lace, Charles Hatt, went
to the house to exorcise the ghost by prayer, and had not been there long
before "there was a great noise in the said room, of groaning, or rather
gruntling, like a Hog, and then a lowd Shriek." Mr. Charles Hatt prayed
on; and after the spectre had done its best to frighten him with noises,
but finding that the louder it gruntled the louder he prayed, it died
away, and the man was troubled no more to the day of his death, which
happened about two years after.

If this was a book on spirits instead of on witchcraft many stories from
Baxter could be given bearing on the question; but, fascinating as they
are, they are somewhat foreign to my design; so I must pass them by, and
go on to the more material, and more guilty, records of the witchcraft
superstition. All the mere spectre or ghost stories are both tame and
innocent compared to the witch delusions. At least they caused no
bloodshed; and if they broke hearts it was not through shame and despair
and ruin.

JULIAN'S TOADS.[146]

At the Taunton assizes, in 1663, Julian Cox, about seventy years old, was
indicted before Judge Archer for practising her arts of witchcraft upon a
"young Maid, whereby her Body languished, and was impaired of Health." And
first were taken proofs of her witchcraft. One witness, a huntsman, swore
that one day, as he was hunting not far from Julian's house, he started a
hare, which the dogs ran very close till it came to a bush; when, going
round to the other side to keep it from the dogs, he perceived Julian Cox
grovelling on the ground, panting and out of breath. She was the hare, and
had had just time enough to say the magic stave which changed her back to
woman's form again, ere the dogs had caught her. Another man swore that
one day, passing her house as "she was taking a Pipe of Tobacco upon the
Threshold of the Door," she invited him to come in and join her; which he
did; when presently she cried out, "Neighbour, look what a pretty thing
there is!" and there was "a monstrous great Toad betwixt his Legs, staring
him in the Face." He tried to hit it, but could not, whereupon Julian told
him to desist striking it and it would do him no hurt; but he was
frightened, and went off to his family, telling them that he had seen one
of Julian Cox her devils. Yet even when he was at home this same toad
appeared again betwixt his legs, and though he took it out, and cut it in
several pieces, still, when he returned to his