Page:A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More.djvu/148

106 ''appeared in the shape of a great black Cat, and lay along by the Chimney: at which the Maid being very much affrighted, she came into her own shape again, and told her, I see you are afraid, and I see you are willing to begone; and told her, if she was, she should say so, and not speak against her Conscience: and the Maid replied, she was willing to goe, and not to dwell with the Witch. Then the witch said, she must seal unto her body and blood not to discover her: which she promising to doe, she forthwith made a Circle as formerly she had done, and looking in her book, called, Belzebub, Tormentor, Lucifer and Satan appear. Then appeared two Spirits in the likeness of great Boyes, with long shagged black hair, and stood by her looking over her shoulder; and the Witch took the Maid's forefinger of her right hand in her hand, and pricked it with a pin, and squeezed out the blood, and put it into a Pen, and put the Pen in the Maid's hand, and held her hand to write in a great book; and one of the Spirits layd his hand or Claw upon the VVitches whilest the Maid wrote: and when she had done writing, whilest their hands were together, the Witch said Amen, and made the Maid say Amen, and the Spirits said Amen, Amen: and the Spirit's hand did feel cold to the Maid as it touched her hand, when the Witches hand and hers were together writing. And then the Spirit gave a piece of silver (which he first bit) to the Witch, who gave it to the Maid; and also stuck two Pins in the Maids head-cloths, and bid her keep them, and bid her be gone; and said also, I will vex the Gentlewoman well enough, as I did the man in Clarington Park, which I made walk about with a bundle of Pales on his back all night in a pond of water, and he could not lay them down till the next morning.''

7. All these things the Maid deposed upon Oath; and I think it now beyond all controversie evident, that unless she did knowingly forswear her self, that they are certainly true: for they cannot be imputed to any Dreamings, Phansy, nor Melancholy. Now that the Maid did not forswear her self, or invent these Narrations she swore to, many Arguments offer themselves for eviction.

As first, That it is altogether unlikely that a sorry Wench, that could neither write nor read, should be able to excogitate such Magical Forms and Ceremonies, with all the circumstances of the effects of them, and declare them so punctually, had she not indeed seen them done before her eyes.

Secondly, If she had been so cunning at inventing Lies, she could not but have had so much wit as to frame them better for her own advantage, and for theirs by whom she was imployed; or told so much onely of the truth as would have been no prejudice to her self, nor any else to have it revealed.

8. For in brief, the case stood thus; Her Mistris either had, or feigned her self to have, a suspicion that her two Daughters in law, Mistris Sarah and Mistris Anne Goddard, complotted to poison her. Hereupon this Maid Anne Styles was sent to the Witch, upon pretence to know when this poisoning would be, and how to prevent it; and at the second time she consulted her, the Witch sent her to the Apothecaries to buy her some white Arsenick, and bring her it, which she taking told Rh