A Vindication of Cotton Mather From Accusations He Was At The Witch Trials

Mr. Upham is never at a loss to know what Mr. Mather" contemplated " on any occasion , - what " he longed for,"
what " he would have been glad to have, " — what " he looked
upon with secret pleasure," — and what " he was secretly and
cunningly endeavoring " to do. Mr. Peabody also knows when
" Cotton Mather was in his element," and what he enjoyed
the great felicity of." We do not hope to follow these writers
into the dark recesses of Mr. Mather's mind ; but in the course
of this investigation we shall take up some of their statements
and examine them in the light of evidence that may be regarded as historical. William Poole, 1869