The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-01-02

nous Witcncrhtt ueiuSion, Whilc TN
frenzy was az lts height a woman abou
forty years old was brought before tn,
court, a court that had condemned per
sons for vomiting crooked pins an,
sailing In sicyes, but court constitut
cd In exactly the same form as on
courts Of the present day, There wa,
the prosecutor, the advocate, the judg,
and jury OF twelve good and tru,
men. The judge was u venerabl,
man nearing thrcescore years aud ten
He was dlgnliied, as all judges are sup
posed to be, and made an impressly,
appearance lu his robes OF office. Tn,
prisoner was accused OF healing th,
sick miracuously and therefore will
the help OF the devil,
How do you effect your cures y
asked the prosecuting attorney.
II have charm which | hang abou,
the neck OF the sick person."
'Let me see It."
The woman produced bit Of rolled
paper and handed Il to the attorney
He unrolled II. uncovering some odd
characters scratched upon H. Then he
gave II to the jury for inspection. Az
each juryman looked at II the poor
woman's doom might be read In his
ominous look, When the examination
had been finished the prosecutor turn,
ed again TO the prisoner.
"Did Satan give you the charmy
II don't know, II was used upon me
when was little girl. One day n
young stranger came TO my mothers
house and asked for lodging was
III with the chllls at the time, aud the
stranger asked my mother why she
permitted me TO remain sick when |
could so easily be made well, where.
upon my mother asked him to cure me
Then the young man took that bit Of
paper. scratched upon II the charac.
tiers, and hung It about my neck. He
told my mother that the next morning
would be well. What he said came
TO pass. | never had another chill
from that day to this"
"And does the charm always cureT
"Not always; usually, Some have
faith and some are doubtful. have
noticed that the doubtful are seldom
helped"
Describe the young man who gave
II you"
HE was about the height of his
worship. and with features something
like, only, being young. he was much
handsomer"
Come now, mistress. confess, as you
hope for mercy for your sin, did you
see horns on the young mans head or
cloven footg''
His brow was smooth. but as for his
feet could not see, since he wore
boots to his knees"
did you believe him to be the
devilY
II did not. else would not have
worn his charm or used II upon
others"
The prosecutor turned to the jury
and said:
"That this woman received the
charm from the devil Is proved In
this: That she has healed a number OF
persons witt. 1t who are ready to tes.
tify to the fact. We shall show that
she healed one Hiram 0ldershaw, one
Annie Gaunt and Margaret Sherwood
the first OF a palsy. the second OF fe-
yer and the last OF chills. Healing by
divine power has not been possible In
fifteen centuries. All healing IL by
divine power or by the devil. ergo
this charm came from the devil But
Satan first bewitched the child to
whom he gave It, and she has been
possessed ever since. There Is but
one way TO stamp out these works of
hell that are being worked among u.s."
Meanwhile the judge sat looking fix.
edly at the prisoner. He seemed to be
In a revery, to be reaching back as
through mist for some bygone scene.
When the prosecutor ceased he asked
for the charm. 1t was handed him,
and singular expression came upon
his features. Then he looked up as II
trying to extricate himself from a
dream.
"Let the prosecutor he said, "and
the attorneys and the jury listen. For
ty years ago was young attorney OF
Boston. came to this town to try
case, and my client had no money with
which to pay me. was without
farthing to take me back to Boston.
went to an inn and asked for meat and
drink and lodging. BY the chimney
sat girl, shaking with chill. 1t
occurred to me to pay my reckoning
by pretending to cure her asked her
mother why she was not healed and |
when she begged me to heal her |
scratched these characters on this pa. !
per and hung 1t about her neck, telling
her that she would be weIl. did not
dream that she would, but | hoped
that she might at least mend. To my
surprise, her chill did not return. In
q few days asked my hostess for the
reckoning. 1T is | who owe you,' she
said, for curing my daughter, not you
who owe me-
1T was !, not the devil, who gave
thio nbi1I fbiu chopy, yUh, u o,,.a1 |