The Quakeress, Number II [pp. 660-665]

664 The Quekeress. [SFPT~MBER,
where thou shalt be drowned; but if by the help of
the Arch Enemy, thou shalt swim, as is likely, then
shalt thou be hung as a witch, till thou art dead."
" If I am, as you say, an imp of Satan, I shall be
safe from your power. I defy it, and you, and you
all."
me with pins, and see if I have feeling like another
woman I Do not these cry out upon me Cast
me into the deep stream, I shall not die. My
master will not let me die by your hands. I can
sink into the earth. I can flit in the air like a bat.
I can sail to the moon. You cannot hurt me. You
say truly, I am come to this heritage an enemy.
I will cause Satan to come among you, who shall
scourge you with worse than scorpions. There
shall be more than an evil imp among you; for
your borders shall be full of familiar spirits, and
necromancers, and sorcerers, and wizards, and
witches, and witchcraft for a season. Even now
I do not walk alone. Do you seek me out because
I am lonely and haggardl I was not always thus.
Have you not an old saying, that Satan is arrayed
as an Angel of light. See yon fair damsel."
With something like the agility of a maiden, she
now sprang upon a seat in one of the pews; assumed an attitude at once of dignity and energy; shook
back her long grey hair over her shoulders, and
stretched out her arms towards a young woman
in a distant part of the house.
" Look you on yon fair damsel. Do you behold
her beauty and comeliness? I tell you she is a
witch. "
Uttering not another word, she sank down from
her elevation, and continued to sink slowly until
she lay prostrate upon the floor, apparently exhausted by her violent passions and the great
exertions she had made. The scene which followed was one of utter confusion. The minds of the
audience were divided and distracted in the diversity of objects before them. The accusers cried
aloud, as the object of their persecution lay writhin g in apparent agony in the aisle, while the whole
congregation around were shrieking; and as on
another occasion, crying, some one thing and some
another. But the attention of many had been attracted to the individual designated by the prisoner.
That unfortunate person was the beautiful Quakeress. She shrank from their gaze like a timid deer.
Charles had been at her side from the first moment
of this occurrence, and to him alone she could now
look for protection. He entreated her and assisted
her to retire from the crowd; but they were prevented from escaping.
The tribunal having by this time, in some degree, recovered their senses, the chief magistrate succeeded in restoring something like order
in the house. Just as Charles was passing with
her over the threshold, Brown, who was watching
every individual and every circumstance with an
intense interest, arose and addressed the court,
apologizing for his presumption.
n "It did not become, he said, his inexperience to
advise grey hairs. This was indeed an awful day to
which they had come. We behold things unaccountable, and great wonders in this our afflicted
Israel, ond it was an hour when both young and old
I n t hese altercations Brown began t o fear the
trial would assume a n aspect far different from his
wishes. He had hoped she would, at once, confess
an intimacy with the Evil One, and implicate with
her the Quakeress; for thu s, by a subm issive conf ession, he thought the prisoner would save her own
life, and also accomplish his designs upon Rebecca.
But Old Meg, had motives and reasons for her own
conduct. Her proud heart would not submit to a
tame confession. A few traces of a once noble
but perverted intellect still remained. As she had
said, she was the last of a proud house. Besides,
t hat her family h ad become involved and ruin ed in
th e troub les of the times, she herself had, by her
own crimes and follies, made herself obnoxious to
all parties, and had fled in desperation to this new
world. She hated the Puritans, and was desirous
of wreaking her revenge, for supposed injuries,
upon their devoted heads, by instigating this delusion. As also she hated the Quakeress, she did
not by any means, as Brown feared, relinquish the
determination of implicating her. She felt sure of
being saved from the consequences of her course,
should she accomplish the purposes of Brown respecting Rebecca; and even without this assurance
she cared little for the consequences, providing she
accomplished her own purposes of retaliation and
revenge. Having spent a long life in sin and the
production of evil, she resolved to close the last
scene by a master-stroke of guilt, and for this she
now summoned all her feeble energies; and, though
only a wreck of her former self, she was still, when
her wasted powers were occasionally called into
activity, a formidable object of dread. With this
determination she now stood in the presence of her
accusers, in an attitude of defiance. At her last
provoking reply, the chief magistrate turned and
addressed his associates.
"You hear; the woman confesseth her fault.
Yea, she even vaunteth herself in this diabolical
league. She is surely of Satan's fold, and a sworn
adversary to the spiritual life and prosperity of this
heritage. What think you, brethren? Shall she
not be cut off from her evil doing? Shall she not
be hung by the neck like Haman l And shall not
her carcass be thrown."
"Ha! says he that. Shall she; shall I be hanged,"
interrupted the prisoner. " Will you hang me?
Hanng me then like Haman! Hang me till the
wind shall whistle through my bones, andl demons
dance around me and the little fairies! Hang me;
for I am a witch. Look on me. Am I not a witch?
D~o you see me weep with a woman's tears? The
fountain of my tears is dried up of fiends. Pierce
664
The Quakeress.
[ S r,, P T F, M B r,., R,
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