He was then excommunicated by his church, and brought before the court
again. Sojourn in jail seems to have made the old man stubborn, for when
he was once more confronted by his persecutors he declined to plead, on
the ground that there was no charge against him. An old obsolete English
law was revived against him, and the terrible sentence was pronounced
that for standing mute he be remanded to the prison from whence he came
and put into a low, dark chamber. There he was to be laid on his back,
on the bare floor, without clothing. As great a weight of iron as he
could bear was to be placed upon his body, and there to remain. The
first day he was to have three morsels of bread, and on the second day
three draughts of water, to be selected from the nearest pool that could
be found. Thus was the diet to be alternated, day by day, until he
either answered his accusation or died.

On September 19th, 1692, death came as a happy relief to the miserable
man, who had begged the sheriff to add greater weights so as to expedite
the end. This is the only case on record of a man having been "pressed
to death" in New England for refusing to plead, or for any other
offense. There are a few cases on record where this inhuman law was
enforced previously in England, but it was always regarded as a relic of
mediaeval barbarity, and the fact that it was revived in the witch
persecutions is a very significant one. After his death, an attempt was
made to justify the act by the statement that Corey himself had pressed
a man to death. This justification appears feeble, and to be without any
corroborative testimony.

Another very remarkable witch story has about it a tinge of romance,
although the main facts actually occurred as stated. A sailor named
Orcutt, left his sweetheart on one of his regular voyages, promising to
return at an early date to claim his bride. The girl he left behind him,