Weymouth New England Genealogy

Samuel Willard, A briefe account of a strange & unusuallProvidence of Godbefallen to Elizabeth Knap of Grotonin Samuel A. Green, ed., Groton In The Witchcraft Times Groton, MA: [s.n.] 1883Hanover Historical Texts ProjectScanned by Monica Banas, August 1996. Not yet proofread. Green's Note:(p. 5) IN the early days of our history a belief inwitchcraft, so far from being peculiar to Massachusetts, washeld throughout Christendom. By no means confined to theignorant or superstitious classes, it was entertained byeducated and thoughtful men everywhere. It was a delusion forwhich the age was responsible, rather than any particular landor country. To us of to-day, with our light and experience, thisstate of affairs seems incredible; but perhaps a time may comewhen even some of our actions will need apologies andexplanations. In the autumn of 1671 a case of so-called witchcraft occurred atGroton, and the Reverend Samuel Willard, at that time theminister of the town, gave much attention and study to it. Hewrote a long letter to Cotton Mather, giving the minutestdetails of the case, and Dr. Mather refers to it in his“Magnalia Christi Americana" (book vi. chapter vii. page 67).Two years later Mr. Willard published a volume of sermonsentitled “Useful Instructions for a professing People in Timesof great Security and Degeneracy: delivered in several Sermonson Solemn Occasions." It consists (p. 6) of three sermons, ofwhich one was preached in consequence of this supposedmanifestation of the Devil. The fame or notoriety of the caseevidently had spread far and wide throughout the colony. Mr.Willard says: There is a voice in it to the whole Land, but in a more especialmanner to poor Groton: it is not a Judgement afar off, but it isnear us, yea among us, God hath in his wisdome singled out thispoor Town out of all others in this Wilderness, to dispense suchan amazing Providence in, and therefore let us make a more nearand special use of it: Let us look upon our selves to be set upas a Beacon upon a Hill by this Providence, and let those thathear what hath been done among us, hear also of the goodeffects, and reformation it hath wrought among us. The victim of the witchcraft was one Elizabeth Knapp, who hadthe long train of symptoms which were then usually ascribed tothe personal influence of the Evil One, but which nowadays wouldconstitute a well-marked case of hysteria. She was the daughterof James and Elizabeth (Warren) Knapp, and born at Watertown, onApril 21, 1655. Her father's house-lot was situated on the westside of Main Street, at the southerly end of the village; andthe family were living, doubtless, on that site when thedaughter was seized with the symptoms. The original letter of Mr. Willard, describing the case, isstill preserved, and is found numbered 3 in the second volume ofthe "Mather Papers" now at the Boston Public Library. It iswritten in a very small, cramped hand, and contained in fourpages of manuscript, which is extremely difficult to read. Ithas been printed in the Collections of the MassachusettsHistorical Society, volume viii., fourth series, pages 555-570;but the present copy is made independently of that one, andvaries slightly from it. The letter is as follows: - (p. 7)A briefe account of a strange & unusuall Providence of Godbefallen to Elizabeth Knap of Groton, by me Samuel Willard. THIS poore & miserable object, about a fortnight before shee wastaken, wee observed to carry herselfe in a strange & unwontedmanner, sometimes shee would give sudden shriekes, & if weeenquired a Reason, would alwayes put it off with some excuse, &then would burst forth into immoderate & extravagant laughter,in such wise, as some times shee fell onto the ground with it: Imy selfe observed oftentimes a strange change in herecountenance, but could not suspect the true reason, but coneivedshee might bee ill, & therefore divers times enquired how sheedid, & shee alwayes answered well; which made mee wonder: butthe tragedye began to unfold itselfe upon Munday, Octob. 30. 71,after this manner (as I received by credible information, beingthat day my selfe gon from home). In the evening, a little before shee went to bed, sitting by thefire, shee cryed out, oh my legs! & clapt her hand on them,immediately oh my breast! & removed her hands thither; &forthwith, oh I am strangled, & put her hands on her throat:those that observed her could not see what to make of it;whither shee was in earnest or dissembled, & in this manner theyleft her (excepting the person that lay with her) complaining ofher breath being stopt: The next day shee was in a strangeframe, (as was observed by divers) sometimes weeping, sometimeslaughing, & many foolish & apish gestures. In the evening, goinginto the cellar, shee shrieked suddenly, & being enquired of thecause, shee answered, that shee saw 2 persons in the cellar;whereupon some went downe with her to search, but found none;shee also looking with them; at last shee turned her head, &looking one way stedfastly, used the expression, what cheere oldman? which, they that were with her tooke for a fansye, & soeceased; afterwards (the same evening,) the rest of the familybeing in bed, shee was (as one lying in the roome saw, & sheeherselfe also afterwards related) suddenly throwne downe intothe midst of the floore with violence, & taken with a violentfit, whereupon the whole family was raised, & with much adoe wasshee kept out of the fire from destroying herselfe after whichtime she was followed with fits from thence till the sabbathday; in which shee was violent in bodily motions, leapings,strainings & strange agitations, scarce to bee held in bounds bythe strength of 3 or 4: violent alsoe in roarings & screamings,(p. 8) representing a dark resemblance of hellish torments, &frequently using in these fits divers words, sometimes cryingout money, money, sometimes, sin & misery with other words. On wednesday, being in the time of intermission questioned aboutthe case shee was in, with reference to the cause or occasion ofit, shee seemed to impeach one of the neighbors, a person (Idoubt not) of sincere uprightnesse before God, as though eithershee, or the devill in her likenesse & habit, particularly herriding hood, had come downe the chimney, stricken her that nightshee was first taken violently, which was the occasion of herbeing cast into the floore; whereupon those about her sent torequest the person to come to her, who coming unwittingly, wasat the first assaulted by her stranglye, for though her eyeswere (as it were) sealed up (as they were alwayes, or for themost part, in those fits, & soe continue in them all to thisday) shee yet knew her very touch from any other, though novoice were uttered, & discovered it evidently by her gestures,soe powerfull were Satans suggestions in her, yet afterward Godwas pleased to vindicate the case & justifye the innocent, evento remove jealousyes from the spirits of the party concerned, &satisfaction of the by standers; for after shee had gon toprayer with her, shee confessed that she beleeved Satan haddeluded