The Devil in Law. adjourned to the graveyard, and resurrected a newly-buried corpse or two, cutting off the fingers joints. Agnes Sampson got two of these and a winding sheet. That "Defender of the Faith," James, attended the examina tions of the accused, and was particularly interested in the account of the nocturnal dance, and he insisted that the solitary musician should perform for his benefit on her jewsharp the tune to which Satan and his followers had danced. She did so. It is to be regretted that the music has not come down to us. Some of the unfortunates told his majesty that his Satanic Majesty had said that he, James, was the greatest enemy he had in all the world. Nearly all these poor wretches were executed, strangled to death and burnt to ashes. We must not blame James too much, for he was "The Defender of the Faith," and a century and a half afterwards John Wesley wrote: "The giving up of witchcraft is in effect the giving up of the Bible. ... I cannot give up to all the Deists in Great Britain the existence of witchcraft until I give up the credit of all history, sacred and profane." Let us look particularly at one of the celebrated Salem cases. On June 2, 1692, Bridget Bishop, alias Oliver, was indicted for bewitching several persons in the neigh borhood. She pleaded "not guilty," and many witnesses were brought in who had long undergone many kinds of miseries, which were preternaturally inflicted and generally ascribed to a horrible witchcraft. There was little occasion to prove the witch craft, it being evident and notorious to all beholders. To fix the charge on the prisoner they first took the evidence of the bewitched. These testified that the shape of the prisoner did ofttimes very grievously punch, choke, bite and afflict them, urging them to write their names in a book—the devil's book. One said the shape had carried her to the river and threatened to drown her if she would not sign, and had bragged of having killed sundry persons; another testified that
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the ghosts of these murdered ones appeared before the shape and accused her of killing them. During the examination . of the prisoner the bewitched were greatly tor tured. If she looked at them they were struck dumb; if she touched them when in their swoons they would revive immediately (no other's touch had that effect). If she shook her head or lowered her eyes the others did the like. One man had struck out where he was told the shape of Bishop was, the bewitched said. "You have torn her coat, and lo! Bishop's coat was found to be torn in that part. Deliverance Hobbs had been a witch and confessed; now for her con fession she was tormented and whipped with iron rods by the shape. She . swore that Bishop had been at a witches' meeting, and there partaken of the devil's sacrament. This was apparently all the evidence produced to prove that Bridget Bishop had been truly charged with the witchcraft complained of. To make her guilt still clearer evidence of other witchcrafts by her perpetrated was produced. One swore that six years before, one morning about sunrise the shape of the prisoner had assaulted him in his chamber, looked at him, grinned at him, and hit him on the side of his head; the same day at noon he had an apple in his hand, the shape came into the room, and the apple strangely flew out of his hand into the lap of his mother, two or three yards off. Another swore that fourteen years before he awoke one night and found the room full of light and a woman between him and the cradle. On his speaking she vanished, but came back. The baby screeched, and she disappeared. It had been a likely babe, but now it sickened, and after divers months died. Afterwards he recognized Bishop as being that night visitor. Another had bought a pig from Bishop's husband. Bishop did not want it sold; the pig was forthwith taken with strange fits. Witness believed the woman had bewitched it. Another said the ap parition of Bishop and two others had appeared to him one night, and oppressed
