,,letters ,,on ,,demonology    ,,and    
,,witchcraft    ,,by    ,,sir ,,walter  
,,scott1 ,,bart4    ,with ,an           
,introduction ,by ,henry ,morley ,ll4d41
 ,professor ,of ,english  ,literature   
,at ,university ,college1 ,london       
,london ,george ,routledge ,and ,sons   
,broadway1 ,ludgate ,hill    ,new ,york3
 #i ,lafayette ,place    #ahhd          
,,introduction4      ,sir ,walter       
,scott's ,letters on ,demonology and    
,witchcraft were his  contribution to a 
series of books1 published by ,john     
,murray1 which  appeared between the    
years #ahbi and #ahdg1 and formed a     
collection of  eighty volumes known as  
,murray's ,family ,library4 ,the series 
was  planned to secure a wide diffusion 
of good literature in cheap             
five-shilling volumes1 and ,scott's     
,letters1 written and published in      
#ahcj1 formed one of the earlier books  
in the collection4    ,the ,society for 
the ,diffusion of ,useful ,knowledge had
 been founded in  the autumn of #ahbf1  

and ,charles ,knight1 who had then      
conceived a plan of  a ,national        
,library1 was entrusted1 in ,july1      
#ahbg1 with the  superintendence of its 
publications4 ,its first treatises      
appeared in  sixpenny numbers1 once a   
fortnight4 ,its ,british ,almanac and   
,companion  to the ,almanac first       
appeared at the beginning of #ahbi4     
,charles ,knight  started also in that  
year his own ,library of ,entertaining  
,knowledge4  ,john ,murray's ,family    
,library was then begun1 and in the     
spring of  #ahcb--the year of the       
,reform ,bill--the advance of           
civilization by the  diffusion of good  
literature1 through cheap journals as   
well as cheap  books1 was sought by the 
establishment of ,chambers's ,edinburgh 
,journal  in the ,north1 and in ,london 
of ,the ,penny ,magazine4    ,in the    
autumn of that year1 #ahcb1 on the #bast
 of ,september1 ,sir ,walter  ,scott    
died4 ,the first warning of death had   
come to him in ,february1  #ahcj1 with a

 stroke of apoplexy4 ,he had been       
visited by an old friend  who brought   
him memoirs of her father1 which he had 
promised to revise  for the press4 ,he  
seemed for half an hour to be bending   
over the papers  at his desk1 and       
reading them2 then he rose1 staggered   
into the  drawing-room1 and fell1       
remaining speechless until he had been  
bled4  ,dieted for weeks on pulse and   
water1 he so far recovered that to      
friends  outside his family but little  
change in him was visible4 ,in that     
condition1 in the month after his       
seizure1 he was writing these ,letters1 
and also a fourth series of the ,tales  
of a ,grandfather4 ,the slight          
softening of the brain found after death
 had then begun4 ,but the old  delight  
in anecdote and skill in story-telling  
that1 at the beginning of  his career1  
had caused a critic of his ,border      
,minstrelsy to say that  it contained   
the germs of a hundred romances1 yet    
survived4 ,it gave to  ,scott's ,letters

 on ,demonology and ,witchcraft what is 
for us now a  pathetic charm4 ,here and 
there some slight confusion of thought  
or style  represents the flickering of a
 light that flashes yet with its old    
brilliancy4 ,there is not yet the       
manifest suggestion of the loss of      
power that we find presently afterwards 
in ,count ,robert of ,paris and  ,castle
 ,dangerous1 published in #ahca as the  
,fourth ,series of ,tales of  ,my       
,landlord1 with which he closed his     
life's work at the age of sixty4        
,milton has said that he who would not  
be frustrate of his hope to write  well 
in laudable things1 ought himself to be 
a true poem4 ,scott's life  was a true  
poem1 of which the music entered into   
all he wrote4 ,if in his  earlier days  
the consciousness of an unlimited       
productive power tempted  him to make   
haste to be rich1 that he might work    
out1 as founder of a  family1 an ideal  
of life touched by his own genius of    
romance1 there was  not in his desire   

for gain one touch of sordid greed1 and 
his ideal of  life only brought him     
closer home to all its duties4 ,sir     
,walter ,scott's  good sense1 as ,lord  
,cockburn said1 was a more wonderful    
gift than his  genius4 ,when the mistake
 of a trade connection with ,james      
,ballantyne  brought ruin to him in     
#ahbf1 he repudiated bankruptcy1 took on
 himself  the burden of a debt of       
#acj1jjj1 and sacrificed his life to the
  successful endeavour to pay off all4  
,what was left unpaid at his death  was 
cleared afterwards by the success of his
 annotated edition of his  novels4 ,no  
tale of physical strife in the          
battlefield could be as heroic  as the  
story of the close of ,scott's life1    
with five years of a  death-struggle    
against adversity1 animated by the      
truest sense of  honour4 ,when the ruin 
was impending he wrote in his diary1 ,if
 things go  badly in ,london1 the magic 
wand of the ,unknown will be shivered in
 his  grasp4 ,the feast of fancy will be

 over with the feeling of independence4 
,he shall no longer have the delight of 
waking in the morning with bright  ideas
 in his mind1 hasten to commit them to  
paper1 and count them  monthly1 as the  
means of planting such scaurs and       
purchasing such  wastes2 replacing      
dreams of fiction by other prospective  
visions of  walks by                    
',fountain-heads1 and pathless groves2  
,places which pale passion loves4'      
,this cannot be2 but ,i may work        
substantial husbandry--i4e4 write       
history1 and such concerns4 ,it was     
under pressure of calamity like this    
that ,sir ,walter ,scott was compelled  
to make himself known as the author  of 
,waverley4 ,closely upon this followed  
the death of his wife1 his  thirty      
years' companion4 ,i have been to her   
room1 he wrote in ,may1  #ahbf2 there   
was no voice in it--no stirring2 the    
pressure of the coffin  was visible on  
the bed1 but it had been removed        
elsewhere2 all was neat  as she loved   

it1 but all was calm--calm as death4 ,i 
remembered the last  sight of her3 she  
raised herself in bed1 and tried to turn
 her eyes  after me1 and said with a    
sort of smile1 ',you have all such      
melancholy  faces4' ,these were the last
 words ,i ever heard her utter1 and ,i  
hurried  away1 for she did not seem     
quite conscious of what she said2 when  
,i  returned1 immediately departing1 she
 was in a deep sleep4 ,it is deeper     
now4 ,this was but seven days since4    
,they are arranging the chamber of      
death--that which was long the apartment
 of connubial happiness1 and of  whose  
arrangement 7better than in richer      
houses7 she was so proud4 ,they  are    
treading fast and thick4 ,for weeks you 
could have heard a footfall4  ,oh1 my   
,god6    ,a few years yet of his own    
battle1 while the shadows of night and  
death  were gathering about him1 and    
they were re-united4 ,in these ,letters 
upon ,demonology and ,witchcraft1       
addressed to his son-in-law1 written    

under the first grasp of death1 the old 
kindliness and good sense1  joined to   
the old charm in story-telling1 stand   
firm yet against every  assault2 and    
even in the decay that followed1 when   
the powers were  broken of the mind that
 had breathed1 and is still breathing1  
its own  health into the minds of tens  
of thousands of his countrymen1 nothing 
could break the fine spirit of love and 
honour that was in him4 ,when the  end  
was very near1 and the son-in-law to    
whom these ,letters were  addressed     
found him one morning entirely himself1 
though in the last  extreme of          
feebleness3 his eye was clear and       
calm--every trace of the  wild fire of  
delirium was extinguished3 ,lockhart1 he
 said1 ,i may have  but a minute to     
speak to you4 ,my dear1 be a good       
man--be virtuous1 be  religious--be a   
good man4 ,nothing else will give you   
any comfort when  you come to lie here4 
,another volume of this ,library may    
give occasion to recall ,scott in the   

noontide of his strength1 companion of  
,the blameless ,muse who trains her sons
   ,for hope and calm enjoyment4        
,here we remember only how from among   
dark clouds the last light of his       
genius shone on the path of those who   
were endeavouring to make the  daily    
bread of intellectual life--good        
books--common to all4                   
,h4,m4  ,february1 #ahhd4      ,,letters
    ,,on    ,,demonology ,,and          
,,witchcraft    ,to ,j4,g4 ,,lockhart1  
,,esq4          ,,letter ,i4            
,origin of the general ,opinions        
respecting ,demonology among            
,mankind--,the ,belief in the           
,immortality of the ,soul is the main   
inducement to credit its occasional     
re-appearance--,the ,philosophical      
,objections to the ,apparition of an    
,abstract ,spirit little understood     
by the ,vulgar and ,ignorant--,the      
situations of excited ,passion          
incident to ,humanity1 which teach ,men 
to wish or apprehend      ,supernatural 

,apparitions--,they are often presented 
by the ,sleeping      ,sense--,story of 
,somnambulism--,the ,influence of       
,credulity contagious1      so that     
,individuals will trust the ,evidence of
 others in despite of      their own    
,senses--,examples from the ,historia   
,verdadera of ,bernal      ,dias del    
,castillo1 and from the ,works of       
,patrick ,walker--,the      apparent    
,evidence of ,intercourse with the      
,supernatural ,world is      sometimes  
owing to a depraved ,state of the bodily
 ,organs--,difference      between this 
,disorder and ,insanity1 in which the   
,organs retain their      tone1 though  
that of the ,mind is lost--,rebellion of
 the ,senses of a      ,lunatic against 
the current of his                      
,reveries--,narratives of a             
contrary ,nature1 in which the ,evidence
 of the ,eyes overbore the              
,conviction of the                      
,understanding--,example of a ,london   
,man of      ,pleasure--,of ,nicolai1   

the ,german ,bookseller and             
,philosopher--,of a      ,patient of    
,dr4 ,gregory--,of an ,eminent ,scottish
 ,lawyer1 deceased--,of      this same  
fallacious ,disorder are other          
instances1 which have but      sudden   
and momentary endurance--,apparition of 
,maupertuis--,of a late      illustrious
 modern ,poet--,the ,cases quoted       
chiefly relating to false               
,impressions on the ,visual ,nerve1     
those upon the ,ear next                
considered--,delusions of the ,touch    
chiefly experienced in                  
,sleep--,delusions of the ,taste--,and  
of the ,smelling--,sum of the           
,argument4      ,you have asked of me1  
my dear friend1 that ,i should assist   
the ,family  ,library with the history  
of a dark chapter in human nature1 which
 the  increasing civilization of all    
well-instructed countries has now almost
  blotted out1 though the subject       
attracted no ordinary degree of         
consideration in the older times of     

their history4    ,among much reading of
 my earlier days1 it is no doubt true   
that ,i  travelled a good deal in the   
twilight regions of superstitious       
disquisitions4 ,many hours have ,i      
lost--,i would their debt were          
less6--in examining old as well as more 
recent narratives of this  character1   
and even in looking into some of the    
criminal trials so  frequent in early   
days1 upon a subject which our fathers  
considered as a  matter of the last     
importance4 ,and1 of late years1 the    
very curious  extracts published by ,mr4
 ,pitcairn1 from the ,criminal ,records 
of  ,scotland1 are1 besides their       
historical value1 of a nature so much   
calculated to illustrate the credulity  
of our ancestors on such  subjects1     
that1 by perusing them1 ,i have been    
induced more recently to  recall what ,i
 had read and thought upon the subject  
at a former period4    ,as1 however1 my 
information is only miscellaneous1 and  
,i make no  pretensions1 either to      

combat the systems of those by whom ,i  
am  anticipated in consideration of the 
subject1 or to erect any new one of  my 
own1 my purpose is1 after a general     
account of ,demonology and  ,witchcraft1
 to confine myself to narratives of     
remarkable cases1 and to  the           
observations which naturally and easily 
arise out of them2--in the  confidence  
that such a plan is1 at the present time
 of day1 more likely  to suit the pages 
of a popular miscellany1 than an attempt
 to reduce the  contents of many hundred
 tomes1 from the largest to the smallest
 size1  into an abridgement1 which1     
however compressed1 must remain greatly 
too  large for the reader's powers of   
patience4    ,a few general remarks on  
the nature of ,demonology1 and the      
original  cause of the almost universal 
belief in communication betwixt mortals 
and beings of a power superior to       
themselves1 and of a nature not to be   
comprehended by human organs1 are a     
necessary introduction to the  subject4 

,the general1 or1 it may be termed1 the 
universal belief of the  inhabitants of 
the earth1 in the existence of spirits  
separated from the  encumbrance and     
incapacities of the body1 is grounded on
 the  consciousness of the divinity that
 speaks in our bosoms1 and  demonstrates
 to all men1 except the few who are     
hardened to the  celestial voice1 that  
there is within us a portion of the     
divine  substance1 which is not subject 
to the law of death and dissolution1 but
  which1 when the body is no longer fit 
for its abode1 shall seek its own       
place1 as a sentinel dismissed from his 
post4 ,unaided by revelation1 it  cannot
 be hoped that mere earthly reason      
should be able to form any  rational or 
precise conjecture concerning the       
destination of the soul  when parted    
from the body2 but the conviction that  
such an  indestructible essence exists1 
the belief expressed by the poet in a   
different sense1 ,non omnis moriar must 
infer the existence of many  millions of

 spirits who have not been annihilated1 
though they have  become invisible to   
mortals who still see1 hear1 and        
perceive1 only by  means of the         
imperfect organs of humanity4           
,probability may lead some of  the most 
reflecting to anticipate a state of     
future rewards and  punishments2 as     
those experienced in the education of   
the deaf and dumb  find that their      
pupils1 even while cut off from all     
instruction by  ordinary means1 have    
been able to form1 out of their own     
unassisted  conjectures1 some ideas of  
the existence of a ,deity1 and of the   
distinction between the soul and body--a
 circumstance which proves how          
naturally these truths arise in the     
human mind4 ,the principle that they  do
 so arise1 being taught or communicated1
 leads to further conclusions4    ,these
 spirits1 in a state of separate        
existence1 being admitted to  exist1 are
 not1 it may be supposed1 indifferent to
 the affairs of  mortality1 perhaps not 

incapable of influencing them4 ,it is   
true that1  in a more advanced state of 
society1 the philosopher may challenge  
the  possibility of a separate          
appearance of a disembodied spirit1     
unless in  the case of a direct miracle1
 to which1 being a suspension of the    
laws  of nature1 directly wrought by the
 ,maker of these laws1 for some express 
purpose1 no bound or restraint can      
possibly be assigned4 ,but under this   
necessary limitation and exception1     
philosophers might plausibly argue      
that1 when the soul is divorced from the
 body1 it loses all those  qualities    
which made it1 when clothed with a      
mortal shape1 obvious to  the organs of 
its fellow-men4 ,the abstract idea of a 
spirit certainly  implies that it has   
neither substance1 form1 shape1 voice1  
or anything  which can render its       
presence visible or sensible to human   
faculties4  ,but these sceptic doubts of
 philosophers on the possibility of the 
appearance of such separated spirits1 do

 not arise till a certain degree  of    
information has dawned upon a country1  
and even then only reach a  very small  
proportion of reflecting and            
better-informed members of  society4 ,to
 the multitude1 the indubitable fact1   
that so many millions  of spirits exist 
around and even amongst us1 seems       
sufficient to support  the belief that  
they are1 in certain instances at least1
 by some means  or other1 able to       
communicate with the world of humanity4 
,the more  numerous part of mankind     
cannot form in their mind the idea of   
the  spirit of the deceased existing1   
without possessing or having the power  
to assume the appearance which their    
acquaintance bore during his life1  and 
do not push their researches beyond this
 point4    ,enthusiastic feelings of an 
impressive and solemn nature occur both 
in  private and public life1 which seem 
to add ocular testimony to an           
intercourse betwixt earth and the world 
beyond it4 ,for example1 the son  who   

has been lately deprived of his father  
feels a sudden crisis  approach1 in     
which he is anxious to have recourse to 
his sagacious  advice--or a bereaved    
husband earnestly desires again to      
behold the form  of which the grave has 
deprived him for ever--or1 to use a     
darker yet  very common instance1 the   
wretched man who has dipped his hand in 
his  fellow-creature's blood1 is haunted
 by the apprehension that the phantom   
of the slain stands by the bedside of   
his murderer4 ,in all or any of  these  
cases1 who shall doubt that imagination1
 favoured by  circumstances1 has power  
to summon up to the organ of sight1     
spectres  which only exist in the mind  
of those by whom their apparition seems 
to  be witnessed8    ,if we add1 that   
such a vision may take place in the     
course of one of  those lively dreams in
 which the patient1 except in respect to
 the  single subject of one strong      
impression1 is1 or seems1 sensible of   
the  real particulars of the scene      

around him1 a state of slumber which    
often  occurs2 if he is so far          
conscious1 for example1 as to know that 
he is  lying on his own bed1 and        
surrounded by his own familiar furniture
 at  the time when the supposed         
apparition is manifested1 it becomes    
almost  in vain to argue with the       
visionary against the reality of his    
dream1  since the spectre1 though itself
 purely fanciful1 is inserted amidst so 
many circumstances which he feels must  
be true beyond the reach of doubt  or   
question4 ,that which is undeniably     
certain becomes1 in a manner1 a  warrant
 for the reality of the appearance to   
which doubt would have been  otherwise  
attached4 ,and if any event1 such as the
 death of the person  dreamt of1 chances
 to take place1 so as to correspond with
 the nature  and the time of the        
apparition1 the coincidence1 though one 
which must  be frequent1 since our      
dreams usually refer to the             
accomplishment of  that which haunts our

 minds when awake1 and often presage the
 most  probable events1 seems perfect1  
and the chain of circumstances touching 
the evidence may not unreasonably be    
considered as complete4 ,such a         
concatenation1 we repeat1 must          
frequently take place1 when it is       
considered of what stuff dreams are     
made--how naturally they turn upon      
those who occupy our mind while awake1  
and1 when a soldier is exposed to  death
 in battle1 when a sailor is incurring  
the dangers of the sea1 when  a beloved 
wife or relative is attacked by disease1
 how readily our  sleeping imagination  
rushes to the very point of alarm1 which
 when  waking it had shuddered to       
anticipate4 ,the number of instances in 
which  such lively dreams have been     
quoted1 and both asserted and received  
as  spiritual communications1 is very   
great at all periods2 in ignorant       
times1 where the natural cause of       
dreaming is misapprehended and  confused
 with an idea of mysticism1 it is much  

greater4 ,yet1 perhaps1  considering the
 many thousands of dreams which must1   
night after night1  pass through the    
imagination of individuals1 the number  
of coincidences  between the vision and 
real event are fewer and less remarkable
 than a  fair calculation of chances    
would warrant us to expect4 ,but in     
countries  where such presaging dreams  
are subjects of attention1 the number of
  those which seemed to be coupled with 
the corresponding issue1 is large       
enough to spread a very general belief  
of a positive communication  betwixt the
 living and the dead4    ,somnambulism  
and other nocturnal deceptions          
frequently lend their aid to  the       
formation of such phantasmata as are    
formed in this middle state1  betwixt   
sleeping and waking4 ,a most respectable
 person1 whose active  life had been    
spent as master and part owner of a     
large merchant vessel  in the ,lisbon   
trade1 gave the writer an account of    
such an instance  which came under his  

observation4 ,he was lying in the       
,tagus1 when he was  put to great       
anxiety and alarm by the following      
incident and its  consequences4 ,one of 
his crew was murdered by a ,portuguese  
assassin1 and  a report arose that the  
ghost of the slain man haunted the      
vessel4  ,sailors are generally         
superstitious1 and those of my friend's 
vessel  became unwilling to remain on   
board the ship2 and it was probable they
  might desert rather then return to    
,england with the ghost for a           
passenger4 ,to prevent so great a       
calamity1 the captain determined to     
examine the story to the bottom4 ,he    
soon found that1 though all  pretended  
to have seen lights and heard noises1   
and so forth1 the weight  of the        
evidence lay upon the statement of one  
of his own mates1 an  ,irishman and a   
,catholic1 which might increase his     
tendency to  superstition1 but in other 
respects a veracious1 honest1 and       
sensible  person1 whom ,captain ----had 

no reason to suspect would wilfully     
deceive  him4 ,he affirmed to ,captain  
,s---- with the deepest obtestations1   
that  the spectre of the murdered man   
appeared to him almost nightly1 took him
  from his place in the vessel1 and1    
according to his own expression1        
worried his life out4 ,he made these    
communications with a degree of  horror 
which intimated the reality of his      
distress and apprehensions4  ,the       
captain1 without any argument at the    
time1 privately resolved to  watch the  
motions of the ghost-seer in the night2 
whether alone1 or with  a witness1 ,i   
have forgotten4 ,as the ship bell struck
 twelve1 the sleeper  started up1 with a
 ghastly and disturbed countenance1 and 
lighting a  candle1 proceeded to the    
galley or cook-room of the vessel4 ,he  
sate down  with his eyes open1 staring  
before him as on some terrible object   
which  he beheld with horror1 yet from  
which he could not withhold his eyes4   
,after a short space he arose1 took up a

 tin can or decanter1 filled it  with   
water1 muttering to himself all the     
while--mixed salt in the water1  and    
sprinkled it about the galley4 ,finally1
 he sighed deeply1 like one  relieved   
from a heavy burden1 and1 returning to  
his hammock1 slept  soundly4 ,in the    
next morning the haunted man told the   
usual precise  story of his apparition1 
with the additional circumstances1 that 
the  ghost had led him to the galley1   
but that he had fortunately1 he knew    
not how1 obtained possession of some    
holy water1 and succeeded in  getting   
rid of his unwelcome visitor4 ,the      
visionary was then informed of  the real
 transactions of the night1 with so many
 particulars as to  satisfy him he had  
been the dupe of his imagination2 he    
acquiesced in  his commander's          
reasoning1 and the dream1 as often      
happens in these  cases1 returned no    
more after its imposture had been       
detected4 ,in this  case1 we find the   
excited imagination acting upon the     

half-waking  senses1 which were         
intelligent enough for the purpose of   
making him  sensible where he was1 but  
not sufficiently so to judge truly of   
the  objects before him4    ,but it is  
not only private life alone1 or that    
tenor of thought which  has been        
depressed into melancholy by gloomy     
anticipations respecting  the future1   
which disposes the mind to mid-day      
fantasies1 or to nightly  apparitions--a
 state of eager anxiety1 or excited     
exertion1 is equally  favourable to the 
indulgence of such supernatural         
communications4 ,the  anticipation of a 
dubious battle1 with all the doubt and  
uncertainty of  its event1 and the      
conviction that it must involve his own 
fate and that  of his country1 was      
powerful enough to conjure up to the    
anxious eye of  ,brutus the spectre of  
his murdered friend ,csar1 respecting   
whose death  he perhaps thought himself 
less justified than at the ,ides of     
,march1  since1 instead of having       

achieved the freedom of ,rome1 the event
 had  only been the renewal of civil    
wars1 and the issue might appear most   
likely to conclude in the total         
subjection of liberty4 ,it is not       
miraculous that the masculine spirit of 
,marcus ,brutus1 surrounded by  darkness
 and solitude1 distracted probably by   
recollection of the  kindness and favour
 of the great individual whom he had put
 to death to  avenge the wrongs of his  
country1 though by the slaughter of his 
own  friend1 should at length place     
before his eyes in person the appearance
  which termed itself his evil genius1  
and promised again to meet him at       
,philippi4 ,brutus' own intentions1 and 
his knowledge of the military art1  had 
probably long since assured him that the
 decision of the civil war  must take   
place at or near that place2 and1       
allowing that his own  imagination      
supplied that part of his dialogue with 
the spectre1 there  is nothing else     
which might not be fashioned in a vivid 

dream or a  waking reverie1 approaching1
 in absorbing and engrossing character1 
the  usual matter of which dreams       
consist4 ,that ,brutus1 well acquainted 
with  the opinions of the ,platonists1  
should be disposed to receive without   
doubt the idea that he had seen a real  
apparition1 and was not likely to       
scrutinize very minutely the supposed   
vision1 may be naturally  conceived2 and
 it is also natural to think1 that      
although no one saw the  figure but     
himself1 his contemporaries were little 
disposed to examine  the testimony of a 
man so eminent1 by the strict rules of  
cross-examination and conflicting       
evidence1 which they might have  thought
 applicable to another person1 and a    
less dignified occasion4    ,even in the
 field of death1 and amid the mortal tug
 of combat itself1  strong belief has   
wrought the same wonder1 which we have  
hitherto  mentioned as occurring in     
solitude and amid darkness2 and those   
who were  themselves on the verge of the

 world of spirits1 or employed in       
dispatching others to these gloomy      
regions1 conceived they beheld the      
apparitions of those beings whom their  
national mythology associated  with such
 scenes4 ,in such moments of undecided  
battle1 amid the  violence1 hurry1 and  
confusion of ideas incident to the      
situation1 the  ancients supposed that  
they saw their deities1 ,castor and     
,pollux1  fighting in the van for their 
encouragement2 the heathen ,scandinavian
  beheld the ,choosers of the slain2 and
 the ,catholics were no less easily  led
 to recognize the warlike ,saint ,george
 or ,saint ,james in the very  front of 
the strife1 showing them the way to     
conquest4 ,such apparitions  being      
generally visible to a multitude1 have  
in all times been supported  by the     
greatest strength of testimony4 ,when   
the common feeling of  danger1 and the  
animating burst of enthusiasm1 act on   
the feelings of  many men at once1 their
 minds hold a natural correspondence    

with each  other1 as it is said is the  
case with stringed instruments tuned to 
the  same pitch1 of which1 when one is  
played1 the chords of the others are    
supposed to vibrate in unison with the  
tones produced4 ,if an artful or        
enthusiastic individual exclaims1 in the
 heat of action1 that he  perceives an  
apparition of the romantic kind which   
has been intimated1  his companions     
catch at the idea with emulation1 and   
most are willing to  sacrifice the      
conviction of their own senses1 rather  
than allow that  they did not witness   
the same favourable emblem1 from which  
all draw  confidence and hope4 ,one     
warrior catches the idea from another2  
all are  alike eager to acknowledge the 
present miracle1 and the battle is won  
before the mistake is discovered4 ,in   
such cases1 the number of persons       
present1 which would otherwise lead to  
detection of the fallacy1 becomes  the  
means of strengthening it4    ,of this  
disposition1 to see as much of the      

supernatural as is seen by  others      
around1 or1 in other words1 to trust to 
the eyes of others rather  than to our  
own1 we may take the liberty to quote   
two remarkable  instances4    ,the first
 is from the ,historia ,verdadera of    
,don ,bernal ,dias del  ,castillo1 one  
of the companions of the celebrated     
,cortez in his ,mexican  conquest4      
,after having given an account of a     
great victory over extreme  odds1 he    
mentions the report inserted in the     
contemporary ,chronicle of  ,gomara1    
that ,saint ,iago had appeared on a     
white horse in van of the  combat1 and  
led on his beloved ,spaniards to        
victory4 ,it is very curious  to observe
 the ,castilian cavalier's internal     
conviction that the rumour  arose out of
 a mistake1 the cause of which he       
explains from his own  observation2     
whilst1 at the same time1 he does not   
venture to disown the  miracle4 ,the    
honest ,conquestador owns that he       
himself did not see this  animating     

vision2 nay1 that he beheld an          
individual cavalier1 named  ,francisco  
de ,morla1 mounted on a chestnut horse1 
and fighting  strenuously in the very   
place where ,saint ,james is said to    
have  appeared4 ,but instead of         
proceeding to draw the necessary        
inference1 the  devout ,conquestador    
exclaims--,sinner that ,i am1 what am ,i
 that ,i should  have beheld the blessed
 apostle6    ,the other instance of the 
infectious character of superstition    
occurs in  a ,scottish book1 and there  
can be little doubt that it refers1 in  
its  first origin1 to some uncommon     
appearance of the aurora borealis1 or   
the  northern lights1 which do not      
appear to have been seen in ,scotland so
  frequently as to be accounted a common
 and familiar atmospherical  phenomenon1
 until the beginning of the eighteenth  
century4 ,the passage  is striking and  
curious1 for the narrator1 ,peter       
,walker1 though an  enthusiast1 was a   
man of credit1 and does not even affect 

to have seen  the wonders1 the reality  
of which he unscrupulously adopts on the
  testimony of others1 to whose eyes he 
trusted rather than to his own4  ,the   
conversion of the sceptical gentleman of
 whom he speaks is highly  illustrative 
of popular credulity carried away into  
enthusiasm1 or into  imposture1 by the  
evidence of those around1 and at once   
shows the  imperfection of such a       
general testimony1 and the ease with    
which it is  procured1 since the general
 excitement of the moment impels even   
the  more cold-blooded and judicious    
persons present to catch up the ideas   
and echo the exclamations of the        
majority1 who1 from the first1 had      
considered the heavenly phenomenon as a 
supernatural weapon-schaw1 held  for the
 purpose of a sign and warning of civil 
wars to come4    ,in the year #afhf1 in 
the months of ,june and ,july1 says the 
honest  chronicler1 many yet alive can  
witness that about the ,crossford ,boat1
  two miles beneath ,lanark1 especially 

at the ,mains1 on the water of  ,clyde1 
many people gathered together for       
several afternoons1 where there  were   
showers of bonnets1 hats1 guns1 and     
swords1 which covered the trees  and the
 ground2 companies of men in arms       
marching in order upon the  waterside2  
companies meeting companies1 going all  
through other1 and  then all falling to 
the ground and disappearing2 other      
companies  immediately appeared1        
marching the same way4 ,i went there    
three  afternoons together1 and1 as ,i  
observed1 there were two-thirds of the  
people that were together saw1 and a    
third that saw not2 and1 though ,i      
could see nothing1 there was such a     
fright and trembling on those that  did 
see1 that was discernible to all from   
those that saw not4 ,there was  a       
gentleman standing next to me who spoke 
as too many gentlemen and  others speak1
 who said1 ',a pack of damned witches   
and warlocks that have  the second      
sight6 the devil ha't do ,i see2' and   

immediately there was a  discernible    
change in his countenance4 ,with as much
 fear and trembling  as any woman ,i saw
 there1 he called out1 ',all you that do
 not see1 say  nothing2 for ,i persuade 
you it is matter of fact1 and           
discernible to all  that is not         
stone-blind4' ,and those who did see    
told what works 7i4e41  locks7 the guns 
had1 and their length and wideness1 and 
what handles the  swords had1 whether   
small or three-barr'd1 or ,highland     
guards1 and the  closing knots of the   
bonnets1 black or blue2 and those who   
did see them  there1 whenever they went 
abroad1 saw a bonnet and a sword drop in
 the  way4#a    ,footnote #a3 ,walker's 
,lives1 ,edinburgh1 #ahbg1 vol4 i4 p4   
xxxvi4 ,it is  evident that honest      
,peter believed in the apparition of    
this martial  gear on the principle of  
,partridge's terror for the ghost of    
,hamlet--not  that he was afraid        
himself1 but because ,garrick showed    
such evident  marks of terror4    ,this 

singular phenomenon1 in which a         
multitude believed1 although only       
two-thirds of them saw what must1 if    
real1 have been equally obvious to  all1
 may be compared with the exploit of the
 humourist1 who planted  himself in an  
attitude of astonishment1 with his eyes 
riveted on the  well-known bronze lion  
that graces the front of ,northumberland
 ,house in  the ,strand1 and having     
attracted the attention of those who    
looked at  him by muttering1 ,by heaven 
it wags6 it wags again6 contrived in a  
few  minutes to blockade the whole      
street with an immense crowd1 some      
conceiving that they had absolutely seen
 the lion of ,percy wag his tail1       
others expecting' to witness the same   
phenomenon4    ,on such occasions as we 
have hitherto mentioned1 we have        
supposed that  the ghost-seer has been  
in full possession of his ordinary      
powers of  perception1 unless in the    
case of dreamers1 in whom they may have 
been  obscured by temporary slumber1 and

 the possibility of correcting  vagaries
 of the imagination rendered more       
difficult by want of the  ordinary      
appeal to the evidence of the bodily    
senses4 ,in other respects  their blood 
beat temperately1 they possessed the    
ordinary capacity of  ascertaining the  
truth or discerning the falsehood of    
external  appearances by an appeal to   
the organ of sight4 ,unfortunately1     
however1  as is now universally known   
and admitted1 there certainly exists    
more  than one disorder known to        
professional men of which one important 
symptom is a disposition to see         
apparitions4    ,this frightful disorder
 is not properly insanity1 although it  
is  somewhat allied to that most        
horrible of maladies1 and may1 in many  
constitutions1 be the means of bringing 
it on1 and although such  hallucinations
 are proper to both4 ,the difference ,i 
conceive to be that1  in cases of       
insanity1 the mind of the patient is    
principally affected1  while the senses1

 or organic system1 offer in vain to the
 lunatic their  decided testimony       
against the fantasy of a deranged       
imagination4 ,perhaps  the nature of    
this collision--between a disturbed     
imagination and organs  of sense        
possessed of their usual                
accuracy--cannot be better described    
than in the embarrassment expressed by  
an insane patient confined in the       
,infirmary of ,edinburgh4 ,the poor     
man's malady had taken a gay turn4 ,the 
house1 in his idea1 was his own1 and he 
contrived to account for all  that      
seemed inconsistent with his imaginary  
right of property--there  were many     
patients in it1 but that was owing to   
the benevolence of his  nature1 which   
made him love to see the relief of      
distress4 ,he went  little1 or rather   
never abroad--but then his habits were  
of a domestic  and rather sedentary     
character4 ,he did not see much         
company--but he  daily received visits  
from the first characters in the        

renowned medical  school of this city1  
and he could not therefore be much in   
want of  society4 ,with so many supposed
 comforts around him--with so many      
visions  of wealth and splendour--one   
thing alone disturbed the peace of the  
poor  optimist1 and would indeed have   
confounded most bons vivants4 ,he was   
curious1 he said1 in his table1 choice  
in his selection of cooks1 had  every   
day a dinner of three regular courses   
and a dessert2 and yet1  somehow or     
other1 everything he eat tasted of      
porridge4 ,this dilemma  could be no    
great wonder to the friend to whom the  
poor patient  communicated it1 who knew 
the lunatic eat nothing but this simple 
aliment at any of his meals4 ,the case  
was obvious4 ,the disease lay in  the   
extreme vivacity of the patient's       
imagination1 deluded in other           
instances1 yet not absolutely powerful  
enough to contend with the honest       
evidence of his stomach and palate1     
which1 like ,lord ,peter's brethren in  

,the ,tale of a ,tub1 were indignant at 
the attempt to impose boiled  oatmeal   
upon them1 instead of such a banquet as 
,ude would have displayed  when peers   
were to partake of it4 ,here1 therefore1
 is one instance of  actual insanity1 in
 which the sense of taste controlled and
 attempted to  restrain the ideal       
hypothesis adopted by a deranged        
imagination4 ,but the  disorder to which
 ,i previously alluded is entirely of a 
bodily  character1 and consists         
principally in a disease of the visual  
organs1  which present to the patient a 
set of spectres or appearances which    
have  no actual existence4 ,it is a     
disease of the same nature which renders
  many men incapable of distinguishing  
colours2 only the patients go a  step   
further1 and pervert the external form  
of objects4 ,in their case1  therefore1 
contrary to that of the maniac1 it is   
not the mind1 or rather  the            
imagination1 which imposes upon and     
overpowers the evidence of the  senses1 

but the sense of seeing 7or hearing7    
which betrays its duty and  conveys     
false ideas to a sane intellect4        
,more than one learned physician1 who   
have given their attestations to  the   
existence of this most distressing      
complaint1 have agreed that it  actually
 occurs1 and is occasioned by different 
causes4 ,the most  frequent source of   
the malady is in the dissipated and     
intemperate  habits of those who1 by a  
continued series of intoxication1 become
  subject to what is popularly called   
the ,blue ,devils1 instances of which   
mental disorder may be known to most who
 have lived for any period of  their    
lives in society where hard drinking was
 a common vice4 ,the joyous  visions    
suggested by intoxication when the habit
 is first acquired1 in  time disappear1 
and are supplied by frightful           
impressions and scenes1  which destroy  
the tranquillity of the unhappy         
debauchee4 ,apparitions of  the most    
unpleasant appearance are his companions

 in solitude1 and  intrude even upon his
 hours of society3 and when by an       
alteration of  habits1 the mind is      
cleared of these frightful ideas1 it    
requires but  the slightest renewal of  
the association to bring back the full  
tide of  misery upon the repentant      
libertine4    ,of this the following    
instance was told to the author by a    
gentleman  connected with the sufferer4 
,a young man of fortune1 who had led    
what is  called so gay a life as        
considerably to injure both his health  
and  fortune1 was at length obliged to  
consult the physician upon the means  of
 restoring1 at least1 the former4 ,one  
of his principal complaints was  the    
frequent presence of a set of           
apparitions1 resembling a band of       
figures dressed in green1 who performed 
in his drawing-room a singular  dance1  
to which he was compelled to bear       
witness1 though he knew1 to his  great  
annoyance1 that the whole corps de      
ballet existed only in his  own         

imagination4 ,his physician immediately 
informed him that he had  lived upon    
town too long and too fast not to       
require an exchange to a  more healthy  
and natural course of life4 ,he         
therefore prescribed a  gentle course of
 medicine1 but earnestly recommended to 
his patient to  retire to his own house 
in the country1 observe a temperate diet
 and  early hours1 practising regular   
exercise1 on the same principle avoiding
  fatigue1 and assured him that by doing
 so he might bid adieu to black  spirits
 and white1 blue1 green1 and grey1 with 
all their trumpery4 ,the  patient       
observed the advice1 and prospered4 ,his
 physician1 after the  interval of a    
month1 received a grateful letter from  
him1 acknowledging  the success of his  
regimen4 ,the greens goblins had        
disappeared1 and with  them the         
unpleasant train of emotions to which   
their visits had given  rise1 and the   
patient had ordered his town-house to be
 disfurnished and  sold1 while the      

furniture was to be sent down to his    
residence in the  country1 where he was 
determined in future to spend his life1 
without  exposing himself to the        
temptations of town4 ,one would have    
supposed  this a well-devised scheme for
 health4 ,but1 alas6 no sooner had the  
furniture of the ,london drawing-room   
been placed in order in the gallery  of 
the old manor-house1 than the former    
delusion returned in full force3  the   
green figurants1 whom the patient's     
depraved imagination had so  long       
associated with these moveables1 came   
capering and frisking to  accompany     
them1 exclaiming with great glee1 as if 
the sufferer should  have been rejoiced 
to see them1 ,here we all are--here we  
all are6 ,the  visionary1 if ,i         
recollect right1 was so much shocked at 
their  appearance1 that he retired      
abroad1 in despair that any part of     
,britain  could shelter him from the    
daily persecution of this domestic      
ballet4    ,there is reason to believe  

that such cases are numerous1 and that  
they  may perhaps arise not only from   
the debility of stomach brought on by   
excess in wine or spirits1 which        
derangement often sensibly affects the  
eyes and sense of sight1 but also       
because the mind becomes habitually     
predominated over by a train of         
fantastic visions1 the consequence of   
frequent intoxication2 and is thus1 like
 a dislocated joint1 apt again  to go   
wrong1 even when a different cause      
occasions the derangement4    ,it is    
easy to be supposed that habitual       
excitement by means of any other        
intoxicating drug1 as opium1 or its     
various substitutes1 must expose  those 
who practise the dangerous custom to the
 same inconvenience4 ,very  frequent use
 of the nitrous oxide which affects the 
senses so strongly1  and produces a     
short but singular state of ecstasy1    
would probably be  found to occasion    
this species of disorder4 ,but there are
 many other  causes which medical men   

find attended with the same symptom1 of 
embodying before the eyes of a patient  
imaginary illusions which are  visible  
to no one else4 ,this persecution of    
spectral deceptions is also  found to   
exist when no excesses of the patient   
can be alleged as the  cause1 owing1    
doubtless1 to a deranged state of the   
blood or nervous  system4    ,the       
learned and acute ,dr4 ,ferriar of      
,manchester was the first who  brought  
before the ,english public the leading  
case1 as it may be called1  in this     
department1 namely1 that of ,mons4      
,nicolai1 the celebrated  bookseller of 
,berlin4 ,this gentleman was not a man  
merely of books1 but  of letters1 and   
had the moral courage to lay before the 
,philosophical  ,society of ,berlin an  
account of his own sufferings1 from     
having been1 by  disease1 subjected to a
 series of spectral illusions4 ,the     
leading  circumstances of this case may 
be stated very shortly1 as it has been  
repeatedly before the public1 and is    

insisted on by ,dr4 ,ferriar1 ,dr4      
,hibbert1 and others who have assumed   
,demonology as a subject4 ,nicolai      
traces his illness remotely to a series 
of disagreeable incidents which  had    
happened to him in the beginning of the 
year #agia4 ,the depression of  spirits 
which was occasioned by these unpleasant
 occurrences1 was aided  by the         
consequences of neglecting a course of  
periodical bleeding which  he had been  
accustomed to observe4 ,this state of   
health brought on the  disposition to   
see phantasmata1 who visited1 or it may 
be more  properly said frequented1 the  
apartments of the learned bookseller1   
presenting crowds of persons who moved  
and acted before him1 nay1 even  spoke  
to and addressed him4 ,these phantoms   
afforded nothing unpleasant  to the     
imagination of the visionary either in  
sight or expression1 and  the patient   
was possessed of too much firmness to be
 otherwise affected  by their presence  
than with a species of curiosity1 as he 

remained  convinced from the beginning  
to the end of the disorder1 that these  
singular effects were merely symptoms of
 the state of his health1 and  did not  
in any other respect regard them as a   
subject of apprehension4  ,after a      
certain time1 and some use of medicine1 
the phantoms became less  distinct in   
their outline1 less vivid in their      
colouring1 faded1 as it  were1 on the   
eye of the patient1 and at length       
totally disappeared4    ,the case of    
,nicolai has unquestionably been that of
 many whose love of  science has not    
been able to overcome their natural     
reluctance to  communicate to the public
 the particulars attending the          
visitation of a  disease so peculiar4   
,that such illnesses have been          
experienced1 and have  ended fatally1   
there can be no doubt2 though it is by  
no means to be  inferred1 that the      
symptom of importance to our present    
discussion has1  on all occasions1 been 
produced from the same identical cause4 

,dr4 ,hibbert1 who has most ingeniously1
 as well as philosophically1  handled   
this subject1 has treated it also in a  
medical point of view1  with science to 
which we make no pretence1 and a        
precision of detail to  which our       
superficial investigation affords us no 
room for extending  ourselves4    ,the  
visitation of spectral phenomena is     
described by this learned  gentleman as 
incidental to sundry complaints2 and he 
mentions1 in  particular1 that the      
symptom occurs not only in plethora1 as 
in the case  of the learned ,prussian we
 have just mentioned1 but is a frequent 
hectic  symptom--often an associate of  
febrile and inflammatory                
disorders--frequently accompanying      
inflammation of the brain--a            
concomitant also of highly excited      
nervous irritability--equally  connected
 with hypochondria--and finally united  
in some cases with gout1  and in others 
with the effects of excitation produced 
by several gases4  ,in all these cases  

there seems to be a morbid degree of    
sensibility1  with which this symptom is
 ready to ally itself1 and which1 though
  inaccurate as a medical definition1   
may be held sufficiently descriptive  of
 one character of the various kinds of  
disorder with which this  painful       
symptom may be found allied4    ,a very 
singular and interesting illustration of
 such combinations as ,dr4  ,hibbert has
 recorded of the spectral illusion with 
an actual disorder1  and that of a      
dangerous kind1 was frequently related  
in society by the  late learned and     
accomplished ,dr4 ,gregory of           
,edinburgh1 and sometimes1 ,i  believe1 
quoted by him in his lectures4 ,the     
narrative1 to the author's  best        
recollection1 was as follows3--,a       
patient of ,dr4 ,gregory1 a person1  it 
is understood1 of some rank1 having     
requested the doctor's advice1  made the
 following extraordinary statement of   
his complaint4 ,i am in  the habit1 he  
said1 of dining at five1 and exactly as 

the hour of six  arrives ,i am subjected
 to the following painful visitation4   
,the door of  the room1 even when ,i    
have been weak enough to bolt it1 which 
,i have  sometimes done1 flies wide     
open2 an old hag1 like one of those who 
haunted the heath of ,forres1 enters    
with a frowning and incensed            
countenance1 comes straight up to me    
with every demonstration of spite  and  
indignation which could characterize her
 who haunted the merchant  ,abudah in   
the ,oriental tale2 she rushes upon me1 
says something1 but so  hastily that ,i 
cannot discover the purport1 and then   
strikes me a severe  blow with her      
staff4 ,i fall from my chair in a swoon1
 which is of longer  or shorter         
endurance4 ,to the recurrence of this   
apparition ,i am daily  subjected4 ,and 
such is my new and singular complaint4  
,the doctor  immediately asked whether  
his patient had invited any one to sit  
with  him when he expected such a       
visitation4 ,he was answered in the     

negative4  ,the nature of the complaint1
 he said1 was so singular1 it was so    
likely  to be imputed to fancy1 or even 
to mental derangement1 that he had      
shrunk from communicating the           
circumstance to any one4 ,then1 said the
  doctor1 with your permission1 ,i will 
dine with you to-day1  tte--tte1 and we 
will see if your malignant old woman    
will venture  to join our company4 ,the 
patient accepted the proposal with hope 
and  gratitude1 for he had expected     
ridicule rather than sympathy4 ,they met
  at dinner1 and ,dr4 ,gregory1 who     
suspected some nervous disorder1 exerted
  his powers of conversation1 well known
 to be of the most varied and  brilliant
 character1 to keep the attention of his
 host engaged1 and  prevent him from    
thinking on the approach of the fated   
hour1 to which he  was accustomed to    
look forward with so much terror4 ,he   
succeeded in his  purpose better than he
 had hoped4 ,the hour of six came almost
 unnoticed1  and it was hoped might pass

 away without any evil consequence2 but 
it  was scarce a moment struck when the 
owner of the house exclaimed1 in an     
alarmed voice1 ,the hag comes again6 and
 dropped back in his chair in a  swoon1 
in the way he had himself described4    
,the physician caused him to  be let    
blood1 and satisfied himself that the   
periodical shocks of which  his patient 
complained arose from a tendency to     
apoplexy4    ,the phantom with the      
crutch was only a species of machinery1 
such as  that with which fancy is found 
to supply the disorder called           
,ephialtes1 or nightmare1 or indeed any 
other external impression upon  our     
organs in sleep1 which the patient's    
morbid imagination may  introduce into  
the dream preceding the swoon4 ,in the  
nightmare an  oppression and suffocation
 is felt1 and our fancy instantly       
conjures up  a spectre to lie on our    
bosom4 ,in like manner it may be        
remarked1 that  any sudden noise which  
the slumberer hears1 without being      

actually  awakened by it--any casual    
touch of his person occurring in the    
same  manner--becomes instantly adopted 
in his dream1 and accommodated to the   
tenor of the current train of thought1  
whatever that may happen to be2  and    
nothing is more remarkable than the     
rapidity with which imagination         
supplies a complete explanation of the  
interruption1 according to the  previous
 train of ideas expressed in the dream1 
even when scarce a  moment of time is   
allowed for that purpose4 ,in dreaming1 
for example1 of  a duel1 the external   
sound becomes1 in the twinkling of an   
eye1 the  discharge of the combatants'  
pistols2--is an orator haranguing in his
  sleep1 the sound becomes the applause 
of his supposed audience2--is the       
dreamer wandering among supposed ruins1 
the noise is that of the fall of  some  
part of the mass4 ,in short1 an         
explanatory system is adopted during    
sleep with such extreme rapidity1 that  
supposing the intruding alarm to  have  

been the first call of some person to   
awaken the slumberer1 the  explanation1 
though requiring some process of        
argument or deduction1 is  usually      
formed and perfect before the second    
effort of the speaker has  restored the 
dreamer to the waking world and its     
realities4 ,so rapid and  intuitive is  
the succession of ideas in sleep1 as to 
remind us of the  vision of the prophet 
,mahommed1 in which he saw the whole    
wonders of  heaven and hell1 though the 
jar of water which fell when his ecstasy
  commenced1 had not spilled its        
contents when he returned to ordinary   
existence4    ,a second1 and equally    
remarkable instance1 was communicated to
 the  author by the medical man under   
whose observation it fell1 but who was1 
of course1 desirous to keep private the 
name of the hero of so singular  a      
history4 ,of the friend by whom the     
facts were attested ,i can only say1    
that if ,i found myself at liberty to   
name him1 the rank which he holds  in   

his profession1 as well as his          
attainments in science and philosophy1  
form an undisputed claim to the most    
implicit credit4    ,it was the fortune 
of this gentleman to be called in to    
attend the  illness of a person now long
 deceased1 who in his lifetime stood1 as
 ,i  understand1 high in a particular   
department of the law1 which often      
placed the property of others at his    
discretion and control1 and whose       
conduct1 therefore1 being open to public
 observation1 he had for many  years    
borne the character of a man of unusual 
steadiness1 good sense1  and integrity4 
,he was1 at the time of my friend's     
visits1 confined  principally to his    
sick-room1 sometimes to bed1 yet        
occasionally  attending to business1 and
 exerting his mind1 apparently with all 
its  usual strength and energy1 to the  
conduct of important affairs intrusted  
to him2 nor did there1 to a superficial 
observer1 appear anything in his        
conduct1 while so engaged1 that could   

argue vacillation of intellect1 or      
depression of mind4 ,his outward        
symptoms of malady argued no acute or   
alarming disease4 ,but slowness of      
pulse1 absence of appetite1 difficulty  
of digestion1 and constant depression of
 spirits1 seemed to draw their  origin  
from some hidden cause1 which the       
patient was determined to  conceal4 ,the
 deep gloom of the unfortunate          
gentleman--the embarrassment1  which he 
could not conceal from his friendly     
physician--the briefness  and obvious   
constraint with which he answered the   
interrogations of his  medical adviser1 
induced my friend to take other methods 
for prosecuting  his inquiries4 ,he     
applied to the sufferer's family1 to    
learn1 if  possible1 the source of that 
secret grief which was gnawing the heart
  and sucking the life-blood of his     
unfortunate patient4 ,the persons       
applied to1 after conversing together   
previously1 denied all knowledge  of any
 cause for the burden which obviously   

affected their relative4 ,so  far as    
they knew--and they thought they could  
hardly be deceived--his  worldly affairs
 were prosperous2 no family loss had    
occurred which could  be followed with  
such persevering distress2 no           
entanglements of  affection could be    
supposed to apply to his age1 and no    
sensation of  severe remorse could be   
consistent with his character4 ,the     
medical  gentleman had finally recourse 
to serious argument with the invalid    
himself1 and urged to him the folly of  
devoting himself to a lingering  and    
melancholy death1 rather than tell the  
subject of affliction which  was thus   
wasting him4 ,he specially pressed upon 
him the injury which he  was doing to   
his own character1 by suffering it to be
 inferred that the  secret cause of his 
dejection and its consequences was      
something too  scandalous or flagitious 
to be made known1 bequeathing in this   
manner to  his family a suspected and   
dishonoured name1 and leaving a memory  

with  which might be associated the idea
 of guilt1 which the criminal had died  
without confessing4 ,the patient1 more  
moved by this species of appeal  than by
 any which had yet been urged1 expressed
 his desire to speak out  frankly to    
,dr4----4 ,every one else was removed1  
and the door of the  sick-room made     
secure1 when he began his confession in 
the following  manner3--    ,you cannot1
 my dear friend1 be more conscious than 
,i1 that ,i am in the  course of dying  
under the oppression of the fatal       
disease which consumes  my vital powers2
 but neither can you understand the     
nature of my  complaint1 and manner in  
which it acts upon me1 nor1 if you did1 
,i fear1  could your zeal and skill     
avail to rid me of it4--,it is possible1
  said the physician1 that my skill may 
not equal my wish of serving you2  yet  
medical science has many resources1 of  
which those unacquainted with  its      
powers never can form an estimate4 ,but 
until you plainly tell me  your symptoms

 of complaint1 it is impossible for     
either of us to say  what may or may not
 be in my power1 or within that of      
medicine4--,i may  answer you1 replied  
the patient1 that my case is not a      
singular one1  since we read of it in   
the famous novel of ,le ,sage4 ,you     
remember1  doubtless1 the disease of    
which the ,duke d',olivarez is there    
stated to  have died8--,of the idea1    
answered the medical gentleman1 that he 
was  haunted by an apparition1 to the   
actual existence of which he gave no    
credit1 but died1 nevertheless1 because 
he was overcome and heart-broken  by its
 imaginary presence4--,i1 my dearest    
doctor1 said the sick man1  am in that  
very case2 and so painful and abhorrent 
is the presence of  the persecuting     
vision1 that my reason is totally       
inadequate to combat  the effects of my 
morbid imagination1 and ,i am sensible  
,i am dying1 a  wasted victim to an     
imaginary disease4 ,the medical         
gentleman listened  with anxiety to his 

patient's statement1 and for the present
 judiciously  avoiding any contradiction
 of the sick man's preconceived fancy1  
contented himself with more minute      
inquiry into the nature of the          
apparition with which he conceived      
himself haunted1 and into the history   
of the mode by which so singular a      
disease had made itself master of his   
imagination1 secured1 as it seemed1 by  
strong powers of the  understanding1    
against an attack so irregular4 ,the    
sick person replied  by stating that its
 advances were gradual1 and at first not
 of a  terrible or even disagreeable    
character4 ,to illustrate this1 he gave 
the  following account of the progress  
of his disease3--    ,my visions1 he    
said1 commenced two or three years      
since1 when ,i found  myself from time  
to time embarrassed by the presence of a
 large cat1  which came and disappeared 
,i could not exactly tell how1 till the 
truth  was finally forced upon me1 and  
,i was compelled to regard it as no     

domestic household cat1 but as a bubble 
of the elements1 which had no  existence
 save in my deranged visual organs or   
depraved imagination4  ,still ,i had not
 that positive objection to the animal  
entertained by a  late gallant ,highland
 chieftain1 who has been seen to change 
to all the  colours of his own plaid if 
a cat by accident happened to be in the 
room  with him1 even though he did not  
see it4 ,on the contrary1 ,i am rather a
  friend to cats1 and endured with so   
much equanimity the presence of my      
imaginary attendant1 that it had become 
almost indifferent to me2 when1  within 
the course of a few months1 it gave     
place to1 or was succeeded  by1 a       
spectre of a more important sort1 or    
which at least had a more  imposing     
appearance4 ,this was no other than the 
apparition of a  gentleman-usher1       
dressed as if to wait upon a ,lord      
,lieutenant of  ,ireland1 a ,lord ,high 
,commissioner of the ,kirk1 or any other
 who bears on  his brow the rank and    

stamp of delegated sovereignty4    ,this
 personage1 arrayed in a court dress1   
with bag and sword1 tamboured           
waistcoat1 and chapeau-bras1 glided     
beside me like the ghost of ,beau       
,nash2 and1 whether in my own house or  
in another1 ascended the stairs  before 
me1 as if to announce me in the         
drawing-room1 and at sometimes  appeared
 to mingle with the company1 though it  
was sufficiently evident  that they were
 not aware of his presence1 and that ,i 
alone was sensible  of the visionary    
honours which this imaginary being      
seemed desirous to  render me4 ,this    
freak of the fancy did not produce much 
impression on  me1 though it led me to  
entertain doubts on the nature of my    
disorder  and alarm for the effect it   
might produce on my intellects4 ,but    
that  modification of my disease also   
had its appointed duration4 ,after a few
  months the phantom of the             
gentleman-usher was seen no more1 but   
was  succeeded by one horrible to the   

sight and distressing to the            
imagination1 being no other than the    
image of death itself--the  apparition  
of a skeleton4 ,alone or in company1    
said the unfortunate  invalid1 the      
presence of this last phantom never     
quits me4 ,i in vain  tell myself a     
hundred times over that it is no        
reality1 but merely an  image summoned  
up by the morbid acuteness of my own    
excited imagination  and deranged organs
 of sight4 ,but what avail such         
reflections1 while the  emblem at once  
and presage of mortality is before my   
eyes1 and while ,i  feel myself1 though 
in fancy only1 the companion of a       
phantom  representing a ghastly         
inhabitant of the grave1 even while ,i  
yet breathe  on the earth8 ,science1    
philosophy1 even religion1 has no cure  
for such a  disorder2 and ,i feel too   
surely that ,i shall die the victim to  
so  melancholy a disease1 although ,i   
have no belief whatever in the reality  
of the phantom which it places before   

me4    ,the physician was distressed to 
perceive1 from these details1 how       
strongly this visionary apparition was  
fixed in the imagination of his         
patient4 ,he ingeniously urged the sick 
man1 who was then in bed1 with          
questions concerning the circumstances  
of the phantom's appearance1  trusting  
he might lead him1 as a sensible man1   
into such contradictions  and           
inconsistencies as might bring his      
common-sense1 which seemed to be        
unimpaired1 so strongly into the field  
as might combat successfully the        
fantastic disorder which produced such  
fatal effects4 ,this skeleton1  then1   
said the doctor1 seems to you to be     
always present to your  eyes8 ,it is my 
fate1 unhappily1 answered the invalid1  
always to see  it4 ,then ,i understand1 
continued the physician1 it is now      
present to  your imagination8 ,to my    
imagination it certainly is so1 replied 
the  sick man4 ,and in what part of the 
chamber do you now conceive the         

apparition to appear8 the physician     
inquired4 ,immediately at the foot  of  
my bed4 ,when the curtains are left a   
little open1 answered the  invalid1 the 
skeleton1 to my thinking1 is placed     
between them1 and  fills the vacant     
space4 ,you say you are sensible of the 
delusion1  said his friend2 have you    
firmness to convince yourself of the    
truth of  this8 ,can you take courage   
enough to rise and place yourself in the
 spot  so seeming to be occupied1 and   
convince yourself of the illusion8 ,the 
poor man sighed1 and shook his head     
negatively4 ,well1 said the doctor1  we 
will try the experiment otherwise4      
,accordingly1 he rose from his  chair by
 the bedside1 and placing himself       
between the two half-drawn  curtains at 
the foot of the bed1 indicated as the   
place occupied by the  apparition1 asked
 if the spectre was still visible8 ,not 
entirely so1  replied the patient1      
because your person is betwixt him and  
me2 but ,i  observe his skull peering   

above your shoulder4    ,it is alleged  
the man of science started on the       
instant1 despite  philosophy1 on        
receiving an answer ascertaining1 with  
such minuteness1  that the ideal spectre
 was close to his own person4 ,he       
resorted to other  means of             
investigation and cure1 but with equally
 indifferent success4  ,the patient sunk
 into deeper and deeper dejection1 and  
died in the same  distress of mind in   
which he had spent the latter months of 
his life2  and his case remains a       
melancholy instance of the power of     
imagination  to kill the body1 even when
 its fantastic terrors cannot overcome  
the  intellect1 of the unfortunate      
persons who suffer under them4 ,the     
patient1 in the present case1 sunk under
 his malady2 and the  circumstances of  
his singular disorder remaining         
concealed1 he did not1  by his death and
 last illness1 lose any of his          
well-merited reputation  for prudence   
and sagacity which had attended him     

during the whole course  of his life4   
,having added these two remarkable      
instances to the general train of       
similar facts quoted by ,ferriar1       
,hibbert1 and other writers who have    
more recently considered the subject1   
there can1 we think1 be little  doubt of
 the proposition1 that the external     
organs may1 from various  causes1 become
 so much deranged as to make false      
representations to the  mind2 and that1 
in such cases1 men1 in the literal      
sense1 really see  the empty and false  
forms and hear the ideal sounds which1  
in a more  primitive state of society1  
are naturally enough referred to the    
action  of demons or disembodied        
spirits4 ,in such unhappy cases the     
patient is  intellectually in the       
condition of a general whose spies have 
been  bribed by the enemy1 and who must 
engage himself in the difficult and     
delicate task of examining and          
correcting1 by his own powers of        
argument1 the probability of the reports

 which are too inconsistent to  be      
trusted to4    ,but there is a corollary
 to this proposition1 which is worthy of
 notice4  ,the same species of organic  
derangement which1 as a continued habit 
of  his deranged vision1 presented the  
subject of our last tale with the       
successive apparitions of his cat1 his  
gentleman-usher1 and the fatal          
skeleton1 may occupy1 for a brief or    
almost momentary space1 the vision  of  
men who are otherwise perfectly         
clear-sighted4 ,transitory deceptions   
are thus presented to the organs which1 
when they occur to men of  strength of  
mind and of education1 give way to      
scrutiny1 and their  character being    
once investigated1 the true takes the   
place of the  unreal representation4    
,but in ignorant times those instances  
in which  any object is misrepresented1 
whether through the action of the       
senses1  or of the imagination1 or the  
combined influence of both1 for however 
short a space of time1 may be admitted  

as direct evidence of a  supernatural   
apparition2 a proof the more difficult  
to be disputed if  the phantom has been 
personally witnessed by a man of sense  
and  estimation1 who1 perhaps satisfied 
in the general as to the actual         
existence of apparitions1 has not taken 
time or trouble to correct his  first   
impressions4 ,this species of deception 
is so frequent that one of  the greatest
 poets of the present time answered a   
lady who asked him if  he believed in   
ghosts3--,no1 madam2 ,i have seen too   
many myself4 ,i may  mention one or two 
instances of the kind1 to which no doubt
 can be  attached4    ,the first shall  
be the apparition of ,maupertuis to a   
brother professor  in the ,royal        
,society of ,berlin4    ,this           
extraordinary circumstance appeared in  
the ,transactions of the  ,society1 but 
is thus stated by ,m4 ,thiebault in his 
,recollections of  ,frederick the ,great
 and the ,court of ,berlin4 ,it is      
necessary to premise  that ,m4          

,gleditsch1 to whom the circumstance    
happened1 was a botanist of  eminence1  
holding the professorship of natural    
philosophy at ,berlin1 and  respected as
 a man of an habitually serious1 simple1
 and tranquil  character4    ,a short   
time after the death of ,maupertuis1#b  
,m4 ,gleditsch being  obliged to        
traverse the hall in which the ,academy 
held its sittings1  having some         
arrangements to make in the cabinet of  
natural history1  which was under his   
charge1 and being willing to complete   
them on the  ,thursday before the       
meeting1 he perceived1 on entering the  
hall1 the  apparition of ,m4 de         
,maupertuis1 upright and stationary1 in 
the first  angle on his left hand1      
having his eyes fixed on him4 ,this was 
about  three o'clock1 afternoon4 ,the   
professor of natural philosophy was too 
well acquainted with physical science to
 suppose that his late  president1 who  
had died at ,ble1 in the family of      
,messrs4 ,bernoullie1  could have found 

his way back to ,berlin in person4 ,he  
regarded the  apparition in no other    
light than as a phantom produced by some
  derangement of his own proper organs4 
,m4 ,gleditsch went to his own          
business1 without stopping longer than  
to ascertain exactly the  appearance of 
that object4 ,but he related the vision 
to his brethren1  and assured them that 
it was as defined and perfect as the    
actual person  of ,maupertuis could have
 presented4 ,when it is recollected that
  ,maupertuis died at a distance from   
,berlin1 once the scene of his          
triumphs--overwhelmed by the petulant   
ridicule of ,voltaire1 and out of       
favour with ,frederick1 with whom to be 
ridiculous was to be  worthless--we can 
hardly wonder at the imagination even of
 a man of  physical science calling up  
his ,eidolon in the hall of his former  
greatness4    ,footnote #b3 ,long the   
president of the ,berlin ,academy1 and  
much favoured  by ,frederick ,,ii41 till
 he was overwhelmed by the ridicule of  

,voltaire4  ,he retired1 in a species of
 disgrace1 to his native country of     
,switzerland1 and died there shortly    
afterwards4    ,the sober-minded        
professor did not1 however1 push his    
investigation to  the point to which it 
was carried by a gallant soldier1 from  
whose mouth  a particular friend of the 
author received the following           
circumstances  of a similar story4      
,captain ,c---- was a native of         
,britain1 but bred in the ,irish        
,brigade4 ,he  was a man of the most    
dauntless courage1 which he displayed in
 some  uncommonly desperate adventures  
during the first years of the ,french   
,revolution1 being repeatedly employed  
by the royal family in very  dangerous  
commissions4 ,after the ,king's death he
 came over to ,england1  and it was then
 the following circumstance took place4 
,captain ,c---- was a ,catholic1 and1 in
 his hour of adversity at least1        
sincerely attached to the duties of his 
religion4 ,his confessor was a          

clergyman who was residing as chaplain  
to a man of rank in the west of         
,england1 about four miles from the     
place where ,captain ,c---- lived4 ,on  
riding over one morning to see this     
gentleman1 his penitent had the         
misfortune to find him very ill from a  
dangerous complaint4 ,he retired  in    
great distress and apprehension of his  
friend's life1 and the feeling  brought 
back upon him many other painful and    
disagreeable recollections4  ,these     
occupied him till the hour of retiring  
to bed1 when1 to his great              
astonishment1 he saw in the room the    
figure of the absent confessor4 ,he     
addressed it1 but received no           
answer--the eyes alone were impressed by
  the appearance4 ,determined to push   
the matter to the end1 ,captain ,c----  
advanced on the phantom1 which appeared 
to retreat gradually before him4  ,in   
this manner he followed it round the    
bed1 when it seemed to sink down  on an 
elbow-chair1 and remain there in a      

sitting posture4 ,to ascertain          
positively the nature of the apparition1
 the soldier himself sate down  on the  
same chair1 ascertaining thus1 beyond   
question1 that the whole  was illusion2 
yet he owned that1 had his friend died  
about the same  time1 he would not well 
have known what name to give to his     
vision4 ,but  as the confessor          
recovered1 and1 in ,dr4 ,johnson's      
phrase1 nothing came  of it1 the        
incident was only remarkable as showing 
that men of the  strongest nerves are   
not exempted from such delusions4       
,another illusion of the same nature we 
have the best reason for vouching  as a 
fact1 though1 for certain reasons1 we do
 not give the names of the  parties4    
,not long after the death of a late     
illustrious poet1 who had  filled1 while
 living1 a great station in the eye of  
the public1 a  literary friend1 to whom 
the deceased had been well known1 was   
engaged1  during the darkening twilight 
of an autumn evening1 in perusing one of

  the publications which professed to   
detail the habits and opinions of  the  
distinguished individual who was now no 
more4 ,as the reader had  enjoyed the   
intimacy of the deceased to a           
considerable degree1 he was  deeply     
interested in the publication1 which    
contained some particulars  relating to 
himself and other friends4 ,a visitor   
was sitting in the  apartment1 who was  
also engaged in reading4 ,their         
sitting-room opened  into an            
entrance-hall1 rather fantastically     
fitted up with articles of  armour1     
skins of wild animals1 and the like4 ,it
 was when laying down his  book1 and    
passing into this hall1 through which   
the moon was beginning  to shine1 that  
the individual of whom ,i speak saw1    
right before him1 and  in a standing    
posture1 the exact representation of his
 departed friend1  whose recollection   
had been so strongly brought to his     
imagination4 ,he  stopped for a single  
moment1 so as to notice the wonderful   

accuracy with  which fancy had impressed
 upon the bodily eye the peculiarities  
of dress  and posture of the illustrious
 poet4 ,sensible1 however1 of the       
delusion1  he felt no sentiment save    
that of wonder at the extraordinary     
accuracy  of the resemblance1 and       
stepped onwards towards the figure1     
which  resolved itself1 as he           
approached1 into the various materials  
of which  it was composed4 ,these were  
merely a screen1 occupied by            
great-coats1  shawls1 plaids1 and such  
other articles as usually are found in a
  country entrance-hall4 ,the spectator 
returned to the spot from which he  had 
seen the illusion1 and endeavoured1 with
 all his power1 to recall  the image    
which had been so singularly vivid4 ,but
 this was beyond his  capacity2 and the 
person who had witnessed the apparition1
 or1 more  properly1 whose excited state
 had been the means of raising it1 had  
only  to return into the apartment1 and 
tell his young friend under what a      

striking hallucination he had for a     
moment laboured4    ,there is every     
reason to believe that instances of this
 kind are  frequent among persons of a  
certain temperament1 and when such occur
 in  an early period of society1 they   
are almost certain to be considered as  
real supernatural appearances4 ,they    
differ from those of ,nicolai1 and      
others formerly noticed1 as being of    
short duration1 and constituting no     
habitual or constitutional derangement  
of the system4 ,the apparition of       
,maupertuis to ,monsieur ,gleditsch1    
that of the ,catholic clergyman to      
,captain ,c----1 that of a late poet to 
his friend1 are of the latter           
character4 ,they bear to the former the 
analogy1 as we may say1 which a  sudden 
and temporary fever-fit has to a serious
 feverish illness4 ,but1  even for this 
very reason1 it is more difficult to    
bring such momentary  impressions back  
to their real sphere of optical         
illusions1 since they  accord much      

better with our idea of glimpses of the 
future world than  those in which the   
vision is continued or repeated for     
hours1 days1 and  months1 affording     
opportunities of discovering1 from other
  circumstances1 that the symptom       
originates in deranged health4          
,before concluding these observations   
upon the deceptions of the senses1  we  
must remark that the eye is the organ   
most essential to the purpose  of       
realizing to our mind the appearance of 
external objects1 and that  when the    
visual organ becomes depraved for a     
greater or less time1 and  to a farther 
or more limited extent1 its             
misrepresentation of the  objects of    
sight is peculiarly apt to terminate in 
such hallucinations  as those we have   
been detailing4 ,yet the other senses or
 organs1 in  their turn1 and to the     
extent of their power1 are as ready1 in 
their  various departments1 as the sight
 itself1 to retain false or doubtful    
impressions1 which mislead1 instead of  

informing1 the party to whom they  are  
addressed4    ,thus1 in regard to the   
ear1 the next organ in importance to the
 eye1 we  are repeatedly deceived by    
such sounds as are imperfectly gathered 
up  and erroneously apprehended4 ,from  
the false impressions received from     
this organ also arise consequences      
similar to those derived from  erroneous
 reports made by the organs of sight4 ,a
 whole class of  superstitious          
observances arise1 and are grounded upon
 inaccurate and  imperfect hearing4 ,to 
the excited and imperfect state of the  
ear we owe  the existence of what       
,milton sublimely calls--    ,the airy  
tongues that syllable men's names1  ,on 
shores1 in desert sands1 and            
wildernesses4    ,these also appear such
 natural causes of alarm1 that we do not
  sympathize more readily with ,robinson
 ,crusoe's apprehensions when he        
witnesses the print of the savage's foot
 in the sand1 than in those  which arise
 from his being waked from sleep by some

 one calling his name  in the solitary  
island1 where there existed no man but  
the shipwrecked  mariner himself4       
,amidst the train of superstitions      
deduced from the  imperfections of the  
ear1 we may quote that visionary summons
 which the  natives of the ,hebrides    
acknowledged as one sure sign of        
approaching  fate4 ,the voice of some   
absent1 or probably some deceased1      
relative was1  in such cases1 heard as  
repeating the party's name4 ,sometimes  
the aerial  summoner intimated his own  
death1 and at others it was no uncommon 
circumstance that the person who fancied
 himself so called1 died in             
consequence2--for the same reason that  
the negro pines to death who is  laid   
under the ban of an ,obi woman1 or the  
,cambro-,briton1 whose name is  put into
 the famous cursing well1 with the usual
 ceremonies1 devoting  him to the       
infernal gods1 wastes away and dies1 as 
one doomed to do so4  ,it may be        
remarked also1 that ,dr4 ,johnson       

retained a deep impression  that1 while 
he was opening the door of his college  
chambers1 he heard  the voice of his    
mother1 then at many miles' distance1   
call him by his  name2 and it appears he
 was rather disappointed that no event  
of  consequence followed a summons      
sounding so decidedly supernatural4 ,it 
is  unnecessary to dwell on this sort of
 auricular deception1 of which most     
men's recollection will supply          
instances4 ,the following may he stated 
as  one serving to show by what slender 
accidents the human ear may be  imposed 
upon4 ,the author was walking1 about two
 years since1 in a wild  and solitary   
scene with a young friend1 who laboured 
under the infirmity  of a severe        
deafness1 when he heard what he         
conceived to be the cry of a  distant   
pack of hounds1 sounding intermittedly4 
,as the season was  summer1 this1 on a  
moment's reflection1 satisfied the      
hearer that it  could not be the clamour
 of an actual chase1 and yet his ears   

repeatedly  brought back the supposed   
cry4 ,he called upon his own dogs1 of   
which two  or three were with the       
walking party4 ,they came in quietly1   
and  obviously had no accession to the  
sounds which had caught the author's    
attention1 so that he could not help    
saying to his companion1 ,i am  doubly  
sorry for your infirmity at this moment1
 for ,i could otherwise  have let you   
hear the cry of the ,wild ,huntsman4 ,as
 the young gentleman  used a hearing    
tube1 he turned when spoken to1 and1 in 
doing so1 the  cause of the phenomenon  
became apparent4 ,the supposed distant  
sound was  in fact a nigh one1 being the
 singing of the wind in the instrument  
which the young gentleman was obliged to
 use1 but which1 from various           
circumstances1 had never occurred to his
 elder friend as likely to  produce the 
sounds he had heard4    ,it is scarce   
necessary to add1 that the highly       
imaginative superstition  of the ,wild  
,huntsman in ,germany seems to have had 

its origin in strong  fancy1 operating  
upon the auricular deceptions1          
respecting the numerous  sounds likely  
to occur in the dark recesses of        
pathless forests4 ,the  same clew may be
 found to the kindred ,scottish belief1 
so finely  embodied by the nameless     
author of ,albania3--    ,there1 since  
of old the haughty ,thanes of ,ross     
,were wont1 with clans and ready vassals
 thronged1  ,to wake the bounding stag1 
or guilty wolf2  ,there oft is heard at 
midnight or at noon1  ,beginning faint1 
but rising still more loud1  ,and       
louder1 voice of hunters1 and of hounds1
  ,and horns hoarse-winded1 blowing far 
and keen4  ,forthwith the hubbub        
multiplies1 the air  ,labours with      
louder shouts and rifer din  ,of close  
pursuit1 the broken cry of deer         
,mangled by throttling dogs1 the shouts 
of men1  ,and hoofs1 thick-beating on   
the hollow hill3  ,sudden the grazing   
heifer in the vale  ,starts at the      
tumult1 and the herdsman's ears  ,tingle

 with inward dread4 ,aghast he eyes     
,the upland ridge1 and every mountain   
round1  ,but not one trace of living    
wight discerns1  ,nor knows1 o'erawed   
and trembling as he stands1  ,to what or
 whom he owes his idle fear--  ,to      
ghost1 to witch1 to fairy1 or to fiend1 
,but wonders1 and no end of wondering   
finds4#c    ,it must also be remembered1
 that to the auricular deceptions       
practised  by the means of ventriloquism
 or otherwise1 may be traced many of the
  most successful impostures which      
credulity has received as supernatural  
communications4    ,footnote #c3 ,the   
poem of ,albania is1 in its original    
folio edition1 so  extremely scarce that
 ,i have only seen a copy belonging to  
the amiable  and ingenious ,dr4         
,beattie1 besides the one which ,i      
myself possess1  printed in the earlier 
part of last century4 ,it was reprinted 
by my late  friend ,dr4 ,leyden in a    
small volume entitled ,scottish         
,descriptive  ,poems4 ,albania contains 

the above1 and many other poetical      
passages  of the highest merit4    ,the 
sense of touch seems less liable to     
perversion than either that of  sight or
 smell1 nor are there many cases in     
which it can become  accessary to such  
false intelligence as the eye and ear1  
collecting  their objects from a greater
 distance and by less accurate enquiry1 
are  but too ready to convey4 ,yet there
 is one circumstance in which the  sense
 of touch as well as others is very apt 
to betray its possessor  into           
inaccuracy1 in respect to the           
circumstances which it impresses on  its
 owner4 ,the case occurs during sleep1  
when the dreamer touches with  his hand 
some other part of his own person4 ,he  
is clearly1 in this case1  both the     
actor and patient1 both the proprietor  
of the member touching1  and of that    
which is touched2 while1 to increase the
 complication1 the  hand is both toucher
 of the limb on which it rests1 and     
receives an  impression of touch from   

it2 and the same is the case with the   
limb1  which at one and the same time   
receives an impression from the hand1   
and  conveys to the mind a report       
respecting the size1 substance1 and the 
like1 of the member touching4 ,now1 as  
during sleep the patient is  unconscious
 that both limbs are his own identical  
property1 his mind is  apt to be much   
disturbed by the complication of        
sensations arising from  two parts of   
his person being at once acted upon1 and
 from their  reciprocal action2 and     
false impressions are thus received1    
which1  accurately enquired into1 would 
afford a clew to many puzzling phenomena
  in the theory of dreams4 ,this        
peculiarity of the organ of touch1 as   
also  that it is confined to no         
particular organ1 but is diffused over  
the  whole person of the man1 is noticed
 by ,lucretius3--    ,ut si forte manu1 
quam vis jam corporis1 ipse   ,tute tibi
 partem ferias1 reque experiare4    ,a  
remarkable instance of such an illusion 

was told me by a late  nobleman4 ,he had
 fallen asleep1 with some uneasy        
feelings arising from  indigestion4     
,they operated in their usual course of 
visionary terrors4  ,at length they were
 all summed up in the apprehension that 
the phantom  of a dead man held the     
sleeper by the wrist1 and endeavoured to
 drag him  out of bed4 ,he awaked in    
horror1 and still felt the cold dead    
grasp of a  corpse's hand on his right  
wrist4 ,it was a minute before he       
discovered  that his own left hand was  
in a state of numbness1 and with it he  
had  accidentally encircled his right   
arm4    ,the taste and the smell1 like  
the touch1 convey more direct           
intelligence  than the eye and the ear1 
and are less likely than those senses to
 aid  in misleading the imagination4 ,we
 have seen the palate1 in the case of   
the porridge-fed lunatic1 enter its     
protest against the acquiescence of     
eyes1 ears1 and touch1 in the gay       
visions which gilded the patient's      

confinement4 ,the palate1 however1 is   
subject to imposition as well as  the   
other senses4 ,the best and most acute  
bon vivant loses his power  of          
discriminating betwixt different kinds  
of wine1 if he is prevented  from       
assisting his palate by the aid of his  
eyes1--that is1 if the  glasses of each 
are administered indiscriminately while 
he is  blindfolded4 ,nay1 we are        
authorized to believe that individuals  
have  died in consequence of having     
supposed themselves to have taken       
poison1  when1 in reality1 the draught  
they had swallowed as such was of an    
innoxious or restorative quality4 ,the  
delusions of the stomach can  seldom    
bear upon our present subject1 and are  
not otherwise connected  with           
supernatural appearances1 than as a good
 dinner and its  accompaniments are     
essential in fitting out a daring ,tam  
of ,shanter1 who  is fittest to         
encounter them when the poet's          
observation is not unlikely  to apply-- 

