n opulent merchant, in Boston. He was a
member of Mather's Church, and one of the Special Court to try the
witches. Its Session was to commence in the first week, probably on
Thursday, the second day of June. The letter, dated on Tuesday, the
thirty-first of May, is addressed to John Richards alone; and commences
with a strong expression of regret that quite a severe indisposition
will prevent his accompanying him to the trials. "Excuse me," he says,
"from waiting upon you, with the utmost of my little skill and care, to
assist the noble service, whereto you are called of God this week, the
service of encountering the wicked spirits in the high places of our
air, and of detecting and confounding of their confederates." He hopes,
before the Court "gets far into the mysterious affair," to be able to
"attend the desires" of Richards, which, to him "always are commands."
He writes the letter, "for the strengthening of your honorable hands in
that work of God whereto, (I thank him) he hath so well fitted you."
After some other complimentary language, and assurances that God's
"people have been fasting and praying before him for your direction," he
proceeds to urge upon him his favorite Swedish case, wherein the
"endeavours of the Judges to discover and extirpate the authors of that
execrable witchcraft," were "immediately followed with a remarkable
smile of God." Then comes the paragraph, which the Reviewer defiantly
cites, to prove that Cotton Mather agreed with him, in the opinion that
spectre evidence ought not to be "admitted."

Before quoting the paragraph, I desire the reader to note the manner in
which the affair in Sweden is brought to the attention of Richards, in
the clauses just cited, in connection with what I have said in this
article, page 16. Cotton Mather was in possession of a book on this
subject. "It comes to speak English," he says, "by the acute pen of the
excellent and renowned Dr. Horneck." Who so likely as Mather to have
brought the case to the notice of Phips, pp. 14. It was urged upon
Richards at about the same time that it was upon Phips; and as an
argument in favor of "_extirpating_" witches, by the _action of a Court
of Oyer and Terminer_.

The paragraph is as follows: "And yet I must most humbly beg you that in
the management of the affair in your most worthy hands, you do not lay
more stress upon pure Spectre testimony than it will bear. When you are
satisfied, and have good plain legal eviden