Despise the mother?
No!
Pity them!
The priest was honest and the mother was honest. They were doing the best thing for the baby that either of them knew. They knew that the baby had a devil in its little body and they were merely trying to drive that devil out of its body.
Fear! Fear! Fear! Fear of devils in the home, lurking in the shadows of night and in the light of day; lurking in the bodies of babies; devils everywhere—always.
These are the Flash-lights of Fear!
And like unto them are the pictures of Frightfulness which I have set down in the next chapter.