,inspiring bauld ,john ,barleycorn1     
,what dangers thou canst make us scorn6 
,wi' tippenny we fear nae evil1  ,wi'   
usquebae we'll face the devil4  ,the    
swats sae ream'd in ,tammie's noddle1   
,fair play1 he caredna deils a bodle6   
,neither has the sense of smell1 in its 
ordinary state1 much connexion  with our
 present subject4 ,mr4 ,aubrey tells us1
 indeed1 of an apparition  which        
disappeared with a curious perfume as   
well as a most melodious  twang2 and    
popular belief ascribes to the presence 
of infernal spirits a  strong relish of 
the sulphureous element of which they   
are inhabitants4  ,such accompaniments1 
therefore1 are usually united with other
 materials  for imposture4 ,if1 as a    
general opinion assures us1 which is not
  positively discountenanced by ,dr4    
,hibbert1 by the inhalation of certain  
gases or poisonous herbs1 necromancers  
can dispose a person to believe  he sees
 phantoms1 it is likely that the        
nostrils are made to inhale such        

suffumigation as well as the mouth4#d   
,footnote #d3 ,most ancient authors1 who
 pretend to treat of the wonders  of    
natural magic1 give receipts for calling
 up phantoms4 ,the lighting  lamps fed  
by peculiar kinds of medicated oil1 and 
the use of  suffumigations of strong and
 deleterious herbs1 are the means       
recommended4 ,from these authorities1   
perhaps1 a professor of legerdemain     
assured ,dr4 ,alderson of ,hull1 that he
 could compose a preparation of         
antimony1 sulphur1 and other drugs1     
which1 when burnt in a confined  room1  
would have the effect of causing the    
patient to suppose he saw               
phantoms4--,see ,hibbert on             
,apparitions1 p4 #abj4    ,i have now   
arrived1 by a devious path1 at the      
conclusion of this letter1  the object  
of which is to show from what attributes
 of our nature1  whether mental or      
corporeal1 arises that predisposition to
 believe in  supernatural occurrences4  
,it is1 ,i think1 conclusive that       

mankind1 from  a very early period1 have
 their minds prepared for such events by
 the  consciousness of the existence of 
a spiritual world1 inferring in the     
general proposition the undeniable truth
 that each man1 from the monarch  to the
 beggar1 who has once acted his part on 
the stage1 continues to  exist1 and may 
again1 even in a disembodied state1 if  
such is the  pleasure of ,heaven1 for   
aught that we know to the contrary1 be  
permitted  or ordained to mingle amongst
 those who yet remain in the body4 ,the 
abstract possibility of apparitions must
 be admitted by every one who  believes 
in a ,deity1 and ,his superintending    
omnipotence4 ,but imagination  is apt to
 intrude its explanations and inferences
 founded on inadequate  evidence4       
,sometimes our violent and inordinate   
passions1 originating in  sorrow for our
 friends1 remorse for our crimes1 our   
eagerness of  patriotism1 or our deep   
sense of devotion--these or other       
violent  excitements of a moral         

character1 in the visions of night1 or  
the rapt  ecstasy of the day1 persuade  
us that we witness1 with our eyes and   
ears1  an actual instance of that       
supernatural communication1 the         
possibility  of which cannot be denied4 
,at other times the corporeal organs    
impose  upon the mind1 while the eye and
 the ear1 diseased1 deranged1 or misled1
  convey false impressions to the       
patient4 ,very often both the mental    
delusion and the physical deception     
exist at the same time1 and men's       
belief of the phenomena presented to    
them1 however erroneously1 by the       
senses1 is the firmer and more readily  
granted1 that the physical  impression  
corresponded with the mental excitement4
    ,so many causes acting thus upon    
each other in various degrees1 or       
sometimes separately1 it must happen    
early in the infancy of every  society  
that there should occur many apparently 
well-authenticated  instances of        
supernatural intercourse1 satisfactory  

enough to  authenticate peculiar        
examples of the general proposition     
which is  impressed upon us by belief of
 the immortality of the soul4 ,these    
examples of undeniable apparitions 7for 
they are apprehended to be              
incontrovertible71 fall like the seed of
 the husbandman into fertile and        
prepared soil1 and are usually followed 
by a plentiful crop of  superstitious   
figments1 which derive their sources    
from circumstances  and enactments in   
sacred and profane history1 hastily     
adopted1 and  perverted from their      
genuine reading4 ,this shall be the     
subject of my  next letter4             
,,letter ,,ii4        ,consequences of  
the ,fall on the ,communication between 
,man and the      ,spiritual            
,world--,effects of the ,flood--,wizards
 of ,pharaoh--,text in      ,exodus     
against ,witches--,the word ,witch is by
 some said to mean      merely          
,poisoner--,or if in the ,holy ,text it 
also means a ,divineress1      she must1

 at any rate1 have been a ,character    
very different to be      identified    
with it--,the original1 ,chasaph1 said  
to mean a person      who dealt in      
,poisons1 often a ,traffic of those who 
dealt with      familiar ,spirits--,but 
different from the ,european ,witch of  
the      ,middle ,ages--,thus a ,witch  
is not accessary to the ,temptation of  
,job--,the ,witch of the ,hebrews       
probably did not rank higher than a     
,divining ,woman--,yet it was a ,crime  
deserving the ,doom of ,death1          
since it inferred the disowning of      
,jehovah's ,supremacy--,other ,texts    
of ,scripture1 in like manner1 refer to 
something corresponding more      with a
 ,fortune-teller or ,divining ,woman    
than what is now called a               
,witch--,example of the ,witch of       
,endor--,account of her ,meeting with   
,saul--,supposed by some a mere         
,impostor--,by others1 a ,sorceress     
powerful enough to raise the ,spirit of 
the ,prophet by her own                 

,art--,difficulties attending both      
,positions--,a middle ,course adopted1  
supposing that1 as in the ,case of      
,balak1 the ,almighty had1 by           
,exertion of ,his ,will1 substituted    
,samuel1 or a good ,spirit in his       
,character1 for the ,deception which the
 ,witch intended to                     
produce--,resumption of the ,argument1  
showing that the ,witch of ,endor       
signified something very different from 
the modern ,ideas of                    
,witchcraft--,the ,witches mentioned in 
the ,new ,testament are not less        
different from modern ,ideas than those 
of the ,books of ,moses1 nor do         
they appear to have possessed the ,power
 ascribed to      ,magicians--,articles 
of ,faith which we may gather from      
,scripture on      this point--,that    
there might be certain ,powers permitted
 by the      ,almighty to ,inferior1 and
 even ,evil ,spirits1 is possible2 and  
in      some sense the ,gods of the     
,heathens might be accounted            

,demons--,more      frequently1 and in a
 general sense1 they were but logs of   
wood1      without sense or power of any
 kind1 and their worship founded on     
imposture--,opinion that the ,oracles   
were silenced at the ,nativity          
adopted by ,milton--,cases of           
,demoniacs--,the ,incarnate ,possessions
      probably ceased at the same time  
as the intervention of                  
,miracles--,opinion of the              
,catholics--,result1 that witchcraft1 as
 the      ,word is interpreted in  the  
,middle ,ages1 neither occurs under the 
,mosaic or ,gospel ,dispensation--,it   
arose in the ,ignorant ,period1 when    
the ,christians considered the ,gods of 
the ,mahommedan or ,heathen             
,nations as ,fiends1 and their ,priests 
as ,conjurers or                        
,wizards--,instance as to the ,saracens1
 and among the ,northern      ,europeans
 yet unconverted--,the ,gods of ,mexico 
and ,peru explained on      the same    
system--,also the ,powahs of ,north     

,america--,opinion of                   
,mather--,gibb1 a supposed ,warlock1    
persecuted by the other                 
,dissenters--,conclusion4      ,what    
degree of communication might have      
existed between the human race  and the 
inhabitants of the other world had our  
first parents kept the  commands of the 
,creator1 can only be subject of        
unavailing speculation4  ,we do not1    
perhaps1 presume too much when we       
suppose1 with ,milton1 that  one        
necessary consequence of eating the     
fruit of that forbidden tree  was       
removing to a wider distance from       
celestial essences the beings who1      
although originally but a little lower  
than the angels1 had1 by their  own     
crime1 forfeited the gift of            
immortality1 and degraded themselves    
into an inferior rank of creation4      
,some communication between the         
spiritual world1 by the union of those  
termed in ,scripture sons of ,god and   
the daughters of ,adam1 still  continued

 after the ,fall1 though their          
inter-alliance was not approved  of by  
the ,ruler of mankind4 ,we are given to 
understand--darkly1 indeed1  but with as
 much certainty as we can be entitled to
 require--that the  mixture between the 
two species of created beings was sinful
 on the part  of both1 and displeasing  
to the ,almighty4 ,it is probable1 also1
 that the  extreme longevity of the     
antediluvian mortals prevented their    
feeling  sufficiently that they had     
brought themselves under the banner of  
,azrael1 the angel of death1 and removed
 to too great a distance the  period    
between their crime and its punishment4 
,the date of the avenging  ,flood gave  
birth to a race whose life was gradually
 shortened1 and who1  being admitted to 
slighter and rarer intimacy with beings 
who possessed  a higher rank in         
creation1 assumed1 as of course1 a lower
 position in  the scale4 ,accordingly1  
after this period we hear no more of    
those  unnatural alliances which        

preceded the ,flood1 and are given to   
understand that mankind1 dispersing into
 different parts of the world1          
separated from each other1 and began1 in
 various places1 and under  separate    
auspices1 to pursue the work of         
replenishing the world1 which  had been 
imposed upon them as an end of their    
creation4 ,in the meantime1  while the  
,deity was pleased to continue his      
manifestations to those who  were       
destined to be the fathers of his elect 
people1 we are made to  understand that 
wicked men--it may be by the assistance 
of fallen  angels--were enabled to      
assert rank with1 and attempt to match1 
the  prophets of the ,god of ,israel4   
,the matter must remain uncertain       
whether  it was by sorcery or           
legerdemain that the wizards of         
,pharaoh1 ,king of  ,egypt1 contended   
with ,moses1 in the face of the prince  
and people1  changed their rods into    
serpents1 and imitated several of the   
plagues  denounced against the devoted  

kingdom4 ,those powers of the ,magi1    
however1 whether obtained by            
supernatural communications1 or arising 
from knowledge of legerdemain and its   
kindred accomplishments1 were  openly   
exhibited2 and who can doubt            
that--though we may be left in some     
darkness both respecting the extent of  
their skill and the source from  which  
it was drawn--we are told all which it  
can be important for us to  know8 ,we   
arrive here at the period when the      
,almighty chose to take upon  himself   
directly to legislate for his chosen    
people1 without having  obtained any    
accurate knowledge whether the crime of 
witchcraft1 or the  intercourse between 
the spiritual world and embodied beings1
 for evil  purposes1 either existed     
after the ,flood1 or was visited with   
any open  marks of ,divine displeasure4 
,but in the law of ,moses1 dictated by  
the ,divinity himself1 was announced  a 
text1 which1 as interpreted literally1  
having been inserted into the  criminal 

code of all ,christian nations1 has     
occasioned much cruelty and  bloodshed1 
either from its tenor being             
misunderstood1 or that1 being           
exclusively calculated for the          
,israelites1 it made part of the        
judicial  ,mosaic dispensation1 and was 
abrogated1 like the greater part of that
  law1 by the more benign and clement   
dispensation of the ,gospel4    ,the    
text alluded to is that verse of the    
twenty-second chapter of ,exodus        
bearing1 men shall not suffer a witch to
 live4 ,many learned men have  affirmed 
that in this remarkable passage the     
,hebrew word ,,chasaph means  nothing   
more than poisoner1 although1 like the  
word veneficus1 by  which it is rendered
 in the ,latin version of the           
,septuagint1 other  learned men contend 
that it hath the meaning of a witch     
also1 and may be  understood as denoting
 a person who pretended to hurt his or  
her  neighbours in life1 limb1 or goods1
 either by noxious potions1 by  charms1 

or similar mystical means4 ,in this     
particular the witches of  ,scripture   
had probably some resemblance to those  
of ancient ,europe1 who1  although their
 skill and power might be safely        
despised1 as long as they  confined     
themselves to their charms and spells1  
were very apt to eke out  their capacity
 of mischief by the use of actual       
poison1 so that the  epithet of         
sorceress and poisoner were almost      
synonymous4 ,this is known  to have been
 the case in many of those darker       
iniquities which bear as  their         
characteristic something connected with 
hidden and prohibited  arts4 ,such was  
the statement in the indictment of those
 concerned in the  famous murder of ,sir
 ,thomas ,overbury1 when the arts of    
,forman and other  sorcerers having been
 found insufficient to touch the        
victim's life1  practice by poison was  
at length successfully resorted to2 and 
numerous  similar instances might be    
quoted4 ,but supposing that the ,hebrew 

witch  proceeded only by charms1        
invocations1 or such means as might be  
innoxious1 save for the assistance of   
demons or familiars1 the connexion      
between the conjurer and the demon must 
have been of a very different  character
 under the law of ,moses1 from that     
which was conceived in  latter days to  
constitute witchcraft4 ,there was no    
contract of  subjection to a diabolic   
power1 no infernal stamp or sign of such
 a  fatal league1 no revellings of      
,satan and his hags1 and no infliction  
of  disease or misfortune upon good men4
 ,at least there is not a word in       
,scripture authorizing us to believe    
that such a system existed4 ,on the     
contrary1 we are told 7how far          
literally1 how far metaphorically1 it is
  not for us to determine7 that1 when   
the ,enemy of mankind desired to  probe 
the virtue of ,job to the bottom1 he    
applied for permission to the  ,supreme 
,governor of the world1 who granted him 
liberty to try his  faithful servant    

with a storm of disasters1 for the more 
brilliant  exhibition of the faith which
 he reposed in his ,maker4 ,in all this1
 had  the scene occurred after the      
manner of the like events in latter     
days1  witchcraft1 sorceries1 and charms
 would have been introduced1 and the    
,devil1 instead of his own permitted    
agency1 would have employed his  servant
 the witch as the necessary instrument  
of the ,man of ,uzz's  afflictions4 ,in 
like manner1 ,satan desired to have     
,peter1 that he might  sift him like    
wheat4 ,but neither is there here the   
agency of any  sorcerer or witch4 ,luke 
xxii4 #ca4    ,supposing the powers of  
the witch to be limited1 in the time of 
,moses1  to enquiries at some pretended 
deity or real evil spirit concerning    
future events1 in what respect1 may it  
be said1 did such a crime deserve  the  
severe punishment of death8 ,to answer  
this question1 we must reflect  that the
 object of the ,mosaic dispensation     
being to preserve the  knowledge of the 

,true ,deity within the breasts of a    
selected and  separated people1 the ,god
 of ,jacob necessarily showed himself a 
jealous  ,god to all who1 straying from 
the path of direct worship of ,jehovah1 
had  recourse to other deities1 whether 
idols or evil spirits1 the gods of  the 
neighbouring heathen4 ,the swerving from
 their allegiance to the true           
,divinity1 to the extent of praying to  
senseless stocks and stones which  could
 return them no answer1 was1 by the     
,jewish law1 an act of rebellion  to    
their own ,lord ,god1 and as such most  
fit to be punished capitally4  ,thus the
 prophets of ,baal were deservedly put  
to death1 not on account  of any success
 which they might obtain by their       
intercessions and  invocations 7which1  
though enhanced with all their          
vehemence1 to the  extent of cutting and
 wounding themselves1 proved so utterly 
unavailing  as to incur the ridicule of 
the prophet71 but because they were     
guilty  of apostasy from the real       

,deity1 while they worshipped1 and      
encouraged  others to worship1 the false
 divinity ,baal4 ,the ,hebrew witch1    
therefore1  or she who communicated1 or 
attempted to communicate1 with an evil  
spirit1 was justly punished with death1 
though her communication with  the      
spiritual world might either not exist  
at all1 or be of a nature  much less    
intimate than has been ascribed to the  
witches of later days2  nor does the    
existence of this law1 against the      
witches of the ,old  ,testament         
sanction1 in any respect1 the severity  
of similar enactments  subsequent to the
 ,christian revelation1 against a       
different class of  persons1 accused of 
a very different species of crime4      
,in another passage1 the practices of   
those persons termed witches in the     
,holy ,scriptures are again alluded to2 
and again it is made manifest that  the 
sorcery or witchcraft of the ,old       
,testament resolves itself into a       
trafficking with idols1 and asking      

counsel of false deities2 in other      
words1 into idolatry1 which1            
notwithstanding repeated prohibitions1  
examples1 and judgments1 was still the  
prevailing crime of the  ,israelites4   
,the passage alluded to is in           
,deuteronomy xviii4 #aj1  ii--,there    
shall not be found among you anyone that
 maketh his son or  his daughter to pass
 through the fire1 or that useth        
divination1 or an  observer of times1 or
 an enchanter1 or a witch1 or a charmer1
 or a  consulter with familiar spirits1 
or a wizard1 or a necromancer4 ,similar 
denunciations occur in the nineteenth   
and twentieth chapters of  ,leviticus4  
,in like manner1 it is a charge against 
,manasses 7#b ,chronicles  xxxviii47    
that he caused his children to pass     
through the fire1 observed  times1 used 
enchantments and witchcraft1 and dealt  
with familiar spirits  and with wizards4
 ,these passages seem to concur with the
 former1 in  classing witchcraft among  
other desertions of the prophets of the 

,deity1  in order to obtain responses by
 the superstitious practices of the     
pagan  nations around them4 ,to         
understand the texts otherwise seems to 
confound  the modern system of          
witchcraft1 with all its unnatural and  
improbable  outrages on common sense1   
with the crime of the person who1 in    
classical  days1 consulted the oracle of
 ,apollo--a capital offence in a ,jew1  
but  surely a venial sin in an ignorant 
and deluded pagan4    ,to illustrate the
 nature of the ,hebrew witch and her    
prohibited criminal  traffic1 those who 
have written on this subject have       
naturally dwelt  upon the interview     
between ,saul and the ,witch of ,endor1 
the only  detailed and particular       
account of such a transaction which is  
to be  found in the ,bible2 a fact1 by  
the way1 which proves that the crime of 
witchcraft 7capitally punished as it was
 when discovered7 was not  frequent     
among the chosen people1 who enjoyed    
such peculiar  manifestations of the    

,almighty's presence4 ,the ,scriptures  
seem only to  have conveyed to us the   
general fact 7being what is chiefly     
edifying7 of  the interview between the 
witch and the ,king of ,israel4 ,they   
inform us  that ,saul1 disheartened and 
discouraged by the general defection of 
his  subjects1 and the consciousness of 
his own unworthy and ungrateful         
disobedience1 despairing of obtaining an
 answer from the offended ,deity1  who  
had previously communicated with him    
through his prophets1 at length         
resolved1 in his desperation1 to go to a
 divining woman1 by which course  he    
involved himself in the crime of the    
person whom he thus consulted1  against 
whom the law denounced death--a sentence
 which had been often  executed by ,saul
 himself on similar offenders4          
,scripture proceeds to  give us the     
general information that the king       
directed the witch to call  up the      
,spirit of ,samuel1 and that the female 
exclaimed that gods had  arisen out of  

the earth--that ,saul1 more particularly
 requiring a  description of the        
apparition 7whom1 consequently1 he did  
not himself  see71 she described it as  
the figure of an old man with a mantle4 
,in  this figure the king acknowledges  
the resemblance of ,samuel1 and sinking 
on his face1 hears from the apparition1 
speaking in the character of the        
prophet1 the melancholy prediction of   
his own defeat and death4    ,in this   
description1 though all is told which is
 necessary to convey to  us an awful    
moral lesson1 yet we are left ignorant  
of the minuti  attending the apparition1
 which perhaps we ought to accept as a  
sure  sign that there was no utility in 
our being made acquainted with them4    
,it is impossible1 for instance1 to know
 with certainty whether ,saul was       
present when the woman used her         
conjuration1 or whether he himself      
personally ever saw the appearance which
 the ,pythoness described to him4  ,it  
is left still more doubtful whether     

anything supernatural was  actually     
evoked1 or whether the ,pythoness and   
her assistant meant to  practise a mere 
deception1 taking their chance to       
prophesy the defeat  and death of the   
broken-spirited king as an event which  
the  circumstances in which he was      
placed rendered highly probable1 since  
he  was surrounded by a superior army of
 ,philistines1 and his character as a   
soldier rendered it likely that he would
 not survive a defeat which must        
involve the loss of his kingdom4 ,on the
 other hand1 admitting that the         
apparition had really a supernatural    
character1 it remains equally  uncertain
 what was its nature or by what power it
 was compelled to an  appearance1       
unpleasing1 as it intimated1 since the  
supposed spirit of  ,samuel asks        
wherefore he was disquieted in the      
grave4 ,was the power of  the witch over
 the invisible world so great that1 like
 the ,erictho of  the heathen poet1 she 
could disturb the sleep of the just1 and

  especially that of a prophet so       
important as ,samuel2 and are we to     
suppose that he1 upon whom the ,spirit  
of the ,lord was wont to descend1  even 
while he was clothed with frail         
mortality1 should be subject to be      
disquieted in his grave at the voice of 
a vile witch1 and the command of  an    
apostate prince8 ,did the true ,deity   
refuse ,saul the response of his        
prophets1 and could a witch compel the  
actual spirit of ,samuel to make  answer
 notwithstanding8    ,embarrassed by    
such difficulties1 another course of    
explanation has been  resorted to1      
which1 freed from some of the objections
 which attend the  two extreme          
suppositions1 is yet liable to others4  
,it has been supposed  that something   
took place upon this remarkable occasion
 similar to that  which disturbed the   
preconcerted purpose of the prophet     
,balaam1 and  compelled him to exchange 
his premeditated curses for blessings4  
,according to this hypothesis1 the      

divining woman of ,endor was preparing  
to practise upon ,saul those tricks of  
legerdemain or jugglery by which  she   
imposed upon meaner clients who resorted
 to her oracle4 ,or we may  conceive    
that in those days1 when the laws of    
,nature were frequently  suspended by   
manifestations of the ,divine ,power1   
some degree of juggling  might be       
permitted between mortals and the       
spirits of lesser note2 in  which case  
we must suppose that the woman really   
expected or hoped to  call up some      
supernatural appearance4 ,but in either 
case1 this second  solution of the story
 supposes that the will of the ,almighty
  substituted1 on that memorable        
occasion1 for the phantasmagoria        
intended  by the witch1 the spirit of   
,samuel in his earthly resemblance--or1 
if  the reader may think this more      
likely1 some good being1 the messenger  
of  the ,divine pleasure1 in the        
likeness of the departed prophet--and1  
to  the surprise of the ,pythoness      

herself1 exchanged the juggling farce3  
of  sheer deceit or petty sorcery which 
she had intended to produce1 for a  deep
 tragedy1 capable of appalling the heart
 of the hardened tyrant1 and  furnishing
 an awful lesson to future times4       
,this exposition has the advantage of   
explaining the surprise expressed  by   
the witch at the unexpected consequences
 of her own invocation1 while  it       
removes the objection of supposing the  
spirit of ,samuel subject to  her       
influence4 ,it does not apply so well to
 the complaint of ,samuel that  he was  
disquieted1 since neither the prophet1  
nor any good angel  wearing his         
likeness1 could be supposed to complain 
of an apparition  which took place in   
obedience to the direct command of the  
,deity4 ,if1  however1 the phrase is    
understood1 not as a murmuring against  
the  pleasure of ,providence1 but as a  
reproach to the prophet's former friend 
,saul1 that his sins and discontents1   
which were the ultimate cause of        

,samuel's appearance1 had withdrawn the 
prophet for a space from the  enjoyment 
and repose of ,heaven1 to review this   
miserable spot of  mortality1 guilt1    
grief1 and misfortune1 the words may1   
according to  that interpretation1 wear 
no stronger sense of complaint than     
might  become the spirit of a just man  
made perfect1 or any benevolent angel by
  whom he might be represented4 ,it may 
be observed that in ,ecclesiasticus     
7xlvi4 #ai1 #bj71 the opinion of        
,samuel's actual appearance is adopted1 
since it is said of this man of ,god1   
that after death he prophesied1  and    
showed the king his latter end4         
,leaving the further discussion of this 
dark and difficult question to  those   
whose studies have qualified them to    
give judgment on so obscure a  subject1 
it so far appears clear that the ,witch 
of ,endor1 was not a  being such as     
those believed in by our ancestors1 who 
could transform  themselves and others  
into the appearance of the lower        

animals1 raise  and allay tempests1     
frequent the company and join the revels
 of evil  spirits1 and1 by their counsel
 and assistance1 destroy human lives1   
and  waste the fruits of the earth1 or  
perform feats of such magnitude as to   
alter the face of ,nature4 ,the ,witch  
of ,endor was a mere fortune-teller1  to
 whom1 in despair of all aid or answer  
from the ,almighty1 the  unfortunate    
,king of ,israel had recourse in his    
despair1 and by whom1 in  some way or   
other1 he obtained the awful certainty  
of his own defeat and  death4 ,she was  
liable1 indeed1 deservedly to the       
punishment of death for  intruding      
herself upon the task of the real       
prophets1 by whom the will  of ,god was 
at that time regularly made known4 ,but 
her existence and her  crimes can go no 
length to prove the possibility that    
another class of  witches1 no otherwise 
resembling her than as called by the    
same name1  either existed at a more    
recent period1 or were liable to the    

same  capital punishment1 for a very    
different and much more doubtful class  
of  offences1 which1 however odious1 are
 nevertheless to be proved possible     
before they can be received as a        
criminal charge4    ,whatever may be    
thought of other occasional expressions 
in the ,old  ,testament1 it cannot be   
said that1 in any part of that sacred   
volume1 a  text occurs indicating the   
existence of a system of witchcraft1    
under  the ,jewish dispensation1 in any 
respect similar to that against which   
the law-books of so many ,european      
nations have1 till very lately1         
denounced punishment2 far less under the
 ,christian dispensation--a  system     
under which the emancipation of the     
human race from the ,levitical  law was 
happily and miraculously perfected4     
,this latter crime is  supposed to infer
 a compact implying reverence and       
adoration on the part  of the witch who 
comes under the fatal bond1 and         
patronage1 support1 and  assistance on  

the part of the diabolical patron4      
,indeed1 in the four  ,gospels1 the     
word1 under any sense1 does not occur2  
although1 had the  possibility of so    
enormous a sin been admitted1 it was not
 likely to  escape the warning censure  
of the ,divine ,person who came to take 
away  the sins of the world4 ,saint     
,paul1 indeed1 mentions the sin of      
witchcraft1 in a cursory manner1 as     
superior in guilt to that of            
ingratitude2 and in the offences of the 
flesh it is ranked immediately  after   
idolatry1 which juxtaposition inclines  
us to believe that the  witchcraft      
mentioned by the ,apostle must have been
 analogous to that of  the ,old         
,testament1 and equivalent to resorting 
to the assistance of  soothsayers1 or   
similar forbidden arts1 to acquire      
knowledge of  toturity4 ,sorcerers are  
also joined with other criminals1 in the
 ,book of  ,revelations1 as excluded    
from the city of ,god ,and with these   
occasional  notices1 which indicate that

 there was a transgression so called1   
but  leave us ignorant of us exact      
nature1 the writers upon witchcraft     
attempt to wring out of the ,new        
,testament proofs of a crime in itself  
so  disgustingly improbable4 ,neither do
 the exploits of ,elymas1 called the    
,sorcerer1 or ,simon1 called ,magus or  
the ,magician1 entitle them to rank     
above the class of impostors who assumed
 a character to which they had  no real 
title1 and put their own mystical and   
ridiculous pretensions to  supernatural 
power in competition with those who had 
been conferred on  purpose to diffuse   
the gospel1 and facilitate its reception
 by the  exhibition of genuine miracles4
 ,it is clear that1 from his            
presumptuous  and profane proposal to   
acquire1 by purchase1 a portion of those
 powers  which were directly derived    
from inspiration1 ,simon ,magus         
displayed a  degree of profane and      
brutal ignorance inconsistent with his  
possessing  even the intelligence of a  

skilful impostor2 and it is plain that a
  leagued vassal of hell--should we     
pronounce him such--would have better   
known his own rank and condition1       
compared to that of the apostles1 than  
to have made such a fruitless and       
unavailing proposal1 by which he could  
only expose his own impudence and       
ignorance4    ,with this observation we 
may conclude our brief remarks upon     
witchcraft1 as the word occurs in the   
,scripture2 and it now only  remains to 
mention the nature of the demonology1   
which1 as gathered  from the sacred     
volumes1 every ,christian believer is   
bound to receive as  a thing declared   
and proved to be true4    ,and in the   
first place1 no man can read the ,bible1
 or call himself a  ,christian1 without 
believing that1 during the course of    
time  comprehended by the ,divine       
writers1 the ,deity1 to confirm the     
faith of  the ,jews1 and to overcome and
 confound the pride of the heathens1    
wrought in the land many great miracles1

 using either good spirits1 the         
instruments of his pleasure1 or fallen  
angels1 the permitted agents of  such   
evil as it was his will should be       
inflicted upon1 or suffered by1  the    
children of men4 ,this proposition      
comprehends1 of course1 the             
acknowledgment of the truth of miracles 
during this early period1 by  which the 
ordinary laws of nature were            
occasionally suspended1 and  recognises 
the existence in the spiritual world of 
the two grand  divisions of angels and  
devils1 severally exercising their      
powers  according to the commission or  
permission of the ,ruler of the         
universe4    ,secondly1 wise men have   
thought and argued that the idols of the
 heathen  were actually fiends1 or1     
rather1 that these enemies of mankind   
had  power to assume the shape and      
appearance of those feeble deities1 and 
to  give a certain degree of countenance
 to the faith of the worshippers1 by    
working seeming miracles1 and returning1

 by their priests or their  oracles1    
responses which palter'd in a double    
sense with the deluded  persons who     
consulted them4 ,most of the fathers of 
the ,christian ,church  have intimated  
such an opinion4 ,this doctrine has the 
advantage of  affording1 to a certain   
extent1 a confirmation of many miracles 
related  in pagan or classical history1 
which are thus ascribed to the agency of
  evil spirits4 ,it corresponds also    
with the texts of ,scripture which      
declare that the gods of the heathen are
 all devils and evil spirits2  and the  
idols of ,egypt are classed1 as in      
,isaiah1 chap4 xix4 ver4 #b1  with      
charmers1 those who have familiar       
spirits1 and with wizards4 ,but         
whatever license it may be supposed was 
permitted to the evil spirits of  that  
period--and although1 undoubtedly1 men  
owned the sway of deities  who were1 in 
fact1 but personifications of certain   
evil passions of  humanity1 as1 for     
example1 in their sacrifices to ,venus1 

to ,bacchus1 to  ,mars1 c41 and         
therefore might be said1 in one sense1  
to worship evil  spirits--we cannot1 in 
reason1 suppose that every one1 or the  
thousandth  part of the innumerable     
idols worshipped among the heathen1 was 
endowed  with supernatural power2 it is 
clear that the greater number fell under
  the description applied to them in    
another passage of ,scripture1 in  which
 the part of the tree burned in the fire
 for domestic purposes is  treated as of
 the same power and estimation as that  
carved into an  image1 and preferred for
 ,gentile homage4 ,this striking        
passage1 in which  the impotence of the 
senseless block1 and the brutish        
ignorance of the  worshipper1 whose     
object of adoration is the work of his  
own hands1  occurs in the #ddth chapter 
of the prophecies of ,isaiah1 verse #aj 
et  seq4 ,the precise words of the text1
 as well as common sense1 forbid us  to 
believe that the images so constructed  
by common artisans became the           

habitation or resting-place of demons1  
or possessed any manifestation of       
strength or power1 whether through      
demoniacal influence or otherwise4  ,the
 whole system of doubt1 delusion1 and   
trick exhibited by the oracles1  savours
 of the mean juggling of impostors1     
rather than the audacious  intervention 
of demons4 ,whatever degree of power the
 false gods of  heathendom1 or devils in
 their name1 might be permitted         
occasionally to  exert1 was             
unquestionably under the general        
restraint and limitation of  providence2
 and though1 on the one hand1 we cannot 
deny the possibility  of such permission
 being granted in cases unknown to us1  
it is certain1  on the other1 that the  
,scriptures mention no one specific     
instance of  such influence expressly   
recommended to our belief4    ,thirdly1 
as the backsliders among the ,jews      
repeatedly fell off to the  worship of  
the idols of the neighbouring heathens1 
so they also resorted  to the use of    

charms and enchantments1 founded on a   
superstitious  perversion of their own  
,levitical ritual1 in which they        
endeavoured by  sortilege1 by ,teraphim1
 by observation of augury1 or the flight
 of  birds1 which they called ,nahas1 by
 the means of ,urim and ,thummim1 to    
find as it were a byroad to the secrets 
of futurity4 ,but for the same  reason  
that withholds us from delivering any   
opinion upon the degree to  which the   
devil and his angels might be allowed to
 countenance the  impositions of the    
heathen priesthood1 it is impossible for
 us  conclusively to pronounce what     
effect might be permitted by supreme    
,providence to the ministry of such evil
 spirits as presided over1 and1  so far 
as they had liberty1 directed1 these    
sinful enquiries among the  ,jews       
themselves4 ,we are indeed assured from 
the sacred writings1 that  the promise  
of the ,deity to his chosen people1 if  
they conducted  themselves agreeably to 
the law which he had given1 was1 that   

the  communication with the invisible   
world would be enlarged1 so that in the 
fulness of his time he would pour out   
his spirit upon all flesh1 when  their  
sons and daughters should prophesy1     
their old men see visions1 and  their   
young men dream dreams4 ,such were the  
promises delivered to the  ,israelites  
by ,joel1 ,ezekiel1 and other holy      
seers1 of which ,st4 ,peter1  in the    
second chapter of the ,acts of the      
,apostles1 hails the fulfilment  in the 
mission of our ,saviour4 ,and on the    
other hand1 it is no less  evident that 
the ,almighty1 to punish the            
disobedience of the ,jews1  abandoned   
them to their own fallacious desires1   
and suffered them to be  deceived by the
 lying oracles1 to which1 in flagrant   
violation of his  commands1 they had    
recourse4 ,of this the punishment       
arising from the  ,deity abandoning     
,ahab to his own devices1 and suffering 
him to be  deceived by a lying spirit1  
forms a striking instance4    ,fourthly1

 and on the other hand1 abstaining with 
reverence from  accounting ourselves    
judges of the actions of ,omnipotence1  
we may safely  conclude that it was not 
his pleasure to employ in the execution 
of his  judgments the consequences of   
any such species of league or compact   
betwixt devils and deluded mortals1 as  
that denounced in the laws of our  own  
ancestors under the name of witchcraft4 
,what has been translated  by that word 
seems little more than the art of a     
medicator of poisons1  combined with    
that of a ,pythoness or false           
prophetess2 a crime1 however1  of a     
capital nature1 by the ,levitical law1  
since1 in the first capacity1  it       
implied great enmity to mankind1 and in 
the second1 direct treason to  the      
divine ,legislator4 ,the book of ,tobit 
contains1 indeed1 a passage  resembling 
more an incident in an ,arabian tale or 
,gothic romance1 than a  part of        
inspired writing4 ,in this1 the fumes   
produced by broiling the  liver of a    

certain fish are described as having    
power to drive away an  evil genius who 
guards the nuptial chamber of an        
,assyrian princess1 and  who has        
strangled seven bridegrooms in          
succession1 as they approached  the     
nuptial couch4 ,but the romantic and    
fabulous strain of this legend  has     
induced the fathers of all ,protestant  
churches to deny it a place  amongst the
 writings sanctioned by divine origin1  
and we may therefore  be excused from   
entering into discussion on such        
imperfect evidence4    ,lastly1 in      
considering the incalculable change     
which took place upon the  ,advent of   
our ,saviour and the announcement of his
 law1 we may observe  that1 according to
 many wise and learned men1 his mere    
appearance upon  earth1 without awaiting
 the fulfilment of his mission1 operated
 as an  act of banishment of such       
heathen deities as had hitherto been    
suffered  to deliver oracles1 and ape in
 some degree the attributes of the      

,deity4  ,milton has1 in the ,paradise  
,lost1 it may be upon conviction of its 
truth1 embraced the theory which        
identifies the followers of ,satan with 
the gods of the heathen2 and1 in a tone 
of poetry almost unequalled1  even in   
his own splendid writings1 he thus      
describes1 in one of his  earlier       
pieces1 the departure of these pretended
 deities on the eve of  the blessed     
,nativity3--      ,the oracles are dumb1
     ,no voice or hideous hum  ,runs    
through the arched roof in words        
deceiving2     ,apollo from his shrine  
,can no more divine1  ,with hollow      
shriek the steep of ,delphos leaving2   
,no nightly trance or breathed spell    
,inspires the pale-eyed priests from the
 prophetic cell4      ,the lonely       
mountains o'er1     ,and the resounding 
shore1  ,a voice of weeping heard and   
loud lament2     ,from haunted spring   
and dale1     ,edged with poplar pale1  
,the parting ,genius is with sighing    
sent2  ,with flower-inwoven tresses     

torn1  ,the ,nymphs in twilight shade of
 tangled thickets mourn4      ,in       
consecrated earth1    ,and on the holy  
hearth1  ,the ,lars and ,lemures moan   
with midnight plaint2    ,in urns and   
altars round1    ,a drear and dying     
sound  ,affrights the ,flamens at their 
service quaint2  ,and the chill marble  
seems to sweat1  ,while each peculiar   
,power foregoes his wonted seat4        
,peor and ,baalim    ,forsake their     
temples dim1  ,with that twice-battered 
god of ,palestine2    ,and mooned       
,ashtaroth1    ,heaven's queen and      
mother both1  ,now sits not girt with   
tapers' holy shine2  ,the ,lybic ,hammon
 shrinks his horn2  ,in vain the ,tyrian
 maids their wounded ,thammuz mourn4    
,and sullen ,moloch1 fled1    ,hath left
 in shadows dread  ,his burning idol all
 of darkest hue2    ,in vain with       
cymbals ring1    ,they call the grisly  
king1  ,in dismal dance about the       
furnace blue2  ,the brutish gods of     
,nile as fast1  ,isis and ,orus1 and the

 ,dog ,anubis1 haste4    ,the quotation 
is a long one1 but it is scarcely       
possible to shorten what  is so         
beautiful and interesting a description 
of the heathen deities1  whether in the 
classic personifications of ,greece1 the
 horrible shapes  worshipped by mere    
barbarians1 or the hieroglyphical       
enormities of the  ,egyptian ,mythology4
 ,the idea of identifying the pagan     
deities1  especially the most           
distinguished of them1 with the         
manifestation of  demoniac power1 and   
concluding that the descent of our      
,saviour struck  them with silence1 so  
nobly expressed in the poetry of        
,milton1 is not  certainly to be lightly
 rejected4 ,it has been asserted1 in    
simple prose1  by authorities of no mean
 weight2 nor does there appear anything 
inconsistent in the faith of those who1 
believing that1 in the elder  time1     
fiends and demons were permitted an     
enlarged degree of power in  uttering   
predictions1 may also give credit to the

 proposition1 that at  the ,divine      
,advent that power was restrained1 the  
oracles silenced1 and  those demons who 
had aped the ,divinity of the place were
 driven from  their abode on earth1     
honoured as it was by a guest so awful4 
,it must be noticed1 however1 that this 
great event had not the same  effect on 
that peculiar class of fiends who were  
permitted to vex  mortals by the        
alienation of their minds1 and the abuse
 of their  persons1 in the case of what 
is called ,demoniacal possession4 ,in   
what  exact sense we should understand  
this word possession it is impossible   
to discover2 but we feel it impossible  
to doubt 7notwithstanding learned       
authorities to the contrary7 that it was
 a dreadful disorder1 of a kind  not    
merely natural2 and may be pretty well  
assured that it was suffered  to        
continue after the ,incarnation1 because
 the miracles effected by our  ,saviour 
and his apostles1 in curing those       
tormented in this way1  afforded the    

most direct proofs of his divine        
mission1 even out of the  very mouths of
 those ejected fiends1 the most         
malignant enemies of a  power to which  
they dared not refuse homage and        
obedience4 ,and here is  an additional  
proof that witchcraft1 in its ordinary  
and popular sense1  was unknown at that 
period2 although cases of possession are
 repeatedly  mentioned in the ,gospels  
and ,acts of the ,apostles1 yet in no   
one  instance do the devils ejected     
mention a witch or sorcerer1 or plead   
the  commands of such a person1 as the  
cause of occupying or tormenting the    
victim2--whereas1 in a great proportion 
of those melancholy cases of  witchcraft
 with which the records of later times  
abound1 the stress of  the evidence is  
rested on the declaration of the        
possessed1 or the demon  within him1    
that some old man or woman in the       
neighbourhood had  compelled the fiend  
to be the instrument of evil4    ,it    
must also be admitted that in another   

most remarkable respect1 the  power of  
the ,enemy of mankind was rather        
enlarged than bridled or  restrained1 in
 consequence of the ,saviour coming upon
 earth4 ,it is  indisputable that1 in   
order that ,jesus might have his share  
in every  species of delusion and       
persecution which the fallen race of    
,adam is  heir to1 he personally        
suffered the temptation in the          
wilderness at the  hand of ,satan1 whom1
 without resorting to his divine power1 
he drove1  confuted1 silenced1 and      
shamed1 from his presence4 ,but it      
appears1 that  although ,satan was      
allowed1 upon this memorable occasion1  
to come on  earth with great power1 the 
permission was given expressly because  
his  time was short4    ,the indulgence 
which was then granted to him in a case 
so unique and  peculiar soon passed over
 and was utterly restrained4 ,it is     
evident  that1 after the lapse of the   
period during which it pleased the      
,almighty  to establish ,his own ,church

 by miraculous displays of power1 it    
could  not consist with his kindness and
 wisdom to leave the enemy in the       
possession of the privilege of deluding 
men by imaginary miracles  calculated   
for the perversion of that faith which  
real miracles were no  longer present to
 support4 ,there would1 we presume to   
say1 be a shocking  inconsistency in    
supposing that false and deceitful      
prophecies and  portents should be      
freely circulated by any demoniacal     
influence1  deceiving men's bodily      
organs1 abusing their minds1 and        
perverting their  faith1 while the true 
religion was left by its great ,author  
devoid of  every supernatural sign and  
token which1 in the time of its ,founder
 and  ,his immediate disciples1 attested
 and celebrated their inappreciable     
mission4 ,such a permission on the part 
of the ,supreme ,being would be 7to     
speak under the deepest reverence7 an   
abandonment of ,his chosen people1      
ransomed at such a price1 to the snares 

of an enemy from whom the worst  evils  
were to be apprehended4 ,nor would it   
consist with the remarkable  promise in 
holy writ1 that ,god will not suffer    
,his people to be tempted  above what   
they are able to bear4 ,i ,cor4 ,x4 #ac4
 ,the ,fathers of the  ,faith are not   
strictly agreed at what period the      
miraculous power was  withdrawn from the
 ,church2 but few ,protestants are      
disposed to bring it  down beneath the  
accession of ,constantine1 when the     
,christian religion  was fully          
established in supremacy4 ,the ,roman   
,catholics1 indeed1 boldly  affirm that 
the power of miraculous interference    
with the course of  ,nature is still in 
being2 but the enlightened even of this 
faith1 though  they dare not deny a     
fundamental tenet of their church1 will 
hardly  assent to any particular case1  
without nearly the same evidence which  
might conquer the incredulity of their  
neighbours the ,protestants4 ,it is     
alike inconsistent with the common sense

 of either that fiends should be        
permitted to work marvels which are no  
longer exhibited on the part of         
,heaven1 or in behalf of religion4      
,it will be observed that we have not   
been anxious to decide upon the  limits 
of probability on this question4 ,it is 
not necessary for us to  ascertain in   
what degree the power of ,satan was at  
liberty to display  itself during the   
,jewish dispensation1 or down to what   
precise period in  the history of the   
,christian ,church cures of demoniacal  
possession or  similar displays of      
miraculous power may have occurred4 ,we 
have avoided  controversy on that head1 
because it comprehends questions not    
more  doubtful than unedifying4 ,little 
benefit could arise from attaining the  
exact knowledge of the manner in which  
the apostate ,jews practised  unlawful  
charms or auguries4 ,after their        
conquest and dispersion they  were      
remarked among the ,romans for such     
superstitious practices2 and the  like1 

for ,what we know1 may continue to      
linger among the benighted  wanderers of
 their race at the present day4 ,but all
 these things are  extraneous to our    
enquiry1 the purpose of which was to    
discover whether  any real evidence     
could be derived from sacred history to 
prove the  early existence of that      
branch of demonology which has been the 
object1  in comparatively modern times1 
of criminal prosecution and capital     
punishment4 ,we have already alluded to 
this as the contract of  witchcraft1 in 
which1 as the term was understood in the
 ,middle ,ages1 the  demon and the witch
 or wizard combined their various powers
 of doing  harm to inflict calamities   
upon the person and property1 the       
fortune and  the fame1 of innocent human
 beings1 imposing the most horrible     
diseases1  and death itself1 as marks of
 their slightest ill-will2 transforming 
their own persons and those of others at
 their pleasure2 raising  tempests to   
ravage the crops of their enemies1 or   

carrying them home to  their own        
garners2 annihilating or transferring to
 their own dairies the  produce of      
herds2 spreading pestilence among       
cattle1 infecting and  blighting        
children2 and1 in a word1 doing more    
evil than the heart of  man might be    
supposed capable of conceiving1 by means
 far beyond mere  human power to        
accomplish4 ,if it could be supposed    
that such unnatural  leagues existed1   
and that there were wretches wicked     
enough1 merely for  the gratification of
 malignant spite or the enjoyment of    
some beastly  revelry1 to become the    
wretched slaves of infernal spirits1    
most just  and equitable would be those 
laws which cut them off from the midst  
of  every ,christian commonwealth4 ,but 
it is still more just and equitable1    
before punishment be inflicted for any  
crime1 to prove that there is a         
possibility of that crime being         
committed4 ,we have therefore advanced  
an  important step in our enquiry when  

we have ascertained that the witch  of  
the ,old ,testament was not capable of  
anything beyond the  administration of  
baleful drugs or the practising of      
paltry imposture2  in other words1 that 
she did not hold the character ascribed 
to a modern  sorceress4 ,we have thus   
removed out of the argument the         
startling  objection that1 in denying   
the existence of witchcraft1 we deny the
  possibility of a crime which was      
declared capital in the ,mosaic law1 and
  are left at full liberty to adopt the 
opinion1 that the more modern  system of
 witchcraft was a part1 and by no means 
the least gross1 of  that mass of errors
 which appeared among the members of the
 ,christian  ,church when their         
religion1 becoming gradually corrupted  
by the devices  of men and the barbarism
 of those nations among whom it was     
spread  showed1 a light indeed1 but one 
deeply tinged with the remains of that  
very pagan ignorance which its ,divine  
,founder came to dispel4    ,we will1 in

 a future part of this enquiry1         
endeavour to show that many  of the     
particular articles of the popular      
belief respecting magic and  witchcraft 
were derived from the opinions which the
 ancient heathens  entertained as part  
of their religion4 ,to recommend them1  
however1 they  had principles lying deep
 in the human mind and heart of all     
times2 the  tendency to belief in       
supernatural agencies is natural1 and   
indeed seems  connected with and deduced
 from the invaluable conviction of the  
certainty of a future state4 ,moreover1 
it is very possible that  particular    
stories of this class may have seemed   
undeniable in the dark  ages1 though our
 better instructed period can explain   
them in a  satisfactory manner by the   
excited temperament of spectators1 or   
the  influence of delusions produced by 
derangement of the intellect or         
imperfect reports of the external       
senses4 ,they obtained1 however1        
universal faith and credit2 and the     

churchmen1 either from craft or from    
ignorance1 favoured the progress of a   
belief which certainly contributed  in a
 most powerful manner to extend their   
own authority over the human  mind4     
,to pass from the pagans of             
antiquity--the ,mahommedans1 though     
their  profession of faith is           
exclusively unitarian1 were accounted   
worshippers  of evil spirits1 who were  
supposed to aid them in their continual 
warfare against the ,christians1 or to  
protect and defend them in the  ,holy   
,land1 where their abode gave so much   
scandal and offence to the  devout4     
,romance1 and even history1 combined in 
representing all who were  out of the   
pale of the ,church as the personal     
vassals of ,satan1 who  played his      
deceptions openly amongst them2 and     
,mahound1 ,termagaunt1 and  ,apollo     
were1 in the opinion of the ,western    
,crusaders1 only so many  names of the  
arch-fiend and his principal angels4    
,the most enormous  fictions spread     

abroad and believed through ,christendom
 attested the  fact1 that there were    
open displays of supernatural aid       
afforded by the  evil spirits to the    
,turks and ,saracens2 and fictitious    
reports were not  less liberal in       
assigning to the ,christians            
extraordinary means of  defence through 
the direct protection of blessed saints 
and angels1 or  of holy men yet in the  
flesh1 but already anticipating the     
privileges  proper to a state of        
beatitude and glory1 and possessing the 
power to  work miracles4    ,to show the
 extreme grossness of these legends1 we 
may give an example  from the romance of
 ,richard ,coeur de ,lion1 premising at 
the same time  that1 like other         
romances1 it was written in what the    
author designed to  be the style of true
 history1 and was addressed to hearers  
and readers1  not as a tale of fiction1 
but a real narrative of facts1 so that  
the  legend is a proof of what the age  
esteemed credible and were disposed to  

believe as much as if had been extracted
 from a graver chronicle4    ,the       
renowned ,saladin1 it is said1 had      
dispatched an embassy to ,king          
,richard1 with the present of a colt    
recommended as a gallant war-horse1     
challenging ,coeur de ,lion to meet him 
in single combat between the  armies1   
for the purpose of deciding at once     
their pretensions to the  land of       
,palestine1 and the theological question
 whether the ,god of the  ,christians1  
or ,jupiter1 the deity of the ,saracens1
 should be the future  object of        
adoration by the subjects of both       
monarchs4 ,now1 under this  seemingly   
chivalrous defiance was concealed a most
 unknightly stratagem1  and which we may
 at the same time call a very clumsy    
trick for the devil  to be concerned in4
 ,a ,saracen clerk had conjured two     
devils into a mare  and her colt1 with  
the instruction1 that whenever the mare 
neighed1 the  foal1 which was a brute of
 uncommon size1 should kneel down to    

suck his  dam4 ,the enchanted foal was  
sent to ,king ,richard in the belief    
that the  foal1 obeying the signal of   
its dam as usual1 the ,soldan who       
mounted the  mare might get an easy     
advantage over him4    ,but the ,english
 king was warned by an angel in a dream 
of the intended  stratagem1 and the colt
 was1 by the celestial mandate1         
previously to the  combat1 conjured in  
the holy name to be obedient to his     
rider during the  encounter4 ,the       
fiend-horse intimated his submission by 
drooping his  head1 but his word was not
 entirely credited4 ,his ears were      
stopped with  wax4 ,in this condition1  
,richard1 armed at all points and with  
various  marks of his religious faith   
displayed on his weapons1 rode forth to 
meet ,saladin1 and the ,soldan1         
confident of his stratagem1 encountered 
him boldly4 ,the mare neighed till she  
shook the ground for miles around2  but 
the sucking devil1 whom the wax         
prevented from hearing the summons1     

could not obey the signal4 ,saladin was 
dismounted1 and narrowly escaped  death1
 while his army were cut to pieces by   
the ,christians4 ,it is but an  awkward 
tale of wonder where a demon is worsted 
by a trick which could  hardly have     
cheated a common horse-jockey2 but by   
such legends our  ancestors were amused 
and interested1 till their belief       
respecting the  demons of the ,holy     
,land seems to have been not very far   
different from  that expressed in the   
title of ,ben ,jonson's play1 ,the      
,devil is an ,ass4    ,one of the       
earliest maps ever published1 which     
appeared at ,rome in the  sixteenth     
century1 intimates a similar belief in  
the connexion of the  heathen nations of
 the north of ,europe with the demons of
 the spiritual  world4 ,in ,esthonia1   
,lithuania1 ,courland1 and such         
districts1 the chart1  for want1 it may 
be supposed1 of an accurate account of  
the country1  exhibits rude cuts of the 
fur-clad natives paying homage at the   

shrines  of demons1 who make themselves 
visibly present to them2 while at other 
places they are displayed as doing      
battle with the ,teutonic knights1 or   
other military associations formed for  
the conversion or expulsion of  the     
heathens in these parts4 ,amid the      
pagans1 armed with scimitars and        
dressed in caftans1 the fiends are      
painted as assisting them1 pourtrayed   
in all the modern horrors of the cloven 
foot1 or1 as the ,germans term  it1     
horse's foot1 bat wings1 saucer eyes1   
locks like serpents1 and tail  like a   
dragon4 ,these attributes1 it may be    
cursorily noticed1 themselves  intimate 
the connexion of modern demonology with 
the mythology of the  ancients4 ,the    
cloven foot is the attribute of ,pan--to
 whose talents for  inspiring terror we 
owe the word panic--the snaky tresses   
are borrowed  from the shield of        
,minerva1 and the dragon train alone    
seems to be  connected with the         
,scriptural history4#e    ,footnote #e3 

,the chart alluded to is one of the     
jac-similes of an  ancient planisphere1 
engraved in bronze about the end of the 
#aeth  century1 and called the ,borgian 
,table1 from its possessor1 ,cardinal   
,stephen ,borgia1 and preserved in his  
museum at ,veletri4    ,other heathen   
nations1 whose creeds could not have    
directly contributed  to the system of  
demonology1 because their manners and   
even their very  existence was unknown  
when it was adopted1 were nevertheless  
involved1  so soon as ,europeans became 
acquainted with them1 in the same charge
 of  witchcraft and worship of demons   
brought by the ,christians of the       
,middle  ,ages against the heathens of  
northern ,europe and the ,mahommedans of
 the  ,east4 ,we learn from the         
information of a ,portuguese voyager    
that even  the native ,christians       
7called those of ,st4 ,thomas71 whom the
 discoverers  found in ,india when they 
first arrived there1 fell under         
suspicion of  diabolical practices4 ,it 

was almost in vain that the priests of  
one of  their chapels produced to the   
,portuguese officers and soldiers a holy
  image1 and called on them1 as good    
,christians1 to adore the ,blessed      
,virgin4 ,the sculptor had been so      
little acquainted with his art1 and the 
hideous form which he had produced      
resembled an inhabitant of the  infernal
 regions so much more than ,our ,lady of
 ,grace1 that one of the  ,european     
officers1 while1 like his companions1 he
 dropped on his knees1  added the loud  
protest1 that if the image represented  
the ,devil1 he paid  his homage to the  
,holy ,virgin4    ,in ,south ,america   
the ,spaniards justified the unrelenting
 cruelties  exercised on the unhappy    
natives by reiterating1 in all their    
accounts  of the countries which they   
discovered and conquered1 that the      
,indians1  in their idol worship1 were  
favoured by the demons with a direct    
intercourse1 and that their priests     
inculcated doctrines and rites the      

foulest and most abhorrent to ,christian
 ears4 ,the great snake-god of  ,mexico1
 and other idols worshipped with human  
sacrifices and bathed in  the gore of   
their prisoners1 gave but too much      
probability to this  accusation2 and if 
the images themselves were not actually 
tenanted by  evil spirits1 the worship  
which the ,mexicans paid to them was    
founded  upon such deadly cruelty and   
dark superstition as might easily be    
believed to have been breathed into     
mortals by the agency of hell4    ,even 
in ,north ,america1 the first settlers  
in ,new ,england and other parts  of    
that immense continent uniformly agreed 
that they detected among the            
inhabitants traces of an intimate       
connexion with ,satan4 ,it is scarce    
necessary to remark that this opinion   
was founded exclusively upon the  tricks
 practised by the native powahs1 or     
cunning men1 to raise  themselves to    
influence among the chiefs1 and to      
obtain esteem with the  people1 which1  

possessed as they were professionally of
 some skill in  jugglery and the        
knowledge of some medical herbs and     
secrets1 the  understanding of the      
colonists was unable to trace to their  
real  source--legerdemain and imposture4
 ,by the account1 however1 of the       
,reverend ,cotton ,mather1 in his       
,magnalia1 book vi41#f he does not      
ascribe to these ,indian conjurers any  
skill greatly superior to a maker  of   
almanacks or common fortune-teller4     
,they1 says the ,doctor1  universally   
acknowledged and worshipped many gods1  
and therefore highly  esteemed and      
reverenced their priests1 powahs1 or    
wizards1 who were  esteemed as having   
immediate converse with the gods4 ,to   
them1 therefore1  they addressed        
themselves in all difficult cases3 yet  
could not all that  desired that        
dignity1 as they esteemed it1 obtain    
familiarity with the  infernal spirits4 
,nor were all powahs alike successful in
 their  addresses2 but they became such1

 either by immediate revelation1 or in  
the use of certain rites and ceremonies1
 which tradition had left as  conducing 
to that end4 ,in so much1 that parents1 
out of zeal1 often  dedicated their     
children to the gods1 and educated them 
accordingly1  observing a certain diet1 
debarring sleep1 c43 yet of the many    
designed1 but few obtained their desire4
 ,supposing that where the  practice of 
witchcraft has been highly esteemed1    
there must be given the  plainest       
demonstration of mortals having         
familiarity with infernal  spirits1 ,i  
am willing to let my reader know1 that1 
not many years since1  here died one of 
the powahs1 who never pretended to      
astrological  knowledge1 yet could      
precisely inform such who desired his   
assistance1  from whence goods stolen   
from them were gone1 and whither        
carried1 with  many things of the like  
nature2 nor was he ever known to        
endeavour to  conceal his knowledge to  
be immediately from a god subservient to

 him  that the ,english worship4 ,this  
powah1 being by an ,englishman worthy of
  credit 7who lately informed me of the 
same71 desired to advise him who  had   
taken certain goods which had been      
stolen1 having formerly been an         
eye-witness of his ability1 the powah1  
after a little pausing1 demanded  why he
 requested that from him1 since himself 
served another ,god8 that  therefore he 
could not help him2 but added1 ',if you 
can believe that my  god may help you1  
,i will try what ,i can do2 which       
diverted the man from  further enquiry4 
,i must a little digress1 and tell my   
reader1 that this  powah's wife was     
accounted a godly woman1 and lived in   
the practice and  profession of the     
,christian religion1 not only by the    
approbation1 but  encouragement of her  
husband4 ,she constantly prayed in the  
family1 and  attended the public worship
 on the ,lord's days4 ,he declared that 
he  could not blame her1 for that she   
served a god that was above his2 but    

that as to himself1 his god's continued 
kindness obliged him not to  forsake his
 service4 ,it appears1 from the above   
and similar passages1  that ,dr4 ,cotton
 ,mather1 an honest and devout1 but     
sufficiently credulous  man1 had        
mistaken the purpose of the tolerant    
powah4 ,the latter only  desired to     
elude the necessity of his practices    
being brought under the  observant eye  
of an ,european1 while he found an      
ingenious apology in the  admitted      
superiority which he naturally conceded 
to the ,deity of a  people1 advanced1 as
 he might well conceive1 so far above   
his own in  power and attainments1 as   
might reasonably infer a corresponding  
superiority in the nature and objects of
 their worship4    ,footnote #f3 ,on    
,remarkable ,mercies of ,divine         
,providence4    ,from another narrative 
we are entitled to infer that the       
,european wizard  was held superior to  
the native sorcerer of ,north ,america4 
,among the  numberless extravagances of 

the ,scottish ,dissenters of the #agth  
century1  now canonized in a lump by    
those who view them in the general light
 of  enemies to ,prelacy1 was a certain 
ship-master1 called1 from his size1     
,meikle ,john ,gibb4 ,this man1 a person
 called ,jamie1 and one or two other    
men1 besides twenty or thirty females   
who adhered to them1 went the  wildest  
lengths of enthusiasm4 ,gibb headed a   
party1 who followed him  into the       
moorlands1 and at the ,ford ,moss1      
between ,airth and ,stirling1  burned   
their ,bibles1 as an act of solemn      
adherence to their new faith4  ,they    
were apprehended in consequence1 and    
committed to prison2 and the  rest of   
the ,dissenters1 however differently    
they were affected by the  persecution  
of ,government1 when it applied to      
themselves1 were  nevertheless much     
offended that these poor mad people were
 not brought  to capital punishment for 
their blasphemous extravagances2 and    
imputed  it as a fresh crime to the     

,duke of ,york that1 though he could not
 be  often accused of toleration1 he    
considered the discipline of the house  
of correction as more likely to bring   
the unfortunate ,gibbites to their      
senses than the more dignified          
severities of a public trial and the    
gallows4 ,the ,cameronians1 however1 did
 their best to correct this  scandalous 
lenity4 ,as ,meikle ,john ,gibb1 who was
 their comrade in  captivity1 used to   
disturb their worship in jail by his    
maniac howling1  two of them took turn  
about to hold him down by force1 and    
silence him  by a napkin thrust into his
 mouth4 ,this mode of quieting the      
unlucky  heretic1 though sufficiently   
emphatic1 being deemed ineffectual or   
inconvenient1 ,george ,jackson1 a       
,cameronian1 who afterwards suffered at 
the gallows1 dashed the maniac with his 
feet and hands against the wall1  and   
beat him so severely that the rest were 
afraid that he had killed  him outright4
 ,after which specimen of fraternal     

chastisement1 the  lunatic1 to avoid the
 repetition of the discipline1 whenever 
the  prisoners began worship1 ran behind
 the door1 and there1 with his own      
napkin crammed into his mouth1 sat      
howling like a chastised cur4 ,but on   
being finally transported to ,america1  
,john ,gibb1 we are assured1 was  much  
admired by the heathen for his familiar 
converse with the devil  bodily1 and    
offering sacrifices to him4 ,he died    
there1 says ,walker1  about the year    
#agbj4g ,we must necessarily infer that 
the pretensions  of the natives to      
supernatural communication could not be 
of a high  class1 since we find them    
honouring this poor madman as their     
superior2  and1 in general1 that the    
magic1 or powahing1 of the ,north       
,american  ,indians was not of a nature 
to be much apprehended by the ,british  
colonists1 since the natives themselves 
gave honour and precedence to  those    
,europeans who came among them with the 
character of possessing  intercourse    

with the spirits whom they themselves   
professed to worship4    ,footnote #g3  
,see ,patrick ,walker's ,biographia     
,presbyteriana1 vol4 ii4  p4 #bc2 also  
,god's ,judgment upon ,persecutors1 and 
,wodrow's ,history1  upon the article   
,john ,gibb4    ,notwithstanding this   
inferiority on the part of the powahs1  
it occurred  to the settlers that the   
heathen ,indians and ,roman ,catholic   
,frenchmen  were particularly favoured  
by the demons1 who sometimes adopted    
their  appearance1 and showed themselves
 in their likeness1 to the great        
annoyance of the colonists4 ,thus1 in   
the year #afib1 a party of real or      
imaginary ,french and ,indians exhibited
 themselves occasionally to the         
colonists of the town of ,gloucester1 in
 the county of ,essex1 ,new  ,england1  
alarmed the country around very greatly1
 skirmished repeatedly  with the        
,english1 and caused the raising of two 
regiments1 and the  dispatching a strong
 reinforcement to the assistance of the 

settlement4  ,but as these visitants1 by
 whom they were plagued more than a     
fortnight1  though they exchanged fire  
with the settlers1 never killed or      
scalped  any one1 the ,english became   
convinced that they were not real       
,indians  and ,frenchmen1 but that the  
devil and his agents had assumed such an
  appearance1 although seemingly not    
enabled effectually to support it1  for 
the molestation of the colony4#h        
,footnote #h3 ,magnalia1 book vii4      
article xviii4 ,the fact is also        
alleged in the ,life of ,sir ,william   
,phipps4    ,it appears1 then1 that the 
ideas of superstition which the more    
ignorant  converts to the ,christian    
faith borrowed from the wreck of the    
classic  mythology1 were so rooted in   
the minds of their successors1 that     
these  found corroboration of their     
faith in demonology in the practice of  
every pagan nation whose destiny it was 
to encounter them as enemies1  and that 
as well within the limits of ,europe as 

in every other part of  the globe to    
which their arms were carried4 ,in a    
word1 it may be safely  laid down1 that 
the commonly received doctrine of       
demonology1 presenting  the same general
 outlines1 though varied according to   
the fancy of  particular nations1       
existed through all ,europe4 ,it seems  
to have been  founded originally on     
feelings incident to the human heart1 or
 diseases  to which the human frame is  
liable--to have been largely augmented  
by  what classic superstitions survived 
the ruins of paganism--and to have      
received new contributions from the     
opinions collected among the  barbarous 
nations1 whether of the east or of the  
west4 ,it is now  necessary to enter    
more minutely into the question1 and    
endeavour to  trace from what especial  
sources the people of the ,middle ,ages 
derived  those notions which gradually  
assumed the shape of a regular system of
  demonology4          ,,letter ,,iii4  
,creed of ,zoroaster--,received         

partially into most ,heathen            
,nations--,instances among the ,celtic  
,tribes of ,scotland--,beltane          
,feast--,gudeman's ,croft--,such abuses 
admitted into ,christianity after       
the earlier ,ages of the ,church--,law  
of the ,romans against ,witchcraft      
--,roman customs survive the fall of    
their                                   
,religion--,instances--,demonology of   
the ,northern                           
,barbarians--,nicksas--,bhargeist--,corr
espondence between the ,northern        
and ,roman ,witches--,the power of      
,fascination ascribed to the            
,sorceresses--,example from the         
,eyrbiggia ,saga--,the ,prophetesses of 
the ,germans--,the ,gods of ,valhalla   
not highly regarded by their            
,worshippers--,often defied by the      
,champions--,demons of the              
,north--,story of ,assueit and          
,asmund--,action of ,ejectment against  
,spectres--,adventure of a ,champion    
with the ,goddess ,freya--,conversion   

of the ,pagans of ,iceland to           
,christianity--,northern ,superstitions 
mixed with those of the ,celts--,satyrs 
of the ,north--,highland                
,ourisk--,meming the ,satyr4      ,the  
creed of ,zoroaster1 which naturally    
occurs to unassisted reason as a  mode  
of accounting for the mingled existence 
of good and evil in the  visible        
world--that belief which1 in one        
modification or another1  supposes the  
co-existence of a benevolent and        
malevolent principle1  which contend    
together without either being able      
decisively to prevail  over his         
antagonist1 leads the fear and awe      
deeply impressed on the  human mind to  
the worship as well of the author of    
evil1 so tremendous  in all the effects 
of which credulity accounts him the     
primary cause1 as  to that of his great 
opponent1 who is loved and adored as the
 father of  all that is good and        
bountiful4 ,nay1 such is the timid      
servility of  human nature that the     

worshippers will neglect the altars of  
the ,author  of good rather than that of
 ,arimanes1 trusting with indifference  
to the  well-known mercy of the one1    
while they shrink from the idea of      
irritating the vengeful jealousy of the 
awful father of evil4    ,the ,celtic   
tribes1 by whom1 under various          
denominations1 ,europe seems to  have   
been originally peopled1 possessed1 in  
common with other savages1 a  natural   
tendency to the worship of the evil     
principle4 ,they did not1  perhaps1     
adore ,arimanes under one sole name1 or 
consider the malignant  divinities as   
sufficiently powerful to undertake a    
direct struggle with  the more          
benevolent gods2 yet they thought it    
worth while to propitiate  them by      
various expiatory rites and prayers1    
that they1 and the  elementary tempests 
which they conceived to be under their  
direct  command1 might be merciful to   
suppliants who had acknowledged their   
power1 and deprecated their vengeance4  

,remains of these superstitions might be
 traced till past the middle of  the    
last century1 though fast becoming      
obsolete1 or passing into mere  popular 
customs of the country1 which the       
peasantry observe without  thinking of  
their origin4 ,about #agfi1 when ,mr4   
,pennant made his tour1  the ceremony of
 the ,baaltein1 ,beltane1 or ,first of  
,may1 though varying  in different      
districts of the ,highlands1 was yet in 
strict observance1  and the cake1 which 
was then baken with scrupulous attention
 to certain  rites and forms1 was       
divided into fragments1 which were      
formally  dedicated to birds or beasts  
of prey that they1 or rather the being  
whose agents they were1 might spare the 
flocks and herds4#i    ,footnote #i3    
,see ,tennant's ,scottish ,tour1 vol4 i4
 p4 ,,iii4 ,the  traveller mentions that
 some festival of the same kind was in  
his time  observed in ,gloucestershire4 
,another custom of similar origin       
lingered late among us4 ,in many        

parishes of ,scotland there was suffered
 to exist a certain portion of  land1   
called the gudeman's croft1 which was   
never ploughed or  cultivated1 but      
suffered to remain waste1 like the      
,,temenos of a pagan  temple1 ,though it
 was not expressly avowed1 no one       
doubted that the  goodman's croft was   
set apart for some evil being2 in fact1 
that it was  the portion of the         
arch-fiend himself1 whom our ancestors  
distinguished  by a name which1 while it
 was generally understood1 could not1 it
 was  supposed1 be offensive to the     
stern inhabitant of the regions of      
despair4 ,this was so general a custom  
that the ,church published an  ordinance
 against it as an impious and           
blasphemous usage4    ,this singular    
custom sunk before the efforts of the   
clergy in the  seventeenth century2 but 
there must still be many alive who1 in  
childhood1 have been taught to look with
 wonder on knolls and patches of  ground
 left uncultivated1 because1 whenever a 

ploughshare entered the  soil1 the      
elementary spirits were supposed to     
testify their displeasure  by storm and 
thunder4 ,within our own memory1 many   
such places1  sanctified to barrenness  
by some favourite popular superstition1 
existed1 both in ,wales and ,ireland1 as
 well as in ,scotland2 but the high     
price of agricultural produce during the
 late war renders it doubtful if  a     
veneration for greybearded superstition 
has suffered any one of them  to remain 
undesecrated4 ,for the same reason the  
mounts called ,sith  ,bhruaith were     
respected1 and it was deemed unlawful   
and dangerous to cut  wood1 dig earth   
and stones1 or otherwise disturb        
them4#aj    ,footnote #aj3 ,see ,essay  
on the ,subterranean ,commonwealth1 by  
,mr4  ,robert ,kirke1 minister of       
,aberfoyle4    ,now1 it may at first    
sight seem strange that the ,christian  
religion  should have permitted the     
existence of such gross and impious     
relics of  heathenism1 in a land where  

its doctrines had obtained universal    
credence4 ,but this will not appear so  
wonderful when it is recollected  that  
the original ,christians under the      
heathen emperors were called to         
conversion by the voice of apostles and 
saints1 invested for the purpose  with  
miraculous powers1 as well of language1 
for communicating their  doctrine to the
 ,gentiles1 as of cures1 for the purpose
 of authenticating  their mission4      
,these converts must have been in       
general such elect  persons as were     
effectually called to make part of the  
infant church2  and when hypocrites     
ventured1 like ,ananias and ,sapphira1  
to intrude  themselves into so select an
 association1 they were liable1 at the  
,divine pleasure1 to be detected and    
punished4 ,on the contrary1 the  nations
 who were converted after ,christianity 
had become the religion of  the empire  
were not brought within the pale upon   
such a principle of  selection1 as when 
the church consisted of a few           

individuals1 who had1  upon conviction1 
exchanged the errors of the pagan       
religion for the  dangers and duties    
incurred by those who embraced a faith  
inferring the  self-denial of its       
votaries1 and at the same time exposing 
them to  persecution4 ,when the cross   
became triumphant1 and its cause no     
longer  required the direction of       
inspired men1 or the evidence of        
miracles1 to  compel reluctant belief1  
it is evident that the converts who     
thronged  into the fold must have1 many 
of them1 entered because ,christianity  
was  the prevailing faith--many because 
it was the church1 the members of  which
 rose most readily to promotion--many1  
finally1 who1 though content  to resign 
the worship of pagan divinities1 could  
not at once clear their  minds of       
heathen ritual and heathen observances1 
which they  inconsistently laboured to  
unite with the more simple and majestic 
faith  that disdained such impure union4
 ,if this was the case1 even in the     