her, & hath never since complained of any suchapparition or disturbance from the person. These fitscontinuing, (though with intermission) divers, (when they hadopportunity) pressed upon her to declare what might bee the true& real occasion of these amazing fits. Shee used manytergiversations & excuses, pretending shee would to this & thatyoung person, who coming, she put it off to another, till at thelast, on thurdsday night, shee brake forth into a largeconfession in the presence of many, the substance whereofamounted to thus much: That the devill had oftentimes appeared to her, presenting thetreaty of a Covenant, & preffering largely to her: viz, suchthings as suted her youthfull fancye, money, silkes, finecloaths, ease from labor to show her the whole world, &c: thatit had bin then 3 yeers since his first appearance, occasionedby her discontent: That at first his apparitions had bin morerare, but lately more frequent; yea those few weekes that sheehad dwelt with us almost constant, that shee seldome went out ofone roome into another, but hee appeared to her urging of her: &that hee had presented her a booke written with blood ofcovenants made by others with him, & told her such & such (ofsome wherof we hope better things) had a name there; (p. 9) thathee urged upon her constant temptations to murder her parents,her neighbors, our children, especially the youngest, temptingher to throw it into the fire, on the hearth, into the oven; &that once hee put a bill hooke into her hand, to murder myselfe, persuading her I was asleep, but coming about it, sheemet me on the staires at which shee was affrighted,the time Iremember well, & observd a strange frame in her countenance &saw she endeavered to hide something, but I knew not what,neither did I at all suspect any such matter; & that often hepersuaded her to make away with herselfe & once she was going todrowne herselfe in the well, for, looking into it, shee saw suchsights as allured her, & was gotten within the curbe, & was byGod's providence prevented, many other like things shee related,too tedious to recollect: but being pressed to declare whithershe had not consented to a covenant with the Devill, shee withsolemne assertions denyed it, yea asserted that shee had neversoe much as consented to discorse with him, nor had ever butonce before that night used the expession, What cheere, old man?& this argument shee used, that the providence of God hadordered it soe, that all his apparitions had bin frightfull toher; yet this shee acknowledged, (which seemed contradictorye,viz :) that when shee came to our house to schoole, before suchtime as shee dwelt with us, shee delayed her going home in theevening, till it was darke, (which wee observed) upon hispersuasion to have his company home, & that shee could not, whenhee appeared, but goe to him; one evident testimony wherof weecan say somthing to, viz. the night before the Thanksgiving,Octob. 19. shee was with another maid that boarded in the house,where both of them saw the appearance of a mans head &shoulders, with a great white neckcloath, looking in at thewindow, at which they came up affrighted both into the chamber,where the rest of us were, they declaring the case, one of uswent downe to see who it might bee, but shee ran immediately outof the doore before him, which shee hath since confessed, wasthe Devill coming to her; shee also acknowledged the reason ofher former sudden shriekings, was from a sudden apparition, &that the devill put these excuses into her mouth, & bit her soeto say, & hurried her into those violent (but shee saith feigned& forced) laughters: shee then also complained against herselfeof many sins, disobedience to parents, neglect of attendanceupon ordinances, attempts to murder herselfe & others; but thisparticular of a covenant shee utterly disclaimed: which relationseemed faire, (p. 10) especially in that it was attended withbitter teares, selfe condemnations, good counsells given to allabout her, especially the youth then present, & an earnestdesire of prayers: shee sent to Lancaster for Mr. Rowlandson,who came & prayed with her, & gave her serious counsells; butshee was still followed, all this notwithstanding, with thesefits: & in this state (coming home on fryday) I found her; butcould get nothing from her, whenever I came in presence sheefell into those fits, concerning which fits, I find thisnoteworthy, shee knew & understood what was spoken to her, butcould not answer, nor use any other words but the forementioned,money, &c: as long as the fit continued, for when shee came outof it, shee could give a relation of all that had been spoken toher: shee was demanded a reason why shee used those words in herfits, & signifyed that the Devill presented her with suchthings, to tempt her, & with sin & miserye, to terrifye her;shee also declared that shee had seene the Devills in theirhellish shapes, & more Devills then any one there ever saw menin the world. Many of these things I heard her declare onSaturday at night: On the Sabbath the Physitian came, who judged a maine point ofher distempr to be naturall, arising from the foulnesse of herstomacke, & corruptnesse of her blood, occasioning fumes in herbraine, & strange fansyes; whereupon (in order to further tryall& administration) shee was removed home, & the succeeding weekeshee tooke physicke, & was not in such violence handled in herfits as before; but enjoyed an intermission, & gave some hopesof recovery; in which intermission shee was altogethersencelesse (as to our discoverye) of her state, held undersecuritye, & hardnesse of heart, professing shee had no troubleupon her spirits, shee cried satan had left her: A solemne daywas kept with her, yet it had then, (as I apprehend,) littleefficacy upon her; shee that day again expressed hopes that theDevill had left her, but there was little ground to thinke soe,because she remained under such extreame sencelessenesse of herowne estate: & thus shee continued, being exercised with somemoderate fits, in which shee used none of the formerexpressions, but sometimes fainted away, sometimes used somestruglings, yet not with extremitye, till the Wednesdayfollowing, which day was spent in prayer with her, when her fitssomething more encreased, & her tongue was for many hourestogether drawne into a semicircle up to the roofe of her mouth,& not to be remooved, for some tryed with the fingers to doe it:from thence till the sabbath seven (p. 11) night following: shecontinued alike, only shee added to former confessions, of hertwise consenting to travell with the Devill in her companybetween Groton & Lancaster, who accompanied her in forme of ablacke dog with eyes in his backe, sometimes stopping her horse,sometimes leaping up behind, & keeping her (when she came homewith company) 40 rod at least behind, leading her out of the wayinto a swampe, &c.: but still no conference would shee owne, buturged that the devills quarell with her was because shee wouldnot seale a covenant with him, & that this was the ground of herfirst being taken. besides this nothing observable came fromher, only