"

Mr. E. Chambers did not think the art of witchcraft was carried on by
or through intercourse with the devil or spirits (though he did not
dispute there were such beings), but by or through philosophical
means, altogether different from the operations supposed necessary to
enable witches and wizards to perform actions not easily comprehended
by the uninitiated.

CHAPTER LVII.

Witch-finders--Disasters ascribed to
Witches--Witch-marks--Witches Familiars--Preparing a
Witch for Judicial Examination--John Kinnaird--Patrick
Watson and his Wife pricked--Confession of Guilt--The
Devil's Sabbaths--Sumptuous Entertainments and
Grandeur at Satan's Feasts--Repulsive Acts there
also--Feasts ended at Cock-crowing--Transformation--A
Woman weighing only Four Ounces--A Witch-finder sent
from Scotland to Newcastle at the request of the
Authorities--Complaints against Witches
demanded--Deception discovered--Trying Witches in
Northumberland County--Escape of the Witch-finder from
Justice--Hopkins's Methods of detecting Witches--Zeal
of the Clergy in Scotland in condemning Witches--Witch
burned within the Sea-mark--Extracts from Kirk-session
Records of Perth relative to Witchcraft--Witches at
Kirkcaldy--A Clerical Witch-finder.

Every town and county had its witch-finder, whose duty it was to
detect and bring to trial all those tainted with witchcraft or
sorcery. Considering that almost every accident which happened was
attributed to sorcery, the duties of the witch-finder were most
important. According to his diligence so was the safety of persons and
property. Hail-storms, destructive floods, dangerous fires, disease
among cattle, and domestic afflictions were all ascribed to
witchcraft. A mole or wart discovered on any part of an old woman's
body was thought to be a witch-mark. If a suspected witch did not shed
tears, it was presumptive evidence of guilt; if she kept a black cat,
it was taken for a familiar; and all these circumstances together were
regarded as infallible signs of her evil nature. An expert
witch-finder knew all the wiles and arts of his profession. To prepare
the suspected witch for judicial examination, a particular diet was
sometimes given her, to counteract the unguents she had anointed
herself with, to make non-effective the preparations of belladonna,
aconite, parsley, and other ingredients she h