history, of a revolution of opinion and feeling so sudden, so rapid, and so complete.  The images and visions that had possessed the bewildered imaginations of the people flitted away, and left them standing in the sunshine of reason and their senses; and they could have exclaimed, as they witnessed them passing off, in the language of the great master of the drama and of human nature, but that their rigid Puritan principles would not, it is presumed, have permitted them, even in that moment of rescue and deliverance, to quote Shakspeare,—­

    “The earth hath bubbles, as the water has,
    And these are of them.  Whither are they vanished? 
    Into the air; and what seemed corporal, melted
    As breath into the wind.”

Sir William Phips well knew that the public sentiment demanded a stop to be put to the prosecutions.  Besides that many of the people had lost all faith in the grounds on which they had been conducted, an influence from the higher orders of society began to make itself felt.  Hutchinson says, “Although many such had suffered, yet there remained in prison a number of women of as reputable families as any in the towns where they lived, and several persons, of still superior rank, were hinted at by the pretended bewitched, or by the confessing witches.  Some had been publicly named.  Dudley Bradstreet, a justice of peace, who had been appointed one of President Dudley’s council, and who was son to the worthy old governor, then living, found it necessary to abscond.  Having been remiss in prosecuting, he had been charged by some of the afflicted as a confederate.  His brother, John Bradstreet, was forced to fly also.”

The termination of the proceedings was probably effectually secured by the spirited course of certain parties in Andover, who, at the first moment of its appearing that the public sentiment was changing, commenced actions for slander against the accusers.

The result of the whole matter was, that, while some of the judges, magistrates, and ministers persisted in their fanatical zeal, the great body of the people, high and low, were rescued from the delusion.

While, in the course of our story, we have witnessed some shocking instances of the violation of the most sacred affections and obligations of life, in husbands and wives, parents and children, testifying against each other, and exerting themselves for mutual destruction, we must not overlook the many instances in which filial, parental, and fraternal fidelity and love have shone conspicuously.  It was dangerous to befriend an accused person.  Procter stood by his wife to protect her, and it cost him his life.  Children protested against the treatment of their parents, and they were all thrown into prison.  Daniel Andrew, a citizen of high standing, who had been deputy to the General Court, asserted, in the boldest language, his belief of Rebecca Nurse’s innocence; and he had to fly the country to save his life.  Many