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Page 29
"Was not the witchcraft delusion partly caused by Cotton Mather?"
inquired Laurence.
"He was the chief agent of the mischief," answered Grandfather; "but we
will not suppose that he acted otherwise than conscientiously. He
believed that there were evil spirits all about the world. Doubtless he
imagined that they were hidden in the corners and crevices of his
library, and that they peeped out from among the leaves of many of his
books, as he turned them over, at midnight. He supposed that these
unlovely demons were everywhere, in the sunshine as well as in the
darkness, and that they were hidden in men's hearts, and stole into
their most secret thoughts."
Here Grandfather was interrupted by little Alice, who hid her face in
his lap, and murmured a wish that he would not talk any more about
Cotton Mather and the evil spirits. Grandfather kissed her, and told her
that angels were the only spirits whom she had any thing to do with. He
then spoke of the public affairs of the period.
A new war between France and England had broken out in 1702, and had
been raging ever since. In the course of it, New England suffered much
injury from the French and Indians, who often came through the woods
from Canada, and assaulted the frontier towns. Villages were sometimes
burnt, and the inhabitants slaughtered, within a day's ride of Boston.
The people of New England had a bitter hatred against the French, not
only for the mischief which they did with their own hands, but because
they incited the Indians to hostility.
The New Englanders knew that they could never dwell in security, until
the provinces of France should be subdued, and brought under the English
government. They frequently, in time of war, undertook military
expeditions against Acadia and Canada, and sometimes besieged the
fortresses, by which those territories were defended. But the most
earnest wish of their hearts was, to take Quebec, and so get possession
of the whole province of Canada. Sir William Phips had once attempted
it, but without success.
Fleets and soldiers were often sent from England, to assist the
colonists in their warlike undertakings. In 1710, Port Royal, a fortress
of Acadia, was taken by the English. The next year, in the month of
June, a fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker, arrived in
Boston Harbor. On board of this fleet was the English General Hill, with
seven regiments of soldiers, who had been fighting under the Duke of
Marlborough, in Flanders. The government of Massachusetts was called
upon to find provisions for the army and fleet, and to raise more men to
assist in taking Canada.
What with recruiting and drilling of soldiers, there was now nothing but
warlike bustle in the streets of Boston. The drum and fife, the rattle
of arms, and the shouts of boys, were heard from morning till night. In
about a month, the fleet set sail, carrying four regiments from New
England and New York, besides the English soldiers. The whole army
amounted to at least seven thousand men. They steered for the mouth of
the river St. Lawrence.
"Cotton Mather prayed most fervently for their success," continued
Grandfather, "both in his pulpit, and when he kneeled down in the
solitude of his library, resting his face on our old chair. But
Providence ordered the result otherwise. In a few weeks, tidings were
received, that eight or nine of the vessels had been wrecked in the St.
Lawrence, and that above a thousand drowned soldiers had been washed
ashore, on the banks of that mighty river. After this misfortune, Sir
Hovenden Walker set sail for England; and many pious people began to
think it a sin, even to wish for the conquest of Canada."
"I would never give it up so," cried Charley.
"Nor did they, as we shall see," replied Grandfather. "However, no more
attempts were made during this war, which came to a close in 1713. The
people of New England were probably glad of some repose; for their young
men had been made soldiers, till many of them were fit for nothing else.
And those, who remained at home, had been heavily taxed to pay for the
arms, ammunition, fortifications, and all the other endless expenses of
a war. There was great need of the prayers of Cotton Mather, and of all
pious men, not only on account of the sufferings of the people, but
because the old moral and religious character of New England was in
danger of being utterly lost."
"How glorious it would have been," remarked Laurence, "if our
forefathers could have kept the country unspotted with blood."
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