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<DATE>2007-05-31</DATE>
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<NAME>Jonathan Blaney</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<BIBNO T="umi">99862559</BIBNO>
<VID>114722</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A
<HI>Prodigious</HI> &amp; <HI>Tragicall</HI>
HISTORY
OF THE
Arraignment, Tryall, Confes&s;ion, and
Condemnation of &s;ix Witches at <HI>Maid&s;tone,</HI>
in <HI>Kent,</HI> at the A&s;&s;izes there held in <HI>July,</HI> Fry|day
30. this pre&s;ent Year. 1652.</P>
<P>Before the Right Honorable, <HI>Peter Warburton,</HI> one of the
Ju&s;tices of the Common Pleas.</P>
<P>Collected from the Ob&s;ervations of <HI>E. G.</HI> Gent. (a lear|ned
per&s;on, pre&s;ent at their Conviction and Con|demnation)
and dige&s;ted by <HI>H. F.</HI> Gent.</P>
<P>To which is added a true Relation of one Mrs. <HI>Atkins</HI> a Mer|cers
Wife in <HI>Warwick,</HI> who was &s;trangely caried away from
her Hou&s;e in <HI>July</HI> la&s;t, and hath not been heard of &s;ince.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI>
Printed for <HI>Richard Harper,</HI> in Smithfield. 1652.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<P REND="italic">Kent the fir&s;t Chri&s;tian, la&s;t conquered, and one of the mo&s;t flou|ri&s;hing
and fruitful Provinces of England, is the Scene, and
the beautifull Town of Maid&s;tone, the Stage, whereon this
Tragicall Story was publickly acted, at Maid&s;tone A&s;&s;izes,
la&s;t pa&s;t.</P>
<P>_AMong&s;t many others that then made their
entrance, and were pre&s;ented as &s;u&s;pe|cted
of Witch-craft, before the Reve|rend
and honourable Judge <HI>Warburton,</HI>
who then &s;ate Judge over criminall Of|fendors:
the mo&s;t notorious were,
<HI>Anne A&s;hby,</HI> alias <HI>Cobler, Anne Martyn, Mary Browne,
Mildred Wright,</HI> and <HI>Anne Wil&s;on,</HI> all of <HI>Cranbrooke,</HI> a
Market Town in <HI>Kent,</HI> and <HI>Mary Read</HI> of <HI>Lenham</HI> in the
&s;ame County; all which were convicted of the exe|crable
and Diabolicall crime of Witch-craft, and for
the &s;ame received &s;entence of death, on Friday the 30.
day of <HI>July</HI> la&s;t; of who&s;e actions and confe&s;&s;ions I &s;hall
give you a few particulars, but tho&s;e you will confe&s;&s;e,
very rare and remarkable.</P>
<P><HI>Anne A&s;hby</HI> alias <HI>Cobler,</HI> who was the chief Actre&s;&s;e,
and who had the greate&s;t part in this Tragedy, and
<HI>Anne Martyn,</HI> confe&s;&s;ed at the time of their triall, that
the Divell had known them carnally, and that they had
no hurt by it.</P>
<P><PB N="4" REF="3">
The &s;aid <HI>A&s;hby</HI> alias <HI>Cobler,</HI> in view of this Ob&s;erva|tor,
fell into an exta&s;ie before the Bench, and &s;well'd
into a mon&s;trous and va&s;t bigne&s;s, &s;creeching and crying
out very dolefully; and being recovered, and demanded
if the Divell at that time had po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed her, &s;he replyed
&s;he knew not that, but &s;he &s;aid that the &s;pirit <HI>Rug</HI> came
out of her mouth like a Mou&s;e.</P>
<P>And further concerning this &s;pirit <HI>Rug,</HI> it is reported,
that the &s;aid <HI>A&s;hby</HI> alias <HI>Cobler</HI> being under Examination
before a Ju&s;tice of Peace, before whom &s;he was carried
by certain Souldiers of Colonell <HI>Humfreys</HI> Regiment;
at the &s;ame time of her examination, a certain Groom
