The Lancashire Witches by William Harrison Ainsworth (i read a book TXT) 📖

and reared by Dame Croft, the miller's wife of Whalley; but even in those early days she exhibited such a malicious and vindictive disposition, and became so unmanageable, that the good dame was glad to get rid of her, and sent her into the forest, where she found a home at Rough Lee, then occupied by Miles Nutter, the grandfather of the late Richard Nutter."

"Aha!" exclaimed Potts, "was Mother Demdike so early connected with that family? I must make a note of that circumstance."

"She remained at Rough Lee for some years," returned Sudall, "and though accounted of an ill disposition, there was nothing to be alleged against her at the time; though afterwards, it was said, that some mishaps that befell the neighbours were owing to her agency, and that she was always attended by a familiar in the form of a rat or a mole. Whether this were so or not, I cannot say; but it is certain that she helped Miles Nutter to get rid of his wife, and procured him a second spouse, in return for which services he bestowed upon her an old ruined tower on his domains."

"You mean Malkin Tower?" said Nicholas.

"Ay, Malkin Tower," replied the chirurgeon. "There is a legend connected with that structure, which I will relate to you anon, if you desire it. But to proceed. Scarcely had Bess Demdike taken up her abode in this lone tower, than it began to be rumoured that she was a witch, and attended sabbaths on the summit of Pendle Hill, and on Rimington Moor. Few would consort with her, and ill-luck invariably attended those with whom she quarrelled. Though of hideous and forbidding aspect, and with one eye lower set than the other, she had subtlety enough to induce a young man named Sothernes to marry her, and two children, a son and a daughter, were the fruit of the union."

"The daughter I have seen at Whalley," observed Potts; "but I have never encountered the son."

"Christopher Demdike still lives, I believe," replied the chirurgeon, "though what has become of him I know not, for he has quitted these parts. He is as ill-reputed as his mother, and has the same strange and fearful look about the eyes."

"I shall recognise him if I see him," observed Potts.

"You are scarcely likely to meet him," returned Sudall, "for, as I have said, he has left the forest. But to return to my story. The marriage state was little suitable to Bess Demdike, and in five years she contrived to free herself from her husband's restraint, and ruled alone in the tower. Her malignant influence now began to be felt throughout the whole district, and by dint of menaces and positive acts of mischief, she extorted all she required. Whosoever refused her requests speedily experienced her resentment. When she was in the fulness of her power, a rival sprang up in the person of Anne Whittle, since known by the name of Chattox, which she obtained in marriage, and this woman disputed Bess Demdike's supremacy. Each strove to injure the adherents of her rival--and terrible was the mischief they wrought. In the end, however, Mother Demdike got the upper hand. Years have flown over the old hag's head, and her guilty career has been hitherto attended with impunity. Plans have been formed to bring her to justice, but they have ever failed. And so in the case of old Chattox. Her career has been as baneful and as successful as that of Mother Demdike."

"But their course is wellnigh run," said Potts, "and the time is come for the extirpation of the old serpents."

"Ah! who is that at the window?" cried Sudall; "but that you are sitting near me, I should declare you were looking in at us."

"It must be Master Potts's brother, the reeve of the forest," observed Nicholas, with a laugh.

"Heed him not," cried the attorney, angrily, "but let us have the promised legend of Malkin Tower."

"Willingly!" replied the chirurgeon. "But before I begin I must recruit myself with a can of ale."

The flagon being set before him, Sudall commenced his story:

The Legend of Malkin Tower.

