Celebrated trials of all countries, and remarkable cases of criminal jurisprudence / Selected by a member of the Philadelphia bar [i.e. J.J. Smith].

  • John Jay Smith
Date:
1835
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Celebrated trials of all countries, and remarkable cases of criminal jurisprudence / Selected by a member of the Philadelphia bar [i.e. J.J. Smith]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    did after some certain space recover out of their fits, yet they were every one of them struck dumb, so that none of them could speak neither at that time, nor during the assize, until the conviction of the supposed witches. As concerning- William Durent, being an infant, his mother Dorothy Du- rent sworn and examined, deposed in open court:— That about the tenth of March, Nono Caroli Secundi, she having a special occasion to go from home, and having none in her house to take care of her said child, it then sucking, desired Amy Duny, her neighbour, to look to her child during her absence, for which she promised her to give her a penny. But the said Dorothy Durent desired the said Amy not to suckle her child, and laid a great charge upon her not to do it. Upon which it was asked by the court, why she did give that direction, she being an old woman, and not capable of giving suck ] it was answered by the said Dorothy Durent, that she very well knew that she did not give suck, but that for some years be- fore, she had gone under the reputation of a witch, which was one cause made her give her the caution : another was, that it was customary with old women, that if they did look after a sucking child, and nothing would please it but the breast, they did use to please the child to give it the breast, and it did please the child, but it sucked nothing but wind, which did the child hurt. Nevertheless, after the departure of this deponent, the said Amy did suckle the child r and after the return of the said Dorothy, the said Amy did acquaint her that she had given suck to the child contrary to her command. Whereupon the deponent was very angry with the said Amy for the same ; at which the said Amy was much discontented, and used many high expres- sions and threatening speeches towards her, telling her, that she had as good have done otherwise than to have found fault with her, and so departed out of her house: and that very night, her son fell into strange fits of swooning, and was held in such terrible manner, that she was much affrighted there- with, and so continued for divers weeks. And the said examinaiit farther said, that she being exceedingly troubled at her child's distemper, did go toa certain person, named doctor Jacob, who liveth at Yarmouth, who had the reputation in the country to help children that were bewitched ; who advised her to hang up the child's blanket in the chimney-corner all day, and at night when she put the child to bed, to put it into the said blanket, and if she found any thing in it she should not be afraid, but throw it into the fire. And this deponent did according to his direction, and at night, when she took down the blanket with an intent to put her child therein, there fell out of the same a great toad, which ran up and down the hearth, and she having a young lad •only with her in the house, desired him to catch the toad, and throw it into the fire, which the youth did accordingly, and held it there with the tongs ; and as soon as it was in the fire, it made a great and horrible noise, and after a space there was a fleshing in the fire like gunpowder, making a noise like the dis- charge of a pistol, and thereupon the toad was no more seen nor heard. It was asked by the court, if that after the noise and flashing, the substance of the toad was not seen to consume in the fire 1 and it was answered by the said Dorothy Durent, that after the flashing and noise, there was no more seen than if there had been none there. The next day there came a young woman, a kinswoman of the said Amy, and a neighbour of this deponent, and told this deponent that her aunt (meaning the said Amy) was in a most la- mentable condition, having her face all scorched with fire, and that she was sitting alone in her house, in her smock, without any fire. And thereupon this deponent went into the house of the said Amy Duny, to see her, and found her in the same condition as was related to her; for her face, her legs, and thighs, which this deponent saw, seemed very much scorched and burned with fire, at which this deponent seemed much to wonder, and asked the said Amy how she came into that sad condition ' and the said Amy replied, she might thank her for it, for that she this deponent was the cause thereof, but that she should live to see some of her children dead, and herself upon crutches