Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1897-02-11

where" was the subject Of q recent
lecture by Prof. John Fiske at the
Berkley Lyceum, New York. Prof.
Fiske began his lecture by citing
an instance which occurred in Nor
mandy in 1870, when Louis XIV,
granted leniency to number Of
persons cons icted by the Parliament
Of Normandy Of the crime Of Witch
craft. A remonstrance was sent
to the crown by the Parliament sup
plicating His Majesty to reflect
upon the guilt of these persons,
whose crime was the "greatest men
can commit" both as al offense
against The glory of God and q
menace against the goods and even
the lives Of their fellow men.
Louis was too well versed in the
etiquette of the highest court to
reverse his decision, and the offen-
ders escaped death, but the Incl.
dent serves to show the attitude Of
the leaders Of that time toward the
supposed crime.
"Belief in witchcraft," said the
lecturer, "was shared by the whole
human race from the earliest times
down to the 18th century. Tribes
Of people have been found living
in q state Of extreme barbarism
and it is believed by travellers that
they were utterly without ideas Of
religion still, even among these
there was q strong belief in the su
pernatural in human form. Ac'
cording to the pagan idea the first
association of death and all evil wal
with some similar agency. Thel
had no conception of natural de
oease-all death was murde
"a superhuman power
through so-.- 80. deep
This belief in witchcratt w..
ly rooted and accepted by all with.
out question.
"This belief now is entirely ex.
tlnct among educated people,
What has, then caused this change !?
1t is not argument. A powerful
cause has been at work, and it is
the gigantic development of physi-
cal science since the days of New
ton and Descartes. This new force
supplanted superstition in the
minds OF the people, just as clover
will choke out weeds"
Relating to evidence, Mr.. Fiske
related several instances which
showed the power Of the belief in
the Old World long before the IA
nous Salem witchcraft in the New.
One Of the first recorded was the
trial Of two old women in England
for bewitching six girls and an in
FAINT boy. The child being i'll, the
mother suspected it to be q victim
Of witchcraft-the most natural
supposition at that time. She con-
suited a country physician, wins sd
vised her to hang the child's crib
blanket up during the day, and il
she found anything strange about
it to throw it in the fire. She did
80, and when she looked at the
blanket found frog on it. When
thrown in the fire it blazed sH Hdden-
ly, then vanished with q queer
noise. At the same hour one of
the old women sitting before her
fire had her face scorched, which
Immediately aroused suspicion
against her. About the same time
the other children were seized With
pains, causing convulsions and 9TH
er such symptoms Of evil practice,
upon which the two old women sus.
pected were tried, convicted and
hanged.
During the middle ages the exc
cutions for witchcraft were numer-
Gus. The last sentences to death
for witchcraft occurred in England
in 1T12, in Scotland in 1922, in
Germany in l749, and in Spain in
1881.
In this country the first accused