s, pursuing the charge of
quoting falsely, as to my using the word "proceedings," "the word is not
to be found in the _Advice_."

The eighth Section recommends "the speedy and vigorous prosecutions of
such as have rendered themselves obnoxious." In a brief reference to the
subject, I use the words "speedily and vigorously," marking them as
quoted, although their form was changed by the structure of the sentence
of my own in which they appear. Beyond this, I have made no
_quotations_, in my book, of the _Advice_--not a Section, nor sentence,
nor clause, nor line, is a quotation, nor pretends to be. Without
characterising what the Reviewer has done, in charging me with
_suppression of essential portions_, _interpolation_, and not _printing_
in full, or correctly, what the Ministers or any body else said, my duty
is discharged, by showing that there is no truth in the charge--no
foundation or apology for it.

The last of the works of Cotton Mather I shall examine, in this scrutiny
of his retrospective opinions and position, relating to the witchcraft
prosecutions, is the _Magnalia_, printed at London, in 1702. He had
become wise enough, at that time, not to commit himself more than he
could help.

The Rev. John Hale, of Beverly, died in May, 1700. He had taken an
active part in the proceedings at Salem, in 1692, having, as he says,
from his youth, been "trained up in the knowledge and belief of most of
the principles" upon which the prosecutions were conducted, and had held
them "with a kind of implicit faith." Towards the close of the Trials,
his view underwent a change; and, after the lapse of five years, he
prepared a treatise on the subject. It is a candid, able, learned, and
every-way commendable performance, adhering to the general belief in
witchcraft, but pointing out the errors in the methods of procedure in
the Trials at Salem, showing that the principles there acted upon were
fallacious. The book was not printed until 1702. Cotton Mather, having
access to Mr. Hale's manuscript, professedly made up from it his account
of the witchcraft transactions of 1692, inserted in the _Magnalia_,
Book VI., Page 79. He adopts the narrative part of the work,
substantially, avoiding much discussion of the topics upon which Mr.
Hale had laid himself out. He cites, indeed, some passages from the
argumentative part, containing marvellous statements, but does not
mention that Mr. Hale labored, throughout, to show that those and