Note.—
The preceding story is founded on a passage in the writings of
Dr. Mather. “In 1679 a house,” says the Doctor, “in Newbury, (on the
Merrimack,) was infested with demons in a most horrid manner.” Here
follows a long and curious recital of the infernal doings of the ill-natured
spirits. The same story is recorded on the records of the court at Salem, where
a seaman, by the name of Powell, was tried for witchcraft, on the ground that
he had been able to put to flight the demons of the haunted house, by means of
the black art—or astrology.
