The strange delusion concerning witchcraft, which prevailed in Europe, extended itself to the English colonies toward the close of the seventeenth century. Every old woman who had an ill temper, a sinister expression of countenance, or an uncommon degree of shrewdness, was in great danger of being burned for a witch. Indeed such was the infatuation, that a little girl about four or five years old was committed to prison, charged with biting some bewitched persons, who showed the print of small teeth on their arms. Another poor child was brought before the magistrates and asked, “How long hast thou been a witch?” “Ever since I was six years old.” “How old are you now?” “Brother Richard says I shall be eight years old next November.” “You said you saw a black cat once; what did it say to you?” “It said it would tear me to pieces if I did not sign my name to a book.” “How did you afflict folks?” “I pinched them. My mother carried me to afflict them.” “How could your mother carry you, when she was in prison?” “She came like a black cat.” “How did you know it was your mother?” “The cat told me she was my mother.” It seems unaccountable that such testimony as this was gravely listened to, and believed by the magistrates; and that too in cases where human life was at stake; but the very nature of the supposed crime did not admit of any other than absurd evidence. The delusion prevailed to such a dreadful degree, that every woman feared her neighbor, and when she lay down to sleep, knew not but the next night would find her in prison. Children accused their own parents of carrying them to witches’ meetings at midnight, and baptizing them in the name of the devil. Sometimes the accused denied the charge, and when asked what God witches prayed to, answered, “I cannot tell; the Lord help me:” but in numerous instances they confessed themselves guilty of all the absurd charges brought against them, and accused others as their accomplices. Some of the accusers lived and died without ever acknowledging that they had stated any thing untrue, although they were reputed religious women; but several of those, who confessed guilt, afterward acknowledged that they did it because they had been told it was the only way to save their lives. Men were sometimes tried as wizards; but this was comparatively rare. Some remnants of this superstition lingered long after the universal epidemic subsided. Within the last twenty years, an old woman in the vicinity of Boston, called Moll Pitcher, pretended to tell fortunes, and her claims to supernatural assistance were believed by many, especially by sailors.