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<DATE>2007-05-30</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Jonathan Blaney</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>proofed text and revised markup</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="A84222">
<STC T="W">E3712</STC>
<STC T="T">E303_33</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99861110</BIBNO>
<VID>154402</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE
EXAMINATION,
CONFESSION, TRIALL,
AND EXECUTION,
Of <HI>Joane Williford, Joan Cariden,</HI>
and <HI>Jane Hott:</HI></P>
<P>Who were executed at <HI>Fever&s;ham</HI> in <HI>Kent,</HI> for
being Witches, on Munday the 29 of
<HI>September,</HI> 1645.</P>
<P>Being a true Copy of their evill
lives and wicked deeds, taken by the Major
of <HI>Fever&s;ham</HI> and Jurors for the
&s;aid Inque&s;t.</P>
<P>With the Examination and Confe&s;&s;ion of
<HI>Elizabeth Harris,</HI> not yet executed.</P>
<P>All atte&s;ted under the hand of
ROBERT GREENSTREET, <HI>Major of Fover&s;ham.</HI></P>
<P>LONDON, Printed for <HI>J. G.</HI> October 2. 1645.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="confession">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>The Confe&s;sion of Joan Williford,
<DATE>Septemb. 24. 1645.</DATE> made before the
Major, and other Jurates.</HEAD>
<OPENER>Shee confe&s;&s;ed:</OPENER>
<P>_THat the divell about &s;even yeeres agoe
did appeare to her in the &s;hape of a
little dog, and bid her to for&s;ake God
and leane to him: who replied, that
&s;he was loath to for&s;ake him. Shee
confe&s;&s;ed al&s;o that &s;hee had a de&s;ire to
be revenged upon <HI>Thomas Letherland</HI> and <HI>Mary Woodr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">fe</HI>
now his wife. She further &s;aid that the divell promi&s;ed
her, that &s;he &s;hould not lacke, and that &s;he had money
&s;ometimes brought her &s;he knew not whence, &s;ome|time
one &s;hilling, &s;ometimes eight pence, never more
at once; &s;hee called her Divell by the name of <HI>Bunne.</HI>
She further &s;aith, that her retainer <HI>Bunne</HI> carried <HI>Thomas
Gardler</HI> out of a window, who fell into a back&s;ide. She
further &s;aith, that neere twenty yeeres &s;ince &s;he promi|&s;ed
her &s;oule to the divell. She further &s;aith, that &s;he
gave &s;ome of her blood to the Divell&punc; who wrote the
covenant betwixt them. She further &s;aith that the Di|vell
promi&s;ed to be her &s;ervant about twenty yeeres,
<PB N="2" REF="3">
and that the time is now almo&s;t expired. She further
&s;aith that <HI>Iane Hot, Elizabeth Harris, Ioan Argoll</HI> were her
fellowes. She further &s;aith that her Divell told her that
<HI>Elizabeth Harris</HI> about &s;ix or &s;even yeeres &s;ince cur&s;t the
Boat of one <HI>Iohn Woodcott,</HI> and &s;o it came to pa&s;&s;e. Shee
further &s;aith, that the Divell promi&s;ed her that &s;hee
&s;hould not &s;inke being throwne into the water. She fur|ther
&s;aid Goodwife <HI>Argoll</HI> cur&s;ed Mr. <HI>Major,</HI> and al&s;o
<HI>Iohn Mannington,</HI> and &s;aid that he &s;hould not thrive, and
and &s;o it came to pa&s;&s;e. She likewi&s;e &s;aith, that the Di|vell
&s;ucked twice &s;ince &s;he came into the pri&s;on, he came
to her in the forme of a Muce.</P>
<P>She being brought to the Barre, was asked,
<HI>Guilty or not guilty,</HI> &s;he an&s;wered, <HI>guilty.</HI></P>
<P>When &s;he came to the place of execution Mr. Major
asked her if &s;he thought &s;he de&s;erved death? to whom
&s;he an&s;wered, that &s;he had; and that &s;he de&s;ired all good
people to take warning by her, and not to &s;uffer
them&s;elves to be deceived by the Divell, neither for
lucre of money, malice, or any thing el&s;e, as &s;he had
done: but to &s;ticke fa&s;t to God, for if &s;he had not fir&s;t
for&s;aken God, God would not have for&s;aken her.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="examination">
<HEAD>The Examination of Joan Cariden widdow, taken
<DATE>Septemb. 25. 1645.</DATE></HEAD>
<P>THis Examinant &s;aith, that about three quarters of
a yeere agoe, as &s;he was in the bed about twelve or
one of the clocke in the night there lay a rugged &s;oft
<PB N="3" REF="3">
thing upon her bo&s;ome which was very &s;oft, and &s;he
thru&s;t it off with her hand; and &s;he &s;aith that when
&s;he had thru&s;t it away &s;he thought God for&s;ooke her,
for &s;he could never pray &s;o well &s;ince as &s;he could be|fore;
and further &s;aith, that &s;hee verily thinkes it was
alive.</P>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Examination of the &s;aid Joan Cari|den,
alias Argoll, taken the &s;ame day before the
Major.</HEAD>
<P>THis Examinant &s;aith, that in the &s;ame yeere that
this Major was formerly Major the Divell came to
her in the &s;hape of a blacke rugged Dog, in the night
time, and crept into the bed to her, and &s;pake to her
in mumbling language; The next night it came to her
againe, and required this examinant to deny God and
