I. That I muft be allow'd to fuppofe the

Devil really has a full Intercourfe in, and through, and about this Globe, with Egrels and Regrefs, for the carrying on his fpe- cial Affairs, when, how, and where, to his Majefty, in his great Wifdom, it lhall feem iheet y that fometimes he appears and be comes vifible, and that, like a Maftiff with-? out his Clog, he does not always carry his Cloven-Foot with him. This will neceffo- rily bring me to fome Debate upon the moft important Queftion of Apparitions, Haunt- ings, Walkings, &c. whether of Satan in
human
EVl L. 28 j
human Shape, or of human Creatures in the Devil's Shape, or in any other manner what- ibever.
2, I mutt alfo be allow'd to tell you that Satan has a great deal of Wrong done him by the general embracing vulgar Errors, and that there is a Cloven-Foot oftentimes with out a Devil; or, in fhort, that Satan is not guilty of all the fimple Things, no, or of all the wicked Things we charge him with.
Thefe two Heads well fettled will fully explain the Title of this Chapter, anfwer the Query men tioned in it, and at the fame time correspond ve ry well with, and give us a farther ProfpecT: into the main and original Defign of this Work, namely^ 'the Hiftory of the Devil. We are fo fond of, and pleafed with the general Notion of feeing the Devil^ that I am loth to difoblige my Readers fo much as calling in queftion his Vifi- bility would do. Nor is it my Bufinefs, any more than it is his, to undeceive them, where the Belief is fo agreeable to them; efpecially fince upon the whole 'tis not one Farthing matter, ei ther on one Side or on the other, whether "it be fo or no, or whether the Truth of Fact be ever difcovcred or not.
Certain it is, whether we fee him or no, here he is, and I make no doubt but he is looking on while I am writing this Part of his Story, whe ther behind me, or at my Elbow, or over my Shoulder, is not material to me, nor have I once turned my Head about to lee whether he is there or no > for if he be not in, the Infide, I have fo mean an Opinion of all his extravafated Powers, that it feems of very little Confequence to me what Shape he takes up, or in what Pofture he appears 5 nor indeed can I find in all my Enquiry
that
284 The Modern HISTORY
that ever the Devil appeared (Qua Devil} in any of the mod dangerous or important of his De- figns in the World > the moft of his Projects, efpecially of the fignificant Part of them, having been carried on another way.
However, as I am fatisfied no Body will be pleas'd if I fhould difpute the Reality of his Ap pearance, and the World runs away with it as a receiv'd Point, and that admits no Difpute, I fhall moft readily grant the General, and give you fome Account of the Particulars.
Hiftory is fruitful of Particulars, whether In vention has fupply'd them or not> I will not fay, where the Devil is brought upon the Stage in plain and undeniable Apparition : The Story of Samuel being rais'd by the Witch of Endor^ I fhall leave quite out of my Lift, becaufe there are fo many Scruples and Objections againft that Story 3 and as I fhall not difpute with the Scrip ture, fo on the other hand, I have fo much De ference for the Dignity of the Devil^ as not to determine rafhly how far it may be in the Power of every old (Witch} Woman, to call him up whenever fhe pleafes, and that he mud come, whatever the Pretence is, or whatever Bufinefs of Confequence he may be engaged in, as often as 'tis needful for her to Pa or perhaps lefs than half the Money.
Nor will I undertake to tell you, till I have talk'd farther with him about it, how far the Devil is concerned to difcover Frauds, detect Murthers, reveal Secrets, and efpecially to tell where any Money is hid, and fhew Folks where to find it ; 'tis an odd thing that Satan fhould think it of Confequence to come and tell us where fuch a Mifcr hid a Strong Box, or where fuch an old Woman buried her Chamber Pot full of Money, the Value of all which is perhaps but a
Trifle,
of the DEVIL. 2*5
Trifle, when at the fame time he lets fo many Veins of Gold, fo many unexhaufled Mines, nay, Mountains of Silver, as, we may depend upon it, are hid in the Bowels of the Earth, and which it would be fo much to the Good of whole Na tions to difcover, lie flill there, and never fay one Word of them to any Body. Befides, how does the Devil's doing Things fo foreign to him- felf, and fo out of his way, agree with the reft of his Character ; namely, {hewing a kind of a friendly Difpofition to Mankind, or doing bene ficent Things ? This is fo beneath Satan's Quali ty, and looks fo little, that I fcarce know what to fay to it j but that which is ftill more pun gent in the Cafe is, thefe Things are fo out of his Road, and fo foreign to his Calling, that it {hocks our Faith in them, and feems to claih with all the juft Notions we have of him, and of his Bufinefs in the World. The like is to be faid of thofe little merry Turns we bring him in acting with us, and upon us, upon trifling and fimple Occafions, fuch as tumbling Chairs and Stools about Houfe, fetting Pots and Veilels Bot tom upward, tofling the 'Glafs and Crokery Ware about without breaking ^ and fuch like mean foolifli Things, beneath the Dignity of the De- i/'/V, who, in my Opinion, is rather employ'd in letting the World with the Bottom upward, tumbling Kings and Crowns about, and dafhing the Nations one againft another j raifing Tern- pelts and Storms, whether at Sea, or on Shore 5 and, in a word, doing capital Mifchiefs fuitablc to his Nature, and agreeable to his Name, Devil; and fuited to that Circumftance of his Condition, which I have fully reprefented in the primitive Part of his exil'd State.