"On the brow of a high hill forming part of the range of
Pendle, and commanding an extensive view over the forest, and
the wild and mountainous region around it, stands a stern
solitary tower. Old as the Anglo-Saxons, and built as a
stronghold by Wulstan, a Northumbrian thane, in the time of
Edmund or Edred, it is circular in form and very lofty, and
serves as a landmark to the country round. Placed high up in
the building the door was formerly reached by a steep flight
of stone steps, but these were removed some fifty or sixty
years ago by Mother Demdike, and a ladder capable of being
raised or let down at pleasure substituted for them,
affording the only apparent means of entrance. The tower is
otherwise inaccessible, the walls being of immense thickness,
with no window lower than five-and-twenty feet from the
ground, though it is thought there must be a secret outlet;
for the old witch, when she wants to come forth, does not
wait for the ladder to be let down. But this may be otherwise
explained. Internally there are three floors, the lowest
being placed on a level with the door, and this is the
apartment chiefly occupied by the hag. In the centre of this
room is a trapdoor opening upon a deep vault, which forms the
basement story of the structure, and which was once used as a
dungeon, but is now tenanted, it is said, by a fiend, who can
be summoned by the witch on stamping her foot. Round the room
runs a gallery contrived in the thickness of the walls, while
the upper chambers are gained by a secret staircase, and
closed by movable stones, the machinery of which is only
known to the inmate of the tower. All the rooms are lighted
by narrow loopholes. Thus you will see that the fortress is
still capable of sustaining a siege, and old Demdike has been
heard to declare that she would hold it for a month against a
hundred men. Hitherto it has proved impregnable.

"On the Norman invasion, Malkin Tower was held by Ughtred, a
descendant of Wulstan, who kept possession of Pendle Forest
and the hills around it, and successfully resisted the
aggressions of the conquerors. His enemies affirmed he was
assisted by a demon, whom he had propitiated by some fearful
sacrifice made in the tower, and the notion seemed borne out
by the success uniformly attending his conflicts. Ughtred's
prowess was stained by cruelty and rapine. Merciless in the
treatment of his captives, putting them to death by horrible
tortures, or immuring them in the dark and noisome dungeon of
his tower, he would hold his revels over their heads, and
deride their groans. Heaps of treasure, obtained by pillage,
were secured by him in the tower. From his frequent acts of
treachery, and the many foul murders he perpetrated, Ughtred
was styled the 'Scourge of the Normans.' For a long period he
enjoyed complete immunity from punishment; but after the
siege of York, and the defeat of the insurgents, his
destruction was vowed by Ilbert de Lacy, lord of
Blackburnshire, and this fierce chieftain set fire to part of
the forest in which the Saxon thane and his followers were
concealed; drove them to Malkin Tower; took it after an
obstinate and prolonged defence, and considerable loss to
himself, and put them all to the sword, except the leader,
whom he hanged from the top of his own fortress. In the
dungeon were found many carcasses, and the greater part of
Ughtred's treasure served to enrich the victor.

"Once again, in the reign of Henry VI., Malkin Tower became a
robber's stronghold, and gave protection to a freebooter
named Blackburn, who, with a band of daring and desperate
marauders, took advantage of the troubled state of the
country, ravaged it far and wide, and committed unheard of
atrocities, even levying contributions upon the Abbeys of
Whalley and Salley, and the heads of these religious
establishments were glad to make terms with him to save their
herds and stores, the rather that all attempts to dislodge
him from his mountain fastness, and destroy his band, had
failed. Blackburn seemed to enjoy the same kind of protection
as Ughtred, and practised the same atrocities, torturing and
imprisoning his captives unless they were heavily ransomed.
He also led a life of wildest licence, and, when not engaged
in some predatory exploit, spent his time in carousing with
his followers.

"Upon one occasion it chanced that he made a visit in
disguise to Whalley Abbey, and, passing the little hermitage
near the church, beheld the votaress who tenanted it. This
was Isole de Heton. Ravished by her wondrous beauty,
Blackburn soon found an opportunity of making his passion
known to her, and his handsome though fierce lineaments
pleasing her, he did not long sigh in vain. He frequently
visited her in the garb of a Cistertian monk, and, being
taken for one of the brethren, his conduct brought great
scandal upon the Abbey. The abandoned votaress bore him a
daughter, and the infant was conveyed away by the lover, and
placed under the care of a peasant's wife, at Barrowford.
From that child sprung Bess Blackburn, the mother of old
Demdike; so that the witch is a direct descendant of Isole de
Heton.

"Notwithstanding all precautions, Isole's dark offence became
known, and she would have