by infringing the wholesome statutes of the English Nation for the
detection of witchcraft." Following this recommendation, double and
treble hangings took place, and there was enough brutality to appease
the appetite of the most vindictive and malicious.

Perhaps the most extraordinary record of witchcraft persecution at the
end of the Seventeenth Century was that of Giles Corey and his wife
Martha. The singular feature of the case is, that the husband had been
one of the most enthusiastic declaimers against the unholy crime of
witchcraft, while his good wife had been rather disposed to ridicule the
idea, and to condemn the prosecutions as persecutions. She did her best
to prevent Giles from attending trials, and one of the most serious
charges against her was that on one occasion she hid the family saddle,
so as to prevent her lord and master from riding to one of the
examinations.

This attempt to assert woman's rights two hundred years ago was resented
very bitterly, and two enthusiastic witch-hunters were sent to her house
to entrap her into a confession. On the way they made inquiries, which
resulted in their being able to patch up a charge against the woman for
walking in ghostly attire during the night. When the detectives called
at the house she told them she knew the object of their visit, but that
she was no witch, and did not believe there was such a thing. The mere
fact of her knowing the object of their visit was regarded as conclusive
evidence against her, although a fair-minded person would naturally
suggest that, in view of local sentiment, her guess was a very easy one.
The poor woman was immediately arrested and placed on trial. Several
little children were examined, and these shouted out in the
witness-stand, that when the afflicted woman bit her lip in her grief,
they were seized with bodily pains, which continued until she loosened