that was in pre&s;ence &s;aid come <HI>Rug</HI> into my mouth,
which Groom, as it is reported, died within a fortnight
after, near unto the City of <HI>London.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;aid <HI>Anne A&s;hby</HI> further confe&s;&s;ed, that the Di|vell
had given them a piece of fle&s;h, which when&s;oe|ver
they &s;hould touch, they &s;hould thereby affect their
de&s;ires.</P>
<P>That this fle&s;h lay hid among&s;t gra&s;&s;e, in a certain
place which &s;he named, where upon &s;earch it was found
accordingly.</P>
<P>This fle&s;h was of a &s;innewy &s;ub&s;tance, and &s;corched,
and was &s;een and felt by this Ob&s;ervator, and re&s;erved
for publique view, at the &s;ign of the Swan in <HI>Maid&s;tone.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;aid <HI>Anne A&s;hby, Anne Martyn,</HI> and one other
of their A&s;&s;ociates, after they were ca&s;t, and upon the
pronunciation of Judgement again&s;t them, pleaded that
they were with child pregnant, but confe&s;&s;ed it was
not by any man, but by the Divell.</P>
<P>One <HI>Dock</HI> of <HI>Gre&s;ham,</HI> alias <HI>Cre&s;ham,</HI> Doctor to <HI>Anne
A&s;hby,</HI> is committed to clo&s;e impri&s;onment, and not per|mitted
<PB N="5" REF="3">
to &s;peak with any per&s;on, without the pre&s;ence
of his Keeper.</P>
<P>A Pin being thru&s;t to the head into one of their arms,
the party did not feele it, neither did it draw bloud
from her, which was <HI>Mary Browne, Anne Wil&s;on,</HI> or
<HI>Mildred Wright.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Mary Read</HI> of <HI>Lenham</HI> had a vi&s;ible Teat under her
tongue, and did &s;hew it to many, and it was likewi&s;e
&s;een by this Ob&s;ervator.</P>
<P>It is likewi&s;e to be noted, that the afore&s;aid <HI>Anne
A&s;hby,</HI> alias <HI>Cobler,</HI> during the time of her exta&s;ie, when
&s;he &s;well'd in that prodigious manner before mentioned,
uttered many &s;peeches which did greatly amaze and
a&s;toni&s;h the Auditory, proceeding from her in that
manner, of which there was no &s;mall number of Wit|ne&s;&s;es,
in &s;o great and generall a confluence of people,
&s;ome of which the Ob&s;ervator remembreth, but for|bears
at pre&s;ent to &s;et down the particulars.</P>
<P>So upon the proceedings afore&s;aid, and the evidences
brought in again&s;t them, the &s;aid <HI>Anne A&s;hby,</HI> alias
<HI>Cobler, Anne Martyn, Mary Browne, Anne Wil&s;on,</HI> and
<HI>Mildred Wright</HI> of <HI>Cranbrook,</HI> and <HI>Mary Read</HI> of <HI>Lenham,</HI>
being legally convicted, were according to the Laws of
this Nation, adjudged to be hanged, at the common
place of Execution.</P>
<P>Some there were that wi&s;hed rather they might be
burnt to A&s;hes; alledging, that it was a received opi|nion
among&s;t many, that the body of a Witch being
burnt, her bloud is prevented thereby from becomming
hereditary to her Progeny in the &s;ame evill, which by
hanging is not; but whether this opinion be erroneous,
or not, I am not to di&s;pute.</P>
<P><PB N="6" REF="4">
Be&s;ides the&s;e former &s;ix condemned Witches, there
were at the &s;ame time &s;ome others of <HI>Greanes</HI> Arraign|ed,
who although &s;entence of death did not then pa&s;&s;e
again&s;t them, yet one who&s;e name was <HI>Creed,</HI> was by
three &s;everall Indictments found guilty by the Grand
Jury, con&s;i&s;ting of per&s;ons of good integrity, and e&s;tates.
