meet with no
sympathy at that time; and even his own parishioners, whom he had served
so long and so faithfully, turned their backs upon him as soon as he was
accused. Placed under the hands of Hopkins, who knew so well how to bring
the refractory to confession, the old man, the light of whose intellect
had become somewhat dimmed from age, confessed that he was a wizard. He
said he had two imps that continually excited him to do evil; and that one
day, when he was walking on the sea-coast, one of them prompted him to
express a wish that a ship, whose sails were just visible in the distance,
might sink. He consented, and saw the vessel sink before his eyes. He was,
upon this confession, tried and condemned. On his trial, the flame of
reason burned up as brightly as ever. He denied all that had been alleged
against him, and cross-examined Hopkins with great tact and severity.
After his condemnation, he begged that the funeral service of the Church
might be read for him. The request was refused, and he repeated it for
himself from memory as he was led to the scaffold.

A poor woman in Scotland was executed upon evidence even less strong than
this. John Bain, a common pricker, swore that, as he passed her door, he
heard her talking to the devil. She said, in defence, that it was a
foolish practice she had of talking to herself, and several of her
neighbours corroborated her statement; but the evidence of the pricker was
received. He swore that none ever talked to themselves who were not
witches. The devil's mark being found upon her, the additional testimony
of her guilt was deemed conclusive, and she was "convict and brynt."

From the year 1652 to 1682, these trials diminished annually in number,
and acquittals were by no means so rare as they had been. To doubt in
witchcraft was no longer dangerous. Before country justices, condemnations
on the most absurd evidence still continued; but when the judges of the
land had to charge the jury, they took a more humane and philosophical
view. By degrees, the educated classes (comprised in those days within
very narrow limits) openly expressed their unbelief of modern witchcraft,
although they were not bold enough to deny its existence altogether.
Between them and the believers in the old doctrine fierce arguments
ensued, and the sceptics were designated Sadducees. To convince them, the
learned and Reverend Joseph Glanvil wrote his well-known work,
_Sadducismus Triumphatus_, and _T