and his wife, so that these poor wretches expired from ill-usage and exposure.
The Devil’s Mark must be distinguished from the nipple by which the witch used to nourish her familiar. The Lawes against Witches and Coniuration, 1645, authoritatively stated that “their said Familiar hath some big or little Teat upon their body, wher he sucketh them: and besides their sucking, the Devil leaveth other markes upon their bodies, sometimes like a Blew-spot, or Red-spot like a flea-biting.” Guazzo, in his Compendium Malificarum, tells us that this mark was a part of the admission ceremonies: “The Demon imprints upon the Witches some mark.” This is mentioned by all demonologists. The spot was said to be invincible to pain, and when pricked, however deeply, it did not emit blood. Many cases, but by no means all, may of course be covered by the theory of callous malformations, thickened tissue, or birth marks, although it should be noted that with regard to the latter high authorities are very sceptical as to the effects of maternal impression upon the unborn child, and in this connexion the masterly study of Dr. Havelock Ellis, “The Psychic State in Pregnancy,” Erotic Symbolism, must be read. It is noteworthy that the phenomenon of the “little Teat or Pap” so often found on the body of the witch seems to occur only in the records of England and New England. Of this there are very many instances, and here again a large number of cases may be explained by polymastia and polythelia, anatomical divagations which are far commoner than is generally supposed, and which have frequently been observed and described in recent medical treatises. But this
