The Witchcraft Delusion in New England: Its Rise, Progress, and Termination (Vol. 2 of 3)Mather, Cotton
History
The Witchcraft Delusion in New England: Its Rise, Progress, and Termination (Vol. 2 of 3)
Mather, Cotton
Witchcraft -- New England
_Boston, January the_ 15_th_, 169¾.
_Mr._ R. C.
WHEREAS you intimate your desires, that what's not fairly (I take it
for granted you mean truly also,) represented in a Paper you lately
sent me, containing a pretended Narrative of a Visit by my Father and
self to an Afflicted Young woman, whom we apprehended to be under a
_Diabolical Possession_, might be rectified: I have this to say, as
I have often already said, that do I scarcely find any one thing in
the whole Paper, whether respecting my Father or self, either fairly
or truly represented. Nor can I think that any that know my Parents
Circumstances, but must think him deserving a better Character by far,
than this Narrative can be thought to give him. When the main design we
managed in [20] Visiting the poor Afflicted Creature, was to prevent
the Accusations of the Neighbourhood; can it be fairly represented
that our design was to draw out such Accusations, which is the
representation of the Paper. We have Testimonies of the best Witnesses
and in Number not a few, That when we asked _Rule_ whether she thought
she knew who Tormented her? the Question was but an Introduction to
the Solemn charges which we then largely gave, that she should rather
Dye than tell the Names of any whom she might Imagine that she knew.
Your Informers have reported the Question, and report nothing of what
follows, as essential to the giving of that Question: And can this be
termed a piece of fairness? Fair it cannot be, that when Ministers
Faithfully and Carefully discharge their Duty to the Miserable in their
Flock, little bits, scraps and shreds of their Discourses, should be
tackt together to make them contemtible, when there shall be no notice
of all the Necessary, Seasonable, and Profitable things that occurr'd,
in those Discourses; And without which, the occasion of the lesser
Passages cannot be understood; and yet I am furnished with abundant
Evidences, ready to be Sworn, that will possitively prove this part of
unfairness, by the above mention'd Narrative, to be done both to my
Father and self. Again, it seems not fair or reasonable that I should
be expos'd, for which your self (not to say some others) might have
expos'd me for, if I had not done, _viz._ for discouraging so much
Company from flocking about the Possest Maid, and yet, as I perswade
myself, you cannot but think it to be good advice, to keep much Company
from such haunted Chambers; besides the unfairness doth more appear, in
that I find nothing repeated of what I said about the advantage, which
the Devil takes from too much Observation and Curiosity.[45]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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