A Guide to Grand-jury Men, Book 2 · Chapter 12
CHAP. XII. To know whether one bee bewitched, and the signes thereof.
GOd permitting, and the Deuill working at the Witches command,Delrio. l. 6. c. 2. Sect. 2. q. 3. p. 969. man or woman, beasts or other creatures may be bewitched.
Now, to know who are bewitched, what course better can bee taken, then to gather the signes frō such as certainly hauehave beene knowne to hauehave beene bewitched, and that by the confession of Witches arraigned and condemned for the same: as,
When learned and skilfull Physicions can find no distemper in the body, or any probable reason of any naturall cause of such griefe, pangs, and violent vexations, as the patient in the iudgement of all the beholders doth endure: as Master Throgmortons child did, when neither Doctor Barrow, nor Master Butler, learned Physicions, could yeeld any sound reason of; as to neeze lowde and thicke, almost halfe an houre together, till blood come out of the nose and mouth: to hauehave a great swelling, and heauing in the belly, then a passing to the throate ready to stoppe her breath, to make one speechlesse, and set the teeth together, to shake sometimes the legge, sometimes the arme, sometimes the head, as it were a feuer or some running palsie, to thrust out ones arme so stiffe and straight, as not possible to bow it, and such like motions as befell those children.
When some parts of a man, now fingers, now toes doerot, and no rules of Art, or experience can doe any good, but rather the worse, by the best meanes; or if seeming in the Euening to bee healing,Roberts his Treatise. in the morning to be found to hauehave gone backward, as it did with one Iohn Orkton, bewitched by one Mary Smith of Linne.
When a very healthy body on a suddaine shall feele violent torture, pinching at the heart, bereauing him of sense, and so distract the patient, as hee or shee is ready to teare the haire of their head, as it befell one Elizabeth Hancock, bewitched by the forenamed Mary Smith, Relation of Lancashire Witches.or being in health, strong and trauelling by the way, to be suddainely taken, and to fall down lame, become speechlesse, lose the vse of one side saue the eye, to hauehave the head drawne awry, the face and countenance deformed, hammes lame and turned out of course, feeling within prickings, as with Elsons and Sickles, as did one Abraham Law, bewitched by one Alizon Deuice, meeting him by the way.
When two or moe in the same family, or dwelling asunder, one or moe in one towne, and othersome in another, are taken in the like strange fits in most things, as were Master Throgmortons children, the Lady Cromwell, who had visited those children and burnt some haire of the suspected Witch: So was Master Auery, In No…thāptonshire.and his sister one Mistresse Belcher, dwelling in seuerall places: for such violent strange fits cannot come vponupon naturall causes, so suddainly alike to diuers persons, in so seuerall places, except some infectious disease should happen among them, to take it one of another.
When the afflicted partie, or parties in their fits, do tell truly many things: some things past, as the elder daughter of Master Throgmorton did, who told what the Witch had beene doing. Some things in doing: as shee told where her vncle and others were in the Towne: where the Witch was, and whither going, what they said and did when they met her. These sisters could tell in their fits, in what case and state one and another were, at the same instant, being 8.10. or 12 miles asunder, and also when the Witch fed her spirits, and what shee said vntounto them, as Mistris Ioane could tell some things to come, as in her first fit, how many in that house should be bewitched, and named the number and persons: Also the other (as well as this sister,) told what the Witch Agnes Samuel would doe, if M. Throg. would go and speake with her; they foretold their fits in their fits, how many afterwards, and how long they should hold them: that Mother Samuel should willingly confesse her fault, and the time whē. All these proued very true: yet these things are no effects of naturall diseases.
When one shall doe many things, neeze, scritch, groane pittifully, start fearefully, heaue vp the belly, bounce vp with the body stran…ely, become senselesse, not hearing, seeing, or feeling: to speak also many things to purpose, and yet out of the fit to know not any thing hereof: as it hapned with these children.
When there is strength supernaturall, as that a very strong man shall not bee able to keepe downe a child of nine yeeres old vponupon a bed. So it was with one of Master Throgmortons.
When the diseased doe vomit vp crooked Pinnes, Iron,pag l. 2. c. 8 221. Coales, Brimstone, Nayles, Needles, Leade, Waxe, Haire, Strawe, or some such like things; such hauehave beene seene to hauehave been vomited vp: as Doctor Cotta witnesseth and produceth the witnesses for the same,In his triall of Witches. Delrio, lib. 3. par. 1. q. 4. sec. 6. pa. 410. and those learned men.
When (with other things concurring, else this is no sure signe) any doe see, not in a fancie or dreame, but visibly some apparition, and thereupon some mischiefe to befall them: as it did to one Master Young of London, the apparance of a Waterdogge to runne ouer his bed;M. Roberts Treatise, pag. 57.59. and at another time one cloathed in russet, with a bush beard, speaking to him. So also Toads and Crabs, crawling about his house, after which hee was tormented.In the discourse of Witches executed at Northhampton. So Master Auerie, whom before I hauehave mentioned, saw as hee rode in his Coach homeward a vision, and forthwith his Coach-horses fell downe dead. One Master Engersmen in Bedfordshire, driuing a Cart of corne to Bedford, saw a great blacke Sow grasing, which went along with them: at length the horses brake their carriage, and ranne away to Bedford: so at the returning backe they saw the same Sow, and had the like violent course of horses: the chiefe man, afterwards, by a stroake of a Beetle vponupon his brest, fell into a trance suddenly, and was in his senses distracted, and continued for a long time in extasies and grieuous perplexitie.
To these may bee added what formerly is written of the signes of such as the Diuell tormenteth; for what hee can doe without the association of a Witch, that can he doe when hee is willed by the Witch to doe his worke. And thus much briefely for these signes of persons bewitched.