Act III: Scene II. — A Street in Salem Village. Enter Mather and Hathorne
MATHER.Yet one thing troubles me.
HATHORNE.And what is that?
MATHER.May not the Devil take the outward shapeOf innocent persons? Are we not in danger,Perhaps, of punishing some who are not guilty?
HATHORNE.As I have said, we do not trust aloneTo spectral evidence.
MATHER.And then again,If any shall be put to death for Witchcraft,We do but kill the body, not the soul.The Unclean Spirits that possessed them onceLive still, to enter into other bodies.What have we gained? Surely, there's nothing gained.
HATHORNE.Doth not the Scripture say, "Thou shalt not sufferA Witch to live"?
MATHER.The Scripture sayeth it,But speaketh to the Jews; and we are Christians.What say the laws of England?
HATHORNE.They make WitchcraftFelony without the benefit of Clergy.Witches are burned in England. You have read--For you read all things, not a book escapes you--The famous Demonology of King James?
MATHER.A curious volume. I remember alsoThe plot of the Two Hundred, with one Fian,The Registrar of the Devil, at their head,To drown his Majesty on his returnFrom Denmark; how they sailed in sieves or riddlesUnto North Berwick Kirk in Lothian,And, landing there, danced hand in hand, and sang,"Goodwife, go ye before! good wife, go ye!If ye'll not go before, goodwife, let me!"While Geilis Duncan played the Witches' ReelUpon a jews-harp.
HATHORNE.Then you know full wellThe English law, and that in England Witches,When lawfully convicted and attainted,Are put to death.
MATHER.When lawfully convicted;That is the point.
HATHORNE.You heard the evidenceProduced before us yesterday at the trialOf Bridget Bishop.
MATHER.One of the Afflicted,I know, bore witness to the apparitionOf ghosts unto the spectre of this Bishop,Saying, "You murdered us!" of the truth whereofThere was in matter of fact too much Suspicion.
HATHORNE.And when she cast her eyes on the Afflicted,They were struck down; and this in such a mannerThere could be no collusion in the business.And when the accused but laid her hand upon them,As they lay in their swoons, they straight revived,Although they stirred not when the others touched them.
MATHER.What most convinced me of the woman's guiltWas finding hidden in her cellar wallThose poppets made of rags, with headless pinsStuck into them point outwards, and whereofShe could not give a reasonable account.
HATHORNE.When you shall read the testimony givenBefore the Court in all the other cases,I am persuaded you will find the proofNo less conclusive than it was in this.Come, then, with me, and I will tax your patienceWith reading of the documents so farAs may convince you that these sorcerersAre lawfully convicted and attainted.Like doubting Thomas, you shall lay your handUpon these wounds, and you will doubt no more.{Exeunt.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- registrar n.
- One who registers; a recorder; a keeper of records; as, a registrar of births, deaths, and marriages. See Register, n., 3. [LL. registrarius, or F. régistraire. See Register.]
- kirk n.
- A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. Jamieson. [Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church.]
- goodwife n.
- The mistress of a house. Robynson (More's Utopia).
- spectre n.
- Something preternaturally visible; an apparition; a ghost; a phantom. [F. spectre, fr. L. spectrum an appearance, image, specter, fr. specere to look. See Spy, and cf. Spectrum.]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- collusion n.
- A secret agreement and cooperation for a fraudulent or deceitful purpose; a playing into each other's hands; deceit; fraud; cunning. [L. collusio: cf. F. collusion. See Collude.]
- headless a.
- Having no head; beheaded; as, a headless body, neck, or carcass. [AS. heáfodleás.]
- outwards adv.
- From the interior part; in a direction from the interior toward the exterior; out; to the outside; beyond; off; away; as, a ship bound outward. [AS. . See Out, and -ward, -wards.]
- convince v. t.
- To overpower; to overcome; to subdue or master. [L. convincere, -victum, to refute, prove; con- + vincere to conquer. See Victor, and cf. Convict.]
