A Faithful Narrative of Thomas Spatchet Under Witchcraft, Chapter 7
Chap. VII. Of things of more general observation in the tim… of his Fits, and not Limitted to any particular one, but Common to more.
THere were some things remarkable in the forepast years, which cannot well be confined to any particular …its, which I shall here take …otice of.
1. The working of▪ his distemper upon his acting, or joyning with others in Religious Exercises as Prayer or such like, hath been in this manner.
Either he hath found a failure of Spirits which did leave him in a great confusio… ▪ …tammer and amazement; yet he did not loose his senses hereby▪ he knew any pe…son present, or any thing that was▪ spoken or done to him▪ and how it was with himself; he had no lo…s of apprehension but of expression▪ so that endeavouring to speak would help forward his amazement and affrightment.
Or he found it contrary viz. an amazement and affrightment, caused by a working in the Crown of his Head, and a Failing of Spirits following that; this working in his Head was above a third part of the way from the Crown, downward round about, and when ever that came presently a failure of Spirits followed, as if his very Life would have gone away; he felt such a quenching of Spirits that he knew not how to subsist▪ Yet felt no Pain till the amazement was over, and then found it only in that part of his Head where the Working was, and not elsewhere.
When he hath imployed his mind with much earne…tness about any Civil Business, as Writing and Inditeing any matter, he could continue far longer herein, without such shatterings, than in hearing a Sermon or such Religious Exercises; thus it hath been in latter times, but in the former years of his Fits he could not act in either. So in making up of accounts or reckonings he hath found some shatterings, yet could recover, get into his Work again and accomplish it.
Whereas if he continued Religious Exercise, till the beginning of failures of spirit, then if he set himself to regard and attend to what was next to be spoken, he knew it, but should take up the next following sentence and either lose it immediately, or else speak that many times over till he lost it, and if he stayed to hear an other sentence he would go over and over with that also as before.
Also under these failing of Spirits, and Workings of Head, there was a Manifest Change in his Countenance, Staring with his Eyes, like one affrighted, and a Paleness in his Face during this astonishment, a great alteration in the fetching of his Wind, it was very deep with Haling and Blowing. In an Instant his Spirits were quenched, and in an Instant revived again; and then immediately his former Counte…ance and strength did return again, not gradually as it is in …ailing of Spirits by …ickness, but on a suddain.
2. When he hath been under Torturing Fits, till Nature hath seemed even spent, and he hath stretched out all Parts like a Dead-man, yet after a quarter of an hour or little more, he hath recovered, walked in the House and been Chearly again and well; only hath found soreness or Weariness after such tossings; ye… could eat his Meat and go abroad (unless when his Fits were such as hindred Eating or Traveling) or if he hath been at a Friends H…use, he could soon return home again; Whereas standers by have thought he could not have recovered or stirred all the Day; This was by the upholding hand of God, beyond what is ordinarily found where the Body hath been spent by Natural Distempers.
Also whe… he had many weary days spent with Violent Fits, yet (through the Mercy of the Lord) he hath rested very well all the Night, and hath been much refreshed by the Morning, yet within a quarter of an hour after awaking (when that was the ordinary time for the Fits to come, as when they kept hours like an Ague) he hath found a return of them in Bed before he did arise, and there hath had them in such Violence, that the very Bed and Chamber hath shaked; Here the Lord did vouchsafe great favour to him, in affording the Comfortable rest of the Night, when yet his Bed was not his freedom; it was only the Work of God to give him sleep.
3. In any of his Fi…s, Numb, Dumb, P…lsy, Conv…lsive at the worst, yet he was so far sensible▪ as he knew every Motion of his own Hands or Feet, every Noise, when Hallo…ing, when Howling, when Barking, at the time his Mouth was about to be opened, he knew what it would come to, and sometimes did to his Power oppose it▪ hath gotten his Mouth together to stop it, but it would be forced open in a Dreadfull manner: he knew what he should have done and could not, as when he should step forward and could not; he knew what he did, and what others did, or said to him or one to another.
In his Roaring Fits he had no Pain to cause him to Roar, but it was a forced action; the Violence of Fits caused Pain or soreness, but no Pain felt caused any such crying out.
4. In all these Afflictions and violent Motions of Body▪ he Sustained no Damage or Hurt, unless once or twice b…ating the skin off his Finger and Ancle; he hath been in Fits abroad, yet in any of them h…th not fallen down but once (unless as aforementioned as when any Crossed the Motion) and then falling in a yard, his Body rowled till it came to the side of the House; but neither then nor at other times did he receive any prejudice more than was aforementioned.
5. Often in Praying times where he hath been present, and Occasion hath been to mention the Devil, and it hath been asked that if it were by Satan (before it was discovered) that God would rebuke him; he hath found hereat a grinding of Teeth, and such an alteration as if the Devil himself would oppose what was spoken.
6 He often made observation that in the Old of the Moon, he hath been ordinarily worse than either in the New or Full Moon. Also he hath observed that in the former and latter Spring he hath injoyed the greatest freedom from his Fits, as in the Months called March and …pril, and also sometimes in February, and so about September and October, and when …he Weather did grow cold then his Fits usually returned.
7. Ordinarily after taking Physick he was the worse; often Physick did greatly increase the Violence of his Fits, all the time of his taking it, and after ceasing to take, they would return to the posture they were in before.
About two years before the Violent Fits left him, he had some respite from Fits for several Days before he began with Physick, and the first Day wherein he took it he had a Fit, and so one Fit every Day that he was taking, till it came t… the last Dose, which (upon some occasion) he deferred, and that Day of omission he had no Fit, the Day followi…g he did take it, and then had a Fit, and so having finished it he had no Fits for some time.
He desisted taking Physick almost two years before his Violent Fits ceased, and yet the last Fits were very Violent.
One Professing Physick, observed him in his Fits, and concluded it was no ordinary Contraction of Nerves, but a continual Motion sometimes of all parts, Arms, Hands, Legs, Feet, first stamping his feet, beating upon the ground very swiftly and strongly, at a great distance each from other; his Arms at the same time flying out with a swift and Violent Motion, inward and outward all at once as fast as may be, for a considerable time together, till at last the Fit went off, leaving him sometimes stret…hed out like a Dead-man.
Yet in all the time of his Fits (when he could Eat his Meat) there was not any abatement or Consumption of his flesh perceived, no Pining away, though there was some Weakness of Body by them.