one morning shee said God is a father, the nextmorning, God is my father, which words (it is to be feared) werewords of presumption, put into her mouth by the adversary. I suspecting the truth of her former storye, pressed, whethershee never verbally promised to covenant with him, which sheestoutly denyed: only acknowledged that shee had had somethoughts soe to doe: but on the forenamed Nov. 26. shee wasagain with violence & extremity seized by her fits, in such wisethat 6 persons could hardly hold her, but shee leaped & skippedabout the house proforce roaring, & yelling extreamly, &fetching deadly sighs, as if her heartstrings would have broken,& looking wth a frightfull aspect, to the amazement &astonishment of all the beholders, of which I was an eyewitnesse: The Physitian being then agen with her consented thatthe distemper was Diabolicall, refused further to administer,advised to extraordinary fasting; whereupon some of Godsministers were sent for: shee meane while continued extreamlytormented night & day, till Tuesday about noon; having thisadded on Munday & Tuesday morning that shee barked like a dog, &bleated like a calfe, in which her organs were visibly made useof: yea, (as was carefully observed) on Munday night, & Tuesdaymorning, when ever any came neere the house, though they withinheard nothing at all, yet would shee barke till they were comeinto the house, on Tuesday, about 12 of the clocke, she came outof the fit, which had held her from Sabbath day about the sametime, at least 48 howers, with little or no intermission, & thenher speech was restored to her, & shee expressed a great seemingsence of her state: many bitter teares, sighings, sobbings,complainings shee uttered, bewailing of many sins forementioned, begging prayers, & in the houre of prayer expressingmuch affection : I then pressed if there were anything behind inreference to the dealings between her & Satan, (p. 12) when sheagen professed that shee had related all: & declared that inthose fits the devill had assaulted her many wayes, that heecame downe the chimney, & shee essayed to escape him, but wassiezed upon by him, that hee sat upon her breast, & used manyarguments with her, & that hee urged here at one time withpersuasions & promises, of ease, & great matters, told her thatshee had done enough in what shee had already confessed, sheemight henceforth serve him more securely; anon told hir her timewas past, & there was no hopes unlesse shee would serve him; &it was observed in the time of her extremity, once when a littlemoments respite was granted her of speech, shee advised us tomake our peace with God, & use our time better then shee haddone, the party advised her also to bethinke herselfe of makingher peace, shee replyed, it is too late for me : the next daywas solemnized, when we had the presence of Mr. Bulkley, Mr.Rowlandson, & Mr. Estabrooke, whither coming, we found herreturned to a sottish & stupid kind of frame, much was prestupon her, but no affection at all discovered; though shee waslittle or nothing exercised with any fits, & her speech alsocontinued: though a day or two after shee was melancholye &being enquired of a reason, shee complained that shee wasgrieved that so much pains were taken wth her, & did her nogood, but this held her not long: & thus shee remained tillMunday, when to some neighbors there present, shee relatedsomething more of he converse with the devill, viz. That it hadbin 5 yeers or therabouts, since shee first saw him, & declaredmethodically the sundry apparitions from time to time, till sheewas thus dreadfully assaulted, in which, the principall was,that after many assaults, shee had resolved to seale a covenantwith Satan, thinking shee had better doe it, then be thusfollowed by him, that once, when shee lived at Lancaster, hepresented himselfe, & desired of her blood, & shee would havedone it, but wanted a knife, in the parley shee was prevented bythe providence of God interposing my father; a 2nd time in thehouse hee met her, & presented her a knife, & as she was goingabout it my father stept in agen & prevented, that when sheesought & enquired for the knife, it was not to bee found, & thatafterward shee saw it sticking in the top of the barne, & someother like passages shee agen owned an observable passage whichshee also had confessed in her first declaration, but is notthere inserted, viz. that the devill had often proffered her hisservice, but shee accepted not; & once in ptic: to bring her inchips for the fire, (p. 13) shee refused, but when shee came inshee saw them lye by the fire side, & was affraid, & this Iremarke, I sitting by the fire spake to her to lay them on, &she turned away in an unwonted manner: she then also declaredagainst herselfe her unprofitable life she had led, & how justlyGod had thus permitted Satan to handle her, telling them, theylittle knew what a sad case shee was in. I after asked herconcerning these passages, & shee owned the truth of them, &declared that now shee hoped the devill had left her, but beingprest whether there were not a covenant, she earnestlyprofessed, that by Gods goodnesse shee had bin prevented fromdoing that, which shee of herselfe had been ready enough toassent to; & shee thanked God there was no such thing: The same day shee was agen taken with a new kind of unwontedfitt in which after shee had bin awhile exercised with violence,shee got her a sticke, & went up and downe, thrusting, &pushing, here & there, & anon looking out at a window, & cryedout of a witch appearing in a strange manner in forme of a dogdownward, with a womans head, & declared the person, otherwhiles that shee appeard in her whole likenesse, & described hershape and habit: signifyed that shee went up the chimney & wenther way: what impression wee reade in the clay of the chimney,in similitude of a dogs paw, by the operation of Satan, & in theform of a dogs going in the same place she tould of, I shall notconclude, though something there was, as I myselfe saw in thechimney in the same place where shee declared the foot was setto goe up: In this manner was she handled that night, & the 2 next dayes,using strange gestures, complaining by signes, when shee couldnot speake explaining that shee was sometimes in the chamber,somet. in the chimney, & anon assaults her, sometimes scratchingher breast, beating her sides, strangling her throat, & she didoftentimes seeme to our apprehension as if shee would forthwithbee strangled: She declared that if the party were apprehendedshee should forthwith bee well, but never till then; whereuponher father went, & percured the coming of the woman impeached byher, who came downe to her on Thurdsday night, where (beingdesired to be present) I observed that she was violentlyhandled, & lamentably tormented by the adversarye, & utteredunusual shriekes at the instant of the persons coming in, thoughher eyes were fast closed: but having experience of such formeractings, wee made nothing of it, but waited the issue: Godtherefore was sought to, to signifye something. whereby theinnocent might bee acquitted, or the