- exeunt
- They go out, or retire from the scene; as, exeunt all except Hamlet. See 1st Exit. [L., 3d pers. pl. pres. of exire to go out.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act III: Scene II. — A Street in Salem Village. Enter Mather and Hathorne is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Act III: Scene II. — A Street in Salem Village. Enter Mather and Hathorne, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/act-iii-scene-ii-a-street-in-salem-village-enter-mather-and-.html, id L19241.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene II. — A Street in Salem Village. Enter Mather and Hathorne is 86 lines in 16 stanzas.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 4 AA- hathorneA · aloneA · evidence
- 9 --A-A-A-BB-- mather · also · fianA · head · returnA · riddles · lothianA · sang · yeB · meB · reel · harp
- 13 --A--A mather · afflicted · apparitionA · bishop · whereof · suspicionA
- 14 ----A-A hathorne · afflicted · manner · business · themA · revived · themA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| MATHER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Yet one thing troubles me. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| HATHORNE. | 2 | /˘ |
| And what is that? | 4 | ···· |
| MATHER. | 2 | /˘ |
| May not the Devil take the outward shape | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Of innocent persons? Are we not in danger, | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Perhaps, of punishing some who are not guilty? | 11 | ˘/·/˘····/˘ |
| HATHORNE. | 2 | /˘ |
| As I have said, we do not trust alone | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To spectral evidence. | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| MATHER. | 2 | /˘ |
| And then again, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| If any shall be put to death for Witchcraft, | 11 | ·/˘······/· |
| We do but kill the body, not the soul. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The Unclean Spirits that possessed them once | 10 | ·˘//˘·˘/·· |
| Live still, to enter into other bodies. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| What have we gained? Surely, there's nothing gained. | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| HATHORNE. | 2 | /˘ |
| Doth not the Scripture say, "Thou shalt not suffer | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| A Witch to live"? | 4 | ···· |
| MATHER. | 2 | /˘ |
| The Scripture sayeth it, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| But speaketh to the Jews; and we are Christians. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| What say the laws of England? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| HATHORNE. | 2 | /˘ |
| They make Witchcraft | 4 | ··/· |
| Felony without the benefit of Clergy. | 11 | /˘···/˘˘·/˘ |
| Witches are burned in England. You have read-- | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| For you read all things, not a book escapes you-- | 11 | ········˘/· |
| The famous Demonology of King James? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| MATHER. | 2 | /˘ |
| A curious volume. I remember also | 11 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| The plot of the Two Hundred, with one Fian, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The Registrar of the Devil, at their head, | 10 | ·/˘···/··· |
| To drown his Majesty on his return | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| From Denmark; how they sailed in sieves or riddles | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| Unto North Berwick Kirk in Lothian, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| And, landing there, danced hand in hand, and sang, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| "Goodwife, go ye before! good wife, go ye! | 10 | /˘········ |
| If ye'll not go before, goodwife, let me!" | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| While Geilis Duncan played the Witches' Reel | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Upon a jews-harp. | 5 | ····· |
| HATHORNE. | 2 | /˘ |
| Then you know full well | 5 | ····· |
| The English law, and that in England Witches, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| When lawfully convicted and attainted, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘···· |
| Are put to death. | 4 | ···· |
| MATHER. | 2 | /˘ |
| When lawfully convicted; | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| That is the point. | 4 | ···· |
| HATHORNE. | 2 | /˘ |
| You heard the evidence | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Produced before us yesterday at the trial | 12 | ˘/···/˘···/˘ |
| Of Bridget Bishop. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| MATHER. | 2 | /˘ |
| One of the Afflicted, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| I know, bore witness to the apparition | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Of ghosts unto the spectre of this Bishop, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Saying, "You murdered us!" of the truth whereof | 11 | /˘·/˘······ |
| There was in matter of fact too much Suspicion. | 12 | ···/˘····˘/˘ |
| HATHORNE. | 2 | /˘ |
| And when she cast her eyes on the Afflicted, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| They were struck down; and this in such a manner | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| There could be no collusion in the business. | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| And when the accused but laid her hand upon them, | 12 | ···˘/······· |
| As they lay in their swoons, they straight revived, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Although they stirred not when the others touched them. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| MATHER. | 2 | /˘ |
| What most convinced me of the woman's guilt | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Was finding hidden in her cellar wall | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Those poppets made of rags, with headless pins | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Stuck into them point outwards, and whereof | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| She could not give a reasonable account. | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| HATHORNE. | 2 | /˘ |
| When you shall read the testimony given | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Before the Court in all the other cases, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| I am persuaded you will find the proof | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| No less conclusive than it was in this. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Come, then, with me, and I will tax your patience | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| With reading of the documents so far | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| As may convince you that these sorcerers | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Are lawfully convicted and attainted. | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘···· |
| Like doubting Thomas, you shall lay your hand | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Upon these wounds, and you will doubt no more. | 10 | ·········· |
| {Exeunt. | 3 | /˘˘ |
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