Page:A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More.djvu/131

 Rh

1. The Moving of a Sieve by a charm. Coskinomancy. 2. A Magical Cure of an Horse. 3. The Charming of Serpents. 4. A strange Example of one Death-strucken as he walked the Streets. 5. A Story of a sudden wind that had like to have thrown down the Gallows at the hanging of two Witches.

ND now that I have premised thus much, I will briefly recite some few of those many Miraculous passages we meet with in Writers; beginning first with the bare and simple Effects of Spirits, as I will aforehand adventure to pronounce them, and then afterwards we shall come to the Apparitions of Spirits themselves.

And of those bare Effects we will not care to name what may seem slightest first. * Bodinus relates how himself and several others at Paris saw a young man with a Charm in French move a Sieve up and down. And that ordinary way of Divination which they call Coskinomancy, or finding who stole or spoiled this or that thing by the Sieve and Shears, * Pictorius Vigillanus professeth he made use of thrice, and it was with success.

2. A friend of mine told me this Story concerning Charms: That himself had an Horse which, if he had stood found, had been of a good value. His Servants carried him to several Farriers, but none of them had the skill to cure him. At last, unknown to their Master, they led him to a Farrier that had, it should seem, some tricks more then ordinary, and dealt in Charms or Spells, and such like Ceremonies: in virtue of these he made the Horse sound. The Owner of him after he had observ'd how well his Horse was, asked his Servants how they got him cured: whence understanding the whole matter, and observing also that there was an S. branded on his buttock, which he conceited Stood for Satan, chid his Servants very roughly, as having done that which was unwarrantable and impious. Upon this profession of his dislike of the fact, the Horse forthwith fell as ill as ever he was, insomuch that for his unserviceableness he was fain to be turned up loose in the pasture. But a kinsman of the Owners coming to his house, and after chancing to see the Horse in the Grounds, took the advantage of a low price for so fair a Gelding, and bought him. The Horse had no sooner changed his Master, but presently changed his plight of body also, and became as sound as ever.

3. Charming also of Serpents is above the power of Nature. And * Wierus tells us this Story of a Charmer at Saltzburg, That when in the sight of the people he had charmed all the Serpents into a ditch and killed them, at last there came one huge one far bigger then the rest, that leapt upon him, and winded about his waste like a girdle, and pulled him into the ditch, and so killed the Charmer himself in the conclusion.

4. That also I will adventure to refer to the Effects of Spirits which I heard lately from one M$ris$ Dark of Westminster concerning her own Rh