guilty discovered, (p. 14)& 'hee Answered our prayers, for by 2 evident & cleere mistakesshe was cleered, & then all prejudices ceased, & she never moreto this day hath impeached her of any apparition: in the forementioned allegation of the person, shee also signifyed thatsomet. the devil alsoe in the likenesse of a little boy appearedtogether with the person: Fryday was a sad day with her, forshee was sorely handled with fits, which some perceiving pressedthat there was something yet behind not discovered by her; &shee after a violent fit, holding her betweene two & 3 houresdid first to one, & afterwards to many acknowledge that shee hadgiven of her blood to the Devill, & made a covenant with him,whereupon I was sent for to her; & understanding how things hadpassed, I found that there was no roome for privacye, in anotheralredy made by her soe publicke, I therefore examined herconcerning the matter; & found her not soe forward to confesse,as shee had bin to others, yet thus much I gathered from herconfession:That after shee came to dwell with us, one day as shee was alonein a lower roome, all the rest of us being in the chamber, shelooked out at the window, & saw the devill in the habit of anold man, coming over a great meadow lying neere the house; &suspecting his designe, shee had thoughts to have gon away; yetat length resolved to tarry it out, & heare what hee had to sayto her; when hee came hee demanded of her some of her blood,which shee forthwith consented to, & with a knife cut herfinger, hee caught the blood in his hand, & then told her shemust write her name in his booke, shee answered, shee could notWrite, but hee told her he would direct her hand, & then took alittle sharpened sticke, & dipt in the blood, & put it into herhand, & guided it, & shee wrote her name with his helpe: whatwas the matter shee set her hand to, I could not learne fromher; but thus much shee confessed, that the terme of time agreedupon with him was for 7 yeers; one yeere shee was to befaithfull in his service, & then the other six hee would serveher, & make her a witch: shee also related, that the ground ofcontest between her & the devill which was the occasion of thissad providence, was this, that after her covenant made thedevill showed her hell & the damned, & told her if shee were notfaithfull to him, shee should goe thither, & bee tormentedthere; shee desired of him to show her heaven, but hee told herthat heaven was an ougly place, & that none went thither but acompany of base roagues whom he hated; but if shee would obeyhim, it should be well with her: (15)but afterward sheeconsidered with herselfe, that the terme of her covenant, wasbut short, & would soone bee at an end, & shee doubted (for allthe devills promises) shee must at last come to the place heehad showne her, & withall, feared, if shee were a witch, sheeshould bee discovered, & brought to a shamefull end: which wasmany times a trouble on her spirits; this the Devill perceiving,urged upon her to give him more of her blood, & set her handagen to his booke, which shee refused to doe, but partly throughpromises, partly by threatnings, hee brought her at last to apromise that shee would sometime doe it: after which hee leftnot incessantly to urge her to the performance of it, once heemet her on the staires. & often elsewhere pressing her withvehemencye, but shee still put it off; till the first night sheewas taken when the devill came to her, & told her he would nottarry any longer: shee told him shee would not doe it heeAnswered shee had done it already, & what further damage wouldit bee to doe it agen, for shee was his sure enough: sherejoyned shee had done it already, & if shee were his sureenough, what need hee to desire any more of her: whereupon hestrucke her the first night, agen more violently the 2nd as isabove exprest : This is the sum of the Relation I then had from her: which atthat time seemed to bee methodicall: These things she utteredwith great affection, overflowing of teares, & seemingbitternesse: I asked of the Reason of her weeping & bitternesse,shee complained of her sinns, & some in particular, profanationof the sabbath &c: but nothing of this sin of renouncing thegoverment of God. & giving herselfe up to the devill: Itherfore, (as God helped) applied it to her & asked her whethershee desired not prayers with & for her, shee assented withearnestnesse, & in prayer seemed to bewaile the sin as Godhelped, then in the aggravation of it, & afterward declared adesire to rely on the power & mercy of God in Christ: shee thenalso declared, that the Devill had deceived her concerning thosepersons impeached by her, that hee had in their likenesse orresemblance tormented her, persuading her that it was they, thatthey bare her a spleen, but he loved her, & would free her fromthem, & pressed on her to endeavor to bring them forth to thecensure of the law. In this case I left her; but (not being satisfied in somethings) I promised to visit her agen the next day whichaccordingly I did, but coming to her, I found her (though herspeech still remained) in a case sad enough, her teares dryedup, & sences stupifyed, & (as was observed) when I (16)could getnothing from her, & therfore applyed myselfe in counsell to her,shee regarded it not, but fixed her eye steadfastly upon aplace, as shee was wont when the Devill presented himselfe toher, which was a griefe to her parents, & brought mee to astand; in the condition I left her: The next day, being the Sabbath, whither upon any hint givenher, or any advantage Satan tooke by it upon her, shee sent formee in hast at noone, coming to her, shee immediately withteares told me that shee had belied the Devill, in saying sheehad given him of her blood: &c: professed that the most of theapparitions shee had spoken of were but fansyes, as imagesrepresented in a dreame; earnestly entreated me to beleeve her,called God to witnesse to her assertion, I told her I wouldwillingly hope the best, & beleeve what I had any good groundsto apprehend; if therefore shee would tell a more methodicallrelation than the former, it would be well, but if otherwise,she must bee content that every one should censure according totheir apprehension, shee promised soe to doe, & expressed adesire that all that would might heare her; that as they hadheard soe many lyes & untruths, they might now heare the truth,& engaged that in the evening shee would doe it; I then repairedto her, & divers more then went; shee then declared thus much,that the Devill had sometimes appeared to her; that the occasionof it was her discontent, that her condition displeased her, herlabor was burdensome to her, shee was neither content to bee athome nor abroad; & had oftentime strong persuasions to practicein witchcraft, had often wished the Devill would come to her atsuch & such times, & resolved that if hee would, shee would giveherselfe up to him soule & body: but (though hee had oft timesappeared to her, yet) at such times hee had not discoveredhimselfe, and therfore shee had bin preserved from such a thing:I declared a suspicion of the truth of