a. But James, "our English Solomon," "imported by his book all
that were flying about Europe, to plague the country, which was
sufficiently plagued already in such a sovereign." This sapient ruler,
who, it is said, "taught divinity like a king, and made laws like a
priest," in the first year of his reign made it felony to suckle imps,
&c. This statute, which was repealed March 24th, 1736, describes
offences declared felonious, thus:--

"One that shall use, practise, or exercise any invocation or conjuration
of any evil or wicked spirit, or consult, covenant with, entertain or
employ, feed or reward, any evil or wicked spirit, to or for any intent
or purpose; or take up any dead man, woman, or child, out of his, her,
or their grave, or any other place where the dead body resteth; or the
skin, bone, or other part of any dead person, to be employed or used in
any manner of witchcraft, sorcery, charm, or enchantment; or shall
practise or exercise any witchcraft, &c., whereby any person shall be
killed, destroyed, wasted, consumed, pined, or lamed in his or her body,
or any part thereof: such offenders, duly and lawfully convicted and
attainted, shall suffer death."

As might be expected, witchcraft so increased in consequence of these
denunciations, that, "in the course of fifty years following the passing
of this act, besides a great number of single indictments and
executions, fifteen were brought to trial at Lancaster in 1612, and
twelve condemned; in 1622, six were tried at York; 1634, seventeen
condemned at Lancaster; 1644, sixteen were executed at Yarmouth; 1645,
fifteen condemned at Chelmsford, and hanged; in the same and following
year, about forty at Bury in Suffolk; twenty more in the county, and
many in Huntingdon; and (according to the estimate of Ady) some
thousands were burned in Scotland."

Popular hatred rendered the existence of a reputed witch so miserable,
that persons bearing that stigma often courted death in despair,
confessing to crimes which they had never committed, for the purpose of
ridding themselves of persecution.

"One of the latest convictions was that of Amy Duny and Rose Cullender,
before Sir Matthew Hale at Bury, in 1664. They were executed, and died
maintaining their innocence." Their execution was a foul blot upon his
name, as it is scarcely to be doubted but that they were the victims of
imposture. It was clearly ascertained by experiments in the judge's
presence, that the children