leane to him, and that then he would revenge her of
any one &s;he owed ill will to, and thereupon this exami|nant
promi&s;ed him her &s;oule upon tho&s;e conditions;
And that about that time the Divell &s;ucked this exami|nant,
and hath divers times &s;ince &s;ucked her, and that it
was no paine to her.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="confession">
<HEAD><DATE>September 27. 1645.</DATE></HEAD>
<P>COnfe&s;t upon the examination of <HI>Ioan Carriden</HI> be|fore
Ma&s;ter Major, that Goodwife <HI>Ho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">t</HI> told her
within the&s;e two daies that there was a great meeting
at Goodwife <HI>Panterys</HI> hou&s;e, and that Goodwife <HI>Dad&s;on</HI>
was there, and that Goodwife <HI>Gardner</HI> &s;hould have been
there, but did not come, and the Divell &s;at at the upper
end of the Table.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="examination">
<PB N="4" REF="4">
<HEAD>The Examination of Jane Hott widdow, taken
before the Major and Jurates <DATE>the 25 of Septem|ber,
1645.</DATE></HEAD>
<P>THis examinant confe&s;&s;eth that a thing like a hedg|hog
had u&s;ually vi&s;ited her, and came to her a
great while agoe, about twenty yeares agoe, and that
if it &s;ucked her it was in her &s;leep, and the paine there|of
awaked her, and it came to her once or twice in the
moneth and &s;ucked her, and when it lay upon her brea&s;t
&s;he &s;trucke it off with her hand, and that it was as &s;oft
as a Cat.</P>
<P>At her fir&s;t comming into the Goale &s;he &s;pake very
much to the other that were apprehended before her,
to confe&s;&s;e if they were guilty; and &s;tood to it very
perver&s;ely that &s;he was cleare of any &s;uch thing, and
that if they put her into the Water to try her &s;he &s;hould
certainely &s;inke. But when &s;he was put into the Water
and it was apparent that &s;he did flote upon the water,
being taken forth, a Gentleman to whom before &s;he had
&s;o confidently &s;pake, and with whom &s;he offered to
lay twenty &s;hillings to one that &s;he could not &s;wim,
asked her how it was po&s;&s;ible &s;he could be &s;o impudent
as not to confe&s;&s;e her&s;elfe, when &s;he had &s;o much per|&s;waded
the other to confe&s;&s;e: to whom &s;he an&s;wered,
That the Divell went with her all the way, and told her
that &s;he &s;hould &s;inke; but when &s;he was in the Water
he &s;ate upon a Cro&s;&s;e-beame and laughed at her.</P>
<L>The&s;e three were executed on Munday la&s;t.</L>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="examination">
<PB N="5" REF="4">
<HEAD>The Examination of Elizabeth Harris <DATE>the 26 of
September, 1645.</DATE> before Ma&s;ter Major.</HEAD>
<P>THis examinant &s;aith, that about 19 yeeres agoe the
Divell did appeare to her in the forme of a Mu&s;e:
&s;he further &s;aith, that &s;he had a de&s;ire to be revenged,
and the divell told her that &s;he &s;hould be revenged;
&s;he called the Divell her Impe. She further &s;aith,
Goodman <HI>Chilman</HI> of Nuenham &s;aid that &s;he &s;tole a
Pigge, then &s;he de&s;ired that God would revenge her of
him, and the man pined away and dyed, and &s;he &s;aw
it apparent that her Impe was the cau&s;e of that mans
death; &s;he further &s;aith, that the Divell bid her to for|&s;ake
Chri&s;t and leane to him, whereupon &s;he &s;aith that
&s;he &s;cratched her &s;elfe with her nailes and fetched
blood from her brea&s;t, and &s;he wiped it with her finger
and gave it to her Impe who wrote the covenant with
it: &s;he further &s;aith, that a fortnight after the divell
&s;ucked her, but &s;he felt no paine. Being demanded
how many Witches were in Town? &s;he an&s;wered, that
were a heavy &s;entence. She further &s;aith that Good|wife
<HI>Dad&s;on, Ioan Argoe, William Argos</HI> wife, Goodwife
<HI>Cox</HI> have very bad tongues; She further &s;aith that her
Impe did &s;ucke her every three or foure nights; &s;he
further &s;aith that her &s;onne being drowned in Good|man
<HI>Woodcots</HI> High &s;he wi&s;hed that God might be her
revenger, which was her watchword to the Divell, and
this High was ca&s;t away, and &s;he conceives that her
wi&s;h was the cau&s;e of its being ca&s;t away: &s;he further
&s;aith, that <HI>Ioan Williford</HI> told her, that her Impe &s;aid
<PB N="6" REF="5">
on Wedne&s;day la&s;t, that though the Boate, (&s;he not
knowing what Boat,) went chearfully out, it &s;hould
not come &s;o chearfully home; She &s;aith further, that
Goodwife <HI>Pantery</HI> did many times make meetings with
Goodwife <HI>Williford</HI> and with Goodwife <HI>Hott;</HI> She fur|ther
&s;aith, that Goodwife <HI>Gardner</HI> hath a very ill
tongue.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="attestation">
<P>ALL the&s;e are true coppies of Examina|tion,
one whereof is not yet executed,
and were taken before me,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Robert Green&s;treet, <HI>Major.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
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