Chapter 1753 Queen of Hell (twenty-four)

   "The Gospel of John" Chapter 20, verse 23 said: Whose sin you forgave, whoever sin is forgiven, and whoever sins you leave behind, stay behind.

  On August 1, 1692, they discussed how to use their power on the second floor of the Harvard University Library to pardon some people to court.

  There is no doubt that the Salem Witchcraft Court is losing its authority. If the witches have signed a contract with Satan, it proves that they have abandoned God and Christ, and it makes no sense for them to put their hands on the Bible and swear. The method of interrogation is also extremely ignorant. The girls as the plaintiff behaved absurdly, and the "miracle" of Rebecca Nath and Elizabeth Proctor never happened. They more often screamed and fainted in court. , Of course, this can't help but to go north and south, seeing Alden and his friend Bartholomew Gordney, who have seen strong winds and waves.

The problem is that the Attorney General John Newton is a novice. The attorney general from the Anglican Church and a lawyer is not yet familiar with the colony and does not have the rich community knowledge of the jurors. The 48 jurors convened by Stoughton The judges are all veterans in the court. They won their seats because of their rich experience. These jurors didn't mention the word "witchcraft" when they were called, and they knew exactly what they were here for. Alden is not like Elizabeth Cary. He was arrested. In order to let everyone see him clearly, Hassan ordered Alden to stand on a chair. This in itself is a kind of humiliation. When Alden's hands were pressed After staying, he stood on the chair helplessly.

Gedney persuaded Alden to confess, but Alden said that he had no intention of using lies to please the devil and asked the jury to show evidence of his witchcraft. Hassan arranged a touch test. As a result, Alden encountered The girls who were cursed, they calmed down.

This so-called "evidence" was ridiculous in Thomas Blatter's eyes, but Gordney changed his confession at this time: "I always thought Alden was an honest man, but I now have reason to change Thoughts."

The collapse of decades of loyalty brought the show to a climax. As a member of the Boston Prayer Group, Judge Samuel Sewell chose to be silent. He once trusted Captain Alden very much and will carry him. Alden was given the task of crossing the ocean for the family.

William Phips is the son of the owner of the military factory. War will undoubtedly bring huge profits to the military industry. However, the members of the court are not always politically unanimous. Except for Chief Judge Stoutton who seems to have stood on everything. Individuals have considerable benefits on the border. The Indians in the King Philip War destroyed their mills, causing them to suffer losses. Stoughton and Sewell went to New York to fight for support in a joint attack on Montreal.

Phipps hoped that the people of the colony would obey, but the situation is not the case right now. It is possible that all factions in Massachusetts no longer support him except London, who does not know the situation. Merchants and landlords constitute the leadership of Massachusetts, and now they are among them. Many people sat on the jury, and they cooperated with Lieutenant Governor Stoughton.

No matter how hostile the colonies are, everyone will unite against the French. The newly developed New York has robbed the French and Massachusetts a lot of business, but the New Yorkers are at least British. Now even the Governor of New York says Phipps decides his head by his ass.

In 1681, Stoughton was selected to go to London to discuss the affairs of the new charter, but he was fed up with England's insult to New England, so he refused the assignment and reassigned the angular John Richards. Go. Richards became a witchcraft judge shortly after his return, and Stoughton agreed to marry John Richards. His bride was Ann Winslow, the granddaughter of the former Governor of Massachusetts Bay, John Winthrop. P, Bartholomew Gedney is Winthrop’s in-laws, in fact at least four witchcraft judges are their in-laws,

There are actually very few people at the top of the colony. The people who dominate civil, criminal, and religious affairs all come from a small circle, and they infiltrate each other through marriage, such as the combination of Richards and Winthrop, even Ann Wins Loop is Richards' second marriage, and Richards' first wife is Ann Winthrop's aunt.

William Phipps is very beautiful. If he could pursue Ann before Richards, and marry her, he would not fall into the present situation. It is a pity that he used to go to taverns and behave with women. Socially, the former governor would not agree to marry his granddaughter to a playboy.

  There is also a marriage relationship between priests, because Protestantism allows marriage. This may be the biggest difference between the New World and the Old World. Nicholas Noyce has a very close relationship with the family of Salem Senior Pastor John Hierkin, and only a few words of courtesy are needed to break into the theme-after the execution of 6 women, Salem is preparing to execute 5 more men. Four of them are ordinary villagers and one is the priest Burroughs. In view of the embezzlement of the prisoner’s property by the justice of the peace, the person most likely to be executed is John Proctor, who was sentenced to death on August 2. People.

There is also John Willard. He is accused of cursing a boy to death. Among the remaining two potential death row inmates, the priests can replace at least one of them and replace the queen of **** Martha Carrier with her. Death will make the people of Salem and Andover feel relieved. They executed an annoying man, a notorious sinner, and the best person to be replaced was John Alden.

Witchcraft persecution means "persecution." Even after Alden stood on a chair, he fearlessly told all the observers that he was innocent. The people who were taken abducted at high speed in the gathering place of Indians should not give up God. , Let them believe that they are walking with Job and insisting on their righteousness to death. They are suffering for Christ. At the same time, he shouted that God will clear his charge, that he is innocent, and none of the statements against her is true.

In fact, for the better, it is precisely because Burroughs was arrested from Wells that he didn’t need to watch the hell-like scene. Five hundred Wabanaki and the French broke through it, and there were killings and gunshots everywhere. , The people were scalped off, and Burroughs was guarding the silent darkness in the dungeon in Boston at that time.