But to bring in the Devil playing at Pufh-pin with the World, or like Dvmitian catching Flies,
that
186 The Modern HISTORY
that is to fay, doing nothing to the purpofe 5 this is not only deluding our felves, but putting a Slur upon the Devil himfelf $ and, I fay, I fhall not dishonour Satan fo much as to fuppofe any thing in it : However, as I mufl have a care too how I take away the proper Materials of Winter Evening Frippery, and leave the good Wives nothing of the Devil to fright the Children witfy I fhall carry the weighty Point no farther. No doubt the Devil and Dr. Fauftus were very inti mate j I fhould rob you of a very fignificant * Proverb, if I fhould fo much as doubt it j no doubt the Devil fhew'd himfelf in the Glafs to that fair Lady who look'd in it to fee where to place her Patches j but then it ihould follow too that the Devil is an Enemy to the Ladies wear ing Patches, and that has fome Difficulties in it which we cannot fo eafily reconcile > but we mull tell the Story, and leave out the Confequenccs.
But to come to nifere remarkable Things, and in which the Devil has thought fit to ac~b in a Figure more fuitable to his Dignity j and on Oc- cafions confiftent with himfelf > take the Story of the Appearance of Julius C*/ar, or the Devil afluming that murthered Emperor^ to the great Marcus Brutus^ who notwithflanding all the good Things faid to juftify it, was no lefs than a King- killer and an Aflaffinator, which we in our Lan guage call by a very good Name, and peculiar to the Englijh Tongue, a Ruffian.
The Spe6fcre had certainly the Appearance of C he had juft received the fatal Blow •> he had re- proach'd him with his Ingratitude, with a 70 Brute! tu quoque, mi fill: " What Thou Brutus!
* As great as the Devil and Doftsr Fauftus. Vulg- Dr. Fofter.
« Thou?
of the D E V i L.
" Thou, my adopted Son ! " Now Hiftory feems to agree univerfally, not only in the Story itfelf, but in the Circum fiances of it -y we have only to obferve that the Devil had certainly Power to aflame, not a human Shape only, but the Shape of Julius Ctffar in particular.
Had Brutus been a timorous Confcience-harry''^ weak-headed Wretch, had he been under the Horror of the Gailt, and terrify'd with the Dan gers that were before him at that time, we might fuggeft that he was over-run with the Vapours, that the Terrors which were upon his Mind dif- order'd him, that his Head was delirious and pre- pofTefs'd, and that his Fancy only plac'd Cafar ib continually in his Eye, that it realiz'd him to his Imagination, and he bcliev'd he faw him ; with many other fuggefted Difficulties to inva lidate the Story, and render the Reality of it doubtful.
But the contrary, to an Extreme, was the Cafe of Brutus ; his known Character plac'd him a- bove the Power of all Hypocondriacks, or fan ciful Delufions ; Brutus was of a true Roman Spirit, a bold Hero, of an intrepid Courage ; one that fcorn'd to fear even the Devil, as the Story allows : Befides, he glory 'd in the Action > there cou'd be no Terror of Mind upon him > he valued himfelf upon it, as done in the Service of Liberty, and the Caufe of his Country 5 and was fo far from being frighted at the Devil in the worfl Shape, that he ipoke fir ft to him, and ask'd him, What art thou ? and when he was cited to fee him again at Philippi^ aniwer'd, with a Gal lantry that knew no Fear, 'well I 'will fee thee there. Whatever |Se Devil's Bufinefs was with Brutus, this is certain, according to all the Hiftorians who give us the Account of it, that Brutus dif- covcr'd no Fear ; he did not, like Saul at Endor^
fall
288 The Modern HISTORY
fall to the Ground in a Swoon, i Sam. xxviii. lo. Then Saul fell all along upon the Earth, and there a word, I fee no room to charge Brutus with be ing over-run with the Hyppo, or with Vapours, or with Fright and Terror of Mind j but he faw the Devil, that's certain, and with Eyes open, his Courage not at all daunted, his Mind refolute, and with the utmoft Compofure fpoke to him, reply'd to his Anfwer, and defy'd his Summons to Death, which indeed he feafd not, as appeared afterward.
I come next to an Inftance as eminent in Hif- tory as the other -, this was in Char. VI. of France^ firnamed, 'The Beloved; who riding over the Fo- reil near Mans, a ghaftly frightful Fellow ( that is to fay, the Devil fo clothed in human Vizor) came up to his Horfe, and taking hold of his Bridle, ftop'd him, with the Addition of thefe Words, Stop King) whither go you ? Tou are be- trafd! and immediately difappear'd. It is true, the King had been diftemper'd in his Head be fore, and fo he might have been deceived, and we might have charg'd it to the Account of a whimfical Brain, or the Power of his Imagina tion 5 but this was in the Face of his Attendants, feveral of his great Officers, Courtiers, and Prin ces of the Blood being with him, who all law the Man, heard the Words, and immediately, to their Aftonifhment, loft Sight of the Spe&re, who vanifli'd from them all.
