady what had led her to
make so diligent 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 VII TIL ire-pont, (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 cleavedn'
"What! Do you really believe that
the cat and woman are somehow
mixed?''
"Ah knaw yo'll do nowt but laugh
at me; but ah've suffered moore than
I .onybody knaws fra sich-lake craturcs;
an ah dunnot want yo to be hurt by
'em whale 20 live wi us. We're in a
bad. naybr' 'hoodm
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 ire. l had just entered upon
manhood at the time, and so had
the relics of boyish larking strong in
me; wherefore, acting on the prompt
ings of the moment, | scratched on the
window and mewed like cat. The old
lady sprang out of her reverie in a
twinkling, and her face the picture OF
terror, was turned to the window l
ran off. This was on Saturday even
ing.