the relation, & gave hersome Reasons; but by Reason of the company did not say much,neither could anything further be gotten from her: but the nextday I went to her, & opened my mind to her alone, & left it withher, declared (among other things) that shee had usedpreposterous courses, & therfore it was no marvell that shee hadbin led into such contradictions, & tendered her all the helpe Icould, if shee would make use of me, & more privately relate anyweighty & serious case of Conscience to me, shee promised meshee would if shee knew any thing, but said that then shee knewnothing at all; but stood to the story shee had told theforegoing evening: & indeed what to make (17)of these things Iat present know not, but am waiting till God (if hee see meet)wind up the story, & make a more cleere discoverye. It was not many dayes ere shee was hurried agen into violentfits after a different manner, being taken agen speechlesse, &using all endeavores to make away with herselfe, & doe mischiefeunto others; striking those that held her; spitting in theirfaces; & if at any time shee had done any harme or frightenedthem shee would laugh immediately; which fits held her sometimeslonger, sometimes shorter, few occasions shee had of speech, butwhen shee could speake, shee complained of a hard heart,counselled some to beware of sin, for that had brought her tothis, bewailed that soe many prayers had bin put up for her, &shee still so hard hearted, & no more good wrought upon her; butbeing asked whither shee were willing to repent, shaked herhead, & said nothing. Thus shee continued till the next sabbathin the afternoone; on which day in the morning, being somthingbetter then at other times, shee had but little company tarryedwith her in the afternoon; when the Devill began to make morefull discoverye of himselfe: It had bin a question before, whither shee might properly beecalled a Demoniacke, or person possessed of the Devill, but itwas then put out of Question: hee began (as the persons with hertestifye) by drawing her tongue out of her mouth mostfrightfully to an extraordinary length & greatnesse, & manyamazing postures of her bodye; & then by speaking, vocally inher, whereupon her father, & another neighbor were called fromthe meeting, on whom, (as soon as they came in,) he railed,calling them roagues, charging them for folly in going to hearea blacke roague, who told them nothing but a parcell of lyes, &deceived them, & many like expressions. after exercise I wascalled, but understood not the occasion, till I came, & heardthe same voice, a grum, low, yet audible voice it was, the firstsalutation I had was, oh ! you are a great roague, I was at thefirst somthing daunted & amazed, & many reluctances I had uponmy spirits, which brought mee to a silence and amazement in myspirits, till at last God heard my groanes & gave me bothrefreshment in Christ, & courage: I then called for a light, tosee whither it might not appeare a counterfiet, and observed notany of her organs to moove, the voice was hollow, as if itissued out of her throat; hee then agen called me great blackeroague, I challenged him to make it appear; but all the Answerwas, you tell the people a company of lyes : I reflected onmyselfe, & could not but (18)magnifye the goodnesse of God notto suffer Satan to bespatter the names of his people, with thosesins which hee himselfe hath pardoned in the blood of Christ. I Answered, Satan, thou art a lyar, and a deceiver, & God willvindicate his owne truth one day: hee Answered nothing directly,but said, I am not Satan, I am a pretty blacke boy; this is mypretty girle; I have bin here a great while, I sat still, andAnswered nothing to these expressions; but when hee directedhimselfe to mee agen, oh! you blacke roague, I doe not love you:I replyed through God's grace, I hate thee; hee rejoyned, butyou had better love mee; these manner of expressions filled someof the company there present with great consternation, othersput on boldnesse to speake to him, at which I was displeased, &advised them to see their call cleere, fearing least by hispolicye, & many apish expressions hee used, hee might insinuatehimselfe, & raise in them a fearlessenesse of spirit of him: Ino sooner turned my backe to goe to the fire, but he called outagen, where is that blacke roague gon: I seeing little good tobee done by discorse, & questioning many things in my mindconcerning it, I desired the company to joyne in prayer untoGod; when wee went about that duty & were kneeled downe, with avoice louder then before something, hee cryed out, hold yourtongue, hold your tongue, get you gon you blacke roague, whatare you going to doe, you have nothing to doe with me, &c: butthrough Gods goodnesse was silenced, &, shee lay quiet duringthe time of prayer, but as soone as it was ended, began afresh,using the former expressions, at which some ventured to speaketo him: Though I thinke imprudentlye: one told him, God had himin chaines, hee replyed, for all my chaine, I can knocke thee onthe head when I please: hee said hee would carry her away thatnight. Another Answered, but God is stronger than thou, Hepresently rejoyned, that 's a ly, I am stronger than God: atwhich blasphemy I agen advised them to bee wary of speaking,counselled them to get serious parsons to watch with her, & lefther, commending her to God: On Tuesday following shee confessed that the Devill entred intoher the 2nd night after her first taking, that when shee wasgoing to bed, hee entred in (as shee conceived) at her mouth, &had bin in her ever since, & professed, that if there were evera Devill in the world, there was one in her, but in what mannerhe spake in her she could not tell: On Wednesday night, sheemust forthwith be carried downe to the bay in all hast, sheeshould never be well, till an assembly of (19)ministers was mettogether to pray with & for her, & in particular Mr. Cobbet: herfriends advised with me about it; I signifyed to them, that Iapprehended, Satan never made any good motion, but it was out ofseason, & that it was not a thing now fiezable, the season beingthen extreame cold; & the snow deepe, that if shee had bin takenin the woods with her fits shee must needs perish: On friday inthe evening shee was taken agen violently, & then the formervoice (for the sound) was heard in her agen, not speaking, butimitating the crowing of a cocke, accompanied with many othergestures, some violent, some ridiculous, which occasioned mygoing to her, where by signes she signifyed that the Devillthreatened to carry her away that night, God was agen thensought for her. & when in prayer, that expression was used, theGod had prooved Satan a liar, in preserving her once when heehad threatned to carry her away that night, & was entreated soeto doe agen, the same voice, which had ceased 2 dayes before,was agen heard by the by-standers 5 times distinctly to cry out,oh you are a roague, and then ceased: but the whole time ofprayer, sometimes by violence of fits sometimes by noises sheemade, shee drouned her owne hearing from receiving our petition,as she afterwards confessed: