Today in Salem: It’s a murderously hot Sabbath, and while the afflicted girls fan themselves in the meeting house, the minister George Burroughs perspires in his jail cell.

He touches his Bible and, with one finger, traces the cracks in the leather. Who knows how many more Sabbaths he will see? He turns the Bible over and rubs the cover with his thumb. He’s always kept a few sheets of blank paper tucked behind the final pages. Now he opens the back cover and pulls one out.

“Salem Gaol” he writes at the top, and then “My Dear Children.” He’s written to them several times from prison, with exhortations to pray and learn from scripture, to be obedient and well-mannered. This letter is much like the others except the hand is a little neater, the quill strokes firmer, and the wax seal more deeply impressed. This may be the last time he writes to them, and with a reminder to love the Lord with all their hearts, he signs his name with a period at the end.

Tomorrow in Salem: Fire and the fortuneteller