At that, the Court burst into Laughter, for fhe was near Fourfcore; and the ridiculous old Woman laught as faft as they, fo careless was the grown of her Life. The Daughter feems to have been a young Woman of more than ufual Virtue. The greateft Matter that they could fay against her, that I remember, was, that when they firft came to apprehend her, the hid her felf: And it was no wonder that he was unwilling to come into their Hands, when the knew by what ways they had inveigled her Mother to Confeffion. But they pulled her out of her hiding Place, and made her fay the fame Charms, as her Mother had faid before; but notwithstanding the Children's coming out of their Fits at her faying of it, fhe ftoutly maintained her Innocence from firft to laft; and at the Time of her Tryal fhe fhew'd a Piece of Virtue and Courage that many other would not; for fome that ftood by her, pitying her hard Cafe, perfwaded her to plead that he was with Child: But the faid, No, fhe never would do it; for it should never be faid she was both a Witch and a Whore. The old Woman alfo clear'd her, and faid what fhe could to have faved her, but they could neglect that Part of her Evidence as the Words of a lying brainfick old Woman. And it seems to me, that from the Time that they intangled her with their Charms, and made her believe the Spirits obeyed her Words, the was not of a found Mind; and one Night, about that Time, fhe was overcome with Vapours and frightful Dreams, that it was thought, that he had as much of the Devil in her as the Children: And which was a manifest Sign of Vapours, her Belly was huffed up as big as a little Loaf. The Author of the Narrative indeed fuppofes, that it was then, that the Devil got her with Child: But I think it is beyond Question, both that he was a weak credulous Mant for fuppofing fuch a Thing, and that he was re

ally

ally opprefs'd with Vapours; for the fwelling and moving of the Belly is one of the most constant Signs of them.

And therefore, I do not doubt, but I may close this Cafe with the Judgment of Dr. Harfnet, afterwards Archbishop of York, who enquired narrowly into Cafes of this Nature, and wrote while the Thing was fresh, and he calls the Narrative of these Witches of Warbois, a ridiculous Book, and the Witchcraft only fuppofed. See the 93d Page of his Detection of the fraudulent Practices of Mr. Darrel. Speaking in that of Somers the famous Counterfeit, that Mr. Darrel was thought to have difpoffefs'd, he faith, "Moreover he had heard and read fome Part of a

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very ridiculous Book, concerning one Mr. Throg"morton's Children, (supposed to have been bewitch'd by a Woman of Warbois,) whereby he faith, that he, i. e. Somers, confeffed, that he learn'd fome. 46 new Points, and was not ignorant, as fit Occafi(6 on ferved, to afcribe what he lift to Witches.

And the Narrative of this Cafe alfo is this Year reprinted at large in the forementioned compleat History of Witchcraft, &c. And as our common People are of themselves too forward in receiving fuch fuperftitious Notions, tho' they tend directly to the fhedding Blood, I hope all good Men will agree with me, in thinking, that the more Infection is fcatter'd abroad amongst the People by ill Authors and covetous Bookfellers, the more need is there of proper Affiftances to help weak Minds, in judging of fuch dark, yet strong and bloody Delufions,

109

CHAP. VIII.

The Tryal before my Lord Chief Baron

Fur.

P

HALE.

RAY let me put one Cafe more to you, it is that of Amy Duny and Rofe Cullender, try'd and condemned by our late excellent Lord Chief Baron Hale. That one Cafe weighs more with me than all the reft. If you can give a fair Answer to that, it will make me wonderfully cautious in this Matter.

Cler. I have as true an Honour and Reverence for that great and good Man as you have; bnt we must not fo far forget the common Frailty of our human Nature, as to think it ftrange for a great Man to be in one Error. And fince an Account of the Tryal of thofe Two poor Women was printed in his Lordship's Life-time, for an Appeal to the World, I will take the Liberty to make fome Remarks upon it.