,roman empire1 where the converts to the
 ,christian faith must have found1      
among the earlier members of the church1
 the readiest and the soundest          
instruction1 how much more imperfectly  
could those foreign and barbarous       
tribes receive the necessary religious  
information from some zealous and       
enthusiastic preacher1 who christened   
them by hundreds in one day8 ,still     
less could we imagine them to have      
acquired a knowledge of ,christianity1  
in the genuine and perfect sense of the 
word1 when1 as was frequently  the case1
 they only assumed the profession of the
 religion that had  become the choice of
 some favoured chief1 whose example they
 followed in  mere love and loyalty1    
without1 perhaps1 attaching more        
consequence to a  change of religion    
than to a change of garments4 ,such     
hasty converts1  professing themselves  
,christians1 but neither weaned from    
their old  belief1 nor instructed in    
their new one1 entered the sanctuary    

without  laying aside the superstitions 
with which their young minds had been   
imbued2 and accustomed to a plurality of
 deities1 some of them1 who  bestowed   
unusual thought on the matter1 might be 
of opinion that1 in  adopting the ,god  
of the ,christians1 they had not        
renounced the service  of every inferior
 power4    ,if1 indeed1 the laws of the 
empire could have been supposed to have 
had  any influence over those fierce    
barbarians1 who conceived that the      
empire itself lay before them as a      
spoil1 they might have been told that   
,constantine1 taking the offence of     
alleged magicians and sorcerers in  the 
same light in which it was viewed in the
 law of ,moses1 had denounced  death    
against any who used these unlawful     
enquiries into futurity4 ,let  the      
unlawful curiosity of prying into       
futurity1 says the law1 be  silent in   
every one henceforth and for ever4#aa   
,for1 subjected to the  avenging sword  
of the law1 he shall be punished        

capitally who disobeys  our commands in 
this matter4    ,footnote #aa3 ,codex1  
lib4 ix4 tit4 #ah1 cap4 #a1 #b1 #c1 #e1 
#f1 #g1 #h4    ,if1 however1 we look    
more closely into this enactment1 we    
shall be led  to conclude that the civil
 law does not found upon the            
prohibitions and  penalties in          
,scripture2 although it condemns the ars
 mathematica 7for  the most mystic and  
uncertain of all sciences1 real or      
pretended1 at  that time held the title 
which now distinguishes the most exact7 
as a  damnable art1 and utterly         
interdicted1 and declares that the      
practitioners therein should die by     
fire1 as enemies of the human  race--yet
 the reason of this severe treatment    
seems to be different from  that acted  
upon in the ,mosaical institutions4 ,the
 weight of the crime  among the ,jews   
was placed on the blasphemy of the      
diviners1 and their  treason against the
 theocracy instituted by ,jehovah4 ,the 
,roman  legislators were1 on the other  

hand1 moved chiefly by the danger       
arising  to the person of the prince and
 the quiet of the state1 so apt to be   
unsettled by every pretence or          
encouragement to innovation4 ,the       
reigning  emperors1 therefore1 were     
desirous to place a check upon the      
mathematics  7as they termed the art of 
divination71 much more for a political  
than a  religious cause1 since we       
observe1 in the history of the empire1  
how  often the dethronement or death of 
the sovereign was produced by           
conspiracies or mutinies which took     
their rise from pretended  prophecies4  
,in this mode of viewing the crime1 the 
lawyers of the lower  empire acted upon 
the example of those who had compiled   
the laws of the  twelve tables4#ab ,the 
mistaken and misplaced devotion which   
,horace  recommends to the rural nymph1 
,phidyle1 would have been a crime of a  
deep dye in a ,christian convert1 and   
must have subjected him to              
excommunication1 as one relapsed to the 

rites of paganism2 but he might  indulge
 his superstition by supposing that     
though he must not worship  ,pan or     
,ceres as gods1 he was at liberty to    
fear them in their new  capacity of     
fiends4 ,some compromise between the    
fear and the conscience  of the new     
converts1 at a time when the church no  
longer consisted  exclusively of saints1
 martyrs1 and confessors1 the disciples 
of  inspired ,apostles1 led them1 and   
even their priestly guides1 subject     
like themselves to human passions and   
errors1 to resort as a charm1 if  not as
 an act of worship1 to those sacrifices1
 words1 and ritual1 by  which the       
heathen1 whom they had succeeded1       
pretended to arrest evil or  procure    
benefits4    ,footnote #ab3 ,by this    
more ancient code1 the punishment of    
death was  indeed denounced against     
those who destroyed crops1 awakened     
storms1 or  brought over to their barns 
and garners the fruits of the earth2    
but1 by  good fortune1 it left the      

agriculturists of the period at liberty 
to use  the means they thought most     
proper to render their fields fertile   
and  plentiful4 ,pliny informs us that  
one ,caius ,furius ,cresinus1 a ,roman  
of  mean estate1 raised larger crops    
from a small field than his neighbours  
could obtain from more ample            
possessions4 ,he was brought before the 
judge upon a charge averring that he    
conjured the fruits of the earth1       
produced by his neighbours' farms1 into 
his own possession4 ,cresinus  appeared1
 and1 having proved the return of his   
farm to be the produce of  his own hard 
and unremitting labour1 as well as      
superior skill1 was  dismissed with the 
highest honours4    ,when such belief in
 a hostile principle and its            
imaginations was become  general in the 
,roman empire1 the ignorance of its     
conquerors1 those wild  nations1        
,franks1 ,goths1 ,vandals1 ,huns1 and   
similar classes of unrefined  humanity1 
made them prone to an error which there 

were few judicious  preachers to warn   
them against2 and we ought rather to    
wonder and admire  the ,divine clemency1
 which imparted to so rude nations the  
light of the  ,gospel1 and disposed them
 to receive a religion so repugnant to  
their  warlike habits1 than that they   
should1 at the same time1 have adopted  
many gross superstitions1 borrowed from 
the pagans1 or retained numbers  of     
those which had made part of their own  
national forms of heathenism4    ,thus1 
though the thrones of ,jupiter and the  
superior deities of the  heathen        
,pantheon were totally overthrown and   
broken to pieces1 fragments  of their   
worship and many of their rites survived
 the conversion to  ,christianity--nay1 
are in existence even at this late and  
enlightened  period1 although those by  
whom they are practised have not        
preserved the  least memory of their    
original purpose4 ,we may hastily       
mention one or  two customs of classical
 origin1 in addition to the ,beltane and

 those  already noticed1 which remain as
 examples that the manners of the       
,romans  once gave the tone to the      
greater part of the island of ,britain1 
and at  least to the whole which was to 
the south of the wall of ,severus4      
,the following customs still linger in  
the south of ,scotland1 and belong  to  
this class3 ,the bride1 when she enters 
the house of her husband1 is  lifted    
over the threshold1 and to step on it or
 over it voluntarily is  reckoned a bad 
omen4 ,this custom was universal in     
,rome1 where it was  observed as keeping
 in memory the rape of the ,sabines1 and
 that it was  by a show of violence     
towards the females that the object of  
peopling  the city was attained4 ,on the
 same occasion a sweet cake1 baked for  
the  purpose1 is broken above the head  
of the bride2 which is also a rite of   
classic antiquity4    ,in like manner1  
the ,scottish1 even of the better rank1 
avoid contracting  marriage in the month
 of ,may1 which genial season of flowers

 and breezes  might1 in other respects1 
appear so peculiarly favourable for that
  purpose4 ,it was specially objected to
 the marriage of ,mary with the         
profligate ,earl of ,bothwell1 that the 
union was formed within this            
interdicted month4 ,this prejudice was  
so rooted among the ,scots that1 in     
#afhd1 a set of enthusiasts1 called     
,gibbites1 proposed to renounce it1     
among a long list of stated festivals1  
fast-days1 popish relics1 not           
forgetting the profane names of the days
 of the week1 names of the  months1 and 
all sorts of idle and silly practices   
which their tender  consciences took an 
exception to4 ,this objection to        
solemnize marriage  in the merry month  
of ,may1 however fit a season for       
courtship1 is also  borrowed from the   
,roman pagans1 which1 had these fanatics
 been aware of  it1 would have been an  
additional reason for their anathema    
against the  practice4 ,the ancients    
have given us as a maxim1 that it is    

only bad  women who marry in that       
month4#ac    ,footnote #ac3 ,mal nubent 
,maia4    ,the custom of saying ,god    
bless you1 when a person in company     
sneezes1  is1 in like manner1 derived   
from sternutation being considered as a 
crisis of the plague at ,athens1 and the
 hope that1 when it was attained  the   
patient had a chance of recovery4       
,but besides these1 and many other      
customs which the various nations of    
,europe received from the classical     
times1 and which it is not our object   
to investigate1 they derived from thence
 a shoal of superstitious  beliefs1     
which1 blended and mingled with those   
which they brought with  them out of    
their own country1 fostered and formed  
the materials of a  demonological creed 
which has descended down almost to our  
own times4  ,nixas1 or ,nicksa1 a river 
or ocean god1 worshipped on the shores  
of the  ,baltic1 seems to have taken    
uncontested possession of the attributes
 of  ,neptune4 ,amid the twilight       

winters and overpowering tempests of    
these  gloomy regions1 he had been not  
unnaturally chosen as the power most    
adverse to man1 and the supernatural    
character with which he was  invested   
has descended to our time under two     
different aspects4 ,the ,nixa  of the   
,germans is one of those fascinating and
 lovely fays whom the  ancients termed  
,naiads2 and unless her pride is        
insulted or her jealousy  awakened by an
 inconstant lover1 her temper is        
generally mild and her  actions         
beneficent4 ,the ,old ,nick known in    
,england is an equally genuine          
descendant of the northern sea-god1 and 
possesses a larger portion of  his      
powers and terrors ,the ,british sailor1
 who fears nothing else1  confesses his 
terror for this terrible being1 and     
believes him the  author of almost all  
the various calamities to which the     
precarious life  of a seaman is so      
continually exposed4    ,the            
,bhar-guest1 or ,bhar-geist1 by which   

name it is generally  acknowledged      
through various country parts of        
,england1 and particularly  in          
,yorkshire1 also called a ,dobie--a     
local spectre which haunts a  particular
 spot under various forms--is a deity1  
as his name implies1 of  ,teutonic      
descent2 and if it be true1 as the      
author has been informed1  that some    
families bearing the name of ,dobie     
carry a phantom or spectre1  passant1 in
 their armorial bearings1#ad it plainly 
implies that1  however the word may have
 been selected for a proper name1 its   
original  derivation had not then been  
forgotten4    ,footnote #ad3 ,a similar 
bearing has been ascribed1 for the same 
reason1  to those of the name of        
,fantome1 who carried of old a goblin1  
or  phantom1 in a shroud sable passant1 
on a field azure4 ,both bearings are    
founded on what is called canting       
heraldry1 a species of art disowned by  
the writers on the science1 yet         
universally made use of by those who    

practice the art of blazonry4    ,the   
classic mythology presented numerous    
points in which it readily  coalesced   
with that of the ,germans1 ,danes1 and  
,northmen of a later  period4 ,they     
recognized the power of ,erictho1       
,canidia1 and other  sorceresses1 whose 
spell could perplex the course of the   
elements1  intercept the influence of   
the sun1 and prevent his beneficial     
operation  upon the fruits of the earth1
 call down the moon from her appointed  
sphere1 and disturb the original and    
destined course of ,nature by their     
words and charms and the power of the   
evil spirits whom they invoked4  ,they  
were also professionally implicated in  
all such mystic and secret  rites and   
ceremonies as were used to conciliate   
the favour of the  infernal powers1     
whose dispositions were supposed as dark
 and wayward as  their realms were      
gloomy and dismal4 ,such hags were      
frequent agents in  the violation of    
unburied bodies1 and it was believed1 by

 the vulgar at  least1 that it was      
dangerous to leave corpses unguarded    
lest they should  be mangled by the     
witches1 who took from them the most    
choice  ingredients composing their     
charms4 ,above all1 it must not be      
forgotten  that these frightful         
sorceresses possessed the power of      
transforming  themselves and others into
 animals1 which are used in their degree
 of  quadrupeds1 or in whatever other   
laborious occupation belongs to the     
transformed state4 ,the poets of the    
heathens1 with authors of fiction1  such
 as ,lucian and ,apuleius1 ascribe all  
these powers to the witches of  the     
pagan world1 combining them with the art
 of poisoning1 and of making  magical   
philtres to seduce the affections of the
 young and beautiful2  and such were the
 characteristics which1 in greater or   
less extent1 the  people of the ,middle 
,ages ascribed to the witches of their  
day4    ,but in thus adopting the       
superstitions of the ancients1 the      

conquerors  of the ,roman ,empire       
combined them with similar articles of  
belief which  they had brought with them
 from their original settlements in the 
,north1  where the existence of hags of 
the same character formed a great       
feature  in their ,sagas and their      
,chronicles4 ,it requires but a slight  
acquaintance with these compositions to 
enable the reader to recognize  in the  
,galdrakinna of the ,scalds the ,stryga 
or witch-woman of more  classical       
climates4 ,in the northern ideas of     
witches there was no  irreligion        
concerned with their lore4 ,on the      
contrary1 the possession of  magical    
knowledge was an especial attribute of  
,odin himself2 and to  intrude          
themselves upon a deity1 and compel him 
to instruct them in what  they desired  
to know1 was accounted not an act of    
impiety1 but of  gallantry and high     
courage1 among those sons of the sword  
and the spear4  ,their matrons possessed
 a high reputation for magic1 for       

prophetic  powers1 for creating         
illusions2 and1 if not capable of       
transformations  of the human body1 they
 were at least able to impose such      
fascination on  the sight of their      
enemies as to conceal for a period the  
objects of  which they were in search4  
,there is a remarkable story in the     
,eyrbiggia ,saga 7,historia             
,eyranorum71 giving the result of such a
 controversy between two of  these      
gifted women1 one of whom was determined
 on discovering and  putting to death   
the son of the other1 named ,katla1 who 
in a brawl had  cut off the hand of the 
daughter-in-law of ,geirada4 ,a party   
detached to  avenge this wrong1 by      
putting ,oddo to death1 returned        
deceived by the  skill of his mother4   
,they had found only ,katla1 they said1 
spinning flax  from a large distaff4    
,fools1 said ,geirada1 that distaff was 
the man  you sought4 ,they returned1    
seized the distaff1 and burnt it4 ,but  
this  second time1 the witch disguised  

her son under the appearance of a tame  
kid4 ,a third time he was a hog1 which  
grovelled among the ashes4 ,the  party  
returned yet again2 augmented as one of 
,katla's maidens1 who kept  watch1      
informed her mistress1 by one in a blue 
mantle4 ,alas6 said  ,katla1 it is the  
sorceress ,geirada1 against whom spells 
avail not4  ,accordingly1 the hostile   
party1 entering for the fourth time1    
seized on  the object of their          
animosity1 and put him to death4#ae     
,this species of  witchcraft is well    
known in ,scotland as the glamour1 or   
deceptio  visus1 and was supposed to be 
a special attribute of the race of      
,gipsies4    ,footnote #ae3 ,eyrbiggia  
,saga1 in ,northern ,antiquities4       
,neither are those prophetesses to be   
forgotten1 so much honoured among  the  
,german tribes1 that1 as we are assured 
by ,tacitus1 they rose to the  highest  
rank in their councils1 by their        
supposed supernatural  knowledge1 and   
even obtained a share in the direction  

of their armies4  ,this peculiarity in  
the habits of the ,north was so general1
 that it was  no unusual thing to see   
females1 from respect to their supposed 
views  into futurity1 and the degree of 
divine inspiration which was vouchsafed 
to them1 arise to the degree of ,,haxa1 
or chief priestess1 from which  comes   
the word ,hexe1 now universally used for
 a witch2 a circumstance  which plainly 
shows that the mythological system of   
the ancient natives  of the ,north had  
given to the modern language an         
appropriate word for  distinguishing    
those females who had intercourse with  
the spiritual  world4#af    ,footnote   
#af3 ,it may be worth while to notice   
that the word ,haxa is  still used in   
,scotland in its sense of a druidess1 or
 chief priestess1  to distinguish the   
places where such females exercised     
their ritual4  ,there is a species of   
small intrenchment on the western       
descent of the  ,eildon hills1 which    
,mr4 ,milne1 in his account of the      

parish of ,melrose1  drawn up about     
eighty years ago1 says1 was denominated 
,bourjo1 a word  of unknown derivation1 
by which the place is still known4 ,here
 an  universal and subsisting tradition 
bore that human sacrifices were of  yore
 offered1 while the people assisting    
could behold the ceremony from  the     
elevation of the glacis which slopes    
inward4 ,with this place of  sacrifice  
communicated a path1 still discernible1 
called the  ,haxell-gate1 leading to a  
small glen or narrow valley called the  
,haxellcleuch--both which words are     
probably derived from the ,haxa or      
chief priestess of the pagans4    ,it is
 undeniable that these ,pythonesses were
 held in high respect while  the pagan  
religion lasted2 but for that very      
reason they became odious  so soon as   
the tribe was converted to              
,christianity4 ,they were1 of  course1  
if they pretended to retain their       
influence1 either despised as  impostors
 or feared as sorceresses2 and the more 

that1 in particular  instances1 they    
became dreaded for their power1 the more
 they were  detested1 under the         
conviction that they derived it from the
 enemy of  man4 ,the deities of the     
northern heathens underwent a similar   
metamorphosis1 resembling that proposed 
by ,drawcansir in the  ,rehearsal1 who  
threatens to make a god subscribe       
himself a devil4    ,the warriors of the
 ,north received this new impression    
concerning the  influence of their      
deities1 and the source from which it   
was derived1  with the more             
indifference1 as their worship1 when    
their mythology was  most generally     
established1 was never of a very        
reverential or  devotional character4   
,their idea of their own merely human   
prowess was  so high1 that the champions
 made it their boast1 as we have already
  hinted1 they would not give way in    
fight even to the immortal gods         
themselves4 ,such1 we learn from ,csar1 
was the idea of the ,germans  concerning

 the ,suevi1 or ,swabians1 a tribe to   
whom the others yielded  the palm of    
valour2 and many individual stories are 
told in the ,sagas  concerning bold     
champions1 who had fought1 not only with
 the sorcerers1  but with the demigods  
of the system1 and come off unharmed1 if
 not  victorious1 in the contest4       
,hother1 for example1 encountered the   
god  ,thor in battle1 as ,diomede1 in   
the ,iliad1 engages with ,mars1 and with
  like success4 ,bartholsine#ag gives us
 repeated examples of the same  kind4   
,know this1 said ,kiartan to ,olaus     
,trigguasen1 that ,i believe  neither in
 idols nor demons4 ,i have travelled    
through various strange  countries1 and 
have encountered many giants and        
monsters1 and have never  been conquered
 by them2 ,i therefore put my sole trust
 in my own strength  of body and courage
 of soul4 ,another yet more broad answer
 was made to  ,st4 ,olaus1 ,king of     
,norway1 by ,gaukater4 ,i am neither    
,pagan nor  ,christian4 ,my comrades and

 ,i profess no other religion than a    
perfect  confidence in our own strength 
and invincibility in battle4 ,such      
chieftains were of the sect of          
,mezentius--    ,dextra mihi ,deus1 et  
telum1 quod missile libro1   ,nunc      
adsint6#ah    ,and we cannot wonder that
 champions of such a character1 careless
 of  their gods while yet acknowledged  
as such1 readily regarded them as       
demons after their conversion to        
,christianity4    ,footnote #ag3 ,de    
causis contempt necis1 lib4 i4 cap #f4  
,footnote #ah3 neid1 lib4 x4 line #ggc4 
,to incur the highest extremity of      
danger became accounted a proof of  that
 insuperable valour for which every     
,northman desired to be famed1  and     
their annals afford numerous instances  
of encounters with ghosts1  witches1    
furies1 and fiends1 whom the ,kiemp1 or 
champions1 compelled to  submit to their
 mere mortal strength1 and yield to     
their service the  weapons or other     
treasures which they guarded in their   

tombs4    ,the ,norsemen were the more  
prone to these superstitions1 because it
 was  a favourite fancy of theirs that1 
in many instances1 the change from  life
 to death altered the temper of the     
human spirit from benignant to          
malevolent2 or perhaps1 that when the   
soul left the body1 its departure  was  
occasionally supplied by a wicked demon1
 who took the opportunity to  enter and 
occupy its late habitation4    ,upon    
such a supposition the wild fiction that
 follows is probably  grounded2 which1  
extravagant as it is1 possesses         
something striking to  the imagination4 
,saxo ,grammaticus tells us of the fame 
of two ,norse  princes or chiefs1 who   
had formed what was called a brotherhood
 in arms1  implying not only the firmest
 friendship and constant support during 
all  the adventures which they should   
undertake in life1 but binding them by  
a solemn compact1 that after the death  
of either1 the survivor should  descend 
alive into the sepulchre of his         

brother-in-arms1 and consent to  be     
buried alongst with him4 ,the task of   
fulfilling this dreadful compact  fell  
upon ,asmund1 his companion1 ,assueit1  
having been slain in battle4  ,the tomb 
was formed after the ancient northern   
custom in what was called  the age of   
hills1 that is1 when it was usual to    
bury persons of  distinguished merit or 
rank on some conspicuous spot1 which was
 crowned  with a mound4 ,with this      
purpose a deep narrow vault was         
constructed1 to  be the apartment of the
 future tomb over which the sepulchral  
heap was  to be piled4 ,here they       
deposited arms1 trophies1 poured forth1 
perhaps1  the blood of victims1         
introduced into the tomb the war-horses 
of the  champions1 and when these rites 
had been duly paid1 the body of ,assueit
  was placed in the dark and narrow     
house1 while his faithful               
brother-in-arms entered and sat down by 
the corpse1 without a word or  look     
which testified regret or unwillingness 

to fulfil his fearful  engagement4 ,the 
soldiers who had witnessed this singular
 interment of  the dead and living1     
rolled a huge stone to the mouth of the 
tomb1 and  piled so much earth and      
stones above the spot as made a mound   
visible  from a great distance1 and     
then1 with loud lamentation for the loss
 of  such undaunted leaders1 they       
dispersed themselves like a flock which 
has  lost its shepherd4    ,years passed
 away after years1 and a century had    
elapsed ere a noble  ,swedish rover1    
bound upon some high adventure and      
supported by a gallant  band of         
followers1 arrived in the valley which  
took its name from the  tomb of the     
brethren-in-arms4 ,the story was told to
 the strangers1 whose  leader determined
 on opening the sepulchre1 partly       
because1 as already  hinted1 it was     
reckoned a heroic action to brave the   
anger of departed  heroes by violating  
their tombs2 partly to attain the arms  
and swords of  proof with which the     

deceased had done their great actions4  
,he set his  soldiers to work1 and soon 
removed the earth and stones from one   
side of  the mound1 and laid bare the   
entrance4 ,but the stoutest of the      
rovers  started back when1 instead of   
the silence of a tomb1 they heard within
  horrid cries1 the clash of swords1 the
 clang of armour1 and all the  noise of 
a mortal combat between two furious     
champions4 ,a young warrior  was let    
down into the profound tomb by a cord1  
which was drawn up  shortly after1 in   
hopes of news from beneath4 ,but when   
the adventurer  descended1 some one     
threw him from the cord1 and took his   
place in the  noose4 ,when the rope was 
pulled up1 the soldiers1 instead of     
their  companion1 beheld ,asmund1 the   
survivor of the brethren-in-arms4 ,he   
rushed into the open air1 his sword     
drawn in his hand1 his armour half  torn
 from his body1 the left side of his    
face almost scratched off1 as  by the   
talons of some wild beast4 ,he had no   

sooner appeared in the light  of day1   
than1 with the improvisatory poetic     
talent1 which these  champions often    
united with heroic strength and bravery1
 he poured forth  a string of verses    
containing the history of his hundred   
years' conflict  within the tomb4 ,it   
seems that no sooner was the sepulchre  
closed than  the corpse of the slain    
,assueit arose from the ground1 inspired
 by some  ravenous goule1 and having    
first torn to pieces and devoured the   
horses  which had been entombed with    
them1 threw himself upon the companion  
who  had just given him such a sign of  
devoted friendship1 in order to treat   
him in the same manner4 ,the hero1 no   
way discountenanced by the horrors  of  
his situation1 took to his arms1 and    
defended himself manfully  against      
,assueit1 or rather against the evil    
demon who tenanted that  champion's     
body4 ,in this manner the living brother
 waged a preternatural  combat1 which   
had endured during a whole century1 when

 ,asmund1 at last  obtaining the        
victory1 prostrated his enemy1 and by   
driving1 as he  boasted1 a stake through
 his body1 had finally reduced him to   
the state  of quiet becoming a tenant of
 the tomb4 ,having chanted the          
triumphant  account of his contest and  
victory1 this mangled conqueror fell    
dead  before them4 ,the body of ,assueit
 was taken out of the tomb1 burnt1 and  
the ashes dispersed to heaven2 whilst   
that of the victor1 now lifeless  and   
without a companion1 was deposited      
there1 so that it was hoped his         
slumbers might remain undisturbed4#ai   
,the precautions taken against          
,assueit's reviving a second time1      
remind us of those adopted in the       
,greek islands and in the ,turkish      
provinces against the vampire4 ,it      
affords also a derivation of the ancient
 ,english law in case of suicide1  when 
a stake was driven through the body1    
originally to keep it secure  in the    
tomb4    ,footnote #ai3 ,see ,saxo      

,grammaticus1 ,hist4 ,dan41 lib4 v4     
,the ,northern people also acknowledged 
a kind of ghosts1 who1 when they  had   
obtained possession of a building1 or   
the right of haunting it1 did  not      
defend themselves against mortals on the
 knightly principle of duel1  like      
,assueit1 nor were amenable to the      
prayers of the priest or the  spells of 
the sorcerer1 but became tractable when 
properly convened in a  legal process4  
,the ,eyrbiggia ,saga acquaints us1 that
 the mansion of a  respectable          
landholder in ,iceland was1 soon after  
the settlement of that  island1 exposed 
to a persecution of this kind4 ,the     
molestation was  produced by the        
concurrence of certain mystical and     
spectral phenomena1  calculated to      
introduce such persecution4 ,about the  
commencement of  winter1 with that      
slight exchange of darkness and twilight
 which  constitutes night and day in    
these latitudes1 a contagious disease   
arose  in a family of consequence and in

 the neighbourhood1 which1 sweeping off 
several members of the family at        
different times1 seemed to threaten     
them all with death4 ,but the death of  
these persons was attended with  the    
singular consequence that their spectres
 were seen to wander in the             
neighbourhood of the mansion-house1     
terrifying1 and even assaulting1  those 
of the living family who ventured       
abroad4 ,as the number of the  dead     
members of the devoted household seemed 
to increase in proportion  to that of   
the survivors1 the ghosts took it upon  
them to enter the  house1 and produce   
their arial forms and wasted            
physiognomy1 even in  the stove where   
the fire was maintained for the general 
use of the  inhabitants1 and which1 in  
an ,iceland winter1 is the only         
comfortable  place of assembling the    
family4 ,but the remaining inhabitants  
of the  place1 terrified by the         
intrusion of these spectres1 chose      
rather to  withdraw to the other        

extremity of the house1 and abandon     
their warm  seats1 than to endure the   
neighbourhood of the phantoms4          
,complaints were  at length made to a   
pontiff of the god ,thor1 named ,snorro1
 who exercised  considerable influence  
in the island4 ,by his counsel1 the     
young  proprietor of the haunted mansion
 assembled a jury1 or inquest1 of his   
neighbours1 constituted in the usual    
judicial form1 as if to judge an        
ordinary civil matter1 and proceeded1 in
 their presence1 to cite  individually  
the various phantoms and resemblances of
 the deceased  members of the family1 to
 show by what warrant they disputed with
 him  and his servants the quiet        
possession of his property1 and what    
defence  they could plead for thus      
interfering with and incommoding the    
living4  ,the spectres of the dead1 by  
name1 and in order as summoned1 appeared
 on  their being called1 and muttering  
some regrets at being obliged to        
abandon their dwelling1 departed1 or    

vanished1 from the astonished  inquest4 
,judgment then went against the ghosts  
by default2 and the trial  by jury1 of  
which we here can trace the origin1     
obtained a triumph  unknown to any of   
the great writers who have made it the  
subject of  eulogy4#bj    ,footnote #bj3
 ,eyrbiggia ,saga4 ,see ,northern       
,antiquities4    ,it was not only with  
the spirits of the dead that the warlike
 people of  the ,north made war without 
timidity1 and successfully entered into 
suits  of ejectment4 ,these daring      
champions often braved the indignation  
even  of the superior deities of their  
mythology1 rather than allow that there 
existed any being before whom their     
boldness could quail4 ,such is the      
singular story how a young man of high  
courage1 in crossing a desolate  ridge  
of mountains1 met with a huge waggon1 in
 which the goddess1 ,freya  7i4e41 a    
gigantic idol formed to represent her71 
together with her  shrine1 and the      
wealthy offerings attached to it1 was   

travelling from  one district of the    
country to another4 ,the shrine1 or     
sanctuary of the  idol1 was1 like a     
modern caravan travelling with a show1  
screened by  boards and curtains from   
the public gaze1 and the equipage was   
under the  immediate guidance of the    
priestess of ,freya1 a young1           
good-looking1 and  attractive woman4    
,the traveller naturally associated     
himself with the  priestess1 who1 as she
 walked on foot1 apparently was in no   
degree  displeased with the company of a
 powerful and handsome young man1 as a  
guide and companion on the journey4 ,it 
chanced1 however1 that the  presence of 
the champion1 and his discourse with the
 priestess1 was less  satisfactory to   
the goddess than to the parties         
principally concerned4  ,by a certain   
signal the divinity summoned the        
priestess to the  sanctuary1 who        
presently returned1 with tears in her   
eyes and terror in  her countenance1 to 
inform her companion that it was the    

will of ,freya  that he should depart1  
and no longer travel in their company4  
,you must  have mistaken the meaning of 
the goddess1 said the champion2 ,freya  
cannot have formed a wish so            
unreasonable as to desire ,i should     
abandon  the straight and good road1    
which leads me directly on my journey1  
to  choose precipitous paths and        
by-roads1 where ,i may break my neck4   
,nevertheless1 said the priestess1 the  
goddess will be highly offended  if you 
disobey her commands1 nor can ,i conceal
 from you that she may  personally      
assault you4 ,it will be at her own     
peril if she should be  so audacious1   
said the champion1 for ,i will try the  
power of this axe  against the strength 
of beams and boards4 ,the priestess chid
 him for  his impiety2 but being unable 
to compel him to obey the goddess's     
mandate1 they again relapsed into       
familiarity1 which advanced to such a   
point that a clattering noise within the
 tabernacle1 as of machinery put  in    

motion1 intimated to the travellers that
 ,freya1 who perhaps had some  qualities
 in common with the classical ,vesta1   
thought a personal  interruption of this
 tte--tte ought to be deferred no       
longer4 ,the  curtains flew open1 and   
the massive and awkward idol1 who1 we   
may  suppose1 resembled in form the     
giant created by ,frankenstein1 leapt   
lumbering from the carriage1 and1       
rushing on the intrusive traveller1     
dealt him1 with its wooden hands and    
arms1 such tremendous blows1 as  were   
equally difficult to parry or to endure4
 ,but the champion was armed  with a    
double-edged ,danish axe1 with which he 
bestirred himself with so  much strength
 and activity1 that at length he split  
the head of the  image1 and with a      
severe blow hewed off its left leg4 ,the
 image of ,freya  then fell motionless  
to the ground1 and the demon which had  
animated it  fled yelling from the      
battered tenement4 ,the champion was now
 victor2  and1 according to the law of  

arms1 took possession of the female and 
the  baggage4 ,the priestess1 the       
divinity of whose patroness had been by 
the  event of the combat sorely lessened
 in her eyes1 was now easily induced  to
 become the associate and concubine of  
the conqueror4 ,she accompanied  him to 
the district whither he was travelling1 
and there displayed the  shrine of      
,freya1 taking care to hide the injuries
 which the goddess had  received in the 
brawl4 ,the champion came in for a share
 of a gainful  trade driven by the      
priestess1 besides appropriating to     
himself most of  the treasures which the
 sanctuary had formerly contained4      
,neither does  it appear that ,freya1   
having1 perhaps1 a sensible recollection
 of the  power of the axe1 ever again   
ventured to appear in person for the    
purpose of calling her false stewards to
 account4    ,the national estimation of
 deities1 concerning whom such stories  
could  be told and believed1 was1 of    
course1 of no deep or respectful        

character4 ,the ,icelanders abandoned   
,odin1 ,freya1 ,thor1 and their whole   
pagan mythology1 in consideration of a  
single disputation between the  heathen 
priests and the ,christian missionaries4
 ,the priests threatened  the island    
with a desolating eruption of the       
volcano called ,hecla1 as  the necessary
 consequence of the vengeance of their  
deities4 ,snorro1 the  same who advised 
the inquest against the ghosts1 had     
become a convert to  the ,christian     
religion1 and was present on the        
occasion1 and as the  conference was    
held on the surface of what had been a  
stream of lava1  now covered with       
vegetable substances1 he answered the   
priests with much  readiness1 ,to what  
was the indignation of the gods owing   
when the  substance on which we stand   
was fluid and scorching8 ,believe me1   
men of  ,iceland1 the eruption of the   
volcano depends on natural circumstances
  now as it did then1 and is not the    
engine of vengeance intrusted to ,thor  

and ,odin4 ,it is evident that men who  
reasoned with so much accuracy          
concerning the imbecility of ,odin and  
,thor were well prepared1 on  abandoning
 their worship1 to consider their former
 deities1 of whom they  believed so much
 that was impious1 in the light of evil 
demons4    ,but there were some         
particulars of the ,northern creed in   
which it  corresponded so exactly with  
that of the classics as leaves room to  
doubt whether the original ,as1 or      
,asiatics1 the founders of the          
,scandinavian system1 had1 before their 
migration from ,asia1 derived them  from
 some common source with those of the   
,greeks and ,romans2 or whether1  on the
 other hand1 the same proneness of the  
human mind to superstition  has caused  
that similar ideas are adopted in       
different regions1 as the  same plants  
are found in distant countries without  
the one1 as far as  can be discovered1  
having obtained the seed from the       
others4    ,the classical fiction1 for  

example1 of the satyrs and other        
subordinate  deities of wood and wild1  
whose power is rather delusive than     
formidable1 and whose supernatural      
pranks intimate rather a wish to        
inflict terror than to do hurt1 was     
received among the ,northern people1    
and perhaps transferred by them to the  
,celtic tribes4 ,it is an idea  which   
seems common to many nations4 ,the      
existence of a satyr1 in the  silvan    
form1 is even pretended to be proved by 
the evidence of ,saint  ,anthony1 to    
whom one is said to have appeared in the
 desert4 ,the  ,scottish ,gael have an  
idea of the same kind1 respecting a     
goblin called  ,ourisk1 whose form is   
like that of ,pan1 and his attendants   
something  between a man and a goat1 the
 nether extremities being in the latter 
form4 ,a species of cavern1 or rather   
hole1 in the rock1 affords to the       
wildest retreat in the romantic         
neighbourhood of ,loch ,katrine a name  
taken from classical superstition4 ,it  

is not the least curious  circumstance  
that from this silvan deity the modern  
nations of ,europe  have borrowed the   
degrading and unsuitable emblems of the 
goat's visage  and form1 the horns1     
hoofs1 and tail1 with which they have   
depicted the  author of evil when it    
pleased him to show himself on earth4   
,so that the  alteration of a single    
word would render ,pope's well-known    
line more  truly adapted to the fact1   
should we venture to read--    ,and ,pan
 to ,satan lends his heathen horn4      
,we cannot attribute the transferrence  
of the attributes of the ,northern      
satyr1 or ,celtic ourisk1 to the        
arch-fiend1 to any particular           
resemblance between the character of    
these deities and that of ,satan4 ,on   
the contrary1 the ourisk of the ,celts  
was a creature by no means  peculiarly  
malevolent or formidably powerful1 but  
rather a melancholy  spirit1 which dwelt
 in wildernesses far removed from men4  
,if we are to  identify him with the    

,brown ,dwarf of the ,border moors1 the 
ourisk has a  mortal term of life and a 
hope of salvation1 as indeed the same   
high  claim was made by the satyr who   
appeared to ,st4 ,anthony4 ,moreover1   
the  ,highland ourisk was a species of  
lubber fiend1 and capable of being      
over-reached by those who understood    
philology4 ,it is related of one of     
these goblins which frequented a mill   
near the foot of ,loch ,lomond1 that    
the miller1 desiring to get rid of this 
meddling spirit1 who injured the        
machinery by setting the water on the   
wheel when there was no grain to  be    
grinded1 contrived to have a meeting    
with the goblin by watching in  his mill
 till night4 ,the ourisk then entered1  
and demanded the miller's  name1 and was
 informed that he was called ,myself2 on
 which is founded  a story almost       
exactly like that of ,,outis in the     
,odyssey1 a tale  which1 though classic1
 is by no means an elegant or ingenious 
fiction1  but which we are astonished to

 find in an obscure district1 and in the
  ,celtic tongue1 seeming to argue some 
connexion or communication between      
these remote ,highlands of ,scotland and
 the readers of ,homer in former  days1 
which we cannot account for4 ,after all1
 perhaps1 some ,churchman  more learned 
than his brethren may have transferred  
the legend from  ,sicily to ,duncrune1  
from the shores of the ,mediterranean to
 those of  ,loch ,lomond4 ,i have heard 
it also told that the celebrated        
freebooter1  ,rob ,roy1 once gained a   
victory by disguising a part of his men 
with  goat-skins1 so as to resemble the 
ourisk or ,highland satyr4    ,there was
 an individual satyr called1 ,i think1  
,meming1 belonging to the  ,scandinavian
 mythology1 of a character different    
from the ourisk1 though  similar in     
shape1 whom it was the boast of the     
highest champions to seek  out in the   
solitudes which he inhabited4 ,he was an
 armourer of extreme  dexterity1 and the
 weapons which he forged were of the    

highest value4  ,but as club-law        
pervaded the ancient system of          
,scandinavia1 ,meming had  the humour of
 refusing to work for any customer save 
such as compelled  him to it with force 
of arms4 ,he may be1 perhaps1 identified
 with the  recusant smith who fled      
before ,fingal from ,ireland to the     
,orkneys1 and  being there overtaken1   
was compelled to forge the sword which  
,fingal  afterwards wore in all his     
battles1 and which was called the ,son  
of the  dark brown ,luno1 from the name 
of the armourer who forged it4#ba       
,footnote #ba3 ,the weapon is often     
mentioned in ,mr4 ,mac,pherson's        
paraphrases2 but the ,irish ballad1     
which gives a spirited account of the   
debate between the champion and the     
armourer1 is nowhere introduced4        
,from this it will appear that there    
were originals enough in the  mythology 
of the ,goths1 as well as ,celts1 to    
furnish the modern  attributes ascribed 
to ,satan in later times1 when the      

object of painter  or poet was to       
display him in his true form and with   
all his terrors4  ,even the genius of   
,guido and of ,tasso have been unable to
 surmount this  prejudice1 the more     
rooted1 perhaps1 that the wicked are    
described as  goats in ,scripture1 and  
that the devil is called the old dragon4
 ,in  ,raffael's famous painting of the 
archangel ,michael binding ,satan1 the  
dignity1 power1 and angelic character   
expressed by the seraph form an         
extraordinary contrast to the poor      
conception of a being who ought not1    
even in that lowest degradation1 to have
 seemed so unworthy an  antagonist4     
,neither has ,tasso been more happy1    
where he represents the  divan of       
darkness in the enchanted forest as     
presided over by a monarch  having a    
huge tail1 hoofs1 and all the usual     
accompaniments of popular  diablerie4   
,the genius of ,milton alone could      
discard all these vulgar  puerilities1  
and assign to the author of evil the    

terrible dignity of  one who should seem
 not less than archangel ruined4 ,this  
species of  degradation is yet grosser  
when we take into consideration the     
changes  which popular opinions have    
wrought respecting the taste1 habits1   
powers1 modes of tempting1 and habits of
 tormenting1 which are such as  might   
rather be ascribed to some stupid       
superannuated and doting ogre of  a     
fairy tale1 than to the powerful-minded 
demon who fell through pride  and       
rebellion1 not through folly or         
incapacity4    ,having1 however1 adopted
 our present ideas of the devil as they 
are  expressed by his nearest           
acquaintances1 the witches1 from the    
accounts  of satyrs1 which seem to have 
been articles of faith both among the   
,celtic and ,gothic tribes1 we must next
 notice another fruitful fountain  of   
demonological fancies4 ,but as this     
source of the mythology of the  ,middle 
,ages must necessarily comprehend some  
account of the fairy folk1  to whom much

 of it must be referred1 it is necessary
 to make a pause  before we enter upon  
the mystic and marvellous connexion     
supposed to  exist between the          
impenitent kingdom of ,satan and those  
merry dancers by  moonlight4            
,,letter ,,iv4        ,the ,fairy       
,superstition is derived from different 
sources--,the      ,classical ,worship  
of the ,silvans1 or ,rural ,deities1    
proved by ,roman      ,altars           
discovered--,the ,gothic ,duergar1 or   
,dwarfs--,supposed to be      derived   
from the ,northern ,laps1 or ,fins--,the
      ,niebelungen-,lied--,king         
,laurin's ,adventure--,celtic ,fairies  
of a      gayer character1 yet their    
pleasures empty and illusory--,addicted 
to      carry off ,human ,beings1 both  
,infants and ,adults--,adventures of a  
,butler in ,ireland--,the ,elves        
supposed to pay a ,tax to ,hell--,the   
,irish1 ,welsh1 ,highlanders1 and       
,manxmen held the same belief--,it was  
rather rendered more gloomy by the      

,northern ,traditions--,merlin and      
,arthur carried off by the              
,fairies--,also ,thomas of              
,erceldoune--,his      ,amour with the  
,queen of ,elfland--,his re-appearance  
in latter      times--,another account  
from ,reginald ,scot--,conjectures on   
the      derivation of the word ,fairy4 
,we may premise by observing1 that the  
classics had not forgotten to  enrol in 
their mythology a certain species of    
subordinate deities1  resembling the    
modern elves in their habits4 ,good old 
,mr4 ,gibb1 of the  ,advocates' ,library
 7whom all lawyers whose youth he       
assisted in their  studies1 by his      
knowledge of that noble collection1 are 
bound to name  with gratitude71 used to 
point out1 amongst the ancient altars   
under his  charge1 one which is         
consecrated1 ,diis campestribus1 and    
usually  added1 with a wink1 ,the       
fairies1 ye ken4#bb ,this relic of      
antiquity  was discovered near ,roxburgh
 ,castle1 and a vicinity more           

delightfully  appropriate to the abode  
of the silvan deities can hardly be     
found4    ,footnote #bb3 ,another altar 
of elegant form and perfectly preserved1
  was1 within these few weeks1 dug up   
near the junction of the ,leader and    
the ,tweed1 in the neighbourhood of the 
village of ,newstead1 to the east  of   
,melrose4 ,it was inscribed by ,carrius 
,domitianus1 the prefect of the         
twentieth legion1 to the god ,sylvanus1 
forming another instance how much  the  
wild and silvan character of the country
 disposed the feelings of  the ,romans  
to acknowledge the presence of the rural
 deities4 ,the altar  is preserved at   
,drygrange1 the seat of ,mr4 ,tod4      
,two rivers of considerable size1 made  
yet more remarkable by the fame  which  
has rendered them in some sort          
classical1 unite their streams  beneath 
the vestiges of an extensive castle1    
renowned in the wars with  ,england1 and
 for the valiant1 noble1 and even royal 
blood1 which has  been shed around and  

before it--a landscape ornamented with  
the distant  village and huge abbey     
tower of ,kelso1 arising out of groves  
of aged  trees--the modern mansion of   
,fleurs1 with its terrace1 its woods1   
and  its extensive lawn--form altogether
 a kingdom for ,oberon and ,titania to  
reign in1 or any spirit who1 before     
their time1 might love scenery1 of      
which the majesty1 and even the beauty1 
impress the mind with a sense of  awe   
mingled with pleasure4 ,these silvans1  
satyrs1 and fauns with whom             
superstition peopled the lofty banks and
 tangled copses of this romantic        
country1 were obliged to give place to  
deities very nearly resembling          
themselves in character1 who probably   
derive some of their attributes  from   
their classic predecessors1 although    
more immediately allied to the          
barbarian conquerors4 ,we allude to the 
fairies1 which1 as received into  the   
popular creed1 and as described by the  
poets who have made use of  them as     

machinery1 are certainly among the most 
pleasing legacies of  fancy4    ,dr4    
,leyden1 who exhausted on this subject1 
as upon most others1 a  profusion of    
learning1 found the first idea of the   
elfin people in the  ,northern opinions 
concerning the duergar1 or dwarfs4#bc   
,these were1  however1 it must be owned1
 spirits of a coarser sort1 more        
laborious  vocation1 and more malignant 
temper1 and in all respects less        
propitious  to humanity1 than the       
fairies 7properly so called71 which were
 the  invention of the ,celtic people1  
and displayed that superiority of taste 
and fancy which1 with the love of music 
and poetry1 has been generally  ascribed
 to their race1 through its various     
classes and modifications4    ,footnote 
#bc3 ,see the essay on the ,fairy       
,superstition1 in the  ,minstrelsy of   
the ,scottish ,border1 of which many of 
the materials were  contributed by ,dr4 
,leyden1 and the whole brought into its 
present form  by the author4    ,in     

fact1 there seems reason to conclude    
that these duergar were  originally     
nothing else than the diminutive natives
 of the ,lappish1  ,lettish1 and        
,finnish nations1 who1 flying before the
 conquering weapons  of the ,as1 sought 
the most retired regions of the ,north1 
and there  endeavoured to hide          
themselves from their ,eastern invaders4
 ,they were a  little1 diminutive race1 
but possessed of some skill probably in 
mining  or smelting minerals1 with which
 the country abounds4 ,perhaps also they
  might1 from their acquaintance with   
the changes of the clouds1 or           
meteorological phenomena1 be judges of  
weather1 and so enjoy another  title to 
supernatural skill4 ,at any rate1 it has
 been plausibly supposed  that these    
poor people1 who sought caverns and     
hiding-places from the  persecution of  
the ,as1 were in some respects          
compensated for  inferiority in strength
 and stature by the art and power with  
which the  superstition of the enemy    

invested them4 ,these oppressed yet     
dreaded  fugitives obtained1 naturally  
enough1 the character of the ,german    
spirits called ,kobold1 from which the  
,english goblin and the ,scottish       
bogle1 by some inversion and alteration 
of pronunciation1 are evidently         
derived4    ,the ,kobolds were a species
 of gnomes1 who haunted the dark and    
solitary  places1 and were often seen in
 the mines1 where they seemed to imitate
  the labours of the miners1 and        
sometimes took pleasure in frustrating  
their objects and rendering their toil  
unfruitful4 ,sometimes they were        
malignant1 especially if neglected or   
insulted2 but sometimes also they  were 
indulgent to individuals whom they took 
under their protection4  ,when a miner1 
therefore1 hit upon a rich vein of ore1 
the inference  commonly was1 not that he
 possessed more skill1 industry1 or even
 luck1  than his fellow-workmen1 but    
that the spirits of the mine had        
directed  him to the treasure4 ,the     

employment and apparent occupation of   
these  subterranean gnomes or fiends1   
led very naturally to identify the ,fin1
  or ,laplander1 with the ,kobold2 but  
it was a bolder stretch of the          
imagination which confounded this       
reserved and sullen race with the       
livelier and gayer spirit which bears   
correspondence with the ,british  fairy4
 ,neither can we be surprised that the  
duergar1 ascribed by many  persons to   
this source1 should exhibit a darker and
 more malignant  character than the     
elves that revel by moonlight in more   
southern  climates4    ,according to the
 old ,norse belief1 these dwarfs form   
the current  machinery of the ,northern 
,sagas1 and their inferiority in size is
  represented as compensated by skill   
and wisdom superior to those of         
ordinary mortals4 ,in the               
,niebelungen-,lied1 one of the oldest   
romances  of ,germany1 and compiled1 it 
would seem1 not long after the time of  
,attila1 ,theodorick of ,bern1 or of    

,verona1 figures among a cycle of       
champions over whom he presides1 like   
the ,charlemagne of ,france or  ,arthur 
of ,england4 ,among others vanquished by
 him is the ,elf ,king1 or  ,dwarf      
,laurin1 whose dwelling was in an       
enchanted garden of roses1 and  who had 
a body-guard of giants1 a sort of       
persons seldom supposed to be           
themselves conjurers4 ,he becomes a     
formidable opponent to ,theodorick and  
his chivalry2 but as he attempted by    
treachery to attain the victory1 he  is1
 when overcome1 condemned to fill the   
dishonourable yet appropriate  office of
 buffoon and juggler at the ,court of   
,verona4#bd    ,footnote #bd3 ,see an   
abstract1 by the late learned ,henry    
,weber1 of ,a  ,lay on this subject of  
,king ,laurin1 complied by ,henry of    
,osterdingen4  ,northern ,antiquities1  
,edinburgh1 #ahad4    ,such possession  
of supernatural wisdom is still imputed 
by the natives  of the ,orkney and      
,zetland ,islands to the people called  

,drows1 being a  corruption of duergar  
or dwarfs1 and who may1 in most other   
respects1  be identified with the       
,caledonian fairies4 ,lucas ,jacobson   
,debes1 who  dates his description of   
,feroe from his ,pathmos1 in            
,thorshaven1 ,march  #ab1 #afgj1        
dedicates a long chapter to the spectres
 who disturbed his  congregation1 and   
sometimes carried off his hearers4 ,the 
actors in these  disturbances he states 
to be the ,skow1 or                     
,biergen-,trold--i4e41 the  spirits of  
the woods and mountains1 sometimes      
called subterranean  people1 and adds1  
they appeared in deep caverns and among 
horrid rocks2  as also1 that they       
haunted the places where murders or     
other deeds of  mortal sin had been     
acted4 ,they appear to have been the    
genuine northern  dwarfs1 or ,trows1    
another pronunciation of ,trollds1 and  
are considered  by the reverend author  
as something very little better than    
actual  fiends4    ,but it is not only1 

or even chiefly1 to the ,gothic race    
that we must  trace the opinions        
concerning the elves of the middle ages2
 these1 as  already hinted1 were deeply 
blended with the attributes which the   
,celtic  tribes had1 from the remotest  
ages1 ascribed to their deities of      
rocks1  valleys1 and forests4 ,we have  
already observed1 what indeed makes a   
great feature of their national         
character1 that the power of the        
imagination is peculiarly active among  
the ,celts1 and leads to an  enthusiasm 
concerning national music and dancing1  
national poetry and  song1 the          
departments in which fancy most readily 
indulges herself4 ,the  ,irish1 the     
,welsh1 the ,gael1 or ,scottish         
,highlander1 all tribes of ,celtic      
descent1 assigned to the ,men of ,peace1
 ,good ,neighbours1 or by whatever      
other names they called these sylvan    
pigmies1 more social habits1 and a      
course of existence far more gay1 than  
the sullen and heavy toils of the  more 

saturnine ,duergar4 ,their elves did not
 avoid the society of men1  though they 
behaved to those who associated with    
them with caprice1  which rendered it   
dangerous to displease them2 and        
although their gifts  were sometimes    
valuable1 they were usually wantonly    
given and  unexpectedly resumed4    ,the
 employment1 the benefits1 the          
amusements of the ,fairy court1         
resembled the aerial people themselves4 
,their government was always            
represented as monarchical4 ,a ,king1   
more frequently a ,queen of ,fairies1   
was acknowledged2 and sometimes both    
held their court together4 ,their       
pageants and court entertainments       
comprehended all that the imagination   
could conceive of what was1 by that age1
 accounted gallant and splendid4  ,at   
their processions they paraded more     
beautiful steeds than those of  mere    
earthly parentage--the hawks and hounds 
which they employed in  their chase were
 of the first race4 ,at their daily     

banquets1 the board  was set forth with 
a splendour which the proudest kings of 
the earth  dared not aspire to2 and the 
hall of their dancers echoed to the most
  exquisite music4 ,but when viewed by  
the eye of a seer the illusion          
vanished4 ,the young knights and        
beautiful ladies showed themselves as   
wrinkled carles and odious hags--their  
wealth turned into  slate-stones--their 
splendid plate into pieces of clay      
fantastically  twisted--and their       
victuals1 unsavoured by salt 7prohibited
 to them1 we  are told1 because an      
emblem of eternity71 became tasteless   
and  insipid--the stately halls were    
turned into miserable damp caverns--all 
the delights of the ,elfin ,elysium     
vanished at once4 ,in a word1 their     
pleasures were showy1 but totally       
unsubstantial--their activity           
unceasing1 but fruitless and            
unavailing--and their condemnation      
appears  to have consisted in the       
necessity of maintaining the appearance 

of  constant industry or enjoyment1     
though their toil was fruitless and     
their pleasures shadowy and             
unsubstantial4 ,hence poets have        
designed  them as the crew that never   
rest4 ,besides the unceasing and useless
  bustle in which these spirits seemed  
to live1 they had propensities          
unfavourable and distressing to mortals4
    ,one injury of a very serious nature
 was supposed to be constantly          
practised by the fairies against the    
human mortals1 that of carrying  off    
their children1 and breeding them as    
beings of their race4  ,unchristened    
infants were chiefly exposed to this    
calamity2 but adults  were also liable  
to be abstracted from earthly commerce1 
notwithstanding  it was their natural   
sphere4 ,with respect to the first1 it  
may be easily  conceived that the want  
of the sacred ceremony of introduction  
into the  ,christian church rendered    
them the more obnoxious to the power of 
those  creatures1 who1 if not to be in  

all respects considered as fiends1 had  
nevertheless1 considering their constant
 round of idle occupation1  little right
 to rank themselves among good spirits1 
and were accounted  by most divines as  
belonging to a very different class4 ,an
 adult1 on the  other hand1 must have   
been engaged in some action which       
exposed him to  the power of the        
spirits1 and so1 as the legal phrase    
went1 taken in  the manner4 ,sleeping on
 a fairy mount1 within which the ,fairy 
court  happened to be held for the time1
 was a very ready mode of obtaining a   
pass for ,elfland4 ,it was well for the 
individual if the irate elves were      
contented1 on such occasions1 with      
transporting him through the air to a   
city at some forty miles' distance1 and 
leaving1 perhaps1 his hat or  bonnet on 
some steeple between1 to mark the direct
 line of his course4  ,others1 when     
engaged in some unlawful action1 or in  
the act of giving  way to some headlong 
and sinful passion1 exposed themselves  

also to  become inmates of ,fairyland4  
,the same belief on these points        
obtained in ,ireland4 ,glanville1 in his
  ,eighteenth ,relation1 tells us of the
 butler of a gentleman1 a  neighbour of 
the ,earl of ,orrery1 who was sent to   
purchase cards4 ,in  crossing the       
fields1 he saw a table surrounded by    
people apparently  feasting and making  
merry4 ,they rose to salute him1 and    
invited him to  join in their revel2 but
 a friendly voice from the party        
whispered in  his ear1 ,do nothing which
 this company invite you to4            
,accordingly1  when he refused to join  
in feasting1 the table vanished1 and the
 company  began to dance and play on    
musical instruments2 but the butler     
would not  take part in these           
recreations4 ,they then left off        
dancing1 and betook  themselves to work2
 but neither in this would the mortal   
join them4 ,he  was then left alone for 
the present2 but in spite of the        
exertions of my  ,lord ,orrery1 in spite

 of two bishops who were his guests at  
the time1 in  spite of the celebrated   
,mr4 ,greatrix1 it was all they could do
 to  prevent the butler from being      
carried off bodily from amongst them by 
the fairies1 who considered him as their
 lawful prey4 ,they raised him in  the  
air above the heads of the mortals1 who 
could only run beneath1 to  break his   
fall when they pleased to let him go4   
,the spectre which  formerly advised the
 poor man continued to haunt him1 and at
 length  discovered himself to be the   
ghost of an acquaintance who had been   
dead  for seven years4 ,you know1 added 
he1 ,i lived a loose life1 and ever     
since have ,i been hurried up and down  
in a restless condition1 with the       
company you saw1 and shall be till the  
day of judgment4 ,he added1 that  if the
 butler had acknowledged ,god in all his
 ways1 he had not suffered  so much by  
their means2 he reminded him that he had
 not prayed to ,god in  the morning     
before he met with this company in the  

field1 and1 moreover1  that he was then 
going on an unlawful business4    ,it is
 pretended that ,lord ,orrery confirmed 
the whole of this story1 even  to having
 seen the butler raised into the air by 
the invisible beings  who strove to     
carry him off4 ,only he did not bear    
witness to the passage  which seems to  
call the purchase of cards an unlawful  
errand4#be    ,footnote #be3            
,sadducismus ,triumphatus1 by ,joseph   
,glanville1 p4 #aca4  ,edinburgh1 #agij4
    ,individuals1 whose lives had been  
engaged in intrigues of politics or     
stratagems of war1 were sometimes       
surreptitiously carried off to          
,fairyland2 as ,alison ,pearson1 the    
sorceress who cured ,archbishop         
,adamson1 averred that she had          
recognised in the ,fairy court the      
celebrated ,secretary ,lethington and   
the old ,knight of ,buccleuch1 the one  
of whom had been the most busy          
politician1 the other one of the most   
unwearied partisans of ,queen ,mary1    

during the reign of that unfortunate    
queen4 ,upon the whole1 persons carried 
off by sudden death were usually        
suspected of having fallen into the     
hands of the fairies1 and unless        
redeemed from their power1 which it was 
not always safe to attempt1 were  doomed
 to conclude their lives with them4 ,we 
must not omit to state that  those who  
had an intimate communication with these
 spirits1 while they  were yet          
inhabitants of middle earth1 were most  
apt to be seized upon  and carried off  
to ,elfland before their death4    ,the 
reason assigned for this kidnapping of  
the human race1 so peculiar  to the     
elfin people1 is said to be that they   
were under a necessity of  paying to the
 infernal regions a yearly tribute out  
of their population1  which they were   
willing to defray by delivering up to   
the prince of  these regions the        
children of the human race1 rather than 
their own4  ,from this it must be       
inferred1 that they have offspring among

  themselves1 as it is said by some     
authorities1 and particularly by ,mr4   
,kirke1 the minister of ,aberfoyle4 ,he 
indeed adds that1 after a certain       
length of life1 these spirits are       
subject to the universal lot of         
mortality--a position1 however1 which   
has been controverted1 and is  scarcely 
reconcilable to that which holds them   
amenable to pay a tax to  hell1 which   
infers existence as eternal as the fire 
which is not  quenched4 ,the opinions on
 the subject of the fairy people here   
expressed1 are such as are entertained  
in the ,highlands and some remote       
quarters of the ,lowlands of ,scotland4 
,we know1 from the lively and           
entertaining legends published by ,mr4  
,crofton ,croker--which1 though in  most
 cases told with the wit of the editor  
and the humour of his  country1 contain 
points of curious antiquarian           
information--that the  opinions of the  
,irish are conformable to the account we
 have given of  the general creed of the

 ,celtic nations respecting elves4 ,if  
the ,irish  elves are anywise           
distinguished from those of ,britain1 it
 seems to be by  their disposition to   
divide into factions and fight among    
themselves--a  pugnacity characteristic 
of the ,green ,isle4 ,the ,welsh        
fairies1 according  to ,john ,lewis1    
barrister-at-law1 agree in the same     
general attributes  with those of       
,ireland and ,britain4 ,we must not omit
 the creed of the  ,manxmen1 since we   
find1 from the ingenious researches of  
,mr4 ,waldron1  that the ,isle of ,man1 
beyond other places in ,britain1 was a  
peculiar  depository of the fairy       
traditions1 which1 on the island being  
conquered  by the ,norse1 became1 in all
 probability1 chequered with those of   
,scandinavia from a source peculiar and 
more direct than that by which  they    
reached ,scotland or ,ireland4    ,such 
as it was1 the popular system of the    
,celts easily received the  northern    
admixture of ,drows and ,duergar1 which 

gave the belief1 perhaps1  a darker     
colouring than originally belonged to   
the ,british fairyland4 ,it  was from   
the same source also1 in all            
probability1 that additional  legends   
were obtained of a gigantic and         
malignant female1 the ,hecate of  this  
mythology1 who rode on the storm and    
marshalled the rambling host  of        
wanderers under her grim banner4 ,this  
hag 7in all respects the  reverse of the
 ,mab or ,titania of the ,celtic creed7 
was called ,nicneven  in that later     
system which blended the faith of the   
,celts and of the  ,goths on this       
subject4 ,the great ,scottish poet      
,dunbar has made a  spirited description
 of this ,hecate riding at the head of  
witches and  good neighbours 7fairies1  
namely71 sorceresses and elves1         
indifferently1  upon the ghostly eve of 
,all-,hallow ,mass4#bf ,in ,italy we    
hear of the  hags arraying themselves   
under the orders of ,diana 7in her      
triple  character of ,hecate1 doubtless7

 and ,herodias1 who were the joint      
leaders  of their choir4 ,but we return 
to the more simple fairy belief1 as     
entertained by the ,celts before they   
were conquered by the ,saxons4          
,footnote #bf3 ,see ,flyting of ,dunbar 
and ,kennedy4    ,of these early times  
we can know little2 but it is singular  
to remark  what light the traditions of 
,scotland throw upon the poetry of the  
,britons of ,cumberland1 then called    
,reged4 ,merlin ,wyllt1 or the wild1 is 
mentioned by both2 and that renowned    
wizard1 the son of an elf or fairy1     
with ,king ,arthur1 the dubious champion
 of ,britain at that early period1  were
 both said by tradition to have been    
abstracted by the fairies1 and  to have 
vanished without having suffered death1 
just at the time when it  was supposed  
that the magic of the wizard and the    
celebrated sword of  the monarch1 which 
had done so much to preserve ,british   
independence1  could no longer avert the
 impending ruin4 ,it may be conjectured 

that  there was a desire on the part of 
,arthur or his surviving champions to   
conceal his having received a mortal    
wound in the fatal battle of  ,camlan2  
and to that we owe the wild and         
beautiful incident so finely  versified 
by ,bishop ,percy1 in which1 in token of
 his renouncing in  future the use of   
arms1 the monarch sends his attendant1  
sole survivor  of the field1 to throw   
his sword ,excalibar into the lake hard 
by4 ,twice  eluding the request1 the    
esquire at last complied1 and threw the 
far-famed weapon into the lonely mere4  
,a hand and arm arose from the  water   
and caught ,excalibar by the hilt1      
flourished it thrice1 and then  sank    
into the lake4#bg ,the astonished       
messenger returned to his master  to    
tell him the marvels he had seen1 but he
 only saw a boat at a  distance push    
from the land1 and heard shrieks of     
females in agony3--    ,and whether the 
king was there or not    ,he never knew1
 he never colde   ,for never since that 

doleful day    ,was ,british ,arthur    
seen on molde4      ,footnote #bg3 ,see 
,percy's ,reliques of ,ancient ,english 
,poetry4    ,the circumstances attending
 the disappearance of ,merlin would     
probably  be found as imaginative as    
those of ,arthur's removal1 but they    
cannot be  recovered2 and what is       
singular enough1 circumstances which    
originally  belonged to the history of  
this famous bard1 said to be the son of 
the  ,demon himself1 have been          
transferred to a later poet1 and surely 
one of  scarce inferior name1 ,thomas of
 ,erceldoune4 ,the legend was supposed  
to  be only preserved among the         
inhabitants of his native valleys1 but a
  copy as old as the reign of ,henry    
,,vii4 has been recovered4 ,the story is
  interesting and beautifully told1 and1
 as one of the oldest fairy  legends1   
may well be quoted in this place4       
,thomas of ,erceldoune1 in ,lauderdale1 
called the ,rhymer1 on account of  his  
producing a poetical romance on the     

subject of ,tristrem and ,yseult1  which
 is curious as the earliest specimen of 
,english verse known to  exist1         
flourished in the reign of ,alexander   
,,iii4 of ,scotland4 ,like other  men of
 talent of the period1 ,thomas was      
suspected of magic4 ,he was said  also  
to have the gift of prophecy1 which was 
accounted for in the  following peculiar
 manner1 referring entirely to the elfin
  superstition3--,as ,true ,thomas 7we  
give him the epithet by anticipation7   
lay on ,huntly ,bank1 a place on the    
descent of the ,eildon ,hills1 which    
raise their triple crest above the      
celebrated ,monastery of ,melrose1 he   
saw a lady so extremely beautiful that  
he imagined it must be the ,virgin      
,mary herself4 ,her appointments1       
however1 were rather those of an ,amazon
  or goddess of the woods4 ,her steed   
was of the highest beauty and spirit1   
and at his mane hung thirty silver bells
 and nine1 which made music to  the wind
 as she paced along4 ,her saddle was of 

royal bone 7ivory71  laid over with     
orfeverie--i4e41 goldsmith's work4 ,her 
stirrups1 her  dress1 all corresponded  
with her extreme beauty and the         
magnificence of  her array4 ,the fair   
huntress had her bow in her hand1 and   
her arrows at  her belt4 ,she led three 
greyhounds in a leash1 and three raches1
 or  hounds of scent1 followed her      
closely4 ,she rejected and disclaimed   
the  homage which ,thomas desired to pay
 to her2 so that1 passing from one      
extremity to the other1 ,thomas became  
as bold as he had at first been  humble4
 ,the lady warns him that he must become
 her slave if he should  prosecute his  
suit towards her in the manner he       
proposes4 ,before their  interview      
terminates1 the appearance of the       
beautiful lady is changed  into that of 
the most hideous hag in existence4 ,one 
side is blighted and  wasted1 as if by  
palsy2 one eye drops from her head2 her 
colour1 as  clear as the virgin silver1 
is now of a dun leaden hue4 ,a witch    

from the  spital or almshouse would have
 been a goddess in comparison to the    
late  beautiful huntress4 ,hideous as   
she was1 ,thomas's irregular desires had
  placed him under the control of this  
hag1 and when she bade him take  leave  
of sun1 and of the leaf that grew on    
tree1 he felt himself under  the        
necessity of obeying her4 ,a cavern     
received them1 in which1  following his 
frightful guide1 he for three days      
travelled in darkness1  sometimes       
hearing the booming of a distant ocean1 
sometimes walking  through rivers of    
blood1 which crossed their subterranean 
path4 ,at  length they emerged into     
daylight1 in a most beautiful orchard4  
,thomas1  almost fainting for want of   
food1 stretches out his hand towards the
  goodly fruit which hangs around him1  
but is forbidden by his  conductress1   
who informs him these are the fatal     
apples which were the  cause of the fall
 of man4 ,he perceives also that his    
guide had no sooner  entered this       

mysterious ground1 and breathed its     
magic air1 than she was  revived in     
beauty1 equipage1 and splendour1 as     
fair1 or fairer1 than he  had first seen
 her on the mountain4 ,she then commands
 him to lay his  head upon her knee1 and
 proceeds to explain to him the         
character of the  country4 ,yonder      
right-hand path1 she says1 conveys the  
spirits of the  blessed to ,paradise2   
yon downward and well-worn way leads    
sinful souls  to the place of           
everlasting punishment2 the third road1 
by yonder dark  brake1 conducts to the  
milder place of pain from which prayer  
and mass  may release offenders4 ,but   
see you yet a fourth road1 sweeping     
along the  plain to yonder splendid     
castle8 ,yonder is the road to ,elfland1
 to which  we are now bound4 ,the lord  
of the castle is king of the country1   
and ,i  am his queen4 ,but1 ,thomas1 ,i 
would rather be drawn with wild horses1 
than he should know what hath passed    
between you and me4 ,therefore1 when  we

 enter yonder castle1 observe strict    
silence1 and answer no question  that is
 asked at you1 and ,i will account for  
your silence by saying ,i  took your    
speech when ,i brought you from middle  
earth4    ,having thus instructed her   
lover1 they journeyed on to the castle1 
and  entering by the kitchen1 found     
themselves in the midst of such a       
festive  scene as might become the      
mansion of a great feudal lord or       
prince4  ,thirty carcases of deer were  
lying on the massive kitchen board1     
under  the hands of numerous cooks1 who 
toiled to cut them up and dress them1   
while the gigantic greyhounds which had 
taken the spoil lay lapping the  blood1 
and enjoying the sight of the slain     
game4 ,they came next to the  royal     
hall1 where the king received his loving
 consort without censure  or suspicion4 
,knights and ladies1 dancing by threes  
7reels perhaps71  occupied the floor of 
the hall1 and ,thomas1 the fatigues of  
his journey  from the ,eildon hills     

forgotten1 went forward and joined in   
the revelry4  ,after a period1 however1 
which seemed to him a very short one1   
the queen  spoke with him apart1 and    
bade him prepare to return to his own   
country4  ,now1 said the queen1 how long
 think you that you have been here8     
,certes1 fair lady1 answered ,thomas1   
not above these seven days4 ,you  are   
deceived1 answered the queen1 you have  
been seven years in this  castle2 and it
 is full time you were gone4 ,know1     
,thomas1 that the fiend  of hell will   
come to this castle to-morrow to demand 
his tribute1 and so  handsome a man as  
you will attract his eye4 ,for all the  
world would ,i  not suffer you to be    
betrayed to such a fate2 therefore up1  
and let us  be going4 ,these terrible   
news reconciled ,thomas to his departure
 from  ,elfin land1 and the queen was   
not long in placing him upon ,huntly    
bank1  where the birds were singing4    
,she took a tender leave of him1 and to 
ensure his reputation1 bestowed on him  

the tongue which could not lie4  ,thomas
 in vain objected to this inconvenient  
and involuntary adhesion to  veracity1  
which would make him1 as he thought1    
unfit for church or for  market1 for    
king's court or for lady's bower4 ,but  
all his remonstrances  were disregarded 
by the lady1 and ,thomas the ,rhymer1   
whenever the  discourse turned on the   
future1 gained the credit of a prophet  
whether  he would or not2 for he could  
say nothing but what was sure to come to
  pass4 ,it is plain that had ,thomas   
been a legislator instead of a poet1  we
 have here the story of ,numa and       
,egeria4 ,thomas remained several years 
in his own tower near ,erceldoune1 and  
enjoyed the fame of his  predictions1   
several of which are current among the  
country people to  this day4 ,at length1
 as the prophet was entertaining the    
,earl of ,march  in his dwelling1 a cry 
of astonishment arose in the village1 on
 the  appearance of a hart and hind1#bh 
which left the forest and1 contrary  to 

their shy nature1 came quietly onward1  
traversing the village towards  the     
dwelling of ,thomas4 ,the prophet       
instantly rose from the board2 and1     
acknowledging the prodigy as the summons
 of his fate1 he accompanied the  hart  
and hind into the forest1 and though    
occasionally seen by  individuals to    
whom he has chosen to show himself1 has 
never again mixed  familiarly with      
mankind4    ,footnote #bh3 ,this last   
circumstance seems imitated from a      
passage in  the ,life of ,merlin1 by    
,jeffrey of ,monmouth4 ,see ,ellis's    
,ancient  ,romances1 vol4 i4 p4 #gc4    
,thomas of ,erceldoune1 during his      
retirement1 has been supposed1 from     
time to time1 to be levying forces to   
take the field in some crisis of  his   
country's fate4 ,the story has often    
been told of a daring  horse-jockey     
having sold a black horse to a man of   
venerable and antique  appearance1 who  
appointed the remarkable hillock upon   
,eildon hills1  called the ,lucken-hare1

 as the place where1 at twelve o'clock  
at night1  he should receive the price4 
,he came1 his money was paid in ancient 
coin1 and he was invited by his customer
 to view his residence4 ,the  trader in 
horses followed his guide in the deepest
 astonishment through  several long     
ranges of stalls1 in each of which a    
horse stood  motionless1 while an armed 
warrior lay equally still at the        
charger's  feet4 ,all these men1 said   
the wizard in a whisper1 will awaken at 
the  battle of ,sheriffmoor4 ,at the    
extremity of this extraordinary depot   
hung a sword and a horn1 which the      
prophet pointed out to the  horse-dealer
 as containing the means of dissolving  
the spell4 ,the man in  confusion took  
the horn1 and attempted to wind it4 ,the
 horses instantly  started in their     
stalls1 stamped1 and shook their        
bridles1 the men arose  and clashed     
their armour1 and the mortal1 terrified 
at the tumult he had  excited1 dropped  
the horn from his hand4 ,a voice like   

that of a giant1  louder even than the  
tumult around1 pronounced these words3--
    ,woe to the coward that ever he was 
born1   ,that did not draw the sword    
before he blew the horn6    ,a whirlwind
 expelled the horse-dealer from the     
cavern1 the entrance to  which he could 
never again find4 ,a moral might be     
perhaps extracted from  the             
legend--namely1 that it is best to be   
armed against danger before  bidding it 
defiance4 ,but it is a circumstance     
worth notice1 that  although this       
edition of the tale is limited to the   
year #agae1 by the  very mention of the 
,sheriffmoor1 yet a similar story       
appears to have  been current during the
 reign of ,queen ,elizabeth1 which is   
given by  ,reginald ,scot4 ,the         
narrative is edifying as peculiarly     
illustrative of  the mode of marring a  
curious tale in telling it1 which was   
one of the  virtues professed by ,caius 
when he hired himself to ,king ,lear4   
,reginald  ,scot1 incredulous on the    

subject of witchcraft1 seems to have    
given some  weight to the belief of     
those who thought that the spirits of   
famous men  do1 after death1 take up    
some particular habitations near cities1
 towns1  and countries1 and act as      
tutelary and guardian spirits to the    
places  which they loved while in the   
flesh4    ,but more particularly to     
illustrate this conjecture1 says he1 ,i 
could  name a person who hath lately    
appeared thrice since his decease1 at   
least some ghostly being or other that  
calls itself by the name of such  a     
person who was dead above a hundred     
years ago1 and was in his lifetime      
accounted as a prophet or predicter by  
the assistance of sublunary  spirits2   
and now1 at his appearance1 did also    
give strange predictions  respecting    
famine and plenty1 war and bloodshed1   
and the end of the  world4 ,by the      
information of the person that had      
communication with him1  the last of his
 appearances was in the following       

manner3--,i had been1  said he1 to sell 
a horse at the next market town1 but not
 attaining my  price1 as ,i returned    
home by the way ,i met this man1 who    
began to be  familiar with me1 asking   
what news1 and how affairs moved through
 the  country4 ,i answered as ,i thought
 fit2 withal1 ,i told him of my horse1  
whom he began to cheapen1 and proceeded 
with me so far that the price  was      
agreed upon4 ,so he turned back with me1
 and told me that if ,i would  go along 
with him ,i should receive my money4 ,on
 our way we went1 ,i upon  my horse1 and
 he on another milk-white beast ,after  
much travel ,i asked  him where he dwelt
 and what his name was4 ,he told me that
 his dwelling  was a mile off1 at a     
place called ,farran1 of which place ,i 
had never  heard1 though ,i knew all the
 country round about4#bi ,he also told  
me  that he himself was that person of  
the family of ,learmonths#cj so much    
spoken of as a prophet4 ,at which ,i    
began to be somewhat fearful1           

perceiving we were on a road which ,i   
never had been on before1 which         
increased my fear and amazement more4   
,well1 on we went till he brought  me   
under ground1 ,i knew not how1 into the 
presence of a beautiful woman1  who paid
 the money without a word speaking4 ,he 
conducted me out again  through a large 
and long entry1 where ,i saw above six  
hundred men in  armour laid prostrate on
 the ground as if asleep4 ,at last ,i   
found myself  in the open field by the  
help of the moonlight1 in the very place
 where  ,i first met him1 and made a    
shift to get home by three in the       
morning4  ,but the money ,i had received
 was just double of what ,i esteemed it 
when  the woman paid me1 of which at    
this instant ,i have several pieces to  
show1 consisting of ninepennies1        
thirteen pence-halfpennies1 c4#ca       
,footnote #bi3 ,in this the author is in
 the same ignorance as his  namesake    
,reginald1 though having at least as    
many opportunities of  information4     

,footnote #cj3 ,in popular tradition1   
the name of ,thomas the ,rhymer was     
always averred to be ,learmonth4 though 
he neither uses it himself1 nor  is     
described by his son other than ,le     
,rymour4 ,the ,learmonths of ,dairsie1  
in ,fife1 claimed descent from the      
prophet4    ,footnote #ca3 ,discourse of
 ,devils and ,spirits appended to the   
,discovery  of ,witchcraft1 by ,reginald
 ,scot1 ,esq41 book ii4 chap4 #c1 sec4  
#aj4    ,it is a great pity that this   
horse-dealer1 having specimens of the   
fairy  coin1 of a quality more permanent
 than usual1 had not favoured us with   
an account of an impress so valuable to 
medalists4 ,it is not the less          
edifying1 as we are deprived of the more
 picturesque parts of the story1  to    
learn that ,thomas's payment was as     
faithful as his prophecies4 ,the        
beautiful lady who bore the purse must  
have been undoubtedly the ,fairy        
,queen1 whose affection1 though1 like   
that of his own heroine ,yseult1 we     

cannot term it altogether laudable1     
seems yet to have borne a faithful  and 
firm character4    ,i have dwelt at some
 length on the story of ,thomas the     
,rhymer1 as the  oldest tradition of the
 kind which has reached us in detail1   
and as  pretending to show the fate of  
the first ,scottish poet1 whose         
existence1  and its date1 are           
established both by history and records2
 and who1 if  we consider him as writing
 in the ,anglo-,norman language1 was    
certainly  one among the earliest of its
 versifiers4 ,but the legend is still   
more  curious1 from its being the first 
and most distinguished instance of a    
man alleged to have obtained            
supernatural knowledge by means of the  
fairies4    ,whence or how this singular
 community derived their more common    
popular  name1 we may say has not as yet
 been very clearly established4 ,it is  
the  opinion of the learned that the    
,persian word ,peri1 expressing an      
unearthly being1 of a species very      

similar1 will afford the best           
derivation1 if we suppose it to have    
reached ,europe through the medium  of  
the ,arabians1 in whose alphabet the    
letter ,p does not exist1 so that  they 
pronounce the word ,feri instead of     
,peri4 ,still there is something        
uncertain in this etymology4 ,we        
hesitate to ascribe either to the       
,persians or the ,arabians the          
distinguishing name of an ideal         
commonwealth1 the notion of which they  
certainly did not contribute to  us4    
,some are1 therefore1 tempted to suppose
 that the elves may have  obtained their
 most frequent name from their being par
 excellence a  fair or comely people1 a 
quality which they affected on all      
occasions2 while the superstition of the
 ,scottish was likely enough to  give   
them a name which might propitiate the  
vanity for which they deemed  the race  
remarkable2 just as1 in other instances1
 they called the fays  men of peace1    
good neighbours1 and by other titles of 

the like  import4 ,it must be owned1 at 
the same time1 that the words fay and   
fairy may have been mere adoptions of   
the ,french fee and feerie1  though     
these terms1 on the other side of the   
,channel1 have reference to  a class of 
spirits corresponding1 not to our       
fairies1 but with the far  different    
,fata of the ,italians4 ,but this is a  
question which we  willingly leave for  
the decision of better etymologists than
 ourselves4          ,,letter ,v4       
,those who dealt in fortune-telling1    
mystical cures by charms1 and      the  
like1 often claimed an intercourse with 
,fairyland--,hudhart or                 
,hudikin--,pitcairn's ,scottish         
,criminal ,trials--,story of ,bessie    
,dunlop and her ,adviser--,her ,practice
 of ,medicine--,and of ,discovery       
of ,theft--,account of her ,familiar1   
,thome ,reid--,trial of ,alison         
,pearson--,account of her ,familiar1    
,william ,sympson--,trial of the ,lady  
,fowlis1 and of ,hector ,munro1 her     

,stepson--,extraordinary species of     
,charm used by the latter--,confession  
of ,john ,stewart1 a ,juggler1 of       
his ,intercourse with the               
,fairies--,trial and ,confession of     
,isobel      ,gowdie--,use of ,elf-arrow
 ,heads--,parish of ,aberfoyle--,mr4    
,kirke1 the      ,minister of           
,aberfoyle's ,work on ,fairy            
,superstitions--,he is himself          
taken to ,fairyland--,dr4 ,grahame's    
interesting ,work1 and his              
,information on ,fairy                  
,superstitions--,story of a ,female in  
,east      ,lothian carried off by the  
,fairies--,another instance from        
,pennant4      ,to return to ,thomas the
 ,rhymer1 with an account of whose      
legend ,i  concluded last letter1 it    
would seem that the example which it    
afforded  of obtaining the gift of      
prescience1 and other supernatural      
powers1 by  means of the fairy people1  
became the common apology of those who  
attempted to cure diseases1 to tell     

fortunes1 to revenge injuries1 or to    
engage in traffic with the invisible    
world1 for the purpose of  satisfying   
their own wishes1 curiosity1 or revenge1
 or those of others4  ,those who        
practised the petty arts of deception in
 such mystic cases1  being naturally    
desirous to screen their own impostures1
 were willing to  be supposed to derive 
from the fairies1 or from mortals       
transported to  fairyland the power     
necessary to effect the displays of art 
which they  pretended to exhibit4 ,a    
confession of direct communication and  
league  with ,satan1 though the accused 
were too frequently compelled by torture
  to admit and avow such horrors1 might1
 the poor wretches hoped1 be  avoided by
 the avowal of a less disgusting        
intercourse with sublunary  spirits1 a  
race which might be described by        
negatives1 being neither  angels1       
devils1 nor the souls of deceased men2  
nor would it1 they might  flatter       
themselves1 be considered as any        

criminal alliance1 that they  held      
communion with a race not properly      
hostile to man1 and willing1 on  certain
 conditions1 to be useful and friendly  
to him4 ,such an  intercourse was       
certainly far short of the witch's      
renouncing her  salvation1 delivering   
herself personally to the devil1 and at 
once  ensuring condemnation in this     
world1 together with the like doom in   
the  next4    ,accordingly1 the         
credulous1 who1 in search of health1    
knowledge1  greatness1 or moved by any  
of the numberless causes for which men  
seek  to look into futurity1 were       
anxious to obtain superhuman assistance1
 as  well as the numbers who had it in  
view to dupe such willing clients1      
became both cheated and cheaters1 alike 
anxious to establish the  possibility of
 a harmless process of research into    
futurity1 for  laudable1 or at least    
innocent objects1 as healing diseases   
and the  like2 in short1 of the         
existence of white magic1 as it was     

called1 in  opposition to that black art
 exclusively and directly derived from  
intercourse with ,satan4 ,some          
endeavoured to predict a man's fortune  
in  marriage or his success in life by  
the aspect of the stars2 others         
pretended to possess spells1 by which   
they could reduce and compel an         
elementary spirit to enter within a     
stone1 a looking-glass1 or some  other  
local place of abode1 and confine her   
there by the power of an  especial      
charm1 conjuring her to abide and answer
 the questions of her  master4 ,of these
 we shall afterwards say something2 but 
the species of  evasion now under our   
investigation is that of the fanatics or
 impostors  who pretended to draw       
information from the equivocal spirits  
called  fairies2 and the number of      
instances before us is so great as      
induces us  to believe that the pretence
 of communicating with ,elfland1 and not
 with  the actual demon1 was the manner 
in which the persons accused of         

witchcraft most frequently endeavoured  
to excuse themselves1 or at least  to   
alleviate the charges brought against   
them of practising sorcery4 ,but  the   
,scottish law did not acquit those who  
accomplished even praiseworthy  actions1
 such as remarkable cures by mysterious 
remedies2 and the  proprietor of a      
patent medicine who should in those days
 have attested  his having wrought such 
miracles as we see sometimes advertised1
 might  perhaps have forfeited his life 
before he established the reputation of 
his drop1 elixir1 or pill4    ,sometimes
 the soothsayers1 who pretended to act  
on this information from  sublunary     
spirits1 soared to higher matters than  
the practice of physic1  and interfered 
in the fate of nations4 ,when ,james ,i4
 was murdered at  ,perth in #adcg1 a    
,highland woman prophesied the course   
and purpose of the  conspiracy1 and had 
she been listened to1 it might have been
  disconcerted4 ,being asked her source 
of knowledge1 she answered ,hudhart  had

 told her2 which might either be the    
same with ,hudkin1 a ,dutch spirit      
somewhat similar to ,friar ,rush or     
,robin ,goodfellow1#cb or with the      
red-capped demon so powerful in the case
 of ,lord ,soulis1 and other  wizards1  
to whom the ,scots assigned rather more 
serious influence4    ,footnote #cb3    
,hudkin is a very familiar devil1 who   
will do nobody hurt1  except he receive 
injury2 but he cannot abide that1 nor   
yet be mocked4  ,he talketh with men    
friendly1 sometimes visibly1 sometimes  
invisibly4  ,there go as many tales upon
 this ,hudkin in some parts of ,germany 
as  there did in ,england on ,robin     
,goodfellow4--,discourse concerning     
,devils1 annexed to ,the ,discovery of  
,witchcraft1 by ,reginald ,scot1  book  
i4 chap4 #ba4    ,the most special      
account which ,i have found of the      
intercourse between  ,fairyland and a   
female professing to have some influence
 in that court1  combined with a strong 
desire to be useful to the distressed of

 both  sexes1 occurs in the early part  
of a work to which ,i have been         
exceedingly obliged in the present and  
other publications4#cc ,the  details of 
the evidence1 which consists chiefly of 
the unfortunate  woman's own confession1
 are more full than usual1 and          
comprehend some  curious particulars4   
,to spare technical repetitions1 ,i must
 endeavour to  select the principal     
facts in evidence in detail1 so far as  
they bear  upon the present subject4    
,footnote #cc3 ,the curious collection  
of trials1 from ,the ,criminal  ,records
 of ,scotland1 now in the course of     
publication1 by ,robert  ,pitcairn1     
,esq41 affords so singular a picture of 
the manners and habits  of our          
ancestors1 while yet a semibarbarous    
people1 that it is equally  worth the   
attention of the historian1 the         
antiquary1 the philosopher1  and the    
poet4    ,on the #hth ,november1 #aegf1 
,elizabeth or ,bessie ,dunlop1 spouse to
 ,andro  ,jak1 in ,lyne1 in the ,barony 

of ,dalry1 ,ayrshire1 was accused of    
sorcery  and witchcraft and abuse of the
 people4 ,her answers to the            
interrogatories of the judges or        
prosecutors ran thus3 ,it being required
  of her by what art she could tell of  
lost goods or prophesy the event of     
illness1 she replied that of herself she
 had no knowledge or science of  such   
matters1 but that when questions were   
asked at her concerning such  matters1  
she was in the habit of applying to one 
,thome ,reid1 who died at  the battle of
 ,pinkie 7#ajth ,september1 #aedg71 as  
he himself affirmed1 and  who resolved  
her any questions which she asked at    
him4 ,this person she  described as a   
respectable elderly-looking man1        
grey-bearded1 and  wearing a grey coat1 
with ,lombard sleeves of the auld       
fashion4 ,a pair of  grey breeches and  
white stockings gartered above the knee1
 a black  bonnet on his head1 close     
behind and plain before1 with silken    
laces  drawn through the lips thereof1  

and a white wand in his hand1 completed 
the description of what we may suppose a
 respectable-looking man of the         
province and period4 ,being demanded    
concerning her first interview with     
this mysterious ,thome ,reid1 she gave  
rather an affecting account of the      
disasters with which she was then       
afflicted1 and a sense of which  perhaps
 aided to conjure up the imaginary      
counsellor4 ,she was walking  between   
her own house and the yard of           
,monkcastle1 driving her cows to  the   
common pasture1 and making heavy moan   
with herself1 weeping bitterly  for her 
cow that was dead1 her husband and child
 that were sick of the  land-ill 7some  
contagious sickness of the time71 while 
she herself was  in a very infirm state1
 having lately borne a child4 ,on this  
occasion  she met ,thome ,reid for the  
first time1 who saluted her courteously1
  which she returned4 ,sancta ,maria1   
,bessie6 said the apparition1 why  must 
thou make such dole and weeping for any 

earthly thing8 ,have ,i not  reason for 
great sorrow1 said she1 since our       
property is going to  destruction1 my   
husband is on the point of death1 my    
baby will not live1  and ,i am myself at
 a weak point8 ,have ,i not cause to    
have a sore heart8  ,bessie1 answered   
the spirit1 thou hast displeased ,god in
 asking  something that thou should not1
 and ,i counsel you to amend your fault4
 ,i  tell thee1 thy child shall die ere 
thou get home2 thy two sheep shall  also
 die2 but thy husband shall recover1 and
 be as well and feir as ever  he was4   
,the good woman was something comforted 
to hear that her husband  was to be     
spared in such her general calamity1 but
 was rather alarmed to  see her ghostly 
counsellor pass from her and disappear  
through a hole in  the garden wall1     
seemingly too narrow to admit of any    
living person  passing through it4      
,another time he met her at the ,thorn  
of ,dawmstarnik1  and showed his        
ultimate purpose by offering her plenty 

of every thing if  she would but deny   
,christendom and the faith she took at  
the font-stone4  ,she answered1 that    
rather than do that she would be torn at
 horses'  heels1 but that she would be  
conformable to his advice in less       
matters4  ,he parted with her in some   
displeasure4 ,shortly afterwards he     
appeared  in her own house about noon1  
which was at the time occupied by her   
husband and three tailors4 ,but neither 
,andrew ,jak nor the three tailors  were
 sensible of the presence of the phantom
 warrior who was slain at  ,pinkie2 so  
that1 without attracting their          
observation1 he led out the  good-wife  
to the end of the house near the kiln4  
,here he showed her a  company of eight 
women and four men4 ,the women were     
busked in their  plaids1 and very       
seemly4 ,the strangers saluted her1 and 
said1 ,welcome1  ,bessie2 wilt thou go  
with us8 ,but ,bessie was silent1 as    
,thome ,reid had  previously            
recommended4 ,after this she saw their  

lips move1 but did not  understand what 
they said2 and in a short time they     
removed from thence  with a hideous ugly
 howling sound1 like that of a          
hurricane4 ,thome ,reid  then acquainted
 her that these were the good wights    
7fairies7 dwelling  in the court of     
,elfland1 who came to invite her to go  
thither with them4  ,bessie answered    
that1 before she went that road1 it     
would require some  consideration4      
,thome answered1 ,seest thou not me both
 meat-worth1  clothes-worth1 and well   
enough in person8 and engaged she should
 be  easier than ever she was4 ,but she 
replied1 she dwelt with her husband  and
 children1 and would not leave them2 to 
which ,thome ,reid replied1 in  very    
ill-humour1 that if such were her       
sentiments1 she would get little  good  
of him4    ,although they thus disagreed
 on the principal object of ,thome      
,reid's  visits1 ,bessie ,dunlop        
affirmed he continued to come to her    
frequently1  and assist her with his    

counsel2 and that if any one consulted  
her about  the ailments of human beings 
or of cattle1 or the recovery of things 
lost and stolen1 she was1 by the advice 
of ,thome ,reid1 always able to  answer 
the querists4 ,she was also taught by   
her 7literally ghostly7  adviser how to 
watch the operation of the ointments he 
gave her1 and to  presage from them the 
recovery or death of the patient4 ,she  
said ,thome  gave her herbs with his own
 hand1 with which she cured ,john       
,jack's bairn  and ,wilson's of the     
,townhead4 ,she also was helpful to a   
waiting-woman of  the young ,lady       
,stanlie1 daughter of the ,lady         
,johnstone1 whose disease1  according to
 the opinion of the infallible ,thome   
,reid1 was a cauld  blood that came     
about her heart1 and frequently caused  
her to swoon  away4 ,for this ,thome    
mixed a remedy as generous as the balm  
of ,gilead  itself4 ,it was composed of 
the most potent ale1 concocted with     
spices  and a little white sugar1 to be 

drunk every morning before taking food4 
,for these prescriptions ,bessie        
,dunlop's fee was a peck of meal and    
some  cheese4 ,the young woman          
recovered4 ,but the poor old ,lady      
,kilbowie could  get no help for her    
leg1 which had been crooked for years2  
for ,thome  ,reid said the marrow of the
 limb was perished and the blood        
benumbed1 so  that she would never      
recover1 and if she sought further      
assistance1 it  would be the worse for  
her4 ,these opinions indicate common    
sense and  prudence at least1 whether we
 consider them as originating with the  
umquhile ,thome ,reid1 or with the      
culprit whom he patronized4 ,the        
judgments given in the case of stolen   
goods were also well chosen2 for  though
 they seldom led to recovering the      
property1 they generally  alleged such  
satisfactory reasons for its not being  
found as effectually  to cover the      
credit of the prophetess4 ,thus ,hugh   
,scott's cloak could not  be returned1  

because the thieves had gained time to  
make it into a  kirtle4 ,james ,jamieson
 and ,james ,baird would1 by her advice1
 have  recovered their plough-irons1    
which had been stolen1 had it not been  
the  will of fate that ,william ,dougal1
 sheriff's officer1 one of the parties  
searching for them1 should accept a     
bribe of three pounds not to find  them4
 ,in short1 although she lost a lace    
which ,thome ,reid gave her out  of his 
own hand1 which1 tied round women in    
childbirth1 had the power of  helping   
their delivery1 ,bessy ,dunlop's        
profession of a wise woman seems  to    
have flourished indifferently well till 
it drew the evil eye of the  law upon   
her4    ,more minutely pressed upon the 
subject of her familiar1 she said she   
had  never known him while among the    
living1 but was aware that the person so
  calling himself was one who had1 in   
his lifetime1 actually been known in    
middle earth as ,thome ,reid1 officer to
 the ,laird of ,blair1 and who died  at 

