ellman through the
streets to invite the inhabitants who had complaints to make against
witches to make them without delay, that they (the witches) might be
tried by the person appointed. Thirty women were brought to the town
hall, and had pins thrust into their flesh, and most of them were
found guilty. The witch-finder informed Lieutenant-Colonel Hobson that
he knew whether women were witches or no by their looks. On a
good-looking woman being brought to the finder, the gallant colonel
thought it was unnecessary to try her, but the canny Scotchman knew
better, and therefore submitted her to his infallible test. Having put
a pin into her side, he marked her down a witch of the devil. The
colonel, not satisfied that the woman was guilty, remonstrated, and
then the witch-finder confessed he was in error. The highly-favoured
damsel was therefore liberated; but as no champion appeared for the
poor old withered hags, they suffered the pains of law.

Having rid Newcastle of witches, the witch-finder was summoned to
Northumberland county to try women there for sixty shillings each. For
some fault or crime connected with the discharge of his official
duties, he was apprehended, and put under bond to appear at the
sessions to answer such charges as might be brought against him. He
escaped to Scotland, where he was made prisoner, indicted, and
condemned for villany, exercised on the north side of the Tweed, in
connection with witch-finding. He confessed that he had been
instrumental in bringing to an untimely end above two hundred and
twenty women in England and Scotland.

Matthew Hopkins, who regularly went on circuit in England to detect
witches for a long period subsequent to the year 1644, applied the
usual tests, such as finding witch-marks, thrusting sharp instruments
into the bodies of suspected persons, dragging them through deep water
while they were wrapped in sheets, with their great toes and thumbs
tied together, keeping his victims awake sometimes as long as
forty-eight hours to make them confess, ascertaining whether they
could repeat the Lord's Prayer, or shed tears.

The clergy of Scotland lent themselves to witch-finding with a zeal
truly marvellous. They, in General Assembly, passed five condemnatory
acts against witchcraft between the years 1640 and 1649. Kirk-sessions
throughout the land outvied each other in their efforts to bring
suspected witches to trial, and to counteract the dark deeds of Satan.

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