the distribution of the estate, and what he expected of his children.  He gave them immediate occupancy and possession of their respective portions.  The provision made by the old man for his comfort, and the conditions required of his children, are curious.  They give an interesting insight of the life of a rural patriarch.  He reserved his “great chair and cushion;” a great chest; his bed and bedding; wardrobe, linen and woollen; a pewter pot; one mare, bridle, saddle, and sufficient fodder; the whole of the crop of corn, both Indian and English, he had made that year.  The children were to discharge all the debts of his estate, pay him fourteen pounds a year, and contribute equally, as much more as might be necessary for his comfortable maintenance, and also to his “decent burial.”  The labors of his life had closed.  He had borne the heaviest burden that can be laid on the heart of a good man.  He found rest, and sought solace and support, in the society and love of his children and their families, as he rode from house to house on the road he had opened, by which they all communicated with each other.  The parish records show that he continued his interest in its affairs.  He lived just long enough to behold sure evidence that justice would be done to the memory of those who suffered, and the authors of the mischief be consigned to the condemnation of mankind.  The tide, upon which Mr. Parris had ridden to the destruction of so many, had turned; and it was becoming apparent to all, that he would soon be compelled to disappear from his ministry in the village, before the awakening resentment of the people and the ministers.  Francis Nurse died on the 22d of November, 1695, seventy-seven years of age.  His sons with their wives, and his daughters with their husbands, went into the Probate Court with the paper before described, and unanimously requested the judge to have the estate divided according to its terms.  This is conclusive proof that the father had been just and wise in his arrangements, and that true fraternal love and harmony pervaded the whole family.  The descendants, under the names of Bowden, Tarbell, and Russell, are dispersed in various parts of the country:  those under the name of Preston, while some have gone elsewhere, have been ever since, and still are, among the most respectable and honored citizens of the village.  Some of the name of Nurse have also remained, and worthily represent and perpetuate it.

I have spoken of the tide’s beginning to turn in 1695.  Sure indications to that effect were then quite visible.  It had begun far down in the public mind before the prosecutions ceased; but it was long before the change became apparent on the surface.  It was long before men found utterance for their feelings.