Two Witnefles will convict a Murtherer, why not a Traitor? This muft be the Old Gentleman, emblematically fo called, or who muft it be? nay, •who elfe could it be? His Uglinefs is not the Cafe, tho' ugly as the Devil, is a Proverb in his Favour j but vanifhing out of fight is an Effen- tial to a Spirit, and to an evil Spirit in our Times cfpecially. Thefe
of the DEVILS
Thefe are fome of the Devil's Extraordinaries, and it muft be confefs'd they are not the moil agreeable to Mankind, for fometimes he takes upon him to diforder his Friends very much on thefe Occafions^ as in the above Cafe of Cha. VI. of France 5 the King, they fay, was really de mented ever after 5 that is, as we vulgarly, but not always improperly, exprefs it, he was really frighted out of his Wits. Whether the malicious Devil intended it fo, or not, is not certain, tho' it was not fo foreign to his particular Difpofition if -he did.
But where he is more intimate, we are told he appears in a manner lefs difagreeable3 and there he is more properly a familiar Spirit -, that is, in fhort, a Devil of their Acquaintance : It is true, the Antients underftand the Word, a familiar Spirit, to be one of the kinds of PolTeffion j but if it ferves our turn as well under the Denomina tion of an intimate Devil^ or a Devil vifitant, it muft be acknowledg'd to be as near in the li teral Senfe and Acceptation of the Word, as the others nay, it muft be allow'd 'tis a very great Piece of Familiarity in the Devil to make Vifits$ and fhew none of his Difagreeables, not appear formidable, or in the Shape of what he is, re- fpe£tfully withholding his difmal Part, in Com- paflion to the Infirmities of his Friends.
It is true, Satan may be obliged to make dif ferent Appearances, as the feveral Circumfiances of Things call for it 5 in fome Cafes he makes his publick Entry, and then he muft {hew him- felf in his Habit of Ceremony ; in other Cafes he comes upon private Bufinefs, and then he ap pears in Difguife \ in fome publick Cafes he may thing fit to be incog, and then he appears drefs'd a la Mafque j fo they fay he appeared at the fa mous St. Bartholomew Wedding at Paris^ where
U he"
290 The Modern HISTORY
he came in drefs'd up like a Trumpeter, danc'd in his Habit, founded a Levet, and then went out and rung the Alarm-Bell ( which was the Signal to begin the Maflacre) half an Hour before the Time appointed, left the King's Mind ihould al ter, and his Heart fail him.
If the Story be not made upon him, ( for we fhould not flander the Devil) it fhould feem, he was not thoroughly fatisfied in King Charles IX.'s Steadinefs in his Caufe 5 for the King, it feems, hadrelax'd a little once before, and Satan might be afraid he would fall off again, and fo prevent the Execution: Others fay, the King did relent im mediately after the ringing the Alarm-Bell, but that then it was too late, the Work was begun, and the Rage of Blood having been let loofe a- mong the People, there was no recalling the Or der. If the Devil was thus brought to the Ne- ceflhy of a fecret Management, it muil be owned he did it dexteroufly > but I have not Authority enough for the Story, to charge him with the Particulars, fo I leave it au croc.
I have much better Vouchers for the Story following, which I had fo folemnly confirm'd by one that liv'd in the Family, that I never doubt ed the Truth of it. There liv'd, in the .Parifh of St. Bennet Fynk, near the Royal Exchange, an honeft poor Widow Woman, who, her Husband leing lately dead, took Lodgers into her Houfe> that is, fhe let out fome of her Rooms in order to leflen her own Charge of Rent > among the reft, fhe let her Garrets to a working Watch- wheel-maker, or one fome way concern'd in making the Movements of Watches, and who work'dto thofe Shop-keepers who fell Watches j as is ufual.
It happened that a Man and Woman went up, to fpeak with this Movement-maker upon fome
Bufinefs
of the DEVIL. 291
Bufinefs which related to his Trade, and when they were near the Top of the Stairs, the Garret- Door where he ufually worked being wide open, they faw the poor Man ( the Watch-maker, or Wheel-maker) had hang'd himfelf upon a Beam which was left open in the Room a little lower than the Plaifler, or Ceiling : Suypriz'd at the Sight, the Woman flop'd, and cried out to the Man who was behind her on the Stairs that he ihould run up, and cut the poor Creature down.
At that very Moment comes a Man haflily from another Part of the Room which they upon the Stairs could not fee, bringing a Joint- Stool in his Hand, as if in great Hafle, and fets it down jufl by the Wretch that was hang'd, and getting up as haflily upon it pulls a Knife out of his Pocket, and taking hold of the Rope with one of his Hands, beckon'd to the Woman and the Man behind her with his Head, as if to flop and not come up, fhewing them the Knife in his other Hand, as if he was jufl going to cue the poor Man down.
