A
little hole is likewise made in the door for the imp to come in at; and
lest it should come in some less discernible shape, they that watch are
taught to be ever and anon sweeping the room, and if they see any
spiders or flies, to kill them. And if they cannot kill them, they may
be sure they are her imps!" Towards the conclusion of the seventeenth
century, the delusion and jugglery of witchcraft was in a great measure
overthrown by the firmness of the English judges; amongst the most
prominent of whom stands Chief Justice Holt. Indeed a statute was
shortly after passed, which made it _wilful murder_, should any of the
objects of persecution lose their lives. The popular belief, however, in
witchcraft still continued, and it was not till the ninth year of George
II., that the statutes against it were repealed. We believe there is
still an Irish statute unrepealed, which inflicts capital punishment on
witches.
All is now of the _past_. The "schoolmaster is abroad," and not only is
the belief in witches, but all the tribe of ghosts and spirits is fast
melting away. The latter have also added in no inconsiderable degree to
the sum of human suffering. The number of the good was small compared to
the evil, and though it was in their power to come in what shape or
guise they chose, "dilated or condensed, bright or obscure," yet it must
be confessed they generally chose to assume "forms forbidden," and their
visitations were much oftener accompanied with "blasts from hell" than
"airs from heaven.
Pages:
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43