er misdeeds, and asked
for pardon and grace, was penitent, and faithful, and earnest in prayer.
All of which the Devil took, as may be imagined, very heinously; and
showed his displeasure by sending, in the midst of a dead calm, so sudden
and violent a blast of wind, that the mother's body was driven sharply
against the ladder, and was like to have overturned it, while the gallows
shook with such force that the men standing round were fain to hold the
posts, for fear of all being flung to the ground. It was somewhat before
this, that at Town Malling, in Kent, one of Queen Mary's Justices, "on the
complaint of many wise men, and a few foolish boyes, laid an archer by the
heels because he shot so near the white at buts. For he was informed and
perswaded that the poor man played with a fly, otherwise called a devill
or familiar. And because he was certified that the archer aforesaid shot
better than the common shooting, which he before had heard of or seen, he
conceived it could not be in God's name, but by inchantment, whereby the
archer (as he supposed, by abusing the Queen's liege people) gained some
one day two or three shillings, to the detriment of the commonwealth, and
to his owne inriching. And therefore the archer was severely punished, to
the great encouragement of archers, and to the wise example of justice,
but specially to the overthrow of witchcraft." Which quaint little
anecdote of Scot's is worth a whole handful of jewels more richly set.

We are coming now to one of the most curious of the older trials, that
of--

THE WITCHES OF S. OSEES,

held before Brian Darcey. It is contained in a rare and beautiful little
black-letter book,[103] and is spoken of by Scot in his 'Discovery'
without much sparing of ridicule. It opens thus: "If there hath bin at
anytime (Right Honorable) any meanes used to appease the wrath of God, to
obtaine his blessing, to terrifie secreete offenders by open transgressors
punishments, to withdraw honest natures from the corruption of euill
company, to diminish the great multitude of wicked people, to increase the
small number of virtuous persons, and to reforme all the detestable abuses
which the peruerse witte and will of man doth dayly devise, this
doubtlesse is no lesse necessarye than the best, that Sorcerers,
Wizzardes, or rather Dizzardes, Witches, Wise women (for so they will be
named), are rygorously punished. Rygorously? sayd I; why it is too milde
and gentle a tearme for