en satyrs and demigods and other prototypes of Satan
are said to have been upon familiar terms with mortals, and joined in
their sports.

The reader will have noticed that the poor man who lost his life in the
Lake thought himself safe because he had a Bible in his pocket. This
shows that the Bible was looked upon as a talisman. But in this instance
its efficacy was only partial. I shall have more to say on this subject
in another part of this work.

Satan in the preceding tales, and others, which shall by and by be
related, is represented as transforming himself into a ball, or wheel of
fire--into fire, the emblem of an old religion, a religion which has its
votaries in certain parts of the world even in this century, and which,
at one period in the history of the human race, was widespread. It is
very suggestive that Satan should be spoken of as assuming the form of
the Fire God, when his personality is detected, and the hint, conveyed by
this transformation, would imply that he was himself the Fire God.

Having made these few comments on the preceding tales, I will now record
a few stories in which Satan is made to take a role similar to that
ascribed to him in the card-playing stories.

In the following tales Satan's aid is invoked to bring about a
reformation in the observance of the Sabbath day.

_Satan frightening a Man for gathering Nuts on Sunday_.

The following tale was related to me by the Rev. W. E. Jones, rector of
Bylchau, near Denbigh:--

Richard Roberts, Coederaill, Bylchau, when a young man, worked in
Flintshire, and instead of going to a place of worship on Sunday he got
into the habit of wandering about the fields on that day. One fine
autumn Sunday he determined to go a-nutting. He came to a wood where
nuts were plentiful, and in a short time he filled his pockets with nuts,
but perceiving a bush loaded with nuts, he put out his hand to draw the
branch to him, when he observed a hairy hand stretching towards the same
branch. As soon as he saw this hand he was terribly frightened, and
without turning round to see anything further of it, he took to his
heels, and never afterwards did he venture to go a-nutting on Sunday.

Richard Roberts told the tale to Mr. Jones, his Rector, who tried to
convince Roberts that a monkey was in the bush, but he affirmed that
Satan had come to him.

_Satan taking possession of a man who fished on Sunday_.

The following tale is in its main