In the end, Alden was not on the list of deaths on August 19, and officials took George Burroughs, John Willard, John Proctor, and George Jacobs through Salem Prison. In the courtyard, they boarded a carriage, and midway they met with Martha Carril, and then drove towards Hanging Hill along the road where Rebecca Nas and the other five walked last time.

John Proctor did not get the fair trial he hoped, but he had the opportunity to write a will. His pregnant wife could decide whether to execute the death sentence after the child was born. As for the 11 children in his family...so compared to him Personal death, Elizabeth Proctor's life and death is more meaningful.

  George Jacobs is a 70-year-old farmer. He is very old, cheerful, and illiterate. His granddaughter, 17-year-old Margaret Jacobs, was accused by the priest’s niece.

  Margaret confessed at the Biddle Inn on the day of her arrest. George Jacobs told her not to be so impulsive. Doing so would speed up her death, but what's the use? His father and uncle fled, his grandfather was arrested, leaving the half-crazy mother in shackles awaiting trial.

  Becoming a victim and a person who has pleaded guilty is especially convenient for accusing others. Margaret became a frequent visitor in the court during that week, and she was also one of the witnesses of Burroughs’ conviction.

  However, the night before the execution, she declared that her confession was all false and untrue.

  "They told me that if I didn't admit it, I would be thrown into the dungeon and hanged. If I admit it, I will survive!"

  Marguerite chose to live, but she has been tortured since then, living in fear of conscience and cannot sleep.

She didn’t know how the repentance came to the prison, so she was sent to the dungeon of suffocation. At that time, she found that instead of living with guilt and pain, she might as well die with peace of mind. She left her father’s suicide note in the dungeon. She knew that her home had been completely ruined, and that she was in a terrible situation and she didn't know when she would be hanged, but she assured her father that she was looking forward to eating noodles happily in heaven and that she was still his submissive daughter.

  The Burroughs accused by her comforted Margaret who had accused him in the dungeon, and the girl kept crying.

  Her grandfather laughed wildly and said to Hassan and Kewen, "Either burn me or hang me. I am not so much a wizard, as I am a vulture, and I will come back to find you!"

  The carriage creaked and climbed up the mountain. This time, because the priest was killed, it attracted thousands of people to watch.

The forty-two-year-old Burroughs was finally put on trial, which determined that he was the first to be executed. He and Rebecca Nath got out of the car in the same position and walked calmly to the execution platform. This black-haired, short-haired man After 14 weeks of imprisonment, the tall man is no longer in human form.

  He is standing on a high place, under his feet are his former followers and relatives.

"Our heavenly Father, the Lord far away in heaven." Burroughs said. If you don’t look at the rope around his neck, he looks like he’s preaching. "May everyone honor your name, and may your kingdom come." , May your will be done on earth, just like walking in the sky. Our daily food and drink will be given to us today to forgive our debts, just as we forgive people’s debts. Don’t let us encounter temptation and save us from evil, because The kingdom, authority, and glory are all yours forever, Amen."

   Burroughs’s actions confuse the audience. Last time Sarah Good was cursing everyone to drink blood. Is it really a wizard who can recite the "Lord’s Prayer" verbatim?

"He has not been awarded the priesthood!" said Cotton Mather, the handsome, energetic, and energetic "Angel of Light" riding on a horse. "I assure you that Burroughs' verdict is fair. "

  The suspicion in people's eyes disappeared, when the executioner pulled Burroughs up.

  This method of death is very slow, it takes a few minutes to suffocate before dying, but who told these people to not hire a professional executioner.

  The New World lacks not only gentry, but also executioners. Last time there was a prisoner who was hanged and never died. Later, someone cut his head with an axe and it ended.

  When this crazy season is over, it will take some time for people to return to normal, and there is a price to be awake.

Looking back at that time, some things will be embarrassing, such as the woman you accused, she crossed the creek to return to her farm, or the witch who was sentenced to probation suddenly appeared in the seat next to your church, and Those men who have lost their property and come to ask for the loss?

For some people, it’s impossible to return to normal. For example, Francis Nass, who lost his wife, and Elizabeth Proctor, did not have her name in John’s will, and his husband’s relatives divided up everything, and She is legally dead, but she still has 12 children to feed.

Mary Ingrid was sick in exile and returned to Salem when she returned to Salem. She died in 1694. Little Dorothy Goode saw the death of her infant sister, so she testified against her mother in order to survive. , I fell into madness at just over 5 years old, the sound of rain was spent under the care of others, and there were countless orphans. The tragic experience of so many people should be worthy of Miss Ann Putnam writing a confession to the public Read it in front of you.

She also read it later. In front of the Nass family, Francis Nas kept looking down at the confession book, fearing that she would miss a word. At this time, she was also an orphan. Her mother, Lao Ann Putnam She died because of her weakness, and Bailey brought Lao Ann to Salem. She was already dead, and Xiao Ann had to live. She was responsible for many of the witchcraft charges.

  After all, women are outsiders in the family. This may be the reason why Andover’s men listen to their children and do not believe in their wives, and the father’s property is to be inherited by "blood-related" children.

  No important person was killed here, but this "lively **** scene" has awakened many souls, especially young people, regardless of gender.

  Is this the meaning of life expressed by the Kabbalah tree of life?

  (End of this chapter)