Devil; Witchcraft -- Great Britain; Witchcraft -- United States
The first case is a very ordinary one. The Flowers were discharged
servants, and the children, after their leaving, sickened and died. The
only remarkable part about it is, that ‘_Ioane Flower_, the Mother, before
conviction (as they say) called for Bread and Butter, and wished it might
neuer goe through her, if she were guilty of that, whereupon she was
examined; so, mumbling it in her mouth, neuer spake more wordes after, but
fell downe and died as she was carried to _Lincolne_ Gaole, with a
horrible excruciation of soule and body, and was buried at _Ancaster_.’
The portraits of the three witches do not prepossess us in their favour,
and their confessions, on examination, fully bear out the feeling. Of the
first: ‘Further, she saith that shee saw a hand appeare unto her, and that
shee heard a voyce in the ayre say unto her: _Anne Baker_, saue thyselfe,
for to-morrow, thou and thy maister must be slaine; and the next day her
maister and shee were in a Cart together; and suddainely shee saw a flash
of fire, and said her prayers, and the fire went away; and shortly after,
a Crow came and picked upon her cloathes, and she said her prayers againe,
and bad the Crow go to whom he was sent, and the Crow went unto her
Maister, and did beat him to death, and shee, with her prayers recouered
him to life; but hee was sicke for a fortnight after, and saith, that if
shee had not had more knowledge than her maister, both he and shee, and
all the Cattell had been slaine.’
Joan Willimot tells the following extraordinary story: ‘That shee hath a
Spirit which shee calleth _Pretty_, which was given unto her by _William
Berry_ of _Langholme_, in _Rutlandshire_, whom she serued three yeares:
and that her Master, when hee gaue it unto her, willed her to open her
mouth, and hee would blow into her a Fairy which should do her good; and
that shee opened her mouth, and hee did blow into her mouth; and that,
presently, after his blowing, there came out of her mouth a Spirit, which
stood upon the ground in the shape and forme of a Woman, which Spirit did
aske of her her Soule, which shee then promised unto it, being willed
thereunto by her Master.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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