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the keeper, and the woman was set at liberty. It was not long after this, that lady Phipps herself was suspected, if not accused, of witchcraft.

The history of this delusion is not one to be merely deplored, or laughed at. It is an instructive history, and particularly so at the present day. We live in an age of marvels, some of them claiming to be well attested, and challenging the belief of the community. But if we compare the wonders of this age with those of Salem and the vicinity, in 1692, we shall find that the latter have even stronger evidence in their favor, than the former. The latter were attested, in some instances, by hundreds of witnesses, and were recorded by grave men on the page of history. And now, if any one asks whether I believe the witch stories of 1692, I answer, that I as much believe them, as I do that sleep-walkers in our day visit the moon and the planets, hold converse with their inhabitants, receive letters from the spiritual world, and perform other feats equally strange and unaccountable. The evidence in favor of the witch stories is greater, I repeat, than that for the marvels of our own times; and the faith of those who have full confidence in the latter, ought not to mis. give or stagger at the former.

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But to return from this digression. The delusion under which our fathers labored respecting witchcraft, was as short-lived, as it was violent. The people were soon awakened by a sense of their common danger; and though a few individuals here and there, continued to urge prosecutions, the juries refused to convict. And one of the last public acts of Sir William Phipps was to issue a general pardon to all who had been convicted or accused of the offence.

At an early period in his administration, the new Governor was called to contend with a class of enemies more tangible, if not more formidable, than witches and demons. An Indian war had broken out again on the Eastern frontier, and was raging in different parts of Maine. To restore confidence to the settlers, and to afford the best means of restraining and repelling the enemy, it was determined to erect a strong fortress, at some central point along the coast. The site selected for this purpose was on the Pemaquid river, near the mouth, at the Southern extremity of what is now Bristol, Maine. A fort had previously existed there, which the Indians had destroyed; but a more permanent one was now to be erected. For this purpose the Governor, attended by

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Major Church and four hundred and fifty men, embarked at Boston, in August, 1692, and shortly after arrived at Pamaquid. The fort was in a quadrangular form, and the walls were of stone. It was named Fort William Henry; and was of great service both to the settlers and the government. The war with the Indians was now pursued with so much vigor, that in the course of a few months, they were inclined to peace. A treaty was formed and signed at Pemaquid, in August of the following year.

While the peace continued, Governor Phipps took all proper measures to conciliate the good will of the Indians, and induce them to break off their connection with the French. For this purpose, he made several voyages from Boston to Pemaquid, and had repeated interviews with their principal chiefs. On one occasion, he took an Indian preacher with him, for the purpose of instructing them in Protestant Christianity. But the artifices of the Jesuits were as various as they were contemptible, and their influence, in the end, proved too strong for him. The chiefs would receive the Governor's presents, and make fair promises; but on the first favorable opportunity, would renew their depredations.

As a specimen of the kind of instruction which the Catholic priests of that day afforded the Indians, I may notice the following: The Indians were taught, says Mather, that the blessed virgin, the mother of our Saviour, was a French lady; and that the soldiers who crucified him were Englishmen. Hence, to destroy an Englishman was regarded by them as a meritorious service.

Governor Phipps' administration was short; and though one of great service to the country, it was not altogether peaceful or pleasant to himself. That party in the Province who were averse to the new charter, would naturally oppose the man by whose influence, in a considerable degree, the charter was procured, and who was the first to administer the government under it. These men were the persevering, unrelenting demagogues of the times; and they lost no opportunity of thwarting the Governor's measures, impugning his motives, and resisting his authority and influence.

In connection with these, there was a clique of selfish, interested individuals at the English court. More especially, the infamous Joseph Dudley was there, intriguing and plotting against the Governor, that he might effect his removal,

and have his place. Dudley had been a principal counselor and minister of Sir Edmund Andros, and by this means had made himself so odious in New England, that he was obliged to flee his country. But he was now scheming and planning to return, and that, too, not as a private citizen, but as the chief magistrate;-a design, which, after a while, he accomplished, much to the discomfort of all good men.

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But Governor Phipps' troubles arose, alone from the machinations of his enemies, but in part, (for the truth must be told) from his own indiscretions. He had been bred a sailor, not a governor; and his habits were better adapted to the control of a literal ship, than to the direction of the ship of state. His heart was kind and generous-this no one could doubt; but his tem per was hasty, and unused to restraint, and this led him, in a few instances, to say and do things which were not becoming the dignity of his station.

His first quarrel was with one Brenton, collector of the port of Boston, who refused to obey his orders, and whom he chastised with his own hands. He had a similar difficulty with Captain Short, of the None-Such Frigate, which was stationed at the time at Boston. The Gov.