The demon of superstition was now abroad in New England. The unaccountable delusion of witchcraft so pervaded the public mind, that suspicions and jealousies were engendered among the nearest friends; perplexity and astonishment were visible in every countenance. So strange were the movements of those who were supposed to be affected by demons, and such the confessions of reputed witches, that men of sober judgment and highly gifted minds were involved in the general belief, and united in the execration of those who were believed to be confederate with Satan and his emissaries. Neither age nor rank were exempted from suspicion, and those who were charged with practicing witchcraft upon almost any testimony, were arrested and committed to prison. Many deserted their homes and went into other parts of the country; days of fasting and prayer were multiplied; parts of the Bible were hung around the neck, as a defence against the power of the devil; and a constant dread of the black book which was supposed to be in circulation among the witches, and was said to contain the terms of treaty with Satan, kept the minds of the credulous in constant distress and anxiety.

This delusion, it is well known, prevailed mostly in Salem and its vicinity. To the disturbed fancies of the populace, the very air was peopled with demons, and Satan, loosed from his chains, was tormenting men before their time. A few persons withstood the delusion, but it was at the peril of their lives, if they attempted open opposition: such was the popular frenzy that, if any question were raised as to the reality of these unseen agencies, it was considered a fair case for prosecution, and the bold innovator was in constant peril of reputation and life. Still there were some who had the courage to remonstrate, and who employed every art of persuasion and influence to stay the ruin which they saw was coming on the land. They also favored the escape of many who were accused; and, though believers themselves, to a certain extent, in this kind of Satanic influence, they always opposed those measures of cruelty and shame, in which the fatal tragedy was finally closed.

Among these benevolent and excellent men, the names of Willard of Boston, Brattle of Cambridge and Higginson of Salem are most conspicuous. These gentlemen refused all part in the witch prosecutions, and earnestly protested against bringing the crime of witchcraft before the civil tribunals, alleging that the individuals charged with this sin were in the hands of God, who alone had a right to punish them, and that the liability to mistake in the nature of the evidence, and the want of a just discrimination, on a subject so mysterious, entirely disqualified the courts to act upon such cases. Their efforts, however, were in vain; yet it may be reasonably believed that, to some extent, they were able to modify and soften the proceedings of the courts, though it was impossible to control or suppress them.

Lyford started for Boston about the tenth of March, spending but a single day at Worcester. The people at this settlement were astonished at the tidings which reached them from Boston and Salem; but they were fortunate enough to escape the mania, and, though disposed to the same general belief, they viewed the cases of such as were accused in a much more calm and benevolent light, and were disposed to regard them as subjects of pity and prayer rather than as outcasts from God and man. But as Lyford approached Boston, he discovered among the people a bitter hatred of the supposed witches, and a belief that no service could be more pleasing to God than to destroy them utterly from the land. He saw at once the terrible engine of power, which designing men might seize to punish private wrongs, and push their projects of revenge for real or supposed injuries. He knew the self-blinding power of the human mind, and how readily its dark purposes assume the form of religious duties and wear the counterfeit of the heavenly graces. And it was this view that filled him with apprehensions and forebodings, which neither conscious rectitude nor the power of reason could allay.

It was the first object of Lyford, after seeing Strale, to visit his sister at Salem; but as he could give no satisfactory reason for his journey, without disclosing his relation to Mary, the government of the college refused his request, and his long absence in the winter was assigned as the cause. In this dilemma, it was determined that Walter, to whom this objection did not apply, should visit Salem and ascertain the true state of things, and the danger, if any, to which Mary might be exposed. The engagement of the parties was now publicly known, and Walter's request was immediately granted.

On his arrival at Salem, which was about the latter part of March, he found such a state of consternation and terror as could scarcely be described. Witches were every where. They would flit through the streets after sunset; and at an early hour in the evening, demons, with long tails and cloven feet, were stalking about, partly concealed in mists and shadows, but taking care to show enough of their origin to keep the good people of Salem within doors after dark, and thus they had the whole promenade to themselves. Some of the old ladies averred that they were visible in the day time, and that one of them was perched in Mr. Higginson's pulpit on a Sabbath afternoon and kept the place till the good man opened the Bible and read the passage about resisting the devil, when he suddenly decamped, leaving behind him a long train of fire, and filling the church with the fumes of sulphur. Mr. Higginson did not, however, appear conscious of the victory he had attained; for, when told of it the next day, he remarked, that he never supposed such extraordinary power in any one passage of the Bible; but since the testimony was so clear, he hoped they now possessed the means of expelling all the evil spirits in Salem, and he prayed that his people would not fail to use these weapons, as they were certainly lawful, and their own observation had shown them to be successful.