In the firft Place, it feems to me, that there are feveral Signs of a great Zeal and Eagerness in the Profecutors. They laid 13 feveral Indictments against them. By that means they gave in Evidence of Things that had been faid and done long before, at diftant Times and Places; and when they were laid together they supported one another, and made a greater Appearance of Guilt, than they had at the feveral Times when they were done.

Notwithstanding this, confider how very few Things they could prove, that were real Facts of the fuppofed Witches doing. One fingle Witnefs, Dorothy Durent, confeffed of herself, that which was a more crimi-; nal A&t of Sorcery, than all that they could prove

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a gainst the other two. For of Facts, of their doing, I fee little befides giving a Child an empty Breaft Seven Years before to quiet it, and giving another a little Water, which is ufually done in Vapours; and by a Construction that feems very unaccountable, they would make thofe innocent Actions to be employing of Spirits, and working by the Devil; but the faid Dorothy Durent, having been with a Witch-Doctor, acknowledges upon Oath, that by his Advice, fhe hang'd up her Child's Blanket in the Chimney, found a Toad in it at Night, had put it into the Fire, and held it there tho' it made a great and horrible Noife, and flasht like Gunpowder, and went off like a Pistol, and then became invifible, and that by this the Prifoner was fcorch'd and burn'd lamentably.

Now I own I do not believe this Witness; for fhe must be a filly loofe Woman or fhe would not have gone to the Witch-Doctor. Then her Teftimony is not rational: She faith, fhe believed her à Witch, and yet left her Child to be tended by her. She makes the Prifoner's giving the Child her empty Breaft, to be both an ufual Way to quiet a Child, and yet be alfo an Act of Witchcraft. She faith, the Prifoner was very much scorcht and burnt with Fire; and yet no Scars or Signs of burning were fhewn, tho' Fire-Scars, where real, do not foon wear out; and therefore I believe fhe was a lying old Woman. But fuppofe it literally true as the faith, and what follows? Why the only fure Conclufion is, that she charged herself with real Sorcery in all its feveral Steps and Gradations. She firft departed from God by forfaking his Way of Prayer and natural Means, and leaving the Event to his Providence. She employed the Devil by the Ufe of a Charm, which the knew could have no Effect without the Devil's Help. After, fhe found a Toad in the Child's Blan ket, which could not get into it in the Chimney but by the fame Power. As Witches ufe to roalt

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the Representation of the Party to be afflicted, fo The burnt the Toad, and if there be any Truth in her Words, afflicted this Rofe Cullender the Prisoner by that Act of hers. And what Judgment can be made of this Matter? Why firft, take it in the hardeft Sense against the Prifoner, and imagine, that by fome prior Acts of Sorcery the had made herself fubject to this Power of the Devil, yet both are guilty within the Statute, and are but Two Witches trying to perfecute one another.

Olaus magnus, and the Jefuit Delrio, and Shefferius, and others that are deep in the Belief of thefe dark Notions, give us Relations of eminent Magicians that had great Contests with one another, and ufed Charm against Charm, and Spirit against Spirit, till the lefs potent Conjurer was fubdued or killed by the more powerful. And therefore, if we fuppofe Sorcery in this Cafe before us, we have but Witch against Witch, both employing Spirits, and therefore both to be punish'd; for the Law is not partial, but punishes all equal Facts wherever it finds them. Our Statute forbids all Manner of Use and Exercife of any Sorcery or Charm for employing Spirits, and punishing the guilty Perfon with Death if they do Harm to Man or Beaft, and with Imprifonment and Pillory tho' their Charms have no ef fect. And therefore as upon this firft Suppofition they both ftand Guilty, they are both in Danger according as they fhall meet with Judges and Juries that will be partial or impartial in the Execution of that Statute.

But this is the hardest Senfe that can be put upon the Prisoner's Cafe, and the true State of it is much better on her Side. For here are Charms and Sorcery on one hand and nothing on the other. For this Rofe Cullender, at the Time when this Sorcery was used against her, was unconvicted, unaccufed, under the Protection of the Law, and, I doubt not,