Since that time shee hath continued for the most partspeechlesse, her fits coming upon her sometimes often, sometimeswith greater intermission, & with great varietyes in the mannerof them, sometimes by violence, sometimes by making her sicke,but (through Gods goodnesse) soe abated in violence, that nowone person can as well rule her, as formerly 4 or 5: She isobserved alwayes to fall into her fits when any strangers goe tovisit her, & the more goe the more violent are her fits: as tothe frame of her spirits hee hath bin more averse lately to goodcounsell than heretofore, yet sometime shee signifyes a desireof the companye of ministers. On Thursday last, in the evening, shee came a season to herspeech, & (as I received from them with her) agen disouned aCovenant with the Devill, disouned that relation about the knifefore mentioned, declared the occasion of her fits to beediscontent, owned the temptations to murder; declared thatthough the devill had power of her body, shee hoped hee shouldnot of her soule, that she had rather continue soe speechlesse,then have her speech, & make no better use of it then formerlyshee had, expressed that shee was sometimes disposed to doemischiefe, & was as if some had laid hold of her to enforce herto it, & had double strength to her owne, that shee knew notwhither the devill (20)were in her or no if hee were shee knewnot when or how he entered; that when shee was takenspeechlesse, she fared as if a string was tyed about the rootsof her tongue, & reached doune into her vitalls & pulled hertongue downe, & then most when shee strove to speake: On Fryday, in the evening shee was taken wth a passion ofweeping, & sighing, which held her till late in the night, atlength she sent for me; but then unseasonablenesse of theweather, & my owne bodily indisposednesse prevented: I went thenext morning, when shee strove to speake somthing but could not,but was taken with her fits, which held her as long as Itarried, which was more then an houre, & I left her in them: &thus she continues speechlesse to this instant, Jan. 15. &followed with fits: concerning which state of hers I shallsuspend my owne Judgment, & willingly leave it to the censure ofthose that are more learned, aged, & Judicious: only I shallleave my thoughts in resp. of 2 or 3 questions which have risenabout her: viz. 1. Whither her distemper be reale or counterfiet: I shall say nomore to that but this, the great strength appearing in them, &great weaknesse after them, will disclaime the contrary opinion:for tho a person may counterfiet much yet such a strength isbeyond the force of dissimulation: 2. Whither her distemper bee naturall or Diabolicall, I supposethe premises will strongly enough conclude the latter, yet Iwill adde these 2 further arguments:1. the actings of convulsion, which these come nearest to, are(as parsons acquainted with them observe) in many, yea the mostessentiall parts of them quite contrary to these actings: 2. Shee hath no wayes wasted in body, or strength by all thesefits, though soe dreadfulle, but gathered flesh exceedinglye, &hath her naturall strength when her fits are off, for the mostpart: 3. Whither the Devill did really speake in her: to that pointwhich some have much doubted of, thus much I will say tocountermand this apprehension:1. The manner of expression I diligently observed, & could notperceive any organ, any instrument of speech (which thephilosopher makes mention of) to have any motion at all, yea hermouth was sometimes shut without opening sometimes open withoutshutting or moving, & then both I & others saw her tongue (as itused to bee when shee was in some fits, when speechlesse) turnedup circularly to the roofe of her mouth.2. the labial letters, divers of which were used by her, viz. B.M. P. which cannot bee naturally expressed without motion of thelips, which must needs come within our ken, if observed, wereuttered without any such motion, (21)shee had used onlyLingualls, Gutturalls &c: the matter might have bin moresuspicious: 3. the reviling termes then used, were such as shee never usedbefore nor since, in all this time of her being thus taken: yea,hath bin alwayes observed to speake respectively concerning mee;4. They were expressions which the devill (by her confession)aspersed mee, & others withall, in the houre of temptation,particularly shee had freely acknowledged that the Devill waswont to appear to her in the house of God & divert her mind, &charge her shee should not give eare to what the Blacke coatedroage spake: 5. wee observed when the voice spake, her throat was swelledformidably as big at least as ones fist: These arguments I shallleave to the censure of the Judicious:4. whither shee have covenanted with the Devill or noe: I thinkethis is a case unanswerable, her declarations have been soecontradictorye, one to another, that wee know not what to makeof them & her condition is such as administers many doubts;charity would hope the best, love would alsoe feare the worst,but thus much is cleare, shee is an object of pitye, & I desirethat all that heare of her would compassionate her forlornestate, Shee is (I question not) a subject of hope, & thererforeall meanes ought to bee used for her recoverye, Shee is amonument of divine severitye, & the Lord grant that all that seeor heare, may feare & tremble: Amen.S. W.Green's Note: During the witchcraft excitement at Salem, in theyear 1692, no man of that day did more to expose the wickedcharacter of the examinations and convictions than ThomasBrattle, of Boston. His good sense, and regard for truth andjustice, are shown in a letter written at that time, though notpublished for more than a century later. It is found in thefifth volume of the Collections of the Massachusetts HistoricalSociety, and the writer thus mentions Elizabeth Knapp’s case: -I cannot but admire [wonder] that these afflicted persons shouldbe so much countenanced and encouraged in their accusations asthey are: I often think of the Groton woman, that was afflicted,an account of which we have in print [in Mr. Willard's sermon],and is a (22)most certain truth, not to be doubted of. I shallonly say, that there was as much ground, in the hour of it, tocountenance the said Groton woman, and to apprehend andimprison, on her accusations, as there is now to countenancethese afflicted persons, and to apprehend and imprison on theiraccusations. But furthermore, it is worthy of our deepestconsideration, that in the conclusion, (after multitudes havebeen imprisoned, and many have been put to death), theseafflicted persons should own that all was a mere fancy anddelusion of the devil's, as the Groton woman did own andacknowledge with respect to herself; if, I say, in after times,this be acknowledged by them, how can the justices, judges, orany else concerned in these matters, look back upon these thingswithout the greatest of sorrow and grief imaginable? I confessto you, it makes me tremble when I seriously consider of thisthing. I have heard that the chief judge has expressed himselfvery hardly of the accused woman at Groton, as though hebelieved