intelligence of the new horrors
sprung up in Salem, and as being one of the Church militant (or what
the Puritans considered as equivalent to the Church militant) against
Satan, he was welcomed by her in an unusual manner.

He seemed oppressed with the occurrences of the day: at first it
appeared to be almost a relief to him to sit still, and cogitate upon
them, and his hosts were becoming almost impatient for him to say
something more than mere monosyllables, when he began:

'Such a day as this, I pray that I may never see again. It is as if the
devils whom our Lord banished into the herd of swine, had been
permitted to come again upon the earth. And I would it were only the
lost spirits who were tormenting us; but I much fear, that certain of
those whom we have esteemed as God's people have sold their souls to
Satan, for the sake of a little of his evil power, whereby they may
afflict others for a time. Elder Sherringham hath lost this very day a
good and valuable horse, wherewith he used to drive his family to
meeting, his wife being bedridden.'

'Perchance,' said Lois, 'the horse died of some natural disease.'

'True,' said Pastor Nolan; 'but I was going on to say, that as he
entered into his house, full of dolour at the loss of his beast, a
mouse ran in before him so sudden that it almost tripped him up, though
an instant before there was no such thing to be seen; and he caught at
it with his shoe and hit it, and it cried out like a human creature in
pain, and straight ran up the chimney, caring nothing for the hot flame
and smoke.'

Manasseh listened greedily to all this story, and when it was ended he
smote upon his breast, and prayed aloud for deliverance from the power
of the Evil One; and he continually went on praying at intervals
through the evening, with every mark of abject terror on his face and
in his manner--he, the bravest, most daring hunter in all the
settlement. Indeed, all the family huddled together in silent fear,
scarcely finding any interest in the usual household occupations. Faith
and Lois sat with arms entwined, as in days before the former had
become jealous of the latter; Prudence asked low, fearful questions of
her mother and of the pastor as to the creatures that were abroad, and
the ways in which they afflicted others; and when Grace besought the
minister to pray for her and her household, he made a long and
passionate supplication that none of that little flock might ever so
far