Upon this, the Woman flopp'd a while, but the Man who flood on the Joint-Stool continued with his Hand and Knife as if fumbling at the Knot, but did not yet cut the Man down > at which the Woman cried out again, and the Man behind her call'd to her, Go up, fays he^ and help the Man upon the Stool ! fuppofing fomething hindred. But the Man upon the Stool made Signs to them again to be quiet, and not come on, as if faying, I {hall do it immediately > then he made two Strokes with his Knife, as if cutting the Rope, and then flopped again ; and flill the poor Man was hanging, and confequently dying : Upon this, the Woman on the Stairs cried out to him, What ails you ? Why don't you cut the poor Man down? And the Man behind her,
U 2. having
The Modern HISTORY
having no more Patience, thrufts her by, and faid to her, Let me come, I'll warrant you I'll do it 5 and with that runs up and forward into the Room to the Man 5 but when he came there, behold, the poor Man was there hanging ; but no Man with a Knife, or Joint-Stool, or any fuch thing to be fecn, all that was Spectre and Delufion, in order, no doubt, to let the poor Creature that had hang'd himfelf periih and expire.
The Man was fo frighted and furpriz'd, that with all the Courage he had before, he drop'd on the Floor as one dead, and the Woman at laft was fain to cut the poor Man down with a Pair of Sciflars, and had much to do to effecl: it.
As I have no room to doubt the Truth of this Story, which I had from Perfons on whofe Ho- nefty I could depend, fo I think it needs very little Trouble to convince us who the Man upon the Stool mufl be, and that it was the Devil who plac'd himfelf there in order to finiih the Mur- ther of the Man who he had, .D^v/Mike, tempt ed before, and prevail'd with to be his own Ex ecutioner. Befides, it correfponds fo well with the Devil's Nature, and with his Bufinefs, viz. that of a Murtherer^ that I never queftion'd it> nor can I think we wrong the Devil at all to charge him with it.
N. B. I cannot be pofitive in the remaining Part of this Story, viz. whether the Man was cut down foon enough to be recover'd, or whether the Devil carry 'd his Point, and kept off the Man and Woman till it was too late 5 but be it which it will, 'tis plain he did his Devilifh Endeavour, and ftay'd till he was forc'd to abfcond again.
We have many folid Tales well attefted, as Well in Hiitory as in the Reports of honeft Peo ple,
of the D E V I L. 293
pie, who could not be deceived, intimating the Devtfs perfonal Appearance, fome in one Place* fome in another j as alfo fometimes in one Habit or Drefs, and fometimes in another > and it is to be obferved, that in none of thofe which are moil like to be real, and in which there is leaft of Fancy and Vapour, you have any Mention of the Cloven Foot, which rather feems to be a mere Invention of Men (and perhaps chiefly of thofe who had a Cloven Underftandingl I mean a {fol low kind of Craft, the Effect of an empty and fimple Head, thinking by fuch a well-meant, tho' weak Fraud, to reprefent the Devil to the old Women and Children of the Age, with fome Addition fuitable to the Wcaknefs of their Intel lects, and fuited to making them afraid of him.
I have another Account of a Peri on who tra- vell'd upwards of four Years with the Devil in his Company, and conversed moft intimately with him all the while -, nay, if I may believe the Story, he knew moft part of the Time that he was the Devil^ and yet conversed with him, and that very profitably, for he perform'd many very ufeful Services for him, and conftantly preferv'd him from the Danger of Wolves and wild Reafts, which the Country he travell'd thro' was intole^ rably full of. Where, by the way, you are to un-r derftand, that the Wolves and Bears in thofe Countries knew the Devil, whatever Difguife he went in -y or that the Devil has fome Way to fright Bears and fuch Creatures, more than we know of. Nor could this Devil ever be prevail'd upon to hurt him or any of his Company. This Account has an innumerable Number of divert ing Incidents attending it ; but they are equal to all the reft in Bulk, and therefore top long for fhis Book.
U J I End
294- The Modern HISTORY
I find too upon fome mofe ordinary Occafl- ons the Devil has appear'd to feveral People at their Call : This indeed {hews abundance of good Humour in him, confidering him as a Devil^ and that he was mighty compliafant : Nay fome, they tell u?, have a Power to raife the Devil when ever they think fit 3 this I cannot bring the De vil to a Level with, unlefs I fhould allow him to be Servus Servorum, as another Devil in Difguife calls himfelf ; fubjected to ever old Wizard's Call 3 or that he is under a NecerTity of appear ing on fuch or fuch particular Occafions, who ever it is that calls him 5 which would bring the Devil's Circumftances to a pitch of Slavery which I fee no Reafon to believe of them.
Here alfo I muft take Notice again, that tho* I fay the Devil^ when I fpeak of all thefe Appa ritions, whether of a greater or lefler Kind, yet I am not oblig'd to fuppofe Satan himfelf in Per- fon is concerned to {hew himfelf, but that fome of his Agent s^ Deputies and Servants, are lent to that Purpofe, and direfted what Difguife of Flefh and Blood to put on, as may be fuitable to the Occafion.
This feems to be the only Way to reconcile all thofe fimple and ridiculous Appearances which not S atcin^ but his Emiflaries, ( which we old Women call Imps) fometimes make, and the mean and forry Employment they are put to: Thus Fame tells us of a certain Witch of Qua lity, who calFd the Devil once to carry her over a Brook where the Water was fwelPd with a hafly Rain, and lafh'd him foundly with her Whip for letting her Ladyfhip fall into the Wa ter before ihe was quite over. Thus alfo, as Fame tells us, fhe fet the Devil to work, and made him build Croivland Abbey, where there was no Foundation to be found, only for dif-
turbing
of the DEVIL. 295
turbing the Workmen a little who were firft fee about it. So it fcems another laborious Devil was oblig'd to dig the great Ditch croft the Coun try from the Fenn Country to the Edge of Suf folk and Effex > which who ever he has preferv'd the Reputation of, and where it crofles New- Market Heath, 'tis call'd Devil's Ditch to this Day.
