sought him out to tell him some news that he
thought might interest the grave miller of the
Avonside. Captain Holdernesse told him that
in the previous year, it was then 1713, the
sentence of excommunication against the witches
of Salem was ordered in godly sacramental
meeting of the church to be erased and blotted
out, and that those who met together for this
purpose "humbly requested the merciful God
would pardon whatsoever sin, error, or mistake
was in the application of justice through our
merciful High Priest, who knoweth how to have
compassion on the ignorant, and those that are
out of the way." He also said that Prudence
Hickson—now woman grown—had made a
most touching and pungent declaration of sorrow
and repentance oefore the whole church, for
the false and mistaken testimony she had given
in several instances, among which she particularly
mentioned that of her cousin Lois Barclay.
To all which Ralph Lucy only answered,

"No repentance of theirs can bring her back
to life."

Then Captain Holdernesse took out a paper,
and read the following humble and solemn
declaration of regret on the part of those who
signed it, among whom Grace Hickson was one:

"We, whose names are undersigned, being,
in the year 1692, called to serve as jurors in
court at Salem, on trial of many who were by
some suspected guilty of doing acts of witchcraft
upon the bodies of sundry persons; we
confess that we ourselves were not capable to
understand, nor able to withstand, the mysterious
delusions of the powers of darkness, and prince
of the air, but were, for want of knowledge in
ourselves, and better information from others,
prevailed with to take up with such evidence
against the accused, as, on further consideration,
and better information, we justly fear was
insufficient for the touching the lives of any (Deut.
xvii. 6), whereby we fear we have been
instrumental, with others, though ignorantly and
unwittingly, to bring upon ourselves and this people
of the Lord the guilt of innocent blood; which
sin, the Lord saith in Scripture, he would not
pardon (2 Kings, xxiv. 4), that is, we suppose,
in regard of his temporal judgments. We do,
therefore, signify to all in general (and to the
surviving sufferers in special) our deep sense of,
and sorrow for, our errors, in acting on such
evidence to the condemning of any person; and
do hereby declare, that we justly fear that we
were sadly deluded and mistaken, for which we
are much disquieted and distressed in our
minds, and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness,
first of God for Christ's sake, for this our error;
and pray that God would not impute the guilt of
it to ourselves nor others; and we also pray
that we may be considered candidly and aright
by the living sufferers, as being then under the
power of a strong and general delusion, utterly
unacquainted with, and not experienced in,
matters of that nature.

We do heartily ask forgiveness of you all,
whom we have justly offended; and do declare,
according to our present minds; we would none
of us do such things again on such grounds for
he whole world; praying you to accept of this
in way of satisfaction for our offence, and that
you would bless the inheritance of the Lord, that
he may be entreated for the land.
                              Foreman, THOMAS FISK, &c.

To the reading of this paper Ralph Lucy made
no reply save this, even more gloomily than before:

"All their repentance will avail nothing to
my Lois, nor will it bring back her life."

Then Captain Holdernesse spoke once more,
and said that on the day of the general fast,
appointed to be held all through New England,
when the meeting-houses were crowded, an old,
old man with white hair had stood up in the place
in which he was accustomed to worship, and had
handed up into the pulpit a written confession,
which he had once or twice essayed to read for
himself, acknowledging his great and grievous
error in the matter of the witches of Salem, and
praying for the forgiveness of God and of his
people, ending with an entreaty that all then
present would join with him in prayer that his
past conduct might not bring down the
displeasure of the Most High upon his country,
his family, or himself. That old man, who was
no other than Justice Sewall, remained standing
all the time that his confession was read; and
at the end he said, "The good and gracious God
be pleased to save New England and me and my
family." And then it came out that for years
past Judge Sewall had set apart a day for humiliation
and prayer to keep fresh in his mind a sense
of repentance and sorrow for the part he had
borne in these trials, and that this solemn
anniversary he was pledged to keep as long as he
lived, to show his feeling of deep humiliation.

Ralph Lucy's voice trembled as he spoke.
"All this will not bring my Lois to life again,
or give me back the hope of my youth."

But—as Captain Holdernesse shook his head
(for what word could he say, or how dispute what
was so evidently true)—Ralph added, "What is
the day, know you,that this justice has set apart?"

"The twenty-ninth of April."

"Then on that day will I, here at Barford in
England, join my prayers as long as I live with
the repentant judge, that his sin may be blotted
out and no more had in remembrance. She
would have willed it so."

         On Thursday next will be published, price 5s. 6d.,
                                   bound in cloth,
                              THE FIRST VOLUME
          (Containing from Nos. 1 to 26, both inclusive) of
                            ALL THE YEAR ROUND,
                      To be had of all Booksellers.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.