It is true, that Possession being one of the principal Pieces of the
Devil's Artifice in his managing Mankind, and in which, with the most
exquisite skill he plays the Devil among us, he has the more Reason to
be affronted when he finds himself invaded in this Part, and angry that
any Body should pretend to possess, or be possess'd without his leave,
and this may be the Reason for ought we know, why so many Blunders have
been made, when People have pretended to it without him, and he has
thought fit not to own them in it; of which we have many Examples in
History, as in _Simon Magus_, _the Devil of_ London, _the fair Maid of_
Kent, and several others, whose History it is not worth while to enlarge
upon.

In short, Possessions, as I have said, are nice Things, as it is not so
easy to mimick the _Devil_ in that Part, as it may be in some other;
designing Men have attempted it often, but their manner has been easily
distinguish'd, even without the Devil's Assistance.

Thus the People of _Salem_ in _New-England_ pretended to be bewitch'd,
and that a black Man tormented them by the Instigation of such and such,
whom they resolv'd to bring to the Gallows: This black Man they would
have be the _Devil_, employ'd by the Person who they accus'd for a
Witch: Thus making the _Devil_ a Page or a Footman to the Wizard, to go
and torment whoever the said Wizard commanded, till the _Devil_ himself
was so weary of the foolish Part, that he left them to go on their own
Way, and at last they over-acted the murthering Part so far, that when
they confess'd themselves to be Witches, and possess'd, and that they
had Correspondence with the Devil, _Satan_ not appearing to vouch for
them, no Jury would condemn them upon their own Evidence, and they could
not get themselves hang'd, whatever Pains they took to bring it to pass.

Thus you see the _Devil_ may be wrong'd, and falsely accus'd in many
Particulars, and often has been so; there are likewise some other sorts
of counterfeit _Devils_ in the World, such as _Gypsies_,
_Fortune-Tellers_, Foretellers of good and bad Luck, Sellers of Winds,
Raisers of Storms, and many more, some practis'd among us, some in
foreign Parts, too many almost to reckon up; nay I almost doubt whether
the Devil himself knows all the Sorts of them; for 'tis evident he has
little or nothing to do with them, I mean not in the Way of their Craft.

These I take to be Interlopers, or with the _Guinea_ Merchants leave,
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