eferences could be added to prove this point. F.
A. Inderwick in his _Interregnum_ (London, 1891), 153, goes so far as to
say that "from the autumn of 1642 to the autumn of 1646 no judges went
the circuits." This seems rather a sweeping statement.

[108] See _The Examination, Confession_, etc. (London, 1645). Joan
Williford, Joan Cariden, and Jane Hott were tried. The first two quickly
confessed to the keeping of imps. Not so Jane Hott, who urged the others
to confess and "stoode to it very perversely that she was cleare." When
put to the swimming test she floated, and is said to have then declared
that the Devil "had sat upon a Cross beame and laughed at her."
Elizabeth Harris was examined, and gave some damaging evidence against
herself. She named several goodwives who had very loose tongues.

[109] Stearne, 13, 14.

CHAPTER IX.

WITCHCRAFT DURING THE COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE.

We have, in the last chapter, traced the history of witchcraft in
England through the Hopkins episode of 1645-1647. From the trials at Ely
in the autumn of 1647 to the discoveries at Berwick in the summer of
1649 there was a lull in the witch alarms. Then an epidemic broke out in
the north of England. We shall, in this chapter, describe that epidemic
and shall carry the narrative of the important cases from that time to
the Restoration. In doing this we shall mark off two periods, one from
1649 to 1653, when the executions were still numerous, and a second from
1653 to 1659 when there was a rapid falling off, not only in death
penalties for witchcraft, but even in accusations. To be sure, this
division is somewhat artificial, for there was a gradual decline of the
attack throughout the two periods, but the year 1653 more nearly than
any other marks the year when that decline became visible.

The epidemic of 1649 came from Scotland. Throughout the year the
northern kingdom had been "infested."[1] From one end of that realm to
the other the witch fires had been burning. It was not to be supposed
that they should be suddenly extinguished when they reached the border.
In July the guild of Berwick had invited a Scotchman who had gained
great fame as a "pricker" to come to Berwick, and had promised him
immunity from all violence.[2] He came and proceeded to apply his
methods of detection. They rested upon the assumption that a witch had
insensible spots on her body, and that these could be found by driving
in a pin. By such process