Another Piece of Punifhment no doubt it was, when the Devil was oblig'd to bring the Stones out of Wales into Wiltfoire, to build Stone-heng ; How this was ordered in thofe Days, when it Teems they kept Satan to hard Labour, I know not y I believe it muft be regiftred among the an- tient Pieces of Art which are loft in the World, fuch as melting of Stone, painting of Glafs, &V. Certainly they had the Devil under Correction in thofe Days > that is to fay, thofe lefler Sorts of Devils y but I cannot think that the muckle fhief Devil, as they call him in the North, the Grand Seignior Devil of all, was ever reduced to Difcipline. What Devil it was that Dunftan took by the Nofe with his red hot Tongs, I have not yet examin'd Antiquity enough to be certain of, any more than I can 'what Devil it was that St. Francis play'd fo many warm Tricks with, and made him run away from him fo often : How ever, this I take upon me to fay, in the Devil's Behalf, that it cou'd not be our Satan, the Arch Devil of all Devils, of whom I have been talk* ing fo long.
Now is it unworthy the Occafion, to take no tice that we really wrong the Devil, and fpeak of him very much to his Difadvanrage, when we fay of fuch a Great Lord, or of fuch a Lady of Quality, / think the Devil is in your Grace : No, no, Satan has other Bufinefs, he very rarely pof- feifes F— Is ; Befides, fome are fo far from hav-
U 4 ing
396 The Modern HISTORY
ing the Devil in them, that they are really tranft migrated into the very EfTence of the Devil them- felves 3 and others again not tranfmigrated, or af- fimilated, but Indeed and in Truth {hew us that they are to have mere native Devils in every Part and Parcel of them, and that the reft is only Mafque and Difguife. Thus if Rage, Envy% Pride and Revenge can conftitute the Parts of a Devi^ why {hould not a Lady of fuch Quality, in whom all thofe Extraordinaries abound, have a Right to the Title of being a Devil really anc^ fubftantially, and to all Intents and Purpofes, in the moft perfect and abfolute Senfe, according to the moft exquifite Defcriptions of Devils already
fiven by me or any Body elfe $ and even juft as oan of Arc, or 'Joan Queen of Naples were, who were both fent home to their native Coun try, as foon as it was difcovered that they were real Devils, and that Satan acknowledged them in that Quality.
Nor does my Lady D fs's wearing fome-
times a Cafe of Humanity about her, call'd Flejb. and Blood, at all alter the Cafe 5 forfo 'tis Evi dent, according to our prefent Hypothefis, Satan. has been always allow'd to do, upon urgent Occafions -y ay, and to make his Perfonal Appear ance as fuch, among even the Sons and Daugh ters of God too, as well as among the Children of Men 5 and therefore her Grace may have ap peared in the Shape of a fine Lady, as long as {he has been fuppos'd to do, without any Impeach ment of her juft Claim to the Title of Devil j which being her true and natural Original, ihe ought not, nor indeed {hall not, by me, be de nied her Shapes of Honour, whenever {he pleafes to declare for a Re-afTumption.
And farther, to give every Truth its due II- luftration,, this need not he thought fo ftrange $
"
of the D EVIL: 297
and is far from being unjuft ; her Grace (as {he, it may be, is now ftiled) has not afted, at leaft that I never heard of, fo unworthy her great and illuftrious Original, that we fhould think ihe has loft any thing by walking about the World fo many Years in Apparition : But to give her the due Homage of her Quality, fhe has afted as confonant to the Eflence and Nature of Devil^ which fhe has fuch a Claim to, as was confident with the needful Referve of her prefent Difguife. Nor fhall we lead the Reader into any Miftake concerning this part of our Work, as if this was or is meant to be a particular Satyr upon the
D fs of --, and upon her only,
as if we had no DEVILS among us in the Pheno mena of fair Ladies, but this one : If Satan would be fo honed to us as he might be (and 'twou'd be very ingenuous in him, that muft be acknowledg'd, to give us a little of his Illumi nation in this Cafe) we fhould foon be able to unmafque a great many notable Figures among us, to our real Surprize.
Indeed 'tis a Point worth our further Enquiry, and would be a Difcovery many ways to our Ad vantage, were we blefs'd with it, to fee how ma ny real Devils we have walking up and down the World in Mafque, and how many Hoop- Petti coats compleat the entire Mafque that dilguifes the Devil in the Shape of that Thing call'd Wo man.
As for the Men, Nature has fatisfied her felf in letting them be their own Difguife, and in fuffering them to a6b the old Women^ as old Women are vulgarly underftood, in Matters of Council and Politicks ; but if at any time they have Occafion for the Devil in Pcrfon, they arc oblig'd to call him to their Aid in fuch Shape $s he pleafcs to make ufe of fro hac vice 3 and of
all
29S The ModernUlS TORY
all thofe Shapes, the moft agreeable to him feems to be that of a Female of Quality, in which he has infinite Opportunity to aft to Perfection, what Part foever he is call'd in for.