Mary Graham had resided, for several years, in the family of Mr. Ellerson. This gentleman was of course acquainted with all the circumstances of her history, and had manifested towards her the utmost kindness and friendship. In fact, no one, at all acquainted with Miss Graham, could fail to esteem and admire her character. It had been the special care of Mrs. Ellerson to instruct her in all the pleasing accomplishments of genteel life, and at the same time, to restrain her from those amusements and follies, which dissipate the mind and unfit it for religious contemplation and duty; she therefore gave, as much as possible, a serious complexion to her studies and seasons of social enjoyment. The pupil well repaid the care of the teacher, and, at the age of eighteen, beautiful, accomplished and beloved by all, she entered the best circles, and we have already had some glimpses of the virtues which adorned her character. Mr. and Mrs. Ellerson had been consulted in every stage of her relations to Strale, and the affair was not concluded without their entire concurrence and approval. Walter was of course a welcome visiter at their house, whenever he had opportunity and leave of absence from college. But these seasons were necessarily very infrequent, as the college discipline allowed little time for recreation, and required a strict attention to the regular studies.

The circumstances in which Walter now found his friends, were altogether new and peculiar. A gloom was spread over the town, which was relieved by no cheerful meetings of friends, no lively airs of music, nor even the busy hum of trade. The streets of the village were silent as the fields that surrounded them, and the necessary offices of kindred and friendship were imbittered by suspicion, and discharged with indifference and coldness. The common ties of relationship and affection were nearly dissolved, and piety itself was forced into unnatural relations with credulity and superstition.

About twenty persons were now in prison, awaiting their trial for practicing witchcraft; others were daily suspected and arrested; and there was scarcely an individual in Salem, who was not more or less under the influence of this delusion. Mr. and Mrs. Ellerson were among the most incredulous; yet facts and statements were daily going the rounds, which were so well supported, and the reality of this mystical influence was so generally believed, that persons as reflecting and considerate even as they were, did not escape the incipient stages of the public malady.

The hour for tea had nearly arrived, when Walter entered the parlor of Mr. Ellerson. Mary was not at home, having engaged to pass the afternoon and evening with the Misses Higginson. Mr. and Mrs. Ellerson were also absent, and Walter, after having spent an hour with Mary and her companions, and engaged to return for her in the evening, went back to await the arrival of his friends, the Ellersons. They returned about seven o'clock, and the conversation was very soon directed to the prevailing topic of the day.

'You have a strange atmosphere in Salem,' said Walter; 'every thing looks unnatural and melancholy; I hope the witches have kept away from your house, Mr. Ellerson?'

'They would not find very pleasant quarters here, Walter; but as all the other houses in town are full, they may for want of better accommodations force their way in. Their reception might be somewhat cold, but I am told they are not very scrupulous where they once get possession.'

'It is a singular business,' replied Walter; 'but the more I think of it, the stronger is my conviction that it is all a fatal delusion, foolish, wonderful, and wicked. I have no patience with such follies. I have heard to-day stranger things than I ever read in the tales of the fairies, the legends of Bagdad, or the whole system of pagan fables.'

'You are always rash, Walter. You must look at the evidence in favor of any alleged fact, however strange, before you decide against its truth. Have you seen any who profess to be troubled by witches?'

'I have not,' said Walter; 'but that makes no difference; the stories are incredible. There is no such influence at the present day, if there ever was.'

'I am going this evening, Walter,' said Mr. Ellerson, 'to see for myself. There is a reputed witch, and a person said to be afflicted by her, who reside about half a mile from us. I shall be glad if you will go with me.'

'Nothing will please me better,' said Walter. 'I have often felt the influence of Satan, but have never seen him, and if he now makes his appearance in this gross, terrestrial atmosphere, I would like to know if my senses can discern him. I think we shall see he has many ways of making fools of even sober and considerate men.'

In a short time they set off, and a walk of ten minutes among the pleasant gardens and cottages of Salem, brought them to a house, where a crowd of people had gathered to witness the visible power of devils over men. As they entered the room, a female dressed in the rustic fashion of the country, was seated in a chair before them. She was pale and silent, but there was a wildness in her appearance, and a fierce expression in her eye, which indicated that strange elements were at work, suppressed for the time, but liable to act at any moment with fearful energy. A supposed witch was presently conducted into the room. She was an old lady, of tottering gait, and apparently in very feeble health, but perfectly self-possessed and quiet. At sight of her, the afflicted person sprang into the air, and uttering the wildest cries, she raved about the room, and was hardly restrained by the force of two men from escaping to the street. In a moment more, she sat down with comparative tranquillity; but again her frame was agitated, and she was suddenly lifted with no visible effort, and seemed for a moment suspended in the air; then falling on the floor, she was quiet a little while, when she gradually assumed a sitting posture, and began to reason with some master demon, and called upon the witch to cease her torment.