her to be a witch to this day: but by such as knew thesaid woman, this is judged a very uncharitable opinion of thesaid judge, and I do not understand that any are proselytedthereto. (Pages 73, 74.)Thomas Hutchinson, in the "History of the Province ofMassachusetts Bay" (Boston, 1767), refers to this case and says:-In 1671, Elizabeth Knapp, another ventriloqua, alarmed thepeople of Groton in much the same manner as Ann Cole had donethose of Hartford; but her daemon was not so cunning, forinstead of confining himself to old women, he rail'd at the goodminister of the town and other persons of good character, andthe people could not then be prevailed on to believe him, butbelieved the girl, when she confessed she had been deluded, andthat the devil had tormented her in the shape of good persons;and so she escaped the punishment due to her fraud andimposture. (ii. 17.)Samuel G. Drake, in his "Annals of Witchcraft in New England "(Boston, 1869), also mentions the case of Elizabeth Knapp, andsays: -(23)This Story has been given to show how, in those Times, atolerably severe Case of Hysterics could be magnified by thosewho had an exceedingly large Maggot of Credulity in theirBrains. Groton is only thirty-three Miles from Boston, but theStory, in travelling even that short Distance, had no Doubtswollen into such Proportions, as to have but a faint Likenessto the Original.The Condition of Elizabeth Knap was probably very similar tothat of Elizabeth Barton (the Holy Maid of Kent), who, for herPretensions to Inspiration, "Convulsions and strange Motions ofBody," was put to Death in the Time of Henry the Eighth, 1584.(Pages 132, 133.)John Willard, who was hung as a witch at Salem on August 19,1692, had previously lived in Groton. The papers relating to hisarrest and trial are still on file in the office of the clerk ofthe courts for Essex County at Salem, and give many particularsof the unfortunate affair. They are found in the first volume of"Witchcraft Papers," and numbered from 91 to 107 inclusive. Thetrial was held before a special term of the Court of Oyer andTerminer, of which the records are now lost.A warrant for Willard's arrest was issued on May 10, 1692,addressed "To the Constable of Salem" and put in the hands ofJohn Putnam, Jr., who made a return dated May 12, that he "wentto the house of the Vsuall abode of John Willards and madesearch for him, and in seuerall other houses and places buttcould not find him; and his relatione and friends then gaue meeaccompt that to theire best knowledge he was ffleed."Seven indictments were found against him, and the originalcopies of four of them are still in existence. These all chargehim with practising his sorceries on various spinsters.According to Robert Calef, in his "More Wonders of the InvisibleWorld " (London, 1700): -John Willard, had been imployed to fetch in several that wereaccused; but taking dissatisfaction from his being sent, tofetch up (24)some that he had better thoughts of, he declinedthe Service, and presently after he himself was accused of thesame Crime, and that with such vehemency, that they sent afterhim to apprehend him; he had made his Escape as far as Nashawag,about 40 Miles from Salem; yet 'tis said those Accusers did thenpresently tell the exact time, saying, now Willard is taken.(Page 104.)It will be noticed that Calef leaves it to be inferred thatWillard was arrested at Nashawag, which is another form ofNashua, and an old name of Lancaster. The Nashua River issometimes called the Nashawag, in the early records of Groton.Mr. Upham, in his "Salem Witchcraft" (Boston, 1867), saysdefinitely that Willard "was seized in Groton" (ii. 173); but Ido not find his authority for the statement. Lancaster may havebeen the place of his arrest. Willard had previously lived atGroton, which was then a frontier town; and after his flightfrom Salem he would naturally have gone thither.The following are copies of some of the original papers: -Anno Regni Regis et Reginae et Mariae nunc Angliae, &c. Quarto. Essex ssThe Jurors for our Sovereigne Lord and Lady the King & Queenpresents that John Willard of Salem Village in the County ofEssex husband the Eighteenth day of May in the ffourth year ofthe Reigne of our Sovereigne Lord and Lady William & Mary by theGrace of God of England Scottland ffrance & Ireland King & QueenDefenders of the ffaith &c: Divers other Dayes & times as wellbefore as after, certaine detestable arts called Witchcrafts &Sorceries wickedly & feloniously hath vsed, Practised &Exercised at & within the Towne of Salem in the County of Essexaforesaid in. vpon. and agt one Mercy Lewis of Salem Villageaforesaid in the County aforesaid single woman by which saidwicked arts the said Mercy Lewis the said Eighteenth Day of Mayin the ffourth year abovesaid and divers other Dayes & times aswell before as after was & is hurt, tortured afflicted consumedPined wasted & tormented, against the Peace of our SovereigneLord & (25)Lady the King & Queen. and against the forme of theStatute in that case made & ProvidedWitnessesMercy LewisAbigail WilliamsMary WalcottSusanna SheldonAnn Puttnam SeniorAnn Puttnam JuniorElizabeth HubbardAnother warrant was issued on May 15, 1692: "To The Marshall ofthe County of Essex or to the Constables in Salem or any otherMarshal or Marshalls Constable or Constables within this theirMajes Colony or Terretory of the Massachusetts in New England."This warrant was "To be prosecuted according to the direction ofConstable John putnam of Salem Village who goes with the same."The following endorsement is made on the paper: -I haue apprehended John Wilard of Salam Veleg acorden to thetener of this warant and brought him before your worsheps Date18 May 1692by me. John Putnam Constoble of SalamThe Deposition of Samuel Parris aged about 39 years, & NathanellIngersoll aged about fifty & eight yeares & also Thomas Putmanaged about fourty yeares all of Salem -testifyeth & saith that Eliz: Hubbard, Mary Warren & Ann Putman& John Indian were exceedingly tortured at the examination ofJohn Willard of Salem Husbandman, before the honouredMagistrates the 18 May 1692 & also that upon his looking uponEliz: Hubbard she was knockt down, & also that some of theafflicted & particularly Susannah Sheldon then & there testifyedthat they saw a black man whispering him in the ear, & that saidSheldon could not come near to said Willard but was knockt down,and also that Mary (26)Warren in a fit being carried to him thesaid Willard she said Warren was presently well upon hisgrasping her arm, & farther that severall of the afflicted alsothen testified, that divers of those he had murthered then roseup against him, & farther that he could by no means rightlyrepeat the Lords Prayer though he made manifold assayes.Mr. Samuel Parris and Nathanael Ingersoll and: thomas putnam diduppon the oath which they had taken did before us the Juris ofinquest owne this thar testimony: this 3 day of June: 92:Sworn in Court by Mr Parris & Tho: Putmanjune the 3 1692:Sarah Vibber aged 36 yeares or thear abouts testifie and saiththe be for Jno: Welard was exammend