,pinkie4 ,of this she was made certain1 
because he sent her on errands  to his  
son1 who had succeeded in his office1   
and to others his  relatives1 whom he   
named1 and commanded them to amend      
certain trespasses  which he had done   
while alive1 furnishing her with sure   
tokens by which  they should know that  
it was he who had sent her4 ,one of     
these errands  was somewhat remarkable4 
,she was to remind a neighbour of some  
particular which she was to recall to   
his memory by the token that ,thome     
,reid and he had set out together to go 
to the battle which took place on  the  
,black ,saturday2 that the person to    
whom the message was sent was  inclined 
rather to move in a different direction1
 but that ,thome ,reid  heartened him to
 pursue his journey1 and brought him to 
the ,kirk of  ,dalry1 where he bought a 
parcel of figs1 and made a present of   
them to  his companion1 tying them in   
his handkerchief2 after which they kept 
company till they came to the field upon

 the fatal ,black ,saturday1 as  the    
battle of ,pinkie was long called4      
,of ,thome's other habits1 she said that
 he always behaved with the  strictest  
propriety1 only that he pressed her to  
go to ,elfland with him1  and took hold 
of her apron as if to pull her along4   
,again1 she said she  had seen him in   
public places1 both in the churchyard at
 ,dalry and on  the street of           
,edinburgh1 where he walked about among 
other people1 and  handled goods that   
were exposed to sale1 without attracting
 any notice4  ,she herself did not then 
speak to him1 for it was his command    
that1 upon  such occasions1 she should  
never address him unless he spoke first 
to  her4 ,in his theological opinions1  
,mr4 ,reid appeared to lean to the      
,church of ,rome1 which1 indeed1 was    
most indulgent to the fairy folk4 ,he   
said that the new law1 i4e41 the        
,reformation1 was not good1 and that    
the old faith should return again1 but  
not exactly as it had been  before4     

,being questioned why this visionary    
sage attached himself to her  more than 
to others1 the accused person replied1  
that when she was  confined in          
childbirth of one of her boys1 a stout  
woman came into her  hut1 and sat down  
on a bench by her bed1 like a mere      
earthly gossip2  that she demanded a    
drink1 and was accommodated accordingly2
 and  thereafter told the invalid that  
the child should die1 but that her      
husband1 who was then ailing1 should    
recover4 ,this visit seems to have  been
 previous to her meeting ,thome ,reid   
near ,monkcastle garden1 for that       
worthy explained to her that her stout  
visitant was ,queen of ,fairies1  and   
that he had since attended her by the   
express command of that lady1  his queen
 and mistress4 ,this reminds us of the  
extreme doting attachment  which the    
,queen of the ,fairies is represented to
 have taken for ,dapper  in ,the        
,alchemist4 ,thome ,reid attended her1  
it would seem1 on being  summoned       

thrice1 and appeared to her very often  
within four years4 ,he  often requested 
her to go with him on his return to     
,fairyland1 and when  she refused1 he   
shook his head1 and said she would      
repent it4    ,if the delicacy of the   
reader's imagination be a little hurt at
  imagining the elegant ,titania in the 
disguise of a stout woman1 a  heavy     
burden for a clumsy bench1 drinking what
 ,christopher ,sly would  have called   
very sufficient small-beer with a       
peasant's wife1 the  following          
description of the fairy host may come  
more near the idea he  has formed of    
that invisible company3--,bessie ,dunlop
 declared that as  she went to tether   
her nag by the side of ,restalrig ,loch 
7,lochend1 near  the eastern port of    
,edinburgh71 she heard a tremendous     
sound of a body  of riders rushing past 
her with such a noise as if heaven and  
earth  would come together2 that the    
sound swept past her and seemed to rush 
into the lake with a hideous rumbling   

noise4 ,all this while she saw  nothing2
 but ,thome ,reid showed her that the   
noise was occasioned by the  wights1 who
 were performing one of their cavalcades
 upon earth4    ,the intervention of    
,thome ,reid as a partner in her trade  
of petty  sorcery did not avail poor    
,bessie ,dunlop1 although his affection 
to her  was apparently entirely         
platonic--the greatest familiarity on   
which he  ventured was taking hold of   
her gown as he pressed her to go with   
him to  ,elfland4 ,neither did it avail 
her that the petty sorcery which she    
practised was directed to venial or even
 beneficial purposes4 ,the sad  words on
 the margin of the record1 ,convict and 
burnt1 sufficiently  express the tragic 
conclusion of a curious tale4    ,alison
 ,pearson1 in ,byrehill1 was1 #bhth     
,may1 #aehh1 tried for invocation  of   
the spirits of the devil1 specially in  
the vision of one ,mr4 ,william         
,sympson1 her cousin and her mother's   
brother's son1 who she affirmed was  a  

great scholar and doctor of medicine1   
dealing with charms and abusing  the    
ignorant people4 ,against this poor     
woman her own confession1 as in  the    
case of ,bessie ,dunlop1 was the        
principal evidence4    ,as ,bessie      
,dunlop had ,thome ,reid1 ,alison       
,pearson had also a familiar in  the    
court of ,elfland4 ,this was her        
relative1 ,william ,sympson aforesaid1  
born in ,stirling1 whose father was     
king's smith in that town4 ,william  had
 been taken away1 she said1 by a man of 
,egypt 7a ,gipsy71 who carried  him to  
,egypt along with him2 that he remained 
there twelve years1 and  that his father
 died in the meantime for opening a     
priest's book and  looking upon it4 ,she
 declared that she had renewed her      
acquaintance with  her kinsman so soon  
as he returned4 ,she further confessed  
that one day  as she passed through     
,grange ,muir she lay down in a fit of  
sickness1 and  that a green man came to 
her1 and said if she would be faithful  

he might  do her good4 ,in reply she    
charged him1 in the name of ,god and by 
the law  he lived upon1 if he came for  
her soul's good to tell his errand4 ,on 
this the green man departed4 ,but he    
afterwards appeared to her with many    
men and women with him1 and against her 
will she was obliged to pass  with them 
farther than she could tell1 with       
piping1 mirth1 and good  cheer2 also    
that she accompanied them into ,lothian1
 where she saw  puncheons of wine with  
tasses or drinking-cups4 ,she declared  
that when  she told of these things she 
was sorely tormented1 and received a    
blow  that took away the power of her   
left side1 and left on it an ugly mark  
which had no feeling4 ,she also         
confessed that she had seen before      
sunrise the good neighbours make their  
salves with pans and fires4  ,sometimes1
 she said1 they came in such fearful    
forms as frightened her  very much4 ,at 
other times they spoke her fair1 and    
promised her that she  should never want

 if faithful1 but if she told of them   
and their doings1  they threatened to   
martyr her4 ,she also boasted of her    
favour with the  ,queen of ,elfland and 
the good friends she had at that court1 
notwithstanding that she was sometimes  
in disgrace there1 and had not  seen the
 queen for seven years4 ,she said       
,william ,sympson is with the  fairies1 
and that he lets her know when they are 
coming2 and that he  taught her what    
remedies to use1 and how to apply them4 
,she declared  that when a whirlwind    
blew the fairies were commonly there1   
and that her  cousin ,sympson confessed 
that every year the tithe of them were  
taken  away to hell4 ,the celebrated    
,patrick ,adamson1 an excellent divine  
and  accomplished scholar1 created by   
,james ,,vi4 ,archbishop of ,st4        
,andrews1  swallowed the prescriptions  
of this poor hypochondriac with good    
faith  and will1 eating a stewed fowl1  
and drinking out at two draughts a quart
  of claret1 medicated with the drugs   

she recommended4 ,according to the      
belief of the time1 this ,alison        
,pearson transferred the bishop's       
indisposition from himself to a white   
palfrey1 which died in  consequence4    
,there is a very severe libel on him for
 this and other  things unbecoming his  
order1 with which he was charged1 and   
from which  we learn that ,lethington   
and ,buccleuch were seen by ,dame       
,pearson in the  ,fairyland4#cd ,this   
poor woman's kinsman1 ,sympson1 did not 
give better  shelter to her than ,thome 
,reid had done to her predecessor4 ,the 
margin  of the court-book again bears   
the melancholy and brief record1        
,convicta et combusta4    ,footnote #cd3
 ,see ,scottish ,poems1 edited by ,john 
,g4 ,dalzell1 p4 #cba4    ,the two poor 
women last mentioned are the more to be 
pitied as1 whether  enthusiasts or      
impostors1 they practised their supposed
 art exclusively  for the advantage of  
mankind4 ,the following extraordinary   
detail  involves persons of far higher  

quality1 and who sought to familiars for
  more baneful purposes4    ,katherine  
,munro1 ,lady ,fowlis1 by birth         
,katherine ,ross of ,balnagowan1 of     
high rank1 both by her own family and   
that of her husband1 who was the        
fifteenth ,baron of ,fowlis1 and chief  
of the warlike clan of ,munro1 had a    
stepmother's quarrel with ,robert       
,munro1 eldest son of her husband1 which
  she gratified by forming a scheme for 
compassing his death by unlawful  arts4 
,her proposed advantage in this was1    
that the widow of ,robert1 when  he was 
thus removed1 should marry with her     
brother1 ,george ,ross of  ,balnagowan2 
and for this purpose1 her sister-in-law1
 the present ,lady  ,balnagowan1 was    
also to be removed4 ,lady ,fowlis1 if   
the indictment had a  syllable of truth1
 carried on her practices with the least
 possible  disguise4 ,she assembled     
persons of the lowest order1 stamped    
with an  infamous celebrity as witches2 
and1 besides making pictures or models  

in  clay1 by which they hoped to bewitch
 ,robert ,munro and ,lady ,balnagowan1  
they brewed1 upon one occasion1 poison  
so strong that a page tasting of  it    
immediately took sickness4 ,another     
earthen jar 7,scottic pig7 of  the same 
deleterious liquor was prepared by the  
,lady ,fowlis1 and sent  with her own   
nurse for the purpose of administering  
it to ,robert ,munro4  ,the messenger   
having stumbled in the dark1 broke the  
jar1 and a rank  grass grew on the spot 
where it fell1 which sheep and cattle   
abhorred to  touch2 but the nurse1      
having less sense than the brute beasts1
 and  tasting of the liquor which had   
been spilled1 presently died4 ,what is  
more to our present purpose1 ,lady      
,fowlis made use of the artillery of    
,elfland in order to destroy her stepson
 and sister-in-law4 ,laskie  ,loncart1  
one of the assistant hags1 produced two 
of what the common  people call         
elf-arrow heads1 being1 in fact1 the    
points of flint used  for arming the    

ends of arrow-shafts in the most ancient
 times1 but  accounted by the           
superstitious the weapons by which the  
fairies were  wont to destroy both man  
and beast4 ,the pictures of the intended
 victims  were then set up at the north 
end of the apartment1 and ,christian    
,ross  ,malcolmson1 an assistant hag1   
shot two shafts at the image of ,lady   
,balnagowan1 and three against the      
picture of ,robert ,munro1 by which     
shots they were broken1 and ,lady       
,fowlis commanded new figures to be     
modelled4 ,many similar acts of         
witchcraft and of preparing poisons were
  alleged against ,lady ,fowlis4    ,her
 son-in-law1 ,hector ,munro1 one of his 
stepmother's prosecutors1 was1  for     
reasons of his own1 active in a similar 
conspiracy against the life  of his own 
brother4 ,the rites that he practised   
were of an uncouth1  barbarous1 and     
unusual nature4 ,hector1 being taken    
ill1 consulted on his  case some of the 
witches or soothsayers1 to whom this    

family appears to  have been partial4   
,the answer was unanimous that he must  
die unless the  principal man of his    
blood should suffer death in his stead4 
,it was  agreed that the vicarious      
substitute for ,hector must mean ,george
 ,munro1  brother to him by the         
half-blood 7the son of the ,katharine   
,lady ,fowlis  before commemorated74    
,hector sent at least seven messengers  
for this  young man1 refusing to receive
 any of his other friends till he saw   
the  substitute whom he destined to take
 his place in the grave4 ,when ,george  
at length arrived1 ,hector1 by advice of
 a notorious witch1 called ,marion      
,mac,ingarach1 and of his own           
foster-mother1 ,christian ,neil         
,dalyell1  received him with peculiar   
coldness and restraint4 ,he did not     
speak for  the space of an hour1 till   
his brother broke silence and asked1    
,how he  did8 ,hector replied1 ,that he 
was the better ,george had come to visit
  him1 and relapsed into silence1 which 

seemed singular when compared  with the 
anxiety he had displayed to see his     
brother2 but it was1 it  seems1 a       
necessary part of the spell4 ,after     
midnight the sorceress  ,marion         
,mac,ingarach1 the chief priestess or   
,nicneven of the company1 went  forth   
with her accomplices1 carrying spades   
with them4 ,they then  proceeded to dig 
a grave not far from the seaside1 upon a
 piece of land  which formed the        
boundary betwixt two proprietors4 ,the  
grave was made as  nearly as possible to
 the size of their patient ,hector      
,munro1 the earth  dug out of the grave 
being laid aside for the time4 ,after   
ascertaining  that the operation of the 
charm on ,george ,munro1 the destined   
victim1  should be suspended for a time1
 to avoid suspicion1 the conspirators   
proceeded to work their spell in a      
singular1 impressive1 and1 ,i believe1  
unique manner4 ,the time being ,january1
 #aehh1 the patient1 ,hector ,munro1    
was borne forth in a pair of blankets1  

accompanied with all who were  entrusted
 with the secret1 who were warned to be 
strictly silent till  the chief         
sorceress should have received her      
information from the angel  whom they   
served4 ,hector ,munro was carried to   
his grave and laid  therein1 the earth  
being filled in on him1 and the grave   
secured with  stakes as at a real       
funeral4 ,marion ,mac,ingarach1 the     
,hecate of the  night1 then sat down by 
the grave1 while ,christian ,neil       
,dalyell1 the  foster-mother1 ran the   
breadth of about nine ridges distant1   
leading a  boy in her hand1 and1 coming 
again to the grave where ,hector ,munro 
was  interred alive1 demanded of the    
witch which victim she would choose1 who
  replied that she chose ,hector to live
 and ,george to die in his stead4  ,this
 form of incantation was thrice repeated
 ere ,mr4 ,hector was removed  from his 
chilling bed in a ,january grave and    
carried home1 all remaining  mute as    
before4 ,the consequence of a process   

which seems ill-adapted to  produce the 
former effect was that ,hector ,munro   
recovered1 and after the  intervention  
of twelve months ,george ,munro1 his    
brother1 died4 ,hector  took the        
principal witch into high favour1 made  
her keeper of his sheep1  and evaded1 it
 is said1 to present her to trial when  
charged at ,aberdeen  to produce her4   
,though one or two inferior persons     
suffered death on  account of the       
sorceries practised in the house of     
,fowlis1 the ,lady  ,katharine and her  
stepson ,hector had both the unusual    
good fortune to be  found not guilty4   
,mr4 ,pitcairn remarks that the juries1 
being composed  of subordinate persons  
not suitable to the rank or family of   
the person  tried1 has all the          
appearance of having been packed on     
purpose for  acquittal4 ,it might also1 
in some interval of good sense1 creep   
into the  heads of ,hector ,munro's     
assize that the enchantment being       
performed in  ,january1 #aehh1 and the  

deceased being only taken ill of his    
fatal  disease in ,april1 #aeij1 the    
distance between the events might seem  
too  great to admit the former being    
regarded as the cause of the latter4#ce 
,footnote #ce3 ,pitcairn's ,trials1 vol4
 i4 pp4 #aia-bja4    ,another instance  
of the skill of a sorcerer being traced 
to the  instructions of the elves is    
found in the confession of ,john        
,stewart1  called a vagabond1 but       
professing skill in palmistry and       
jugglery1 and  accused of having        
assisted ,margaret ,barclay1 or ,dein1  
to sink or cast  away a vessel belonging
 to her own good brother4 ,it being     
demanded of  him by what means he       
professed himself to have knowledge of  
things to  come1 the said ,john         
confessed that the space of twenty-six  
years ago1 he  being travelling on      
,all-,hallow ,even night1 between the   
towns of ,monygoif  7so spelled7 and    
,clary1 in ,galway1 he met with the     
,king of the ,fairies  and his company1 

and that the ,king of the ,fairies gave 
him a stroke with  a white rod over the 
forehead1 which took from him the power 
of speech  and the use of one eye1 which
 he wanted for the space of three years4
 ,he  declared that the use of speech   
and eyesight was restored to him by the 
,king of ,fairies and his company1 on an
 ,hallowe'en night1 at the town of      
,dublin1 in ,ireland1 and that since    
that time he had joined these people    
every ,saturday at seven o'clock1 and   
remained with them all the night2  also1
 that they met every ,hallow-tide1      
sometimes on ,lanark ,hill  7,tintock1  
perhaps71 sometimes on ,kilmaurs ,hill1 
and that he was then  taught by them4   
,he pointed out the spot of his forehead
 on which1 he  said1 the ,king of the   
,fairies struck him with a white rod1   
whereupon the  prisoner1 being          
blindfolded1 they pricked the spot with 
a large pin1  whereof he expressed no   
sense or feeling4 ,he made the usual    
declaration1  that he had seen many     

persons at the ,court of ,fairy1 whose  
names he  rehearsed particularly1 and   
declared that all such persons as are   
taken  away by sudden death go with the 
,king of ,elfland4 ,with this man's     
evidence we have at present no more to  
do1 though we may revert to the         
execrable proceedings which then took   
place against this miserable  juggler   
and the poor women who were accused of  
the same crime4 ,at  present it is      
quoted as another instance of a         
fortune-teller referring  to ,elfland as
 the source of his knowledge4    ,at    
,auldearne1 a parish and burgh of barony
 in the county of ,nairne1 the  epidemic
 terror of witches seems to have gone   
very far4 ,the confession  of a woman   
called ,isobel ,gowdie1 of date ,april1 
#affb1 implicates1 as  usual1 the ,court
 of ,fairy1 and blends the operations of
 witchcraft with  the facilities        
afforded by the fairies4 ,these need be 
the less insisted  upon in this place1  
as the arch-fiend1 and not the elves1   

had the  immediate agency in the        
abominations which she narrates4 ,yet   
she had  been1 she said1 in the ,dounie 
,hills1 and got meat there from the     
,queen  of ,fairies more than she could 
eat4 ,she added1 that the queen is      
bravely  clothed in white linen and in  
white and brown cloth1 that the ,king of
  ,fairy is a brave man2 and there were 
elf-bulls roaring and skoilling  at the 
entrance of their palace1 which         
frightened her much4 ,on another        
occasion this frank penitent confesses  
her presence at a rendezvous of         
witches1 ,lammas1 #afei1 where1 after   
they had rambled through the country  in
 different shapes--of cats1 hares1 and  
the like--eating1 drinking1 and  wasting
 the goods of their neighbours into     
whose houses they could  penetrate1 they
 at length came to the dounie ,hills1   
where the mountain  opened to receive   
them1 and they entered a fair big room1 
as bright as  day4 ,at the entrance     
ramped and roared the large fairy bulls1

 which  always alarmed ,isobel ,gowdie4 
,these animals are probably the         
water-bulls1 famous both in ,scottish   
and ,irish tradition1 which are not     
supposed to be themselves altogether    
canny or safe to have concern  with4 ,in
 their caverns the fairies manufactured 
those elf-arrow heads  with which the   
witches and they wrought so much evil4  
,the elves and the  arch-fiend laboured 
jointly at this task1 the former forming
 and  sharpening the dart from the rough
 flint1 and the latter perfecting and   
finishing 7or1 as it is called1         
dighting7 it4 ,then came the sport of   
the meeting4 ,the witches bestrode      
either corn-straws1 bean-stalks1 or     
rushes1 and calling1 ,horse and         
,hattock1 in the ,devil's name6 which is
  the elfin signal for mounting1 they   
flew wherever they listed4 ,if the      
little whirlwind which accompanies their
 transportation passed any  mortal who  
neglected to bless himself1 all such    
fell under the witches'  power1 and they

 acquired the right of shooting at him4 
,the penitent  prisoner gives the names 
of many whom she and her sisters had so 
slain1  the death for which she was most
 sorry being that of ,william ,brown1 in
  the ,milntown of ,mains4 ,a shaft was 
also aimed at the ,reverend ,harrie     
,forbes1 a minister who was present at  
the examination of ,isobel1 the         
confessing party4 ,the arrow fell short1
 and the witch would have taken  aim    
again1 but her master forbade her1      
saying the reverend gentleman's  life   
was not subject to their power4 ,to this
 strange and very particular  confession
 we shall have occasion to recur when   
witchcraft is the more  immediate       
subject4 ,what is above narrated marks  
the manner in which the  belief in that 
crime was blended with the fairy        
superstition4    ,to proceed to more    
modern instances of persons supposed to 
have fallen  under the power of the     
fairy race1 we must not forget the      
,reverend  ,robert ,kirke1 minister of  

the ,gospel1 the first translator of the
 ,psalms  into ,gaelic verse4 ,he was1  
in the end of the seventeenth century1  
successively minister of the ,highland  
parishes of ,balquidder and  ,aberfoyle1
 lying in the most romantic district of 
,perthshire1 and within  the ,highland  
line4 ,these beautiful and wild regions1
 comprehending so  many lakes1 rocks1   
sequestered valleys1 and dim copsewoods1
 are not even  yet quite abandoned by   
the fairies1 who have resolutely        
maintained  secure footing in a region  
so well suited for their residence4     
,indeed1  so much was this the case     
formerly1 that ,mr4 ,kirke1 while in his
 latter  charge of ,aberfoyle1 found    
materials for collecting and compiling  
his  ,essay on the ,subterranean and for
 the most part ,invisible ,people       
heretofore going under the name of      
,elves1 ,fawnes1 and ,fairies1 or the   
like4#cf ,in this discourse1 the author1
 with undoubting mind1  describes the   
fairy race as a sort of astral spirits1 

of a kind betwixt  humanity and         
angels--says1 that they have children1  
nurses1 marriages1  deaths1 and burials1
 like mortals in appearance2 that1 in   
some respect1  they represent mortal    
men1 and that individual apparitions1 or
  double-men1 are found among them1     
corresponding with mortals existing on  
earth4 ,mr4 ,kirke accuses them of      
stealing the milk from the cows1 and of 
carrying away1 what is more material1   
the women in pregnancy1 and  new-born   
children from their nurses4 ,the remedy 
is easy in both cases4  ,the milk cannot
 be stolen if the mouth of the calf1    
before he is  permitted to suck1 be     
rubbed with a certain balsam1 very      
easily come by2  and the woman in       
travail is safe if a piece of cold iron 
is put into the  bed4 ,mr4 ,kirke       
accounts for this by informing us that  
the great northern  mines of iron1 lying
 adjacent to the place of eternal       
punishment1 have a  savour odious to    
these fascinating creatures4 ,they have1

 says the  reverend author1 what one    
would not expect1 many light toyish     
books  7novels and plays1 doubtless71   
others on ,rosycrucian subjects1 and of 
an  abstruse mystical character2 but    
they have no ,bibles or works of        
devotion4 ,the essayist fails not to    
mention the elf-arrow heads1 which  have
 something of the subtlety of           
thunderbolts1 and can mortally wound    
the vital parts without breaking the    
skin4 ,these wounds1 he says1 he has    
himself observed in beasts1 and felt the
 fatal lacerations which he  could not  
see4    ,footnote #cf3 ,the title       
continues3--,among the ,low ,country    
,scots1 as  they are described by those 
who have the second sight1 and now1 to  
occasion farther enquiry1 collected and 
compared by a circumspect  enquirer     
residing among the ,scottish-,irish     
7i4e41 the ,gael1 or  ,highlanders7 in  
,scotland4 ,it was printed with the     
author's name in  #afia1 and reprinted1 
,edinburgh1 #ahae1 for ,longman  ,co4   

,it was by no means to be supposed that 
the elves1 so jealous and  irritable a  
race as to be incensed against those who
 spoke of them under  their proper      
names1 should be less than mortally     
offended at the  temerity of the        
reverend author1 who had pryed so deeply
 into their  mysteries1 for the purpose 
of giving them to the public4 ,although1
  therefore1 the learned divine's       
monument1 with his name duly inscribed1 
is to be seen at the east end of the    
churchyard at ,aberfoyle1 yet those     
acquainted with his real history do not 
believe that he enjoys the  natural     
repose of the tomb4 ,his successor1 the 
,rev4 ,dr4 ,grahame1 has  informed us of
 the general belief that1 as ,mr4 ,kirke
 was walking one  evening in his        
night-gown upon a ,dun-shi1 or fairy    
mount1 in the  vicinity of the manse or 
parsonage1 behold6 he sunk down in what 
seemed  to be a fit of apoplexy1 which  
the unenlightened took for death1 while 
the more understanding knew it to be a  

swoon produced by the  supernatural     
influence of the people whose precincts 
he had violated4  ,after the ceremony of
 a seeming funeral1 the form of the     
,rev4 ,robert  ,kirke appeared to a     
relation1 and commanded him to go to    
,grahame of  ,duchray1 ancestor of the  
present ,general ,graham ,stirling4 ,say
 to  ,duchray1 who is my cousin as well 
as your own1 that ,i am not dead1 but a 
captive in ,fairyland1 and only one     
chance remains for my liberation4  ,when
 the posthumous child1 of which my wife 
has been delivered since my             
disappearance1 shall be brought to      
baptism1 ,i will appear in the room1    
when1 if ,duchray shall throw over my   
head the knife or dirk which he  holds  
in his hand1 ,i may be restored to      
society2 but if this opportunity  is    
neglected1 ,i am lost for ever4 ,duchray
 was apprised of what was to  be done4  
,the ceremony took place1 and the       
apparition of ,mr4 ,kirke was  visibly  
seen while they were seated at table2   

but ,grahame of ,duchray1 in  his       
astonishment1 failed to perform the     
ceremony enjoined1 and it is to  be     
feared that ,mr4 ,kirke still drees his 
weird in ,fairyland1 the ,elfin  state  
declaring to him1 as the ,ocean to poor 
,falconer1 who perished at  sea after   
having written his popular poem of ,the 
,shipwreck--    ,thou hast proclaimed   
our power--be thou our prey6    ,upon   
this subject the reader may consult a   
very entertaining little  volume1 called
 ,sketches of ,perthshire1#cg by the    
,rev4 ,dr4 ,grahame of  ,aberfoyle4 ,the
 terrible visitation of fairy vengeance 
which has lighted  upon ,mr4 ,kirke has 
not intimidated his successor1 an       
excellent man and  good antiquary1 from 
affording us some curious information on
 fairy  superstition4 ,he tells us that 
these capricious elves are chiefly      
dangerous on a ,friday1 when1 as the day
 of the ,crucifixion1 evil spirits  have
 most power1 and mentions their         
displeasure at any one who assumes      

their accustomed livery of green1 a     
colour fatal to several families in     
,scotland1 to the whole race of the     
gallant ,grahames in particular2        
insomuch that we have heard that in     
battle a ,grahame is generally shot     
through the green check of his plaid2   
moreover1 that a veteran sportsman  of  
the name1 having come by a bad fall1 he 
thought it sufficient to  account for   
it1 that he had a piece of green        
whip-cord to complete the  lash of his  
hunting-whip4 ,i remember1 also1 that my
 late amiable friend1  ,james ,grahame1 
author of ,the ,sabbath1 would not break
 through this  ancient prejudice of his 
clan1 but had his library table covered 
with  blue or black cloth1 rather than  
use the fated colour commonly employed  
on such occasions4    ,footnote #cg3    
,edinburgh1 #ahab4    ,to return from   
the ,perthshire fairies1 ,i may quote a 
story of a nature  somewhat similar to  
that of ,mas ,robert ,kirke4 ,the life  
of the excellent  person who told it    

was1 for the benefit of her friends and 
the poor1  protracted to an unusual     
duration2 so ,i conceive that this      
adventure1  which took place in her     
childhood1 might happen before the      
middle of  last century4 ,she was       
residing with some relations near the   
small  seaport town of ,north ,berwick1 
when the place and its vicinity were    
alarmed by the following story3--    ,an
 industrious man1 a weaver in the little
 town1 was married to a  beautiful      
woman1 who1 after bearing two or three  
children1 was so  unfortunate as to die 
during the birth of a fourth child4 ,the
 infant was  saved1 but the mother had  
expired in convulsions2 and as she was  
much  disfigured after death1 it became 
an opinion among her gossips that1  from
 some neglect of those who ought to have
 watched the sick woman1 she  must have 
been carried off by the elves1 and this 
ghastly corpse  substituted in the place
 of the body4 ,the widower paid little  
attention  to these rumours1 and1 after 

bitterly lamenting his wife for a year  
of  mourning1 began to think on the     
prudence of forming a new marriage1     
which1 to a poor artisan with so young a
 family1 and without the  assistance of 
a housewife1 was almost a matter of     
necessity4 ,he readily  found a         
neighbour with whose good looks he was  
satisfied1 whilst her  character for    
temper seemed to warrant her good usage 
of his children4  ,he proposed himself  
and was accepted1 and carried the names 
of the  parties to the clergyman        
7called1 ,i believe1 ,mr4 ,matthew      
,reid7 for the  due proclamation of     
banns4 ,as the man had really loved his 
late partner1  it is likely that this   
proposed decisive alteration of his     
condition  brought back many reflections
 concerning the period of their union1  
and  with these recalled the            
extraordinary rumours which were afloat 
at the  time of her decease1 so that the
 whole forced upon him the following    
lively dream3--,as he lay in his bed1   

awake as he thought1 he beheld1 at  the 
ghostly hour of midnight1 the figure of 
a female dressed in white1  who entered 
his hut1 stood by the side of his bed1  
and appeared to him  the very likeness  
of his late wife4 ,he conjured her to   
speak1 and with  astonishment heard her 
say1 like the minister of ,aberfoyle1   
that she was  not dead1 but the         
unwilling captive of the ,good          
,neighbours4 ,like ,mr4  ,kirke1 too1   
she told him that if all the love which 
he once had for her  was not entirely   
gone1 an opportunity still remained of  
recovering her1  or winning her back1 as
 it was usually termed1 from the        
comfortless  realms of ,elfland4 ,she   
charged him on a certain day of the     
ensuing week  that he should convene the
 most respectable housekeepers in the   
town1  with the clergyman at their head1
 and should disinter the coffin in      
which she was supposed to have been     
buried4 ,the clergyman is to recite     
certain prayers1 upon which1 said the   

apparition1 ,i will start from  the     
coffin and fly with great speed round   
the church1 and you must have  the      
fleetest runner of the parish 7naming a 
man famed for swiftness7 to  pursue me1 
and such a one1 the smith1 renowned for 
his strength1 to hold  me fast after ,i 
am overtaken2 and in that case ,i shall1
 by the prayers  of the church1 and the 
efforts of my loving husband and        
neighbours1  again recover my station in
 human society4 ,in the morning the poor
  widower was distressed with the       
recollection of his dream1 but1 ashamed 
and puzzled1 took no measures in        
consequence4 ,a second night1 as is not 
very surprising1 the visitation was     
again repeated4 ,on the third night  she
 appeared with a sorrowful and          
displeased countenance1 upbraided him   
with want of love and affection1 and    
conjured him1 for the last time1 to     
attend to her instructions1 which1 if he
 now neglected1 she would never  have   
power to visit earth or communicate with

 him again4 ,in order to  convince him  
there was no delusion1 he saw in his    
dream that she took  up the nursling at 
whose birth she had died1 and gave it   
suck2 she  spilled also a drop or two of
 her milk on the poor man's bed-clothes1
 as  if to assure him of the reality of 
the vision4    ,the next morning the    
terrified widower carried a statement of
 his  perplexity to ,mr4 ,matthew ,reid1
 the clergyman4 ,this reverend person1  
besides being an excellent divine in    
other respects1 was at the same  time a 
man of sagacity1 who understood the     
human passions4 ,he did not  attempt to 
combat the reality of the vision which  
had thrown his  parishioner into this   
tribulation1 but he contended it could  
be only an  illusion of the devil4 ,he  
explained to the widower that no created
 being  could have the right or power to
 imprison or detain the soul of a       
,christian--conjured him not to believe 
that his wife was otherwise  disposed of
 than according to ,god's               

pleasure--assured him that  ,protestant 
doctrine utterly denies the existence of
 any middle state in  the world to      
come--and explained to him that he1 as a
 clergyman of the  ,church of ,scotland1
 neither could nor dared authorize      
opening graves or  using the            
intervention of prayer to sanction rites
 of a suspicious  character4 ,the poor  
man1 confounded and perplexed by various
 feelings1  asked his pastor what he    
should do4 ,i will give you my best     
advice1  said the clergyman4 ,get your  
new bride's consent to be married       
to-morrow1 or to-day1 if you can2 ,i    
will take it on me to dispense with  the
 rest of the banns1 or proclaim them    
three times in one day4 ,you will  have 
a new wife1 and1 if you think of the    
former1 it will be only as of  one from 
whom death has separated you1 and for   
whom you may have  thoughts of affection
 and sorrow1 but as a saint in ,heaven1 
and not as a  prisoner in ,elfland4 ,the
 advice was taken1 and the perplexed    

widower  had no more visitations from   
his former spouse4    ,an instance1     
perhaps the latest which has been made  
public1 of  communication with the      
,restless ,people--7a more proper       
epithet than that  of ,daoine ,shi1 or  
,men of ,peace1 as they are called in   
,gaelic7--came  under ,pennant's notice 
so late as during that observant        
traveller's tour  in #agfi4 ,being      
perhaps the latest news from the        
invisible commonwealth1  we give the    
tourist's own words4    ,a poor         
visionary who had been working in his   
cabbage-garden 7in  ,breadalbane7       
imagined that he was raised suddenly up 
into the air1 and  conveyed over a wall 
into an adjacent corn-field2 that he    
found himself  surrounded by a crowd of 
men and women1 many of whom he knew to  
have  been dead for some years1 and who 
appeared to him skimming over the tops  
of the unbending corn1 and mingling     
together like bees going to hive2  that 
they spoke an unknown language1 and with

 a hollow sound2 that they  very roughly
 pushed him to and fro1 but on his      
uttering the name of ,god  all vanished1
 but a female sprite1 who1 seizing him  
by the shoulder1  obliged him to promise
 an assignation at that very hour that  
day  seven-night2 that he then found his
 hair was all tied in double knots      
7well known by the name of elf-locks71  
and that he had almost lost his  speech2
 that he kept his word with the spectre1
 whom he soon saw  floating through the 
air towards him2 that he spoke to her1  
but she told  him she was at that time  
in too much haste to attend to him1 but 
bid him  go away and no harm should     
befall him1 and so the affair rested    
when ,i  left the country4 ,but it is   
incredible the mischief these gri somnia
  did in the neighbourhood4 ,the friends
 and neighbours of the deceased1  whom  
the old dreamer had named1 were in the  
utmost anxiety at finding  them in such 
bad company in the other world2 the     
almost extinct belief  of the old idle  

tales began to gain ground1 and the good
 minister will  have many a weary       
discourse and exhortation before he can 
eradicate the  absurd ideas this idle   
story has revived4#ch    ,footnote #ch3 
,pennant's ,tour in ,scotland1 vol4 i4  
p4 #aaj4    ,it is scarcely necessary to
 add that this comparatively recent tale
 is  just the counterpart of the story  
of ,bessie ,dunlop1 ,alison ,pearson1   
and  of the ,irish butler who was so    
nearly carried off1 all of whom found in
  ,elfland some friend1 formerly of     
middle earth1 who attached themselves   
to the child of humanity1 and who       
endeavoured to protect a fellow-mortal  
against their less philanthropic        
companions4    ,these instances may tend
 to show how the fairy superstition1    
which1 in  its general sense of         
worshipping the ,dii ,campestres1 was   
much the  older of the two1 came to bear
 upon and have connexion with that      
horrid  belief in witchcraft which cost 
so many innocent persons and crazy      

impostors their lives for the supposed  
commission of impossible crimes4  ,in   
the next chapter ,i propose to trace how
 the general disbelief in the  fairy    
creed began to take place1 and gradually
 brought into discredit  the supposed   
feats of witchcraft1 which afforded     
pretext for such cruel  practical       
consequences4          ,,letter ,,vi4   
,immediate ,effect of ,christianity on  
,articles of ,popular                   
,superstition--,chaucer's ,account of   
the ,roman ,catholic ,priests           
banishing the ,fairies--,bishop ,corbett
 imputes the same ,effect to the        
,reformation--,his ,verses on that      
,subject--,his ,iter                    
,septentrionale--,robin ,goodfellow and 
other ,superstitions mentioned      by  
,reginald ,scot--,character of the      
,english ,fairies--,the ,tradition      
had become obsolete in that ,author's   
,time--,that of ,witches remained       
in vigour--,but impugned by various     
,authors after the ,reformation1 as     

,wierus1 ,naudus1 ,scot1 and            
others--,demonology defended by         
,bodinus1      ,remigius1 c4--,their    
mutual ,abuse of each                   
other--,imperfection of      ,physical  
,science at this ,period1 and the       
,predominance of ,mysticism      in that
 ,department4      ,although the        
influence of the ,christian religion was
 not introduced to  the nations of      
,europe with such radiance as to dispel 
at once those  clouds of superstition   
which continued to obscure the          
understanding of  hasty and             
ill-instructed converts1 there can be no
 doubt that its  immediate operation    
went to modify the erroneous and        
extravagant  articles of credulity which
 lingered behind the old pagan faith1   
and  which gave way before it1 in       
proportion as its light became more pure
  and refined from the devices of men4  
,the poet ,chaucer1 indeed1 pays the    
,church of ,rome1 with its monks and    
preaching friars1 the compliment of     

having1 at an early period1 expelled    
from the land all spirits of an inferior
 and less holy character4 ,the  verses  
are curious as well as picturesque1 and 
may go some length to  establish the    
existence of doubts concerning the      
general belief in  fairies among the    
well-instructed in the time of ,edward  
,,iii4    ,the fairies of whom the bard 
of ,woodstock talks are1 it will be     
observed1 the ancient ,celtic breed1 and
 he seems to refer for the  authorities 
of his tale to ,bretagne1 or ,armorica1 
a genuine ,celtic  colony3--    ,in old 
time of the ,king ,artour1  ,of which   
that ,bretons speken great honour1  ,all
 was this land fulfilled of faerie2     
,the ,elf queen1 with her joly company1 
,danced full oft in many a grene mead4  
,this was the old opinion1 as ,i rede-- 
,i speake of many hundred years ago1    
,but now can no man see no elves mo4    
,for now the great charity and prayers  
,of limitours1#ci and other holy freres1
  ,that searchen every land and every   

stream1  ,as thick as motes in the      
sunne-beam1  ,blessing halls1 chambers1 
kitchenes1 and boures1  ,cities and     
burghes1 castles high and towers1       
,thropes and barnes1 sheep-pens and     
dairies1  ,this maketh that there ben no
 fairies4  ,for there as wont to walken 
was an elf1  ,there walketh now the     
limitour himself1  ,in under nichtes and
 in morwenings1  ,and saith his mattins 
and his holy things1  ,as he goeth in   
his limitation4  ,women may now go      
safely up and doun2  ,in every bush1 and
 under every tree1  ,there is no other  
incubus than he1  ,and he ne will don   
them no dishonour4#dj    ,footnote #ci3 
,friars limited to beg within a certain 
district4    ,footnote #dj3 ,wife of    
,bath's ,tale4    ,when we see the      
opinion which ,chaucer has expressed of 
the regular  clergy of his time1 in some
 of his other tales1 we are tempted to  
suspect some mixture of irony in the    
compliment which ascribes the exile  of 
the fairies1 with whih the land was     

fulfilled in ,king ,arthur's  time1 to  
the warmth and zeal of the devotion of  
the limitary friars4  ,individual       
instances of scepticism there might     
exist among scholars1 but  a more modern
 poet1 with a vein of humour not        
unworthy of ,geoffrey  himself1 has with
 greater probability delayed the final  
banishment of  the fairies from         
,england1 that is1 from popular faith1  
till the reign of  ,queen ,elizabeth1   
and has represented their expulsion as a
 consequence of  the change of religion4
 ,two or three verses of this lively    
satire may be  very well worth the      
reader's notice1 who must1 at the same  
time1 be  informed that the author1 ,dr4
 ,corbett1 was nothing less than the    
,bishop  of ,oxford and ,norwich in the 
beginning of the seventeenth century4   
,the  poem is named ,a proper new       
,ballad1 entitled the ,fairies'         
,farewell1 to  be sung or whistled to   
the tune of the ,meadow ,brow by the    
learned2 by  the unlearned to the tune  

of ,fortune3--         ,farewell1       
rewards and fairies1         ,good      
housewives now may say1       ,for now  
foul sluts in dairies         ,do fare  
as well as they2       ,and though they 
sweep their hearths no less             
,than maids were wont to do1       ,yet 
who of late for cleanliness             
,finds sixpence in her shoe8            
,lament1 lament1 old abbies1            
,the fairies' lost command2       ,they 
did but change priests' babies1         
,but some have changed your land2       
,and all your children sprung from hence
         ,are now grown ,puritans1      
,who live as changelings ever since     
,for love of your domains4         ,at  
morning and at evening both1            
,you merry were and glad1       ,so     
little care of sleep and sloth          
,those pretty ladies had4       ,when   
,tom came home from labour4         ,or 
,cis to milking rose1       ,then       
merrily1 merrily went their tabor1      
,and merrily went their toes4           

,witness those rings and roundelays     
,of theirs1 which yet remain1           
,were footed1 in ,queen ,mary's days1   
,on many a grassy plain2       ,but     
since of late ,elizabeth1         ,and  
later ,james came in1       ,they never 
danced on any heath         ,as when the
 time hath bin4         ,by which we    
note1 the fairies         ,were of the  
old profession1       ,their songs were 
,ave ,maries1         ,their dances were
 procession4       ,but now1 alas6 they 
all are dead1         ,or gone beyond   
the seas2       ,or farther for religion
 fled1         ,or else they take their 
ease4    ,the remaining part of the poem
 is dedicated to the praise and glory of
  old ,william ,chourne of              
,staffordshire1 who remained a true and 
stanch  evidence in behalf of the       
departed elves1 and kept1 much it would 
seem  to the amusement of the witty     
bishop1 an inexhaustible record of their
  pranks and feats1 whence the          
concluding verse--    ,to ,william all  

give audience1    ,and pray ye for his  
noddle1  ,for all the fairies' evidence 
,were lost if that were addle4#da       
,footnote #da3 ,corbett's ,poems1 edited
 by ,octavuis ,gilchrist1 p4 #bac4      
,this ,william ,chourne appears to have 
attended ,dr4 ,corbett's party on the   
iter septentrionale1 two of which were1 
and two desired to be1  doctors2 but    
whether ,william was guide1 friend1 or  
domestic seems  uncertain4 ,the         
travellers lose themselves in the mazes 
of ,chorley ,forest  on their way to    
,bosworth1 and their route becomes so   
confused that they  return on their     
steps and labour--         ,as in a     
conjuror's circle--,william found       
,a mean for our deliverance1--',turn    
your cloaks1'       ,quoth he1 'for     
,puck is busy in these oaks2       ,if  
ever you at ,bosworth would be found1   
,then turn your cloaks1 for this is     
fairy ground4'       ,but ere this      
witchcraft was performed1 we meet       
,a very man who had no cloven feet4     

,though ,william1 still of little faith1
 has doubt1       ',tis ,robin1 or some 
sprite that walks about4       ',strike 
him1' quoth he1 'and it will turn to    
air--       ,cross yourselves thrice and
 strike it4'--',strike that dare1'      
,thought ,i1 'for sure this massy       
forester1       ,in strokes will prove  
the better conjuror4'       ,but 'twas a
 gentle keeper1 one that knew           
,humanity and manners1 where they grew1 
,and rode along so far1 till he could   
say1       ',see1 yonder ,bosworth      
stands1 and this your way4'#db          
,footnote #db3 ,corbett's ,poems1 p4    
#aia4    ,in this passage the bishop    
plainly shows the fairies maintained    
their  influence in ,william's          
imagination1 since the courteous keeper 
was  mistaken by their associate        
champion for ,puck or ,robin            
,goodfellow4 ,the  spells resorted to to
 get rid of his supposed delusions are  
alternatively that of turning the       
cloak--7recommended in visions of the   

second-sight or similar illusions as a  
means of obtaining a certainty          
concerning the being which is before    
imperfectly seen#dc7--;and that of      
exorcising the spirit with a cudgel2    
which last1 ,corbett prudently  thinks1 
ought not to be resorted to unless under
 an absolute conviction  that the       
exorcist is the stronger party4         
,chaucer1 therefore1 could not  be      
serious in averring that the fairy      
superstitions were obsolete in his  day1
 since they were found current three    
centuries afterwards4    ,footnote #dc3 
,a common instance is that of a person  
haunted with a  resemblance whose face  
he cannot see4 ,if he turn his cloak or 
plaid1 he  will obtain the full sight   
which he desires1 and may probably find 
it to  be his own fetch1 or wraith1 or  
double-ganger4    ,it is not the less   
certain that1 as knowledge and religion 
became more  widely and brightly        
displayed over any country1 the         
superstitious  fancies of the people    

sunk gradually in esteem and influence2 
and in the  time of ,queen ,elizabeth   
the unceasing labour of many and popular
  preachers1 who declaimed against the  
splendid miracles of the ,church  of    
,rome1 produced also its natural effect 
upon the other stock of  superstitions4 
,certainly1 said ,reginald ,scot1       
talking of times before  his own1 some  
one knave in a white sheet hath cozened 
and abused many  thousands1 specially   
when ,robin ,goodfellow kept such a coil
 in the  country4 ,in our childhood our 
mothers' maids have so terrified us with
  an ugly devil having horns on his     
head1 fire in his mouth1 and a tail at  
his breech2 eyes like a basin1 fangs    
like a dog1 claws like a bear1 a  skin  
like a negro1 and a voice roaring like a
 lion1 whereby we start and  are afraid 
when we hear one cry1 ,boh6 and they    
have so frayd us with  bull-beggars1    
spirits1 witches1 urchins1 elves1 hags1 
fairies1 satyrs1  ,pans1 faunes1        
sylvans1 ,kitt-with-the-candlestick1    

tritons1 centaurs1  dwarfs1 giants1     
imps1 calcars1 conjurers1 nymphs1       
changelings1 incubus1  ,robin           
,goodfellow1 the spoorn1 the            
man-in-the-oak1 the hellwain1 the       
fire-drake1 the puckle1 ,tom ,thumb1    
,hobgoblin1 ,tom ,tumbler1 ,boneless1   
and  such other bugbears1 that we are   
afraid of our own shadows1 insomuch     
that some never fear the devil but on a 
dark night2 and then a polled  sheep is 
a perilous beast1 and many times is     
taken for our father's  soul1 specially 
in a churchyard1 where a right hardy man
 heretofore  durst not to have passed by
 night but his hair would stand upright4
  ,well1 thanks be to ,god1 this        
wretched and cowardly infidelity1 since 
the  preaching of the ,gospel1 is in    
part forgotten1 and doubtless the rest  
of  these illusions will in a short     
time1 by ,god's grace1 be detected and  
vanish away4#dd    ,footnote #dd3       
,reginald ,scot's ,discovery of         
,witchcraft1 book vii4 chap4  #ae4      

,it would require a better demonologist 
than ,i am to explain the various       
obsolete superstitions which ,reginald  
,scot has introduced as articles of  the
 old ,english faith1 into the preceding 
passage4 ,i might indeed say  the ,phuca
 is a ,celtic superstition1 from which  
the word ,pook or ,puckle  was doubtless
 derived2 and ,i might conjecture that  
the man-in-the-oak  was the same with   
the ,erl-,knig of the ,germans2 and that
 the hellwain  were a kind of wandering 
spirits1 the descendants of a champion  
named  ,hellequin1 who are introduced   
into the romance of ,richard sans ,peur4
 ,but  most antiquaries will be at fault
 concerning the spoorn1                 
,kitt-with-the-candlestick1 ,boneless1  
and some others4 ,the catalogue1        
however1 serves to show what progress   
the ,english have made in two           
centuries1 in forgetting the very names 
of objects which had been the  sources  
of terror to their ancestors of the     
,elizabethan age4    ,before leaving the

 subject of fairy superstition in       
,england we may  remark that it was of a
 more playful and gentle1 less wild and 
necromantic character1 than that        
received among the sister people4 ,the  
amusements of the southern fairies were 
light and sportive2 their  resentments  
were satisfied with pinching or         
scratching the objects of  their        
displeasure2 their peculiar sense of    
cleanliness rewarded the  housewives    
with the silver token in the shoe2 their
 nicety was extreme  concerning any     
coarseness or negligence which could    
offend their  delicacy2 and ,i cannot   
discern1 except1 perhaps1 from the      
insinuations  of some scrupulous        
divines1 that they were vassals to or in
 close  alliance with the infernals1 as 
there is too much reason to believe was 
the case with their ,north ,british     
sisterhood4#de ,the common nursery      
story cannot be forgotten1 how1 shortly 
after the death of what is  called a    
nice tidy housewife1 the ,elfin band was

 shocked to see that a  person of       
different character1 with whom the      
widower had filled his  deserted arms1  
instead of the nicely arranged little   
loaf of the whitest  bread1 and a basin 
of sweet cream1 duly placed for their   
refreshment by  the deceased1 had       
substituted a brown loaf and a cobb of  
herrings4  ,incensed at such a coarse   
regale1 the elves dragged the peccant   
housewife out of bed1 and pulled her    
down the wooden stairs by the  heels1   
repeating1 at the same time1 in scorn of
 her churlish  hospitality--    ,brown  
bread and herring cobb6   ,thy fat sides
 shall have many a bob6    ,but beyond  
such playful malice they had no desire  
to extend their  resentment4            
,footnote #de3 ,dr4 ,jackson1 in his    
,treatise on ,unbelief1 opines for the  
severe opinion4 ,thus are the ,fayries1 
from difference of events  ascribed to  
them1 divided into good and bad1 when as
 it is but one and  the same malignant  
fiend that meddles in both2 seeking     

sometimes to be  feared1 otherwhiles to 
be loued as ,god1 for the bodily harmes 
or good  turnes supposed to be in his   
power4--,jackson on ,unbelief1 p4 #agh1 
edit4  #afbe4    ,the constant attendant
 upon the ,english ,fairy court was the 
celebrated  ,puck1 or ,robin            
,goodfellow1 who to the elves acted in  
some measure as the  jester or clown of 
the company--7a character then to be    
found in the  establishment of every    
person of quality7--or to use a more    
modern  comparison1 resembled the       
,pierrot of the pantomime4 ,his jests   
were of  the most simple and at the same
 time the broadest comic character--to  
mislead a clown on his path homeward1 to
 disguise himself like a stool1  in     
order to induce an old gossip to commit 
the egregious mistake of  sitting down  
on the floor when she expected to repose
 on a chair1 were  his special          
enjoyments4 ,if he condescended to do   
some work for the  sleeping family1 in  
which he had some resemblance to the    

,scottish  household spirit called a    
,brownie1 the selfish ,puck was far from
  practising this labour on the         
disinterested principle of the northern 
goblin1 who1 if raiment or food was left
 in his way and for his use1  departed  
from the family in displeasure4 ,robin  
,goodfellow1 on the  contrary1 must have
 both his food and his rest1 as ,milton 
informs us1  amid his other notices of  
country superstitions1 in the poem of   
,l',allegro4 ,and it is to be noticed   
that he represents these tales of the   
fairies1 told round the cottage hearth1 
as of a cheerful rather than a  serious 
cast2 which illustrates what ,i have    
said concerning the milder  character of
 the southern superstitions1 as compared
 with those of the  same class in       
,scotland--the stories of which are for 
the most part of a  frightful and not   
seldom of a disgusting quality4    ,poor
 ,robin1 however1 between whom and ,king
 ,oberon ,shakespeare contrives  to keep
 a degree of distinct subordination1    

which for a moment deceives  us by its  
appearance of reality1 notwithstanding  
his turn for wit and  humour1 had been  
obscured by oblivion even in the days of
 ,queen ,bess4 ,we  have already seen1  
in a passage quoted from ,reginald      
,scot1 that the  belief was fallen into 
abeyance2 that which follows from the   
same author  affirms more positively    
that ,robin's date was over3--    ,know 
ye this1 by the way1 that heretofore    
,robin ,goodfellow and  ,hobgoblin were 
as terrible1 and also as credible1 to   
the people as hags  and witches be now2 
and in time to come a witch will be as  
much derided  and condemned1 and as     
clearly perceived1 as the illusion and  
knavery of  ,robin ,goodfellow1 upon    
whom there have gone as many and as     
credible  tales as witchcraft1 saving   
that it hath not pleased the translators
 of  the ,bible to call spirits by the  
name of ,robin ,goodfellow1 as they have
  diviners1 soothsayers1 poisoners1 and 
cozeners by the name of  witches4#df ,in

 the same tone ,reginald ,scot addresses
 the reader in the  preface3--,to make a
 solemn suit to you that are partial    
readers to set  aside partiality1 to    
take in good part my writings1 and with 
indifferent  eyes to look upon my book1 
were labour lost and time ill-employed2 
for ,i  should no more prevail herein   
than if1 a hundred years since1 ,i      
should  have entreated your predecessors
 to believe that ,robin ,goodfellow1    
that  great and ancient bull-beggar1 had
 been but a cozening merchant1 and no   
devil indeed4 ,but ,robin ,goodfellow   
ceaseth now to be much feared1 and      
,popery is sufficiently discovered2     
nevertheless1 witches' charms and       
conjurers' cozenage are yet effectual4  
,this passage seems clearly to  prove   
that the belief in ,robin ,goodfellow   
and his fairy companions was  now out of
 date2 while that as to witchcraft1 as  
was afterwards but too  well shown1 kept
 its ground against argument and        
controversy1 and  survived to shed more 

blood4    ,footnote #df3 ,reginald      
,scot's ,discovery of ,witchcraft1 book 
vii4 chap1  ii4    ,we are then to take 
leave of this fascinating article of the
 popular  creed1 having in it so much of
 interest to the imagination that we    
almost envy the credulity of those who1 
in the gentle moonlight of a  summer    
night in ,england1 amid the tangled     
glades of a deep forest1 or  the turfy  
swell of her romantic commons1 could    
fancy they saw the  fairies tracing     
their sportive ring4 ,but it is in vain 
to regret  illusions which1 however     
engaging1 must of necessity yield their 
place  before the increase of knowledge1
 like shadows at the advance of morn4   
,these superstitions have already       
survived their best and most useful     
purpose1 having been embalmed in the    
poetry of ,milton and of  ,shakespeare1 
as well as writers only inferior to     
these great names4 ,of  ,spenser we must
 say nothing1 because in his ,faery     
,queen the title is  the only           

circumstance which connects his splendid
 allegory with the  popular             
superstition1 and1 as he uses it1 means 
nothing more than an  ,utopia or        
nameless country4    ,with the fairy    
popular creed fell1 doubtless1 many     
subordinate articles  of credulity in   
,england1 but the belief in witches kept
 its ground4 ,it  was rooted in the     
minds of the common people1 as well by  
the easy  solution it afforded of much  
which they found otherwise hard to      
explain1  as in reverence to the ,holy  
,scriptures1 in which the word witch1   
being  used in several places1 conveyed 
to those who did not trouble themselves 
about the nicety of the translation from
 the ,eastern tongues1 the  inference   
that the same species of witches were   
meant as those against  whom modern     
legislation had1 in most ,european      
nations1 directed the  punishment of    
death4 ,these two circumstances         
furnished the numerous  believers in    
witchcraft with arguments in divinity   

and law which they  conceived           
irrefragable4 ,they might say to the    
theologist1 ,will you not  believe in   
witches8 the ,scriptures aver their     
existence2--to the  jurisconsult1 ,will 
you dispute the existence of a crime    
against which  our own statute-book1 and
 the code of almost all civilized       
countries1  have attested1 by laws upon 
which hundreds and thousands have been  
convicted1 many or even most of whom    
have1 by their judicial  confessions1   
acknowledged their guilt and the justice
 of their  punishment8 ,it is a strange 
scepticism1 they might add1 which       
rejects  the evidence of ,scripture1 of 
human legislature1 and of the accused   
persons themselves4    ,notwithstanding 
these specious reasons1 the sixteenth   
and seventeenth  centuries were periods 
when the revival of learning1 the       
invention of  printing1 the fearless    
investigations of the ,reformers into   
subjects  thought formerly too sacred   
for consideration of any save the       

clergy1  had introduced a system of     
doubt1 enquiry1 disregard of authority1 
when  unsupported by argument1 and      
unhesitating exercise of the private    
judgment1 on subjects which had occupied
 the bulls of popes and decrees  of     
councils4 ,in short1 the spirit of the  
age was little disposed to  spare error1
 however venerable1 or countenance      
imposture1 however  sanctioned by length
 of time and universal acquiescence4    
,learned writers  arose in different    
countries to challenge the very         
existence of this  imaginary crime1 to  
rescue the reputation of the great men  
whose  knowledge1 superior to that of   
their age1 had caused them to be        
suspected of magic1 and to put a stop to
 the horrid superstition whose  victims 
were the aged1 ignorant1 and            
defenceless1 and which could only  be   
compared to that which sent victims of  
old through the fire to  ,moloch4       
,the courageous interposition of those  
philosophers who opposed science  and   

experience to the prejudices of         
superstition and ignorance1 and in      
doing so incurred much                  
misrepresentation1 and perhaps no little
  ill-will1 in the cause of truth and   
humanity1 claim for them some           
distinction in a work on ,demonology4   
,the pursuers of exact science to  its  
coy retreats1 were sure to be the first 
to discover that the most  remarkable   
phenomena in ,nature are regulated by   
certain fixed laws1 and  cannot         
rationally be referred to supernatural  
agency1 the sufficing  cause to which   
superstition attributes all that is     
beyond her own narrow  power of         
explanation4 ,each advance in natural   
knowledge teaches us that  it is the    
pleasure of the ,creator to govern the  
world by the laws which  he has imposed1
 and which are not in our times         
interrupted or suspended4    ,the       
learned ,wier1 or ,wierus1 was a man of 
great research in physical  science1 and
 studied under the celebrated ,cornelius

 ,agrippa1 against  whom the charge of  
sorcery was repeatedly alleged by       
,paulus ,jovius and  other authors1     
while he suffered1 on the other hand1   
from the  persecution of the inquisitors
 of the ,church1 whose accusation       
against  this celebrated man was1 that  
he denied the existence of spirits1 a   
charge very inconsistent with that of   
sorcery1 which consists in              
corresponding with them4 ,wierus1 after 
taking his degree as a doctor of        
medicine1 became physician to the ,duke 
of ,cleves1 at whose court he  practised
 for thirty years with the highest      
reputation4 ,this learned  man1         
disregarding the scandal which1 by so   
doing1 he was likely to bring  upon     
himself1 was one of the first who       
attacked the vulgar belief1 and  boldly 
assailed1 both by serious arguments and 
by ridicule1 the vulgar  credulity on   
the subject of wizards and witches4     
,gabriel ,naud1 or ,naudus1 as he termed
 himself1 was a perfect scholar  and man

 of letters1 busied during his whole    
life with assembling books  together1   
and enjoying the office of librarian to 
several persons of  high rank1 amongst  
others1 to ,queen ,christina of ,sweden4
 ,he was1  besides1 a beneficed         
clergyman1 leading a most unblemished   
life1 and so  temperate as never to     
taste any liquor stronger than water2   
yet did he  not escape the scandal which
 is usually flung by their prejudiced   
contemporaries upon those disputants    
whom it is found more easy to  defame   
than to answer4 ,he wrote an interesting
 work1 entitled ,apologie  pour les     
,grands ,homines ,accuss de ,magie2 and 
as he exhibited a good  deal of vivacity
 of talent1 and an earnestness in       
pleading his cause1  which did not      
always spare some of the superstitions  
of ,rome herself1 he  was charged by his
 contemporaries as guilty of heresy and 
scepticism1  when justice could only    
accuse him of an incautious eagerness to
 make  good his argument4    ,among     

persons who1 upon this subject1 purged  
their eyes with rue and  euphrasie1     
besides the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,harsnet and many
 others 7who wrote  rather on special   
cases of ,demonology than on the general
 question71  ,reginald ,scot ought to be
 distinguished4 ,webster assures us that
 he was  a person of competent learning1
 pious1 and of a good family4 ,he seems 
to have been a zealous ,protestant1 and 
much of his book1 as well as that  of   
,harsnet1 is designed to throw upon the 
,papists in particular those  tricks in 
which1 by confederacy and imposture1 the
 popular ideas  concerning witchcraft1  
possession1 and other supernatural      
fancies1 were  maintained and kept in   
exercise2 but he also writes on the     
general  question with some force and   
talent1 considering that his subject is 
incapable of being reduced into a       
regular form1 and is of a nature        
particularly seductive to an excursive  
talent4 ,he appears to have  studied    
legerdemain for the purpose of showing  

how much that is  apparently            
unaccountable can nevertheless be       
performed without the  intervention of  
supernatural assistance1 even when it is
 impossible to  persuade the vulgar that
 the devil has not been consulted on the
  occasion4 ,scot also had intercourse  
with some of the celebrated             
fortune-tellers1 or ,philomaths1 of the 
time2 one of whom he brings  forward to 
declare the vanity of the science which 
he himself had once  professed4    ,to  
defend the popular belief of witchcraft 
there arose a number of  advocates1 of  
whom ,bodin and some others neither     
wanted knowledge nor  powers of         
reasoning4 ,they pressed the incredulous
 party with the charge  that they denied
 the existence of a crime against which 
the law had  denounced a capital        
punishment4 ,as that law was understood 
to emanate  from ,james himself1 who was
 reigning monarch during the hottest    
part of  the controversy1 the ,english  
authors who defended the opposite side  

were  obliged to entrench themselves    
under an evasion1 to avoid maintaining  
an  argument unpalatable to a degree to 
those in power1 and which might         
perchance have proved unsafe to those   
who used it4 ,with a certain degree  of 
sophistry they answered that they did   
not doubt the possibility of  witches1  
but only demurred to what is their      
nature1 and how they came to  be        
such--according to the scholastic       
jargon1 that the question in  respect to
 witches was not de existentia1 but only
 de modo  existendi4    ,by resorting to
 so subtle an argument those who        
impugned the popular  belief were       
obliged1 with some inconsistency1 to    
grant that witchcraft  had existed1 and 
might exist1 only insisting that it was 
a species of  witchcraft consisting of  
they knew not what1 but certainly of    
something  different from that which    
legislators1 judges1 and juries had     
hitherto  considered the statute as     
designed to repress4    ,in the meantime

 7the rather that the debate was on a   
subject  particularly difficult of      
comprehension7 the debating parties grew
 warm1  and began to call names4 ,bodin1
 a lively ,frenchman of an irritable    
habit1 explained the zeal of ,wierus to 
protect the tribe of sorcerers  from    
punishment1 by stating that he himself  
was a conjurer and the  scholar of      
,cornelius ,agrippa1 and might therefore
 well desire to save  the lives of those
 accused of the same league with ,satan4
 ,hence they  threw on their antagonists
 the offensive names of witch-patrons   
and  witch-advocates1 as if it were     
impossible for any to hold the opinion  
of  ,naudus1 ,wierus1 ,scot1 c41 without
 patronizing the devil and the  witches 
against their brethren of mortality4    
,assailed by such heavy  charges1 the   
philosophers themselves lost patience1  
and retorted abuse  in their turn1      
calling ,bodin1 ,delrio1 and others who 
used their  arguments1 witch-advocates1 
and the like1 as the affirming and      

defending  the existence of the crime   
seemed to increase the number of        
witches1 and  assuredly augmented the   
list of executions4 ,but for a certain  
time the  preponderance of the argument 
lay on the side of the ,demonologists1  
and  we may briefly observe the causes  
which gave their opinions1 for a        
period1 greater influence than their    
opponents on the public mind4    ,it is 
first to be observed that ,wierus1 for  
what reason cannot well be  conjectured1
 except to show the extent of his       
cabalistical knowledge1  had introduced 
into his work against witchcraft the    
whole ,stenographia  of ,trithemius1    
which he had copied from the original in
 the library of  ,cornelius ,agrippa2   
and which1 suspicious from the place    
where he found  it1 and from the long   
catalogue of fiends which it contained1 
with the  charms for raising and for    
binding them to the service of mortals1 
was  considered by ,bodin as containing 
proof that ,wierus himself was a        

sorcerer2 not one of the wisest1        
certainly1 since he thus unnecessarily  
placed at the disposal of any who might 
buy the book the whole secrets  which   
formed his stock-in-trade4    ,secondly1
 we may notice that1 from the state of  
physical science at the  period when    
,van ,helmont1 ,paracelsus1 and others  
began to penetrate into  its recesses1  
it was an unknown1 obscure1 and         
ill-defined region1 and  did not permit 
those who laboured in it to give that   
precise and  accurate account of their  
discoveries which the progress of       
reasoning  experimentally and from      
analysis has enabled the late           
discoverers to do  with success4        
,natural magic--a phrase used to express
 those phenomena  which could be        
produced by a knowledge of the          
properties of matter--had  so much in it
 that was apparently uncombined and     
uncertain1 that the art  of chemistry   
was accounted mystical1 and an opinion  
prevailed that the  results now known to

 be the consequence of laws of matter1  
could not be  traced through their      
various combinations even by those who  
knew the  effects themselves4 ,physical 
science1 in a word1 was cumbered by a   
number of fanciful and incorrect        
opinions1 chiefly of a mystical         
character4 ,if1 for instance1 it was    
observed that a flag and a fern  never  
grew near each other1 the circumstance  
was imputed to some  antipathy between  
these vegetables2 nor was it for some   
time resolved by  the natural rule1 that
 the flag has its nourishment in marshy 
ground1  whereas the fern loves a deep  
dryish soil4 ,the attributes of the     
divining-rod were fully credited2 the   
discovery of the philosopher's  stone   
was daily hoped for2 and electricity1   
magnetism1 and other  remarkable and    
misconceived phenomena were appealed to 
as proof of the  reasonableness of their
 expectations4 ,until such phenomena    
were traced  to their sources1 imaginary
 and often mystical causes were assigned

 to  them1 for the same reason that1 in 
the wilds of a partially discovered     
country1 according to the satirist1     
,geographers on pathless downs   ,place 
elephants for want of towns4    ,this   
substitution of mystical fancies for    
experimental reasoning gave1  in the    
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries1 a  
doubtful and twilight  appearance to the
 various branches of physical           
philosophy4 ,the learned  and sensible  
,dr4 ,webster1 for instance1 writing in 
detection of supposed  witchcraft1      
assumes1 as a string of undeniable      
facts1 opinions which our  more         
experienced age would reject as         
frivolous fancies2 for example1  the    
effects of healing by the weapon-salve1 
the sympathetic powder1 the  curing of  
various diseases by apprehensions1      
amulets1 or by  transplantation4 ,all of
 which undoubted wonders he accuses the 
age of  desiring to throw on the devil's
 back--an unnecessary load certainly1   
since such things do not exist1 and it  

is therefore in vain to seek to  account
 for them4 ,it followed that1 while the 
opposers of the ordinary  theory might  
have struck the deepest blows at the    
witch hypothesis by an  appeal to common
 sense1 they were themselves hampered by
 articles of  philosophical belief which
 they must have been sensible contained 
nearly  as deep draughts upon human     
credulity as were made by the           
,demonologists1  against whose doctrine 
they protested4 ,this error had a doubly
 bad  effect1 both as degrading the     
immediate department in which it        
occurred1  and as affording a protection
 for falsehood in other branches of     
science4 ,the champions who1 in their   
own province1 were obliged by the       
imperfect knowledge of the times to     
admit much that was mystical and        
inexplicable--those who opined1 with    
,bacon1 that warts could be cured by    
sympathy--who thought1 with ,napier1    
that hidden treasures could be          
discovered by the mathematics--who      

salved the weapon instead of the  wound1
 and detected murders as well as springs
 of water by the  divining-rod1 could   
not consistently use1 to confute the    
believers in  witches1 an argument      
turning on the impossible or the        
incredible4    ,such were the obstacles 
arising from the vanity of philosophers 
and the  imperfection of their science1 
which suspended the strength of their   
appeal to reason and common sense       
against the condemning of wretches to  a
 cruel death on account of crimes which 
the nature of things rendered  in modern
 times totally impossible4 ,we cannot   
doubt that they suffered  considerably  
in the contest1 which was carried on    
with much anger and  malevolence2 but   
the good seed which they had sown       
remained uncorrupted  in the soil1 to   
bear fruit so soon as the circumstances 
should be  altered which at first       
impeded its growth4 ,in the next letter 
,i shall  take a view of the causes     
which helped to remove these            

impediments1 in  addition1 it must      
always be remembered1 to the general    
increase of  knowledge and improvement  
of experimental philosophy4             
,,letter ,,vii4           ,penal ,laws  
unpopular when rigidly                  
exercised--,prosecution of ,witches     
placed in the hand of ,special          
,commissioners1 ad                      
inquirendum--,prosecution for           
,witchcraft not frequent in the ,elder  
,period of the ,roman ,empire--,nor in  
the ,middle ,ages--,some ,cases took    
place1 however--,the ,maid of           
,orleans--,the ,duchess of              
,gloucester--,richard the ,third's      
,charge against the ,relations of the   
,queen ,dowager--,but ,prosecutions     
against ,sorcerers became more common   
in the end of the ,fourteenth           
,century--,usually united with the      
,charge      of ,heresy--,monstrelet's  
,account of the ,persecution against the
      ,waldenses1 under pretext of      
,witchcraft--,florimond's ,testimony    

concerning the ,increase of ,witches in 
his own ,time--,bull of ,pope           
,innocent ,,viii4--,various             
,prosecutions in ,foreign ,countries    
under this      severe                  
,law--,prosecutions in ,labourt by the  
,inquisitor ,de ,lancre and      his    
,colleague--,lycanthropy--,witches in   
,spain--,in ,sweden--and                
particularly those ,apprehended at      
,mohra4      ,penal laws1 like those of 
the ,middle ,ages1 denounced against    
witchcraft1  may be at first hailed with
 unanimous acquiescence and approbation1
 but  are uniformly found to disgust and
 offend at least the more sensible  part
 of the public when the punishments     
become frequent and are  relentlessly   
inflicted4 ,those against treason are no
 exception4 ,each  reflecting government
 will do well to shorten that melancholy
 reign of  terror which perhaps must    
necessarily follow on the discovery of a
 plot  or the defeat of an insurrection4
 ,they ought not1 either in humanity or 

policy1 to wait till the voice of the   
nation calls to them1 as ,mecnas  to    
,augustus1 ,surge tandem carnifex6      
,it is accordingly remarkable1 in       
different countries1 how often at some  
particular period of their history there
 occurred an epidemic of terror  of     
witches1 which1 as fear is always cruel 
and credulous1 glutted the  public with 
seas of innocent blood2 and how         
uniformly men loathed the  gore after   
having swallowed it1 and by a reaction  
natural to the human  mind desired1 in  
prudence1 to take away or restrict those
 laws which had  been the source of     
carnage1 in order that their posterity  
might neither  have the will nor the    
means to enter into similar excesses4   
,a short review of foreign countries1   
before we come to notice the  ,british  
,islands and their ,colonies1 will prove
 the truth of this  statement4 ,in      
,catholic countries on the ,continent1  
the various kingdoms  adopted readily   
that part of the civil law1 already     

mentioned1 which  denounces sorcerers   
and witches as rebels to ,god1 and      
authors of  sedition in the empire4 ,but
 being considered as obnoxious equally  
to the  canon and civil law1            
,commissions of ,inquisition were       
especially  empowered to weed out of the
 land the witches and those who had     
intercourse with familiar spirits1 or in
 any other respect fell under  the ban  
of the ,church1 as well as the heretics 
who promulgated or  adhered to false    
doctrine4 ,special warrants were thus   
granted from time  to time in behalf of 
such inquisitors1 authorizing them to   
visit those  provinces of ,germany1     
,france1 or ,italy where any report     
concerning  witches or sorcery had      
alarmed the public mind2 and those      
,commissioners1  proud of the trust     
reposed in them1 thought it becoming to 
use the  utmost exertions on their part1
 that the subtlety of the examinations1 
and the severity of the tortures they   
inflicted1 might wring the truth  out of

 all suspected persons1 until they      
rendered the province in which  they    
exercised their jurisdiction a desert   
from which the inhabitants  fled4 ,it   
would be impossible to give credit to   
the extent of this  delusion1 had not   
some of the inquisitors themselves been 
reporters of  their own judicial        
exploits3 the same hand which subscribed
 the sentence  has recorded the         
execution4    ,in the earlier period of 
the ,church of ,rome witchcraft is      
frequently  alluded to1 and a capital   
punishment assigned to those who were   
supposed  to have accomplished by       
sorcery the death of others1 or to have 
attempted1 by false prophecies or       
otherwise1 under pretext of consulting  
with the spiritual world1 to make       
innovation in the state4 ,but no        
general denunciation against witchcraft 
itself1 as a league with the  ,enemy of 
,man1 or desertion of the ,deity1 and a 
crime sui generis1  appears to have been
 so acted upon1 until the later period  

of the  sixteenth century1 when the     
,papal system had attained its highest  
pitch  of power and of corruption4 ,the 
influence of the ,churchmen was in early
  times secure1 and they rather         
endeavoured1 by the fabrication of false
  miracles1 to prolong the blind        
veneration of the people1 than to vex   
others and weary themselves by secret   
investigations into dubious and         
mystical trespasses1 in which probably  
the higher and better instructed        
members of the clerical order put as    
little faith at that time as they  do   
now4 ,did there remain a mineral        
fountain1 respected for the cures  which
 it had wrought1 a huge oak-tree1 or    
venerated mount1 which beauty  of       
situation had recommended to traditional
 respect1 the fathers of the  ,roman    
,church were in policy reluctant to     
abandon such impressive spots1  or to   
represent them as exclusively the       
rendezvous of witches or of evil        
spirits4 ,on the contrary1 by assigning 

the virtues of the spring or the  beauty
 of the tree to the guardianship of some
 saint1 they acquired1 as  it were1 for 
the defence of their own doctrine1 a    
frontier fortress  which they wrested   
from the enemy1 and which it was at     
least needless to  dismantle1 if it     
could be conveniently garrisoned and    
defended4 ,thus the  ,church secured    
possession of many beautiful pieces of  
scenery1 as ,mr4  ,whitfield is said to 
have grudged to the devil the monopoly  
of all the  fine tunes4    ,it is true  
that this policy was not uniformly      
observed4 ,the story of the  celebrated 
,jeanne d',arc1 called the ,maid of     
,orleans1 preserves the  memory of such 
a custom1 which was in that case turned 
to the prejudice  of the poor woman who 
observed it4    ,it is well known that  
this unfortunate female fell into the   
hands of the  ,english1 after having1 by
 her courage and enthusiasm manifested  
on many  important occasions1 revived   
the drooping courage of the ,french1 and

  inspired them with the hope of once   
more freeing their country4 ,the        
,english vulgar regarded her as a       
sorceress--the ,french as an inspired   
heroine2 while the wise on both sides   
considered her as neither the one  nor  
the other1 but a tool used by the       
celebrated ,dunois to play the part     
which he assigned her4 ,the ,duke of    
,bedford1 when the ill-starred ,jeanne  
fell into his hands1 took away her life 
in order to stigmatize her  memory with 
sorcery and to destroy the reputation   
she had acquired among  the ,french4    
,the mean recurrence to such a charge   
against such a person  had no more      
success than it deserved1 although      
,jeanne was condemned both  by the      
,parliament of ,bordeux and the         
,university of ,paris4 ,her indictment  
accused her of having frequented an     
ancient oak-tree1 and a fountain        
arising under it1 called the ,fated or  
,fairy ,oak of ,bourlemont4 ,here she   
was stated to have repaired during the  

hours of divine service1 dancing1       
skipping1 and making gestures1 around   
the tree and fountain1 and hanging  on  
the branches chaplets and garlands of   
flowers1 gathered for the  purpose1     
reviving1 doubtless1 the obsolete       
idolatry which in ancient  times had    
been rendered on the same spot to the   
,genius ,loci4 ,the  charmed sword and  
blessed banner1 which she had           
represented as signs of  her celestial  
mission1 were in this hostile charge    
against her described  as enchanted     
implements1 designed by the fiends and  
fairies whom she  worshipped to         
accomplish her temporary success4 ,the  
death of the  innocent1 high-minded1 and
 perhaps amiable enthusiast1 was not1 we
 are  sorry to say1 a sacrifice to a    
superstitious fear of witchcraft1 but a 
cruel instance of wicked policy mingled 
with national jealousy and  hatred4     
,to the same cause1 about the same      
period1 we may impute the trial of the  
,duchess of ,gloucester1 wife of the    

good ,duke ,humphrey1 accused of        
consulting witches concerning the mode  
of compassing the death of her          
husband's nephew1 ,henry ,,vi4 ,the     
,duchess was condemned to do penance1   
and  thereafter banished to the ,isle of
 ,man1 while several of her accomplices 
died in prison or were executed4 ,but in
 this instance also the alleged         
witchcraft was only the ostensible cause
 of a procedure which had its  real     
source in the deep hatred between the   
,duke of ,gloucester and  ,cardinal     
,beaufort1 his half-brother4 ,the same  
pretext was used by  ,richard ,,iii4    
when he brought the charge of sorcery   
against the ,queen  ,dowager1 ,jane     
,shore1 and the queen's kinsmen2 and yet
 again was by that  unscrupulous prince 
directed against ,morton1 afterwards    
,archbishop of  ,canterbury1 and other  
adherents of the ,earl of ,richmond4    
,the accusation  in both cases was only 
chosen as a charge easily made and      
difficult to  be eluded or repelled4    

