putting him on doing Mischief, and (he being near the Sea) as he saw a Ship under Sail, it moved him to send him to sink the Ship, and he consented, and saw the Ship sink before him. One penitent Woman confessed, that her Mother lying sick, and she looking to her, somewhat like a Mole ran into the Bed to her, which she being startled at, her Mother bad her not fear it, but gave it her, saying. Keep this in a Pot by the fire, &c. and thou shalt never want. She did as she was bid; shortly after a poor Boy (seemingly) came in, and ask’d leave to sit and warm him at the Fire, and when he was gone, she found Money under the stool; and afterwards oft did so again, and at last laid hold of her, and drew Blood of her, and she made no other Compact with the Devil, but that her Imps sucked her Blood; and as I heard she was delivered. Abundance of sad Confessions were made by them; by which some testified, that there are certain Punishments which they were to undergo, if they did not some hurt as was appointed them.”
Matthew Hopkins was the son of James Hopkins, minister of Wenham, Suffolk. Of his youth little is known, but it is evident from his pamphlet that he was able to pen a matter pretty cleverly and concisely, and his special pleading is forcible and fluent enough. It is obvious that he must have been an orthodox Puritan of the conventionally popular opiniatry, which, as his party had gained the ascendancy, proved of the narrowest and most intolerant kind. This may be sufficiently gathered from the records of his activities, nor would the Parliament have entrusted these affairs to a man of another sort. His colleague, John Stearne, was a furious Calvinist, and it is evident that they must have
