Thecooper’scrazywife——crazyinthebeliefthatshehascommittedtheunpardonablesin——triestodrownherchild，tosaveitfrommisery；andthepoorlunatic，whowouldbetenderlycaredforto-dayinaquietasylum，isjudgedtobeactingundertheinstigationofSatanhimself。“Yet，afterall，whatcanwesay，whoputBunyan’s“Pilgrim’sProgress，“fullofnightmaredreamsofhorror，intoallourchildren’shands；astoryinwhichtheawfulimageofthemaninthecagemightwellturnthenurserywhereitisreadintoamadhouse？
Themiserabledelusionofwitchcraftillustrates，inastillmoreimpressiveway，thefalseideaswhichgovernedthesupposedrelationofmenwiththespiritualworld。Ihavenodoubtmanyphysicianssharedinthesesuperstitions。Mr。Uphamsaysthey——thatis，someofthem——wereinthehabitofattributingtheirwantofsuccesstothefact，thatan“evilhand“wasontheirpatient。Thetemptationwasstrong，nodoubt，whenmagistratesandministersandallthatfollowedtheirleadwerecontentedwithsuchanexplanation。ButhowwasitinSalem，accordingtoMr。Upham’sownstatement？Dr。JohnSwinnertonwas，hesays，formanyyearstheprincipalphysicianofSalem。Andhesays，also，“TheSwinnertonfamilywereallalongopposedtoMr。Parris，andkeptremarkablyclearfromthewitchcraftdelusion。“Dr。JohnSwinnerton——thesame，bytheway，whosememoryisilluminatedbyarayfromthegeniusofHawthorne——diedtheveryyearbeforethegreatwitchcraftexplosiontookplace。Butwhocandoubtthatitwasfromhimthatthefamilyhadlearnedtodespiseandtoresistthebasesuperstition；orthatBridgetBishop，whosehouseherented，asMr。Uphamtellsme，thefirstpersonhangedinthetimeofthedelusion，wouldhavefoundanefficientprotectorinhertenant，hadhebeenliving，toheadtheoppositionofhisfamilytothemisguidedclergymenandmagistrates？
IcannotdoubtthatourearlyphysiciansbroughtwiththemmanyOld-
Worldmedicalsuperstitions，andIhavenoquestionthattheyweremoreorlessinvolvedintheprevailingerrorsofthecommunityinwhichtheylived。But，onthewhole，theirrecordisacleanone，sofaraswecangetatit；andwhereitisquestionablewemustrememberthattheremusthavebeenmanylittle-educatedpersonsamongthem；andthatallmusthavefelt，tosomeextent，theinfluenceofthosesincereanddevotedbutunsafemen，thephysic-practisingclergymen，whooftenusedspiritualmeansasasubstitutefortemporalones，wholookeduponahystericpatientaspossessedbythedevil，andtreatedafracturedskullbyprayersandplasters，followingtheadviceofarulingelderinoppositiontotheunanimousopinionofsevensurgeons。“
Towhatresultstheunionofthetwoprofessionswasliabletolead，maybeseenbytheexampleofalearnedandfamousperson，whohasleftonrecordtheproductofhislaborsinthedoublecapacityofclergymanandphysician。