,but in the meanwhile1 as the accusation
 of witchcraft thus afforded to  tyranny
 or policy the ready means of assailing 
persons whom it might not  have been    
possible to convict of any other crime1 
the aspersion itself  was gradually     
considered with increase of terror as   
spreading wider and  becoming more      
contagious4 ,so early as the year #acih 
the ,university of  ,paris1 in laying   
down rules for the judicial prosecuting 
of witches1  express their regret that  
the crime was growing more frequent than
 in  any former age4 ,the more severe   
enquiries and frequent punishments by   
which the judges endeavoured to check   
the progress of this impious  practice  
seem to have increased the disease1 as  
indeed it has been  always remarked that
 those morbid affections of mind which  
depend on the  imagination are sure to  
become more common in proportion as     
public  attention is fastened on stories
 connected with their display4    ,in   
the same century schisms arising from   

different causes greatly  alarmed the   
,church of ,rome4 ,the universal spirit 
of enquiry which was  now afloat1 taking
 a different direction in different     
countries1 had in  almost all of them   
stirred up a sceptical dissatisfaction  
with the  dogmas of the ,church--such   
views being rendered more credible to   
the  poorer classes through the         
corruption of manners among the clergy1 
too  many of whom wealth and ease had   
caused to neglect that course of        
morality which best recommends religious
 doctrine4 ,in almost every  nation in  
,europe there lurked in the crowded     
cities1 or the wild  solitude of the    
country1 sects who agreed chiefly in    
their animosity to  the supremacy of    
,rome and their desire to cast off her  
domination4 ,the  ,waldenses and        
,albigenses were parties existing in    
great numbers through  the south of     
,france4 ,the ,romanists became         
extremely desirous to combine  the      
doctrine of the heretics with           

witchcraft1 which1 according to their   
account1 abounded especially where the  
,protestants were most numerous2  and1  
the bitterness increasing1 they scrupled
 not to throw the charge of  sorcery1 as
 a matter of course1 upon those who     
dissented from the  ,catholic standard  
of faith4 ,the ,jesuit ,delrio alleges  
several reasons  for the affinity which 
he considers as existing between the    
,protestant  and the sorcerer2 he       
accuses the former of embracing the     
opinion of  ,wierus and other defenders 
of the devil 7as he calls all who oppose
 his  own opinions concerning           
witchcraft71 thus fortifying the kingdom
 of  ,satan against that of the         
,church4#dg    ,footnote #dg3 ,delrio1  
,de ,magia4 ,see the ,preface4    ,a    
remarkable passage in ,monstrelet puts  
in a clear view the point aimed  at by  
the ,catholics in thus confusing and    
blending the doctrines of  heresy and   
the practice of witchcraft1 and how a   
meeting of inoffensive  ,protestants    

could be cunningly identified with a    
,sabbath of hags and  fiends4    ,in    
this year 7#adei71 in the town of ,arras
 and county of ,artois1 arose1  through 
a terrible and melancholy chance1 an    
opinion called1 ,i know not  why1 the   
,religion of ,vaudoisie4 ,this sect     
consisted1 it is said1 of  certain      
persons1 both men and women1 who1 under 
cloud of night1 by the  power of the    
devil1 repaired to some solitary spot1  
amid woods and  deserts1 where the devil
 appeared before them in a human        
form--save that  his visage is never    
perfectly visible to them--read to the  
assembly a  book of his ordinances1     
informing them how he would be obeyed2  
distributed a very little money and a   
plentiful meal1 which was  concluded by 
a scene of general profligacy2 after    
which each one of the  party was        
conveyed home to her or his own         
habitation4    ,on accusations of access
 to such acts of madness1 continues     
,monstrelet1 several creditable persons 

of the town of ,arras were seized  and  
imprisoned along with some foolish women
 and persons of little  consequence4    
,these were so horribly tortured that   
some of them admitted  the truth of the 
whole accusations1 and said1 besides1   
that they had  seen and recognised in   
their nocturnal assembly many persons of
 rank1  prelates1 seigneurs1 and        
governors of bailliages and cities1     
being such  names as the examinators had
 suggested to the persons examined1     
while  they constrained them by torture 
to impeach the persons to whom they     
belonged4 ,several of those who had been
 thus informed against were  arrested1  
thrown into prison1 and tortured for so 
long a time that they  also were obliged
 to confess what was charged against    
them4 ,after this  those of mean        
condition were executed and inhumanly   
burnt1 while the  richer and more       
powerful of the accused ransomed        
themselves by sums of  money1 to avoid  
the punishment and the shame attending  

it4 ,many even of  those also confessed 
being persuaded to take that course by  
the  interrogators1 who promised them   
indemnity for life and fortune4 ,some   
there were1 of a truth1 who suffered    
with marvellous patience and  constancy 
the torments inflicted on them1 and     
would confess nothing  imputed to their 
charge2 but they1 too1 had to give large
 sums to the  judges1 who exacted that  
such of them as1 notwithstanding their  
mishandling1 were still able to move1   
should banish themselves from that  part
 of the country4 ,monstrelet winds up   
this shocking narrative by  informing us
 that it ought not to be concealed that 
the whole  accusation was a stratagem of
 wicked men for their own covetous      
purposes1 and in order1 by these false  
accusations and forced  confessions1 to 
destroy the life1 fame1 and fortune of  
wealthy persons4    ,delrio himself     
confesses that ,franciscus ,balduinus   
gives an account of  the pretended      
punishment1 but real persecution1 of    

these ,waldenses1 in  similar terms with
 ,monstrelet1 whose suspicions are      
distinctly spoken  out1 and adds that   
the ,parliament of ,paris1 having heard 
the affair by  appeal1 had declared the 
sentence illegal and the judges         
iniquitous1 by  an arrt dated #bjth     
,may1 #adia4 ,the ,jesuit ,delrio quotes
 the passage1 but  adheres with         
lingering reluctance to the truth of the
 accusation4 ,the  ,waldenses 7of whom  
the ,albigenses are a species7 were1 he 
says1 never  free from the most wretched
 excess of fascination2 and finally1    
though  he allows the conduct of the    
judges to have been most odious1 he     
cannot  prevail on himself to acquit the
 parties charged by such interested     
accusers with horrors which should      
hardly have been found proved even  upon
 the most distinct evidence4 ,he appeals
 on this occasion to  ,florimond's work 
on ,antichrist4 ,the introduction of    
that work deserves  to be quoted1 as    
strongly illustrative of the condition  

to which the  country was reduced1 and  
calculated to make an impression the    
very  reverse probably of that which the
 writer would have desired3--    ,all   
those who have afforded us some signs of
 the approach of ,antichrist  agree that
 the increase of sorcery and witchcraft 
is to distinguish the  melancholy period
 of his advent2 and was ever age so     
afflicted with them  as ours8 ,the seats
 destined for criminals before our      
judicatories are  blackened with persons
 accused of this guilt4 ,there are not  
judges  enough to try them4 ,our        
dungeons are gorged with them4 ,no day  
passes  that we do not render our       
tribunals bloody by the dooms which we  
pronounce1 or in which we do not return 
to our homes discountenanced and        
terrified at the horrible contents of   
the confessions which it has been  our  
duty to hear4 ,and the devil is         
accounted so good a master that we      
cannot commit so great a number of his  
slaves to the flames but what  there    

shall arise from their ashes a number   
sufficient to supply their  place4#dh   
,footnote #dh3 ,florimond1 ,concerning  
the ,antichrist1 cap4 #g1 n4 #e1  quoted
 by ,delrio1 ,de ,magia1 p4 #hbj4       
,this last statement1 by which it       
appears that the most active and        
unsparing inquisition was taking place1 
corresponds with the historical  notices
 of repeated persecutions upon this     
dreadful charge of sorcery4 ,a  bull of 
,pope ,innocent ,,viii4 rang the tocsin 
against this formidable  crime1 and set 
forth in the most dismal colours the    
guilt1 while it  stimulated the         
inquisitors to the unsparing discharge  
of their duty in  searching out and     
punishing the guilty4 ,it is come to our
 ears1 says  the bull1 that numbers of  
both sexes do not avoid to have         
intercourse  with the infernal fiends1  
and that by their sorceries they afflict
 both  man and beast2 that they blight  
the marriage-bed1 destroy the births of 
women1 and the increase of cattle2 they 

blast the corn on the ground1  the      
grapes of the vineyard1 the fruits of   
the trees1 the grass and herbs  of the  
field4 ,for which reasons the           
inquisitors were armed with the         
apostolic power1 and called upon to     
convict1 imprison1 and punish1 and  so  
forth4    ,dreadful were the            
consequences of this bull all over the  
,continent1  especially in ,italy1      
,germany1 and ,france1#di ,about #adhe  
,cumanus burnt  as witches forty-one    
poor women in one year in the county of 
,burlia4 ,in  the ensuing years he      
continued the prosecution with such     
unremitting  zeal that many fled from   
the country4    ,footnote #di3 ,dr4     
,hutchinson quotes ,h4 ,institor1 #aje1 
#afa4    ,alciatus states that an       
inquisitor1 about the same period1 burnt
 an  hundred sorcerers in ,piedmont1 and
 persevered in his inquiries till  human
 patience was exhausted1 and the people 
arose and drove him out of  the country1
 after which the jurisdiction was       

deferred to the  archbishop4 ,that      
prelate consulted ,alciatus himself1 who
 had just then  obtained his doctor's   
degree in civil law1 to which he was    
afterwards an  honour4 ,a number of     
unfortunate wretches were brought for   
judgment1  fitter1 according to the     
civilian's opinion1 for a course of     
hellebore  than for the stake4 ,some    
were accused of having dishonoured the  
crucifix  and denied their salvation2   
others of having absconded to keep the  
,devil's ,sabbath1 in spite of bolts and
 bars2 others of having merely  joined  
in the choral dances around the witches'
 tree of rendezvous4  ,several of their 
husbands and relatives swore that they  
were in bed and  asleep during these    
pretended excursions4 ,alciatus         
recommended gentle  and temperate       
measures2 and the minds of the country  
became at length  composed4#ej          
,footnote #ej3 ,alciat4 ,parerg4 ,juris1
 lib4 viii4 chap4 #bb4    ,in #adhh1 the
 country four leagues around ,constance 

was laid waste by  lightning and        
tempest1 and two women being1 by fair   
means or foul1 made  to confess         
themselves guilty as the cause of the   
devastation1 suffered  death4    ,about 
#aeae1 #ejj persons were executed at    
,geneva1 under the character of         
,protestant witches1 from which we may  
suppose many suffered for  heresy4      
,forty-eight witches were burnt at      
,ravensburgh within four years1  as     
,hutchison reports1 on the authority of 
,mengho1 the author of the  ,malleus    
,malleficarum4 ,in ,lorraine the learned
 inquisitor1 ,remigius1  boasts that he 
put to death #ijj people in fifteen     
years4 ,as many were  banished from that
 country1 so that whole towns were on   
the point of  becoming desolate4 ,in    
#aebd1 #a1jjj persons were put to death 
in one year  at ,como1 in ,italy1 and   
about #ajj every year after for several 
years4#ea    ,footnote #ea3 ,bart4 de   
,spina1 de ,strigilibus4    ,in the     
beginning of the next century the       

persecution of witches broke  out in    
,france with a fury which was hardly    
conceivable1 and multitudes  were burnt 
amid that gay and lively people4 ,some  
notion of the extreme  prejudice of     
their judges may be drawn from the words
 of one of the  inquisitors themselves4 
,pierre de ,lancre1 royal councillor in 
the  ,parliament of ,bourdeaux1 with    
whom the ,president ,espaignel was      
joined in  a commission to enquire into 
certain acts of sorcery1 reported to    
have  been committed in ,labourt and its
 neighbourhood1 at the foot of the      
,pyrenees1 about the month of ,may1     
#afai4 ,a few extracts from the preface 
will best evince the state of mind in   
which he proceeded to the  discharge of 
his commission4    ,his story assumes   
the form of a narrative of a direct war 
between ,satan  on the one side and the 
,royal ,commissioners on the other1     
because1  says ,councillor de ,lancre1  
with self-complaisance1 nothing is so   
calculated to strike terror into the    

fiend and his dominions as a  commission
 with such plenary powers4    ,at first1
 ,satan endeavoured to supply his       
vassals who were brought  before the    
judges with strength to support the     
examinations1 so that if1  by           
intermission of the torture1 the        
wretches should fall into a doze1  they 
declared1 when they were recalled from  
it to the question1 that the  profound  
stupor had something of ,paradise in it1
 being gilded1 said  the judge1 with the
 immediate presence of the devil2       
though1 in all  probability1 it rather  
derived its charms from the natural     
comparison  between the insensibility of
 exhaustion and the previous agony of   
acute  torture4 ,the judges took care   
that the fiend seldom obtained any      
advantage in the matter by refusing     
their victims1 in most cases1 any       
interval of rest or sleep4 ,satan then  
proceeded1 in the way of direct         
defiance1 to stop the mouth of the      
accused openly1 and by mere force1  with

 something like a visible obstruction in
 their throat4  ,notwithstanding this1  
to put the devil to shame1 some of the  
accused  found means1 in spite of him1  
to confess and be hanged1 or rather     
burnt4  ,the fiend lost much credit by  
his failure on this occasion4 ,before   
the  formidable ,commissioners arrived1 
he had held his cour plnire before  the 
gates of ,bourdeaux1 and in the square  
of the palace of ,galienne1  whereas he 
was now insulted publicly by his own    
vassals1 and in the  midst of his       
festival of the ,sabbath the children   
and relations of the  witches who had   
suffered not sticking to say to him1    
,out upon you6 ,your  promise was that  
our mothers who were prisoners should   
not die2 and look  how you have kept    
your word with us6 ,they have been      
burnt1 and are a  heap of ashes4 ,to    
appease this mutiny ,satan had two      
evasions4 ,he  produced illusory fires1 
and encouraged the mutinous to walk     
through  them1 assuring them that the   

judicial pile was as frigid and         
inoffensive  as those which he exhibited
 to them4 ,again1 taking his refuge in  
lies1  of which he is well known to be  
the father1 he stoutly affirmed that    
their parents1 who seemed to have       
suffered1 were safe in a foreign        
country1 and that if their children     
would call on them they would  receive  
an answer4 ,they made the invocation    
accordingly1 and ,satan  answered each  
of them in a tone which resembled the   
voice of the  lamented parent almost as 
successfully as ,monsieur ,alexandra    
could have  done4    ,proceeding to a   
yet more close attack1 the              
,commissioners1 on the eve of  one of   
the ,fiend's ,sabbaths1 placed the      
gibbet on which they executed  their    
victims just on the spot where ,satan's 
gilded chair was usually  stationed4    
,the devil was much offended at such an 
affront1 and yet had  so little power in
 the matter that he could only express  
his resentment  by threats that he would

 hang ,messieurs ,d',amon and           
,d',urtubbe1 gentlemen  who had         
solicited and promoted the issuing of   
the ,commission1 and would  also burn   
the ,commissioners themselves in their  
own fire4 ,we regret to  say that ,satan
 was unable to execute either of these  
laudable  resolutions4 ,ashamed of his  
excuses1 he abandoned for three or four 
sittings his attendance on the          
,sabbaths1 sending as his representative
  an imp of subordinate account1 and in 
whom no one reposed confidence4  ,when  
he took courage again to face his       
parliament1 the ,arch-fiend  covered his
 defection by assuring them that he had 
been engaged in a  lawsuit with the     
,deity1 which he had gained with costs1 
and that six  score of infant children  
were to be delivered up to him in name  
of  damages1 and the witches were       
directed to procure such victims        
accordingly4 ,after this grand fiction  
he confined himself to the petty        
vengeance of impeding the access of     

confessors to the condemned1 which  was 
the more easy as few of them could speak
 the ,basque language4 ,i have  no time 
to detail the ingenious method by which 
the learned ,councillor  de ,lancre     
explains why the district of ,labourt   
should be particularly  exposed to the  
pest of sorcery4 ,the chief reason seems
 to be that it is  a mountainous1 a     
sterile1 and a border country1 where the
 men are all  fishers and the women     
smoke tobacco and wear short petticoats4
    ,to a person who1 in this           
presumptuous1 trifling1 and conceited   
spirit1  has composed a quarto volume   
full of the greatest absurdities and    
grossest obscenities ever impressed on  
paper1 it was the pleasure of the  most 
,christian ,monarch to consign the most 
absolute power which could be  exercised
 on these poor people2 and he might with
 as much prudence have  turned a        
ravenous wolf upon an undefended flock1 
of whom the animal was  the natural     
enemy1 as they were his natural prey4   

,the priest1 as well as  the ignorant   
peasant1 fell under the suspicion of    
this fell ,commission2  and ,de ,lancre 
writes1 with much complacency1 that the 
accused were  brought to trial to the   
number of forty in one day--with what   
chance of  escape1 when the judges were 
blinded with prejudice1 and could only  
hear  the evidence and the defence      
through the medium of an interpreter1   
the  understanding of the reader may    
easily anticipate4    ,among other gross
 transgressions of the most ordinary    
rules1 it may be  remarked that the     
accused1 in what their judges called    
confessions1  contradicted each other at
 every turn respecting the description  
of the  ,domdaniel in which they        
pretended to have been assembled1 and   
the fiend  who presided there4 ,all     
spoke to a sort of gilded throne2 but   
some saw a  hideous wild he-goat seated 
there2 some a man disfigured and        
twisted1 as  suffering torture2 some1   
with better taste1 beheld a huge        

indistinct  form1 resembling one of     
those mutilated trunks of trees found in
 ancient  forests4 ,but ,de ,lancre was 
no ,daniel come to judgment1 and the    
discrepancy of evidence1 which saved the
 life and fame of ,susannah1 made  no   
impression in favour of the sorcerers of
 ,labourt4    ,instances occur in ,de   
,lancre's book of the trial and         
condemnation of  persons accused of the 
crime of lycanthropy1 a superstition    
which was  chiefly current in ,france1  
but was known in other countries1 and is
 the  subject of great debate between   
,wier1 ,naud1 ,scot1 on the one hand1   
and  their demonological adversaries on 
the other4 ,the idea1 said the one      
party1 was that a human being had the   
power1 by sorcery1 of transforming      
himself into the shape of a wolf1 and in
 that capacity1 being seized  with a    
species of fury1 he rushed out and made 
havoc among the flocks1  slaying and    
wasting1 like the animal whom he        
represented1 far more than  he could    

devour4 ,the more incredulous reasoners 
would not allow of a  real              
transformation1 whether with or without 
the enchanted hide of a  wolf1 which in 
some cases was supposed to aid the      
metamorphosis1 and  contended that      
lycanthropy only subsisted as a woful   
species of disease1  a melancholy state 
of mind1 broken with occasional fits of 
insanity1 in  which the patient imagined
 that he committed the ravages of which 
he was  accused4 ,such a person1 a mere 
youth1 was tried at ,besanon1 who gave  
himself out for a servant1 or yeoman    
pricker1 of the ,lord of the            
,forest--so he called his superior--who 
was judged to be the devil4 ,he  was1 by
 his master's power1 transformed into   
the likeness and performed  the usual   
functions of a wolf1 and was attended in
 his course by one  larger1 which he    
supposed the ,lord of the ,forest       
himself4 ,these wolves1  he said1       
ravaged the flocks1 and throttled the   
dogs which stood in their  defence4 ,if 

either had not seen the other1 he       
howled1 after the manner  of the animal1
 to call his comrade to his share of the
 prey2 if he did  not come upon this    
signal1 he proceeded to bury it the best
 way he  could4    ,such was the general
 persecution under ,messieurs ,espiagnel
 and ,de  ,lancre4 ,many similar scenes 
occurred in ,france1 till the edict of  
,louis  ,,xiv4 discharging all future   
prosecutions for witchcraft1 after which
 the  crime itself was heard of no      
more4#eb    ,footnote #eb3 ,the reader  
may sup full on such wild horrors in the
  causes clbres4    ,while the spirit of
 superstition was working such horrors  
in ,france1 it  was not1 we may believe1
 more idle in other countries of        
,europe4 ,in  ,spain1 particularly1 long
 the residence of the ,moors1 a people  
putting  deep faith in all the          
day-dreams of witchcraft1 good and evil 
genii1  spells and talismans1 the ardent
 and devotional temper of the old       
,christians dictated a severe research  

after sorcerers as well as  heretics1   
and relapsed ,jews or ,mahommedans4 ,in 
former times1 during the  subsistence of
 the ,moorish kingdoms in ,spain1 a     
school was supposed to  be kept open in 
,toboso for the study1 it is said1 of   
magic1 but more  likely of chemistry1   
algebra1 and other sciences1 which1     
altogether  mistaken by the ignorant and
 vulgar1 and imperfectly understood even
 by  those who studied them1 were       
supposed to be allied to necromancy1 or 
at  least to natural magic4 ,it was1 of 
course1 the business of the             
,inquisition to purify whatever such    
pursuits had left of suspicious         
,catholicism1 and their labours cost as 
much blood on accusations of  witchcraft
 and magic as for heresy and relapse4   
,even the colder nations of ,europe were
 subject to the same epidemic  terror   
for witchcraft1 and a specimen of it was
 exhibited in the sober  and rational   
country of ,sweden about the middle of  
last century1 an  account of which1     

being translated into ,english by a     
respectable  clergyman1 ,doctor         
,horneck1 excited general surprise how a
 whole people  could be imposed upon to 
the degree of shedding much blood1 and  
committing great cruelty and injustice1 
on account of the idle  falsehoods      
propagated by a crew of lying children1 
who in this case were  both actors and  
witnesses4    ,the melancholy truth that
 the human heart is deceitful above all 
things1 and desperately wicked1 is by   
nothing proved so strongly as by  the   
imperfect sense displayed by children of
 the sanctity of moral  truth4 ,both the
 gentlemen and the mass of the people1  
as they advance in  years1 learn to     
despise and avoid falsehood2 the former 
out of pride1  and from a remaining     
feeling1 derived from the days of       
chivalry1 that  the character of a liar 
is a deadly stain on their honour2 the  
other1  from some general reflection    
upon the necessity of preserving a      
character for integrity in the course of

 life1 and a sense of the truth  of the 
common adage1 that honesty is the best  
policy4 ,but these are  acquired habits 
of thinking4 ,the child has no natural  
love of truth1 as  is experienced by all
 who have the least acquaintance with   
early youth4  ,if they are charged with 
a fault while they can hardly speak1 the
 first  words they stammer forth are a  
falsehood to excuse it4 ,nor is this    
all3  the temptation of attracting      
attention1 the pleasure of enjoying     
importance1 the desire to escape from an
 unpleasing task1 or accomplish  a      
holiday1 will at any time overcome the  
sentiment of truth1 so weak is  it      
within them4 ,hence thieves and         
housebreakers1 from a surprisingly      
early period1 find means of rendering   
children useful in their mystery2  nor  
are such acolytes found to evade justice
 with less dexterity than  the more     
advanced rogues4 ,where a number of them
 are concerned in the  same mischief1   
there is something resembling virtue in 

the fidelity with  which the common     
secret is preserved4 ,children1 under   
the usual age of  their being admitted  
to give evidence1 were necessarily often
 examined  in witch trials2 and it is   
terrible to see how often the little    
impostors1 from spite or in mere gaiety 
of spirit1 have by their art and        
perseverance made shipwreck of men's    
lives4 ,but it would be hard to         
discover a case which1 supported        
exclusively by the evidence of children 
7the confessions under torture          
excepted71 and obviously existing only  
in  the young witnesses' own            
imagination1 has been attended with such
  serious consequences1 or given cause  
to so extensive and fatal a  delusion1  
as that which occurred in ,sweden4      
,the scene was the ,swedish village of  
,mohra1 in the province of ,elfland1    
which district had probably its name    
from some remnant of ancient            
superstition4 ,the delusion had come to 
a great height ere it reached the  ears 

of government1 when1 as was the general 
procedure1 ,royal  ,commissioners were  
sent down1 men well fitted for the duty 
entrusted to  them2 that is1 with ears  
open to receive the incredibilities with
 which  they were to be crammed1 and    
hearts hardened against every degree of 
compassion to the accused4 ,the         
complaints of the common people1 backed 
by some persons of better condition1    
were that a number of persons1  renowned
 as witches1 had drawn several hundred  
children of all classes  under the      
devil's authority4 ,they demanded1      
therefore1 the punishment of  these     
agents of hell1 reminding the judges    
that the province had been  clear of    
witches since the burning of some on a  
former occasion4 ,the  accused were     
numerous1 so many as threescore and ten 
witches and  sorcerers being seized in  
the village of ,mohra2 three-and-twenty 
confessed their crimes1 and were sent to
 ,faluna1 where most of them were       
executed4 ,fifteen of the children were 

also led to death4 ,six-and-thirty  of  
those who were young were forced to run 
the gauntlet1 as it is  called1 and     
were1 besides1 lashed weekly at the     
church doors for a whole  year4 ,twenty 
of the youngest were condemned to the   
same discipline for  three days only4   
,the process seems to have consisted in 
confronting the children with the       
witches1 and hearing the extraordinary  
story which the former insisted  upon   
maintaining4 ,the children1 to the      
number of three hundred1 were  found    
more or less perfect in a tale as full  
of impossible absurdities  as ever was  
told around a nursery fire4 ,their      
confession ran thus3--    ,they were    
taught by the witches to go to a cross  
way1 and with certain  ceremonies to    
invoke the devil by the name of         
,antecessor1 begging him to  carry them 
off to ,blockula1 meaning1 perhaps1 the 
,brockenberg1 in the  ,hartz forest1 a  
mountain infamous for being the common  
scene of witches'  meetings1 and to     

which ,goethe represents the spirit     
,mephistopheles as  conducting his pupil
 ,faustus4 ,the devil courteously       
appeared at the call  of the children in
 various forms1 but chiefly as a mad    
,merry-,andrew1  with a grey coat1 red  
and blue stockings1 a red beard1 a      
high-crowned  hat1 with linen of various
 colours wrapt round it1 and garters of 
peculiar length4 ,he set each child on  
some beast of his providing1 and        
anointed them with a certain unguent    
composed of the scrapings of altars  and
 the filings of church clocks4 ,there is
 here a discrepancy of  evidence which  
in another court would have cast the    
whole4 ,most of the  children considered
 their journey to be corporeal and      
actual4 ,some  supposed1 however1 that  
their strength or spirit only travelled 
with the  fiend1 and that their body    
remained behind4 ,very few adopted this 
last  hypothesis1 though the parents    
unanimously bore witness that the bodies
  of the children remained in bed1 and  

could not be awakened out of a deep     
sleep1 though they shook them for the   
purpose of awakening them4 ,so  strong  
was1 nevertheless1 the belief of nurses 
and mothers in their  actual            
transportation1 that a sensible         
clergyman1 mentioned in the  preface1   
who had resolved he would watch his son 
the whole night and see  what hag or    
fiend would take him from his arms1 had 
the utmost  difficulty1 notwithstanding1
 in convincing his mother that the child
 had  not been transported to ,blockula 
during the very night he held him in    
his embrace4    ,the learned translator 
candidly allows1 out of so great a      
multitude as  were accused1 condemned1  
and executed1 there might be some who   
suffered  unjustly1 and owed their death
 more to the malice of their enemies    
than  to their skill in the black art1  
,i will readily admit4 ,nor will ,i     
deny1  he continues1 but that when the  
news of these transactions and          
accounts1 how the children bewitched fel

 into fits and strange unusual          
postures1 spread abroad in the kingdom1 
some fearful and credulous  people1 if  
they saw their children any way         
disordered1 might think they  were      
bewitched or ready to be carried away by
 imps4#ec ,the learned  gentleman here  
stops short in a train of reasoning1    
which1 followed out1  would have        
deprived the world of the benefit of his
 translation4 ,for if  it was possible  
that some of these unfortunate persons  
fell a sacrifice  to the malice of their
 neighbours or the prejudices of        
witnesses1 as he  seems ready to grant1 
is it not more reasonable to believe    
that the  whole of the accused were     
convicted on similar grounds1 than to   
allow1  as truth1 the slightest part of 
the gross and vulgar impossibilities    
upon which alone their execution can be 
justified8    ,footnote #ec3            
,translator's preface to ,horneck's     
,account of what  happened in the       
,kingdom of ,sweden4 ,see appendix to   

,glanville's work4    ,the ,blockula1   
which was the object of their journey1  
was a house having  a fine gate painted 
with divers colours1 with a paddock1 in 
which they  turned the beasts to graze  
which had brought them to such scenes of
  revelry4 ,if human beings had been    
employed they were left slumbering      
against the wall of the house4 ,the plan
 of the devil's palace consisted  of one
 large banqueting apartment and several 
withdrawing-rooms4 ,their  food was     
homely enough1 being broth made of      
coleworts and bacon1 with  bread and    
butter1 and milk and cheese4 ,the same  
acts of wickedness and  profligacy were 
committed at ,blockula which are usually
 supposed to take  place upon the       
devil's ,sabbath elsewhere2 but there   
was this particular1  that the witches  
had sons and daughters by the fiends1   
who were married  together1 and produced
 an offspring of toads and serpents4    
,these confessions being delivered      
before the accused witches1 they at     

first stoutly denied them4 ,at last some
 of them burst into tears1 and          
acquiesced in the horrors imputed to    
them4 ,they said the practice of        
carrying off children had been enlarged 
very lately 7which shows the  whole     
rumours to have arisen recently72 and   
the despairing wretches  confirmed what 
the children said1 with many other      
extravagant  circumstances1 as the mode 
of elongating a goat's back by means of 
a  spit1 on which we care not to be     
particular4 ,it is worth mentioning that
  the devil1 desirous of enjoying his   
own reputation among his subjects1      
pretended at one time to be dead1 and   
was much lamented at ,blockula--but  he 
soon revived again4    ,some attempts   
these witches had made to harm          
individuals on middle  earth1 but with  
little success4 ,one old sorceress1     
indeed1 attempted to  strike a nail1    
given her by the devil for that purpose1
 into the head of  the minister of      
,elfland2 but as the skull was of       

unusual solidity1 the  reverend         
gentleman only felt a headache from her 
efforts4 ,they could not  be persuaded  
to exhibit any of their tricks before   
the ,commissioners1  excusing themselves
 by alleging that their witchcraft had  
left them1 and  that the devil had      
amused them with the vision of a burning
 pit1 having  a hand thrust out of it4  
,the total number who lost their lives  
on this singular occasion was  fourscore
 and four persons1 including fifteen    
children2 and at this  expense of blood 
was extinguished a flame that arose as  
suddenly1 burned  as fiercely1 and      
decayed as rapidly1 as any portent of   
the kind within  the annals of          
superstition4 ,the ,commissioners       
returned to ,court with the  high       
approbation of all concerned2 prayers   
were ordered through the  churches      
weekly1 that ,heaven would be pleased to
 restrain the powers of  the devil1 and 
deliver the poor creatures who hitherto 
had groaned under  it1 as well as the   

innocent children1 who were carried off 
by hundreds  at once4    ,if we could   
ever learn the true explanation of this 
story1 we should  probably find that the
 cry was led by some clever mischievous 
boy1 who  wished to apologise to his    
parents for lying an hour longer in the 
morning by alleging he had been at      
,blockula on the preceding night2 and   
that the desire to be as much           
distinguished as their comrade had      
stimulated the bolder and more acute of 
his companions to the like  falsehoods2 
whilst those of weaker minds assented1  
either from fear of  punishment or the  
force of dreaming over at night the     
horrors which were  dinned into their   
ears all day4 ,those who were ingenuous1
 as it was  termed1 in their            
confessions1 received praise and        
encouragement2 and  those who denied or 
were silent1 and1 as it was considered1 
impenitent1  were sure to bear the      
harder share of the punishment which was
 addressed  to all4 ,it is worth while  

also to observe1 that the smarter       
children  began to improve their        
evidence and add touches to the general 
picture  of ,blockula4 ,some of the     
children talked much of a white angel1  
which  used to forbid them what the     
devil bid them do1 and told them that   
these  doings should not last long4 ,and
 7they added7 this better being would   
place himself sometimes at the door     
betwixt the witches and the  children1  
and when they came to ,blockula he      
pulled the children back1  but the      
witches went in4    ,this additional    
evidence speaks for itself1 and shows   
the whole tale to  be the fiction of the
 children's imagination1 which some of  
them wished  to improve upon4 ,the      
reader may consult ,an ,account of what 
happened in  the ,kingdom of ,sweden in 
the years #affi and #afgj1 and          
afterwards  translated out of ,high     
,dutch into ,english by ,dr4 ,antony    
,horneck1  attached to ,glanville's     
,sadducismus ,triumphatus4 ,the         

translator refers  to the evidence of   
,baron ,sparr1 ,ambassador from the     
,court of ,sweden to  the ,court of     
,england in #afgb2 and that of ,baron   
,lyonberg1 ,envoy  ,extraordinary of the
 same power1 both of whom attest the    
confession and  execution of the        
witches4 ,the ,king of ,sweden himself  
answered the  express inquiries of the  
,duke of ,holstein with marked reserve4 
,his  judges and commissioners1 he said1
 had caused divers men1 women1 and      
children1 to be burnt and executed on   
such pregnant evidence as was  brought  
before them4 ,but whether the actions   
confessed and proved  against them were 
real1 or only the effects of strong     
imagination1 he  was not as yet able to 
determine--a sufficient reason1 perhaps1
 why  punishment should have been at    
least deferred by the interposition of  
the royal authority4    ,we must now    
turn our eyes to ,britain1 in which our 
knowledge as to such  events is         
necessarily more extensive1 and where it

 is in a high degree  more interesting  
to our present purpose4                 
,,letter ,,viii4        ,the ,effects of
 the ,witch ,superstition are to be     
traced in the ,laws      of a           
,kingdom--,usually punished in ,england 
as a ,crime connected with              
,politics--,attempt at ,murder for      
,witchcraft not in itself               
,capital--,trials of ,persons of ,rank  
for ,witchcraft1 connected with         
,state ,crimes--,statutes of ,henry     
,,viii--,how ,witchcraft was regarded by
      the three ,leading ,sects of      
,religion in the ,sixteenth ,century2   
first1      by the ,catholics2 second1  
by the ,calvinists2 third1 by the       
,church of      ,england and            
,lutherans--,impostures unwarily        
countenanced by      individual         
,catholic ,priests1 and also by some    
,puritanic      ,clergymen--,statute of 
#aefb1 and some cases upon it--,case of 
,dugdale--,case of the ,witches of      
,warbois1 and the execution of the      

,family of ,samuel--,that of ,jane      
,wenham1 in which some ,church of       
,england ,clergymen insisted on the     
,prosecution--,hutchison's ,rebuke to   
them--,james the ,first's ,opinion of   
,witchcraft--,his celebrated            
,statute1 #a ,jac4 ,i4--,canon passed by
 the ,convocation against               
,possession--,case of ,mr4 ,fairfax's   
,children--,lancashire ,witches in      
#afac--;,another ,discovery in          
#afcd--,webster's ,account of the manner
 in      which the ,imposture was       
managed--,superiority of the ,calvinists
 is      followed by a severe           
,prosecution of ,witches--,executions in
 ,suffolk1      c4 to a dreadful        
extent--,hopkins1 the pretended         
,witchfinder1 the      cause of these   
,cruelties--,his ,brutal                
,practices--,his                        
,letter--,execution of ,mr4             
,lowis--,hopkins ,punished--,restoration
 of      ,charles--,trial of ,coxe--,of 
,dunny and ,callendar before ,lord      

,hales--,royal ,society and ,progress of
 ,knowledge--,somersetshire             
,witches--,opinions of the ,populace--,a
 ,woman ,swum for ,witchcraft at        
,oakly--- ,murder at ,tring--,act       
against ,witchcraft abolished1 and the  
belief in the ,crime becomes            
forgotten--,witch ,trials in ,new       
,england--,dame ,glover's               
,trial--,affliction of the ,parvises1   
and      frightful ,increase of the     
,prosecutions--,suddenly put a stop     
to--,the      ,penitence of those       
concerned in them4      ,our account of 
,demonology in ,england must naturally1 
as in every other  country1 depend      
chiefly on the instances which history  
contains of the  laws and prosecutions  
against witchcraft4 ,other superstitions
 arose and  decayed1 were dreaded or    
despised1 without greater embarrassment1
 in the  provinces in which they have a 
temporary currency1 than that cowards   
and  children go out more seldom at     
night1 while the reports of ghosts and  

fairies are peculiarly current4 ,but    
when the alarm of witchcraft arises1    
,superstition dips her hand in the blood
 of the persons accused1 and  records in
 the annals of jurisprudence their      
trials and the causes  alleged in       
vindication of their execution4         
,respecting other fantastic             
allegations1 the proof is necessarily   
transient and doubtful1 depending  upon 
the inaccurate testimony of vague report
 and of doting tradition4  ,but in cases
 of witchcraft we have before us the    
recorded evidence upon  which judge and 
jury acted1 and can form an opinion with
 some degree of  certainty of the       
grounds1 real or fanciful1 on which they
 acquitted or  condemned4 ,it is1       
therefore1 in tracing1 this part of     
,demonology1 with  its accompanying     
circumstances1 that we have the best    
chance of  obtaining an accurate view of
 our subject4    ,the existence of      
witchcraft was1 no doubt1 received and  
credited in  ,england1 as in the        

countries on the ,continent1 and        
originally punished  accordingly4 ,but  
after the fourteenth century the        
practices which fell  under such a      
description were thought unworthy of any
 peculiar  animadversion1 unless they   
were connected with something which     
would  have been of itself a capital    
crime1 by whatever means it had been    
either essayed or accomplished4 ,thus   
the supposed paction between a  witch   
and the demon was perhaps deemed in     
itself to have terrors enough  to       
prevent its becoming an ordinary crime1 
and was not1 therefore1  visited with   
any statutory penalty4 ,but to attempt  
or execute bodily  harm to others       
through means of evil spirits1 or1 in a 
word1 by the  black art1 was actionable 
at common law as much as if the party   
accused  had done the same harm with an 
arrow or pistol-shot4 ,the destruction  
or  abstraction of goods by the like    
instruments1 supposing the charge       
proved1 would1 in like manner1 be       

punishable4 ,a fortiori1 the  consulting
 soothsayers1 familiar spirits1 or the  
like1 and the obtaining  and circulating
 pretended prophecies to the            
unsettlement of the ,state  and the     
endangering of the ,king's title1 is yet
 a higher degree of  guilt4 ,and it may 
be remarked that the inquiry into the   
date of the  ,king's life bears a close 
affinity with the desiring or compassing
 the  death of the ,sovereign1 which is 
the essence of high treason4 ,upon such 
charges repeated trials took place in   
the courts of the ,english1 and         
condemnations were pronounced1 with     
sufficient justice1 no doubt1 where  the
 connexion between the resort to        
sorcerers and the design to  perpetrate 
a felony could be clearly proved4 ,we   
would not1 indeed1 be  disposed to go   
the length of so high an authority as   
,selden1 who  pronounces 7in his        
,table-,talk7 that if a man heartily    
believed that he  could take the life of
 another by waving his hat three times  

and crying  ,buzz6 and should1 under    
this fixed opinion1 wave his hat and cry
 ,buzz6  accordingly1 he ought to be    
executed as a murderer4 ,but a false    
prophecy  of the ,king's death is not to
 be dealt with exactly on the usual     
principle2 because1 however idle in     
itself1 the promulgation of such a      
prediction has1 in times such as we are 
speaking of1 a strong tendency  to work 
its completion4    ,many persons1 and   
some of great celebrity1 suffered for   
the charge of  trafficking with witches1
 to the prejudice of those in authority4
 ,we  have already mentioned the        
instance of the ,duchess of ,gloucester1
 in  ,henry the ,sixth's reign1 and that
 of the ,queen ,dowager's kinsmen1 in   
the  ,protectorate of ,richard1         
afterwards the ,third4 ,in #aeba1 the   
,duke of  ,buckingham was beheaded1     
owing much to his having listened to the
  predictions of one ,friar ,hopkins4   
,in the same reign1 the ,maid of ,kent1 
who had been esteemed a prophetess1 was 

put to death as a cheat4 ,she  suffered 
with seven persons who had managed her  
fits for the support of  the ,catholic  
religion1 and confessed her fraud upon  
the scaffold4 ,about  seven years after 
this1 ,lord ,hungerford was beheaded for
 consulting  certain soothsayers        
concerning the length of ,henry the     
,eighth's life4  ,but these cases rather
 relate to the purpose for which the    
sorcery was  employed1 than to the fact 
of using it4    ,two remarkable statutes
 were passed in the year #aeda2 one     
against false  prophecies1 the other    
against the act of conjuration1         
witchcraft1 and  sorcery1 and at the    
same time against breaking and          
destroying crosses4  ,the former        
enactment was certainly made to ease the
 suspicious and  wayward fears of the   
tetchy ,king ,henry4 ,the prohibition   
against  witchcraft might be also       
dictated by the king's jealous doubts of
 hazard  to the succession4 ,the        
enactment against breaking crosses was  

obviously  designed to check the ravages
 of the ,reformers1 who in ,england as  
well  as elsewhere desired to sweep away
 ,popery with the besom of destruction4 
,this latter statute was abrogated in   
the first year of ,edward ,,vi41        
perhaps as placing an undue restraint on
 the zeal of good ,protestants  against 
idolatry4    ,at length1 in #aefb1 a    
formal statute against sorcery1 as penal
 in  itself1 was actually passed2 but as
 the penalty was limited to the  pillory
 for the first transgression1 the       
legislature probably regarded  those who
 might be brought to trial as impostors 
rather than wizards4  ,there are        
instances of individuals tried and      
convicted as impostors and  cheats1 and 
who acknowledged themselves such before 
the court and  people2 but in their     
articles of visitation the prelates     
directed  enquiry to be made after those
 who should use enchantments1           
witchcraft1  sorcery1 or any like craft1
 invented by the devil4    ,but it is   

here proper to make a pause for the     
purpose of enquiring in  what manner the
 religious disputes which occupied all  
,europe about this  time influenced the 
proceedings of the rival sects in       
relation to  ,demonology4    ,the ,papal
 ,church had long reigned by the proud  
and absolute humour which  she had      
assumed1 of maintaining every doctrine  
which her rulers had  adopted in dark   
ages2 but this pertinacity at length    
made her citadel  too large to be       
defended at every point by a garrison   
whom prudence  would have required to   
abandon positions which had been taken  
in times  of darkness1 and were unsuited
 to the warfare of a more enlightened   
age4  ,the sacred motto of the ,vatican 
was1 ,vestigia nulla retrorsum2 and     
this rendered it impossible to comply   
with the more wise and moderate of  her 
own party1 who would otherwise have     
desired to make liberal  concessions to 
the ,protestants1 and thus prevent1 in  
its commencement1 a  formidable schism  

in the ,christian world4    ,to the     
system of ,rome the ,calvinists offered 
the most determined  opposition1        
affecting upon every occasion and on all
 points to observe  an order of         
church-government1 as well as of        
worship1 expressly in the  teeth of its 
enactments2--in a word1 to be a good    
,protestant1 they held  it almost       
essential to be in all things           
diametrically opposite to the  ,catholic
 form and faith4 ,as the foundation of  
this sect was laid in  republican       
states1 as its clerical discipline was  
settled on a  democratic basis1 and as  
the countries which adopted that form of
  government were chiefly poor1 the     
preachers having lost the rank and      
opulence enjoyed by the ,roman ,church1 
were gradually thrown on the  support of
 the people4 ,insensibly they became    
occupied with the ideas  and tenets     
natural to the common people1 which1 if 
they have usually the  merit of being   
honestly conceived and boldly expressed1

 are not the less  often adopted with   
credulity and precipitation1 and carried
 into effect  with unhesitating         
harshness and severity4    ,betwixt     
these extremes the ,churchmen of        
,england endeavoured to steer a  middle 
course1 retaining a portion of the      
ritual and forms of ,rome1 as  in       
themselves admirable1 and at any rate   
too greatly venerated by the  people to 
be changed merely for opposition's sake4
 ,their comparatively  undilapidated    
revenue1 the connexion of their system  
with the state1  with views of ambition 
as ample as the station of a churchman  
ought to  command1 rendered them        
independent of the necessity of courting
 their  flocks by any means save regular
 discharge of their duty2 and the       
excellent provisions made for their     
education afforded them learning to     
confute ignorance and enlighten         
prejudice4    ,such being the general   
character of the three ,churches1 their 
belief in  and persecution of such      

crimes as witchcraft and sorcery were   
necessarily modelled upon the peculiar  
tenets which each system  professed1 and
 gave rise to various results in the    
countries where they  were severally    
received4    ,the ,church of ,rome1 as  
we have seen1 was unwilling1 in her     
period of  undisputed power1 to call in 
the secular arm to punish men for       
witchcraft--a crime which fell          
especially under ecclesiastical         
cognizance1 and could1 according to her 
belief1 be subdued by the  spiritual arm
 alone4 ,the learned men at the head of 
the establishment  might safely despise 
the attempt at those hidden arts as     
impossible2 or1  even if they were of a 
more credulous disposition1 they might  
be  unwilling to make laws by which     
their own enquiries in the mathematics1 
algebra1 chemistry1 and other pursuits  
vulgarly supposed to approach the       
confines of magic art1 might be         
inconveniently restricted4 ,the more    
selfish part of the priesthood might    

think that a general belief in the      
existence of witches should be permitted
 to remain1 as a source both of  power  
and of revenue--that if there were no   
possessions1 there could be  no         
exorcism-fees--and1 in short1 that a    
wholesome faith in all the  absurdities 
of the vulgar creed as to supernatural  
influences was  necessary to maintain   
the influence of ,diana of ,ephesus4    
,they suffered  spells to be            
manufactured1 since every friar had the 
power of reversing  them2 they permitted
 poison to be distilled1 because every  
convent had  the antidote1 which was    
disposed of to all who chose to demand  
it4 ,it  was not till the universal     
progress of heresy1 in the end of the   
fifteenth century1 that the bull of     
,pope ,innocent ,,viii41 already quoted1
  called to convict1 imprison1 and      
condemn the sorcerers1 chiefly because  
it was the object to transfer the odium 
of these crimes to the  ,waldenses1 and 
excite and direct the public hatred     

against the new sect  by confounding    
their doctrines with the influences of  
the devil and his  fiends4 ,the bull of 
,pope ,innocent was afterwards1 in the  
year #aebc1  enforced by ,adrian ,,vi4  
with a new one1 in which excommunication
 was  directed against sorcerers and    
heretics4    ,while ,rome thus          
positively declared herself against     
witches and  sorcerers1 the ,calvinists1
 in whose numbers must be included the  
greater  part of the ,english ,puritans1
 who1 though they had not finally       
severed  from the communion of the      
,anglican ,church1 yet disapproved of   
her ritual  and ceremonies as retaining 
too much of the ,papal stamp1 ranked    
themselves1 in accordance with their    
usual policy1 in diametrical  opposition
 to the doctrine of the ,mother ,church4
 ,they assumed in the  opposite sense   
whatever ,rome pretended to as a proof  
of her omnipotent  authority4 ,the      
exorcisms1 forms1 and rites1 by which   
good ,catholics  believed that incarnate

 fiends could be expelled and evil      
spirits of  every kind rebuked--these1  
like the holy water1 the robes of the   
priest1  and the sign of the cross1 the 
,calvinists considered either with scorn
  and contempt as the tools of          
deliberate quackery and imposture1 or   
with  horror and loathing1 as the fit   
emblems and instruments of an idolatrous
  system4    ,such of them as did not   
absolutely deny the supernatural powers 
of which  the ,romanists made boast1    
regarded the success of the exorcising  
priest1  to whatever extent they        
admitted it1 as at best a casting out of
 devils  by the power of ,beelzebub1 the
 ,king of the ,devils4 ,they saw also1  
and  resented bitterly1 the attempt to  
confound any dissent from the  doctrines
 of ,rome with the proneness to an      
encouragement of rites of  sorcery4 ,on 
the whole1 the ,calvinists1 generally   
speaking1 were of all  the contending   
sects the most suspicious of sorcery1   
the most undoubting  believers in its   

existence1 and the most eager to follow 
it up with what  they conceived to be   
the due punishment of the most fearful  
of crimes4    ,the leading divines of   
the ,church of ,england were1 without   
doubt1  fundamentally as much opposed to
 the doctrines of ,rome as those who    
altogether disclaimed opinions and      
ceremonies merely because she had       
entertained them4 ,but their position in
 society tended strongly to keep  them  
from adopting1 on such subjects as we   
are now discussing1 either  the eager   
credulity of the vulgar mind or the     
fanatic ferocity of their  ,calvinistic 
rivals4 ,we have no purpose to discuss  
the matter in  detail--enough has       
probably been said to show generally why
 the ,romanist  should have cried out a 
miracle respecting an incident which the
  ,anglican would have contemptuously   
termed an imposture2 while the          
,calvinist1 inspired with a darker zeal1
 and1 above all1 with the  unceasing    
desire of open controversy with the     

,catholics1 would have  styled the same 
event an operation of the devil4    ,it 
followed that1 while the divines of the 
,church of ,england possessed  the upper
 hand in the kingdom1 witchcraft1 though
 trials and even  condemnations for that
 offence occasionally occurred1 did not 
create  that epidemic terror which the  
very suspicion of the offence carried   
with it elsewhere2 so that ,reginald    
,scot and others alleged it was the     
vain pretences and empty forms of the   
,church of ,rome1 by the faith  reposed 
in them1 which had led to the belief of 
witchcraft or sorcery in  general4 ,nor 
did prosecutions on account of such     
charges frequently  involve a capital   
punishment1 while learned judges were   
jealous of the  imperfection of the     
evidence to support the charge1 and     
entertained a  strong and growing       
suspicion that legitimate grounds for   
such trials  seldom actually existed4   
,on the other hand1 it usually happened 
that  wherever the ,calvinist interest  

became predominant in ,britain1 a       
general  persecution of sorcerers and   
witches seemed to take place of         
consequence4 ,fearing and hating sorcery
 more than other ,protestants1          
connecting its ceremonies and usages    
with those of the detested ,catholic    
,church1 the ,calvinists were more eager
 than other sects in searching  after   
the traces of this crime1 and1 of       
course1 unusually successful1 as  they  
might suppose1 in making discoveries of 
guilt1 and pursuing it to  the expiation
 of the fagot4 ,in a word1 a principle  
already referred to  by ,dr4 ,francis   
,hutchison will be found to rule the    
tide and the reflux  of such cases in   
the different churches4 ,the numbers of 
witches1 and  their supposed dealings   
with ,satan1 will increase or decrease  
according  as such doings are accounted 
probable or impossible4 ,under the      
former  supposition1 charges and        
convictions will be found augmented in a
  terrific degree4 ,when the accusations

 are disbelieved and dismissed as  not  
worthy of attention1 the crime becomes  
unfrequent1 ceases to occupy  the public
 mind1 and affords little trouble to the
 judges4    ,the passing of ,elizabeth's
 statute against witchcraft in #aefb    
does not  seem to have been intended to 
increase the number of trials1 or cases 
of  conviction at least2 and the fact   
is1 it did neither the one nor the      
other4 ,two children were tried in #aegd
 for counterfeiting possession1  and    
stood in the pillory for impostors4     
,mildred ,norrington1 called the  ,maid 
of ,westwell1 furnished another instance
 of possession2 but she also  confessed 
her imposture1 and publicly showed her  
fits and tricks of  mimicry4 ,the strong
 influence already possessed by the     
,puritans may  probably be sufficient to
 account for the darker issue of certain
 cases1  in which both juries and judges
 in ,elizabeth's time must be admitted  
to  have shown fearful severity4        
,these cases of possession were in some 

respects sore snares to the  priests of 
the ,church of ,rome1 who1 while they   
were too sagacious not to  be aware that
 the pretended fits1 contortions1       
strange sounds1 and other               
extravagances1 produced as evidence of  
the demon's influence on the  possessed 
person1 were nothing else than marks of 
imposture by some idle  vagabond1 were  
nevertheless often tempted to admit them
 as real1 and  take the credit of curing
 them4 ,the period was one when the     
,catholic  ,church had much occasion to 
rally around her all the respect that   
remained to her in a schismatic and     
heretical kingdom2 and when her  fathers
 and doctors announced the existence of 
such a dreadful disease1  and of the    
power of the church's prayers1 relics1  
and ceremonies1 to  cure it1 it was     
difficult for a priest1 supposing him   
more tender of the  interest of his     
order than that of truth1 to avoid such 
a tempting  opportunity as a supposed   
case of possession offered for          

displaying the  high privilege in which 
his profession made him a partaker1 or  
to  abstain from conniving at the       
imposture1 in order to obtain for his   
church the credit of expelling the      
demon4 ,it was hardly to be wondered    
at1 if the ecclesiastic was sometimes   
induced to aid the fraud of which  such 
motives forbade him to be the detector4 
,at this he might hesitate  the less1 as
 he was not obliged to adopt the        
suspected and degrading  course of      
holding an immediate communication in   
limine with the  impostor1 since a hint 
or two1 dropped in the supposed         
sufferer's  presence1 might give him the
 necessary information what was the most
  exact mode of performing his part1 and
 if the patient was possessed by a      
devil of any acuteness or dexterity1 he 
wanted no further instruction  how to   
play it4 ,such combinations were        
sometimes detected1 and brought  more   
discredit on the ,church of ,rome than  
was counterbalanced by any  which might 

be more cunningly managed4 ,on this     
subject the reader may  turn to ,dr4    
,harsnett's celebrated book on ,popish  
,impostures1 wherein he  gives the      
history of several notorious cases of   
detected fraud1 in which  ,roman        
ecclesiastics had not hesitated to      
mingle themselves4 ,that of  ,grace     
,sowerbutts1 instructed by a ,catholic  
priest to impeach her  grandmother of   
witchcraft1 was a very gross fraud4     
,such cases were not1 however1 limited  
to the ecclesiastics of ,rome4 ,we  have
 already stated that1 as extremes       
usually approach each other1 the        
,dissenters1 in their violent opposition
 to the ,papists1 adopted some of  their
 ideas respecting demoniacs2 and we have
 now to add that they also  claimed1 by 
the vehemence of prayer and the         
authority of their own  sacred          
commission1 that power of expelling     
devils which the ,church of  ,rome      
pretended to exercise by rites1         
ceremonies1 and relics4 ,the  memorable 

case of ,richard ,dugdale1 called the   
,surrey ,impostor1 was one  of the most 
remarkable which the ,dissenters brought
 forward4 ,this youth  was supposed to  
have sold his soul to the devil1 on     
condition of being  made the best dancer
 in ,lancashire1 and during his         
possession played a  number of fantastic
 tricks1 not much different from those  
exhibited by  expert posture-masters of 
the present day4 ,this person threw     
himself  into the hands of the          
,dissenters1 who1 in their eagerness1   
caught at an  opportunity to relieve an 
afflicted person1 whose case the regular
  clergy appeared to have neglected4    
,they fixed a committee of their        
number1 who weekly attended the supposed
 sufferer1 and exercised  themselves in 
appointed days of humiliation and       
fasting during the  course of a whole   
year4 ,all respect for the demon seems  
to have  abandoned the reverend         
gentlemen1 after they had relieved guard
 in this  manner for some little time1  

and they got so regardless of ,satan as 
to  taunt him with the mode in which he 
executed his promise to teach his       
vassal dancing4 ,the following specimen 
of raillery is worth                    
commemoration3--,what1 ,satan6 is this  
the dancing that ,richard gave  himself 
to thee for8 c4 ,canst thou dance no    
better8 c4 ,ransack the old  records of 
all past times and places in thy memory2
 canst thou not there  find out some    
better way of trampling8 ,pump thine    
invention dry2 cannot  the universal    
seed-plot of subtile wiles and          
stratagems spring up one  new method of 
cutting capers8 ,is this the top of     
skill and pride1 to  shuffle feet and   
brandish knees thus1 and to trip like a 
doe and skip  like a squirrel8 ,and     
wherein differ thy leapings from the    
hoppings of a  frog1 or the bouncings of
 a goat1 or friskings of a dog1 or      
gesticulations of a monkey8 ,and cannot 
a palsy shake such a loose leg as  that8
 ,dost thou not twirl like a calf that  

hath the turn1 and twitch up  thy houghs
 just like a springhault tit8#ed ,one   
might almost conceive  the demon        
replying to this raillery in the words  
of ,dr4 ,johnson1 ,this  merriment of   
parsons is extremely offensive4         
,footnote #ed3 ,hutchison on            
,witchcraft1 p4 #afb4    ,the dissenters
 were probably too honest1 however      
simple1 to achieve a  complete cure on  
,dugdale by an amicable understanding2  
so1 after their  year of vigil1 they    
relinquished their task by degrees4     
,dugdale1 weary  of his illness1 which  
now attracted little notice1 attended a 
regular  physician1 and was cured of    
that part of his disease which was not  
affected in a regular way par ordonnance
 du mdecin4 ,but the reverend  gentlemen
 who had taken his case in hand still   
assumed the credit of  curing him1 and  
if anything could have induced them to  
sing ,te ,deum1  it would have been this
 occasion4 ,they said that the effect of
 their  public prayers had been for a   

time suspended1 until seconded by the   
continued earnestness of their private  
devotions6    ,the ministers of the     
,church of ,england1 though1 from       
education1  intercourse with the world1 
and other advantages1 they were less    
prone  to prejudice than those of other 
sects1 are yet far from being entirely  
free of the charge of encouraging in    
particular instances the witch          
superstition4 ,even while ,dr4          
,hutchison pleads that the ,church of   
,england  has the least to answer for in
 that matter1 he is under the necessity 
of  acknowledging that some regular     
country clergymen so far shared the     
rooted prejudices of congregations1 and 
of the government which  established    
laws against it1 as to be active in the 
persecution of the  suspected1 and even 
in countenancing the superstitious signs
 by which in  that period the vulgar    
thought it possible to ascertain the    
existence of  the afflictions by        
witchcraft1 and obtain the knowledge of 

the  perpetrator4 ,a singular case is   
mentioned of three women1 called the    
,witches of ,warbois4 ,indeed1 their    
story is a matter of solemn enough      
record2 for ,sir ,samuel ,cromwell1     
having received the sum of forty pounds 
as lord of the manor1 out of the estate 
of the poor persons who  suffered1      
turned it into a rent-charge of forty   
shillings yearly1 for  the endowment of 
an annual lecture on the subject of     
witchcraft1 to be  preached by a doctor 
or bachelor of divinity of ,queen's     
,college1  ,cambridge4 ,the accused1 one
 ,samuel and his wife1 were old and very
 poor  persons1 and their daughter a    
young woman4 ,the daughter of a ,mr4    
,throgmorton1 seeing the poor old woman 
in a black knitted cap1 at a time  when 
she was not very well1 took a whim that 
she had bewitched her1 and  was ever    
after exclaiming against her4 ,the other
 children of this  fanciful family      
caught up the same cry1 and the eldest  
of them at last  got up a vastly pretty 

drama1 in which she herself furnished   
all the  scenes and played all the      
parts4    ,such imaginary scenes1 or    
make-believe stories1 are the common    
amusement of lively children2 and most  
readers may remember having had  some   
,utopia of their own4 ,but the nursery  
drama of ,miss ,throgmorton had  a      
horrible conclusion4 ,this young lady   
and her sisters were supposed to  be    
haunted by nine spirits1 dispatched by  
the wicked ,mother ,samuel for  that    
purpose4 ,the sapient parents heard one 
part of the dialogue1 when  the children
 in their fits returned answers1 as was 
supposed1 to the  spirits who afflicted 
them2 and when the patients from time to
 time  recovered1 they furnished the    
counterpart by telling what the spirits 
had said to them4 ,the names of the     
spirits were ,pluck1 ,hardname1 ,catch1 
,blue1 and three ,smacks1 who were      
cousins4 ,mrs4 ,joan ,throgmorton1 the  
eldest 7who1 like other young women of  
her age1 about fifteen1 had some        

disease on her nerves1 and whose fancy  
ran apparently on love and  gallantry71 
supposed that one of the ,smacks was her
 lover1 did battle  for her with the    
less friendly spirits1 and promised to  
protect her  against ,mother ,samuel    
herself2 and the following curious      
extract will  show on what a footing of 
familiarity the damsel stood with her   
spiritual gallant3 ,from whence come    
you1 ,mr4 ,smack8 says the afflicted    
young lady2 and what news do you bring8 
,smack1 nothing abashed1  informed her  
he came from fighting with ,pluck3 the  
weapons1 great  cowl-staves2 the scene1 
a ruinous bakehouse in ,dame ,samuel's  
yard4 ,and  who got the mastery1 ,i pray
 you8 said the damsel4 ,smack answered1 
he  had broken ,pluck's head4 ,i would1 
said the damsel1 he had broken your     
neck also4 ,is that the thanks ,i am to 
have for my labour8 said the            
disappointed ,smack4 ,look you for      
thanks at my hand8 said the  distressed 
maiden4 ,i would you were all hanged up 

against each other1  with your dame for 
company1 for you are all naught4 ,on    
this repulse1  exit ,smack1 and enter   
,pluck1 ,blue1 and ,catch1 the first    
with his head  broken1 the other        
limping1 and the third with his arm in a
 sling1 all  trophies of ,smack's       
victory4 ,they disappeared after having 
threatened  vengeance upon the          
conquering ,smack4 ,however1 he soon    
afterwards  appeared with his laurels4  
,he told her of his various conflicts4  
,i  wonder1 said ,mrs4 ,joan1 or ,jane1 
that you are able to beat them2 you  are
 little1 and they very big4 ,he cared   
not for that1 he replied2 he  would beat
 the best two of them1 and his cousins  
,smacks would beat the  other two4 ,this
 most pitiful mirth1 for such it        
certainly is1 was mixed  with tragedy   
enough4 ,miss ,throgmorton and her      
sisters railed against  ,darne ,samuel2 
and when ,mr4 ,throgmorton brought her  
to his house by  force1 the little      
fiends longed to draw blood of her1     

scratch her1 and  torture her1 as the   
witch-creed of that period recommended2 
yet the poor  woman incurred deeper     
suspicion when she expressed a wish to  
leave a  house where she was so coarsely
 treated and lay under such odious      
suspicions4    ,it was in vain that this
 unhappy creature endeavoured to avert  
their  resentment by submitting to all  
the ill-usage they chose to put upon    
her2 in vain that she underwent         
unresistingly the worst usage at the    
hand of ,lady ,cromwell1 her landlady1  
who1 abusing her with the worst         
epithets1 tore her cap from her head1   
clipped out some of her hair1 and  gave 
it to ,mrs4 ,throgmorton to burn it for 
a counter-charm4 ,nay1 ,mother          
,samuel's complaisance in the latter    
case only led to a new charge4 ,it      
happened that the ,lady ,cromwell1 on   
her return home1 dreamed of her  day's  
work1 and especially of the old dame and
 her cat2 and1 as her  ladyship died in 
a year and quarter from that very day1  

it was  sagaciously concluded that she  
must have fallen a victim to the        
witcheries of the terrible ,dame        
,samuel4 ,mr4 ,throgmorton also         
compelled  the old woman and her        
daughter to use expressions which put   
their lives  in the power of these      
malignant children1 who had carried on  
the farce  so long that they could not  
well escape from their own web of deceit
 but  by the death of these helpless    
creatures4 ,for example1 the prisoner1  
,dame ,samuel1 was induced to say to the
 supposed spirit1 ,as ,i am a  witch1   
and a causer of ,lady ,cromwell's death1
 ,i charge thee to come out  of the     
maiden4 ,the girl lay still2 and this   
was accounted a proof that  the poor    
woman1 who1 only subdued and crushed by 
terror and tyranny1 did  as she was     
bidden1 was a witch4 ,one is ashamed of 
an ,english judge and  jury when it must
 be repeated that the evidence of these 
enthusiastic  and giddy-pated girls was 
deemed sufficient to the condemnation of

 three  innocent persons4 ,goody        
,samuel1 indeed1 was at length worried  
into a  confession of her guilt by the  
various vexations which were practised  
on  her4 ,but her husband and daughter  
continued to maintain their innocence4  
,the last showed a high spirit and proud
 value for her character4 ,she was      
advised by some1 who pitied her youth1  
to gain at least a respite by  pleading 
pregnancy2 to which she answered        
disdainfully1 ,no1 ,i will not  be both 
held witch and strumpet6 ,the mother1 to
 show her sanity of mind  and the real  
value of her confession1 caught at the  
advice recommended  to her daughter4 ,as
 her years put such a plea out of the   
question1 there  was a laugh among the  
unfeeling audience1 in which the poor   
old victim  joined loudly and heartily4 
,some there were who thought it no      
joking  matter1 and were inclined to    
think they had a ,joanna ,southcote     
before  them1 and that the devil must be
 the father4 ,these unfortunate ,samuels

  were condemned at ,huntingdon1 before 
,mr4 ,justice ,fenner1 #dth ,april1     
#aeic4 ,it was a singular case to be    
commemorated by an annual lecture1 as   
provided by ,sir ,samuel ,cromwell1 for 
the purposes of justice were never  so  
perverted1 nor her sword turned to a    
more flagrant murder4    ,we may here   
mention1 though mainly for the sake of  
contrast1 the  much-disputed case of    
,jane ,wenham1 the ,witch of ,walkerne1 
as she was  termed1 which was of a much 
later date4 ,some of the country clergy 
were  carried away by the land-flood of 
superstition in this instance also and  
not only encouraged the charge1 but gave
 their countenance to some of  the      
ridiculous and indecent tricks resorted 
to as proofs of witchcraft  by the      
lowest vulgar4 ,but the good sense of   
the judge1 seconded by that  of other   
reflecting and sensible persons1 saved  
the country from the  ultimate disgrace 
attendant on too many of these          
unhallowed trials4 ,the  usual sort of  

evidence was brought against this poor  
woman1 by pretences  of bewitched       
persons vomiting fire--a trick very easy
 to those who chose  to exhibit such a  
piece of jugglery amongst such as rather
 desire to be  taken in by it than to   
detect the imposture4 ,the witchfinder  
practised  upon her the most vulgar and 
ridiculous tricks or charms2 and out of 
a  perverted examination they drew what 
they called a confession1 though of  a  
forced and mutilated character4 ,under  
such proof the jury brought her  in     
guilty1 and she was necessarily         
condemned to die4 ,more fortunate1      
however1 than many persons placed in the
 like circumstances1 ,jane ,wenham  was 
tried before a sensible and philosophic 
judge1 who could not  understand that   
the life of an ,englishwoman1 however   
mean1 should be  taken away by a set of 
barbarous tricks and experiments1 the   
efficacy of  which depended on popular  
credulity4 ,he reprieved the witch      
before he  left the assize-town4 ,the   

rest of the history is equally a        
contrast to  some we have told and      
others we shall have to recount4 ,a     
humane and  high-spirited gentleman1    
,colonel ,plummer of ,gilston1 putting  
at defiance  popular calumny1 placed the
 poor old woman in a small house near   
his own  and under his immediate        
protection4 ,here she lived and died1 in
 honest  and fair reputation1 edifying  
her visitors by her accuracy and        
attention  in repeating her devotions2  
and1 removed from her brutal and        
malignant  neighbours1 never afterwards 
gave the slightest cause of suspicion or
  offence till her dying day4 ,as this  
was one of the last cases of  conviction
 in ,england1 ,dr ,hutchison has been   
led to dilate upon it with  some        
strength of eloquence as well as        
argument4    ,he thus expostulates with 
some of the better class who were eager 
for  the prosecution3--7#a7 ,what single
 fact of sorcery did this ,jane ,wenham 
do8 ,what charm did she use1 or what act

 of witchcraft could you prove  upon    
her8 ,laws are against evil actions that
 can be proved to be of the  person's   
doing4 ,what single fact that was       
against the statute could you  fix upon 
her8 ,i ask 7#b7 ,did she so much as    
speak an imprudent word1 or  do an      
immoral action1 that you could put into 
the narrative of her case8  ,when she   
was denied a few turnips1 she laid them 
down very submissively2  when she was   
called witch and bitch1 she only took   
the proper means for  the vindication of
 her good name2 when she saw this storm 
coming upon  her she locked herself in  
her own house and tried to keep herself 
out of  your cruel hands2 when her door 
was broken open1 and you gave way to    
that barbarous usage that she met with1 
she protested her innocence1  fell upon 
her knees1 and begged she might not go  
to gaol1 and1 in her  innocent          
simplicity1 would have let you swim her2
 and at her trial she  declared herself 
a clear woman4 ,this was her behaviour4 

