Today in Salem: George Jacobs Sr. isn’t the only one to write a new will. The bold John Proctor has done so as well. In his 60 years he’s managed a 700-acre farm, negotiated land deals in two towns, started a successful tavern, and raised 16 children with three wives. He is not an idle man.
He will be hanged in four days. His trial was a formality, his petition to the governor has been denied, and letters on his behalf have gone unnoticed. The sheriff has already sold or killed all his cattle and seized everything in his house, even pouring beer and broth onto the ground so he could take the barrels and pots.
Other men would feel despair. But Proctor hasn’t lost everything. His children are safe, with the littlest ones taken in by the older ones. His land cannot be seized by the Sheriff, and will be given to his children. Then there’s his wife, Elizabeth. She’s quarrelsome, and he’s too easily provoked. But, as the Proverbs say, iron sharpens iron, and they’ve built a good life together. Now she’s with child, and will be spared … for now.