My dearest niece Sarah, I fear this will be the last time you hear from me. In fact, by the time you receive this, I will probably already be dead. You see, I live in Topsfield, but the Salem witchcraft trials are taking place in the nearby town of Salem. The Salem Witch Trials are a series of trials of accused witches. Some people have already been hanged and recently I was accused of witchcraft. You see, on March 21, 1692, I was accused of placing young girls under a spell by Ann Putnam Sr. and Abigail Williams. I have also been accused by many other girls and even older, married and seemingly reasonable women. I believe Ann accused me of this ridiculous crime because of the land dispute in our town. For over fifty years the Nurses and the Putnams have been competing for a piece of land. My father and Ann's father started this feud in 1639 and this is Ann's way of ending it. Furthermore, we nurses are resentful because we mostly keep to ourselves. During all the witchcraft accusations, our family stayed away from the "witched" girls. The citizens thought that this was a rude gesture and that it proved my guilt. As you know, my dear mother was accused of witchcraft many years ago, and two of my sisters were also accused previously. People in this city seem to have the idea that this craft is passed down from generation to generation. Beyond that, the leaders of Putnam's pro-Parris committee think our minister should stay. But my husband Francis is a very outspoken member of the church. He heads the anti-Parris committee. This is another reason why Ann makes up these ridiculous accusations. I think people in this town are just looking for a scapegoat, or a person to blame when it really has nothing to do with that person. On March 24, I was interrogated by the authorities and told them that I was praying for the victims and that the other accused women were innocent. Well, I don't think they liked what I had to say, because they sent me to prison in Boston. When I got there, I underwent a test to look for any sign that I was a witch. While I was being held in prison, I learned that my lovely Topsfield neighbors, the Porters, had written a formal letter proclaiming my innocence..