In Paragraph 4 of "A Witch Trial at Mount Holly," the author uses the words mob and populace to describe the crowd gathered to watch the witch trial. How do these words affect the meaning of the article? A. The words hint at how the people are understanding the situation. B. The words indicate that the people believe in witches. C. The words imply that the people are thinking and acting as a group. D. The words describe how the people are ignoring the facts.

C. The words imply that the people are thinking and acting as a group.

Explanation:

The article "A Witch Trial at Mount Holly" recounts the story of how two people who were accused of witchcraft agreed to be tried and tested along with two of their accusers. The whole scenario presents a rather comedic yet tragic scene where the common people, guided by their popular belief, tried to find ways to justify themselves while putting the accused on trial.

The words "mob" and "populace" generally refer to a large gathering of people who are mobilized together for a certain purpose. The author mentions them in his description of how the trial was organized, writing that "a lane through the populace was made from the justice's house to the scales" so that "the justice's wife and the rest of the ladies might see the trial, without coming amongst the mob". These two words imply that the people or masses are acting and thinking as a group in putting the accused on trial.

Thus, the correct answer is option C.