. Hibbins suffered for her feminine penetration.

Acquittals were not unknown, but they were rare. But whether acquitted
or not, those accused of witchcraft, who were not seldom women of
extremely refined and gentle natures, were subjected to many indignities
as well as great cruelties during the time they rested under suspicion
or charge. These outrages, effected for the purpose of proving or
testing the witches, were in some cases of such a nature as to make it
undesirable to do more than allude to them. In like manner, the
punishments on conviction were often carried out in a manner revolting
to the delicacy of the condemned. It is recorded, however, that on one
occasion, where the accused had confessed to doing most wonderful
things, the jury, marvellously gifted with common sense, simply found
that said accused had lied in the confession, whereupon the court passed
sentence of a fine or a whipping; but such a jury was very rare, and one
of the most remarkable features of the whole matter is found in the
confessions of the self-styled witches. When Goody Glover, in 1688, was
accused of having bewitched a child named Margaret Goodwin, in revenge
for an accusation of theft, she was visited in prison by Cotton Mather,
and to him she confessed that she had made a compact with the Evil One
and was in the habit of frequenting Sabbats held by him. She had been
sentenced, and the confession could do her no possible good or harm; it
and all of its kind must have been dictated by a sheer hysterical
nervousness or else by a fanatical craze for notoriety. Indeed, it was
in those days a badge of distinction, albeit a perilous one, to be
declared a witch; and next in fame was to enjoy the reputation of having
been bewitched by some noted sorceress. Of this latter insanity the
above-named Margaret Goodwin was a notable example. Though but a child,
she was shrewd enough to enjoy the attention which she excited as a
victim of witchcraft; and she steadfastly refused to be cured, even
though Cotton Mather, then but a young preacher, took her into his own
home for treatment. As a somewhat peculiar and in some ways
characteristic product of her time and place Margaret Goodwin deserves a
moment's attention from us. She was a perfect little elf in shrewdness
and she could act like a Rachel. She was determined that she would not
lose the notoriety and the comfortable home which she had found, so she
played her part to perfection. Mather hat