at the uilleg I being inLeft Engorsols Chambor I saw the aporition of john willard comto mary wolcot & marcy luis & hurt them griuosly & almost chokedThem Then I tould of it & emediatly the said wiliard fel upon me& tormented me greuesly & pinched me. & threw me downSarah uibber: ownid this har testimony before us the Jurriarsfor Inqwest: this 3 of June: 1692Jurat in CuriaThe deposition of Lydia Necols aged 46 yeares and of MargaretKnight aged 20 yeares who testefy and say.That the wife of John Willard being at her fathers house whenthe said Willard liued at Groten she made a lamentable complaynthow cruelty her husband had beaten her. she thought her selfethat she should neuer recouer of the blows he had giuen her: thenext morninge he was got into a litle hole vnder the stayres andthen she thought some thinge extra ordinary had befallen himthen he ran out at the doore: and ran up. a steep hill almostimpossible for any man to run vp: as she sayd: then she tookeher mare and rid away. fearing some euil had ben intendedagaynst her. and when she came to the house of Henery orBeniamin Willard she told how it was with her and the saydHenery Willard or both went to looke after him and met himcomeinge in a strange distracted frameThe deposition of Thomas Baly aged 36 yeares who testefieth andsayth.(27)That I being at Groaton some short tyme after John Willard.as the report went, had beaten his wife I went to cal him homeand comeinge home with him in the night I heard such a hideousnoyse of strang creatures I was much affrighted for I never hadheard the like noyse I fearinge they might be some euil spiritsI enquired of the said Willard what might it be that made such ahideous noyse the sayd Willard sayd they ware Locust: the nextday as I suppose the sayd Willards wife with a younge child andher mother being vpon my mare. ridinge between Groaton Mil andChensford. they being willing to goe on foote a litle desired meto ride: then I taking my mare being willing to let her feed alitle: there as I remember I aprehend I heard the same noyseagayne where at my mare started and got from meJurat in CuriaThe testomony of Rebeckah Wilkins aged ninteen years Doetestifie that 29th July at night shee se John Wilard seting inthe Conner and hee said that hee wold afflick me that night andforthwith hee ded afflick me: and the nax day I ded se himafflick me soer by Choaking & Polling one ear into Peases thenex day being the Lords day I being Going to meting I se JohnWilard and hee afflickted me uery soerJurat in CuriaThe deposition of Henery Wilknes sen aged 41 yeares whotestifieth and sayth that vpon the third of May last JohnWillard came to my house: and uery earnestly entreated me to gowith him to Boston which I at lenght consented to go with him,my Son Daniel comeinge and vnderstandinge I was goinge with himto Boston and seemed to be much troubled that I would go withthe sayd Willard: and he sayd he thought it were wel. If thesayd Willard were hanged: which made me admire for I neuer heardsuch an expression come from him to any one beinge since he cameto yeares of discretion, but after I was gone in a few days hewas taken sicke: and grew euery day worse & worse where vpon wemade aplication to a physitian who affirmed his sicknes was bysome preter natural cause & would make no aplication of anyphisicke. Some tymes after this our neighbours comeing to visitmy son Mercy Lewis came with them and (28)affirmed that she sawthe apperition of John Willard aflicting him: quickly after cameAn Putnam. and she saw the same apperition and then my eldestdaughter was taken in a sad manner & the sayd An: saw the saydWillard aflicting her. at Another tyme mercy lewes and maryWalcott came to visit him, and they saw the same apparition ofWillard aflicting him, and this not but a little tyme before hisdeath.Sworne in CourtJohn Willard was tried on the 5th of August and hung on the19th. Three other men and one woman were executed at the sametime for witchcraft; one of whom was the Reverend GeorgeBurroughs. They all were convicted on the same kind of absurdand flimsy testimony as that given in the depositions againstWillard. They were allowed no counsel for defence, and theirexecution was nothing short of judicial murder. Under thegallows Mr. Burroughs made a speech, declaring his innocence,and also a prayer which he ended by repeating correctly theLord's Prayer. This produced a great effect on the multitude, asit was then the common belief that a witch or wizard could notsay it without blundering. The sympathy of the crowd was so muchexcited that the leaders of the wicked movement began to fearlest the executions would be prevented; and Cotton Mather,mounted on horseback, addressed the assemblage and told themthat the punishment was a righteous one.Mr. Upham, in his "Salem Witchcraft," says: -John Willard appears to have been an honest and amiable person,an industrious farmer, having a comfortable estate, with a wifeand three young children. He was a grandson of Old Bray Wilkins;whether by blood or marriage, I have not been able to ascertain.The indications are that he married a daughter of Thomas orHenry Wilkins, most probably the former, with both of whom hewas a joint possessor of lands. He came from Groton; and it isfor local antiquaries to discover whether he was a relative ofthe Rev. Samuel Willard of Boston. If so, the fact would shedmuch light upon our story. (ii. 321.)(29)After a careful investigation I cannot discover any kinshipbetween the Reverend Samuel Willard and John, though there mayhave been a remote one. Lydia Nichols and Margaret Knight,according to their depositions, were acquainted with Henry andBenjamin Willard, of Groton, both sons of the minister, andthese men knew John Willard. The Reverend Mr. Willard, who hadcarefully studied Elizabeth Knapp's case twenty years before theSalem tragedy, evidently believed in the demoniacal origin ofwitchcraft, though he held moderate views on the subject. In apamphlet written by him, entitled "Some Miscellany Observationson our present Debates respecting Witchcrafts," and printed inthe year 1692, he takes the ground that there are witches in NewEngland, and they ought to be punished.In passing judgment on the authors of this monstrous delusion,let us not forget the fact that witchcraft was recognized as acrime in the colonial and provincial laws of Massachusetts,following those of England; and let us remember, too, that manyof the wisest and best men at that period looked upon it as asin against God, which should be punished in accordance with theMosaic law.Sir William Blackstone, in his "Commentaries on the Laws ofEngland" (Boston, 1818), says:-To deny the possibility, nay, actual existence of witchcraft andsorcery, is at once flatly to contradict the revealed word ofGod, in various passages both of the old and new testament: andthe thing itself is a truth to which every nation in the worldhath in its turn borne testimony, either by examples seeminglywell attested, or by prohibitory laws; which at least supposethe possibility of a commerce with evil spirits. (iv. 60.)