How happy are thofe People who they fay have the particular Quality, or acquir'd Habit., call'd the Second Sight 3 one Sort of whom they tell us are able to diftinguifh the Devil, in whatever Cafe or Outfide of Flefh and Blood he is pleas'd to put on, and confequently could know the De vil wherever they met him ? Were I bleft with this excellent and ufeful Accomplishment, how pleafant would it be, and how would it particu larly gratify my Spleen, and all that which I, in common with my fellow Creatures carry about me, call'd 111- Nature, to ftarid in the Mall, or at the Entrance to any of our Affemblies of Beau ties, dnd point them out as they pais by, with this particular Mark, That's a Devil; that fine young Toaft is a Devil j There's a Devil dreft in a new Habit for the Ball -, There's a Devil in a Coach and Six, cum aliis. In fhort, it would make a merry World among us if we coul'd but enter upon fome proper Method of fuch Difcri- minations : but, Lawr^d, what a Hurricane would
it raife, if, like-- , who they fay fcourg'd
the Devil fo often that he durft not come near him in any Shape whatever, we cou'd find fome new Method out to make the Devil unmask, like the Angel Uriel, who, Mr. Milton fays, had an enchanted Spear, with which if he did but touch the Devil, in whatever Difguife he had put on, it oblig'd him immediately to ftart up, and {hew himfelf in his true original Shape, mere Devil as he was.
This would do nicely, and as I who am ori ginally a Projector, have fpent fome Time upon this Study, and doubt not in a little Time to fi nal*
of the "DEVI L; 299
nifh my Engine, which I am contriving, to fcrew the Devil out of every Body, or any Body j I queftion not when I have brought it to Perfec tion, but I fhall make moft excellent Difcoveries by it y and befides the many extraordinary Advan tages of it to human Society, I doubt not but it will make good Sport in the World too j where fore, when I publifh my Propofals, and divide it into Shares, as other lefs ufeful Projects have been done, I queftion not, for all the fevere Act lately pafs'd againft Bubbles, but I fhall get Subfcribers enough, &c.
In a Word, a fecret Power of difcovering what Devils we have among us, and where and what Bufinefs they are doing, would be a vaft Advan tage to us all 3 that we might know among the Crowd of Devils that walk about Streets, who are Apparitions, and who are not.
Now I, you muft know, at certain Intervals when the Old Gentleman's Illuminations are up on me, and when I have foraething of an Eclari- ciffement with him, have fome Degrees of this difcriminating Second Sight, and therefore 'tis no ftrange thing for me to tell a great many of my Acquaintance that they are really Devils, when they themfelves know nothing of the Matter : Sometimes indeed 1 find it pretty hard to convince them of it, or at leaft they are very unwilling to own it, but it is not the lefs fo for that.
I had a long Difcourfeupon this Subject one day, with a young beautiful Lady of my Acquiantance, who the World very much admired 5 and as the World judges no farther than they can fee, (and how fhould they, you would fay) they took her to be, as flie really was, a moft charming Crea ture.
To me indeed {he difcover'd her felf many Ways, befides the Advantage I had of my extraordinary
Penetra*
300 The Modern HISTORY
Penetration by the magic Powers which I am veiled with : To me, Ifay9 fhe appeared a Fury, a Satyr, a fiery little Fiend as could poflibly be drefs'd up in Flefh j in fhort, fhe appear'd to me what really fhe was, a very DEVIL : It is natural to hu man Creatures to defire to difcover any extraordi nary Powers they are pofTefs'd of fupcrior to others, and this Itch prevailing in me, among the reft, I was impatient to let this Lady know that I un- derftood her Compofition perfectly well, nay, as well as fhe did her felf.
In order to this, happening to be in the Fami ly once for fome Days, and having the Honour to be very intimate with her and her Husband too, J took an Oportunity on an extraordinary Occafion, when fhe was in the Height of good Humour, to talk with her > You mull note, that as I faid, the Lady was in an extraordinary good Humour, and there had been a great deal of Mirth in the Family for fome Days •, but one Evening, Sir E r — her Husband, upon fome very fharp Turn fhe gave to another Gentleman, which made all the Company pleafant, run to her, and with a Paflion of good Humour takes her in his Arms, and turning to me, fays he, Jack, This Wife of mine is full of Wit and good Humour, but when fhe has a Mind to be fmart, fhe is the keeneft little Devil in the World : This was allu ding to the quick Turn fhe had given the other Gentleman.
Is that the beft Language you can give your Wife, fays my Lady? O Madam, fays I, fuch Devils as you, are all Jingth $ ay, ay, fays my Lady, I know that, he has only let a Truth fly out that he does not underftand : Look ye there now, fays Sir Edward, could any thing but fuch a dear Devil as this have faid a thing fo pointed ? Well, WelI3 adds he3 Dwil tp a Lady in a Man's Arn^s,
oftbeVEVI L; SGI
is a Word of divers Interpretations. Thus they rallied for a good while, he holding her faft all the while in his Arms, and frequently luffing her, and at kit it went off, all in Sunfhine and Mirth.
