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.

    572/612 (page 562)
    There was an ingenious person that objected there might be a great fallacy in this experiment, and there ought not to be any stress put upon this to con- vict the parties; for the children might counterfeit this their distemper, and perceiving what was done to them, they might in such manner suddenly alter the motion and gesture of their bodies, on purpose to induce persons to be- lieve that they were not natural, but wrought strangely by the touch of the prisoners. Wherefore to avoid this scruple, it was privately desired by the judge, that the lord Cornwall is, sir Edmond Bacon, and Mr. Sergeant Keeling, and some other gentlemen there in court, would attend one of the distempered persona in the further part of the hall, whilst she was in her fits, and then to send for one of the witches, to try what would then happen, which they did accord- ingly; and Amy Duny was conveyed from the bar, and brought to the maid : they put an apron before her eyes, and then one other person touched her hand, which produced the same effect as the touch of the witch did in the court. Whereupon the gentlemen returned, openly protesting that they did believe the whole transaction of this business was a mere imposture. This put the court, and all persons, into a stand. But at length Mr. Pacy did declare, that possibly the maid might be deceived by a suspicion that the witch touched her when she did not. For he had observed divers times, that although they could not speak, but were deprived of the use of their tongues and limbs, that their understandings were perfect, for that they have related clivers things which have been when they were in their fits, after they were recovered out of them. This saying of Mr. Pacy was found to be true after- wards, when his daughter was fully recovered (as she afterwards was), as shall in due time be related: for she was asked whether she did hear and understand any thing that was done and acted in the court during the time that she lay as one deprived of her understanding] and she said she did ; and by the opinions of some, this experiment (which others would have a fallacy) was rather a confirmation that the parties were really bewitched than other- wise: for, say they, it is not possible that any should counterfeit such dis- tempers, being accompanied with such various circumstances, much less children; and for so long time, and yet undiscovered by their parents and re- lations: for no man can suppose that they should all conspire together (be- ing out of several families, and, as they affirm, no way related one to the other, and scarce of familiar acquaintance) to do an act of this nature, whereby no benefit or advantage could redound to any of the parties, but a guilty con- science for perjuring themselves in taking the lives of two poor simple women away, and there appears no malice in the case. For the prisoners themselves did scarce so much as object it. Wherefore, say they, it is very evident that the parties were bewitched, and that when they apprehend or understand by any means, that the persons who have done them this wrong are near, or touch them ; then their spirits being more than ordinarily moved with rage and anger at them being present, they do use more violent gestures of their bodies, and extend forth their hands, as desirous to lay hold upon them; which at other times not having the same occasion, the instance there falls not out the same. Secondly. One John Soam, of Leystoff aforesaid, yeoman, a sufficient person, deposeth, that not long since, in harvest-time, he had three carts which brought home his harvest; and as they were going into the field to load, one of the carts wrenched the window of Rose Cullender's house; whereupon she came out in a great rage, and threatened this deponent for doing that wrong, and so they passed along into the fields, and loaded all the three carts; the other two carts returned safe home, and back again, twice loaded that day afterwards; but as to this cart which touched Rose Cullen- der's house, after it was loaded, it was overturned twice or thrice that day; and after that they had loaded it again the second or third time, as they brought it through the gate which leadeth out of the field into the town, the