And in the afore&s;aid black Li&s;t, were mu&s;tred one <HI>Rey|nolds,</HI>
and one <HI>Wil&s;on,</HI> with both their Wives.</P>
<P>It is &s;uppo&s;ed that nine children, be&s;ides a man and a
woman, were bewitched; 500 pounds worth of Cattel
lo&s;t, and much Corn at Sea wrack'd, by Witchcraft.</P>
<P>They confe&s;&s;ed they had bewitched a child, that had
been langui&s;hing along time; this child died about the
time of their trials, who&s;e pourtraicture in wax was
found, where they had laid it, under the Thre&s;hold of
a doore.</P>
<P>To this di&s;cour&s;e the bodies of three Children lately
found at <HI>Chatham,</HI> may have &s;ome reference, which
however it will not be much ami&s;&s;e to in&s;ert here; al|though
it be doubtfull, whether their deaths be to be
attributed to Sorcery, or any other violent means; two
of the&s;e bodies appeared but in part, the re&s;t being con|&s;umed;
the third was the entire body of a Male-child,
having a Navell five inches long.</P>
<P>And here you may ob&s;erve the helli&s;h and infernall
e&s;tate of tho&s;e wretched deluded people, calld Witches,
whom their Grand-ma&s;ter the Devill, at one time or
other leaves in the lurch; as here you may perceive in
the Story of the&s;e mi&s;erable Wretches, who de&s;erved|ly
received the Sentence of Condemnation, as afore|&s;ayd;
for it is written, <HI>Thou &s;halt not &s;uffer a Witch to live.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="7" REF="4">
<HEAD>A true Relation of one Mrs. Atkins, a Mercers Wife
in Warwick, who was &s;trangely carried away from
her hou&s;e in July la&s;t, and hath not been
heard of &s;ince.</HEAD>
<P>IN <HI>Warwick</HI> Town one Mrs. <HI>Katherine Atkins,</HI> a Mer|cers
Wife, &s;tanding at her door on Saturday night, the 24.
<HI>July,</HI> 1652. A certain unknown Woman came to her and &s;ayd,
Mi&s;tris, pray give me two-pence, &s;he an&s;wered, two-pences are
not &s;o plentifull, and that &s;he would give her no Mony. Pray
Mi&s;tris, &s;ayd &s;he, then give me that Pin, &s;o &s;he took the Pin off
her &s;leeve and gave her, for which &s;he was very thankfull, and
was going away. Mi&s;tris <HI>Atkins</HI> &s;eeing her &s;o thankfull for a
Pin, called her again, and told her if &s;he would &s;tay, &s;he would
fetch &s;ome Victuals for her, or give her &s;ome thread, or &s;ome|thing
out of the &s;hop. She an&s;wered, &s;he would have nothing
el&s;e, and bid a pox of her Victuals, and &s;wore (by God) &s;aying,
You &s;hall be an hundred miles off within this week, when you
&s;hall want two-pence as much as I, and &s;o &s;he went grumbling
away.</P>
<P>Hereupon the &s;ayd Mi&s;tris <HI>Atkins</HI> was much troubled in
mind, and did advi&s;e with &s;ome Friends what were be&s;t to be
done in &s;uch a ca&s;e, but receiving no re&s;olution from any one
what to do, &s;he attended the Event what might befall within
&s;uch a time, and upon the 29. of <HI>July,</HI> &s;he expre&s;t to a Kin&s;man
Mr. <HI>Nicholas Bikar,</HI> that &s;he was much troubled about the
fore&s;ayd bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, but hoped the time was &s;o near expired, that
it would come to nothing.</P>
<P><PB N="8" REF="5">
But the &s;ayd Thur&s;day night betwixt the houres of 8. and 9.
She going into the Shop, and returning thence in the Entry ad|joyning
to the &s;ayd Shop, &s;he was immediately gone, by what
means and whither we do not know, nor can we hear of upon en|quiry
made to this pre&s;ent.</P>
<P>The de&s;ire of her Husband and Friends is of all the Inhabi|tants
of this Nation, That if they hear of any &s;uch party in &s;uch
a lo&s;t condition as is before expre&s;&s;ed: That there may be &s;peedy
notice given thereof to her Husband in <HI>Warwick,</HI> and that
all convenient provi&s;ions both of Hor&s;e and mony may be made
for the conveying of her to the place afore&s;ayd, and &s;uch as
&s;hall take pains, or be at expences herein &s;hall be &s;ufficiently re|compenced
for the &s;ame, with many thanks.</P>
<P>It's likewi&s;e de&s;ired that the Mini&s;ters in <HI>London,</HI> and el&s;e|where,
where the notice of the&s;e pre&s;ents &s;hall come, would be
plea&s;ed to pre&s;ent her &s;ad condition to God in their &s;everall Con|gregations.
The truth hereof we te&s;tifie, who&s;e names are &s;ub|&s;cribed.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM>John Hallford,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Richard Vennour, Mini&s;ter in Warwick.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Hen. Butler, Mini&s;ter in Warwick.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Jo&s;eph Fi&s;her, Mini&s;ter.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="5">
</DIV1>
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