But the next Day, for I had the Honour to lodge in the Lady's Father's Houfe, where it all happen'd > I fay, the next Day my Lady begins with me upon the Subject, and that very fmartly, fo that firft I did not know whether {he was in jeft or earnefl : Ay, ay, fays Jhe^ you Men make nothing of your Wives after you have them, al luding to the Difcourfe with Sir Edward the Night before.
Why Madam, fays I, we Men, as you are pleas'd to term it, if we meet with good Wives wor- ihip them, and make Idols of them, what would you have more of us ?
No, no, fays {he, before you have them they are Angels, but when you have been in Heaven, adds Jhe and fmil'd^ then they are Devils.
Why Madam, fays /, Devils are Angels, you know, and were the higheft Sort of Angels once.
Yes, fays Jbe, very fmartly, all Devils are An gels, but all Angels are not Devils.
But Madam, fays /, you fhould never take it ill to be calPd Devil , you know.
I know, fays fbe^ haftily, what d'ye mean by that?
Why Madam, fays /, and look'd very gravely and ferious, I thought you had known that 1 knew it, or elfe I would not have faid fo, for I would not offend you 5 but you may depend I ihall never dif- cover it, unlefs you order me to do fo for your particular Service.
Upon this fhe look'd har'd and wild, and bid flic explain my felf.
A I told
302, The Modern HISTORY
I told her, I was ready to explain my felf, if fhe would give me her Word, fhe would not re- fent it, and would take nothing ill.
She gave me her word folemnly flie would not, tho' like a true Devil fhe broke her Promife with me all at once.
Well however, being unconcern'd whether fhe kept her Word or no, I began, by telling her that I had not long fince obtained the fecond light, and had fome years ftudied Magic, by which I could penetrate into many things, which to ordinary Perception were invifible, and had fome GlafTes, by the Help of which I could fee into all viil- onary or imaginary Appearances in a different Manner than other People did.
Very well, fays Jhe^ fuppofe you can, what's that to me ?
I told her it was nothing to her any further than that as fhe knew her felf to be originally not the fame Creature fhe feem'd to be, but was of a fublime angelic Original $ fo by the Help of my recited Art I knew it too, and fo far it might re late to her.
Very fine, fays fhe, fo you would make a De vil of me indeed.
I took that Occafion to tell her, I would make nothing of her but what me was j that I fuppos'd ihe knew well enough God Almighty never thought fit to make any human Creature fo per fect and compleatly beautiful as fhe was, but that fuch were *alfo referved for Figures to be afTum'd by Angels of one Kind or other.
She rallied me upon that, and told me that would not bring me off, for I had not determined her for any thing Angelic, but ameer Devil, and how could I flatter her with being handfome and a Devil both at the fame time ?
1 told her, as Satan, whom we abufivcly call'd 4
303
Devil, was an immortal Seraph, and of an ori ginal angelic Nature, fo abftraded from any thing wicked, he was a mofi glorious Being 5 that when he thought fit to encale himfelf with Flefh, and walk about in Difguife,it was in his Power equally with the other Angels to make the Form he took upon himfelf be as he thought fit, beautiful or de form M
Here {he difputed the PofTibility of that, and after charging me faintly with flattering her Face, told me the Devil could not be reprefented by any thing handfome, alledging our conftant picturing the Devil in all the frightful Appearances imagi nable.
I told her we wrong'd him very much in that, and quoted St. Francis^ to whom the Devil fre quently appeared in the Form of the moft in comparably beautiful naked Woman, to allure him, and what Means he ufed to turn the Ap pearance into a Devil again, and how he effe&ed it.
She put by the Difcourfe, and returned to that of Angels, and infilled that Angels did not always afTume beautiful Appearances 5 that fometimes they appeared in terrible Shapes, but that when they did not, it was at bed only amiable Faces, not exquifitej and that therefore it would not hold, that to be handfome, fhould always rpnder them fufpe&ed.
I told her the Devil had more Occafion to form Beauties than other Angels had, his Bufinefs being principally to deceive and enfnare Man kind. And then I gave her fome Examples upon the whole.
I found by her Difcourfe fhe was willing e- nough to pafs for an Angel, but 'twas the hardeft thing in the World to convince her that fhe was a DEVIL, and fhe would not come into that by any i$eans> fhe argued that I knew her Father,
and
304 The Modern HISTORY
and that her Mother was a very good Woman, and was delivered of her in the ordinary Way, and that there was fuch and fuch Ladies who were prefent in the Room when fhe was born, and that had often told her fo.
I told her that was nothing in fuch a Cafe as hersj that when the Old Gentleman had occa- fiori to transform himfelf into a fine Lady, he could eafily difpofe of a Child, and place him felf in the Cradle inftead of it, when the Nurfe or Mother were afleep $ nay, or when they were broad awake either, it was the fame thing to him 5 and I quoted Luther to her upon that Occafion, who affirms that it had been fo. However I faid, to convince her that I knew it, (for I would have it that fhe knew it already) if fhe pleas'd I would go to my Chamber and fetch her my Magick Looking-glafs, where fhe fhould fee her own Picture, not only as it was an angelick Picture for the World to admire, but a Devil alfo frightful enough to any Body but her fclf and xne that underftood it.
No, no, faid JJje^ I'll look in none of your conjuring Glafles j I know my felf well enough, and I defire to look no otherwife than I am.
