Devil; Witchcraft -- Great Britain; Witchcraft -- United States
‘Then the Spirit said in his hollow voyce, _I will haue his Soule and body
too_, and so began to torment and racke the same _Alexander_, and
disfigure him more horribly than before, forcing him to such strange and
fearefull skriking, as cannot bee uttered by man’s power, and was of such
strength, as, sometimes, foure or fiue men, though they had much aduantage
against him by binding him to a chaire, yet could they not rule him. And
in shewing that strength, he was not perceiued to pant or blow, no more
than he had not strained his strength, nor strugled at all. Sometimes he
would cry extreamly, so as teares would come from him in great aboundance.
Presently, afterwards, hee would laugh aloude and shrill, his mouth being
shut close. And sometimes, he was heaued up from the ground by force
inuisible, the said _Edward Nyndge_, _Thomas Nyndge_, _Thomas Wakefield_,
_Thomas Goldsmith_, _William Miles_ and _William Nyndge, Iunior_ hanging
upon the said _Alexander_, unto the middest of the house, and the said
_Edward_ putting his mouth unto the eare of the said disfigured body of
his brother _Alexander_, said, _Brother, continue in your faith, and if
you goe to hell, wee will goe with you_. Then the force did somewhat
faile, and the hangers on drew him to the Chaire againe. Then one of his
younger brothers, named _William Nyndge_ said, _Wee will Keepe him from
thee, thou foule Spirit, in despite of thy Nose_.
‘Whereat the transformed body looked very terribly against the said
_William_, and turned his most ugly looks unto his brother _Edward_,
standing on the other side, uttering these hollowe sounding words, _Will
you, Sir, will you, Sir_. To which the said _Edward_ answered; _Not I,
Sir, but the merits of Iesus Christ will, we earnestly pray, keepe him
from thee_. Then all that were present, to the number of 20 persons, and
more, fell downe and said the Lord’s Prayer, with other sentences, every
one seuerally, and one of the Company uttered worde ioyning _God_ and the
blessed virgin _Mary_ together, whereat there came a voyce much like
_Alexander’s_ voyce, saying twice, _There bee other good Prayers_.
Whereunto the said _Edward_ made answere, and said, _Thou lyest, for there
is no other Name under Heauen whereby wee may challenge Saluation but the
onely name of Christ Iesus_. And then the Spirit roares with a fearefull
voice, and stretched out his necke long to the Fyre; and then the saide
_Edward_ desired _Peter Bencham_, Curate of the Towne, to coniure and
charge him in the Name of _Iesus_ the Sonne of the Almightie, that the
Spirit should declare unto them from whence hee came? And what was his
Name? To which the Spirit made answere in this mumbling manner, _I would
come out, I would come out_. Then _Edward_ charged him (as before) that he
should declare his name. And the Spirit said _Aubon, Aubon_. They charged
him then (as is aforesaid) to make knowne unto them whence hee came; and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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