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BEKKER ON SPIRITS.

IN 1694, Balthasar Bekker, a Protestant minister at Amsterdam, published "The Enchanted World, or Examination of Opinions about Spirits ;" 4 vols. 12mo. In this work, the author endeavours to prove that there never were either possessed persons or sorcerers, and that the devils take no concern in the affairs of men, and have no power over their persons. His object, he declares, is to controvert the common opinion entertained of the devil, by which he is erected into a powerful divinity, an opinion contrary to the supreme authority of God and the divinity of his Son; since, by admitting it, these can no longer be proved by the attributes of the true God, such as they are given him in Scripture, and which the devil is made to share. "This," says Bekker, in his preface, "is what has determined me to take my pen; and if the devil be angry, he has only to employ his power in punishing me. If he be God, as they pretend, let him defend himself, let him avenge himself upon me who have overthrown his altars in the name of the Eternal." We do not know how Bekker may have interpreted the result, but punished he was; for the singularity of the opinions contained in this book made him lose his place as minister at Amsterdam.

LANGLE'S TRAVELS IN SPAIN.

THE only edition of this work, avowed by the author, was the sixth; and it may, therefore, be considered as the only genuine one. It appeared at first anonymously, and, being immediately condemned by the parliament of Paris, came at once into great vogue. The following account of the condemnation is given in the secret memoirs of that period:

"This day, 26th February, 1788, the parliament of Paris condemned the "Voyage into Spain," without name of author or printer, to be torn and burnt at the head of the great stair of the palace. The author, however, is understood to be the Marquis de Langle; every one is anxious to see and know him. He is much younger than the Count de Mirabeau, less informed, but gayer, and, in common with him, has been persecuted by his family, and has remained exiled for two years in a small provincial town. Langle himself says, on the subject of the condemnation of books, " In Spain, if a book be in the least free, they burn it. If ever this book passes the Pyrenees, doubtless it will be burned too. So much the better: joy to the books that are burned! The reader loves burned books; so does the bookseller, and so does the author."

WRITING FROM MEMORY.

THE Abbé de Longerue, who flourished during the reign of Louis XIV. was celebrated for his astonishing memory. He found, however, that it must not be too much relied on. Some of his friends happened in conversation to maintain, that nothing was more difficult than to give an historical description of France, which should be neither long nor uninteresting. The Abbé pretended to be capable of doing it from memory, without consulting any book, but entirely by the aid of some charts, which he was to have before his eyes; and that he would call to mind the origin and history of each province, city and principal place, and all the distinguished houses of the kingdom. He began accordingly to dictate such a description to an amanuensis, and, before the lapse of a year, presented it to the public in one volume, folio. While it was in the course of printing, he read fragments of it to different persons, who all agreed in wondering how such profound researches could have come, as from their source, without the least difficulty to him. But as soon as a few whole copies were published, it appeared that correct works were not to be composed in this manner; many notable errors were found in his history, besides bold and hazardous opinions not sufficiently supported. The Abbé was obliged to be at the expense of taking out many leaves which were faulty, and putting in others more perfect. Copies in which these corrections have not been made, are much sought after by the curious in books; for such is the nature of that mania by which this sort of people is afflicted, that even a faulty book is more prized than a correct one, if it only happens to be by some degrees rarer.

Notwithstanding all this, the description of France by the Abbé de Longerue, is a book of no ordinary merit. The manner in which all the great fiefs of the crown, when and how they became subject to the king's authority, and finally united to his domain, is related with surprising clearness and circumstantiality. Were the work, however, even better than it is, it could never be sufficiently confided in to be resorted to as a book of instruction; and, unless for the sake of instruction, what are such books worth?

WITCHCRAFT.

THE reign of James the Sixth of Scotland and First of England may be said to have been the witchcraft age of Great Britain. Scotland had always been a sort of fairy land; but it remained for that sagacious prince, at a time when knowledge was beginning to dispel the mists of superstition, to contribute, by his authority and writings, to resolve a prejudice of education into an article of religious belief among the Scottish people. He wrote and published a "Treatise on Dæmonologie;" the purpose of which was, to "resolve the doubting hearts of many, as to the fearful abounding of those detestable slaves of the devil, witches or enchanters." The authority of scripture was perverted, to shew not only the possibility, but certainty, that such "detestable slaves" do exist; and many most ridiculous stories of evil enchantment were adduced to establish their "fearful abounding." The treatise, which is in the form of a dialogue, then proceeds to treat of the punishment which such crimes deserve:

"P. Then to make an ende of our conference, sence I see it drawis leatt, what forme of punishment think ye merites this magiciens and witches? For I see that ye account them to be all alike gyltie.

"E. (The king.) They ought to be put to deathe. According to the law of God, the civil and imperial law and the municipal law of all Christian nations.

"P. But what kynde of deathe, I pray you?

"E. It is commonlie used be fyre, but there is an indifferent thing to be used in every countrey, according to the law or custume thairof.

