Salem Witchcraft, Volumes I and II: With an Account of Salem Village and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred SubjectsUpham, Charles Wentworth
History
Salem Witchcraft, Volumes I and II: With an Account of Salem Village and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects
Upham, Charles Wentworth
Salem (Mass.) -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775; Witchcraft -- Massachusetts -- Salem -- History -- 17th century
struck dead, to the floor; or screeched in agony; or went into fearful
spasms or convulsive fits; or cried out that they were pricked with
pins, pinched, or throttled by invisible hands. They were severally
brought up to the prisoner, and, upon touching her person, instantly
became calm, quiet, and fully restored to their senses. With one voice
they all declared that Sarah Good had thus tormented them, by her power
as a witch in league with the Devil. The truth of this charge, in the
effect produced by the malign influence proceeding from her, was thus
visible to all eyes. All saw, too, how instantly upon touching her the
diabolical effect ceased; the malignant fluid passing back, like an
electric stream, into the body of the witch. The spectacle was repeated
once and again, the acting perfect, and the delusion consummated. The
magistrates and all present considered the guilt of the prisoner
demonstrated, and regarded her as wilfully and wickedly obstinate in
not at once confessing what her eyes, as well as theirs, saw. Her
refusal to confess was considered as the[ii.37] highest proof of her
guilt. They passed judgment against her, committed her to the marshal,
who hurried her to prison, bound her with cords, and loaded her with
irons; for it was thought that no ordinary fastenings could hold a
witch. Similar proceedings, with suitable variations, were had with
Sarah Osburn and Tituba. The confession of the last-named, the
immediate relief thereafter of the afflicted children, and the dreadful
torments which Tituba herself experienced, on the spot, from the unseen
hand of the Devil wreaking vengeance upon her, put the finishing touch
to the delusion. The excitement was kept up, and spread far and wide,
by the officers and magistrates riding in cavalcade, day after day, to
and from the town and village; and by the constables, with their
assistants, carrying their manacled prisoners from jail to jail in
Ipswich, Salem, and Boston.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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