and pretended to teach the Rest." An examination
of the evidence in the trials, however, shows not only no authority for
these assertions, but that no such meetings took place previous to the
trials, nor did any such "circle" exist. Drake derived his information
from a paper by S.P. Fowler, who, in an address before the Essex
Institute, in the year 1856, had remarked: "These girls, together with
Abigail Williams, a niece of Mr. Parris, aged eleven years, were in the
habit of meeting in a circle in the village, to practise palmistry,
fortune-telling, &c." For such representation Mr. Fowler had no warrant;
it would seem that he had obtained the notion by transferring to the time
of the trials his experience in connection with spiritualistic "circles"
of his own day. It is curious to observe how readily this suggestion was
adopted, and with what uniformity recent popular narratives of the
delusion reiterate, with increasing positiveness of phrase, the unfounded
assumption. The expression, to "try projects," is therefore taken by Mr.
Drake from modern folk-lore. Fowler's address, entitled "An Account of
the Life and Character of the Rev. Samuel Parris, of Salem Village, and
of his Connection with the Witchcraft Delusion of 1692," was printed in
the _Proceedings_ of the Essex Institute, Salem, Mass, 1862, vol. ii. pp.
49-68 and also separately (Salem, 1857). For assistance in determining
the origin of Drake's statement I am indebted to Mr. Abner C. Goodell,
Jr., of Salem, Mass.--_W.W.N._

Nos. 15-16.--The reader who is interested to know how much importance has
been attributed to the caul will do well to consult Levinus Lemnius, _De
Miraculis Occultis Naturae_. Chapter viii. of Book II. is headed: De
infantium recens natorum galeis, seu tenui mollique membrana, qua facies
tanquam larva, aut personata tegmine obducta, ad primum lucis intuitum se
spectandam exhibet.

The belief in the efficacy of the caul goes back at least to the time of
St. Chrysostom, who, in the latter part of the fourth century, preached
against this with kindred superstitions. Advertisements of cauls for
sale, at prices ranging from twenty guineas down, have from time to time
appeared in the London papers as recently as the middle of the present
century, if not even later.

No. 60.--See "Current Superstitions," _Journal of American Folk-Lore_,
vol. ii. No. V.

Nos. 116-118.--The custom of consulting in augury the occasional white
spots on the finger-