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FAMILIARS

Molesworth, there appeared unto her a Spirit, somewhat like a Rat, but not fully so big, of an iron-grey colour, and said you must goe with me, and she said, I will not, avoid Satan, and thereupon he went away. Shee saith, that within a short time after, going into the field, cursing, and fretting, and blaspheming, there appeared three Spirits more with the former in the fashion of Rats, of an iron-grey, and said, you must forsake God and Christ, and goe with me, and take those Spirits for your Gods, and you shall have all happinesse, whereunto she consented: And moreover they said unto her, that when she dyed, they must have her body and soule, and said they must have blood from her, which she granted, and thereupon they sucked her upon and about her hippes.—Anne Desborough confesseth, that about thirty yeares since, the first weeke of Cleane Lent, there appeared unto her a thing some-what bigger than a Mouse, of a brown colour, and of the likenesse of a mouse. This was while shee lived at Tichmarsh in the County of Northampton: she being there in bed, and in a dreame, the said likenesse then gave her a nip, and thereby awakened her out of her dreame, and then told her (when she was awakened) that it must have part of her soule; whereupon she was in a great feare, and gave him no answer, but prayed to God, and thereupon it vanished away from her. About five dayes after, the same Mouse appeared to her againe, bringing with it another Mouse, about the bignesse of an ordinary Mouse, or very little bigger, browne like the former, save only that the latter had some white about the belly, whereas the former was all browne. Then the Mouse that first appeared, said, we must sucke of your body. She yielded to them, and said, they should; upon her yielding, they went to her and sucked of her bodie, where the markes are found. The bigger mouse she called Tib, and the lesser Jone. Tib told her that she must forsake God and Christ, and take them for her Gods, telling her that when she dyed, they must have her soule, to all which she yielded.'[1]

In Cambridgeshire in 1647 Dorothy Ellis 'saith that about thirtie yeares since shee being much troubled in her minde there appeared unto hir the Devell in the liknes of a great catt and speak unto this ext and demanded of hir hir blood wch she gave hime after which the spirit in the liknes of a catt suck upon the body of this ext and the first thing this ext commanded her spirit to doe was to goe and be witch four of the cattell of Tho. Hitch all which cattell presently died'.[2] John

  1. Davenport, pp. 1-12.
  2. Gibbons, p. 113.