"P. But aught no sexe, age, nor rank, to be excused?
"E. None at all."

Such, in fact, was the cruel and barbarous law of James's native country; and such became the law also of England when he succeeded to the sceptre of Elizabeth. Many hundreds of unfortunate individuals in both countries became its victims, suffering death ignominiously for an impossible offence: neither sex, nor age, nor rank, as James had sternly enjoined, were spared; and it was precisely the most helpless and inoffensive, such as aged and lone women, who were most exposed to its malignant operation. Of those who have suffered death for witchcraft in Britain, by far the greater number have been persons of the last description.

The absurdity of a law, so long since consigned to uni

versal execration, stands in need of no illustration; but it may furnish amusement as well as instruction, to peruse the sort of details which gained it for a time the respect and submission from two nations which now rank as the most enlightened in Europe. The following is a literal copy of the indictment of certain witches of Borrostowness, who were tried and executed as late as 1679. Four of the unfortunate creatures were poor widows.

"Annaple Thomsone, widow in Borrostowness, Margaret Pringle, relict of the deceast John Campbell, sievewright there, &c. &c.

"Ye, and ilk ane of you, are indytted and acused, that whereas, notwithstanding be the law of God particulurlie sett down in the 20 chapter of Leviticus and eighteen chap. of Dewtronomy, and be the lawes and actes of parliament of this kingdome and constant practiq thereof, particularlie be the 73 act, 29 parliament Q. Marie, the cryme of witchcraft is declaired to be ane horreid, abominable, and capitall cryme, punishable with the pains of death and confiscatiown of moveables:-nevertheless it is of veritie, that you have comitted and are gwyltie of the said cryme of witchcraft, in swa far ye have entered in pactiown with the devill, the enemie of your salvatiown, and have renownced our blissed Lord and Savior, and your baptizme, and have given yourselffes, both soulles and bodies, to the devill, and have bein at severall mettings with the devill, and swyndrie wyth witches, in divers places. And particularlie ye, the said Annaple Thompsone, had a metting with the devill the time of your weidowhood, before you was married to your last husband, in your cwming wetwixt Linlithgow and Borrowstones, where the devill, in the lykeness of ane black man, told you, that you wis ane poor puddled bodie, and had ane evill lyiff and difficulties to win throw the world; and promesed iff ye wald followe him, and go alongst with him, you should never want, bot have ane better lyiff; and abowt fyve wekes therefter the devill appeared to you, when you wis going to the coal-hill, abowt sevin a-clock in the morning. Having renewed his former tentatiown, you did condeshend thereto, and declared yourselff content to follow him and become his servant; whereupon the devill * * * * * * * * * * * and ye and each persone of you wis at several metting with the devill, in the linkes of Borrowstones, and in the house of you, Bessie Vickar; and ye did eatt and drink with the devill, and with on another, and with witches in her howss in the night tyme; and the said Wm. Craw browght the ale, which ye drank, extending to about sevin gallons, from the howss of Elizabeth

Hamilton; and you, the said Annaple, had another metting about fyve wekes ago, when you wis goeing to the coal-hill of Grange, and he inveitted you to go alongst and drink with him in the Grange pannes; and you, the said Margaret Pringil, have bein ane witch this many yeeres by gone, hath renownced your baptisme and becum the devill's servant, and promeis to follow him; and the devill towk you by the right hand, whereby it was for eight days greivowslie pained, but, having it twitched new again, it immedeatlie becam haill; and you, the said Margaret Hamilton has bein the devill's servant these eight or nine years by gone, and he appeared and conversed with you at the town well of Borrowstones, and severall tymes in your owin houss, and drank severall choppens of ale with you ****** and the devill gave you ane fyve merk piece of gold, whilk a lyttil after becam ane skleitt stone; and you, the said Margaret Hamilton, relict of James Pullwart, has bein ane witch and the devill's servant thertie yeres since, hath renounced your baptisme, as said is

*

*

*****

*

And ye, and ilk ane of you, was at a metting with the devill and other witches at the croce of Murestain above Kenneil, upon the threttein of October last, where you all danced, and the devill acted the pyper, and where you endevored to have destroyed Androw Mitchell, sone to John Mitchell, elder in dean of Kinneill."

The charges thus gravely made against the "poore puddled bodies," Annaple Thompson and her associates, however ludicrous they may now seem, were fully substantiated to the satisfaction of a jury, probably as rational and humane as any which the age could furnish; and for so meeting and dancing, and drinking, and frolicking, with his Satanic majesty, (who condescended to act the piper,) the unfortunate defendants were solemnly condemned "to be taken to the west end of Borrowstoness, the ordinary place of execution there, upon Tuesday, the twentie-third day of December current, betwixt two and four o'clock in the afternoon, and ther to be wirried at a steack till they be dead, and therafter to have their bodies burned to ashes!"

* Worried like a bull or a badger by dogs in human shape.

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