re rubbed into the pores of the skin all over the body; and
that soon after this the witch would feel drowsy and lie down, and
frequently remain in a semitrance state for several hours. During that
time she would visit the Sabbath,--so it was said; but her body remained
on the bed meanwhile, clearly showing that _it_ had not been there.[48]

One of the most curious beliefs prevalent at the time was the belief in
_lycanthropy_, that is, that certain individuals can, under certain
conditions, change their bodily shape, and appear _as animals_ to
persons at a distance! Frequently this animal would be injured, in which
case the person whom the animal represented would be found to be
injured in the same way, and in exactly the same place. The witch in
such cases would frequently be lying at home in bed in a trance state,
while her "fluidic double," in the shape of the animal, would be roaming
about "seeking whom he might devour." The following is a typical case,
which I quote from Adolphe D'Assier's _Posthumous Humanity_, p. 261:

"A miller, named Bigot, had some reputation for sorcery. One day,
when his wife rose very early to go and wash some linen not very
far from the house, he tried to dissuade her, repeating to her
several times, 'Do not go there; you will be frightened.' 'Why
should I be frightened?' answered she. 'I tell you you will be
frightened.' She made nothing of these threats, and departed.
Hardly had she taken her place at the wash-tub before she saw an
animal moving here and there about her. As it was not yet daylight
she could not clearly make out its form, but she thought it was a
kind of dog. Annoyed by these goings and comings, and not being
able to scare it away, she threw at it her wooden clothes-beater,
which struck it in the eye. The animal immediately disappeared. At
the same moment the children of Bigot heard the latter utter a cry
of pain from the bed, and add: 'Ah! the wretch! she has destroyed
my eye.' From that day, in fact, he became one-eyed. Several
persons told me this fact, and I have heard it from Bigot's
children themselves."

How does our author attempt to account for such a fact as this? He says:

"It was certainly the double of the miller which projected itself
while he was in bed and wandered about under an animal form. The
wound which the animal received at once repercussed upon the