Reverend SIR,
I Having written from the Mouths of several Persons, who affirm they were present with Margaret Rule, the 13th Instant, her Answers and Behaviour, &c. And having shewed it to several of my Friends, as also yours, and understanding you are offended at it; This is to acquaint you that if you and any one particular Friend, will please to meet me and some other Indifferent Person with me, at Mr. Wilkinss, or at Ben Harriss,[39] you intimating the time, I shall be ready there to read it to you, as also a further Account of proceedings the 19th Instant, which may be needful to prevent Groundless prejudices, and let deserved blame be cast where it ought; From,
Sir, yours in what I may, R. C.
The effects of which, Sir, (not to mention that long Letter only once read to me) was, you sent me word you would meet me at Mr. Wilkins's but before that Answer, at yours and your Fathers complaint, I was brought before their Majesties Justice, by Warrant, as for Scandalous Libels against yourself, and was bound over to Answer at Sessions; I do not remember you then objected against the Truth of what I had wrote, but asserted it was wronged by omissions, which if it were so was past any Power of mine to remedy, having given a faithful account of all that came to my knowledge; And Sir, that you might not be without some Cognizance of the reasons why I took so much pains in it, as also for my own Information, if it might have been, I wrote to you my second Letter to this effect.
Reverend SIR,
HAVING expected some Weeks, your meeting me at Mr. Wilkins according to what you intimated to me, J. M—— and the time drawing near for our meeting elsewhere, I thought it not amiss to give you a Summary of my thoughts in the great concern, which as you say has been agitated with so much [17] heat. That there are Witches is not the doubt, the Scriptures else were in vain, which assign their Punishment to be by death; But what this Witchcraft is, or wherein it does consist, seems to be the whole difficulty: And as it may be easily demonstrated, that all that bear that Name cannot be justly so accounted, so that some things and Actions not so esteemed by the most, yet upon due examination will be found to merit no better Character.
In your late Book you lay down a brief Synopsis of what has been written on that Subject, by a Triumvirate of as Eminent Men as ever handled it[40] (as you are pleas'd to call them) viz. Mr. Perkins, Gaule, and Bernard consisting of about 30 Tokens to know them by, many of them distinct from, if not thwarting each other: Among all of which I can find but one decisive, Viz. That of Mr. Gaule, Head IV. and runs thus; Among the most unhappy Circumstances to convict a Witch, one is a maligning and oppugning the Word, Work, or Worship of God, and by any extraordinary Sign seeking to seduce any from it, see Deu. 13. 1, 2. Mat. 24. 24. Acts. 13. 8, 10. 2. Tim. 3. 8. Do but mark well the places, and for this very property of thus opposing and perverting, they are all there concluded Arrant and absolute Witches.
This Head as here laid down and inserted by you, either is a Truth or not, if not, why is it here inserted from one of the Triumvirate if it be a Truth. as the Scriptures quoted will abundantly testifie, whence is it that it is so little regarded, tho it be the only Head well proved by Scripture, or that the rest of the Triumvirate should so far forget their Work as not to mention it. It were to be unjust to the Memory of those otherwise Wise Men, to suppose them to have any Sinister design; But perhaps the force of a prevailing opinion, together with an Education thereto Suited, might overshadow their Judgments, as being wont to be but too prevalent in many other cases. But if the above be Truth, then the Scripture is full and plain, What is Witchcraft? And if so, what need of his next Head of Hanging of People without as full and clear Evidence as in other Cases? Or what need of the rest of the Receipts of the Triumvirate? what need of Praying that the Afflicted may be able to discover who 'tis that Afflicts them? or what need of Searching for Tet's for the Devil to Suck in his Old Age, or the Experiment of saying the Lord's Prayer, &c. Which a multitude more practised in some places Superstitiously inclin'd. Other Actions have been practised for easing the Afflicted, less justifiable, if not strongly savouring of Witchcraft itself, viz. Fondly Imagining by the Hand, &c. to drive off Spectres, or to knock off Invisible Chains, or by striking in the Air to Wound either the Afflicted or others, &c. I write not this to accuse any, but that all may beware believing, That the Devil's bounds are set, which he cannot pass, That the Devils are so full of Malice, That it cannot be added to by Mankind, That where he hath Power he neither can nor will omit Executing it, That 'tis only the Almighty that sets [18] bounds to his rage, and that only can Commissionate him to hurt or destroy any.