,and what could  any of us have done    
better1 excepting in that case where she
 complied  with you too much1 and       
offered to let you swim her8    7#c7    
,when you used the meanest of paganish  
and popish  superstitions--when you     
scratched and mangled and ran pins into 
her  flesh1 and used that ridiculous    
trial of the bottle1 c4--whom did you   
consult1 and from whom did you expect   
your answers8 ,who was your father8  and
 into whose hands did you put           
yourselves8 and 7if the true sense of   
the statute had been turned upon you7   
which way would you have defended       
yourselves8 7#d7 ,durst you have used   
her in this manner if she had been      
rich8 and doth not her poverty increase 
rather than lessen your guilt in  what  
you did8    ,and therefore1 instead of  
closing your book with a liberavimus    
animas  nostras1 and reflecting upon the
 court1 ,i ask you 7#e7 ,whether you    
have  not more reason to give ,god      
thanks that you met with a wise judge1  

and a  sensible gentleman1 who kept you 
from shedding innocent blood1 and       
reviving the meanest and cruelest of all
 superstitions amongst us8#ee           
,footnote #ee3 ,hutchison's ,essay on   
,witchcraft1 p4 #aff4    ,but although  
individuals of the ,english ,church     
might on some occasions  be justly      
accused of falling into lamentable      
errors on a subject where  error was so 
general1 it was not an usual point of   
their professional  character2 and it   
must be admitted that the most severe of
 the laws  against witchcraft originated
 with a ,scottish ,king of ,england1 and
 that  the only extensive persecution   
following that statute occurred during  
the time of the ,civil ,wars1 when the  
,calvinists obtained for a short  period
 a predominating influence in the       
councils of ,parliament4    ,james      
succeeded to ,elizabeth amidst the      
highest expectations on the part  of his
 new people1 who1 besides their general 
satisfaction at coming  once more under 

the rule of a king1 were also proud of  
his supposed  abilities and real        
knowledge of books and languages1 and   
were naturally1  though imprudently1    
disposed to gratify him by deferring to 
his judgment  in matters wherein his    
studies were supposed to have rendered  
him a  special proficient4              
,unfortunately1 besides the more        
harmless freak of  becoming a prentice  
in the art of poetry1 by which words and
 numbers  were the only sufferers1 the  
monarch had composed a deep work upon   
,demonology1 embracing in their fullest 
extent the most absurd and gross  of the
 popular errors on this subject4 ,he    
considered his crown and life  as       
habitually aimed at by the sworn slaves 
of ,satan4 ,several had been  executed  
for an attempt to poison him by magical 
arts2 and the turbulent  ,francis       
,stewart1 ,earl of ,bothwell1 whose     
repeated attempts on his person  had    
long been ,james's terror1 had begun his
 course of rebellion by a  consultation 

with the weird sisters and soothsayers4 
,thus the king1 who  had proved with his
 pen the supposed sorcerers to be the   
direct enemies  of the ,deity1 and who  
conceived he knew them from experience  
to be his  own--who1 moreover1 had upon 
much lighter occasions 7as in the case  
of  ,vorstius7 showed no hesitation at  
throwing his royal authority into the   
scale to aid his arguments--very        
naturally used his influence1 when it   
was at the highest1 to extend and       
enforce the laws against a crime which  
he both hated and feared4    ,the       
,english statute against witchcraft1    
passed in the very first year of  that  
reign1 is therefore of a most special   
nature1 describing witchcraft  by all   
the various modes and ceremonies in     
which1 according to ,king  ,james's     
fancy1 that crime could be perpetrated2 
each of which was  declared felony1     
without benefit of clergy4    ,this gave
 much wider scope to prosecution on the 
statute than had  existed under the     

milder acts of ,elizabeth4 ,men might   
now be punished  for the practice of    
witchcraft1 as itself a crime1 without  
necessary  reference to the ulterior    
objects of the perpetrator4 ,it is      
remarkable  that in the same year1 when 
the legislature rather adopted the      
passions  and fears of the king than    
expressed their own by this fatal       
enactment1  the ,convocation of the     
,church evinced a very different spirit2
 for1  seeing the ridicule brought on   
their sacred profession by forward and  
presumptuous men1 in the attempt to     
relieve demoniacs from a disease  which 
was commonly occasioned by natural      
causes1 if not the mere  creature of    
imposture1 they passed a canon1         
establishing that no  minister or       
ministers should in future attempt to   
expel any devil or  devils1 without the 
license of his bishop2 thereby virtually
 putting a  stop to a fertile source of 
knavery among the people1 and           
disgraceful  folly among the inferior   

churchmen4    ,the new statute of ,james
 does not1 however1 appear to have led  
at first  to many prosecutions4 ,one of 
the most remarkable was 7proh pudor67   
instigated by a gentleman1 a scholar of 
classical taste1 and a beautiful  poet1 
being no other than ,edward ,fairfax of 
,fayston1 in ,knaresborough  ,forest1   
the translator of ,tasso's ,jerusalem   
,delivered4 ,in allusion to  his        
credulity on such subjects1 ,collins has
 introduced the following  elegant      
lines3--    ,how have ,i sate while     
piped the pensive wind1    ,to hear thy 
harp1 by ,british ,fairfax strung2      
,prevailing poet1 whose undoubting mind 
,believed the magic wonders which he    
sung6    ,like ,mr4 ,throgmorton in the 
,warbois case1 ,mr4 ,fairfax accused six
 of his  neighbours of tormenting his   
children by fits of an extraordinary    
kind1  by imps1 and by appearing before 
the afflicted in their own shape during 
the crisis of these operations4 ,the    
admitting this last circumstance to  be 

a legitimate mode of proof1 gave a most 
cruel advantage against the  accused1   
for it could not1 according to the ideas
 of the demonologists1  be confuted even
 by the most distinct alibi4 ,to a      
defence of that sort  it was replied    
that the afflicted person did not see   
the actual witch1  whose corporeal      
presence must indeed have been obvious  
to every one in  the room as well as to 
the afflicted1 but that the evidence of 
the  sufferers related to the appearance
 of their spectre1 or apparition2  and  
this was accounted a sure sign of guilt 
in those whose forms were so  manifested
 during the fits of the afflicted1 and  
who were complained of  and cried out   
upon by the victim4 ,the obvious        
tendency of this doctrine1  as to       
visionary or spectral evidence1 as it   
was called1 was to place the  life and  
fame of the accused in the power of any 
hypochondriac patient  or malignant     
impostor1 who might either seem to see1 
or aver she saw1  the spectrum of the   

accused old man or old woman1 as if     
enjoying and  urging on the afflictions 
which she complained of2 and1 strange to
 tell1  the fatal sentence was to rest1 
not upon the truth of the witnesses'    
eyes1 but that of their imagination4 ,it
 happened fortunately for  ,fairfax's   
memory1 that the objects of his         
prosecution were persons of  good       
character1 and that the judge was a man 
of sense1 and made so wise  and skilful 
a charge to the jury1 that they brought 
in a verdict of not  guilty4    ,the    
celebrated case of the ,lancashire      
witches 7whose name was and will  be    
long remembered1 partly from ,shadwell's
 play1 but more from the  ingenious and 
well-merited compliment to the beauty of
 the females of  that province which it 
was held to contain71 followed soon     
after4  ,whether the first notice of    
this sorcery sprung from the idle head  
of a  mischievous boy1 is uncertain2 but
 there is no doubt that it was  speedily
 caught up and fostered for the purpose 

of gain4 ,the original  story ran       
thus3--    ,these ,lancaster trials were
 at two periods1 the one in #afac1      
before ,sir  ,james ,altham and ,sir    
,edward ,bromley1 ,barons of ,exchequer1
 when nineteen  witches were tried at   
once at ,lancaster1 and another of the  
name of  ,preston at ,york4 ,the report 
against these people is drawn up by     
,thomas  ,potts4 ,an obliging           
correspondent sent me a sight of a copy 
of this  curious and rare book4 ,the    
chief personage in the drama is         
,elizabeth  ,southam1 a witch redoubted 
under the name of ,dembdike1 an account 
of  whom may be seen in ,mr4 ,roby's    
,antiquities of ,lancaster1 as well as a
  description of ,maulkins' ,tower1 the 
witches' place of meeting4 ,it  appears 
that this remote county was full of     
,popish recusants1 travelling  priests1 
and so forth2 and some of their spells  
are given in which the  holy names and  
things alluded to form a strange        
contrast with the  purpose to which they

 were applied1 as to secure a good      
brewing of ale  or the like4 ,the public
 imputed to the accused parties a long  
train of  murders1 conspiracies1 charms1
 mischances1 hellish and damnable       
practices1 apparent1 says the editor1 on
 their own examinations and             
confessions1 and1 to speak the truth1   
visible nowhere else4 ,mother  ,dembdike
 had the good luck to die before        
conviction4 ,among other tales1  we have
 one of two female devils1 called ,fancy
 and ,tib4 ,it is  remarkable that some 
of the unfortunate women endeavoured to 
transfer  the guilt from themselves to  
others with whom they had old quarrels1 
which confessions were held good        
evidence against those who made them1   
and against the alleged accomplice also4
 ,several of the unhappy women  were    
found not guilty1 to the great          
displeasure of the ignorant people  of  
the county4 ,such was the first edition 
of the ,lancashire witches4 ,in  that   
which follows the accusation can be more

 clearly traced to the most  villanous  
conspiracy4    ,about #afcd a boy called
 ,edmund ,robinson1 whose father1 a very
 poor man1  dwelt in ,pendle ,forest1   
the scene of the alleged witching1      
declared that  while gathering bullees  
7wild plums1 perhaps7 in one of the     
glades of  the forest1 he saw two       
greyhounds1 which he imagined to belong 
to  gentlemen in that neighbourhood4    
,the boy reported that1 seeing nobody   
following them1 he proposed to have a   
course2 but though a hare was  started1 
the dogs refused to run4 ,on this1 young
 ,robinson was about to  punish them    
with a switch1 when one ,dame           
,dickenson1 a neighbour's wife1  started
 up instead of the one greyhound2 a     
little boy instead of the  other4 ,the  
witness averred that ,mother ,dickenson 
offered him money to  conceal what he   
had seen1 which he refused1 saying ,nay1
 thou art a  witch4 ,apparently she was 
determined he should have full evidence 
of  the truth of what he said1 for1 like

 the ,magician ,queen in the ,arabian   
,tales1 she pulled out of her pocket a  
bridle and shook it over the head  of   
the boy who had so lately represented   
the other greyhound4 ,he was  directly  
changed into a horse2 ,mother ,dickenson
 mounted1 and took  ,robinson before    
her4 ,they then rode to a large house or
 barn called  ,hourstoun1 into which    
,edmund ,robinson entered with others4  
,he there saw  six or seven persons     
pulling at halters1 from which1 as they 
pulled  them1 meat ready dressed came   
flying in quantities1 together with     
lumps  of butter1 porringers of milk1   
and whatever else might1 in the boy's   
fancy1 complete a rustic feast4 ,he     
declared that while engaged in the      
charm they made such ugly faces and     
looked so fiendish that he was          
frightened4 ,there was more to the same 
purpose--as the boy's having seen  one  
of these hags sitting half-way up his   
father's chimney1 and some  such goodly 
matter4 ,but it ended in near a score of

 persons being  committed to prison2 and
 the consequence was that young         
,robinson was  carried from church to   
church in the neighbourhood1 that he    
might  recognise the faces of any       
persons he had seen at the rendezvous of
  witches4 ,old ,robinson1 who had been 
an evidence against the former  witches 
in #afac1 went along with his son1 and  
knew1 doubtless1 how to  make his       
journey profitable2 and his son probably
 took care to recognise  none who might 
make a handsome consideration4 ,this    
boy1 says ,webster1  was brought into   
the church at ,kildwick1 a parish       
church1 where ,i1  being then curate    
there1 was preaching at the time1 to    
look about him1  which made some little 
disturbance for the time4 ,after prayers
 ,mr4  ,webster sought and found the    
boy1 and two very unlikely persons1 who1
  says he1 did conduct him and manage   
the business3 ,i did desire some        
discourse with the boy in private1 but  
that they utterly denied4 ,in the       

presence of a great many many people ,i 
took the boy near me and said1  ',good  
boy1 tell me truly and in earnest1 didst
 thou hear and see such  strange things 
of the motions of the witches as many do
 report that thou  didst relate1 or did 
not some person teach thee to say such  
things of  thyself8' ,but the two men   
did pluck the boy from me1 and said he  
had  been examined by two able justices 
of peace1 and they never asked him  such
 a question4 ,to whom ,i replied1 ',the 
persons accused had the more  wrong4'   
,the boy afterwards acknowledged1 in his
 more advanced years1  that he was      
instructed and suborned to swear these  
things against the  accused persons by  
his father and others1 and was heard    
often to confess  that on the day which 
he pretended to see the said witches at 
the house  or barn1 he was gathering    
plums in a neighbour's orchard4#ef      
,footnote #ef3 ,webster on ,witchcraft1 
edition #afgg1 p4 #bgh4    ,there was   
now approaching a time when the law     

against witchcraft1  sufficiently bloody
 in itself1 was to be pushed to more    
violent  extremities than the quiet     
scepticism of the ,church of ,england   
clergy  gave way to4 ,the great ,civil  
,war had been preceded and anticipated  
by  the fierce disputes of the          
ecclesiastical parties4 ,the rash and   
ill-judged attempt to enforce upon the  
,scottish a compliance with the         
government and ceremonies of the ,high  
,church divines1 and the severe         
prosecutions in the ,star ,chamber and  
,prerogative ,courts1 had given the     
,presbyterian system for a season a     
great degree of popularity in  ,england2
 and as the ,king's party declined      
during the ,civil ,war1 and the  state  
of church-government was altered1 the   
influence of the ,calvinistic  divines  
increased4 ,with much strict morality   
and pure practice of  religion1 it is to
 be regretted these were still marked by
 unhesitating  belief in the existence  
of sorcery1 and a keen desire to extend 

and  enforce the legal penalties against
 it4 ,wier has considered the clergy  of
 every sect as being too eager in this  
species of persecution3 ,ad  gravem hanc
 impietatem1 connivent theologi plerique
 omnes4 ,but it is  not to be denied    
that the ,presbyterian ecclesiastics    
who1 in ,scotland1  were often appointed
 by the ,privy ,council ,commissioners  
for the trial of  witchcraft1 evinced a 
very extraordinary degree of credulity  
in such  cases1 and that the temporary  
superiority of the same sect in ,england
  was marked by enormous cruelties of   
this kind4 ,to this general error we    
must impute the misfortune that good    
men1 such as ,calamy and ,baxter1       
should have countenanced or defended    
such proceedings as those of the        
impudent and cruel wretch called        
,matthew ,hopkins1 who1 in those        
unsettled times1 when men did what      
seemed good in their own eyes1  assumed 
the title of ,witchfinder ,general1 and1
 travelling through the  counties of    

,essex1 ,sussex1 ,norfolk1 and          
,huntingdon1 pretended to  discover     
witches1 superintending their           
examination by the most  unheard-of     
tortures1 and compelling forlorn and    
miserable wretches to  admit and confess
 matters equally absurd and impossible2 
the issue of  which was the forfeiture  
of their lives4 ,before examining these 
cases  more minutely1 ,i will quote     
,baxter's own words2 for no one can have
 less  desire to wrong a devout and     
conscientious man1 such as that divine  
most  unquestionably was1 though borne  
aside on this occasion by prejudice and 
credulity4    ,the hanging of a great   
number of witches in #afde and #afdf is 
famously  known4 ,mr4 ,calamy went along
 with the judges on the circuit to hear 
their confessions1 and see there was no 
fraud or wrong done them4 ,i  spoke with
 many understanding1 pious1 learned1 and
 credible persons that  lived in the    
counties1 and some that went to them in 
the prisons1 and  heard their sad       

confessions4 ,among the rest an old     
reading parson1  named ,lowis1 not far  
from ,framlingham1 was one that was     
hanged1 who  confessed that he had two  
imps1 and that one of them was always   
putting  him upon doing mischief2 and   
he1 being near the sea1 as he saw a ship
  under sail1 it moved him to send it to
 sink the ship2 and he consented1  and  
saw the ship sink before them4 ,mr4     
,baxter passes on to another  story of a
 mother who gave her child an imp like a
 mole1 and told her to  keep it in a can
 near the fire1 and she would never     
want2 and more such  stuff as           
nursery-maids tell froward children to  
keep them quiet4    ,it is remarkable   
that in this passage ,baxter names the  
,witchfinder  ,general rather slightly  
as one ,hopkins1 and without doing him  
the  justice due to one who had         
discovered more than one hundred        
witches1 and  brought them to           
confessions1 which that good man        
received as  indubitable4 ,perhaps the  

learned divine was one of those who     
believed  that the ,witchfinder ,general
 had cheated the devil out of a certain 
memorandum-book1 in which ,satan1 for   
the benefit of his memory  certainly1   
had entered all the witches' names in   
,england1 and that  ,hopkins availed    
himself of this record4#eg    ,footnote 
#eg3 ,this reproach is noticed in a very
 rare tract1 which was  bought at ,mr4  
,lort's sale1 by the celebrated         
collector ,mr4 ,bindley1 and  is now in 
the author's possession4 ,its full title
 is1 ,the ,discovery of  ,witches1 in   
,answer to several ,queries lately      
delivered to the ,judge of  ,assize for 
the ,county of ,norfolk2 and now        
published by ,matthew ,hopkins1         
,witchfinder1 for the ,benefit of the   
whole ,kingdom4 ,printed for ,r4        
,royston1 at the ,angel1 in ,inn ,lane4 
#afdg4    ,it may be noticed that times 
of misrule and violence seem to create  
individuals fitted to take advantage    
from them1 and having a character       

suited to the seasons which raise them  
into notice and action2 just as a       
blight on any tree or vegetable calls to
 life a peculiar insect to feed  upon   
and enjoy the decay which it has        
produced4 ,a monster like ,hopkins      
could only have existed during the      
confusion of civil dissension4 ,he was  
perhaps a native of ,manningtree1 in    
,essex2 at any rate1 he resided there   
in the year #afdd1 when an epidemic     
outcry of witchcraft arose in that      
town4 ,upon this occasion he had made   
himself busy1 and1 affecting more  zeal 
and knowledge than other men1 learned   
his trade of a witchfinder1  as he      
pretends1 from experiment4 ,he was      
afterwards permitted to perform  it as a
 legal profession1 and moved from one   
place to another1 with an  assistant    
named ,sterne1 and a female4 ,in his    
defence against an  accusation of       
fleecing the country1 he declares his   
regular charge was  twenty shillings a  
town1 including charges of living and   

journeying  thither and back again with 
his assistants4 ,he also affirms that he
 went  nowhere unless called and        
invited4 ,his principal mode of         
discovery was  to strip the accused     
persons naked1 and thrust pins into     
various parts  of their body1 to        
discover the witch's mark1 which was    
supposed to be  inflicted by the devil  
as a sign of his sovereignty1 and at    
which she  was also said to suckle her  
imps4 ,he also practised and stoutly    
defended  the trial by swimming1 when   
the suspected person was wrapped in a   
sheet1  having the great toes and thumbs
 tied together1 and so dragged through a
  pond or river4 ,if she sank1 it was   
received in favour of the accused2  but 
if the body floated 7which must have    
occurred ten times for once1 if  it was 
placed with care on the surface of the  
water71 the accused was  condemned1 on  
the principle of ,king ,james1 who1 in  
treating of this mode  of trial1 lays   
down that1 as witches have renounced    

their baptism1 so it  is just that the  
element through which the holy rite is  
enforced should  reject them1 which is a
 figure of speech1 and no argument4 ,it 
was  ,hopkins's custom to keep the poor 
wretches waking1 in order to prevent    
them from having encouragement from the 
devil1 and1 doubiless1 to put  infirm1  
terrified1 overwatched persons in the   
next state to absolute  madness2 and for
 the same purpose they were dragged     
about by their  keepers till extreme    
weariness and the pain of blistered feet
 might form  additional inducements to  
confession4 ,hopkins confesses these    
last  practices of keeping the accused  
persons waking1 and forcing them to     
walk for the same purpose1 had been     
originally used by him4 ,but as his     
tract is a professed answer to charges  
of cruelty and oppression1 he  affirms  
that both practices were then disused1  
and that they had not of  late been     
resorted to4    ,the boast of the       
,english nation is a manly independence 

and  common-sense1 which will not long  
permit the license of tyranny or        
oppression on the meanest and most      
obscure sufferers4 ,many clergymen and  
gentlemen made head against the         
practices of this cruel oppressor of the
  defenceless1 and it required courage  
to do so when such an unscrupulous      
villain had so much interest4    ,mr4   
,gaul1 a clergyman1 of ,houghton1 in    
,huntingdonshire1 had the courage  to   
appear in print on the weaker side2 and 
,hopkins1 in consequence1  assumed the  
assurance to write to some functionaries
 of the place the  following letter1    
which is an admirable medley of         
impudence1 bullying1  and cowardice3--  
,my service to your worship             
presented4--,i have this day received a 
letter to come to a town called ,great  
,houghton to search for  evil-disposed  
persons called witches 7though ,i hear  
your minister is far  against us1       
through ignorance74 ,i intend to come1  
,god willing1 the  sooner to hear his   

singular judgment in the behalf of such 
parties4 ,i  have known a minister in   
,suffolk as much against this discovery 
in a  pulpit1 and forced to recant it by
 the ,committee#eh in the same place4   
,i much marvel such evil men should have
 any 7much more any of the  clergy1 who 
should daily speak terror to convince   
such offenders7 stand  up to take their 
parts against such as are complainants  
for the king1  and sufferers themselves1
 with their families and estates4 ,i    
intend to  give your town a visit       
suddenly4 ,i will come to ,kimbolton    
this week1 and  it will be ten to one   
but ,i will come to your town first2 but
 ,i would  certainly know before whether
 your town affords many sticklers for   
such  cattle1 or is willing to give and 
allow us good welcome and               
entertainment1 as others where ,i have  
been1 else ,i shall waive your  shire   
7not as yet beginning in any part of it 
myself71 and betake me to  such places  
where ,i do and may punish 7not only7   

without control1 but  with thanks and   
recompense4 ,so ,i humbly take my leave1
 and rest your  servant to be commanded1
    ,,matthew ,,hopkins4    ,footnote   
#eh3 ,of ,parliament4    ,the sensible  
and courageous ,mr4 ,gaul describes the 
tortures employed by  this fellow as    
equal to any practised in the           
,inquisition4 ,having taken  the        
suspected witch1 she is placed in the   
middle of a room1 upon a stool  or      
table1 cross-legged1 or in some other   
uneasy posture1 to which1 if  she       
submits not1 she is then bound with     
cords2 there she is watched and  kept   
without meat or sleep for               
four-and-twenty hours1 for1 they say1   
they shall within that time see her imp 
come and suck4 ,a little hole is        
likewise made in the door for the imps  
to come in at2 and lest they  should    
come in some less discernible shape1    
they that watch are taught  to be ever  
and anon sweeping the room1 and if they 
see any spiders or  flies1 to kill them2

 and if they cannot kill them1 they may 
be sure they  are their imps4    ,if    
torture of this kind was applied to the 
,reverend ,mr4 ,lewis1 whose  death is  
too slightly announced by ,mr4 ,baxter1 
we can conceive him1 or  any man1 to    
have indeed become so weary of his life 
as to acknowledge  that1 by means of his
 imps1 he sunk a vessel1 without any    
purpose of  gratification to be procured
 to himself by such iniquity4 ,but in   
another  cause a judge would have       
demanded some proof of the corpus       
delecti1  some evidence of a vessel     
being lost at the period1 whence coming 
and  whither bound2 in short1 something 
to establish that the whole story was   
not the idle imagination of a man who   
might have been entirely deranged1  and 
certainly was so at the time he made the
 admission4 ,john ,lewis was  presented 
to the vicarage of ,brandiston1 near    
,framlington1 in ,suffolk1  #fth ,may1  
#aeif1 where he lived about fifty years1
 till executed as a  wizard on such     

evidence as we have seen4               
,notwithstanding the story of  his      
alleged confession1 he defended himself 
courageously at his trial1  and was     
probably condemned rather as a royalist 
and malignant than for  any other cause4
 ,he showed at the execution            
considerable energy1 and to  secure that
 the funeral service of the church      
should be said over his  body1 he read  
it aloud for himself while on the road  
to the gibbet4    ,we have seen that in 
#afdg ,hopkins's tone became lowered1   
and he began to  disavow some of the    
cruelties he had formerly practised4    
,about the same  time a miserable old   
woman had fallen into the cruel hands of
 this  miscreant near ,hoxne1 a village 
in ,suffolk1 and had confessed all the  
usual enormities1 after being without   
food or rest a sufficient time4  ,her   
imp1 she said1 was called ,nan4 ,a      
gentleman in the neighbourhood1  whose  
widow survived to authenticate the      
story1 was so indignant that he  went to

 the house1 took the woman out of such  
inhuman hands1 dismissed  the           
witchfinders1 and after due food and    
rest the poor old woman could  recollect
 nothing of the confession1 but that she
 gave a favourite  pullet the name of   
,nan4 ,for this ,dr4 ,hutchison may be  
referred to1 who  quotes a letter from  
the relict of the humane gentleman4     
,in the year #afde a ,commission of     
,parliament was sent down1 comprehending
  two clergymen in esteem with the      
leading party1 one of whom1 ,mr4        
,fairclough of ,kellar1 preached before 
the rest on the subject of  witchcraft2 
and after this appearance of enquiry the
 inquisitions and  executions went on as
 before4 ,but the popular indignation   
was so  strongly excited against        
,hopkins1 that some gentlemen seized on 
him1 and  put him to his own favourite  
experiment of swimming1 on which1 as he 
happened to float1 he stood convicted of
 witchcraft1 and so the country  was rid
 of him4 ,whether he was drowned        

outright or not does not exactly        
appear1 but he has had the honour to be 
commemorated by the author of           
,hudibras3--         ,hath not this     
present ,parliament       ,a leiger to  
the devil sent1       ,fully empower'd  
to treat about       ,finding revolted  
witches out8       ,and has he not      
within a year       ,hang'd threescore  
of them in one shire8       ,some only  
for not being drown'd1       ,and some  
for sitting above ground       ,whole   
days and nights upon their breeches1    
,and feeling pain1 were hang'd for      
witches4       ,and some for putting    
knavish tricks       ,upon green geese  
or turkey chicks2       ,or pigs that   
suddenly deceased       ,of griefs      
unnatural1 as he guess'd1       ,who    
proved himself at length a witch1       
,and made a rod for his own breech4 #ei 
,footnote #ei3 ,hudibras1 part ii4 canto
 #c4    ,the understanding reader will  
easily conceive that this alteration of 
the current in favour of those who      

disapproved of witch-prosecutions1  must
 have received encouragement from some  
quarter of weight and  influence2 yet it
 may sound strangely enough that this   
spirit of lenity  should have been the  
result of the peculiar principles of    
those  sectarians of all denominations1 
classed in general as ,independents1    
who1 though they had originally courted 
the ,presbyterians as the more  numerous
 and prevailing party1 had at length    
shaken themselves loose of  that        
connexion1 and finally combated with and
 overcome them4 ,the  ,independents were
 distinguished by the wildest license in
 their  religious tenets1 mixed with    
much that was nonsensical and mystical4 
,they disowned even the title of a      
regular clergy1 and allowed the         
preaching of any one who could draw     
together a congregation that would      
support him1 or who was willing1 without
 recompense1 to minister to the         
spiritual necessities of his hearers4   
,although such laxity of discipline     

afforded scope to the wildest           
enthusiasm1 and room for all possible   
varieties of doctrine1 it had1 on the   
other hand1 this inestimable            
recommendation1 that it contributed to a
 degree of general toleration  which was
 at that time unknown to any other      
,christian establishment4 ,the  very    
genius of a religion which admitted of  
the subdivision of sects ad  infinitum1 
excluded a legal prosecution of any one 
of these for heresy  or apostasy4 ,if   
there had even existed a sect of        
,manichans1 who made it  their practice 
to adore the ,evil ,principle1 it may be
 doubted whether  the other sectaries   
would have accounted them absolute      
outcasts from the  pale of the church2  
and1 fortunately1 the same sentiment    
induced them to  regard with horror the 
prosecutions against witchcraft4 ,thus  
the  ,independents1 when1 under         
,cromwell1 they attained a supremacy    
over the  ,presbyterians1 who to a      
certain point had been their allies1    

were  disposed to counteract the        
violence of such proceedings under      
pretence  of witchcraft1 as had been    
driven forward by the wretched ,hopkins1
 in  ,essex1 ,norfolk1 and ,suffolk1 for
 three or four years previous to #afdg4 
,the return of ,charles ,,ii4 to his    
crown and kingdom1 served in some       
measure to restrain the general and     
wholesale manner in which the laws      
against witchcraft had been administered
 during the warmth of the ,civil  ,war4 
,the statute of the #ast of ,king       
,james1 nevertheless1 yet subsisted2    
nor is it in the least likely1          
considering the character of the prince1
  that he1 to save the lives of a few   
old men or women1 would have run the    
risk of incurring the odium of          
encouraging or sparing a crime still    
held  in horror by a great part of his  
subjects4 ,the statute1 however1 was    
generally administered by wise and      
skilful judges1 and the accused had     
such a chance of escape as the rigour of

 the absurd law permitted4    ,nonsense1
 it is too obvious1 remained in some    
cases predominant4 ,in the  year #affc  
an old dame1 named ,julian ,coxe1 was   
convicted chiefly on the  evidence of a 
huntsman1 who declared on his oath1 that
 he laid his  greyhounds on a hare1 and 
coming up to the spot where he saw them 
mouth  her1 there he found1 on the other
 side of a bush1 ,julian ,coxe lying    
panting and breathless1 in such a manner
 as to convince him that she had  been  
the creature which afforded him the     
course4 ,the unhappy woman was  executed
 on this evidence4    ,two years        
afterwards 7#affd71 it is with regret we
 must quote the  venerable and devout   
,sir ,matthew ,hales1 as presiding at a 
trial1 in  consequence of which ,amy    
,dunny and ,rose ,callender were hanged 
at ,saint  ,edmondsbury4 ,but no man1   
unless very peculiarly circumstanced1   
can  extricate himself from the         
prejudices of his nation and age4 ,the  
evidence against the accused was laid1  

#ast1 on the effect of spells used  by  
ignorant persons to counteract the      
supposed witchcraft2 the use of  which  
was1 under the statute of ,james ,i41 as
 criminal as the act of  sorcery which  
such counter-charms were meant to       
neutralize1 #bndly1 ,the  two old women1
 refused even the privilege of          
purchasing some herrings1  having       
expressed themselves with angry         
impatience1 a child of the              
herring-merchant fell ill in conseqence4
 #crdly1 ,a cart was driven  against the
 miserable cottage of ,amy ,dunny4 ,she 
scolded1 of course2 and  shortly after  
the cart--7what a good driver will      
scarce  comprehend7--stuck fast in a    
gate1 where its wheels touched neither  
of  the posts1 and yet was moved easily 
forward on one of the posts 7by  which  
it was not impeded7 being cut down4     
#dthly1 ,one of the afflicted  girls    
being closely muffled1 went suddenly    
into a fit upon being touched  by one of
 the supposed witches4 ,but upon another

 trial it was found that  the person so 
blindfolded fell into the same rage at  
the touch of an  unsuspected person4    
,what perhaps sealed the fate of the    
accused was the  evidence of the        
celebrated ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 that   
the fits were  natural1 but heightened  
by the power of the devil co-operating  
with the  malice of witches2--a strange 
opinion1 certainly1 from the author of a
  treatise on ,vulgar ,errors6#fj       
,footnote #fj3 ,see the account of ,sir 
,t4 ,browne in ,no4 ,,xiv4 of the       
,family ,library 7,lives of ,british    
,physicians71 p4 #fj4    ,but the torch 
of science was now fairly lighted1 and  
gleamed in more  than one kingdom of the
 world1 shooting its rays on every side1
 and  catching at all means which were  
calculated to increase the              
illumination4 ,the ,royal ,society1     
which had taken its rise at ,oxford from
  a private association who met in ,dr4 
,wilkin's chambers about the year       
#afeb1 was1 the year after the          

,restoration1 incorporated by royal     
charter1 and began to publish their     
,transactions1 and give a new and  more 
rational character to the pursuits of   
philosophy4    ,in ,france1 where the   
mere will of the government could       
accomplish  greater changes1 the        
consequence of an enlarged spirit of    
scientific  discovery was1 that a       
decisive stop was put to the            
witch-prosecutions  which had heretofore
 been as common in that kingdom as in   
,england4 ,about  the year #afgb there  
was a general arrest of very many       
shepherds and  others in ,normandy1 and 
the ,parliament of ,rouen prepared to   
proceed in  the investigation with the  
usual severity4 ,but an order1 or arret1
  from the king 7,louis ,,xiv471 with   
advice of his council1 commanding all   
these unfortunate persons to be set at  
liberty and protected1 had the  most    
salutary effects all over the kingdom4  
,the ,french ,academy of  ,sciences was 
also founded2 and1 in imitation1 a      

society of learned  ,germans established
 a similar institution at ,leipsic4     
,prejudices1  however old1 were overawed
 and controlled--much was accounted for 
on  natural principles that had hitherto
 been imputed to spiritual              
agency--everything seemed to promise    
that farther access to the secrets  of  
nature might be opened to those who     
should prosecute their studies          
experimentally and by analysis--and the 
mass of ancient opinions which          
overwhelmed the dark subject of which we
 treat began to be derided and  rejected
 by men of sense and education4    ,in  
many cases the prey was now snatched    
from the spoiler4 ,a pragmatical        
justice of peace in ,somersetshire      
commenced a course of enquiry after     
offenders against the statute of ,james 
,i41 and had he been allowed to         
proceed1 ,mr4 ,hunt might have gained a 
name as renowned for witch-finding  as  
that of ,mr4 ,hopkins2 but his          
researches were stopped from higher     

authority--the lives of the poor people 
arrested 7twelve in number7 were  saved1
 and the country remained at quiet1     
though the supposed witches  were       
suffered to live4 ,the examinations     
attest some curious particulars1  which 
may be found in ,sadducismus            
,triumphatus3 for among the usual       
string of froward1 fanciful1 or1 as they
 were called1 afflicted  children1      
brought forward to club their startings1
 starings1 and  screamings1 there       
appeared also certain remarkable        
confessions of the  accused1 from which 
we learn that the ,somerset ,satan      
enlisted his  witches1 like a wily      
recruiting sergeant1 with one shilling  
in hand and  twelve in promises2 that   
when the party of weird-sisters passed  
to the  witch-meeting they used the     
magic words1 ,thout1 tout1 throughout1  
and  about2 and that when they departed 
they exclaimed1 ,rentum1 ,tormentum6    
,we are further informed that his       
,infernal ,highness1 on his departure1  

leaves a smell1 and that 7in            
nursery-maid's phrase7 not a pretty one1
  behind him4 ,concerning this fact we  
have a curious exposition by ,mr4       
,glanville4 ,this1--according to that   
respectable authority1 seems to  imply  
the reality of the business1 those      
ascititious particles which he  held    
together in his sensible shape being    
loosened at the vanishing1 and  so      
offending the nostrils by their floating
 and diffusing themselves in  the open  
air4#fa ,how much are we bound to regret
 that ,mr4 ,justice  ,hunt's discovery  
of this hellish kind of witches1 in     
itself so clear  and plain1 and         
containing such valuable information1   
should have been  smothered by meeting  
with opposition and discouragement from 
some then  in authority6    ,footnote   
#fa3 ,glanville's ,collection of        
,relations4    ,lord ,keeper ,guildford 
was also a stifler of the proceedings   
against  witches4 ,indeed1 we may       
generally remark1 during the latter part

 of the  seventeenth century1 that where
 the judges were men of education and   
courage1 sharing in the information of  
the times1 they were careful to  check  
the precipitate ignorance and prejudice 
of the juries1 by giving  them a more   
precise idea of the indifferent value of
 confessions by the  accused themselves1
 and of testimony derived from the      
pretended visions  of those supposed to 
be bewitched4 ,where1 on the contrary1  
judges shared  with the vulgar in their 
ideas of such fascination1 or were      
contented to  leave the evidence with   
the jury1 fearful to withstand the      
general cry  too common on such         
occasions1 a verdict of guilty often    
followed4    ,we are informed by ,roger 
,north that a case of this kind happened
 at the  assizes in ,exeter1 where his  
brother1 the ,lord ,chief ,justice1 did 
not  interfere with the crown trials1   
and the other judge left for execution  
a poor old woman1 condemned1 as usual1  
on her own confession1 and on the       

testimony of a neighbour1 who deponed   
that he saw a cat jump into the  accused
 person's cottage window at twilight1   
one evening1 and that he  verily        
believed the said cat to be the devil2  
on which precious  testimony the poor   
wretch was accordingly hanged4 ,on      
another occasion1  about the same time1 
the passions of the great and little    
vulgar were so  much excited by the     
aquittal of an aged village dame1 whom  
the judge had  taken some pains to      
rescue1 that ,sir ,john ,long1 a man of 
rank and  fortune1 came to the judge in 
the greatest perplexity1 requesting that
  the hag might not be permitted to     
return to her miserable cottage on his  
estates1 since all his tenants had in   
that case threatened to leave him4  ,in 
compassion to a gentleman who           
apprehended ruin from a cause so        
whimsical1 the dangerous old woman was  
appointed to be kept by the town  where 
she was acquitted1 at the rate of       
half-a-crown a week1 paid by the  parish

 to which she belonged4 ,but behold6 in 
the period betwixt the two  assizes ,sir
 ,john ,long and his farmers had        
mustered courage enough to  petition    
that this witch should be sent back to  
them in all her terrors1  because they  
could support her among them at a       
shilling a week cheaper  than they were 
obliged to pay to the town for her      
maintenance4 ,in a  subsequent trial    
before ,lord ,chief ,justice ,north     
himself1 that judge  detected one of    
those practices which1 it is to be      
feared1 were too  common at the time1   
when witnesses found their advantage in 
feigning  themselves bewitched4 ,a      
woman1 supposed to be the victim of the 
male  sorcerer at the bar1 vomited pins 
in quantities1 and those straight1      
differing from the crooked pins usually 
produced at such times1 and less  easily
 concealed in the mouth4 ,the judge1    
however1 discovered1 by  cross-examining
 a candid witness1 that in              
counterfeiting her fits of  convulsion  

the woman sunk her head on her breast1  
so as to take up with  her lips the pins
 which she had placed ready in her      
stomacher4 ,the man  was acquitted1 of  
course4 ,a frightful old hag1 who was   
present1  distinguished herself so much 
by her benedictions on the judge1 that  
he  asked the cause of the peculiar     
interest which she took in the          
acquittal4 ,twenty years ago1 said the  
poor woman1 they would have  hanged me  
for a witch1 but could not2 and now1 but
 for your lordship1  they would have    
murdered my innocent son4#fb            
,footnote #fb3 ,roger ,north's ,life of 
,lord-,keeper ,guilford4    ,such scenes
 happened frequently on the assizes1    
while country gentlemen1  like the      
excellent ,sir ,roger de ,coverley1     
retained a private share in  the terror 
with which their tenants1 servants1 and 
retainers regarded  some old ,moll      
,white1 who put the hounds at fault and 
ravaged the fields  with hail and       
hurricanes4 ,sir ,john ,reresby1 after  

an account of a poor  woman tried for a 
witch at ,york in #afhf and acquitted1  
as he thought1  very properly1 proceeds 
to tell us that1 notwithstanding1 the   
sentinel  upon the jail where she was   
confined avowed that he saw a scroll of 
paper creep from under the prison-door1 
and then change itself first  into a    
monkey and then into a turkey1 which the
 under-keeper confirmed4  ,this1 says   
,sir ,john1 ,i have heard from the mouth
 of both1 and now  leave it to be       
believed or disbelieved as the reader   
may be  inclined4#fc ,we may see that   
,reresby1 a statesman and a soldier1 had
  not as yet plucked the old woman out  
of his heart4 ,even ,addison  himself   
ventured no farther in his incredulity  
respecting this crime  than to contend  
that although witchcraft might and did  
exist1 there was  no such thing as a    
modern instance competently proved4     
,footnote #fc3 ,memoirs of ,sir ,john   
,reresby1 p4 #bcg4    ,as late as #afhb 
three unhappy women named ,susan        

,edwards1 ,mary ,trembles1  and         
,temperance ,lloyd were hanged at       
,exeter for witchcraft1 and1 as  usual1 
on their own confession4 ,this is       
believed to be the last  execution of   
the kind in ,england under form of      
judicial sentence4 ,but  the ancient    
superstition1 so interesting to vulgar  
credulity1 like  sediment clearing      
itself from water1 sunk down in a deeper
 shade upon  the ignorant and lowest    
classes of society in proportion as the 
higher  regions were purified from its  
influence4 ,the populace1 including the 
ignorant of every class1 were more      
enraged against witches when their      
passions were once excited in proportion
 to the lenity exercised towards  the   
objects of their indignation by those   
who administered the laws4  ,several    
cases occurred in which the mob1        
impressed with a conviction of  the     
guilt of some destitute old creatures1  
took the law into their own  hands1 and 
proceeding upon such evidence as        

,hopkins would have had  recourse to1 at
 once1 in their own apprehension1       
ascertained their  criminality and      
administered the deserved punishment4   
,the following instance of such illegal 
and inhuman proceedings occurred  at    
,oakly1 near ,bedford1 on #abth ,july1  
#agjg4 ,there was one woman1 upwards  of
 sixty years of age1 who1 being under an
 imputation of witchcraft1 was  desirous
 to escape from so foul a suspicion1 and
 to conciliate the  good-will of her    
neighbours1 by allowing them to duck    
her4 ,the parish  officers so far       
consented to their humane experiment as 
to promise the  poor woman a guinea if  
she should clear herself by sinking4    
,the  unfortunate object was tied up in 
a wet sheet1 her thumbs and great toes  
were bound together1 her cap torn off1  
and all her apparel searched for  pins2 
for there is an idea that a single pin  
spoils the operation of the  charm4 ,she
 was then dragged through the river     
,ouse by a rope tied round  her middle4 

,unhappily for the poor woman1 her body 
floated1 though her  head remained under
 water4 ,the experiment was made three  
times with the  same effect4 ,the cry to
 hang or drown the witch then became    
general1 and  as she lay half-dead on   
the bank they loaded the wretch with    
reproaches1  and hardly forbore blows4  
,a single humane bystander took her     
part1 and  exposed himself to rough     
usage for doing so4 ,luckily one of the 
mob  themselves at length suggested the 
additional experiment of weighing the   
witch against the church ,bible4 ,the   
friend of humanity caught at this  means
 of escape1 supporting the proposal by  
the staggering argument that  the       
,scripture1 being the work of ,god      
himself1 must outweigh necessarily  all 
the operations or vassals of the devil4 
,the reasoning was received  as         
conclusive1 the more readily as it      
promised a new species of  amusement4   
,the woman was then weighed against a   
church ,bible of twelve  pounds jockey  

weight1 and as she was considerably     
preponderant1 was  dismissed with       
honour4 ,but many of the mob counted her
 acquittal  irregular1 and would have   
had the poor dame drowned or hanged on  
the  result of her ducking1 as the more 
authentic species of trial4    ,at      
length a similar piece of inhumanity1   
which had a very different  conclusion1 
led to the final abolition of the       
statute of ,james ,i4 as  affording     
countenance for such brutal proceedings4
 ,an aged pauper1 named  ,osborne1 and  
his wife1 who resided near ,tring1 in   
,staffordshire1 fell  under the         
suspicion of the mob on account of      
supposed witchcraft4 ,the  overseers of 
the poor1 understanding that the rabble 
entertained a  purpose of swimming these
 infirm creatures1 which indeed they had
  expressed in a sort of proclamation1  
endeavoured to oppose their purpose  by 
securing the unhappy couple in the      
vestry-room1 which they  barricaded4    
,they were unable1 however1 to protect  

them in the manner  they intended4 ,the 
mob forced the door1 seized the accused1
 and1 with  ineffable brutality1        
continued dragging the wretches through 
a pool of  water till the woman lost her
 life4 ,a brute in human form1 who had  
superintended the murder1 went among the
 spectators1 and requested money  for   
the sport he had shown them6 ,the life  
of the other victim was with  great     
difficulty saved4 ,three men were tried 
for their share in this  inhuman action4
 ,only one of them1 named ,colley1 was  
condemned and  hanged4 ,when he came to 
execution1 the rabble1 instead of       
crowding round  the gallows as usual1   
stood at a distance1 and abused those   
who were  putting to death1 they said1  
an honest fellow for ridding the parish 
of  an accursed witch4 ,this abominable 
murder was committed ,july #cj1 #agea4  
,the repetitition of such horrors1 the  
proneness of the people to so  cruel and
 heart-searing a superstition1 was      
traced by the legislature to  its       

source1 namely1 the yet unabolished     
statute of ,james ,i4 ,accordingly1  by 
the #ith ,george ,,ii4 cap4 #e1 that    
odious law1 so long the object of       
horror to all ancient and               
poverty-stricken females in the kingdom1
 was  abrogated1 and all criminal       
procedure on the subject of sorcery or  
witchcraft discharged in future         
throughout ,great ,britain2 reserving   
for  such as should pretend to the skill
 of fortune-tellers1 discoverers of     
stolen goods1 or the like1 the          
punishment of the correction-house1 as  
due to rogues and vagabonds4 ,since that
 period witchcraft has been  little     
heard of in ,england1 and although the  
belief in its existence has  in remote  
places survived the law that recognised 
the evidence of the  crime1 and assigned
 its punishment--yet such faith is      
gradually becoming  forgotten since the 
rabble have been deprived of all pretext
 to awaken  it by their own riotous     
proceedings4 ,some rare instances have  

occurred  of attempts similar to that   
for which ,colley suffered2 and ,i      
observe one  is preserved in that       
curious register of knowledge1 ,mr4     
,hone's ,popular  ,amusements1 from     
which it appears that as late as the end
 of last  century this brutality was    
practised1 though happily without loss  
of  life4    ,the ,irish statute against
 witchcraft still exists1 as it would   
seem4  ,nothing occurred in that kingdom
 which recommended its being formally   
annulled2 but it is considered as       
obsolete1 and should so wild a thing  be
 attempted in the present day1 no       
procedure1 it is certain1 would now  be 
permitted to lie upon it4    ,if        
anything were wanted to confirm the     
general proposition that the  epidemic  
terror of witchcraft increases and      
becomes general in  proportion to the   
increase of prosecutions against        
witches1 it would be  sufficient to     
quote certain extraordinary occurrences 
in ,new ,england4  ,only a brief account

 can be here given of the dreadful      
hallucination  under which the colonists
 of that province were for a time       
deluded and  oppressed by a strange     
contagious terror1 and how suddenly and 
singularly it was cured1 even by its own
 excess2 but it is too strong  evidence 
of the imaginary character of this      
hideous disorder to be  altogether      
suppressed4    ,new ,england1 as is well
 known1 was peopled mainly by emigrants 
who had  been disgusted with the        
government of ,charles ,i4 in church and
 state1  previous to the great ,civil   
,war4 ,many of the more wealthy settlers
 were  ,presbyterians and ,calvinists2  
others1 fewer in number and less        
influential from their fortune1 were    
,quakers1 ,anabaptists1 or members of   
the other sects who were included under 
the general name of  ,independents4 ,the
 ,calvinists brought with them the same 
zeal for  religion and strict morality  
which everywhere distinguished them4    
,unfortunately1 they were not wise      

according to their zeal1 but            
entertained a proneness to believe in   
supernatural and direct personal        
intercourse between the devil and his   
vassals1 an error to which1 as we  have 
endeavoured to show1 their brethren in  
,europe had from the  beginning been    
peculiarly subject4 ,in a country       
imperfectly cultivated1  and where the  
partially improved spots were embosomed 
in inaccessible  forests1 inhabited by  
numerous tribes of savages1 it was      
natural that a  disposition to          
superstition should rather gain than    
lose ground1 and  that to other dangers 
and horrors with which they were        
surrounded1 the  colonists should have  
added fears of the devil1 not merely as 
the ,evil  ,principle tempting human    
nature to sin1 and thus endangering our 
salvation1 but as combined with         
sorcerers and witches to inflict death  
and torture upon children and others4   
,the first case which ,i observe was    
that of four children of a person       

called ,john ,goodwin1 a mason4 ,the    
eldest1 a girl1 had quarrelled with  the
 laundress of the family about some     
linen which was amissing4 ,the  mother  
of the laundress1 an ignorant1 testy1   
and choleric old  ,irishwoman1 scolded  
the accuser2 and shortly after1 the     
elder ,goodwin1  her sister and two     
brothers1 were seized with such strange 
diseases that  all their neighbours     
concluded they were bewitched4 ,they    
conducted  themselves as those supposed 
to suffer under maladies created by such
  influence were accustomed to do4 ,they
 stiffened their necks so hard at  one  
time that the joints could not be moved2
 at another time their necks  were so   
flexible and supple that it seemed the  
bone was dissolved4 ,they  had violent  
convulsions1 in which their jaws snapped
 with the force of a  spring-trap set   
for vermin4 ,their limbs were curiously 
contorted1 and to  those who had a taste
 for the marvellous1 seemed entirely    
dislocated and  displaced4 ,amid these  

distortions1 they cried out against the 
poor old  woman1 whose name was ,glover1
 alleging that she was in presence with 
them adding to their torments4 ,the     
miserable ,irishwoman1 who hardly  could
 speak the ,english language1 repeated  
her ,pater ,noster and ,ave  ,maria like
 a good ,catholic2 but there were some  
words which she had  forgotten4 ,she was
 therefore supposed to be unable to     
pronounce the  whole consistently and   
correctly1 and condemned and executed   
accordingly4    ,but the children of    
,goodwin found the trade they were      
engaged in to be  too profitable to be  
laid aside1 and the eldest in particular
 continued  all the external signs of   
witchcraft and possession4 ,some of     
these were  excellently calculated to   
flatter the self-opinion and prejudices 
of the  ,calvinist ministers by whom she
 was attended1 and accordingly bear in  
their very front the character of       
studied and voluntary imposture4 ,the   
young woman1 acting1 as was supposed1   

under the influence of the devil1  read 
a ,quaker treatise with ease and        
apparent satisfaction2 but a book       
written against the poor inoffensive    
,friends the devil would not allow  his 
victim to touch1 ,she could look on a   
,church of ,england ,prayer-book1  and  
read the portions of ,scripture which it
 contains without difficulty  or        
impediment2 but the spirit which        
possessed her threw her into fits if    
she attempted to read the same          
,scriptures from the ,bible1 as if the  
awe  which it is supposed the fiends    
entertain for ,holy ,writ depended1 not 
on  the meaning of the words1 but the   
arrangement of the page1 and the type   
in which they were printed4 ,this       
singular species of flattery was        
designed to captivate the clergyman     
through his professional opinions2      
others were more strictly personal4 ,the
 afflicted damsel seems to have  been   
somewhat of the humour of the ,inamorata
 of ,messrs4 ,smack1 ,pluck1  ,catch1   

and ,company1 and had1 like her1 merry  
as well as melancholy fits4  ,she often 
imagined that her attendant spirits     
brought her a handsome  pony to ride off
 with them to their rendezvous4 ,on such
 occasions she  made a spring upwards1  
as if to mount her horse1 and then1     
still seated  on her chair1 mimicked    
with dexterity and agility the motions  
of the  animal pacing1 trotting1 and    
galloping1 like a child on the nurse's  
knee2 but when she cantered in this     
manner upstairs1 she affected  inability
 to enter the clergyman's study1 and    
when she was pulled into  it by force1  
used to become quite well1 and stand up 
as a rational  being4 ,reasons were     
given for this1 says the simple         
minister1 that  seem more kind than     
true4 ,shortly after this1 she appears  
to have  treated the poor divine with a 
species of sweetness and attention1     
which  gave him greater embarrassment   
than her former violence4 ,she used to  
break in upon him at his studies to     

importune him to come downstairs1  and  
thus advantaged doubtless the kingdom of
 ,satan by the interruption  of his     
pursuits4 ,at length the ,goodwins were1
 or appeared to be1 cured4  ,but the    
example had been given and caught1 and  
the blood of poor ,dame  ,glover1 which 
had been the introduction to this tale  
of a hobby-horse1  was to be the        
forerunner of new atrocities and        
fearfully more general  follies4        
,this scene opened by the illness of two
 girls1 a daughter and niece of  ,mr4   
,parvis1 the minister of ,salem1 who    
fell under an affliction similar  to    
that of the ,goodwins4 ,their mouths    
were stopped1 their throats  choked1    
their limbs racked1 thorns were stuck   
into their flesh1 and pins  were ejected
 from their stomachs4 ,an ,indian and   
his wife1 servants of  the family1      
endeavouring1 by some spell of their    
own1 to discover by  whom the fatal     
charm had been imposed on their master's
 children1 drew  themselves under       

suspicion1 and were hanged4 ,the judges 
and juries  persevered1 encouraged by   
the discovery of these poor ,indians'   
guilt1  and hoping they might thus expel
 from the colony the authors of such    
practices4 ,they acted1 says ,mather1   
the historian1 under a conscientious    
wish to do justly2 but the cases of     
witchcraft and possession increased  as 
if they were transmitted by contagion1  
and the same sort of spectral  evidence 
being received which had occasioned the 
condemnation of the  ,indian woman      
,titu1 became generally fatal4 ,the     
afflicted persons failed  not to see the
 spectres1 as they were termed1 of the  
persons by whom  they were tormented4   
,against this species of evidence no    
alibi could  be offered1 because it was 
admitted1 as we have said elsewhere1    
that the  real persons of the accused   
were not there present2 and everything  
rested upon the assumption that the     
afflicted persons were telling the      
truth1 since their evidence could not be

 redargued4 ,these spectres were        
generally represented as offering their 
victims a book1 on signing which  they  
would be freed from their torments4     
,sometimes the devil appeared in        
person1 and added his own eloquence to  
move the afflicted persons to  consent4 
,at first1 as seems natural enough1 the 
poor and miserable alone were  involved2
 but presently1 when such evidence was  
admitted as  incontrovertible1 the      
afflicted began to see the spectral     
appearances of  persons of higher       
condition and of irreproachable lives1  
some of whom  were arrested1 some made  
their escape1 while several were        
executed4 ,the  more that suffered the  
greater became the number of afflicted  
persons1  and the wider and the more    
numerous were the denunciations against 
supposed witches4 ,the accused were of  
all ages4 ,a child of five years  old   
was indicted by some of the afflicted1  
who imagined they saw this  juvenile    
wizard active in tormenting them1 and   

appealed to the mark of  little teeth on
 their bodies1 where they stated it had 
bitten them4 ,a  poor dog was also      
hanged as having been alleged to be busy
 in this  infernal persecution4 ,these  
gross insults on common reason          
occasioned a  revulsion in public       
feeling1 but not till many lives had    
been  sacrificed4 ,by this means        
nineteen men and women were executed1   
besides  a stouthearted man named ,cory1
 who refused to plead1 and was          
accordingly  pressed to death according 
to the old law4 ,on this horrible       
occasion a  circumstance took place     
disgusting to humanity1 which must yet  
be told1  to show how superstition can  
steel the heart of a man against the    
misery  of his fellow-creature4 ,the    
dying man1 in the mortal agony1 thrust  
out  his tongue1 which the sheriff      
crammed with his cane back again into   
his  mouth4 ,eight persons were         
condemned besides those who had actually
  suffered1 and no less than two hundred

 were in prison and under  examination4 
,men began then to ask whether the devil
 might not artfully deceive the         
afflicted into the accusation of good   
and innocent persons by presenting      
witches and fiends in the resemblance of
 blameless persons1 as engaged  in the  
tormenting of their diseased            
country-folk4 ,this argument was by  no 
means inconsistent with the belief in   
witchcraft1 and was the more  readily   
listened to on that account4 ,besides1  
men found that no rank or  condition    
could save them from the danger of this 
horrible accusation if  they continued  
to encourage the witnesses in such an   
unlimited course as  had hitherto been  
granted to them4 ,influenced by these   
reflections1 the  settlers awoke as from
 a dream1 and the voice of the public1  
which had  so lately demanded vengeance 
on all who were suspected of sorcery1   
began  now1 on the other hand1 to lament
 the effusion of blood1 under the       
strong suspicion that part of it at     

least had been innocently and  unjustly 
sacrificed4 ,in ,mather's own language1 
which we use as that of a  man deeply   
convinced of the reality of the crime1  
experience showed  that the more were   
apprehended the more were still         
afflicted by ,satan1  and the number of 
confessions increasing did but increase 
the number of  the accused1 and the     
execution of some made way to the       
apprehension of  others4 ,for still the 
afflicted complained of being tormented 
by new  objects as the former were      
removed1 so that some of those that were
  concerned grew amazed at the number   
and condition of those that were        
accused1 and feared that ,satan1 by his 
wiles1 had enwrapped innocent  persons  
under the imputation of that crime2 and 
at last1 as was  evidently seen1 there  
must be a stop put1 or the generation of
 the  kingdom of ,god would fall under  
condemnation4#fd    ,footnote #fd3      
,mather's ,magnalia1 book vi4 chap4     
lxxxii4 ,the zealous  author1 however1  

regrets the general gaol delivery on the
 score of  sorcery and thinks1 had the  
times been calm1 the case might have    
required a farther investigation1 and   
that1 on the whole1 the matter was      
ended too abruptly ,but1 the temper of  
the times considered1 he admits         
candidly that it is better to act       
moderately in matters capital1 and to   
let the guilty escape1 than run the risk
 of destroying the innocent4    ,the    
prosecutions were therefore suddenly    
stopped1 the prisoners  dismissed1 the  
condemned pardoned1 and even those who  
had confessed1 the  number of whom was  
very extraordinary1 were pardoned       
amongst others2 and  the author we have 
just quoted thus records the            
result3--,when this  prosecution ceased1
 the ,lord so chained up ,satan that the
 afflicted grew  presently well4 ,the   
accused were generally quiet1 and for   
five years  there was no such           
molestation among us4    ,to this it    
must be added that the congregation of  

,salem compelled ,mr4  ,parvis1 in whose
 family the disturbance had begun1 and  
who1 they  alleged1 was the person by   
whom it was most fiercely driven on in  
the  commencement1 to leave his         
settlement amongst them4 ,such of the   
accused  as had confessed the acts of   
witchcraft imputed to them generally    
denied  and retracted their confessions1
 asserting them to have been made under 
fear of torture1 influence of           
persuasion1 or other circumstances      
exclusive of their free will4 ,several  
of the judges and jurors concerned  in  
the sentence of those who were executed 
published their penitence for  their    
rashness in convicting these unfortunate
 persons2 and one of the  judges1 a man 
of the most importance in the colony1   
observed1 during the  rest of his life1 
the anniversary of the first execution  
as a day of  solemn fast and humiliation
 for his own share in the transaction4  
,even  the barbarous ,indians were      
struck with wonder at the infatuation of

 the  ,english colonists on this        
occasion1 and drew disadvantageous      
comparisons  between them and the       
,french1 among whom1 as they remarked1  
the ,great  ,spirit sends no witches4   
,the system of witchcraft1 as believed  
in ,scotland1 must next claim our       
attention1 as it is different in some   
respects from that of ,england1 and     
subsisted to a later period1 and was    
prosecuted with much more severity4     
,,letter ,,ix4        ,scottish         
,trials--,earl of ,mar--,lady           
,glammis--,william ,barton--,witches    
of ,auldearne--,their ,rites and        
,charms--,their ,transformation into    
,hares--,satan's ,severity towards      
them--,their ,crimes--,sir ,george      
,mackenzie's ,opinion of                
,witchcraft--,instances of ,confessions 
made by      the ,accused1 in despair1  
and to avoid future annoyance and       
persecution--,examination by            
,pricking--,the ,mode of ,judicial      
,procedure      against ,witches1 and   

nature of the ,evidence admissible1     
opened a      door to ,accusers1 and    
left the ,accused no chance of          
escape--,the      ,superstition of the  
,scottish ,clergy in ,king ,james       
,,vi4's time led      them1 like their  
,sovereign1 to encourage                
,witch-,prosecutions--,case of          
,bessie ,graham--,supposed ,conspiracy  
to ,shipwreck ,james in his ,voyage     
to ,denmark--,meetings of the ,witches1 
and ,rites performed to      accomplish 
their purpose--,trial of ,margaret      
,barclay in #afah--;,case of      ,major
 ,weir--,sir ,john ,clerk among the     
first who declined acting as            
,commissioner on the ,trial of a        
,witch--,paisley and ,pittenweem        
,witches--,a ,prosecution in ,caithness 
prevented by the ,interference of       
the ,king's ,advocate in #agah--,the    
,last ,sentence of ,death for           
,witchcraft pronounced in ,scotland in  
#agbb--,remains of the ,witch           
,superstition--,case of supposed        

,witchcraft1 related from the ,author's 
own knowledge1 which took place so late 
as #ahjj4      ,for many years the      
,scottish nation had been remarkable for
 a credulous  belief in witchcraft1 and 
repeated examples were supplied by the  
annals  of sanguinary executions on this
 sad accusation4 ,our acquaintance with 
the slender foundation on which ,boetius
 and ,buchanan reared the early  part of
 their histories may greatly incline us 
to doubt whether a king  named ,duffus  
ever reigned in ,scotland1 and1 still   
more1 whether he died  by the agency of 
a gang of witches1 who inflicted        
torments upon an image  made in his     
name1 for the sake of compassing his    
death4 ,in the tale of  ,macbeth1 which 
is another early instance of ,demonology
 in ,scottish  history1 the             
weird-sisters1 who were the original    
prophetesses1 appeared  to the usurper  
in a dream1 and are described as vol1 or
 sibyls1  rather than as witches1 though
 ,shakspeare has stamped the latter     

character indelibly upon them4    ,one  
of the earliest real cases of importance
 founded upon witchcraft  was1 like     
those of the ,duchess of ,gloucester and
 others in the sister  country1 mingled 
with an accusation of a political       
nature1 which1 rather  than the sorcery1
 brought the culprits to their fate4    
,the ,earl of ,mar1  brother of ,james  
,,iii4 of ,scotland1 fell under the     
king's suspicion for  consulting with   
witches and sorcerers how to shorten the
 king's days4 ,on  such a charge1 very  
inexplicitly stated1 the unhappy ,mar   
was bled to  death in his own lodgings  
without either trial or conviction2     
immediately after which catastrophe     
twelve women of obscure rank and  three 
or four wizards1 or warlocks1 as they   
were termed1 were burnt at  ,edinburgh1 
to give a colour to the ,earl's guilt4  
,in the year #aecg a noble matron fell a
 victim to a similar charge4 ,this  was 
,janet ,douglas1 ,lady ,glammis1 who1   
with her son1 her second husband1  and  

several others1 stood accused of        
attempting ,james's life by poison1     
with a view to the restoration of the   
,douglas family1 of which ,lady         
,glammis's brother1 the ,earl of ,angus1
 was the head4 ,she died much pitied  by
 the people1 who seem to have thought   
the articles against her forged  for the
 purpose of taking her life1 her kindred
 and very name being so  obnoxious to   
the ,king4    ,previous to this lady's  
execution there would appear to have    
been but  few prosecuted to death on the
 score of witchcraft1 although the want 
of  the justiciary records of that      
period leaves us in uncertainty4 ,but in
  the end of the fifteenth and beginning
 of the sixteenth centuries1 when  such 
charges grew general over ,europe1 cases
 of the kind occurred very  often in    
,scotland1 and1 as we have already      
noticed1 were sometimes of a  peculiar  
character4 ,there is1 indeed1 a certain 
monotony in most tales  of the kind4    
,the vassals are usually induced to sell

 themselves at a  small price to the    
,author of ,ill1 who1 having commonly to
 do with women1  drives a very hard     
bargain4 ,on the contrary1 when he was  
pleased to  enact the female on a       
similar occasion1 he brought his        
gallant1 one  ,william ,barton1 a       
fortune of no less than fifteen pounds1 
which1 even  supposing it to have been  
the ,scottish denomination of coin1 was 
a very  liberal endowment compared with 
his niggardly conduct towards the fair  
sex on such an occasion4 ,neither did he
 pass false coin on this  occasion1 but1
 on the contrary1 generously gave       
,burton a merk1 to keep  the fifteen    
pounds whole4 ,in observing on ,satan's 
conduct in this  matter1 ,master ,george
 ,sinclair observes that it is fortunate
 the ,enemy  is but seldom permitted to 
bribe so high 7as #ae ,scots72 for were 
this  the case1 he might find few men or
 women capable of resisting his         
munificence4 ,i look upon this as one of
 the most severe reflections on  our    

forefathers' poverty which is extant4   
,in many of the ,scottish witches'      
trials1 as to the description of        
,satan's ,domdaniel1 and the ,sabbath   
which he there celebrates1 the  northern
 superstition agrees with that of       
,england4 ,but some of the  confessions 
depart from the monotony of repetition1 
and add some more  fanciful             
circumstances than occur in the general 
case4 ,isobel ,gowdie's  confession1    
already mentioned1 is extremely minute1 
and some part of it  at least may be    
quoted1 as there are other passages not 
very edifying4  ,the witches of         
,auldearne1 according to this penitent1 
were so numerous1  that they were told  
off into squads1 or covines1 as they    
were termed1  to each of which were     
appointed two officers4 ,one of these   
was called  the ,maiden of the ,covine1 
and was usually1 like ,tam o' ,shanter's
 ,nannie1  a girl of personal           
attractions1 whom ,satan placed beside  
himself1 and  treated with particular   

attention1 which greatly provoked the   
spite of  the old hags1 who felt        
themselves insulted by the              
preference4#fe ,when  assembled1 they   
dug up graves1 and possessed themselves 
of the carcases  7of unchristened       
infants in particular71 whose joints and
 members they  used in their magic      
unguents and salves4 ,when they desired 
to secure for  their own use the crop of
 some neighbour1 they made a pretence of
  ploughing it with a yoke of paddocks4 
,these foul creatures drew the  plough1 
which was held by the devil himself4    
,the plough-harness and  soams were of  
quicken grass1 the sock and coulter were
 made out of a  riglen's horn1 and the  
covine attended on the operation1       
praying the  devil to transfer to them  
the fruit of the ground so traversed1   
and  leave the proprietors nothing but  
thistles and briars4 ,the witches'      
sports1 with their elfin archery1 ,i    
have already noticed 7page #acf74  ,they
 entered the house of the ,earl of      

,murray himself1 and such other         
mansions as were not fenced against them
 by vigil and prayer1 and  feasted on   
the provisions they found there4        
,footnote #fe3 ,this word ,covine seems 
to signify a subdivision or squad4  ,the
 tree near the front of an ancient      
castle was called the ,covine  tree1    
probably because the lord received his  
company there4    ,he is lord of the    
hunting horn1    ,and king of the       
,covine tree2  ,he's well loo'd in the  
western waters1    ,but best of his ain 
minnie4    ,as these witches were the   
countrywomen of the weird sisters in    
,macbeth1  the reader may be desirous to
 hear some of their spells1 and of the  
poetry by which they were accompanied   
and enforced4 ,they used to hash  the   
flesh of an unchristened child1 mixed   
with that of dogs and sheep1  and place 
it in the house of those whom they      
devoted to destruction in  body or      
goods1 saying or singing--    ,we put   
this intill this hame1  ,in our lord the

 ,devil's name2  ,the first hands that  
handle thee1  ,burn'd and scalded may   
they be6  ,we will destroy houses and   
hald1  ,with the sheep and nolt into the
 fauld2  ,and little sall come to the   
fore1  ,of all the rest of the little   
store6    ,metamorphoses were1 according
 to ,isobel1 very common among them1 and
 the  forms of crows1 cats1 hares1 and  
other animals1 were on such occasions   
assumed4 ,in the hare shape ,isobel     
herself had a bad adventure4 ,she had   
been sent by the devil to ,auldearne in 
that favourite disguise1 with  some     
message to her neighbours1 but had the  
misfortune to meet ,peter  ,papley of   
,killhill's servants going to labour1   
having his hounds with  them4 ,the      
hounds sprung on the disguised witch1   
and ,i1 says ,isobel1  run a very long  
time1 but being hard pressed1 was forced
 to take to my  own house1 the door     
being open1 and there took refuge behind
 a chest4  ,but the hounds came in and  
took the other side of the chest1 so    

that  ,isobel only escaped by getting   
into another house1 and gaining time to 
say the disenchanting rhyme3--    ,hare1
 hare1 ,god send thee care6  ,i am in a 
hare's likeness now2  ,but ,i shall be a
 woman even now--  ,hare1 hare1 ,god    
send thee care6    ,such accidents1 she 
said1 were not uncommon1 and the witches
 were  sometimes bitten by the dogs1 of 
which the marks remained after their    
restoration to human shape4 ,but none   
had been killed on such occasions4      
,the ceremonial of the ,sabbath meetings
 was very strict4 ,the ,foul ,fiend  was
 very rigid in exacting the most        
ceremonious attention from his          
votaries1 and the title of ,lord when   
addressed by them4 ,sometimes1  however1
 the weird sisters1 when whispering     
amongst themselves1  irreverently spoke 
of their sovereign by the name of ,black
 ,john2 upon  such occasions the ,fiend 
rushed on them like a schoolmaster who  
surprises his pupils in delict1 and beat
 and buffeted them without mercy  or    

discretion1 saying1 ,i ken weel eneugh  
what you are saying of me4  ,then might 
be seen the various tempers of those    
whom he commanded4  ,alexander ,elder1  
in ,earlseat1 often fell under his      
lord's displeasure  for neglect of duty1
 and1 being weak and simple1 could never
 defend  himself save with tears1 cries1
 and entreaties for mercy2 but some of  
the women1 according to ,isobel         
,gowdie's confession1 had more of the   
spirit which animated the old dame of   
,kellyburn ,braes4 ,margaret ,wilson1   
in ,auldearne1 would defend herself     
finely1 and make her hands save her     
head1 after the old ,scottish manner4   
,bessie ,wilson could also speak very   
crustily with her tongue1 and belled the
 cat with the devil stoutly4  ,the      
others chiefly took refuge in crying    
,pity6 mercy6 and such like1  while     
,satan kept beating them with wool cards
 and other sharp scourges1  without     
attending to their entreaties or        
complaints4 ,there were  attendant      

devils and imps1 who served the witches4
 ,they were usually  distinguished by   
their liveries1 which were sad-dun1     
grass-green1  sea-green1 and yellow4    
,the witches were taught to call these  
imps by  names1 some of which might     
belong to humanity1 while others had a  
diabolical sound4 ,these were ,robert   
the ,jakis1 ,saunders the ,red ,reaver1 
,thomas the ,feary1 ,swein1 an old      
,scandinavian ,duerg probably2 the      
,roaring  ,lion1 ,thief of ,hell1       
,wait-upon-,herself1 ,mac,keeler1       
,robert the ,rule1  ,hendrie ,craig1 and
 ,rorie4 ,these names1 odd and uncouth  
enough1 are  better imagined at least   
than those which ,hopkins contrived for 
the imps  which he discovered--such as  
,pyewacket1 ,peck-in-the-,crown1        
,sack-and-,sugar1 ,news1 ,vinegar-,tom1 
and ,grizell ,greedigut1 the broad      
vulgarity of which epithets shows what a
 flat imagination he brought to  support
 his impudent fictions4    ,the devil1  
who commanded the fair sisterhood1 being

 fond of mimicking  the forms of the    
,christian church1 used to rebaptize the
 witches with  their blood1 and in his  
own great name4 ,the proud-stomached    
,margaret  ,wilson1 who scorned to take 
a blow unrepaid1 even from ,satan       
himself1  was called                    
,pickle-nearest-the-,wind2 her compeer1 
,bessie ,wilson1 was                    
,throw-the-,cornyard2 ,elspet ,nishe's  
was ,bessie ,bald2 ,bessie ,hay's       
nickname was ,able-and-,stout2 and ,jane
 ,mairten1 the ,maiden of the ,covine1  
was called ,ower-the-,dike-with-it4     
,isobel took upon herself1 and imputed  
to her sisters1 as already  mentioned1  
the death of sundry persons shot with   
elf-arrows1 because  they had omitted to
 bless themselves as the aerial flight  
of the hags  swept past them4#ff ,she   
had herself the temerity to shoot at the
 ,laird  of ,park as he was riding      
through a ford1 but missed him through  
the  influence of the running stream1   
perhaps1 for which she thanks ,god in   

her confession2 and adds1 that at the   
time she received a great cuff  from    
,bessie ,hay for her awkwardness4 ,they 
devoted the male children of  this      
gentleman 7of the well-known family of  
,gordon of ,park1 ,i presume7  to       
wasting illness1 by the following lines1
 placing at the same time in  the fire  
figures composed of clay mixed with     
paste1 to represent the  object3--      
,we put this water amongst this meal1   
,for long dwining#fg and ill heal2  ,we 
put it in into the fire1  ,to burn them 
up stook and stour4#fh  ,that they be   
burned with our will1  ,like any        
stikkle#fi in a kiln4    ,footnote #ff3 
,see p4 #acf4    ,footnote #fg3 ,pining4
    ,footnote #fh3 ,we should read      
perhaps1 limb and lire4    ,footnote    
#fi3 ,stubble4    ,such was the singular
 confession of ,isobel ,gowdie1 made    
voluntarily1 it  would seem1 and without
 compulsion of any kind1 judicially     
authenticated  by the subscription of   
the notary1 clergymen1 and gentlemen    

present2  adhered to after their        
separate diets1 as they are called1 of  
examination1 and containing no variety  
or contradiction in its details4        
,whatever might be her state of mind in 
other respects1 she seems to have  been 
perfectly conscious of the perilous     
consequence of her disclosures  to her  
own person4 ,i do not deserve1 says she1
 to be seated here at  ease and         
unharmed1 but rather to be stretched on 
an iron rack3 nor can  my crimes be     
atoned for1 were ,i to be drawn asunder 
by wild horses4    ,it only remains to  
suppose that this wretched creature was 
under the  dominion of some peculiar    
species of lunacy1 to which a full      
perusal of  her confession might perhaps
 guide a medical person of judgment and 
experience4 ,her case is interesting1 as
 throwing upon the rites and  ceremonies
 of the ,scottish witches a light which 
we seek in vain  elsewhere4    ,other   
unfortunate persons were betrayed to    
their own reproof by other  means than  

the derangement of mind which seems to  
have operated on  ,isobel ,gowdie4      
,some1 as we have seen1 endeavoured to  
escape from the  charge of witchcraft by
 admitting an intercourse with the fairy
 people2  an excuse which was never     
admitted as relevant4 ,others were      
subjected to  cruel tortures1 by which  
our ancestors thought the guilty might  
be  brought to confession1 but which far
 more frequently compelled the  innocent
 to bear evidence against themselves4   
,on this subject the  celebrated ,sir   
,george ,mackenzie1 that noble wit of   
,scotland1 as he is  termed by ,dryden1 
has some most judicious reflections1    
which we shall  endeavour to abstract as
 the result of the experience of one    
who1 in his  capacity of ,lord          
,advocate1 had often occasion to conduct
 witch-trials1  and who1 not doubting   
the existence of the crime1 was of      
opinion that1  on account of its very   
horror1 it required the clearest and    
most strict  probation4    ,he first    

insists on the great improbability of   
the fiend1 without riches  to bestow1   
and avowedly subjected to a higher      
power1 being able to  enlist such       
numbers of recruits1 and the little     
advantage which he  himself would gain  
by doing so4 ,but1 #b;dly1 says         
,mackenzie1 the persons  ordinarily     
accused of this crime are poor ignorant 
men1 or else women1  who understand not 
the nature of what they are accused of2 
and many  mistake their own fears and   
apprehensions for witchcraft1 of which  
,i  shall give two instances4 ,one1 of a
 poor weaver who1 after he had          
confessed witchcraft1 being asked how he
 saw the devil1 made answer1  ',like    
flies dancing about the candle4'        
,another1 of a woman1 who asked         
seriously1 when she was accused1 if a   
woman might be a witch and not  know it8
 ,and it is dangerous that persons1 of  
all others the most  simple1 should be  
tried for a crime of all others the most
 mysterious4  #crdly1 ,these poor       

creatures1 when they are defamed1 become
 so confounded  with fear and the close 
prison in which they are kept1 and so   
starved  for want of meat and drink1    
either of which wants is enough to      
disarm  the strongest reason1 that      
hardly wiser and more serious people    
than  they would escape distraction2 and
 when men are confounded with fear and  
apprehension1 they will imagine things  
the most ridiculous and absurd  of which
 instances are given4 #dthly1 ,most of  
these poor creatures are  tortured by   
their keepers1 who1 being persuaded they
 do ,god good  service1 think it their  
duty to vex and torment poor prisoners  
delivered  up to them as rebels to      
heaven and enemies to men2 and ,i know  
7continues ,sir ,george71 ex certissima 
scientia1 that most of all that  ever   
were taken were tormented in this       
manner1 and this usage was the  ground  
of all their confession2 and albeit the 
poor miscreants cannot  prove this      
usage1 the actors being the only        

witnesses1 yet the judge  should be     
jealous of it1 as that which did at     
first elicit the  confession1 and for   
fear of which they dare not retract it4 
#ethly1 ,this  learned author gives us  
an instance how these unfortunate       
creatures  might be reduced to          
confession by the very infamy which the 
accusation  cast upon them1 and which   
was sure to follow1 condemning them for 
life  to a state of necessity1 misery1  
and suspicion1 such as any person of    
reputation would willingly exchange for 
a short death1 however painful4    ,i   
went when ,i was a justice-deput to     
examine some women who had  confessed   
judicially1 and one of them1 who was a  
silly creature1 told me  under secresie1
 that she had not confest because she   
was guilty1 but  being a poor creature  
who wrought for her meat1 and being     
defamed for a  witch1 she knew she would
 starve1 for no person thereafter would 
either  give her meat or lodging1 and   
that all men would beat her and hound   

dogs  at her1 and that therefore she    
desired to be out of the world2         
whereupon  she wept most bitterly1 and  
upon her knees called ,god to witness to
 what  she said4 ,another told me that  
she was afraid the devil would challenge
  a right to her1 after she was said to 
be his servant1 and would haunt  her1 as
 the minister said1 when he was desiring
 her to confess1 and  therefore she     
desired to die4 ,and really ministers   
are oft times  indiscreet in their zeal 
to have poor creatures to confess in    
this2 and  ,i recommend to judges that  
the wisest ministers should be sent to  
them1  and those who are sent should be 
cautious in this particular4#gj         
,footnote #gj3 ,mackenzie's ,criminal   
,law1 p4 #de4    ,as a corollary to this
 affecting story1 ,i may quote the case 
of a woman  in ,lauder jail1 who lay    
there with other females on a charge of 
witchcraft4 ,her companions in prison   
were adjudged to die1 and she too  had1 
by a confession as full as theirs1 given

 herself up as guilty4 ,she  therefore  
sent for the minister of the town1 and  
entreated to be put to  death with the  
others who had been appointed to suffer 
upon the next  ,monday4 ,the clergyman1 
however1 as well as others1 had adopted 
a strong  persuasion that this          
confession was made up in the pride of  
her heart1  for the destruction of her  
own life1 and had no foundation in      
truth4 ,we  give the result in the      
minister's words3--    ,therefore much  
pains was taken on her by ministers and 
others on  ,saturday1 ,sunday1 and      
,monday morning1 that she might resile  
from that  confession which was         
suspected to be but a temptation of the 
devil1 to  destroy both her soul and    
body2 yea1 it was charged home upon her 
by the  ministers1 that there was just  
ground of jealousy that her confession  
was not sincere1 and she was charged    
before the ,lord to declare the  truth1 
and not to take her blood upon her own  
head4 ,yet she stiffly  adhered to what 

she had said1 and cried always to be put
 away with the  rest4 ,whereupon1 on    
,monday morning1 being called before the
 judges1 and  confessing before them    
what she had said1 she was found guilty 
and  condemned to die with the rest that
 same day4 ,being carried forth to the  
place of execution1 she remained silent 
during the first1 second1 and  third    
prayer1 and then perceiving that there  
remained no more but to  rise and go to 
the stake1 she lifted up her body1 and  
with a loud voice  cried out1 ',now all 
you that see me this day1 know that ,i  
am now to die  as a witch by my own     
confession1 and ,i free all men1        
especially the  ministers and           
magistrates1 of the guilt of my blood4  
,i take it wholly  upon myself--my blood
 be upon my own head2 and as ,i must    
make answer to  the ,god of ,heaven     
presently1 ,i declare ,i am as free of  
witchcraft as any  child2 but being     
delated by a malicious woman1 and put in
 prison under  the name of a witch1     

disowned by my husband and friends1 and 
seeing no  ground of hope of my coming  
out of prison1 or ever coming in credit 
again1 through the temptation of the    
devil ,i made up that confession on     
purpose to destroy my own life1 being   
weary of it1 and choosing rather  to die
 than live2'--and so died4 ,which       
lamentable story1 as it did then        
astonish all the spectators1 none of    
which could restrain themselves  from   
tears2 so it may be to all a            
demonstration of ,satan's subtlety1     
whose design is still to destroy all1   
partly by tempting many to  presumption1
 and some others to despair4 ,these     
things to be of truth1  are attested by 
an eye and ear witness who is yet alive1
 a faithful  minister of the gospel4#ga 
,it is strange the inference does not   
seem  to have been deduced1 that as one 
woman out of very despair renounced  her
 own life1 the same might have been the 
case in many other instances1  wherein  
the confessions of the accused          

constituted the principal if not  sole  
evidence of the guilt4    ,footnote #ga3
 ,sinclair's ,satan's ,invisible ,world 
,discovered1 p4 #dc4    ,one celebrated 
mode of detecting witches and torturing 
them at the same  time1 to draw forth   
confession1 was by running pins into    
their body1 on  pretence of discovering 
the devil's stigma1 or mark1 which was  
said to  be inflicted by him upon all   
his vassals1 and to be insensible to    
pain4  ,this species of search1 the     
practice of the infamous ,hopkins1 was  
in  ,scotland reduced to a trade2 and   
the young witchfinder was allowed to    
torture the accused party1 as if in     
exercise of a lawful calling1  although 
,sir ,george ,mackenzie stigmatises it  
as a horrid imposture4 ,i  observe in   
the ,collections of ,mr4 ,pitcairn1 that
 at the trial of ,janet  ,peaston of    
,dalkeith the magistrates and ministers 
of that market town  caused ,john       
,kincaid of ,tranent1 the common        
pricker1 to exercise his  craft upon    

her1 who found two marks of what he     
called the devil's  making1 and which   
appeared indeed to be so1 for she could 
not feel the  pin when it was put into  
either of the said marks1 nor did they  
7the  marks7 bleed when they were taken 
out again2 and when she was asked  where
 she thought the pins were put in1 she  
pointed to a part of her  body distant  
from the real place4 ,they were pins of 
three inches in  length4    ,besides the
 fact that the persons of old people    
especially sometimes  contain spots void
 of sensibility1 there is also room to  
believe that  the professed prickers    
used a pin the point or lower part of   
which was1  on being pressed down1      
sheathed in the upper1 which was hollow 
for the  purpose1 and that which        
appeared to enter the body did not      
pierce it at  all4 ,but1 were it worth  
while to dwell on a subject so          
ridiculous1 we  might recollect that in 
so terrible an agony of shame as is     
likely to  convulse a human being under 

such a trial1 and such personal insults1
  the blood is apt to return to the     
heart1 and a slight wound1 as with a    
pin1 may be inflicted without being     
followed by blood4 ,in the latter end   
of the seventeenth century this         
childish1 indecent1 and brutal practice 
began to be called by its right name4   
,fountainhall has recorded that in      
#afgh the ,privy ,council received the  
complaint of a poor woman who had  been 
abused by a country magistrate and one  
of those impostors called  prickers4    
,they expressed high displeasure against
 the presumption of the  parties        
complained against1 and treated the     
pricker as a common  cheat4#gb          
,footnote #gb3 ,fountainhall's          
,decisions1 vol4 i4 p4 #ae4    ,from    
this and other instances it appears that
 the predominance of the  superstition  
of witchcraft1 and the proneness to     
persecute those accused  of such        
practices in ,scotland1 were increased  
by the too great readiness  of          

subordinate judges to interfere in      
matters which were1 in fact1  beyond    
their jurisdiction4 ,the ,supreme ,court
 of ,justiciary was that in  which the  
cause properly and exclusively ought to 
have been tried4 ,but1  in practice1    
each inferior judge in the country1 the 
pettiest bailie in  the most trifling   
burgh1 the smallest and most ignorant   
baron of a rude  territory1 took it on  
him to arrest1 imprison1 and examine1 in
 which  examinations1 as we have already
 seen1 the accused suffered the grossest
  injustice4 ,the copies of these       
examinations1 made up of extorted       
confessions1 or the evidence of inhabile
 witnesses1 were all that were          
transmitted to the ,privy ,council1 who 
were to direct the future mode of       
procedure4 ,thus no creature was secure 
against the malice or folly of  some    
defamatory accusation1 if there was a   
timid or superstitious judge1  though of
 the meanest denomination1 to be found  
within the district4    ,but1 secondly1 

it was the course of the ,privy ,council
 to appoint  commissions of the         
gentlemen of the country1 and           
particularly of the  clergymen1 though  
not likely1 from their education1 to be 
freed from  general prejudice1 and      
peculiarly liable to be affected by the 
clamour  of the neighbourhood againt the
 delinquent4 ,now1 as it is well known  
that such a commission could not be     
granted in a case of murder in the      
county where the crime was charged1     
there seems no good reason why the      
trial of witches1 so liable to excite   
the passions1 should not have been      
uniformly tried by a court whose rank   
and condition secured them from  the    
suspicion of partiality4 ,but our       
ancestors arranged it otherwise1  and it
 was the consequence that such          
commissioners very seldom1 by           
acquitting the persons brought before   
them1 lost an opportunity of  destroying
 a witch4    ,neither must it be        
forgotten that the proof led in support 

of the  prosecution was of a kind very  
unusual in jurisprudence4 ,the lawyers  
admitted as evidence what they called   
damnum minatum1 et malum  secutum--some 
mischief1 that is to say1 following     
close upon a threat1  or wish of        
revenge1 uttered by the supposed witch1 
which1 though it  might be attributed to
 the most natural course of events1 was 
supposed  necessarily to be in          
consequence of the menaces of the       
accused4    ,sometimes this vague       
species of evidence was still more      
loosely adduced1  and allegations of    
danger threatened and mischief ensuing  
were admitted1  though the menaces had  
not come from the accused party herself4
 ,on #ajth  ,june1 #affa1 as ,john      
,stewart1 one of a party of stout       
burghers of  ,dalkeith appointed to     
guard an old woman called ,christian    
,wilson from  that town to ,niddrie1 was
 cleaning his gun1 he was slyly         
questioned by  ,janet ,cocke1 another   
confessing witch1 who probably saw his  

courage was  not entirely constant1     
,what would you think if the devil raise
 a  whirlwind1 and take her from you on 
the road to-morrow8 ,sure enough1 on    
their journey to ,niddrie the party     
actually were assailed by a sudden  gust
 of wind 7not a very uncommon event in  
that climate71 which scarce  permitted  
the valiant guard to keep their feet1   
while the miserable  prisoner was blown 
into a pool of water1 and with          
difficulty raised  again4 ,there is some
 ground to hope that this extraordinary 
evidence was  not admitted upon the     
trial4    ,there is a story told of an  
old wizard1 whose real name was         
,alexander  ,hunter1 though he was more 
generally known by the nickname of      
,hatteraick1 which it had pleased the   
devil to confer upon him4 ,the man  had 
for some time adopted the credit of     
being a conjurer1 and curing the        
diseases of man and beast by spells and 
charms4 ,one summer's day1 on a  green  
hill-side1 the devil appeared to him in 

shape of a grave  ,mediciner1 addressing
 him thus roundly1 ,sandie1 you have too
 long  followed my trade without        
acknowledging me for a master4 ,you must
 now  enlist with me and become my      
servant1 and ,i will teach you your     
trade  better4 ,hatteraick consented to 
the proposal1 and we shall let the ,rev4
  ,mr4 ,george ,sinclair tell the rest  
of the tale4    ,after this he grew very
 famous through the country for his     
charming and  curing of diseases in men 
and beasts1 and turned a vagrant fellow 
like a  jockie1#gc gaining meal1 and    
flesh1 and money by his charms1 such was
  the ignorance of many at that time4   
,whatever house he came to none durst   
refuse ,hatteraick an alms1 rather for  
his ill than his good4 ,one day he  came
 to the yait 7gate7 of ,samuelston1 when
 some friends after dinner  were going  
to horse4 ,a young gentleman1 brother to
 the lady1 seeing him1  switcht him     
about the ears1 saying--',you warlock   
carle1 what have you to  do here8'      

