Part 21 (1/2)
WITCHCRAFT AT CHOWBENT IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
In the beginning of this [the eighteenth] century, one Katherine Walkden, an old woman of the towns.h.i.+p of Atherton, Chowbent, was committed to Lancaster as a witch. She was examined at Hulton Hall, where the magistrate then resided, by a jury of matrons, by whom a private teat was discovered, and upon this and other evidence (I suppose of equal importance) her _mittimus_ was made out, but she died in gaol before the ensuing a.s.sizes.[140]
KILLING A WITCH.
Some years ago I formed the acquaintance of an elderly gentleman who had retired from business, after ama.s.sing an ample fortune by the manufacture of cotton. He was possessed of a considerable amount of general information--had studied the world by which he was surrounded--and was a leading member of the Wesleyan connexion. The faith element, however, predominated amongst his religious principles, and hence both he and his family were firm believers in witchcraft. On one occasion, according to my informant, both he and the neighbouring farmers suffered much from loss of cattle, and from the unproductiveness of their sheep. The cream was _bynged_ [soured] in the churn, and would bring forth no b.u.t.ter. Their cows died mad in the s.h.i.+ppons, and no farrier could be found who was able to fix upon the diseases which afflicted them. Horses were bewitched out of their stables through the loopholes, after the doors had been safely locked, and were frequently found strayed to a considerable distance when they ought to have been safe in their stalls. Lucky-stones had lost their virtues; horse-shoes nailed behind the doors were of little use; and sickles hung across the beams had no effect in averting the malevolence of the evil-doer. At length suspicion rested upon an old man, a noted astrologer and fortune-teller, who resided near New Church, in Rossendale, and it was determined to put an end both to their ill-fortune and his career, by performing the requisite ceremonials for ”killing a witch.” It was a cold November evening when the process commenced. A thick fog covered the valleys, and the wild winds whistled across the dreary moors. The farmers, however, were not deterred. They met at the house of one of their number, whose cattle were then supposed to be under the influence of the wizard; and having procured a live c.o.c.k-chicken, they stuck him full of pins and burnt him alive, whilst repeating some magical incantation. A cake was also made of oatmeal, mixed with the urine of those bewitched, and, after having been marked with the name of the person suspected, was then burnt in a similar manner.... The wind suddenly rose to a tempest and threatened the destruction of the house.
Dreadful moanings as of some one in intense agony, were heard without, whilst a sense of horror seized upon all within. At the moment when the storm was at the wildest, the wizard knocked at the door, and in piteous tones desired admittance. They had previously been warned by the ”wise man” whom they had consulted, that such would be the case, and had been charged not to yield to their feelings of humanity by allowing him to enter. Had they done so, he would have regained all his influence, for the virtue of the spell would have been dissolved. Again and again did he implore them to open the door, and pleaded the bitterness of the wintry blast, but no one answered from within. They were deaf to all his entreaties, and at last the wizard wended his way across the moors as best he could. The spell, therefore, was enabled to have its full effect, and within a week the Rossendale wizard was locked in the cold embrace of death.[141]
A RECENT WITCH, NEAR BURNLEY.
Not many years ago there resided in the neighbourhood of Burnley an old woman, whose malevolent practices were supposed to render themselves manifest by the injuries she inflicted on her neighbours' cattle; and many a lucky-stone, many a stout horse-shoe and rusty sickle may now be found behind the doors or hung from the beams in the cow-houses and stables belonging to the farmers in that locality, which date their suspension from the time when this ”witch” in reputation held the country-side in awe. Not one of her neighbours ever dared to offend her openly; and if she at any time preferred a request, it was granted at all hazards, regardless of inconvenience and expense. If, in some thoughtless moment, any one spoke slightingly, either of her or her powers, a corresponding penalty was threatened as soon as it reached her ears, and the loss of cattle, personal health, or a general ”run of bad luck” soon led the offending party to think seriously of making peace with his powerful tormentor. As time wore on, she herself sickened and died; but before she could ”shuffle off this mortal coil” she must needs _transfer her familiar spirit_ to some trusty successor. An intimate acquaintance from a neighbouring towns.h.i.+p was consequently sent for in all haste, and on her arrival was immediately closeted with her dying friend. What pa.s.sed between them has never fully transpired, but it is confidently affirmed that at the close of the interview this a.s.sociate _received the witch's last breath into her mouth, and with it the familiar spirit_. The dreaded woman thus ceased to exist, but her powers for good or evil were transferred to her companion; and on pa.s.sing along the road from Burnley to Blackburn, we can point out a farm-house at no great distance, with whose thrifty matron no one will yet dare to quarrel.
”LATING” OR ”LEETING” WITCHES.
All-Hallows' Eve, Hallowe'en, &c. (from the old English _halwen_, saints), denote the vigil and day of All Saints, October 31 and November 1, a season abounding in superst.i.tious observances. It was firmly believed in Lancas.h.i.+re that the witches a.s.sembled on this night at their general rendezvous in the Forest of Pendle,--a ruined and desolate farm-house, called the _Malkin Tower_ (_Malkin_ being the name of a familiar demon in Middleton's old play of _The Witch_; derived from _maca_, an equal, a companion). This superst.i.tion led to another, that of _lighting_, _lating_, or _leeting_ the witches (from _leoht_, A.-S.
light). It was believed that if a lighted candle were carried about the fells or hills from eleven to twelve o'clock at night, and burned all that time steadily, it had so far triumphed over the evil power of the witches, who, as they pa.s.sed to the Malkin Tower, would employ their utmost efforts to extinguish the light, and the person whom it represented might safely defy their malice during the season; but if, by any accident the candle went out, it was an omen of evil to the luckless wight for whom the experiment was made. It was also deemed inauspicious to cross the threshold of that person until after the return from _leeting_, and not then unless the candle had preserved its light. Mr.
Milner describes this ceremony as having been recently performed.[142]
FOOTNOTES:
[122] Hall's _Chronicle_.
[123] William of Worcester's _Annales Rerum Anglicarum_, pp. 460-61.
[124] _Pictorial History of England_, vol. ii. p. 81; also Hall's _Chronicle_.
[125] This is the t.i.tle-page of an old 12mo chap-book, the date of publication of which is not shown.
[126] This was sold by auction only a few years ago.
[127] For Sir Philip Sidney's poetical description of this old game, see his _Arcadia_, or Brand's _Popular Antiquities_ (Ed. 1841, vol. ii. p.
236).
[128] Baines's _History of Lancas.h.i.+re_.
[129] To prove the guilt of one of the prisoners, evidence was received that it was the opinion of a man not in court, that she had turned his beer sour. To prove the charge of murder, it was thought sufficient to attest that the sick person had declared his belief that he owed his approaching death to the maledictions of the prisoner. The bleeding of the corpse on the touch of Jennet Preston, was received as an incontrovertible evidence of guilt. It would be nearer the truth to say that nothing but fiction was received in evidence.
[130] Dr. Whitaker's _Whalley_, p. 528.
[131] W. N. S., in _Notes and Queries_, 2nd series, vol. iv. p. 365.
[132] Mr. James Crossley's introduction to _Potts's Discovery of Witches_.