On Friday
28th October 1743, The Derby Mercury
contained a fascinating glimpse of life after the passing of
the 1735 Witchcraft Act. Found under "Bristol" in the paper's “Country
News” section, readers are assured that:
There
follows the story of a shoemaker or cobbler who lived in a place
going from Horse Street to St. Michael's Hill in the city. He had, on
several occasions, exchanged harsh words with an elderly woman who
lived in the same area, calling her“Old Witch” and “Old Devil”.
The reason for this animosity is not recorded, but it seems that the
woman – one might say with good reason – did not take too kindly to being
insulted in such a fashion. In retaliation, she is alleged to have
sent a cat to his house, which marked the beginning of the end for
the unwary cobbler.
St Michael's Hill, Bristol
Being
quite certain that he was not going to allow the animal into his
house, the man did his best to cast it away again. Unfortunately, or
so the story goes, the cat took exception to this ejection, and:
“The
Cat catch'd his Finger, and held it so fast, that it would not let
him go, 'till it was squeez'd to Death.”
Who did
the squeezing is not recorded, nor is the woman's reaction to the
loss of her supposed pet, but the cobbler's reprieve was all too
brief. A short while after the incident he suffered from severe pain
in his arm and shoulder, and, despite being dipped a total of nine
times in the water at Sea Mills, his life was unable to be saved, and
he died “in the utmost Agony and Pain.”
Sea-Mills, Bristol
The story, readers are assured, was handed to the paper by a “Gentleman of undoubted Veracity and
Reputation”, the intention, no doubt, to establish that it was indeed the
truth and not some superstitious nonsense dreamed up in the villages
by those who still, it seemed, did not know any better. It would be
fascinating indeed to learn the name of the gentleman who informed
the paper of the story, and also the identity of the ill-fated
cobbler, and I suspect that finding out will be on my research “To
Do” list for the near future, along with a good many other "Need to Knows"!
What
though of the story itself? The sending of a familiar to get revenge
on an enemy was a regular, almost expected, feature of witchcraft cases during the 16th and 17th
centuries, and despite the passing of the Witchcraft Act of 1735,
such beliefs were still widely held. It is possible that the woman
did indeed coax the cat towards the cobbler's house in an attempt to
annoy him, or it may be that the animal was nothing to do with her
and, rather than being an active participant in the feud, she wanted
nothing more than to be left alone by this less than
neighbourly-neighbour.
Regardless
of the identity of the cat, there is no need to look to malicious magic for an
answer to the man's untimely demise. A cat bite, although rare, can
actually be incredibly dangerous, much more so than a dog bite or
that by another household pet. A cat bite turns infectious in around
50% of cases, and that infection can quickly spread through the blood
and to internal organs, leading to an excruciating death like that
experience by our cobbler if left untreated. Even with antibiotics
and modern medicine, an infected cat bite is no laughing matter, and
with 18th Century conditions and hygiene standards, it is
unlikely that he would have stood much of a chance, especially given
the severity of the bite described.
A somewhat friendlier depiction of
an 18th Century cat.
Sea Mills, where the man was dipped, is now a suburb of Bristol, and rests towards the sea-end of the Avon Gorge, North-West of the city centre. In 1712, a Bristol merchant named Joshua Franklyn, built a wet dock at Sea Mills, to remove the need for larger ships to negotiate quite so far up the River Avon. The endeavour was short-lived however, and by the end of the 18th Century the harbour fell into disuse. The benefits of bathing in sea water have long been documented, salt being credited with all manner of restorative properties. Doctor Richard Russell (1687-1759) recommended the use of salt water for glandular diseases in his 1750 treatise, Dissertation on the Use of Sea Water in Diseases of the Glands, while William Buchan also espoused the health benefits in his 1769 Domestic Medicine. Where witches and demons are concerned, a salt water remedy is still an option today as a spiritual remedy for removing negative energy,
such as that caused by ghosts and other unwanted spirits. The afflicted person
sits with their feet in the prepared water, while the salt draws out the "black" energy.
It is interesting also that
it was the afflicted man who was dipped in the water, rather than the
suspected witch being dunked to ascertain her guilt (a practice that
still continued unofficially despite the lack of support from those
in authority,) reflecting a subtle change in popular belief or at least what people felt they could get away with.
On that note, take heed from the end of the unfortunate cobbler from
Bristol: Be careful what you say and to whom you say it...
Map showing St. Michael's Hill,(main road to the left)
leading up towards the gallows where, a few
years before,
the “witch” would very possibly have met her own
end.