,whereupon the fellow goes away         
grumbling1 and was overheard to  say1   
',you shall dear buy this ere it be     
long4' ,this was damnum  minatum4 ,the  
young gentleman conveyed his friends a  
far way off1 and  came home that way    
again1 where he supped4 ,after supper1  
taking his  horse and crossing ,tyne    
water to go home1 he rides through a    
shady piece  of a haugh1 commonly called
 ,allers1 and the evening being somewhat
 dark1  he met with some persons there  
that begat a dreadful consternation in  
him1 which for the most part he would   
never reveal4 ,this was malum  secutum4 
,when he came home the servants observed
 terror and fear in his  countenance4   
,the next day he became distracted1 and 
was bound for  several days4 ,his       
sister1 the ,lady ,samuelston1 hearing  
of it1 was heard  say1 ',surely that    
knave ,hatteraick is the cause of his   
trouble2 call for  him in all haste4'   
,when he had come to her1 ',sandie1'    
says she1 'what is  this you have done  

to my brother ,william8' ',i told him1' 
says he1 ',i  should make him repent of 
his striking me at the yait lately4'    
,she1  giving the rogue fair words1 and 
promising him his pockful of meal1 with 
beef and cheese1 persuaded the fellow to
 cure him again4 ,he undertook  the     
business4 ',but ,i must first1' says he1
 'have one of his sarks'  7shirts71     
which was soon gotten4 ,what pranks he  
played with it cannot be  known1 but    
within a short while the gentleman      
recovered his health4 ,when  ,hatteraick
 came to receive his wages he told the  
lady1 ',your brother  ,william shall    
quickly go off the country1 but shall   
never return1' ,she1  knowing the       
fellow's prophecies to hold true1 caused
 the brother to make  a disposition to  
her of all his patrimony1 to the        
defrauding of his  younger brother1     
,george4 ,after that this warlock had   
abused the country  for a long time1 he 
was at last apprehended at ,dunbar1 and 
brought into  ,edinburgh1 and burnt upon

 the ,castlehill4#gd    ,footnote #gc3  
,or ,scottish wandering beggar4         
,footnote #gd3 ,sinclair's ,satan's     
,invisible ,world ,discovered1 p4 #ih4  
,now1 if ,hatteraick was really put to  
death on such evidence1 it is worth     
while to consider what was its real     
amount4 ,a hot-tempered swaggering      
young gentleman horsewhips a beggar of  
ill fame for loitering about the  gate  
of his sister's house4 ,the beggar      
grumbles1 as any man would4 ,the  young 
man1 riding in the night1 and probably  
in liquor1 through a dark  shady place1 
is frightened by1 he would not1 and     
probably could not1  tell what1 and has 
a fever fit4 ,his sister employs the    
wizard to take  off the spell according 
to his profession2 and here is damnum   
minatum1  et malum secutum1 and all     
legal cause for burning a man to ashes6 
,the  vagrant ,hatteraick probably knew 
something of the wild young man which   
might soon oblige him to leave the      
country2 and the selfish ,lady          

,samuelston1 learning the probability of
 his departure1 committed a fraud  which
 ought to have rendered her evidence    
inadmissible4    ,besides these         
particular disadvantages1 to which the  
parties accused of  this crime in       
,scotland were necessarily exposed1 both
 in relation to the  judicature by which
 they were tried and the evidence upon  
which they  were convicted1 their       
situation was rendered intolerable by   
the  detestation in which they were held
 by all ranks4 ,the gentry hated them   
because the diseases and death of their 
relations and children were  often      
imputed to them2 the grossly            
superstitious vulgar abhorred them  with
 still more perfect dread and loathing4 
,and amongst those natural  feelings1   
others of a less pardonable description 
found means to shelter  themselves4 ,in 
one case1 we are informed by ,mackenzie1
 a poor girl was  to die for witchcraft1
 of whom the real crime was that she had
 attracted  too great a share1 in the   

lady's opinion1 of the attention of the 
laird4    ,having thus given some       
reasons why the prosecutions for        
witchcraft in  ,scotland were so        
numerous and fatal1 we return to the    
general history of  the trials recorded 
from the reign of ,james ,v4 to the     
union of the  kingdoms4 ,through the    
reign of ,queen ,mary these trials for  
sorcery  became numerous1 and the crime 
was subjected to heavier punishment by  
the #gcrd ,act of her #ith ,parliament4 
,but when ,james ,,vi4 approached to    
years of discretion1 the extreme anxiety
 which he displayed to penetrate  more  
deeply into mysteries which others had  
regarded as a very millstone  of        
obscurity1 drew still larger attention  
to the subject4 ,the sovereign  had     
exhausted his talents of investigation  
on the subject of witchcraft1  and      
credit was given to all who acted in    
defence of the opinions of the  reigning
 prince4 ,this natural tendency to      
comply with the opinions of  the        

sovereign was much augmented by the     
disposition of the ,kirk to the  same   
sentiments4 ,we have already said that  
these venerable persons  entertained1   
with good faith1 the general erroneous  
belief respecting  witchcraft--regarding
 it indeed as a crime which affected    
their own  order more nearly than others
 in the state1 since1 especially called 
to  the service of heaven1 they were    
peculiarly bound to oppose the          
incursions of ,satan4 ,the works which  
remain behind them show1 among  better  
things1 an unhesitating belief in what  
were called by them  special            
providences2 and this was equalled1 at  
least1 by their  credulity as to the    
actual interference of evil spirits in  
the affairs  of this world4 ,they       
applied these principles of belief to   
the meanest  causes4 ,a horse falling   
lame was a snare of the devil to keep   
the good  clergyman from preaching2 the 
arrival of a skilful farrier was        
accounted  a special providence to      

defeat the purpose of ,satan4 ,this was1
  doubtless1 in a general sense true1   
since nothing can happen without the    
foreknowledge and will of ,heaven2 but  
we are authorized to believe that  the  
period of supernatural interference has 
long passed away1 and that  the great   
,creator is content to execute his      
purposes by the operation of  those laws
 which influence the general course of  
nature4 ,our ancient  ,scottish divines 
thought otherwise4 ,surrounded1 as they 
conceived  themselves1 by the snares and
 temptations of hell1 and relying on the
  aid of ,heaven1 they entered into war 
with the kingdom of ,satan1 as the      
crusaders of old invaded the land of    
,palestine1 with the same confidence  in
 the justice of their cause and similar 
indifference concerning the  feelings of
 those whom they accounted the enemies  
of ,god and man4 ,we  have already seen 
that even the conviction that a woman   
was innocent of  the crime of witchcraft
 did not induce a worthy clergyman to   

use any  effort to withdraw her from the
 stake2 and in the same collection#ge   
there occur some observable passages of 
,god's providence to a godly  minister  
in giving him full clearness concerning 
,bessie ,grahame1  suspected of         
witchcraft4 ,the whole detail is a      
curious illustration of  the spirit of  
credulity which well-disposed men       
brought with them to  such              
investigations1 and how easily the      
gravest doubts were removed  rather than
 a witch should be left undetected4     
,footnote #ge3 ,satan's ,invisible      
,world1 by ,mr4 ,george ,sinclair4 ,the 
author was ,professor of ,moral         
,philosophy in the ,university of       
,glasgow1  and afterwards minister of   
,eastwood1 in ,renfrewshire4    ,bessie 
,grahame had been committed1 it would   
seem1 under suspicions of no  great     
weight1 since the minister1 after       
various conferences1 found her  defence 
so successful1 that he actually pitied  
her hard usage1 and  wished for her     

delivery from prison1 especially as he  
doubted whether a  civil court would    
send her to an assize1 or whether an    
assize would be  disposed to convict    
her4 ,while the minister was in this    
doubt1 a fellow  named ,begg was        
employed as a skilful pricker2 by whose 
authority it is  not said1 he thrust a  
great brass pin up to the head in a wart
 on the  woman's back1 which he affirmed
 to be the devil's mark4 ,a commission  
was  granted for trial2 but still the   
chief gentlemen in the county refused   
to act1 and the clergyman's own doubts  
were far from being removed4 ,this  put 
the worthy man upon a solemn prayer to  
,god1 that if he would find  out a way  
for giving the minister full clearness  
of her guilt1 he would  acknowledge it  
as a singular favour and mercy4 ,this1  
according to his  idea1 was accomplished
 in the following manner1 which he      
regarded as an  answer to his prayer4   
,one evening the clergyman1 with        
,alexander ,simpson1  the kirk-officer1 

and his own servant1 had visited ,bessie
 in her cell1  to urge her to           
confession1 but in vain4 ,as they stood 
on the stair-head  behind the door1 they
 heard the prisoner1 whom they had left 
alone in  her place of confinement1     
discoursing with another person1 who    
used a  low and ghostly tone1 which the 
minister instantly recognised as the    
,foul ,fiend's voice4 ,but for this     
discovery we should have been of        
opinion that ,bessie ,grahame talked to 
herself1 as melancholy and  despairing  
wretches are in the habit of doing4 ,but
 as ,alexander ,simpson  pretended to   
understand the sense of what was said   
within the cell1 and  the minister      
himself was pretty sure he heard two    
voices at the same  time1 he regarded   
the overhearing this conversation as the
 answer of the  ,deity to his petition1 
and thenceforth was troubled with no    
doubts  either as to the reasonableness 
and propriety of his prayer1 or the     
guilt of ,bessie ,grahame1 though she   

died obstinate1 and would not  confess2 
nay1 made a most decent and ,christian  
end1 acquitting her  judges and jury of 
her blood1 in respect of the strong     
delusion under  which they laboured4    
,although the ministers1 whose opinions 
were but two strongly on this  head in  
correspondence with the prevailing      
superstitions of the people1  nourished 
in the early system of church government
 a considerable desire  to secure their 
own immunities and privileges as a      
national church1  which failed not at   
last to be brought into contact with the
 king's  prerogative2 yet in the earlier
 part of his reign1 ,james1 when freed  
from the influence of such a favourite  
as the profligate ,stuart1 ,earl of     
,arran1 was in his personal qualities   
rather acceptable to the clergy of  his 
kingdom and period4 ,at his departing   
from ,scotland on his romantic          
expedition to bring home a consort from 
,denmark1 he very politically           
recommended to the clergy to contribute 

all that lay in their power to  assist  
the civil magistrates1 and preserve the 
public peace of the  kingdom4 ,the king 
after his return acknowledged with many 
thanks the  care which the clergy had   
bestowed in this particular4 ,nor were  
they  slack in assuming the merit to    
themselves1 for they often reminded him 
in their future discords that his       
kingdom had never been so quiet as      
during his voyage to ,denmark1 when the 
clergy were in a great measure          
intrusted with the charge of the public 
government4    ,during the halcyon      
period of union between kirk and king   
their hearty  agreement on the subject  
of witchcraft failed not to heat the    
fires  against the persons suspected of 
such iniquity4 ,the clergy considered   
that the ,roman ,catholics1 their       
principal enemies1 were equally devoted 
to the devil1 the mass1 and the witches1
 which in their opinion were  mutually  
associated together1 and natural allies 
in the great cause of  mischief4 ,on the

 other hand1 the pedantic sovereign     
having exercised his  learning and      
ingenuity in the ,demonologia1          
considered the execution of  every witch
 who was burnt as a necessary conclusion
 of his own royal  syllogisms4 ,the     
juries were also afraid of the          
consequences of acquittal  to           
themselves1 being liable to suffer under
 an assize of error should  they be     
thought to have been unjustly merciful2 
and as the witches tried  were          
personally as insignificant as the      
charge itself was odious1 there  was no 
restraint whatever upon those in whose  
hands their fate lay1 and  there seldom 
wanted some such confession as we have  
often mentioned1 or  such evidence as   
that collected by the minister who      
overheard the  dialogue between the     
witch and her master1 to salve their    
consciences  and reconcile them to bring
 in a verdict of guilty4    ,the        
execution of witches became for these   
reasons very common in  ,scotland1 where

 the king seemed in some measure to have
 made himself a  party in the cause1 and
 the clergy esteemed themselves such    
from the  very nature of their          
profession4 ,but the general spite of   
,satan and his  adherents was supposed  
to be especially directed against       
,james1 on  account of his match with   
,anne of ,denmark--the union of a       
,protestant  princess with a ,protestant
 prince1 the ,king of ,scotland and heir
 of  ,england being1 it could not be    
doubted1 an event which struck the whole
  kingdom of darkness with alarm4 ,james
 was self-gratified by the unusual      
spirit which he had displayed on his    
voyage in quest of his bride1 and  well 
disposed to fancy that he had performed 
it in positive opposition1  not only to 
the indirect policy of ,elizabeth1 but  
to the malevolent  purpose of hell      
itself4 ,his fleet had been             
tempest-tost1 and he very  naturally    
believed that the prince of the power of
 the air had been  personally active on 

the occasion4    ,the principal person  
implicated in these heretical and       
treasonable  undertakings was one ,agnes
 ,simpson1 or ,samson1 called the ,wise 
,wife of  ,keith1 and described by      
,archbishop ,spottiswood1 not as one of 
the base  or ignorant class of ordinary 
witches1 but a grave matron1 composed   
and  deliberate in her answers1 which   
were all to some purpose4 ,this grave   
dame1 from the terms of her indictment1 
seems to have been a kind of  white     
witch1 affecting to cure diseases by    
words and charms1 a dangerous           
profession considering the times in     
which she lived4 ,neither did she       
always keep the right and sheltered side
 of the law in such delicate            
operations4 ,one article of her         
indictment proves this1 and at the same 
time establishes that the ,wise ,woman  
of ,keith knew how to turn her          
profession to account2 for1 being       
consulted in the illness of ,isobel     
,hamilton1 she gave her opinion that    

nothing could amend her unless the      
devil was raised2 and the sick woman's  
husband1 startling at the  proposal1 and
 being indifferent perhaps about the    
issue1 would not  bestow the necessary  
expenses1 whereupon the ,wise ,wife     
refused to raise  the devil1 and the    
patient died4 ,this woman was           
principally engaged in  an extensive    
conspiracy to destroy the fleet of the  
queen by raising a  tempest2 and to take
 the king's life by anointing his linen 
with  poisonous materials1 and by       
constructing figures of clay1 to be     
wasted  and tormented after the usual   
fashion of necromancy4    ,amongst her  
associates was an unhappy lady of much  
higher degree4 ,this  was ,dame ,euphane
 ,mac,calzean1 the widow of a ,senator  
of the ,college of  ,justice1 and a     
person infinitely above the rank of the 
obscure witches  with whom she was      
joined in her crime4 ,mr4 ,pitcairn     
supposes that this  connexion may have  
arisen from her devotion to the         

,catholic faith and  her friendship for 
the ,earl of ,bothwell4    ,the third   
person in this singular league of       
sorcerers was ,doctor ,john  ,fian1     
otherwise ,cunninghame1 who was         
schoolmaster at ,tranent1 and  enjoyed  
much hazardous reputation as a warlock4 
,this man was made the  hero of the     
whole tale of necromancy1 in an account 
of it published at  ,london1 and        
entitled1 ,news from ,scotland1 which   
has been lately  reprinted by the       
,roxburghe ,club4 ,it is remarkable that
 the ,scottish  witchcrafts were not    
thought sufficiently horrible by the    
editor of this  tract1 without adding to
 them the story of a philtre being      
applied to a  cow's hair instead of that
 of the young woman for whom it was     
designed1  and telling how the animal   
came lowing after the sorcerer to his   
schoolroom door1 like a second ,pasipha1
 the original of which charm  occurs in 
the story of ,apuleius4#gf    ,footnote 
#gf3 ,lucii ,apuleii ,metamorphoses1    

lib4 iii4    ,besides these persons1    
there was one ,barbara ,napier1 alias   
,douglas1 a  person of some rank2       
,geillis ,duncan1 a very active witch2  
and about  thirty other poor creatures  
of the lowest condition--among the rest1
 and  doorkeeper to the conclave1 a     
silly old ploughman1 called as his      
nickname ,graymeal1 who was cuffed by   
the devil for saying simply1 ,god  bless
 the king6    ,when the monarch of      
,scotland sprung this strong covey of   
his favourite  game1 they afforded the  
,privy ,council and him sport for the   
greatest  part of the remaining winter4 
,he attended on the examinations        
himself1  and by one means or or other1 
they were indifferently well dressed to 
his palate4    ,agnes ,sampson1 the     
grave matron before mentioned1 after    
being an hour  tortured by the twisting 
of a cord around her head1 according to 
the  custom of the ,buccaneers1         
confessed that she had consulted with   
one  ,richard ,grahame concerning the   

probable length of the king's life1 and 
the means of shortening it4 ,but ,satan1
 to whom they at length resorted  for   
advice1 told them in ,french respecting 
,king ,james1 ,il est un homme  de      
,dieu4 ,the poor woman also acknowledged
 that she had held a meeting  with those
 of her sisterhood1 who had charmed a   
cat by certain spells1  having four     
joints of men knit to its feet1 which   
they threw into the  sea to excite a    
tempest4 ,another frolic they had when1 
like the weird  sisters in ,macbeth1    
they embarked in sieves with much mirth 
and jollity1  the ,fiend rolling himself
 before them upon the waves1 dimly seen1
 and  resembling a huge haystack in size
 and appearance4 ,they went on board of 
a foreign ship richly laded with wines1 
where1 invisible to the crew1  they     
feasted till the sport grew tiresome1   
and then ,satan sunk the  vessel and all
 on board4    ,fian1 or ,cunninghame1   
was also visited by the sharpest        
tortures1  ordinary and extraordinary4  

,the nails were torn from his fingers   
with  smith's pincers2 pins were driven 
into the places which the nails  usually
 defended2 his knees were crushed in the
 boots1 his finger  bones were          
splintered in the pilniewinks4 ,at      
length his constancy1  hitherto         
sustained1 as the bystanders supposed1  
by the help of the  devil1 was fairly   
overcome1 and he gave an account of a   
great  witch-meeting at ,north ,berwick1
 where they paced round the church      
withershinns1 that is1 in reverse of the
 motion of the sun4 ,fian then  blew    
into the lock of the church-door1       
whereupon the bolts gave way1 the       
unhallowed crew entered1 and their      
master the devil appeared to his        
servants in the shape of a black man    
occupying the pulpit4 ,he was  saluted  
with an ,hail1 ,master6 but the company 
were dissatisfied with  his not having  
brought a picture of the king1          
repeatedly promised1 which  was to place
 his majesty at the mercy of this       

infernal crew4 ,the devil  was          
particularly upbraided on this subject  
by divers respectable-looking           
females--no question1 ,euphane          
,mac,calzean1 ,barbara ,napier1 ,agnes  
,sampson1  and some other amateur witch 
above those of the ordinary profession4 
,the  devil on this memorable occasion  
forgot himself1 and called ,fian by his 
own name1 instead of the demoniacal     
sobriquet of ,rob the ,rowar1 which  had
 been assigned to him as ,master of the 
,rows or ,rolls4 ,this was  considered  
as bad taste1 and the rule is still     
observed at every  rendezvous of        
forgers1 smugglers1 or the like1 where  
it is accounted  very indifferent       
manners to name an individual by his own
 name1 in case  of affording ground of  
evidence which may upon a day of trial  
be brought  against him4 ,satan1        
something disconcerted1 concluded the   
evening with a  divertisement and a     
dance after his own manner4 ,the former 
consisted in  disinterring a new-buried 

corpse1 and dividing it in fragments    
among the  company1 and the ball was    
maintained by well-nigh two hundred     
persons1  who danced a ring dance1      
singing this chant--    ,cummer1 gang ye
 before2 ,cummer gang ye4  ,gif ye will 
not gang before1 ,cummers1 let me4      
,after this choral exhibition1 the music
 seems to have been rather  imperfect1  
the number of dancers considered4       
,geillis ,duncan was the only           
instrumental performer1 and she played  
on a ,jew's harp1 called in  ,scotland a
 trump4 ,dr4 ,fian1 muffled1 led the    
ring1 and was highly  honoured1         
generally acting as clerk or recorder1  
as above mentioned4    ,king ,james was 
deeply interested in those mysterious   
meetings1 and took  great delight to be 
present at the examinations of the      
accused4 ,he sent  for ,geillis ,duncan1
 and caused her to play before him the  
same tune to  which ,satan and his      
companions led the brawl in ,north      
,berwick  churchyard4#gg ,his ears were 

gratified in another way1 for at this   
meeting it was said the witches demanded
 of the devil why he did bear  such     
enmity against the king8 who returned   
the flattering answer that  the king was
 the greatest enemy whom he had in the  
world4    ,footnote #gg3 ,the music of  
this witch tune is unhappily lost4 ,but 
that  of another1 believed to have been 
popular on such occasions1 is           
preserved4    ,the silly bit chicken1   
gar cast her a pickle1   ,and she will  
grow mickle1           ,and she will do 
good4    ,almost all these poor wretches
 were executed1 nor did ,euphane        
,mac,calzean's station in life save her 
from the common doom1 which was         
strangling to death1 and burning to     
ashes thereafter4 ,the majority of  the 
jury which tried ,barbara ,napier having
 acquitted her of attendance  at the    
,north ,berwick meeting1 were themselves
 threatened with a trial  for wilful    
error upon an assize1 and could only    
escape from severe  censure and         

punishment by pleading guilty1 and      
submitting themselves to  the king's    
pleasure4 ,this rigorous and iniquitous 
conduct shows a  sufficient reason why  
there should be so few acquittals from a
 charge of  witchcraft where the juries 
were so much at the mercy of the crown4 
,it would be disgusting to follow the   
numerous cases in which the same        
uniform credulity1 the same extorted    
confessions1 the same prejudiced  and   
exaggerated evidence1 concluded in the  
same tragedy at the stake and  the pile4
 ,the alterations and trenching which   
lately took place for the  purpose of   
improving the ,castlehill of ,edinburgh 
displayed the ashes of  the numbers who 
had perished in this manner1 of whom a  
large proportion  must have been        
executed between #aeij1 when the great  
discovery was made  concerning ,euphane 
,mac,calzean and the ,wise ,wife of     
,keith and their  accomplices1 and the  
union of the crowns4    ,nor did ,king  
,james's removal to ,england soften this

 horrible  persecution4 ,in ,sir ,thomas
 ,hamilton's ,minutes of ,proceedings in
 the  ,privy ,council1 there occurs a   
singular entry1 evincing plainly that   
the  ,earl of ,mar1 and others of       
,james's ,council1 were becoming fully  
sensible  of the desperate iniquity and 
inhumanity of these proceedings4 ,i have
  modernized the spelling that this     
appalling record may be legible to all  
my readers4    #afjh1 ,december #a4 ,the
 ,earl of ,mar declared to the ,council 
that some  women were taken in          
,broughton as witches1 and being put to 
an assize and  convicted1 albeit they   
persevered constant in their denial to  
the end1  yet they were burned quick    
alive after such a cruel manner that    
some  of them died in despair1          
renouncing and blaspheming ,god2 and    
others1  half burned1 brak out of the   
fire1#gh and were cast quick in it      
again1  till they were burned to the    
death4    ,footnote #gh3 ,i am obliged  
to the kindness of ,mr4 ,pitcairn for   

this  singular extract4 ,the southern   
reader must be informed that the        
jurisdiction or regality of ,broughton  
embraced ,holyrood1 ,canongate1  ,leith1
 and other suburban parts of ,edinburgh1
 and bore the same relation  to that    
city as the borough of ,southwark to    
,london4    ,this singular document     
shows that even in the reign of ,james1 
so soon as  his own august person was   
removed from ,edinburgh1 his dutiful    
,privy  ,council began to think that    
they had supt full with horrors1 and    
were  satiated with the excess of       
cruelty which dashed half-consumed      
wretches  back into the flames from     
which they were striving to escape4     
,but the picture1 however much it may   
have been disgusting and terrifying  to 
the ,council at the time1 and though the
 intention of the entry upon  the       
records was obviously for the purpose of
 preventing such horrid  cruelties in   
future1 had no lasting effect on the    
course of justice1 as  the severities   

against witches were most unhappily     
still considered  necessary4 ,through   
the whole of the sixteenth1 and the     
greater part of  the seventeenth        
century1 little abatement in the        
persecution of this  metaphysical crime 
of witchcraft can be traced in the      
kingdom4 ,even  while the ,independents 
held the reins of government1 ,cromwell 
himself1  and his major-generals and    
substitutes1 were obliged to please the 
common people of ,scotland by abandoning
 the victims accused of  witchcraft to  
the power of the law1 though the        
journals of the time  express the horror
 and disgust with which the ,english    
sectarians beheld  a practice so        
inconsistent with their own humane      
principle of universal  toleration4     
,instead of plunging into a history of  
these events which1 generally  speaking1
 are in detail as monotonous as they are
 melancholy1 it may  amuse the reader to
 confine the narrative to a single      
trial1 having in  the course of it some 

peculiar and romantic events4 ,it is the
 tale of a  sailor's wife1 more tragic  
in its event than that of the           
chestnut-muncher in ,macbeth4#gi        
,footnote #gi3 ,a copy of the record of 
the trial1 which took place in          
,ayrshire1 was sent to me by a friend   
who withheld his name1 so that ,i  can  
only thank him in this general          
acknowledgment4    ,margaret ,barclay1  
wife of ,archibald ,dein1 burgess of    
,irvine1 had been  slandered by her     
sister-in-law1 ,janet ,lyal1 the spouse 
of ,john ,dein1  brother of ,archibald1 
and by ,john ,dein himself1 as guilty of
 some act of  theft4 ,upon this         
provocation ,margaret ,barclay raised an
 action of  slander before the church   
court1 which prosecution1 after some    
procedure1 the kirk-session discharged  
by directing a reconciliation  between  
the parties4 ,nevertheless1 although the
 two women shook hands  before the      
court1 yet the said ,margaret ,barclay  
declared that she gave  her hand only in

 obedience to the kirk-session1 but that
 she still  retained her hatred and     
ill-will against ,john ,dein and his    
wife1 ,janet  ,lyal4 ,about this time   
the bark of ,john ,dein was about to    
sail for  ,france1 and ,andrew ,train1  
or ,tran1 provost of the burgh of       
,irvine1 who  was an owner of the       
vessel1 went with him to superintend the
 commercial  part of the voyage4 ,two   
other merchants of some consequence went
 in the  same vessel1 with a sufficient 
number of mariners4 ,margaret ,barclay1 
the  revengeful person already          
mentioned1 was heard to imprecate curses
 upon  the provost's argosy1 praying to 
,god that sea nor salt-water might never
  bear the ship1 and that partans       
7crabs7 might eat the crew at the       
bottom of the sea4    ,when1 under these
 auspices1 the ship was absent on her   
voyage1 a  vagabond fellow1 named ,john 
,stewart1 pretending to have knowledge  
of  jugglery1 and to possess the power  
of a spaeman1 came to the residence  of 

,tran1 the provost1 and dropped explicit
 hints that the ship was lost1  and that
 the good woman of the house was a      
widow4 ,the sad truth was  afterwards   
learned on more certain information4    
,two of the seamen1 after  a space of   
doubt and anxiety1 arrived1 with the    
melancholy tidings that  the bark1 of   
which ,john ,dein was skipper and       
,provost ,tran part owner1  had been    
wrecked on the coast of ,england1 near  
,padstow1 when all on  board had been   
lost1 except the two sailors who brought
 the notice4  ,suspicion of sorcery1 in 
those days easily awakened1 was fixed on
  ,margaret ,barclay1 who had imprecated
 curses on the ship1 and on ,john       
,stewart1 the juggler1 who had seemed to
 know of the evil fate of the  voyage   
before he could have become acquainted  
with it by natural means4    ,stewart1  
who was first apprehended1 acknowledged 
that ,margaret ,barclay1  the other     
suspected person1 had applied to him to 
teach her some magic  arts1 in order    

that she might get gear1 kye's milk1    
love of man1 her  heart's desire on such
 persons as had done her wrong1 and1    
finally1 that  she might obtain the     
fruit of sea and land4 ,stewart declared
 that he  denied to ,margaret that he   
possessed the said arts himself1 or had 
the  power of communicating them4 ,so   
far was well2 but1 true or false1 he    
added a string of circumstances1 whether
 voluntarily declared or  extracted by  
torture1 which tended to fix the cause  
of the loss of the  bark on ,margaret   
,barclay4 ,he had come1 he said1 to this
 woman's house in  ,irvine1 shortly     
after the ship set sail from harbour4   
,he went to  ,margaret's house by night1
 and found her engaged1 with other two  
women1  in making clay figures2 one of  
the figures was made handsome1 with fair
  hair1 supposed to represent ,provost  
,tran4 ,they then proceeded to mould a  
figure of a ship in clay1 and during    
this labour the devil appeared to  the  
company in the shape of a handsome black

 lap-dog1 such as ladies use  to        
keep4#hj ,he added that the whole party 
left the house together1 and  went into 
an empty waste-house nearer the seaport1
 which house he  pointed out to the city
 magistrates4 ,from this house they went
 to the  sea-side1 followed by the black
 lap-dog aforesaid1 and cast in the     
figures of clay representing the ship   
and the men2 after which the sea  raged1
 roared1 and became red like the juice  
of madder in a dyer's  cauldron4        
,footnote #hj3 ,this may remind the     
reader of ,cazotte's ,diable  ,amoureux4
    ,this confession having been        
extorted from the unfortunate juggler1  
the  female acquaintances of ,margaret  
,barclay were next convened1 that he    
might point out her associates in       
forming the charm1 when he pitched  upon
 a woman called ,isobel ,insh1 or       
,taylor1 who resolutely denied having   
ever seen him before4 ,she was          
imprisoned1 however1 in the belfry of   
the  church4 ,an addition to the        

evidence against the poor old woman     
,insh was  then procured from her own   
daughter1 ,margaret ,tailzeour1 a child 
of  eight years old1 who lived as       
servant with ,margaret ,barclay1 the    
person  principally accused4 ,this      
child1 who was keeper of a baby         
belonging to  ,margaret ,barclay1 either
 from terror or the innate love of      
falsehood  which we have observed as    
proper to childhood1 declared that she  
was  present when the fatal models of   
clay were formed1 and that1 in plunging 
them in the sea1 ,margaret ,barclay her 
mistress1 and her mother ,isobel  ,insh1
 were assisted by another woman1 and a  
girl of fourteen years old1  who dwelt  
at the town-head4 ,legally considered1  
the evidence of this  child was         
contradictory and inconsistent with the 
confession of the  juggler1 for it      
assigned other particulars and dramatis 
person in  many respects different4 ,but
 all was accounted sufficiently regular1
  especially since the girl failed not  

to swear to the presence of the  black  
dog1 to whose appearance she also added 
the additional terrors of  that of a    
black man4 ,the dog also1 according to  
her account1 emitted  flashes from its  
jaws and nostrils to illuminate the     
witches during the  performance of the  
spell4 ,the child maintained this story 
even to her  mother's face1 only        
alleging that ,isobel ,insh remained    
behind in the  waste-house1 and was not 
present when the images were put into   
the sea4  ,for her own countenance and  
presence on the occasion1 and to ensure 
her  secrecy1 her mistress promised her 
a pair of new shoes4    ,john ,stewart1 
being re-examined and confronted with   
the child1 was  easily compelled to     
allow that the little smatchet was      
there1 and to  give that marvellous     
account of his correspondence with      
,elfland which we  have noticed         
elsewhere4    ,the conspiracy thus far1 
as they conceived1 disclosed1 the       
magistrates  and ministers wrought hard 

with ,isobel ,insh to prevail upon her  
to tell  the truth2 and she at length   
acknowledged her presence at the time   
when  the models of the ship and        
mariners were destroyed1 but endeavoured
 so  to modify her declaration as to    
deny all personal accession to the      
guilt4 ,this poor creature almost       
admitted the supernatural powers        
imputed to her1 promising ,bailie       
,dunlop 7also a mariner71 by whom she   
was imprisoned1 that1 if he would       
dismiss her1 he should never make a  bad
 voyage1 but have success in all his    
dealings by sea and land4 ,she  was     
finally brought to promise that she     
would fully confess the whole  that she 
knew of the affair on the morrow4       
,but finding herself in so hard a       
strait1 the unfortunate woman made use  
of the darkness to attempt an escape4   
,with this view she got out by a  back  
window of the belfry1 although1 says the
 report1 there were iron  bolts1 locks1 
and fetters on her1 and attained the    

roof of the church1  where1 losing her  
footing1 she sustained a severe fall and
 was greatly  bruised4 ,being           
apprehended1 ,bailie ,dunlop again urged
 her to confess2  but the poor woman was
 determined to appeal to a more merciful
 tribunal1  and maintained her innocence
 to the last minute of her life1 denying
 all  that she had formerly admitted1   
and dying five days after her fall from 
the roof of the church4 ,the inhabitants
 of ,irvine attributed her death  to    
poison4    ,the scene began to thicken1 
for a commission was granted for the    
trial  of the two remaining persons     
accused1 namely1 ,stewart1 the juggler1 
and  ,margaret ,barclay4 ,the day of    
trial being arrived1 the following      
singular  events took place1 which we   
give as stated in the record3--    ,my  
,lord and ,earl of ,eglintoune 7who     
dwells within the space of one mile  to 
the said burgh7 having come to the said 
burgh at the earnest request  of the    
said justices1 for giving to them of his

 lordship's countenance1  concurrence   
and assistance1 in trying of the        
foresaid devilish  practices1 conform to
 the tenor of the foresaid commission1  
the said  ,john ,stewart1 for his better
 preserving to the day of the assize1   
was  put in a sure lockfast booth1 where
 no manner of person might have  access 
to him till the downsitting of the      
,justice ,court1 and for  avoiding of   
putting violent hands on himself1 he was
 very strictly  guarded and fettered by 
the arms1 as use is4 ,and upon that same
 day of  the assize1 about half an hour 
before the downsitting of the ,justice  
,court1 ,mr4 ,david ,dickson1 minister  
at ,irvine1 and ,mr4 ,george ,dunbar1   
minister of ,air1 having gone to him to 
exhort him to call on his ,god for      
mercy for his bygone wicked and evil    
life1 and that ,god would of his        
infinite mercy loose him out of the     
bonds of the devil1 whom he had  served 
these many years bygone1 he acquiesced  
in their prayer and godly  exhortation1 

and uttered these words3--,i am so      
straitly guarded that it  lies not in my
 power to get my hand to take off my    
bonnet1 nor to get  bread to my mouth4  
,and immediately after the departing of 
the two  ministers from him1 the juggler
 being sent for at the desire of my     
,lord  of ,eglintoune1 to be confronted 
with a woman of the burgh of ,air1      
called  ,janet ,bous1 who was           
apprehended by the magistrates of the   
burgh of ,air  for witchcraft1 and sent 
to the burgh of ,irvine purposely for   
that  affair1 he was found by the burgh 
officers who went about him1 strangled  
and hanged by the cruik of the door1    
with a tait of hemp1 or a string  made  
of hemp1 supposed to have been his      
garter1 or string of his bonnet1  not   
above the length of two span long1 his  
knees not being from the  ground half a 
span1 and was brought out of the house1 
his life not being  totally expelled4   
,but notwithstanding of whatsoever means
 used in the  contrary for remeid of his

 life1 he revived not1 but so ended his 
life  miserably1 by the help of the     
devil his master4    ,and because there 
was then only in life the said ,margaret
 ,barclay1 and  that the persons        
summoned to pass upon her assize and    
upon the assize of  the juggler who1 by 
the help of the devil his master1 had   
put violent  hands on himself1 were all 
present within the said burgh2          
therefore1 and  for eschewing of the    
like in the person of the said          
,margaret1 our  sovereign lord's        
justices in that part particularly      
above-named1  constituted by commission 
after solemn deliberation and advice of 
the  said noble lord1 whose concurrence 
and advice was chiefly required and     
taken in this matter1 concluded with all
 possible diligence before the          
downsitting of the ,justice ,court to   
put the said ,margaret in torture2 in   
respect the devil1 by ,god's permission1
 had made her associates who were  the  
lights of the cause1 to be their own    

burrioes 7slayers74 ,they used  the     
torture underwritten as being most safe 
and gentle 7as the said  noble lord     
assured the said justices71 by putting  
of her two bare legs  in a pair of      
stocks1 and thereafter by onlaying of   
certain iron gauds  7bars7 severally one
 by one1 and then eiking and augmenting 
the weight  by laying on more gauds1 and
 in easing of her by offtaking of the   
iron  gauds one or more as occasion     
offered1 which iron gauds were but      
little  short gauds1 and broke not the  
skin of her legs1 c4    ,after using of 
the which kind of gentle torture1 the   
said ,margaret  began1 according to the 
increase of the pain1 to cry and crave  
for ,god's  cause to take off her shins 
the foresaid irons1 and she should      
declare  truly the whole matter4 ,which 
being removed1 she began at her former  
denial2 and being of new essayed in     
torture as of befoir1 she then  uttered 
these words3 ',take off1 take off1 and  
before ,god ,i shall show  you the whole

 form6'    ,and the said irons being of 
new1 upon her faithfull promise1        
removed1  she then desired my ,lord of  
,eglintoune1 the said four justices1 and
 the  said ,mr4 ,david ,dickson1        
minister of the burgh1 ,mr4 ,george     
,dunbar1  minister of ,ayr1 and ,mr4    
,mitchell ,wallace1 minister of         
,kilmarnock1 and  ,mr4 ,john            
,cunninghame1 minister of ,dalry1 and   
,hugh ,kennedy1 provost of  ,ayr1 to    
come by themselves and to remove all    
others1 and she should  declare truly1  
as she should answer to ,god the whole  
matter4 ,whose  desire in that being    
fulfilled she made her confession in    
this manner1  but 7i4e41 without7 any   
kind of demand1 freely1 without         
interrogation2  ,god's name by earnest  
prayer being called upon for opening of 
her lips1  and easing of her heart1 that
 she1 by rendering of the truth1 might  
glorify and magnify his holy name1 and  
disappoint the enemy of her             
salvation4--,trial of ,margaret         

,barclay1 c41 #afah4    ,margaret       
,barclay1 who was a young and lively    
person1 had hitherto  conducted herself 
like a passionate and high-tempered     
woman innocently  accused1 and the only 
appearance of conviction obtained       
against her was1  that she carried about
 her rowan-tree and coloured thread1 to 
make1 as  she said1 her cow give milk1  
when it began to fail4 ,but the gentle  
torture--a strange junction of          
words--recommended as an anodyne by the 
good ,lord ,eglinton--the placing1      
namely1 her legs in the stocks1 and     
loading her bare shins with bars of     
iron1 overcame her resolution2 when1  at
 her screams and declarations that she  
was willing to tell all1 the  weights   
were removed4 ,she then told a story of 
destroying the ship of  ,john ,dein1    
affirming that it was with the purpose  
of killing only her  brother-in-law and 
,provost ,tran1 and saving the rest of  
the crew4 ,she at  the same time        
involved in the guilt ,isobel ,crawford4

 ,this poor woman was  also apprehended1
 and in great terror confessed the      
imputed crime1  retorting the principal 
blame on ,margaret ,barclay herself4    
,the trial was  then appointed to       
proceed1 when ,alexander ,dein1 the     
husband of ,margaret  ,barclay1 appeared
 in court with a lawyer to act in his   
wife's behalf4  ,apparently1 the sight  
of her husband awakened some hope and   
desire of  life1 for when the prisoner  
was asked by the lawyer whether she     
wished  to be defended8 she answered1   
,as you please ,but all ,i have confest 
was  in agony of torture2 and1 before   
,god1 all ,i have spoken is false and   
untrue4 ,to which she pathetically      
added1 ,ye have been too long in        
coming4    ,the jury1 unmoved by these  
affecting circumstances1 proceeded upon 
the  principle that the confession of   
the accused could not be considered as  
made under the influence of torture1    
since the bars were not actually  upon  
her limbs at the time it was delivered1 

although they were placed  at her elbow 
ready to be again laid on her bare      
shins1 if she was less  explicit in her 
declaration than her auditors wished4   
,on this nice  distinction they in one  
voice found ,margaret ,barclay guilty4  
,it is  singular that she should have   
again returned to her confession after  
sentence1 and died affirming it2 the    
explanation of which1 however1  might be
 either that she had really in her      
ignorance and folly tampered  with some 
idle spells1 or that an apparent        
penitence for her offence1  however     
imaginary1 was the only mode in which   
she could obtain any share  of public   
sympathy at her death1 or a portion of  
the prayers of the  clergy and          
congregation1 which1 in her             
circumstances1 she might be  willing to 
purchase1 even by confession of what all
 believed respecting  her4 ,it is       
remarkable that she earnestly entreated 
the magistrates that  no harm should be 
done to ,isobel ,crawford1 the woman    

whom she had  herself accused4 ,this    
unfortunate young creature was strangled
 at the  stake1 and her body burnt to   
ashes1 having died with many expressions
 of  religion and penitence4    ,it was 
one fatal consequence of these cruel    
persecutions1 that one pile  was usually
 lighted at the embers of another4      
,accordingly in the present  case1 three
 victims having already perished by this
 accusation1 the  magistrates1 incensed 
at the nature of the crime1 so perilous 
as it  seemed to men of a maritime life1
 and at the loss of several friends of  
their own1 one of whom had been their   
principal magistrate1 did not  forbear  
to insist against ,isobel ,crawford1    
inculpated by ,margaret  ,barclay's     
confession4 ,a new commission was       
granted for her trial1 and  after the   
assistant minister of ,irvine1 ,mr4     
,david ,dickson1 had made  earnest      
prayers to ,god for opening her obdurate
 and closed heart1 she  was subjected to
 the torture of iron bars laid upon her 

bare shins1 her  feet being in the      
stocks1 as in the case of ,margaret     
,barclay4    ,she endured this torture  
with incredible firmness1 since she did 
admirably1 without any kind of din or   
exclamation1 suffer above thirty  stone 
of iron to be laid on her legs1 never   
shrinking thereat in any  sort1 but     
remaining1 as it were1 steady4 ,but in  
shifting the situation  of the iron     
bars1 and removing them to another part 
of her shins1 her  constancy gave way2  
she broke out into horrible cries       
7though not more  than three bars were  
then actually on her person7 of--,tak   
aff--tak  aff6 ,on being relieved from  
the torture1 she made the usual         
confession  of all that she was charged 
with1 and of a connexion with the devil 
which had subsisted for several years4  
,sentence was given against her         
accordingly4 ,after this had been       
denounced1 she openly denied all her    
former confessions1 and died without any
 sign of repentance1 offering  repeated 

interruption to the minister in his     
prayer1 and absolutely  refusing to     
pardon the executioner4    ,this tragedy
 happened in the year #afac1 and        
recorded1 as it is1 very  particularly  
and at considerable length1 forms the   
most detailed  specimen ,i have met with
 of a ,scottish trial for               
witchcraft--illustrating1 in particular1
 how poor wretches1 abandoned1  as they 
conceived1 by ,god and the world1       
deprived of all human sympathy1  and    
exposed to personal tortures of an acute
 description1 became  disposed to throw 
away the lives that were rendered bitter
 to them by a  voluntary confession of  
guilt1 rather than struggle hopelessly  
against  so many evils4 ,four persons   
here lost their lives1 merely because   
the  throwing some clay models into the 
sea1 a fact told differently by the     
witnesses who spoke of it1 corresponded 
with the season1 for no day was  fixed  
in which a particular vessel was lost4  
,it is scarce possible that1  after     

reading such a story1 a man of sense can
 listen for an instant to  the evidence 
founded on confessions thus obtained1   
which has been almost  the sole reason  
by which a few individuals1 even in     
modern times1 have  endeavoured to      
justify a belief in the existence of    
witchcraft4    ,the result of the       
judicial examination of a criminal1 when
 extorted by  such means1 is the most   
suspicious of all evidence1 and even    
when  voluntarily given1 is scarce      
admissible without the corroboration of 
other testimony4    ,we might here take 
leave of our ,scottish history of       
witchcraft by barely  mentioning that   
many hundreds1 nay perhaps thousands1   
lost their lives  during two centuries  
on such charges and such evidence as    
proved the  death of those persons in   
the trial of the ,irvine witches4 ,one  
case1  however1 is so much distinguished
 by fame among the numerous instances   
which occurred in ,scottish history1    
that we are under the necessity of      

bestowing a few words upon those        
celebrated persons1 ,major ,weir and his
  sister4    ,the case of this notorious
 wizard was remarkable chiefly from his 
being  a man of some condition 7the son 
of a gentleman1 and his mother a lady   
of family in ,clydesdale71 which was    
seldom the case with those that fell    
under similar accusations4 ,it was also 
remarkable in his case that he  had been
 a ,covenanter1 and peculiarly attached 
to that cause4 ,in the  years of the    
,commonwealth this man was trusted and  
employed by those who  were then at the 
head of affairs1 and was in #afdi       
commander of the  ,city-,guard of       
,edinburgh1 which procured him his title
 of ,major4 ,in this  capacity he was   
understood1 as was indeed implied in the
 duties of that  officer at the period1 
to be very strict in executing severity 
upon such  ,royalists as fell under his 
military charge4 ,it appears that the   
,major1  with a maiden sister who had   
kept his house1 was subject to fits of  

melancholic lunacy1 an infirmity easily 
reconcilable with the formal  pretences 
which he made to a high show of         
religious zeal4 ,he was  peculiar in his
 gift of prayer1 and1 as was the custom 
of the period1  was often called to     
exercise his talent by the bedside of   
sick persons1  until it came to be      
observed that1 by some association1     
which it is more  easy to conceive than 
to explain1 he could not pray with the  
same warmth  and fluency of expression  
unless when he had in his hand a stick  
of  peculiar shape and appearance1 which
 he generally walked with4 ,it was      
noticed1 in short1 that when this stick 
was taken from him1 his wit and  talent 
appeared to forsake him4 ,this ,major   
,weir was seized by the  magistrates on 
a strange whisper that became current   
respecting vile  practices1 which he    
seems to have admitted without either   
shame or  contrition4 ,the disgusting   
profligacies which he confessed were of 
such  a character that it may be        

charitably hoped most of them were the  
fruits  of a depraved imagination1      
though he appears to have been in many  
respects a wicked and criminal          
hypocrite4 ,when he had completed his   
confession1 he avowed solemnly that he  
had not confessed the hundredth  part of
 the crimes which he had committed4     
,from this time he would  answer no     
interrogatory1 nor would he have        
recourse to prayer1 arguing  that1 as he
 had no hope whatever of escaping       
,satan1 there was no need of  incensing 
him by vain efforts at repentance4 ,his 
witchcraft seems to  have been taken for
 granted on his own confession1 as his  
indictment was  chiefly founded on the  
same document1 in which he alleged he   
had never  seen the devil1 but any      
feeling he had of him was in the dark4  
,he  received sentence of death1 which  
he suffered #abth ,april1 #afgj1 at the 
,gallow-hill1 between ,leith and        
,edinburgh4 ,he died so stupidly sullen 
and  impenitent as to justify the       

opinion that he was oppressed with a    
kind  of melancholy frenzy1 the         
consequence perhaps of remorse1 but such
 as  urged him not to repent1 but to    
despair4 ,it seems probable that he was 
burnt alive4 ,his sister1 with whom he  
was supposed to have had an  incestuous 
connexion1 was condemned also to death1 
leaving a stronger  and more explicit   
testimony of their mutual sins than     
could be extracted  from the ,major4    
,she gave1 as usual1 some account of her
 connexion with  the queen of the       
fairies1 and acknowledged the assistance
 she received  from that sovereign in   
spinning an unusual quantity of yam4 ,of
 her  brother she said that one day a   
friend called upon them at noonday with 
a fiery chariot1 and invited them to    
visit a friend at ,dalkeith1 and  that  
while there her brother received        
information of the event of the  battle 
of ,worcester4 ,no one saw the style of 
their equipage except  themselves4 ,on  
the scaffold this woman1 determining1 as

 she said1 to die  with the greatest    
shame possible1 was with difficulty     
prevented from  throwing off her clothes
 before the people1 and with scarce less
 trouble  was she flung from the ladder 
by the executioner4 ,her last words were
 in  the tone of the sect to which her  
brother had so long affected to  belong3
 ,many1 she said1 weep and lament for a 
poor old wretch like  me2 but alas6 few 
are weeping for a broken ,covenant4     
,the ,scottish prelatists1 upon whom the
 ,covenanters used to throw many        
aspersions respecting their receiving   
proof against shot from the devil1  and 
other infernal practices1 rejoiced to   
have an opportunity1 in their  turn1 to 
retort on their adversaries the charge  
of sorcery4 ,dr4 ,hickes1  the author of
 ,thesaurus ,septentrionalis1 published 
on the subject of  ,major ,weir1 and the
 case of ,mitchell1 who fired at the    
,archbishop of ,st4  ,andrews his book  
called ,ravaillac ,redivivus1 written   
with the unjust  purpose of attaching to

 the religious sect to which the wizard 
and  assassin belonged the charge of    
having fostered and encouraged the      
crimes they committed or attempted4     
,it is certain that no story of         
witchcraft or necromancy1 so many of    
which occurred near and in ,edinburgh1  
made such a lasting impression on  the  
public mind as that of ,major ,weir4    
,the remains of the house in which  he  
and his sister lived are still shown at 
the head of the ,west ,bow1  which has a
 gloomy aspect1 well suited for a       
necromancer4 ,it was at  different times
 a brazier's shop and a magazine for    
lint1 and in my  younger days was       
employed for the latter use2 but no     
family would  inhabit the haunted walls 
as a residence2 and bold was the urchin 
from  the ,high ,school who dared       
approach the gloomy ruin at the risk of 
seeing  the ,major's enchanted staff    
parading through the old apartments1 or 
hearing the hum of the necromantic      
wheel1 which procured for his sister    

such a character as a spinner4 ,at the  
time ,i am writing this last  fortress  
of superstitious renown is in the course
 of being destroyed1 in  order to the   
modern improvements now carrying on in a
 quarter long  thought unimprovable4    
,as knowledge and learning began to     
increase1 the gentlemen and clergy of   
,scotland became ashamed of the         
credulity of their ancestors1 and witch 
trials1 although not discontinued1 more 
seldom disgrace our records of  criminal
 jurisprudence4    ,sir ,john ,clerk1 a 
scholar and an antiquary1 the           
grandfather of the late  celebrated     
,john ,clerk of ,eldin1 had the honour  
to be amongst the first  to decline     
acting as a commissioner on the trial of
 a witch1 to which he  was appointed so 
early as #afgh1ha alleging1 drily1 that 
he did not  feel himself warlock 7that  
is1 conjurer7 sufficient to be a judge  
upon  such an inquisition4 ,allan       
,ramsay1 his friend1 and who must be    
supposed  to speak the sense of his many

 respectable patrons1 had delivered his 
opinion on the subject in the ,gentle   
,shepherd1 where ,mause's imaginary     
witchcraft constitutes the machinery of 
the poem4    ,footnote #ha3 ,see        
,fountainhall's ,decisions1 vol4 i4 p4  
#ae4    ,yet these dawnings of sense and
 humanity were obscured by the clouds of
  the ancient superstition on more than 
one distinguished occasion4 ,in  #afgf1 
,sir ,george ,maxwell1 of ,pollock1     
apparently a man of melancholic  and    
valetudinary habits1 believed himself   
bewitched to death by six  witches1 one 
man and five women1 who were leagued for
 the purpose of  tormenting a clay image
 in his likeness4 ,the chief evidence on
 the  subject was a vagabond girl1      
pretending to be deaf and dumb4 ,but as 
her  imposture was afterwards discovered
 and herself punished1 it is  reasonably
 to be concluded that she had herself   
formed the picture or  image of ,sir    
,george1 and had hid it where it was    
afterwards found in  consequence of her 

own information4 ,in the meantime1 five 
of the accused  were executed1 and the  
sixth only escaped on account of extreme
 youth4    ,a still more remarkable case
 occurred at ,paisley in #afig1 where a 
young  girl1 about eleven years of age1 
daughter of ,john ,shaw1 of ,bargarran1 
was the principal evidence4 ,this       
unlucky damsel1 beginning her practices 
out of a quarrel with a maid-servant1   
continued to imitate a case of          
possession so accurately that no less   
than twenty persons were condemned  upon
 her evidence1 of whom five were        
executed1 besides one ,john ,reed1  who 
hanged himself in prison1 or1 as was    
charitably said1 was strangled  by the  
devil in person1 lest he should make    
disclosures to the detriment  of the    
service4 ,but even those who believed in
 witchcraft were now  beginning to open 
their eyes to the dangers in the present
 mode of  prosecution4 ,i own1 says the 
,rev4 ,mr4 ,bell in his ,,ms4 ,treatise 
on  ,witchcraft1 there has been much    

harm done to worthy and innocent        
persons in the common way of finding out
 witches1 and in the means made  use of 
for promoting the discovery of such     
wretches and bringing them to  justice2 
so that oftentimes old age1 poverty1    
features1 and ill-fame1  with such like 
grounds not worthy to be represented to 
a magistrate1  have yet moved many to   
suspect and defame their neighbours1 to 
the  unspeakable prejudice of ,christian
 charity2 a late instance whereof we    
had in the west1 in the business of the 
sorceries exercised upon the  ,laird of 
,bargarran's daughter1 anno #afig--;a   
time when persons of more  goodness and 
esteem than most of their calumniators  
were defamed for  witches1 and which was
 occasioned mostly by the forwardness   
and absurd  credulity of diverse        
otherwise worthy ministers of the       
gospel1 and some  topping professors in 
and about the city of ,glasgow4#hb      
,footnote #hb3 ,law's ,memorialls1      
edited by ,c4,k4 ,sliarpe1 ,esq43       

,prefatory ,notice1 p4 #ic4    ,those   
who doubted of the sense of the law or  
reasonableness of the  practice in such 
cases1 began to take courage and state  
their objections  boldly4 ,in the year  
#agjd a frightful instance of popular   
bigotry  occurred at ,pittenweem4 ,a    
strolling vagabond1 who affected fits1  
laid an  accusation of witchcraft       
against two women1 who were accordingly 
seized  on1 and imprisoned with the     
usual severities4 ,one of the unhappy   
creatures1 ,janet ,cornfoot by name1    
escaped from prison1 but was  unhappily 
caught1 and brought back to ,pittenweem1
 where she fell into  the hands of a    
ferocious mob1 consisting of rude seamen
 and fishers4 ,the  magistrates made no 
attempts for her rescue1 and the crowd  
exercised  their brutal pleasure on the 
poor old woman1 pelted her with stones1 
swung her suspended on a rope betwixt a 
ship and the shore1 and finally  ended  
her miserable existence by throwing a   
door over her as she lay  exhausted on  

the beach1 and heaping stones upon it   
till she was pressed  to death4 ,as even
 the existing laws against witchcraft   
were transgressed  by this brutal riot1 
a warm attack was made upon the         
magistrates and  ministers of the town  
by those who were shocked at a tragedy  
of such a  horrible cast1 ,there were   
answers published1 in which the parties 
assailed were zealously defended4 ,the  
superior authorities were expected  to  
take up the affair1 but it so happened2 
during the general  distraction of the  
country concerning the ,union1 that the 
murder went  without the investigation  
which a crime so horrid demanded4       
,still1  however1 it was something      
gained that the cruelty was exposed to  
the  public4 ,the voice of general      
opinion was now appealed to1 and in the 
long run the sentiments which it        
advocates are commonly those of good    
sense and humanity4    ,the officers in 
the higher branches of the law dared now
 assert their  official authority and   

reserve for their own decision cases of 
supposed  witchcraft which the fear of  
public clamour had induced them formerly
 to  leave in the hands of inferior     
judges1 operated upon by all the        
prejudices of the country and the       
populace4    ,in #agah1 the celebrated  
lawyer1 ,robert ,dundas of ,arniston1   
then ,king's  ,advocate1 wrote a severe 
letter of censure to the ,sheriff-depute
 of  ,caithness1 in the first place1 as 
having neglected to communicate         
officially certain precognitions which  
he had led respecting some recent       
practices of witchcraft in his county4  
,the ,advocate reminded this local      
judge that the duty of inferior         
magistrates1 in such cases1 was to      
advise with the ,king's ,counsel1 first1
 whether they should be made  subject of
 a trial or not2 and if so1 before what 
court1 and in what  manner1 it should   
take place4 ,he also called the         
magistrate's attention  to a report1    
that he1 the ,sheriff-depute1 intended  

to judge in the case  himself2 a thing  
of too great difficulty to be tried     
without very  deliberate advice1 and    
beyond the jurisdiction of an inferior  
court4  ,the ,sheriff-depute sends1 with
 his apology1 the precognition#hc of    
the affair1 which is one of the most    
nonsensical in this nonsensical         
department of the law4 ,a certain       
carpenter1 named ,william ,montgomery1  
was so infested with cats1 which1 as his
 servant-maid reported1 spoke  among    
themselves1 that he fell in a rage upon 
a party of these animals  which had     
assembled in his house at irregular     
hours1 and betwixt his  ,highland arms  
of knife1 dirk1 and broadsword1 and his 
professional  weapon of an axe1 he made 
such a dispersion that they were quiet  
for the  night4 ,in consequence of his  
blows1 two witches were said to have    
died4  ,the case of a third1 named      
,nin-,gilbert1 was still more           
remarkable4 ,her  leg being broken1 the 
injured limb withered1 pined1 and       

finally fell  off2 on which the hag was 
enclosed in prison1 where she also died2
 and  the question which remained was1  
whether any process should be directed  
against persons whom1 in her compelled  
confession1 she had1 as usual1  informed
 against4 ,the ,lord ,advocate1 as may  
be supposed1 quashed all  further       
procedure4    ,footnote #hc3 ,the       
precognition is the record of the       
preliminary  evidence on which the      
public officers charged in ,scotland    
with duties  entrusted to a grand jury  
in ,england1 incur the responsibility of
  sending an accused person to trial4   
,in #agbj1 an unlucky boy1 the third son
 of ,james1 ,lord ,torphichen1 took  it 
into his head1 under instructions1 it is
 said1 from a knavish  governor1 to play
 the possessed and bewitched person1    
laying the cause  of his distress on    
certain old witches in ,calder1 near to 
which village  his father had his       
mansion4 ,the women were imprisoned1 and
 one or two of  them died2 but the      

,crown counsel would not proceed to     
trial4 ,the noble  family also began to 
see through the cheat4 ,the boy was sent
 to sea1 and  though he is said at one  
time to have been disposed to try his   
fits  while on board1 when the          
discipline of the navy proved too severe
 for  his cunning1 in process of time he
 became a good sailor1 assisted         
gallantly in defence of the vessel      
against the pirates of ,angria1 and     
finally was drowned in a storm4    ,in  
the year #agbb1 a ,sheriff-depute of    
,sutherland1 ,captain ,david ,ross of   
,littledean1 took it upon him1 in       
flagrant violation of the then          
established rules of jurisdiction1 to   
pronounce the last sentence of  death   
for witchcraft which was ever passed in 
,scotland4 ,the victim was  an insane   
old woman belonging to the parish of    
,loth1 who had so little  idea of her   
situation as to rejoice at the sight of 
the fire which was  destined to consume 
her4 ,she had a daughter lame both of   

hands and feet1  a circumstance         
attributed to the witch's having been   
used to transform  her into a pony1 and 
get her shod by the devil4 ,it does not 
appear that  any punishment was         
inflicted for this cruel abuse of the   
law on the  person of a creature so     
helpless2 but the son of the lame       
daughter1 he  himself distinguished by  
the same misfortune1 was living so      
lately as to  receive the charity of the
 present ,marchioness of ,stafford1     
,countess of  ,sutherland in her own    
right1 to whom the poor of her extensive
 country  are as well known as those of 
the higher order4    ,since this        
deplorable action there has been no     
judicial interference in  ,scotland on  
account of witchcraft1 unless to prevent
 explosions of  popular enmity against  
people suspected of such a crime1 of    
which some  instances could be produced4
 ,the remains of the superstition       
sometimes  occur2 there can be no doubt 
that the vulgar are still addicted to   

the  custom of scoring above the        
breath#hd 7as it is termed71 and other  
counter-spells1 evincing that the belief
 in witchcraft is only asleep1  and     
might in remote corners be again        
awakened to deeds of blood4 ,an         
instance or two may be quoted chiefly as
 facts known to the author  himself4    
,footnote #hd3 ,drawing blood1 that is1 
by two cuts in the form of a cross  on  
the witch's forehead1 confided in all   
throughout ,scotland as the most        
powerful counter charm4    ,in a remote 
part of the ,highlands1 an ignorant and 
malignant woman seems  really to have   
meditated the destruction of her        
neighbour's property1 by  placing in a  
cow-house1 or byre as we call it1 a pot 
of baked clay  containing locks of hair1
 parings of nails1 and other trumpery4  
,this  precious spell was discovered1   
the design conjectured1 and the witch   
would have been torn to pieces had not a
 high-spirited and excellent  lady in   
the neighbourhood gathered some of her  

people 7though these were  not very fond
 of the service71 and by main force     
taken the unfortunate  creature out of  
the hands of the populace4 ,the         
formidable spell is now  in my          
possession4    ,about two years since1  
as they were taking down the walls of a 
building  formerly used as a            
feeding-house for cattle1 in the town of
 ,dalkeith1  there was found below the  
threshold-stone the withered heart of   
some  animal stuck full of many scores  
of pins--a counter-charm1 according to  
tradition1 against the operations of    
witchcraft on the cattle which are  kept
 within4 ,among the almost innumerable  
droves of bullocks which come  down     
every year from the ,highlands for the  
south1 there is scarce one  but has a   
curious knot upon his tail1 which is    
also a precaution lest an  evil eye or  
an evil spell may do the animal harm4   
,the last ,scottish story with which ,i 
will trouble you happened in or  shortly
 after the year #ahjj1 and the whole    

circumstances are well known  to me4    
,the dearth of the years in the end of  
the eighteenth and  beginning of this   
century was inconvenient to all1 but    
distressing to  the poor4 ,a solitary   
old woman1 in a wild and lonely         
district1 subsisted  chiefly by rearing 
chickens1 an operation requiring so much
 care and  attention that the gentry1   
and even the farmers' wives1 often find 
it  better to buy poultry at a certain  
age than to undertake the trouble of    
bringing them up4 ,as the old woman in  
the present instance fought her  way    
through life better than her neighbours1
 envy stigmatized her as  having some   
unlawful mode of increasing the gains of
 her little trade1  and apparently she  
did not take much alarm at the          
accusation4 ,but she  felt1 like others1
 the dearth of the years alluded to1 and
 chiefly  because the farmers were      
unwilling to sell grain in the very     
moderate  quantities which she was able 
to purchase1 and without which her      

little  stock of poultry must have been 
inevitably starved4 ,in distress on this
  account1 the dame went to a           
neighbouring farmer1 a very             
good-natured1  sensible1 honest man1 and
 requested him as a favour to sell her a
 peck  of oats at any price4 ,good      
neighbour1 he said1 ,i am sorry to be   
obliged to refuse you1 but my corn is   
measured out for ,dalkeith market2  my  
carts are loaded to set out1 and to open
 these sacks again1 and for  so small a 
quantity1 would cast my accounts loose1 
and create much  trouble and            
disadvantage2 ,i dare say you will get  
all you want at such a  place1 or such a
 place4 ,on receiving this answer1 the  
old woman's  temper gave way4 ,she      
scolded the wealthy farmer1 and wished  
evil to his  property1 which was just   
setting off for the market4 ,they       
parted1 after  some angry language on   
both sides2 and sure enough1 as the     
carts crossed  the ford of the river    
beneath the farm-house1 off came the    

wheel from  one of them1 and five or six
 sacks of corn were damaged by the      
water4  ,the good farmer hardly knew    
what to think of this2 there were the   
two  circumstances deemed of old        
essential and sufficient to the crime of
  witchcraft--,damnum minatum1 et malum 
secutum4 ,scarce knowing what to        
believe1 he hastened to consult the     
sheriff of the county1 as a friend      
rather than a magistrate1 upon a case so
 extraordinary4 ,the official  person   
showed him that the laws against        
witchcraft were abrogated1 and  had     
little difficulty to bring him to regard
 the matter in its true  light of an    
accident4    ,it is strange1 but true1  
that the accused herself was not to be  
reconciled to the sheriffs doctrine so  
easily4 ,he reminded her that1 if  she  
used her tongue with so much license1   
she must expose herself to  suspicions1 
and that should coincidences happen to  
irritate her  neighbours1 she1 might    
suffer harm at a time when there was no 

one to  protect her4 ,he therefore      
requested her to be more cautious in her
  language for her own sake1 professing1
 at the same time1 his belief that  her 
words and intentions were perfectly     
harmless1 and that he had no            
apprehension of being hurt by her1 let  
her wish her worst to him4 ,she  was    
rather more angry than pleased at the   
well-meaning sheriffs  scepticism4 ,i   
would be laith to wish ony ill either to
 you or yours1  sir1 she said2 for ,i   
kenna how it is1 but something aye comes
 after my  words when ,i am ill-guided  
and speak ower fast4 ,in short1 she was 
obstinate in claiming an influence over 
the destiny of others by words  and     
wishes1 which might have in other times 
conveyed her to the stake1  for which   
her expressions1 their consequences1 and
 her disposition to  insist upon their  
efficacy1 would certainly of old have   
made her a fit  victim4 ,at present the 
story is scarcely worth mentioning1 but 
as it  contains material resembling     

those out of which many tragic incidents
  have arisen4    ,so low1 in short1 is 
now the belief in witchcraft1 that      
perhaps it is  only received by those   
half-crazy individuals who feel a       
species of  consequence derived from    
accidental coincidences1 which1 were    
they  received by the community in      
general1 would go near1 as on former    
occasions1 to cost the lives of those   
who make their boast of them4 ,at  least
 one hypochondriac patient is known to  
the author1 who believes  himself the   
victim of a gang of witches1 and        
ascribes his illness to  their charms1  
so that he wants nothing but an         
indulgent judge to awake  again the old 
ideas of sorcery4          ,,letter ,x4 
,other ,mystic ,arts independent of     
,witchcraft--,astrology--,its           
,influence during the #afth and #agth   
,centuries--,base ,ignorance of         
those who practised it--,lilly's        
,history of his ,life and               
,times--,astrologer's ,society--,dr4    

,lamb--,dr4 ,forman--,establishment of  
the ,royal                              
,society--,partridge--,connexion of     
,astrologers with      ,elementary      
,spirits--,dr4 ,dun--,irish             
,superstition of the                    
,banshie--,similar ,superstition in the 
,highlands--,brownie--,ghosts--,belief  
of ,ancient ,philosophers on that       
,subject--,inquiry into the respect due 
to such ,tales in ,modern               
,times--,evidence of a ,ghost against a 
,murderer--,ghost of ,sir ,george       
,villiers--,story of ,earl ,st4         
,vincent--,of a ,british ,general       
,officer--,of an ,apparition in         
,france--,of the ,second ,lord          
,lyttelton--,of ,bill ,jones--,of       
,jarvis ,matcham--,trial of two         
,highlanders for the ,murder of         
,sergeant ,davis1 discovered by a       
,ghost--,disturbances at ,woodstock1    
anno #afdi--;,imposture called the      
,stockwell ,ghost--,similar ,case in    
,scotland--,ghost appearing to an       

,exciseman--,story of a ,disturbed      
,house discovered by the firmness of    
the ,proprietor--,apparition at         
,plymouth--,a ,club of                  
,philosophers--,ghost ,adventure of a   
,farmer--,trick upon a ,veteran         
,soldier--,ghost ,stories recommended by
 the ,skill of the ,authors who         
compose them--,mrs4 ,veal's             
,ghost--,dunton's ,apparition           
,evidence--,effect of ,appropriate      
,scenery to ,encourage a ,tendency to   
,superstition--,differs at distant      
,periods of ,life--,night at ,glammis   
,castle about #agia--,visit to ,dunvegan
 in #ahad4      ,while the vulgar       
endeavoured to obtain a glance into the 
darkness of  futurity by consulting the 
witch or fortune-teller1 the great were 
supposed to have a royal path of their  
own1 commanding a view from a  loftier  
quarter of the same terra incognita4    
,this was represented as  accessible by 
several routes4 ,physiognomy1           
chiromancy1 and other  fantastic arts of

 prediction afforded each its mystical  
assistance and  guidance4 ,but the road 
most flattering to human vanity1 while  
it was at  the same time most seductive 
to human credulity1 was that of         
astrology1  the queen of mystic         
sciences1 who flattered those who       
confided in her  that the planets and   
stars in their spheres figure forth and 
influence  the fate of the creatures of 
mortality1 and that a sage acquainted   
with  her lore could predict1 with some 
approach to certainty1 the events of    
any man's career1 his chance of success 
in life or in marriage1 his  advance in 
favour of the great1 or answer any other
 horary questions1 as  they were termed1
 which he might be anxious to propound1 
provided always  he could supply the    
exact moment of his birth4 ,this1 in the
 sixteenth  and greater part of the     
seventeenth centuries1 was all that was 
necessary to enable the astrologer to   
erect a scheme of the position of  the  
heavenly bodies1 which should disclose  

the life of the interrogator1  or       
,native1 as he was called1 with all its 
changes1 past1 present1 and to  come4   
,imagination was dazzled by a prospect  
so splendid2 and we find that in  the   
sixteenth century the cultivation of    
this fantastic science was the  serious 
object of men whose understandings and  
acquirements admit of no  question4     
,bacon himself allowed the truth which  
might be found in a  well-regulated     
astrology1 making thus a distinction    
betwixt the art as  commonly practised  
and the manner in which it might1 as he 
conceived1 be  made a proper use of4    
,but a grave or sober use of this       
science1 if even  ,bacon could have     
taught such moderation1 would not have  
suited the  temper of those who1        
inflamed by hopes of temporal           
aggrandizement1  pretended to understand
 and explain to others the language of  
the stars4  ,almost all the other paths 
of mystic knowledge led to poverty2 even
 the  alchemist1 though talking loud and

 high of the endless treasures his art  
was to produce1 lived from day to day   
and from year to year upon hopes  as    
unsubstantial as the smoke of his       
furnace4 ,but the pursuits of the       
astrologer were such as called for      
instant remuneration4 ,he became rich   
by the eager hopes and fond credulity of
 those who consulted him1 and  that     
artist lived by duping others1 instead  
of starving1 like others1 by  duping    
himself4 ,the wisest men have been      
cheated by the idea that some           
supernatural influence upheld and guided
 them2 and from the time of             
,wallenstein to that of ,buonaparte1    
ambition and success have placed        
confidence in the species of fatalism   
inspired by a belief of the  influence  
of their own star4 ,such being the case1
 the science was little  pursued by     
those who1 faithful in their remarks and
 reports1 must soon  have discovered its
 delusive vanity through the splendour  
of its  professions2 and the place of   

such calm and disinterested pursuers of 
truth was occupied by a set of men      
sometimes ingenious1 always forward  and
 assuming1 whose knowledge was          
imposition1 whose responses were1 like  
the oracles of yore1 grounded on the    
desire of deceit1 and who1 if  sometimes
 they were elevated into rank and       
fortune1 were more frequently  found    
classed with rogues and vagabonds4 ,this
 was the more apt to be the  case that a
 sufficient stock of impudence1 and some
 knowledge by rote of  the terms of art1
 were all the store of information      
necessary for  establishing a conjurer4 
,the natural consequence of the degraded
  character of the professors was the   
degradation of the art itself4  ,lilly1 
who wrote the history of his own life   
and times1 notices in that  curious     
volume the most distinguished persons of
 his day1 who made  pretensions to      
astrology1 and almost without exception 
describes them as  profligate1          
worthless1 sharking cheats1 abandoned to

 vice1 and imposing1  by the grossest   
frauds1 upon the silly fools who        
consulted them4 ,from  what we learn of 
his own history1 ,lilly himself1 a      
low-born ignorant  man1 with some gloomy
 shades of fanaticism in his            
temperament1 was  sufficiently fitted to
 dupe others1 and perhaps cheated       
himself merely  by perusing1 at an      
advanced period of life1 some of the    
astrological  tracts devised by men of  
less cunning1 though perhaps more       
pretence to  science1 than he himself   
might boast4 ,yet the public still      
continue to  swallow these gross        
impositions1 though coming from such    
unworthy  authority4 ,the astrologers   
embraced different sides of the ,civil  
,war1  and the king on one side1 with   
the ,parliamentary leaders on the other1
  were both equally curious to know1 and
 eager to believe1 what ,lilly1         
,wharton1 or ,gadbury had discovered    
from the heavens touching the fortune   
of the strife4 ,lilly was a prudent     

person1 contriving with some address  to
 shift the sails of his prophetic bark  
so as to suit the current of  the time1 
and the gale of fortune4 ,no person     
could better discover from  various     
omens the course of ,charles's          
misfortunes1 so soon as they had  come  
to pass4 ,in the time of the            
,commonwealth he foresaw the perpetual  
destruction of the monarchy1 and in     
#affj this did not prevent his          
foreseeing the restoration of ,charles  
,,ii4 ,he maintained some credit even   
among the better classes1 for ,aubrey   
and ,ashmole both called themselves  his
 friends1 being persons extremely       
credulous1 doubtless1 respecting  the   
mystic arts4 ,once a year1 too1 the     
astrologers had a public dinner  or     
feast1 where the knaves were patronised 
by the company of such fools  as claimed
 the title of ,philomaths--that is1     
lovers of the mathematics1  by which    
name were still distinguished those who 
encouraged the pursuit  of mystical     

prescience1 the most opposite possible  
to exact science4  ,elias ,ashmole1 the 
most honourable ,esquire1 to whom       
,lilly's life is  dedicated1 seldom     
failed to attend2 nay1 several men of   
sense and  knowledge honoured this      
rendezvous4 ,congreve's picture of a man
 like  ,foresight1 the dupe of astrology
 and its sister arts1 was then common in
  society4 ,but the astrologers of the  
#agth century did not confine           
themselves to the stars4 ,there was no  
province of fraud which they did  not   
practise2 they were scandalous as       
panders1 and as quacks sold  potions for
 the most unworthy purposes4 ,for such  
reasons the common  people detested the 
astrologers of the great as cordially as
 they did  the more vulgar witches of   
their own sphere4    ,dr4 ,lamb1        
patronised by the ,duke of ,buckingham1 
who1 like other  overgrown favourites1  
was inclined to cherish astrology1 was  
in #afdj  pulled to pieces in the city  
of ,london by the enraged populace1 and 

his  maid-servant1 thirteen years       
afterwards1 hanged as a witch at        
,salisbury4  ,in the villanous          
transaction of the poisoning of ,sir    
,thomas ,overbury1 in  ,king ,james's   
time1 much mention was made of the art  
and skill of ,dr4  ,forman1 another     
professor of the same sort with ,lamb1  
who was consulted  by the ,countess of  
,essex on the best mode of conducting   
her guilty  intrigue with the ,earl of  
,somerset4 ,he was dead before the      
affair broke  out1 which might otherwise
 have cost him the gibbet1 as it did all
  others concerned1 with the exception  
only of the principal parties1 the      
atrocious authors of the crime4 ,when   
the cause was tried1 some little        
puppets were produced in court1 which   
were viewed by one party with  horror1  
as representing the most horrid spells4 
,it was even said that  the devil was   
about to pull down the court-house on   
their being  discovered4 ,others of the 
audience only saw in them the baby      

figures on  which the dressmakers then1 
as now1 were accustomed to expose new   
fashions4    ,the erection of the ,royal
 ,society1 dedicated to far different   
purposes  than the pursuits of          
astrology1 had a natural operation in   
bringing the  latter into discredit2 and
 although the credulity of the ignorant 
and  uninformed continued to support    
some pretenders to that science1 the    
name of ,philomath1 assumed by these    
persons and their clients1 began to     
sink under ridicule and contempt4 ,when 
,sir ,richard ,steele set up the  paper 
called the ,guardian1 he chose1 under   
the title of ,nestor  ,ironside1 to     
assume the character of an astrologer1  
and issued  predictions accordingly1 one
 of which1 announcing the death of a    
person  called ,partridge1 once a       
shoemaker1 but at the time the conductor
 of an  ,astrological ,almanack1 led to 
a controversy1 which was supported with 
great humour by ,swift and other wags4  
,i believe you will find that this1     

with ,swift's ,elegy on the same person1
 is one of the last occasions in  which 
astrology has afforded even a jest to   
the good people of ,england4    ,this   
dishonoured science has some right to be
 mentioned in a ,treatise  on           
,demonology1 because the earlier        
astrologers1 though denying the use  of 
all necromancy--that is1 unlawful or    
black magic--pretended always to  a     
correspondence with the various spirits 
of the elements1 on the  principles of  
the ,rosicrucian philosophy4 ,they      
affirmed they could bind  to their      
service1 and imprison in a ring1 a      
mirror1 or a stone1 some  fairy1 sylph1 
or salamander1 and compel it to appear  
when called1 and  render answers to such
 questions as the viewer should propose4
 ,it is  remarkable that the sage       
himself did not pretend to see the      
spirit2 but  the task of viewer1 or     
reader1 was entrusted to a third party1 
a boy or  girl usually under the years  
of puberty4 ,dr4 ,dee1 an excellent     

mathematician1 had a stone of this kind1
 and is said to have been  imposed upon 
concerning the spirits attached to it1  
their actions and  answers1 by the      
report of one ,kelly who acted as his   
viewer4 ,the  unfortunate ,dee was      
ruined by his associates both in fortune
 and  reputation4 ,his show-stone or    
mirror is still preserved among other   
curiosities in the ,british ,museum4    
,some superstition of the same kind  was
 introduced by the celebrated ,count    
,cagliostro1 during the course of  the  
intrigue respecting the diamond necklace
 in which the late ,marie  ,antoinette  
was so unfortunately implicated4        
,dismissing this general class of       
impostors1 who are now seldom heard of1 
we come now briefly to mention some     
leading superstitions once1 perhaps1    
common to all the countries of ,europe1 
but now restricted to those which       
continue to be inhabited by an          
undisturbed and native race4 ,of these1 
one of the most beautiful is the ,irish 

fiction which assigns to certain        
families of ancient descent and         
distinguished rank the privilege of a   
,banshie1 as she is called1 or household
 fairy1 whose office it is to  appear1  
seemingly mourning1 while she announces 
the approaching death of  some one of   
the destined race4 ,the subject has been
 so lately and  beautifully investigated
 and illustrated by ,mr4 ,crofton       
,croker and  others1 that ,i may        
dispense with being very particular     
regarding it4 ,if  ,i am rightly        
informed1 the distinction of a banshie  
is only allowed to  families of the pure
 ,milesian stock1 and is never ascribed 
to any  descendant of the proudest      
,norman or boldest ,saxon who followed  
the  banner of ,earl ,strongbow1 much   
less to adventurers of later date who   
have obtained settlements in the ,green 
,isle4    ,several families of the      
,highlands of ,scotland anciently laid  
claim to  the distinction of an         
attendant spirit who performed the      

office of the  ,irish banshie4 ,amongst 
them1 however1 the functions of this    
attendant  genius1 whose form and       
appearance differed in different cases1 
were not  limited to announcing the     
dissolution of those whose days were    
numbered4  ,the ,highlanders contrived  
to exact from them other points of      
service1  sometimes as warding off      
dangers of battle2 at others1 as        
guarding and  protecting the infant heir
 through the dangers of childhood2 and  
sometimes as condescending to interfere 
even in the sports of the  chieftain1   
and point out the fittest move to be    
made at chess1 or the  best card to be  
played at any other game4 ,among those  
spirits who have  deigned to vouch their
 existence by appearance of late years1 
is that of  an ancestor of the family of
 ,mac,lean of ,lochbuy4 ,before the     
death of any  of his race the           
phantom-chief gallops along the         
sea-beach near to the  castle1          
announcing the event by cries and       

lamentations4 ,the spectre is  said to  
have rode his rounds and uttered his    
death-cries within these  few years1 in 
consequence of which the family and     
clan1 though much  shocked1 were in no  
way surprised to hear by next accounts  
that their  gallant chief was dead at   
,lisbon1 where he served under ,lord    
,wellington4    ,of a meaner origin and 
occupation was the ,scottish ,brownie1  
already  mentioned as somewhat          
resembling ,robin ,goodfellow in the    
frolicsome days  of ,old ,england4 ,this
 spirit was easily banished1 or1 as it  
was styled1  hired away1 by the offer of
 clothes or food2 but many of the simple
  inhabitants could little see the      
prudence of parting with such a useful  
domestic drudge1 who served faithfully1 
without fee and reward1 food or         
raiment4 ,neither was it all times safe 
to reject ,brownie's assistance4  ,thus1
 we are informed by ,brand1 that a young
 man in the ,orkneys used to  brew1 and 
sometimes read upon his ,bible2 to whom 

an old woman in the  house said1 that   
,brownie was displeased with that book  
he read upon1  which1 if he continued to
 do1 they would get no more service of  
,brownie2  but he1 being better         
instructed from that book1 which was    
,brownie's  eyesore and the object of   
his wrath1 when he brewed1 would not    
suffer  any sacrifice to be given to    
,brownie2 whereupon the first and second
  brewings were spoilt1 and for no use2 
for though the wort wrought well1  yet  
in a little time it left off working1   
and grew cold2 but of the  third broust1
 or brewing1 he had ale very good1      
though he would not give  any sacrifice 
to ,brownie1 with whom afterwards they  
were no more  troubled4 ,another story  
of the same kind is told of a lady in   
,uist1 who  refused1 on religious       
grounds1 the usual sacrifice to this    
domestic  spirit4 ,the first and second 
brewings failed1 but the third          
succeeded2  and thus1 when ,brownie lost
 the perquisite to which he had been so 

long  accustomed1 he abandoned the      
inhospitable house1 where his services  
had  so long been faithfully rendered4  
,the last place in the south of         
,scotland supposed to have been         
honoured1 or benefited1 by the residence
  of a ,brownie1 was ,bodsbeck in       
,moffatdale1 which has been the subject 
of  an entertaining tale by ,mr4 ,james 
,hogg1 the self-instructed genius of    
,ettrick ,forest4    ,these particular  
superstitions1 however1 are too limited1
 and too much  obliterated from         
recollection1 to call for special       
discussion4 ,the  general faith in      
fairies has already undergone our       
consideration2 but  something remains to
 be said upon another species of        
superstition1 so  general that it may be
 called proper to mankind in every      
climate2 so  deeply rooted also in human
 belief1 that it is found to survive in 
states of society during which all other
 fictions of the same order are         
entirely dismissed from influence4 ,mr4 

