and drill, are names inscribed on the rolls of history for deeds of
heroism and prowess.

There was the usual diversity and variety of character among the
people of the village. John Procter originally lived in Ipswich, where
he, as well as his father before him, had a farm of considerable
value. In 1666, or about that time, he removed to Salem, and carried
on the Downing farm, which had before been leased to the Flints. After
a while, Procter purchased a part of it. If a conclusion can be drawn
from the prevalent type of his posterity of our day, he was a man of
herculean frame. There is, I think, a tradition to this effect. At any
rate, his character was of that stamp. He had great native force and
energy. He was bold in his spirit and in his language,--an upright
man, no doubt, as the whole tone of the memorials of him indicate, but
free and imprudent in speech, impulsive in feeling, and sometimes rash
in action. He was liable from this cause, as we shall see, to get into
contention and give offence. There was Jeremiah Watts, a
representative of a class of men existing in every community where the
intellect is stimulated and idiosyncrasies allowed to develop
themselves. By occupation he was a dish-turner, but by temperament an
enthusiast, a zealot, and an agitator. He was not satisfied with
things as they were, nor willing to give time an opportunity to
improve them. He took hold of the horns of the altar with daring
hands. He denounced the Church and the world,--undertook to overturn
every thing, and to put all on a new foundation. He entered on a
crusade against what he called "pulpit preaching," whereby particular
persons, called ministers, "may deliver what they please, and none
must object; and this we must pay largely for; our bread must be taken
out of our mouths, to maintain the beast's mark; and be wholly
deprived of our Christian privileges. This is the time of Antichrist's