The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1882-03-03
THE SUPERNATURAL.

Ceunries.
People are only too apt to believe
that witchcraft has become an exploded
article OF the popular creed, and that
there are no classes holding to the faith
professed by Raleigh and Bacon, Selden
and Hobbs, Boyle and Moore. Sir
Thomas Browne and Sir Matthew Hale.
Yet there would not be the slightest
difficulty experienced by any one whose
reading includes a moderately large
list Of daily newspapers, domestic and
foreign, in compiling q very respectable
annual volume on contemporary witch
craft and proving that a belief in the
supernatural and malignant attrib-
utes Of crazy old crones, in the vampire
tastes Of unquiet corpses, and in the pc.
tency Of charms and spells, is to-day
entertained by millions OF people in
tn most civilized countries OF the
world. They had an epidemic of witch.
craft in Butler, Pa, q few months ago,
when the fact wal revealed that there
were six professional "witch-mRsters" in
the county. and that when the devil
got possession Of q man and was not
disturbed in his tendency for two
months, 90 was the smallest sum for
which he could BIZ evicted. The modus
operandi is to cut a circle on q white
oak tree and lure the devil to enter it,
which he does With q noise like thunder
and q vehemence that splits the tree to
splinters. The patient is then corked
up, ~ ii were. with prayers and charms.
II Is only O little while since the
Davenport Ia, papers chronicled the
death Of Mary the Witch. and gave an
sppetizing inventory Of her professional
possessions, her "cabinet" containing
. cats skull, a chickens head, bats
wings, toads' feet, spiders webs, vari-
ous bones OF various animals, dried
blood and eyes of owls and cats de-
posted in various places wrapped in
paper. It is safe to say that the pro-
lessons Of witchcraft in the United
States are numbered by hundreds and de-
rive an annual revenue from the credu-
lous which il would take at least seven
figures to express.
Though witchcraft is not 30 public
and profitable a business in England,
the belief in witches is even more gen
orally held. Within the last few weeks
one case has been reported where the
parson Of the parish was appealed to to
out . sod from the alleged witch's grave
to stop her nightly promenades for evil
purposes, and two young men were
brought before the courts for knocking
down an old woman and "drawing
blood" from her with q knife, 30 as to
release their sister from her spells. At
Sheffield, in November, 1880, Agnes
tombstone was sent to Jail for three
weeks for obtaining f5 IS. from Mar.
gafet Devaney, through o promise Of
" ruling her planet and bringing her
Q fortune through the agency of sub
t~errAnean spirits. The witch had, her
dupe testified, danced with the fairies
and worked with the devil for night at
ter night. At East Dereham, n VIII
liam Bulwer was fined for abusing and
sssaulting . girl named Christiana
Martins, because she was o part
ner In the witch industry with
her mother. his testimony being
g follows: Mrs. Martins is an old
witch and she charmed me, and gotd
NO sleep for her for three nights, and
Vne nieht at 11:30 o'clock I got up be-
cause / could not sleep. and went out
and found . walking toad under Q
clod that had been dug up with three
pronged fork. That is why i could not
rest. She is q bad old woman. She
put the toad under there to charm me,
and her daughter is just as bad, gentle
men. She would bewitch any one.
She charmed me, and / got NO rest day
or night for her till 1 found this walk
ing toad under the turf. / got the
toad out and put it under a cloth and
took Il upstairs and showed ii to my
mother and throwed il into the pit in
the garden. 1 csn bring it and show il
to you, gentlemen" In Dudley, in
June last, q professional witch came to
grief and the Jail for selling "a bottle
Of stuff to burn at midnight" to a
woman who, though admitting that this
practitioner was a fraud, insisted that
abe herself was bewitched.
The London DAILY NetUs is authority
Tor the statement that "to-day in Eng.
land women OF bad temper and o GER
tain originality Of character deliberate
~ give themselves out to be witches.
They win some respect and exercise
some influence. One woman has at this
moment a reputation for keeping seven
little familiar spirits, which leap out oil
her mouth, like the red mouse from the
lips Of the fair witch in Faust A
witch often lowers the rent OF the ada.
sent cottages and demoralizes q whole
neighborhood."
The last legal execution in England
for witchcrait occurred in 1716, but in
1853 Q reputed wizard was drowned in
. pond at the village Of H~eddinghpm,
In Essex, not forty miles from London
while in 1867 CDR. Harris" was com
mitted for trial at the Radnorshire as
sises for duping persons into the belief
that their ailments were caused by theil
being /" witched." and for protesting t.
cure them by giving them charms Il
wear suspended round their necks.
At Havay, In Belgium, in June last
apsasant lost not only his child but hi
COW, and consequently consulted thu
village wise man, or devin, who said
go home and tomorrow morning bum
the first person who crosses your door
step. That person will have been tn,
cause Of your ills. ! will take carr
that God sends him." The countrymar
went home IS directed, and with tn,
aid Of his spouse prepared q kind o
funeral pile in the biggest room OF thu
house, and when next morning q kint
neighbor, who had nursed the child il
its last Sickness, came to the door, tn.
couple pounced on her. tied her hand
and feet and kindled the pyre, on which
they laid her. She had the wit to con
fess her guilt and beg for q priest, ant
when the priest came he liberated her
but not till she had been fearfully
burned. The tribunal Of Mons laii
its iron hands on the culprits, sent then
to jail for sixty and forty days and
made them pay $50 damages to theil
victim. In the south OF France q sim.
liar charm is in vogue. II you are
worried by witches You have but tc