everal old women as "much witches as she was." Happily for her, this
negative information was deemed sufficient, and a student in astrology, or
"white-witch," coming up at the time, the mob, by his direction, proceeded
forthwith to Burton in search of all the delinquents. After a little
consultation on their arrival, they went to the old woman's house on whom
they had fixed the strongest suspicion. The poor old creature on their
approach locked the outer door, and from the window of an upstairs room
asked what they wanted. They informed her that she was charged with being
guilty of witchcraft, and that they were come to duck her; remonstrating
with her at the same time upon the necessity of submission to the ordeal,
that, if she were innocent, all the world might know it. Upon her
persisting in a positive refusal to come down, they broke open the door
and carried her out by force, to a deep gravel-pit full of water. They
tied her thumbs and toes together and threw her into the water, where they
kept her for several minutes, drawing her out and in two or three times by
the rope round her middle. Not being able to satisfy themselves whether
she were a witch or no, they at last let her go, or, more properly
speaking, they left her on the bank to walk home by herself, if she ever
recovered. Next day, they tried the same experiment upon another woman,
and afterwards upon a third; but, fortunately, neither of the victims lost
her life from this brutality. Many of the ringleaders in the outrage were
apprehended during the week, and tried before the justices at
quarter-sessions. Two of them were sentenced to stand in the pillory and
to be imprisoned for a month; and as many as twenty more were fined in
small sums for the assault, and bound over to keep the peace for a
twelvemonth.

"So late as the year 1785," says Arnot, in his collection and abridgment
of _Criminal Trials in Scotland_, "it was the custom among the sect of
Seceders to read from the pulpit an annual confession of sins, national
and personal; amongst the former of which was particularly mentioned the
'Repeal by parliament of the penal statute against witches, contrary to
the express laws of God.'"

[Illustration: LADY HATTON'S HOUSE, CROSS STREET, HATTON GARDEN.]

Many houses are still to be found in England with the horse-shoe (the
grand preservative against witchcraft) nailed against the threshold. If
any over-wise philosopher should attempt to remove them, th