'I have nothing to do with your torment,' said the old lady.

'Then it is Satan that does it, by your means,' said the girl.

'I have nothing to do with Satan, and know not what your torments are,' was the reply.

'That is the way Satan blinds you. When you are gone, I have no suffering.'

'You have greatly wronged me,' replied the lady; 'and on this account I have no doubt my presence is painful to you. I hope God will forgive you, and restore that reason, which in his inscrutable wisdom he has taken away.'

The old lady was now removed from the room, when the afflicted person relapsed into a state of quiet, which was of course attributed to the absence of the exciting cause.

'This is a juggler's game, Mr. Ellerson,' said Walter; 'that person accused is no more a witch than I am. If it be not an intended cheat, it is a diseased mind, or a nervous irritability, which has been trained into a system, and acts with some regularity. These people are some of them knaves, and most of the remainder are fools; the reputed witch is the only one in her right mind.'

'I cannot decide so readily as you. There is some evidence in the Scriptures of the reality of visible, Satanic influence, but I am inclined to believe there has been little, if any of it, since the Christian era; but how that female preserves her stationary posture in the air, with no visible support, I cannot imagine. If you, Walter, are wise on this point, I wish you would enlighten me.'

'There is some mystery in it,' said Strale, 'but so there is in every thing. To believe such follies we must renounce common sense, and I had almost said a belief in a beneficent Providence. I have seen persons poised on the fingers of others, in such a manner as to be apparently unaffected by gravitation; the cause, no one explains; but if such cases are scrutinized, it will doubtless be found they are perfectly consistent with natural laws. Think you, Mr. Ellerson, it is possible that the devil has such power on earth?'

'He is the prince of the power of the air,' replied Mr. Ellerson. 'We know that in the time of Christ, he did exercise power over the bodies and minds of men, and may it not be impious in us to deny that he has such influence now, though it may be in less degree?'

'I would not be impious or irreverent on this or any other subject,' rejoined Walter; 'yet there are so many natural causes, which may account for these things, that I am very slow to attribute them to the agency of Satan. I believe a limited power over man is possessed by the arch apostate, but it seems to me the period of its physical developement was confined to the early ages of the Christian church, just as the age of miracles was measured and limited by the necessities of the church. I doubt not he retains power to tempt men. I have felt it myself, alas! too often; but, Mr. Ellerson, since I have known Mary, she has led me to a brighter path of contemplation and hope. I would be no visionary theorist; I would be an humble, serious, every-day Christian.'

'Such, dear Walter, I would have you to be. Such, indeed, I trust you are,' replied Mr. Ellerson. 'True piety enlightens as well as purifies; and let not, I pray you, this mysterious delusion, for such I must regard it, disturb your faith in that Gospel, which must be your only hope, for time and eternity. What will be the issue of these troubles, no one can tell. A dark cloud has come over the land; when it shall pass away is known only to Him, to whom darkness and the day are alike.'

They had now reached Mr. Ellerson's dwelling. It was a beautiful habitation, and the moon was shining brightly over the garden and a neighboring grove, and falling in placid radiance on a little stream which glided through the field. That spot is now covered by mansions of opulence and comparative grandeur; but the romance of the scene has passed away, the white fence of the garden is broken down; the bed of the stream is covered by the green earth, and the moonbeams shine over the works of taste and art; but not with the simplicity and grace in which they danced upon the forest oak and the tangled grove.

Walter remained a few days at Salem, and notwithstanding the state of things around him, it was one of the happiest periods of his life: another and a sweeter illusion occupied his mind; the bright pictures of coming days, undefaced by a single visible stain, passed in rapid succession before his charmed imagination; the hopes of future years gathered in beautiful groups on his eye, while he felt that the lovely object, around which these visions were glittering, would soon be his own.

During this brief period, the conversation of the two friends was devoted mainly to the subject of religion. The holy influences of the Gospel had found their way to the mind and heart of Strale. He saw in a new light the wonderful scheme of redemption; he admired and adored the grace which had made him a partaker of its blessings, and he resolved that his whole future life should illustrate its excellence and glory.

We need not speak of the joy that glowed in the heart of Mary, as she beheld and admired the change. Her cup of worldly happiness was full to overflowing; she looked even upon the distracted community around her in a calm reliance on Him who controls the tempest and stills its rage; but she saw not the dark cloud that was even then gathering in her sky; she heard not the dashing of those waves, which were soon to ingulf her dearest hopes. The song of the sirens was too sweet to be hushed by the distant thunder, and her unconscious feet were already treading on the fatal shore.