,crabbe1 with his usual felicity1  has  
called the belief in ghosts the last    
lingering fiction of the  brain4        
,nothing appears more simple at the     
first view of the subject1 than that    
human memory should recall and bring    
back to the eye of the imagination1  in 
perfect similitude1 even the very form  
and features of a person with  whom we  
have been long conversant1 or which have
 been imprinted in our  minds with      
indelible strength by some striking     
circumstances touching  our meeting in  
life4 ,the son does not easily forget   
the aspect of an  affectionate father2  
and1 for reasons opposite but equally   
powerful1 the  countenance of a murdered
 person is engraved upon the            
recollection of  his slayer4 ,a thousand
 additional circumstances1 far too      
obvious to  require recapitulation1     
render the supposed apparition of the   
dead the  most ordinary spectral        
phenomenon which is ever believed to    
occur among  the living4 ,all that we   

have formerly said respecting           
supernatural  appearances in general1   
applies with peculiar force to the      
belief of  ghosts2 for whether the cause
 of delusion exists in an excited       
imagination or a disordered organic     
system1 it is in this way that it       
commonly exhibits itself4 ,hence        
,lucretius himself1 the most absolute of
  sceptics1 considers the existence of  
ghosts1 and their frequent  apparition1 
as facts so undeniable that he          
endeavours to account for  them at the  
expense of assenting to a class of      
phenomena very  irreconcilable to his   
general system4 ,as he will not allow of
 the  existence of the human soul1 and  
at the same time cannot venture to      
question the phenomena supposed to haunt
 the repositories of the dead1  he is   
obliged to adopt the belief that the    
body consists of several  coats like    
those of an onion1 and that the outmost 
and thinnest1 being  detached by death1 
continues to wander near the place of   

sepulture1 in  the exact resemblance of 
the person while alive4    ,we have said
 there are many ghost stories which we  
do not feel at  liberty to challenge as 
impostures1 because we are confident    
that those  who relate them on their own
 authority actually believe what they   
assert1 and may have good reason for    
doing so1 though there is no real       
phantom after all4 ,we are far1         
therefore1 from averring that such tales
  are necessarily false4 ,it is easy to 
suppose the visionary has been  imposed 
upon by a lively dream1 a waking        
reverie1 the excitation of a  powerful  
imagination1 or the misrepresentation of
 a diseased organ of  sight2 and in one 
or other of these causes1 to say nothing
 of a system  of deception which may in 
many instances be probable1 we apprehend
 a  solution will be found for all cases
 of what are called real ghost  stories4
    ,in truth1 the evidence with respect
 to such apparitions is very seldom     
accurately or distinctly questioned4 ,a 

supernatural tale is in most  cases     
received as an agreeable mode of amusing
 society1 and he would be  rather       
accounted a sturdy moralist than an     
entertaining companion who  should      
employ himself in assailing its         
credibility4 ,it would indeed be a      
solecism in manners1 something like that
 of impeaching the genuine value  of the
 antiquities exhibited by a good-natured
 collector for the  gratification of his
 guests4 ,this difficulty will appear   
greater should  a company have the rare 
good fortune to meet the person who     
himself  witnessed the wonders which he 
tells2 a well-bred or prudent man will1 
under such circumstances1 abstain from  
using the rules of  cross-examination   
practised in a court of justice2 and if 
in any case he  presumes to do so1 he is
 in danger of receiving answers1 even   
from the  most candid and honourable    
persons1 which are rather fitted to     
support  the credit of the story which  
they stand committed to maintain1 than  

to  the pure service of unadorned truth4
 ,the narrator is asked1 for example1   
some unimportant question with respect  
to the apparition2 he answers it  on the
 hasty suggestion of his own            
imagination1 tinged as it is with       
belief of the general fact1 and by doing
 so often gives a feature of  minute    
evidence which was before wanting1 and  
this with perfect  unconsciousness on   
his own part4 ,it is a rare occurrence1 
indeed1 to  find an opportunity of      
dealing with an actual ghost-seer2 such 
instances1 however1 ,i have certainly   
myself met with1 and that in the  case  
of able1 wise1 candid1 and resolute     
persons1 of whose veracity ,i  had every
 reason to be confident4 ,but in such   
instances shades of mental  aberration  
have afterwards occurred1 which         
sufficiently accounted for  the supposed
 apparitions1 and will incline me always
 to feel alarmed in  behalf of the      
continued health of a friend who should 
conceive himself  to have witnessed such

 a visitation4    ,the nearest          
approximation which can be generally    
made to exact evidence  in this case1 is
 the word of some individual who has had
 the story1 it  may be1 from the person 
to whom it has happened1 but most likely
 from  his family1 or some friend of the
 family4 ,far more commonly the narrator
  possesses no better means of knowledge
 than that of dwelling in the  country  
where the thing happened1 or being well 
acquainted with the  outside of the     
mansion in the inside of which the ghost
 appeared4    ,in every point the       
evidence of such a second-hand retailer 
of the mystic  story must fall under the
 adjudged case in an ,english court4    
,the judge  stopped a witness who was   
about to give an account of the murder  
upon  trial1 as it was narrated to him  
by the ghost of the murdered person4    
,hold1 sir1 said his lordship2 the ghost
 is an excellent witness1 and  his      
evidence the best possible2 but he      
cannot be heard by proxy in this  court4

 ,summon him hither1 and ,i'll hear him 
in person2 but your  communication is   
mere hearsay1 which my office compels me
 to reject4  ,yet it is upon the credit 
of one man1 who pledges it upon that of 
three  or four persons1 who have told it
 successively to each other1 that we    
are often expected to believe an        
incident inconsistent with the laws of  
,nature1 however agreeable to our love  
of the wonderful and the horrible4      
,in estimating the truth or falsehood of
 such stories it is evident we  can     
derive no proofs from that period of    
society when men affirmed  boldly1 and  
believed stoutly1 all the wonders which 
could be coined or  fancied4 ,that such 
stories are believed and told by grave  
historians1  only shows that the wisest 
men cannot rise in all things above the 
general ignorance of their age4 ,upon   
the evidence of such historians we      
might as well believe the portents of   
ancient or the miracles of modern       
,rome4 ,for example1 we read in         

,clarendon of the apparition of the     
ghost  of ,sir ,george ,villiers to an  
ancient dependant4 ,this is no doubt a  
story  told by a grave author1 at a time
 when such stories were believed by all 
the world2 but does it follow that our  
reason must acquiesce in a  statement so
 positively contradicted by the voice of
 ,nature through all  her works8 ,the   
miracle of raising a dead man was       
positively refused by  our ,saviour to  
the ,jews1 who demanded it as a proof of
 his mission1  because they had already 
sufficient grounds of conviction2 and1  
as they  believed them not1 it was      
irresistibly argued by the ,divine      
,person whom  they tempted1 that neither
 would they believe if one arose from   
the  dead4 ,shall we suppose that a     
miracle refused for the conversion of   
,god's chosen people was sent on a vain 
errand to save the life of a  profligate
 spendthrift8 ,i lay aside1 you observe1
 entirely the not  unreasonable         
supposition that ,towers1 or whatever   

was the ghost-seer's  name1 desirous to 
make an impression upon ,buckingham1 as 
an old servant  of his house1 might be  
tempted to give him his advice1 of which
 we are  not told the import1 in the    
character of his father's spirit1 and   
authenticate the tale by the mention of 
some token known to him as a  former    
retainer of the family4 ,the ,duke was  
superstitious1 and the ready  dupe of   
astrologers and soothsayers4 ,the manner
 in which he had provoked  the fury of  
the people must have warned every       
reflecting person of his  approaching   
fate2 and1 the age considered1 it was   
not unnatural that a  faithful friend   
should take this mode of calling his    
attention to his  perilous situation4   
,or1 if we suppose that the incident was
 not a mere  pretext to obtain access to
 the ,duke's ear1 the messenger may have
 been  impressed upon by an idle        
dream--in a word1 numberless conjectures
 might  be formed for accounting for the
 event in a natural way1 the most       

extravagant of which is more probable   
than that the laws of ,nature were      
broken through in order to give a vain  
and fruitless warning to an  ambitious  
minion4    ,it is the same with all     
those that are called accredited ghost  
stories  usually told at the fireside4  
,they want evidence4 ,it is true that   
the  general wish to believe1 rather    
than power of believing1 has given some 
such stories a certain currency in      
society4 ,i may mention1 as one of the  
class of tales ,i mean1 that of the late
 ,earl ,st4 ,vincent1 who watched1  with
 a friend1 it is said1 a whole night1 in
 order to detect the cause  of certain  
nocturnal disturbances which took place 
in a certain mansion4  ,the house was   
under lease to ,mrs4 ,ricketts1 his     
sister4 ,the result of  his lordship's  
vigil is said to have been that he heard
 the noises  without being able to      
detect the causes1 and insisted on his  
sister  giving up the house4 ,this is   
told as a real story1 with a thousand   

different circumstances4 ,but who has   
heard or seen an authentic account  from
 ,earl ,st4 ,vincent1 or from his       
companion of the watch1 or from his     
lordship's sister8 ,and as in any other 
case such sure species of direct        
evidence would be necessary to prove the
 facts1 it seems unreasonable to        
believe such a story on slighter terms4 
,when the particulars are  precisely    
fixed and known1 it might be time to    
enquire whether ,lord ,st4  ,vincent1   
amid the other eminent qualities of a   
first-rate seaman1 might  not be in some
 degree tinged with their tendency to   
superstition2 and  still farther1       
whether1 having ascertained the         
existence of disturbances  not          
immediately or easily detected1 his     
lordship might not advise his  sister   
rather to remove than to remain in a    
house so haunted1 though he  might      
believe that poachers or smugglers were 
the worst ghosts by whom  it was        
disturbed4    ,the story of two highly  

respectable officers in the ,british    
army1 who  are supposed to have seen the
 spectre of the brother of one of them  
in a  hut1 or barrack1 in ,america1 is  
also one of those accredited ghost      
tales1 which attain a sort of brevet    
rank as true1 from the mention of       
respectable names as the parties who    
witnessed the vision4 ,but we are  left 
without a glimpse when1 how1 and in what
 terms1 this story obtained  its        
currency2 as also by whom1 and in what  
manner1 it was first  circulated2 and   
among the numbers by whom it has been   
quoted1 although  all agree in the      
general event1 scarcely two1 even of    
those who pretend  to the best          
information1 tell the story in the same 
way4    ,another such story1 in which   
the name of a lady of condition is made 
use  of as having seen an apparition in 
a country-seat in ,france1 is so far    
better borne out than those ,i have     
mentioned1 that ,i have seen a          
narrative of the circumstances attested 

by the party principally  concerned4    
,that the house was disturbed seems to  
be certain1 but the  circumstances      
7though very remarkable7 did not1 in my 
mind1 by any means  exclude the         
probability that the disturbance and    
appearances were  occasioned by the     
dexterous management of some            
mischievously-disposed  persons4    ,the
 remarkable circumstance of ,thomas1 the
 second ,lord ,lyttelton1  prophesying  
his own death within a few minutes1 upon
 the information of  an apparition1 has 
been always quoted as a true story4 ,but
 of late it  has been said and          
published1 that the unfortunate nobleman
 had  previously determined to take     
poison1 and of course had it in his own 
power to ascertain the execution of the 
prediction4 ,it was no doubt  singular  
that a man1 who meditated his exit from 
the world1 should have  chosen to play  
such a trick on his friends4 ,but it is 
still more  credible that a whimsical   
man should do so wild a thing1 than that

 a  messenger should be sent from the   
dead to tell a libertine at what        
precise hour he should expire4    ,to   
this list other stories of the same     
class might be added4 ,but it is        
sufficient to show that such stories as 
these1 having gained a certain  degree  
of currency in the world1 and bearing   
creditable names on their  front1 walk  
through society unchallenged1 like bills
 through a bank when  they bear         
respectable indorsations1 although1 it  
may be1 the signatures  are forged after
 all4 ,there is1 indeed1 an             
unwillingness very closely to  examine  
such subjects1 for the secret fund of   
superstition in every  man's bosom is   
gratified by believing them to be true1 
or at least  induces him to abstain from
 challenging them as false4 ,and no     
doubt it  must happen that the          
transpiring of incidents1 in which men  
have  actually seen1 or conceived that  
they saw1 apparitions which were        
invisible to others1 contributes to the 

increase of such stories--which  do     
accordingly sometimes meet us in a shape
 of veracity difficult to  question4    
,the following story was narrated to me 
by my friend1 ,mr4 ,william ,clerk1     
chief clerk to the ,jury ,court1        
,edinburgh1 when he first learned it1   
now  nearly thirty years ago1 from a    
passenger in the mail-coach4 ,with ,mr4 
,clerk's consent1 ,i gave the story at  
that time to poor ,mat ,lewis1 who      
published it with a ghost-ballad which  
he adjusted on the same theme4  ,from   
the minuteness of the original detail1  
however1 the narrative is  better       
calculated for prose than verse2 and    
more especially as the  friend to whom  
it was originally communicated is one of
 the most  accurate1 intelligent1 and   
acute persons whom ,i have known in the 
course  of my life1 ,i am willing to    
preserve the precise story in this      
place4    ,it was about the eventful    
year #ahjj1 when the ,emperor ,paul laid
 his  ill-judged embargo on ,british    

trade1 that my friend ,mr4 ,william     
,clerk1  on a journey to ,london1 found 
himself in company1 in the mail-coach1  
with a seafaring man of middle age and  
respectable appearance1 who  announced  
himself as master of a vessel in the    
,baltic trade1 and a  sufferer by the   
embargo4 ,in the course of the desultory
 conversation  which takes place on such
 occasions the seaman observed1 in      
compliance  with a common superstition1 
,i wish we may have good luck on our    
journey--there is a magpie4 ,and why    
should that be unlucky8 said my  friend4
 ,i cannot tell you that1 replied the   
sailor2 but all the world  agrees that  
one magpie bodes bad luck--two are not  
so bad1 but three are  the devil4 ,i    
never saw three magpies but twice1 and  
once ,i had near lost  my vessel1 and   
the second ,i fell from a horse1 and was
 hurt4 ,this  conversation led ,mr4     
,clerk to observe that he supposed he   
believed also  in ghosts1 since he      
credited such auguries4 ,and if ,i do1  

said the  sailor1 ,i may have my own    
reasons for doing so2 and he spoke this 
in a  deep and serious manner1 implying 
that he felt deeply what he was  saying4
 ,on being further urged1 he confessed  
that1 if he could believe  his own eyes1
 there was one ghost at least which he  
had seen repeatedly4  ,he then told his 
story as ,i now relate it4    ,our      
mariner had in his youth gone mate of a 
slave vessel from ,liverpool1  of which 
town he seemed to be a native4 ,the     
captain of the vessel was a  man of a   
variable temper1 sometimes kind and     
courteous to his men1 but  subject to   
fits of humour1 dislike1 and passion1   
during which he was  very violent1      
tyrannical1 and cruel4 ,he took a       
particular dislike at one  sailor       
aboard1 an elderly man1 called ,bill    
,jones1 or some such name4 ,he  seldom  
spoke to this person without threats and
 abuse1 which the old  man1 with the    
license which sailors take on merchant  
vessels1 was very  apt to return4 ,on   

one occasion ,bill ,jones appeared slow 
in getting out  on the yard to hand a   
sail4 ,the captain1 according to custom1
 abused the  seaman as a lubberly       
rascal1 who got fat by leaving his duty 
to other  people4 ,the man made a saucy 
answer1 almost amounting to mutiny1 on  
which1 in a towering passion1 the       
captain ran down to his cabin1 and      
returned with a blunderbuss loaded with 
slugs1 with which he took  deliberate   
aim at the supposed mutineer1 fired1 and
 mortally wounded  him4 ,the man was    
handed down from the yard1 and stretched
 on the deck1  evidently dying4 ,he     
fixed his eyes on the captain1 and said1
 ,sir1 you  have done for me1 but ,i    
will never leave you ,the captain1 in   
return1  swore at him for a fat lubber1 
and said he would have him thrown into  
the slave-kettle1 where they made food  
for the negroes1 and see how much  fat  
he had got4 ,the man died4 ,his body was
 actually thrown into the  slave-kettle1
 and the narrator observed1 with a navet

 which  confirmed the extent of his own 
belief in the truth of what he told1    
,there was not much fat about him after 
all4    ,the captain told the crew they 
must keep absolute silence on the       
subject  of what had passed2 and as the 
mate was not willing to give an explicit
  and absolute promise1 he ordered him  
to be confined below4 ,after a day  or  
two he came to the mate1 and demanded if
 he had an intention to  deliver him up 
for trial when the vessel got home4 ,the
 mate1 who was  tired of close          
confinement in that sultry climate1     
spoke his commander  fair1 and obtained 
his liberty4 ,when he mingled among the 
crew once more  he found them impressed 
with the idea1 not unnatural in their   
situation1  that the ghost of the dead  
man appeared among them when they had a 
spell  of duty1 especially if a sail was
 to be handed1 on which occasion the    
spectre was sure to be out upon the yard
 before any of the crew4 ,the  narrator 
had seen this apparition himself        

repeatedly--he believed the  captain saw
 it also1 but he took no notice of it   
for some time1 and the  crew1 terrified 
at the violent temper of the man1 dared 
not call his  attention to it4 ,thus    
they held on their course homeward with 
great fear  and anxiety4    ,at length1 
the captain invited the mate1 who was   
now in a sort of  favour1 to go down to 
the cabin and take a glass of grog with 
him4 ,in  this interview he assumed a   
very grave and anxious aspect4 ,i need  
not  tell you1 ,jack1 he said1 what sort
 of hand we have got on board with  us4 
,he told me he would never leave me1 and
 he has kept his word4 ,you  only see   
him now and then1 but he is always by my
 side1 and never out of  my sight4 ,at  
this very moment ,i see him--,i am      
determined to bear it no  longer1 and ,i
 have resolved to leave you4    ,the    
mate replied that his leaving the vessel
 while out of the sight of  any land was
 impossible4 ,he advised1 that if the   
captain apprehended any  bad            

consequences from what had happened1 he 
should run for the west of  ,france or  
,ireland1 and there go ashore1 and leave
 him1 the mate1 to  carry the vessel    
into ,liverpool4 ,the captain only shook
 his head  gloomily1 and reiterated his 
determination to leave the ship4 ,at    
this  moment the mate was called to the 
deck for some purpose or other1 and  the
 instant he got up the companion-ladder 
he heard a splash in the  water1 and    
looking over the ship's side1 saw that  
the captain had thrown  himself into the
 sea from the quarter-gallery1 and was  
running astern at  the rate of six knots
 an hour4 ,when just about to sink he   
seemed to make  a last exertion1 sprung 
half out of the water1 and clasped his  
hands  towards the mate1 calling1       
,by----1 ,bill is with me now6 and then 
sunk1  to be seen no more4    ,after    
hearing this singular story ,mr4 ,clerk 
asked some questions about  the captain1
 and whether his companion considered   
him as at all times  rational4 ,the     

sailor seemed struck with the question1 
and answered1  after a moment's delay1  
that in general he conversationed well  
enough4    ,it would have been desirable
 to have been able to ascertain how far 
this  extraordinary tale was founded on 
fact2 but want of time and other        
circumstances prevented ,mr4 ,clerk from
 learning the names and dates1  that    
might to a certain degree have verified 
the events4 ,granting the  murder to    
have taken place1 and the tale to have  
been truly told1 there  was nothing more
 likely to arise among the ship's       
company than the  belief in the         
apparition2 as the captain was a man of 
a passionate and  irritable disposition1
 it was nowise improbable that he1 the  
victim of  remorse1 should participate  
in the horrible visions of those less   
concerned1 especially as he was         
compelled to avoid communicating his    
sentiments with any one else2 and the   
catastrophe would in such a case  be but
 the natural consequence of that        

superstitious remorse which has         
conducted so many criminals to suicide  
or the gallows4 ,if the                 
fellow-traveller of ,mr4 ,clerk be not  
allowed this degree of credit1 he  must 
at least be admitted to have displayed a
 singular talent for the  composition of
 the horrible in fiction4 ,the tale1    
properly detailed1  might have made the 
fortune of a romancer4    ,i cannot     
forbear giving you1 as congenial to this
 story1 another  instance of a          
guilt-formed phantom1 which made        
considerable noise about  twenty years  
ago or more4 ,i am1 ,i think1 tolerably 
correct in the  details1 though ,i have 
lost the account of the trial4 ,jarvis  
,matcham--such1 if ,i am not mistaken1  
was the name of my hero--was            
pay-sergeant in a regiment1 where he was
 so highly esteemed as a steady  and    
accurate man that he was permitted      
opportunity to embezzle a  considerable 
part of the money lodged in his hands   
for pay of soldiers1  bounty of recruits

 7then a large sum71 and other charges  
which fell  within his duty4 ,he was    
summoned to join his regiment from a    
town where  he had been on the          
recruiting service1 and this perhaps    
under some shade  of suspicion4 ,matcham
 perceived discovery was at hand1 and   
would have  deserted had it not been for
 the presence of a little drummer lad1  
who  was the only one of his party      
appointed to attend him4 ,in the        
desperation of his crime he resolved to 
murder the poor boy1 and avail  himself 
of some balance of money to make his    
escape4 ,he meditated this  wickedness  
the more readily that the drummer1 he   
thought1 had been put  as a spy on him4 
,he perpetrated his crime1 and changing 
his dress after  the deed was done1 made
 a long walk across the country to an   
inn on the  ,portsmouth road1 where he  
halted and went to bed1 desiring to be  
called  when the first ,portsmouth coach
 came4 ,the waiter summoned him         
accordingly1 but long after remembered  

that1 when he shook the guest by  the   
shoulder1 his first words as he awoke   
were3 ,my ,god6 ,i did not kill  him4   
,matcham went to the seaport by the     
coach1 and instantly entered as an      
able-bodied landsman or marine1 ,i know 
not which4 ,his sobriety and  attention 
to duty gained him the same good opinion
 of the officers in  his new service    
which he had enjoyed in the army4 ,he   
was afloat for  several years1 and      
behaved remarkably well in some actions4
 ,at length  the vessel came into       
,plymouth1 was paid off1 and some of the
 crew1  amongst whom was ,jarvis        
,matcham1 were dismissed as too old for 
service4  ,he and another seaman        
resolved to walk to town1 and took the  
route by  ,salisbury4 ,it was when      
within two or three miles of this       
celebrated city  that they were         
overtaken by a tempest so sudden1 and   
accompanied with  such vivid lightning  
and thunder so dreadfully loud1 that the
 obdurate  conscience of the old sinner 

began to be awakened4 ,he expressed more
  terror than seemed natural for one who
 was familiar with the war of  elements1
 and began to look and talk so wildly   
that his companion became  aware that   
something more than usual was the       
matter4 ,at length ,matcham  complained 
to his companion that the stones rose   
from the road and flew  after him4 ,he  
desired the man to walk on the other    
side of the highway  to see if they     
would follow him when he was alone4 ,the
 sailor complied1  and ,jarvis ,matcham 
complained that the stones still flew   
after him and  did not pursue the other4
 ,but what is worse1 he added1 coming up
 to  his companion1 and whispering1 with
 a tone of mystery and fear1 who is     
that little drummer-boy1 and what       
business has he to follow us so         
closely8 ,i can see no one1 answered the
 seaman1 infected by the  superstition  
of his associate4 ,what6 not see that   
little boy with the  bloody pantaloons6 
exclaimed the secret murderer1 so much  

to the terror  of his comrade that he   
conjured him1 if he had anything on his 
mind1 to  make a clear conscience as far
 as confession could do it4 ,the        
criminal  fetched a deep groan1 and     
declared that he was unable longer to   
endure  the life which he had led for   
years4 ,he then confessed the murder of 
the  drummer1 and added that1 as a      
considerable reward had been offered1 he
  wished his comrade to deliver him up  
to the magistrates of ,salisbury1 as  he
 would desire a shipmate to profit by   
his fate1 which he was now  convinced   
was inevitable4 ,having overcome his    
friend's objections to  this mode of    
proceeding1 ,jarvis ,matcham was        
surrendered to justice  accordingly1 and
 made a full confession of his guilt    
,but before the  trial the love of life 
returned4 ,the prisoner denied his      
confession1 and  pleaded ,not ,guilty4  
,by this time1 however1 full evidence   
had been  procured from other quarters4 
,witnesses appeared from his former     

regiment to prove his identity with the 
murderer and deserter1 and the  waiter  
remembered the ominous words which he   
had spoken when he awoke  him to join   
the ,portsmouth coach4 ,jarvis ,matcham 
was found guilty and  executed4 ,when   
his last chance of life was over he     
returned to his  confession1 and with   
his dying breath averred1 and truly1 as 
he thought1  the truth of the vision on 
,salisbury ,plain4 ,similar stories     
might be  produced1 showing plainly     
that1 under the direction of ,heaven1   
the  influence of superstitious fear may
 be the appointed means of bringing  the
 criminal to repentance for his own     
sake1 and to punishment for the         
advantage of society4    ,cases of this 
kind are numerous and easily imagined1  
so ,i shall dwell on  them no further2  
but rather advert to at least an equally
 abundant class  of ghost stories1 in   
which the apparition is pleased not to  
torment the  actual murderer1 but       
proceeds in a very circuitous manner1   

acquainting  some stranger or ignorant  
old woman with the particulars of his   
fate1  who1 though perhaps unacquainted 
with all the parties1 is directed by a  
phantom to lay the facts before a       
magistrate4 ,in this respect we must    
certainly allow that ghosts have1 as we 
are informed by the facetious  ,captain 
,grose1 forms and customs peculiar to   
themselves4    ,there would be no       
edification and little amusement in     
treating of clumsy  deceptions of this  
kind1 where the grossness of the        
imposture detects  itself4 ,but         
occasionally cases occur like the       
following1 with respect to  which it is 
more difficult1 to use ,james ,boswell's
 phrase1 to know what  to think4        
,upon the #ajth of ,june1 #aged1 ,duncan
 ,terig1 alias ,clark1 and ,alexander   
,bain ,mac,donald1 two ,highlanders1    
were tried before the ,court of         
,justiciary1 ,edinburgh1 for the murder 
of ,arthur ,davis1 sergeant in  ,guise's
 regiment1 on the #bhth ,september1     

#agdi4 ,the accident happened not  long 
after the civil war1 the embers of which
 were still reeking1 so  there existed  
too many reasons on account of which an 
,english soldier1  straggling far from  
assistance1 might be privately cut off  
by the  inhabitants of these wilds4 ,it 
appears that ,sergeant ,davis was       
missing  for years1 without any         
certainty as to his fate4 ,at length1 an
 account  of the murder appeared from   
the evidence of one ,alexander          
,mac,pherson 7a  ,highlander1 speaking  
no language but ,gaelic1 and sworn by an
  interpreter71 who gave the following  
extraordinary account of his cause  of  
knowledge3--,he was1 he said1 in bed in 
his cottage1 when an  apparition came to
 his bedside and commanded him to rise  
and follow him  out of doors4 ,believing
 his visitor to be one ,farquharson1 a  
neighbour  and friend1 the witness did  
as he was bid2 and when they were       
without  the cottage1 the appearance    
told the witness he was the ghost of    

,sergeant ,davis1 and requested him to  
go and bury his mortal remains1  which  
lay concealed in a place he pointed out 
in a moorland tract called  the ,hill of
 ,christie4 ,he desired him to take     
,farquharson with him as an  assistant4 
,next day the witness went to the place 
specified1 and there  found the bones of
 a human body much decayed4 ,the witness
 did not at  that time bury the bones so
 found1 in consequence of which         
negligence  the sergeant's ghost again  
appeared to him1 upbraiding him with his
  breach of promise4 ,on this occasion  
the witness asked the ghost who were    
the murderers1 and received for answer  
that he had been slain by the  prisoners
 at the bar4 ,the witness1 after this   
second visitation1 called  the          
assistance of ,farquharson1 and buried  
the body4    ,farquharson was brought in
 evidence to prove that the preceding   
witness1  ,mac,pherson1 had called him  
to the burial of the bones1 and told him
 the  same story which he repeated in   

court4 ,isabel ,mac,hardie1 a person who
  slept in one of the beds which run    
along the wall in an ordinary  ,highland
 hut1 declared that upon the night when 
,mac,pherson said he saw  the ghost1 she
 saw a naked man enter the house and go 
towards  ,mac,pherson's bed4    ,yet    
though the supernatural incident was    
thus fortified1 and although  there were
 other strong presumptions against the  
prisoners1 the story of  the apparition 
threw an air of ridicule on the whole   
evidence for the  prosecution4 ,it was  
followed up by the counsel for the      
prisoners asking1  in the               
cross-examination of ,mac,pherson1 ,what
 language did the ghost  speak in8 ,the 
witness1 who was himself ignorant of    
,english1 replied1  ,as good ,gaelic as 
,i ever heard in ,lochaber4 ,pretty well
 for the ghost  of an ,english sergeant1
 answered the counsel4 ,the inference   
was rather  smart and plausible than    
sound1 for1 the apparition of the ghost 
being  admitted1 we know too little of  

the other world to judge whether all    
languages may not be alike familiar to  
those who belonged to it4 ,it  imposed1 
however1 on the jury1 who found the     
accused parties not guilty1  although   
their counsel and solicitor and most of 
the court were  satisfied of their      
having committed the murder4 ,in this   
case the  interference of the ghost     
seems to have rather impeded the        
vengeance  which it was doubtless the   
murdered sergeant's desire to obtain4   
,yet  there may be various modes of     
explaining this mysterious story1 of    
which  the following conjecture may pass
 for one4    ,the reader may suppose    
that ,mac,pherson was privy to the fact 
of the  murder1 perhaps as an accomplice
 or otherwise1 and may also suppose     
that1 from motives of remorse for the   
action1 or of enmity to those who  had  
committed it1 he entertained a wish to  
bring them to justice4 ,but  through the
 whole ,highlands there is no character 
more detestable than  that of an        

informer1 or one who takes what is      
called ,tascal-money1 or  reward for    
discovery of crimes4 ,to have informed  
against ,terig and  ,mac,donald might   
have cost ,mac,pherson his life2 and it 
is far from being  impossible that he   
had recourse to the story of the ghost1 
knowing well  that his superstitious    
countrymen would pardon his             
communicating the  commission entrusted 
to him by a being from the other world1 
although he  might probably have been   
murdered if his delation of the crime   
had been  supposed voluntary4 ,this     
explanation1 in exact conformity with   
the  sentiments of the ,highlanders on  
such subjects1 would reduce the whole   
story to a stroke of address on the part
 of the witness4    ,it is therefore of 
the last consequence1 in considering the
 truth of  stories of ghosts and        
apparitions1 to consider the possibility
 of wilful  deception1 whether on the   
part of those who are agents in the     
supposed  disturbances1 or the author of

 the legend4 ,we shall separately notice
 an  instance or two of either kind4    
,the most celebrated instance in which  
human agency was used to copy the       
disturbances imputed to supernatural    
beings refers to the ancient palace  of 
,woodstock1 when the ,commissioners of  
the ,long ,parliament came down to      
dispark what had been lately a royal    
residence4 ,the ,commissioners  arrived 
at ,woodstock1 #acth ,october1 #afdi1   
determined to wipe away the  memory of  
all that connected itself with the      
recollection of monarchy in  ,england4  
,but in the course of their progress    
they were encountered by  obstacles     
which apparently came from the next     
world4 ,their bed-chambers  were        
infested with visits of a thing         
resembling a dog1 but which came  and   
passed as mere earthly dogs cannot do4  
,logs of wood1 the remains of  a very   
large tree called the ,king's ,oak1     
which they had splintered into  billets 
for burning1 were tossed through the    

house1 and the chairs  displaced and    
shuffled about4 ,while they were in bed 
the feet of their  couches were lifted  
higher than their heads1 and then       
dropped with  violence4 ,trenchers      
without a wish flew at their heads of   
free will4  ,thunder and lightning came 
next1 which were set down to the same   
cause4  ,spectres made their appearance1
 as they thought1 in different shapes1  
and one of the party saw the apparition 
of a hoof1 which kicked a  candlestick  
and lighted candle into the middle of   
the room1 and then  politely scratched  
on the red snuff to extinguish it4      
,other and worse  tricks were practised 
on the astonished ,commissioners who1   
considering  that all the fiends of hell
 were let loose upon them1 retreated    
from  ,woodstock without completing an  
errand which was1 in their opinion1     
impeded by infernal powers1 though the  
opposition offered was rather of  a     
playful and malicious than of a         
dangerous cast4    ,the whole matter    

was1 after the ,restoration1 discovered 
to be the trick  of one of their own    
party1 who had attended the             
,commissioners as a  clerk1 under the   
name of ,giles ,sharp4 ,this man1 whose 
real name was  ,joseph ,collins of      
,oxford1 called ,funny ,joe1 was a      
concealed loyalist1  and well acquainted
 with the old mansion of ,woodstock1    
where he had been  brought up before the
 ,civil ,war4 ,being a bold1 active     
spirited man1 ,joe  availed himself of  
his local knowledge of trap-doors and   
private  passages so as to favour the   
tricks which he played off upon his     
masters  by aid of his fellow-domestics4
 ,the ,commissioners' personal reliance 
on  him made his task the more easy1 and
 it was all along remarked that  trusty 
,giles ,sharp saw the most extraordinary
 sights and visions among  the whole    
party4 ,the unearthly terrors           
experienced by the ,commissioners  are  
detailed with due gravity by ,sinclair1 
and also1 ,i think1 by ,dr4  ,plott4    

,but although the detection or          
explanation of the real history of  the 
,woodstock demons has also been         
published1 and ,i have myself seen it1  
,i have at this time forgotten whether  
it exists in a separate  collection1 or 
where it is to be looked for4           
,similar disturbances have been often   
experienced while it was the custom  to 
believe in and dread such frolics of the
 invisible world1 and under             
circumstances which induce us to wonder1
 both at the extreme trouble  taken by  
the agents in these impostures1 and the 
slight motives from  which they have    
been induced to do much wanton mischief4
 ,still greater  is our modern surprise 
at the apparently simple means by which 
terror  has been excited to so general  
an extent1 that even the wisest and most
  prudent have not escaped its          
contagious influence4    ,on the first  
point ,i am afraid there can be no      
better reason assigned  than the        
conscious pride of superiority1 which   

induces the human being  in all cases to
 enjoy and practise every means of      
employing an influence  over his        
fellow-mortals2 to which we may safely  
add that general love of  tormenting1 as
 common to our race as to that noble    
mimick of humanity1  the monkey4 ,to    
this is owing the delight with which    
every school-boy  anticipates the       
effects of throwing a stone into a glass
 shop2 and to  this we must also ascribe
 the otherwise unaccountable pleasure   
which  individuals have taken in        
practising the tricksy pranks of a      
goblin1 and  filling a household or     
neighbourhood with anxiety and dismay1  
with  little gratification to themselves
 besides the consciousness of  dexterity
 if they remain undiscovered1 and with  
the risk of loss of  character and      
punishment should the imposture be found
 out4    ,in the year #aggb1 a train of 
transactions1 commencing upon ,twelfth  
,day1  threw the utmost consternation   
into the village of ,stockwell1 near    

,london1 and impressed upon some of its 
inhabitants the inevitable belief  that 
they were produced by invisible agents4 
,the plates1 dishes1 china1  and        
glass-ware and small movables of every  
kind1 contained in the house  of ,mrs4  
,golding1 an elderly lady1 seemed       
suddenly to become animated1  shifted   
their places1 flew through the room1 and
 were broken to pieces4  ,the           
particulars of this commotion were as   
curious as the loss and damage          
occasioned in this extraordinary manner 
were alarming and intolerable4  ,amidst 
this combustion1 a young woman1 ,mrs4   
,golding's maid1 named ,anne  ,robinson1
 was walking backwards and forwards1 nor
 could she be prevailed  on to sit down 
for a moment excepting while the family 
were at prayers1  during which time no  
disturbance happened4 ,this ,anne       
,robinson had been  but a few days in   
the old lady's service1 and it was      
remarkable that she  endured with great 
composure the extraordinary display     

which others  beheld with terror1 and   
coolly advised her mistress not to be   
alarmed or  uneasy1 as these things     
could not be helped4 ,this excited an   
idea that  she had some reason for being
 so composed1 not inconsistent with a   
degree of connexion with what was going 
forward4 ,the afflicted ,mrs4  ,golding1
 as she might be well termed1           
considering such a commotion and        
demolition among her goods and chattels1
 invited neighbours to stay in  her     
house1 but they soon became unable to   
bear the sight of these  supernatural   
proceedings1 which went so far that not 
above two cups and  saucers remained out
 of a valuable set of china4 ,she next  
abandoned her  dwelling1 and took refuge
 with a neighbour1 but1 finding his     
movables  were seized with the same sort
 of ,st4 ,vitus's dance1 her landlord   
reluctantly refused to shelter any      
longer a woman who seemed to be         
persecuted by so strange a subject of   
vexation4 ,mrs4 ,golding's  suspicions  

against ,anne ,robinson now gaining     
ground1 she dismissed her  maid1 and the
 hubbub among her movables ceased at    
once and for ever4    ,this circumstance
 of itself indicates that ,anne         
,robinson was the cause  of these       
extraordinary disturbances1 as has been 
since more completely  ascertained by a 
,mr4 ,brayfield1 who persuaded ,anne1   
long after the  events had happened1 to 
make him her confidant4 ,there was a    
love story  connected with the case1 in 
which the only magic was the dexterity  
of  ,anne ,robinson and the simplicity  
of the spectators4 ,she had fixed long  
horse hairs to some of the crockery1 and
 placed wires under others1 by  which   
she could throw them down without       
touching them4 ,other things she        
dexterously threw about1 which the      
spectators1 who did not watch her       
motions1 imputed to invisible agency4   
,at times1 when the family were  absent1
 she loosened the hold of the strings by
 which the hams1 bacon1  and similar    

articles were suspended1 so that they   
fell on the slightest  motion4 ,she     
employed some simple chemical secrets1  
and1 delighted with  the success of her 
pranks1 pushed them farther than she at 
first  intended4 ,such was the solution 
of the whole mystery1 which1 known by   
the name of the ,stockwell ghost1       
terrified many well-meaning persons1    
and had been nearly as famous as that of
 ,cock ,lane1 which may be hinted  at as
 another imposture of the same kind4 ,so
 many and wonderful are the  appearances
 described1 that when ,i first met with 
the original  publication ,i was        
strongly impressed with the belief that 
the narrative  was like some of ,swift's
 advertisements1 a jocular experiment   
upon the  credulity of the public4 ,but 
it was certainly published bona fide1   
and  ,mr4 ,hone1 on the authority of    
,mr4 ,brayfield1 has since fully        
explained  the wonder4#he    ,footnote  
#he3 ,see ,hone's ,every-,day ,book1 p4 
#fb4    ,many such impositions have been

 detected1 and many others have been    
successfully concealed2 but to know what
 has been discovered in many  instances 
gives us the assurance of the ruling    
cause in all4 ,i remember  a scene of   
the kind attempted to be got up near    
,edinburgh1 but detected  at once by a  
sheriff's officer1 a sort of persons    
whose habits of  incredulity and        
suspicious observation render them very 
dangerous  spectators on such occasions4
 ,the late excellent ,mr4 ,walker1      
minister at  ,dunottar1 in the ,mearns1 
gave me a curious account of an         
imposture of  this kind1 practised by a 
young country girl1 who was surprisingly
 quick  at throwing stones1 turf1 and   
other missiles1 with such dexterity that
  it was for a long time impossible to  
ascertain her agency in the             
disturbances of which she was the sole  
cause4    ,the belief of the spectators 
that such scenes of disturbance arise   
from  invisible beings will appear less 
surprising if we consider the common    

feats of jugglers1 or professors of     
legerdemain1 and recollect that it  is  
only the frequent exhibition of such    
powers which reconciles us to  them as  
matters of course1 although they are    
wonders at which in our  fathers' time  
men would have cried out either sorcery 
or miracles4 ,the  spectator also1 who  
has been himself duped1 makes no very   
respectable  appearance when convicted  
of his error2 and thence1 if too candid 
to add  to the evidence of supernatural 
agency1 is yet unwilling to stand       
convicted by cross-examination1 of      
having been imposed on1 and             
unconsciously becomes disposed rather to
 colour more highly than the  truth1    
than acquiesce in an explanation resting
 on his having been too  hasty a        
believer4 ,very often1 too1 the         
detection depends upon the  combination 
of certain circumstances1 which1        
apprehended1 necessarily  explain the   
whole story4    ,for example1 ,i once   
heard a sensible and intelligent friend 

in company  express himself convinced of
 the truth of a wonderful story1 told   
him by  an intelligent and bold man1    
about an apparition4 ,the scene lay in  
an  ancient castle on the coast of      
,morven or the ,isle of ,mull1 where the
  ghost-seer chanced to be resident4 ,he
 was given to understand by the  family1
 when betaking himself to rest1 that the
 chamber in which he  slept was         
occasionally disquieted by supernatural 
appearances4 ,being at  that time no    
believer in such stories1 he attended   
little to this hint1  until the witching
 hour of night1 when he was awakened    
from a dead sleep  by the pressure of a 
human hand on his body4 ,he looked up at
 the figure  of a tall ,highlander1 in  
the antique and picturesque dress of his
  country1 only that his brows were     
bound with a bloody bandage4 ,struck    
with sudden and extreme fear1 he was    
willing to have sprung from bed1  but   
the spectre stood before him in the     
bright moonlight1 its one arm  extended 

so as to master him if he attempted to  
rise2 the other hand  held up in a      
warning and grave posture1 as menacing  
the ,lowlander if he  should attempt to 
quit his recumbent position4 ,thus he   
lay in mortal  agony for more than an   
hour1 after which it pleased the spectre
 of  ancient days to leave him to more  
sound repose4 ,so singular a story had  
on its side the usual number of votes   
from the company1 till1 upon            
cross-examination1 it was explained that
 the principal person concerned  was an 
exciseman4 ,after which eclaircissement 
the same explanation  struck all        
present1 viz41 the ,highlanders of the  
mansion had chosen to  detain the       
exciseman by the apparition of an       
ancient heroic ghost1 in  order to      
disguise from his vigilance the removal 
of certain modern  enough spirits1 which
 his duty might have called upon him to 
seize4 ,here  a single circumstance     
explained the whole ghost story4    ,at 
other times it happens that the meanness

 and trifling nature of a  cause not    
very obvious to observation has         
occasioned it to be entirely            
overlooked1 even on account of that very
 meanness1 since no one is  willing to  
acknowledge that he has been alarmed by 
a cause of little  consequence1 and     
which he would be ashamed of mentioning4
 ,an incident of  this sort happened to 
a gentleman of birth and distinction1   
who is well  known in the political     
world1 and was detected by the precision
 of his  observation4 ,shortly after he 
succeeded to his estate and title1 there
  was a rumour among his servants       
concerning a strange noise heard in the 
family mansion at night1 the cause of   
which they had found it impossible  to  
trace4 ,the gentleman resolved to watch 
himself1 with a domestic who  had grown 
old in the family1 and who had begun to 
murmur strange things  concerning the   
knocking having followed so close upon  
the death of his  old master4 ,they     
watched until the noise was heard1 which

 they listened  to with that strange    
uncertainty attending midnight sounds   
which  prevents the hearers from        
immediately tracing them to the spot    
where  they arise1 while the silence of 
the night generally occasions the       
imputing to them more than the due      
importance which they would receive  if 
mingled with the usual noises of        
daylight4 ,at length the gentleman  and 
his servant traced the sounds which they
 had repeatedly heard to a  small       
store-room used as a place for keeping  
provisions of various kinds  for the    
family1 of which the old butler had the 
key4 ,they entered this  place1 and     
remained there for some time without    
hearing the noises which  they had      
traced thither2 at length the sound was 
heard1 but much lower  than it had      
formerly seemed to be1 while acted upon 
at a distance by the  imagination of the
 hearers4 ,the cause was immediately    
discovered4 ,a rat  caught in an        
old-fashioned trap had occasioned this  

tumult by its  efforts to escape1 in    
which it was able to raise the trap-door
 of its  prison to a certain height1 but
 was then obliged to drop it4 ,the noise
  of the fall1 resounding through the   
house1 had occasioned the  disturbance  
which1 but for the cool investigation of
 the proprietor1  might easily have     
established an accredited ghost story4  
,the  circumstance was told me by the   
gentleman to whom it happened4    ,there
 are other occasions in which the ghost 
story is rendered credible  by some     
remarkable combination of circumstances 
very unlikely to have  happened1 and    
which no one could have supposed unless 
some particular  fortune occasioned a   
discovery4    ,an apparition which took 
place at ,plymouth is well known1 but it
 has  been differently related2 and     
having some reason to think the         
following  edition correct1 it is an    
incident so much to my purpose that you 
must  pardon its insertion4    ,a club  
of persons connected with science and   

literature was formed at  the great     
sea-town ,i have named4 ,during the     
summer months the society  met in a cave
 by the sea-shore2 during those of      
autumn and winter they  convened within 
the premises of a tavern1 but1 for the  
sake of privacy1  had their meetings in 
a summer-house situated in the garden1  
at a  distance from the main building4  
,some of the members to whom the        
position of their own dwellings rendered
 this convenient1 had a pass-key  to the
 garden-door1 by which they could enter 
the garden and reach the  summer-house  
without the publicity or trouble of     
passing through the  open tavern4 ,it   
was the rule of this club that its      
members presided  alternately4 ,on one  
occasion1 in the winter1 the president  
of the  evening chanced to be very ill2 
indeed1 was reported to be on his       
death-bed4 ,the club met as usual1 and1 
from a sentiment of respect1 left       
vacant the chair which ought to have    
been occupied by him if in his  usual   

health2 for the same reason1 the        
conversation turned upon the  absent    
gentleman's talents1 and the loss       
expected to the society by his  death4  
,while they were upon this melancholy   
theme1 the door suddenly  opened1 and   
the appearance of the president entered 
the room4 ,he wore a  white wrapper1 a  
nightcap round his brow1 the appearance 
of which was  that of death itself4 ,he 
stalked into the room with unusual      
gravity1  took the vacant place of      
ceremony1 lifted the empty glass which  
stood  before him1 bowed around1 and put
 it to his lips2 then replaced it on    
the table1 and stalked out of the room  
as silent as he had entered it4  ,the   
company remained deeply appalled2 at    
length1 after many observations  on the 
strangeness of what they had seen1 they 
resolved to dispatch two  of their      
number as ambassadors1 to see how it    
fared with the president1  who had thus 
strangely appeared among them4 ,they    
went1 and returned with  the frightful  

intelligence that the friend after whom 
they had enquired  was that evening     
deceased4    ,the astonished party then 
resolved that they would remain         
absolutely  silent respecting the       
wonderful sight which they had seen4    
,their habits  were too philosophical to
 permit them to believe that they had   
actually  seen the ghost of their       
deceased brother1 and at the same time  
they were  too wise men to wish to      
confirm the superstition of the vulgar  
by what  might seem indubitable evidence
 of a ghost4 ,the affair was therefore  
kept a strict secret1 although1 as      
usual1 some dubious rumours of the  tale
 found their way to the public4 ,several
 years afterwards1 an old  woman who had
 long filled the place of a sick-nurse1 
was taken very ill1  and on her         
death-bed was attended by a medical     
member of the  philosophical club4 ,to  
him1 with many expressions of regret1   
she  acknowledged that she had long     
before attended ,mr4----1 naming the    

president whose appearance had surprised
 the club so strangely1 and that  she   
felt distress of conscience on account  
of the manner in which he  died4 ,she   
said that as his malady was attended by 
light-headedness1 she  had been directed
 to keep a close watch upon him during  
his illness4  ,unhappily she slept1 and 
during her sleep the patient had awaked 
and  left the apartment4 ,when1 on her  
own awaking1 she found the bed empty    
and the patient gone1 she forthwith     
hurried out of the house to seek  him1  
and met him in the act of returning4    
,she got him1 she said1  replaced in    
bed1 but it was only to die there4 ,she 
added1 to convince  her hearer of the   
truth of what she said1 that immediately
 after the  poor gentleman expired1 a   
deputation of two members from the club 
came  to enquire after their president's
 health1 and received for answer that   
he was already dead4 ,this confession   
explained the whole matter4 ,the        
delirious patient had very naturally    

taken the road to the club1 from  some  
recollections of his duty of the night4 
,in approaching and retiring  from the  
apartment he had used one of the        
pass-keys already mentioned1  which made
 his way shorter4 ,on the other hand1   
the gentlemen sent to  enquire after his
 health had reached his lodging by a    
more circuitous  road2 and thus there   
had been time for him to return to what 
proved his  death-bed1 long before they 
reached his chamber4 ,the philosophical 
witnesses of this strange scene were now
 as anxious to spread the story  as they
 had formerly been to conceal it1 since 
it showed in what a  remarkable manner  
men's eyes might turn traitors to them1 
and impress  them with ideas far        
different from the truth4    ,another   
occurrence of the same kind1 although   
scarcely so striking in  its            
circumstances1 was yet one which1 had it
 remained unexplained1 might  have      
passed as an indubitable instance of a  
supernatural apparition4    ,a          

,teviotdale farmer was riding from a    
fair1 at which he had indulged  himself 
with ,john ,barleycorn1 but not to that 
extent of defying goblins  which it     
inspired into the gallant ,tam          
o',shanter4 ,he was pondering with  some
 anxiety upon the dangers of travelling 
alone on a solitary road  which passed  
the corner of a churchyard1 now near at 
hand1 when he saw  before him in the    
moonlight a pale female form standing   
upon the very  wall which surrounded the
 cemetery4 ,the road was very narrow1   
with no  opportunity of giving the      
apparent phantom what seamen call a wide
  berth4 ,it was1 however1 the only path
 which led to the rider's home1 who     
therefore resolved1 at all risks1 to    
pass the apparition4 ,he accordingly    
approached1 as slowly as possible1 the  
spot where the spectre stood1  while the
 figure remained1 now perfectly still   
and silent1 now  brandishing its arms   
and gibbering to the moon4 ,when the    
farmer came  close to the spot he dashed

 in the spurs and set the horse off upon
 a  gallop2 but the spectre did not miss
 its opportunity4 ,as he passed the     
corner where she was perched1 she       
contrived to drop behind the horseman   
and seize him round the waist1 a        
manoeuvre which greatly increased the   
speed of the horse and the terror of the
 rider2 for the hand of her who  sat    
behind him1 when pressed upon his1 felt 
as cold as that of a corpse4  ,at his   
own house at length he arrived1 and bid 
the servants who came to  attend him1   
,tak aff the ghaist6 ,they took off     
accordingly a female in  white1 and the 
poor farmer himself was conveyed to bed1
 where he lay  struggling for weeks with
 a strong nervous fever4 ,the female was
 found  to be a maniac1 who had been    
left a widow very suddenly by an        
affectionate husband1 and the nature and
 cause of her malady induced  her1 when 
she could make her escape1 to wander to 
the churchyard1 where  she sometimes    
wildly wept over his grave1 and         

sometimes1 standing on the  corner of   
the churchyard wall1 looked out1 and    
mistook every stranger on  horseback for
 the husband she had lost4 ,if this     
woman1 which was very  possible1 had    
dropt from the horse unobserved by him  
whom she had made  her involuntary      
companion1 it would have been very hard 
to have  convinced the honest farmer    
that he had not actually performed part 
of  his journey with a ghost behind him4
    ,there is also a large class of     
stories of this sort1 where various     
secrets of chemistry1 of acoustics1     
ventriloquism1 or other arts1 have  been
 either employed to dupe the spectators1
 or have tended to do so  through mere  
accident and coincidence4 ,of these it  
is scarce necessary  to quote instances2
 but the following may be told as a tale
 recounted by  a foreign nobleman known 
to me nearly thirty years ago1 whose    
life1 lost  in the service of his       
sovereign1 proved too short for his     
friends and  his native land4    ,at a  

certain old castle on the confines of   
,hungary1 the lord to whom it  belonged 
had determined upon giving an           
entertainment worthy of his own  rank   
and of the magnificence of the antique  
mansion which he inhabited4  ,the guests
 of course were numerous1 and among them
 was a veteran officer  of hussars1     
remarkable for his bravery4 ,when the   
arrangements for the  night were made   
this officer was informed that there    
would be difficulty  in accommodating   
the company in the castle1 large as was1
 unless some  one would take the risk of
 sleeping in a room supposed to be      
haunted1  and that1 as he was known to  
be above such prejudices1 the apartment 
was  in the first place proposed for his
 occupation1 as the person least  likely
 to suffer a bad night's rest from such 
a cause4 ,the major  thankfully accepted
 the preference1 and having shared the  
festivity of  the evening1 retired after
 midnight1 having denounced vengeance   
against  any one who should presume by  

any trick to disturb his repose2 a      
threat  which his habits would1 it was  
supposed1 render him sufficiently ready 
to execute4 ,somewhat contrary to the   
custom in these cases1 the major  went  
to bed1 having left his candle burning  
and laid his trusty pistols1  carefully 
loaded1 on the table by his bedside4    
,he had not slept an hour when he was   
awakened by a solemn strain of  music4  
,he looked out4 ,three ladies1          
fantastically dressed in green1 were    
seen in the lower end of the apartment1 
who sung a solemn requiem4 ,the  major  
listened for some time with delight2 at 
length he tired4 ,ladies1  he said1 this
 is very well1 but somewhat             
monotonous--will you be so  kind as to  
change the tune8 ,the ladies continued  
singing2 he  expostulated1 but the music
 was not interrupted4 ,the major began  
to grow  angry3 ,ladies1 he said1 ,i    
must consider this as a trick for the   
purpose of terrifying me1 and as ,i     
regard it as an impertinence1 ,i shall  

take a rough mode of stopping it4 ,with 
that he began to handle his  pistols4   
,the ladies sung on4 ,he then get       
seriously angry3 ,i will but  wait five 
minutes1 he said1 and then fire without 
hesitation4 ,the  song was              
uninterrupted--the five minutes were    
expired4 ,i still give you  law1 ladies1
 he said1 while ,i count twenty4 ,this  
produced as little  effect as his former
 threats4 ,he counted one1 two1 three   
accordingly2  but on approaching the end
 of the number1 and repeating more than 
once  his determination to fire1 the    
last numbers1                           
seventeen--eighteen--nineteen1 were     
pronounced with considerable pauses     
between1 and an assurance that the      
pistols were cocked4 ,the ladies sung   
on4 ,as he pronounced the word twenty he
 fired both pistols against the  musical
 damsels--but the ladies sung on6 ,the  
major was overcome by the  unexpected   
inefficacy of his violence1 and had an  
illness which lasted  more than three   

weeks4 ,the trick put upon him may be   
shortly described  by the fact that the 
female choristers were placed in an     
adjoining room1  and that he only fired 
at their reflection thrown forward into 
that in  which he slept by the effect of
 a concave mirror4    ,other stories of 
the same kind are numerous and well     
known4 ,the  apparition of the ,brocken 
mountain1 after having occasioned great 
admiration and some fear1 is now        
ascertained by philosophers to be a     
gigantic reflection1 which makes the    
traveller's shadow1 represented  upon   
the misty clouds1 appear a colossal     
figure of almost immeasurable  size4 ,by
 a similar deception men have been      
induced1 in ,westmoreland and  other    
mountainous countries1 to imagine they  
saw troops of horse and  armies marching
 and countermarching1 which were in fact
 only the  reflection of horses         
pasturing upon an opposite height1 or of
 the forms  of peaceful travellers4     
,a very curious case of this kind was   

communicated to me by the son of  the   
lady principally concerned1 and tends to
 show out of what mean  materials a     
venerable apparition may be sometimes   
formed4 ,in youth this  lady resided    
with her father1 a man of sense and     
resolution4 ,their house  was situated  
in the principal street of a town of    
some size4 ,the back  part of the house 
ran at right angles to an ,anabaptist   
chapel1 divided  from it by a small     
cabbage-garden4 ,the young lady used    
sometimes to  indulge the romantic love 
of solitude by sitting in her own       
apartment in  the evening till twilight1
 and even darkness1 was approaching4    
,one  evening1 while she was thus       
placed1 she was surprised to see a      
gleamy  figure1 as of some aerial being1
 hovering1 as it were1 against the      
arched window in the end of the         
,anabaptist chapel4 ,its head was       
surrounded by that halo which painters  
give to the ,catholic saints2 and  while
 the young lady's attention was fixed on

 an object so  extraordinary1 the figure
 bent gracefully towards her more than  
once1 as  if intimating a sense of her  
presence1 and then disappeared4 ,the    
seer of  this striking vision descended 
to her family1 so much discomposed as to
  call her father's attention4 ,he      
obtained an account of the cause of her 
disturbance1 and expressed his intention
 to watch in the apartment next  night4 
,he sat accordingly in his daughter's   
chamber1 where she also  attended him4  
,twilight came1 and nothing appeared2   
but as the gray light  faded into       
darkness1 the same female figure was    
seen hovering on the  window2 the same  
shadowy form1 the same pale light-around
 the head1 the  same inclinations1 as   
the evening before4 ,what do you think  
of this8  said the daughter to the      
astonished father4 ,anything1 my dear1  
said  the father1 rather than allow that
 we look upon what is supernatural4  ,a 
strict research established a natural   
cause for the appearance on the  window4

 ,it was the custom of an old woman1 to 
whom the garden beneath  was rented1 to 
go out at night to gather cabbages4 ,the
 lantern she  carried in her hand threw 
up the refracted reflection of her form 
on the  chapel window4 ,as she stooped  
to gather her cabbages the reflection   
appeared to bend forward2 and that was  
the whole matter4    ,another species of
 deception1 affecting the credit of such
 supernatural  communications1 arises   
from the dexterity and skill of the     
authors who  have made it their business
 to present such stories in the shape   
most  likely to attract belief4         
,defoe--whose power in rendering        
credible that  which was in itself very 
much the reverse was so peculiarly      
distinguished--has not failed to show   
his superiority in this species of      
composition4 ,a bookseller of his       
acquaintance had1 in the trade phrase1  
rather overprinted an edition of        
,drelincourt on ,death1 and complained  
to ,defoe of the loss which was likely  

to ensue4 ,the experienced  bookmaker1  
with the purpose of recommending the    
edition1 advised his  friend to prefix  
the celebrated narrative of ,mrs4       
,veal's ghost1 which he  wrote for the  
occasion1 with such an air of truth1    
that although in fact  it does not      
afford a single tittle of evidence      
properly so called1 it  nevertheless was
 swallowed so eagerly by the people that
 ,drelincourt's  work on death1 which   
the supposed spirit recommended to the  
perusal of  her friend ,mrs4 ,bargrave1 
instead of sleeping on the editor's     
shelf1  moved off by thousands at once2 
the story1 incredible in itself1 and    
unsupported as it was by evidence or    
enquiry1 was received as true1  merely  
from the cunning of the narrator1 and   
the addition of a number of             
adventitious circumstances1 which no man
 alive could have conceived as  having  
occurred to the mind of a person        
composing a fiction4    ,it did not     
require the talents of ,defoe1 though in

 that species of  composition he must   
stand unrivalled1 to fix the public     
attention on a  ghost story4 ,john      
,dunton1 a man of scribbling celebrity  
at the time1  succeeded to a great      
degree in imposing upon the public a    
tale which he  calls the ,apparition    
,evidence4 ,the beginning of it1 at     
least 7for it is  of great length71 has 
something in it a little new4 ,at       
,mynehead1 in  ,somersetshire1 lived an 
ancient gentlewoman named ,mrs4 ,leckie1
 whose  only son and daughter resided in
 family with her4 ,the son traded to    
,ireland1 and was supposed to be worth  
eight or ten thousand pounds4 ,they  had
 a child about five or six years old4   
,this family was generally  respected in
 ,mynehead2 and especially ,mrs4        
,leckie1 the old lady1 was so  pleasant 
in society1 that her friends used to say
 to her1 and to each  other1 that it was
 a thousand pities such an excellent1   
good-humoured  gentlewoman must1 from   
her age1 be soon lost to her friends4   

,to which  ,mrs4 ,leckie often made the 
somewhat startling reply3 ,forasmuch as 
you  now seem to like me1 ,i am afraid  
you will but little care to see or      
speak with me after my death1 though ,i 
believe you may have that  satisfaction4
 ,die1 however1 she did1 and after her  
funeral was  repeatedly seen in her     
personal likeness1 at home and abroad1  
by night  and by noonday4    ,one story 
is told of a doctor of physic walking   
into the fields1 who in  his return met 
with this spectre1 whom he at first     
accosted civilly1 and  paid her the     
courtesy of handing her over a stile4   
,observing1 however1  that she did not  
move her lips in speaking1 or her eyes  
in looking  round1 he became suspicious 
of the condition of his companion1 and  
showed some desire to be rid of her     
society4 ,offended at this1 the hag  at 
next stile planted herself upon it1 and 
obstructed his passage4 ,he  got through
 at length with some difficulty1 and not
 without a sound  kick1 and an          

admonition to pay more attention to the 
next aged  gentlewoman whom he met4 ,but
 this1 says ,john ,dunton1 was a petty  
and  inconsiderable prank to what she   
played in her son's house and           
elsewhere4 ,she would at noonday appear 
upon the quay of ,mynehead1 and  cry1   
',a boat1 a boat1 ho6 a boat1 a boat1   
ho6' ,if any boatmen or seamen  were in 
sight1 and did not come1 they were sure 
to be cast away2 and if  they did come1 
'twas all one1 they were cast away4 ,it 
was equally  dangerous to please and    
displease her4 ,her son had several     
ships sailing  between ,ireland and     
,england2 no sooner did they make land1 
and come in  sight of ,england1 but this
 ghost would appear in the same garb and
  likeness as when she was alive1 and1  
standing at the mainmast1 would  blow   
with a whistle1 and though it were never
 so great a calm1 yet  immediately there
 would arise a most dreadful storm1 that
 would break1  wreck1 and drown the ship
 and goods2 only the seamen would escape

 with  their lives--the devil had no    
permission from ,god to take them away4 
,yet  at this rate1 by her frequent     
apparitions and disturbances1 she had   
made  a poor merchant of her son1 for   
his fair estate was all buried in the   
sea1 and he that was once worth         
thousands was reduced to a very poor and
  low condition in the world2 for       
whether the ship were his own or hired1 
or he had but goods on board it to the  
value of twenty shillings1 this         
troublesome ghost would come as before1 
whistle in a calm at the  mainmast at   
noonday1 when they had descried land1   
and then ship and  goods went all out of
 hand to wreck2 insomuch that he could  
at last get  no ships wherein to stow   
his goods1 nor any mariner to sail in   
them2 for  knowing what an              
uncomfortable1 fatal1 and losing voyage 
they should make  of it1 they did all   
decline his service4 ,in her son's house
 she hath her  constant haunts by day   
and night2 but whether he did not1 or   

would not  own if he did1 see her1 he   
always professed he never saw her4      
,sometimes  when in bed with his wife1  
she would cry out1 ',husband1 look1     
there's  your mother6' ,and when he     
would turn to the right side1 then was  
she  gone to the left2 and when to the  
left side of the bed1 then was she  gone
 to the right2 only one evening their   
only child1 a girl of about  five or six
 years old1 lying in a ruckle-bed under 
them1 cries out1 ',oh1  help me1 father6
 help me1 mother6 for grandmother will  
choke me6' and  before they could get to
 their child's assistance she had       
murdered it2  they finding the poor girl
 dead1 her throat having been pinched by
 two  fingers1 which stopped her breath 
and strangled her4 ,this was the sorest 
of all their afflictions2 their estate  
is gone1 and now their child is  gone   
also2 you may guess at their grief and  
great sorrow4 ,one morning  after the   
child's funeral1 her husband being      
abroad1 about eleven in the  forenoon1  

,mrs4 ,leckie the younger goes up into  
her chamber to dress her  head1 and as  
she was looking into the glass she spies
 her mother-in-law1  the old beldam1    
looking over her shoulder4 ,this cast   
her into a great  horror2 but           
recollecting her affrighted spirits1 and
 recovering the  exercise of her reason1
 faith1 and hope1 having cast up a short
 and  silent prayer to ,god1 she turns  
about1 and bespeaks her3 ',in the name  
of  ,god1 mother1 why do you trouble    
me8' ',peace1' says the spectrum2 ',i   
will  do thee no hurt4' ',what will you 
have of me8' says the daughter1  c4#hf  
,dunton1 the narrator and probably the  
contriver of the story1  proceeds to    
inform us at length of a commission     
which the wife of ,mr4  ,leckie receives
 from the ghost to deliver to ,atherton1
 ,bishop of  ,waterford1 a guilty and   
unfortunate man1 who afterwards died by 
the  hands of the executioner2 but that 
part of the subject is too  disagreeable
 and tedious to enter upon4    ,footnote

 #hf3 ,apparition ,evidence4    ,so deep
 was the impression made by the story on
 the inhabitants of  ,mynehead1 that it 
is said the tradition of ,mrs4 ,leckie  
still remains in  that port1 and that   
mariners belonging to it often1 amid    
tempestuous  weather1 conceive they hear
 the whistle-call of the implacable hag 
who  was the source of so much mischief 
to her own family4 ,however1 already    
too desultory and too long1 it would    
become intolerably tedious were ,i  to  
insist farther on the peculiar sort of  
genius by which stories of  this kind   
may be embodied and prolonged4    ,i    
may1 however1 add1 that the charm of the
 tale depends much upon the  age of the 
person to whom it is addressed2 and that
 the vivacity of  fancy which engages us
 in youth to pass over much that is     
absurd1 in  order to enjoy some single  
trait of imagination1 dies within us    
when we  obtain the age of manhood1 and 
the sadder and graver regions which lie 
beyond it4 ,i am the more conscious of  

this1 because ,i have been myself  at   
two periods of my life1 distant from    
each other1 engaged in scenes           
favourable to that degree of            
superstitious awe which my countrymen   
expressively call being eerie4    ,on   
the first of these occasions ,i was only
 ninteeen or twenty years old1  when ,i 
happened to pass a night in the         
magnificent old baronial castle  of     
,glammis1 the hereditary seat of the    
,earls of ,strathmore4 ,the hoary  pile 
contains much in its appearance1 and in 
the traditions connected  with it1      
impressive to the imagination4 ,it was  
the scene of the murder  of a ,scottish 
king of great antiquity2 not indeed the 
gracious ,duncan1  with whom the name   
naturally associates itself1 but        
,malcolm the ,second4  ,it contains also
 a curious monument of the peril of     
feudal times1 being  a secret chamber1  
the entrance of which1 by the law or    
custom of the  family1 must only be     
known to three persons at once1 viz41   

the ,earl of  ,strathmore1 his heir     
apparent1 and any third person whom they
 may take  into their confidence4 ,the  
extreme antiquity of the building is    
vouched  by the immense thickness of the
 walls1 and the wild and straggling     
arrangement of the accommodation within 
doors4 ,as the late ,earl of            
,strathmore seldom resided in that      
ancient mansion1 it was1 when ,i was    
there1 but half-furnished1 and that with
 movables of great antiquity1  which1   
with the pieces of chivalric armour     
hanging upon the walls1  greatly        
contributed to the general effect of the
 whole4 ,after a very  hospitable       
reception from the late ,peter ,proctor1
 ,esq41 then seneschal  of the castle1  
in ,lord ,strathmore's absence1 ,i was  
conducted to my  apartment in a distant 
corner of the building4 ,i must own1    
that as ,i  heard door after door shut1 
after my conductor had retired1 ,i began
 to  consider myself too far from the   
living and somewhat too near the dead4  

,we had passed through what is called   
,the ,king's ,room1 a vaulted           
apartment1 garnished with stags' antlers
 and similar trophies of the  chase1 and
 said by tradition to be the spot of    
,malcolm's murder1 and ,i  had an idea  
of the vicinity of the castle chapel4   
,in spite of the truth of history1 the  
whole night-scene in ,macbeth's  castle 
rushed at once upon my mind1 and struck 
my imagination more  forcibly than even 
when ,i have seen its terrors           
represented by the late  ,john ,kemble  
and his inimitable sister4 ,in a word1  
,i experienced  sensations which1 though
 not remarkable either for timidity or  
superstition1 did not fail to affect me 
to the point of being  disagreeable1    
while they were mingled at the same time
 with a strange  and indescribable kind 
of pleasure1 the recollection of which  
affords me  gratification at this       
moment4    ,in the year #ahad accident  
placed me1 then past middle life1 in a  
situation somewhat similar to that which

 ,i have described4    ,i had been on a 
pleasure voyage with some friends around
 the north coast  of ,scotland1 and in  
that course had arrived in the          
salt-water lake under  the castle of    
,dunvegan1 whose turrets1 situated upon 
a frowning rock1  rise immediately above
 the waves of the loch4 ,as most of the 
party1 and  ,i myself in particular1    
chanced to be well known to the ,laird  
of  ,macleod1 we were welcomed to the   
castle with ,highland hospitality1 and  
glad to find ourselves in polished      
society1 after a cruise of some         
duration4 ,the most modern part of the  
castle was founded in the days of       
,james ,,vi42 the more ancient is       
referred to a period whose birth        
tradition notes not4 ,until the present 
,macleod connected by a  drawbridge the 
site of the castle with the mainland of 
,skye1 the access  must have been       
extremely difficult4 ,indeed1 so much   
greater was the  regard paid to security
 than to convenience1 that in former    

times the  only access to the mansion   
arose through a vaulted cavern in a     
rock1 up  which a staircase ascended    
from the sea-shore1 like the buildings  
we  read of in the romances of ,mrs4    
,radcliffe4    ,such a castle1 in the   
extremity of the ,highlands1 was of     
course  furnished with many a tale of   
tradition1 and many a superstitious     
legend1 to fill occasional intervals in 
the music and song1 as proper to  the   
halls of ,dunvegan as when ,johnson     
commemorated them4 ,we reviewed the     
arms and ancient valuables of this      
distinguished family--saw the dirk  and 
broadsword of ,rorie ,mhor1 and his     
horn1 which would drench three  chiefs  
of these degenerate days4 ,the solemn   
drinking-cup of the ,kings of  ,man must
 not be forgotten1 nor the fairy banner 
given to ,macleod by the  ,queen of     
,fairies2 that magic flag which has been
 victorious in two  pitched fields1 and 
will still float in the third1 the      
bloodiest and the  last1 when the ,elfin

 ,sovereign shall1 after the fight is   
ended1 recall  her banner1 and carry off
 the standard-bearer4    ,amid such     
tales of ancient tradition ,i had from  
,macleod and his lady the  courteous    
offer of the haunted apartment of the   
castle1 about which1 as  a stranger1 ,i 
might be supposed interested4           
,accordingly1 ,i took  possession of it 
about the witching hour4 ,except perhaps
 some tapestry  hangings1 and the       
extreme thickness of the walls1 which   
argued great  antiquity1 nothing could  
have been more comfortable than the     
interior of  the apartment2 but if you  
looked from the windows the view was    
such as  to correspond with the highest 
tone of superstition4 ,an autumnal      
blast1  sometimes driving mist before   
it1 swept along the troubled billows of 
the lake1 which it occasionally         
concealed1 and by fits disclosed4 ,the  
waves rushed in wild disorder on the    
shore1 and covered with foam the  steep 
piles of rock1 which1 rising from the   

sea in forms something  resembling the  
human figure1 have obtained the name of 
,macleod's  ,maidens1 and in such a     
night seemed no bad representatives of  
the  ,norwegian goddesses called        
,choosers of the ,slain1 or ,riders of  
the  ,storm4 ,there was something of the
 dignity of danger in the scene2 for on 
a platform beneath the windows lay an   
ancient battery of cannon1 which  had   
sometimes been used against privateers  
even of late years4 ,the  distant scene 
was a view of that part of the ,quillan 
mountains which are  called1 from their 
form1 ,macleod's ,dining-,tables4 ,the  
voice of an angry  cascade1 termed the  
,nurse of ,rorie ,mhor1 because that    
chief slept best  'in its vicinity1 was 
heard from time to time mingling its    
notes with  those of wind and wave4     
,such was the haunted room at ,dunvegan1
 and as  such it well deserved a less   
sleepy inhabitant4 ,in the language of  
,dr4  ,johnson1 who has stamped his     
memory on this remote place1 ,i looked  

around me1 and wondered that ,i was not 
more affected2 but the mind is  not at  
all times equally ready to be moved4 ,in
 a word1 it is necessary  to confess    
that1 of all ,i heard or saw1 the most  
engaging spectacle was  the comfortable 
bed1 in which ,i hoped to make amends   
for some rough  nights on ship-board1   
and where ,i slept accordingly without  
thinking of  ghost or goblin till ,i was
 called by my servant in the morning4   
,from this ,i am taught to infer that   
tales of ghosts and demonology are  out 
of date at forty years and upwards2 that
 it is only in the morning  of life that
 this feeling of superstition comes o'er
 us like a summer  cloud1 affecting us  
with fear which is solemn and awful     
rather than  painful2 and ,i am tempted 
to think that1 if ,i were to write on   
the  subject at all1 it should have been
 during a period of life when ,i could  
have treated it with more interesting   
vivacity1 and might have been at  least 
amusing if ,i could not be instructive4 

,even the present fashion of  the world 
seems to be ill suited for studies of   
this fantastic nature2  and the most    
ordinary mechanic has learning          
sufficient to laugh at the  figments    
which in former times were believed by  
persons far advanced in  the deepest    
knowledge of the age4    ,i cannot1     
however1 in conscience carry my opinion 
of my countrymen's  good sense so far as
 to exculpate them entirely from the    
charge of  credulity4 ,those who are    
disposed to look for them may1 without  
much  trouble1 see such manifest signs1 
both of superstition and the            
disposition to believe in its doctrines1
 as may render it no useless  occupation
 to compare the follies of our fathers  
with our own4 ,the  sailors have a      
proverb that every man in his lifetime  
must eat a peck of  impurity2 and it    
seems yet more clear that every         
generation of the human  race must      
swallow a certain measure of nonsense4  
,there remains hope1  however1 that the 

grosser faults of our ancestors are now 
out of date2  and that whatever follies 
the present race may be guilty of1 the  
sense  of humanity is too universally   
spread to permit them to think of       
tormenting wretches till they confess   
what is impossible1 and then  burning   
them for their pains4      ,,the ,,end4 
,,printed ,,by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson   
,,and ,,co4 ,,london ,,and ,,edinburgh4