streets. It was built in 1642 by Captain George Corwin, and here in
1692 many of the unfortunates who were palpably guilty of age and
ugliness were examined by the Honorable Jonathan Curwin, Major Gedney,
Captain John Higginson, and John Hathorn, Esquire.

The name of this last worthy occurs in one of the first and most
famous of the witch trials, that of "Goodwife Gory", in March, 1692,
only a month after the beginning of the delusion at the house of the
minister Parris. Goodwife Gory was accused by ten children, of whom
Elizabeth Parris was one; they declared that they were pinched by her
and strangled, and that she brought them a book to sign. "Mr. Hathorn,
a magistrate of Salem", says Robert Calef, in _More Wonders of the
Invisible World_, "asked her why she afflicted these children. She
said she did not afflict them. He asked her who did then. She said, I
do not know; how should I know? She said they were poor, distracted
creatures, and no heed ought to be given to what they said. Mr.
Hathorn and Mr. Noyes replied, that it was the judgment of all that
were there present that they were bewitched, and only she (the
accused) said they were distracted. She was accused by them that the
_black man_ whispered to her in her ear now (while she was upon
examination), and that she had a yellow bird that did use to suck
between her fingers, and that the said bird did suck now in the
assembly." John Hathorn and Jonathan Curwin were "the Assistants" of
Salem village, and held most of the examinations and issued the
warrants. Justice Hathorn was very swift in judgment, holding every
accused person guilty in every particular. When poor Jonathan Gary of
Charlestown attended his wife charged with witchcraft before Justice
Hathorn, he requested that he might hold one of her hands, "but it was
denied me. Then she desired me to wipe the tears from her eyes and the
sweat from her face, which I did; then she desired that she might lean