of the devil, none but they alone could have either kill or ftrength to bring the prisoners back again.

But fo far did they carry this dreadful drollery, and fo fond were they of it, that to maintain it and themselves in profitable repute, they literally facrificed for it, and made impious victims of numberlefs old women and other miferable perfons, who either through ignorance could not fay what they were bid to fay, or through madness said what they fhould not have faid. Fear and ftupidity made them incapable of defending themselves, and frenzy and infatuation made them confefs guilty impoffibilities, which produced cruel fentences and then inhuman executions.

Some of these wretched mortals finding themfelves either hateful or terrible to all, and befriended by none, and perhaps wanting the common neceffaries of life, came at laft to abhor themselves as much as they were abhorred by others, and grew willing to be burnt or hanged out of a world, which was no other to them than a scene of perfecution and anguish.

Others of ftrong imaginations and little underftandings were by pofitive and repeated charges against them, of committing mifchievous and fupernatural facts and villanies, deluded to judge of themselves by the judgment of their enemies, whose weakness or malice prompted them to be accufers. And many have been condemned as witches and dealers with the devil for no other reafon but their knowing more than thofe who accufed, tried, and paffed fentence upon them,

In these cafes credulity is a much greater error than infidelity, and it is fafer to believe nothing than too much. A man, that believes little or nothing of witchcraft, will deftroy nobody for being under the imputation of it; and fo far he certainly

T4

acts

acts with humanity to others, and fafety to himfelf; but he that credits all, or too much upon that article, is obliged, if he acts confiftently with his perfuafion, to kill all those whom he takes to be the killers of mankind; and fuch are witches. It would be a jest and a contradiction to fay, that he is for fparing them who are harmlefs of that tribe, fince the received notion of their fuppofed contract with the devil implies that they are engaged by covenant and inclination to do all the mifchief they poffibly can.

I have heard many ftories of witches, and read many accufations against them; but I do not remember any, that would have induced me to have configned over to the halter or the flame any of thofe deplorable wretches, who, as they fhare our likeness and nature, ought to fhare our compaffion, as perfons cruelly accused of impoffibilities,

But we love to delude ourselves, and often fancy or forge an effect, and then fet ourfelves as gravely as ridiculously to find out the caufe, Thus, for example, when a dream or the hyp has given us false terrors, or imaginary pains, we immediately conclude that the infernal tyrant owes us a fpite, and inflicts his wrath and ftripes upon us by the hands of fome of his fworn fervants amongst us. For this end an old woman is promoted to a feat in Satan's privy council, and appointed his executioner in chief within her diftrict. So ready and civil are we to allow the devil the dominion over us, and even to provide him with butchers and hangmen of our own make and nature.

I have often wondered why we did not, in chufing our proper officers for Belzebub, lay the lot rather upon men than women, the former being more bold and robuft, and more equal to that bloody fervice; but upon enquiry I find it has been fo

ordered

ordered for two reafons; firft, the men, having the whole direction of this affair, are wife enough to flip their own necks out of the collar; and fecondly an old woman is grown by cuftom the moft avoided and moft unpitied creature under the fun, the very name carrying contempt and fatire in it. And fo far indeed we pay but an uncourtly fort of respect to Satan, in facrificing to him nothing but the dry fticks of human nature.

We have a wondering quality within us, which finds huge gratification when we fee ftrange feats done, and cannot at the fame time fee the doer, or the caufe. Such actions are fure to be attributed to fome witch or dæmon; for if we come to find they are flily performed by artists of our own fpecies, and by caufes purely natural, our delight dies with

our amazement.

It is therefore one of the most unthankful offices in the world, to go about to expofe the miftaken notions of witchcraft and fpirits; it is robbing mankind of a valuable imagination, and of the privilege of being deceived. Thofe, who at any time undertook the task, have always met with rough treatment and ill language for their pains, and feldom efcaped the imputation of atheifim, because they would not allow the devil to be too powerful for the Almighty. For my part, I am fo much a heretic as to believe, that God Almighty, and not the devil, governs the world.

If we inquire what are the common marks and fymptoms, by which witches are discovered to be fuch, we fhall fee how reasonably and mercifully those poor creatures were burnt and hanged, who unhappily fell under that name.

In the first place the old woman must be prodigioufly ugly; her eyes hollow and red, her face thrivelled; he goes double, and her voice trem

bles.

bles. It frequently happens, that this rueful figura frightens a child into the palpitation of the heart : home he runs, and tells his mamma, that goody fuch a one looked at him, and he is very ill. The good woman cries out, her dear baby is bewitched, and fends for the parfon and the constable.

It is moreover neceffary, that the be very poor. It is true, her mafter Satan has mines and hidden treasures in his gift; but no matter, fhe is for all that very poor, and lives on alms. She goes to Silly the cook maid for a difh of broth, or the heel of a loaf, and Sily denies them to her. The old woman goes away muttering, and perhaps in lefs than a month's time Sifly hears the voice of a cat, and ftrains her ancles, which are certain figns that fhe is bewitched.

A farmer fees his cattle die of the murrain, and the fheep of the rot, and poor goody is forced to be the cause of their death, because fhe was feen talking to herself the evening before fuch an ewe departed, and had been gathering fticks at the fide of the wood where fuch a cow run mad.

The old woman has always for her companion an, old grey cat, which is a difguifed devil too, and confederate with goody in works of darkness. They frequently go journies into Egypt upon a broom-ftaff in half an hour's time, and now and then goody and her cat change fhapes. The neighbours often over-hear them in deep and folemn difcourfe together, plotting fome dreadful mifchief you may be fure.

There is a famous way of trying witches, recommended by king James I. The old woman is tied hand and foot, and thrown into the river, and if fhe fwims fhe is guilty, and taken out and burnt; but if the is innocent, the finks, and is only drowned.

The

The witches are faid to meet their master frequently in churches and church-yards. I wonder at the boldnefs of Satan and his congregation, in revelling and playing mountebank farces on confecrated ground; and I have as often wondered at the overfight and ill policy of fome people in allowing it poffible.

It would have been both dangerous and impious to have treated this fubject at one certain time in this ludicrous manner. It used to be managed with all poffible gravity, and even terror; and indeed it was made a tragedy in all its parts, and thousands were facrificed or rather murdered by fuch evidence and colours, as, God be thanked! we are at this day afhamed of. An old woman may be miferable now, and not be hanged for it,

AN ACCOUNT OF THE

AUGUSTAN AGE OF ENGLAND.

THE hiftory of the rife of language and learning is calculated to gratify curiofity rather than to fatisfy the understanding. An account of that period only, when language and learning arrived at its highest perfection, is the most conducive to real improvement, fince it at once raifes emulation and directs to the proper objects. The age of Leo X. in Italy is confeffed to be the Auguftan age with them. The French writers feem agreed to give the fame appellation to that of Lewis XIV. but the English are yet undetermined with refpect to themselves.

Some