No, Madam, fays /, I know that very well j nor do you need any better Shape than that you appear in, 'tis moft cxquifitely fine } all the World knows you are a compleat Beauty, and that is a clear Evidence what you would be if your prefent appearing Form was reduced to its proper Perfonality.
Appearing Form ! fays fhe, why, what would you make an Apparition of me ?
An Apparition ! Madam, faid I, yes, to be furej why you know, you are nothing clfe but an Ap parition; and what elfe would you be, when it isfc« infinitely to your Advantage ?
With
of the DEVIL; 505
With that, {he turn'd pale and angry, and then rofe up nattily, and look'd into the Glafs, (a lirge Peer-glafs being in the Room) where {he flood, furveying her felf from Head to Foot, with Va nity not a little.
I took that Time to flip away, and running up into my Apartment, I fetch'd my Magic GlafS) as J call'd it, in which I had a hol low Cafe fo framed behind a Looking-glafs, that in the firfb {he would fee her own Face only $ in the fecond, {he would fee the De- I'/V's Face, ugly and frightful enough, bui drefs'd up with a Lady's Head -Clothes in a Circle, the Devil's Face in the Center, and as it were at a little Diftance behind. I came down again fo foon that fhe did not think the Time long, efpecially having fpent it in furveying her fair felf j when I return'd, I faid, ] Come, Madam, do not trouble your felf to look there, that is not a Glafs capable of {hewing you any thing •, come, take this Glafs.
Jt will {hew me as much of my felf, fays Jfte9 a little f corn fully ^ as I defire to fee> fo fhe con tinued looking in the Peer-glafs 5 after fome time more (for feeing her a little out of Humour, I waited to fee what Obfervations {he would make) I ask'd her if {he had view'd her felf to her Sa- tisfa&ion ? She faid ihe had, and {he had feen no thing of Devil about her. Come, Madam, faid I, look here j and with that I open'd che Looking-
flats, and {he look'd in it, but faw nothing but er own Face 5 Well, fays Jhe^ the GlafTes agree well enough, I fee no Difference ^ what can you make of it ? With that I took it a little away > Don't you ? fays /, then I {hou'd be miftaken very much 5 fo I look'd in it my felf, and giving it a Turn imperceptible to her, I fhew'd it her again, where {he faw the Devil indeed, drefs'd X up
306 The Modern HISTORY
Up like a fine Lady, but ugly, and Devil like as could be defircd for a Devil to be.
She ftarted, and cry'd out moft horribly, and told me, fhe thought I was more of a Devil than ilie,for that flic knew nothing of all thofc Tricks, and I did it to fright her, fhe believ'd I had rais'd the Devil.
I told her it was nothing but her own natural Picture, and that fhe knew well enough, and that I did not fhew it her to inform her of it, but to let her know that I knew it too j that fo fhe might make no Pretences of being offended when I'talk'd familiarly to her of a Thing of this Na ture.
Very well 5 fo, fays Jhe^ I am a real frightful Devil, am I ?
O, Madam, fays T, don't fay, Am I? why you know what you are, don't you ? A Devil! ay, certainly ; as fure as the reft of the World believes you a Lady.
I had a great deal of farther Difcourfe with her upon that Subject, tho' Ihe would fain have beat me off of it, and two or three times fhe put the Talk off, and brought fomething elfe on ; but I always found Means to revive it, and to attack her upon the Reality of her being a Devil, till at laft I made her downright angry, and then (he fhew'd it.
Firfl: fhe cried, told me I came to affront her,
that I would not talk fo if Sir Ed was
by 5 and that fhe ought not to be ufed fo. I en- deavour'd to pacify her, and told her I had not treated her with any Indecency, nor I would notj becaufe while ilie thought fit to walk Abroad incog, it was none of my Bufinefs to difcover her >
that if {he thought fit to tell Sir Ed any
thing of the Difcourfe, fhe was very welcome, or to conceal it, (which I thought the wi/eft Courfe)
•of the D E V I L. 307
ihe fhould do juft as fhs pleas'd > but I made no
qudlion I fhould convince Sir E her Huf-
band, that what I faid was juft, and that I was really fo $ whether it was for her Service or no for him to know it, was for her to confider.
This calm'd her a little, and fhe Jook'd hard at me a Minute without fpeaking a Word, when on a fudden fhe broke out thus : And you will
undertake, fays flie^ to convince SIT Ed that
he has married a Devil, will ye ? A fine Story indeed ! and what follows? why then it mull: fol low that the Child I go with (for ihe was big with Child) will be a Devil too, will it ? A fine Story for Sir Ed* indeed ! isn't it?
I don't know that, Madam, faid 1, that's as you order itj by the Father's Side, faid /, I know it will not, but what it may by the Mother's Side, that's a Doubt I can't refolve till the Demi and I talk farther about it.
You and the Devil talk together ! fays foe, and looks rufully at me > why do you talk with the Devil then ?
Ay, Madam, fays /, as fure as ever you did your felf j befides, faid I, can you queflion that ? Pray who am I talking to now:
I think you are mad, fays Jhe j why you will make Devils of all the Family, it may be, and particularly I mud be with Child of a JDevif, that's certain.
No, Madam, faid /, 'tis not certain, as I faid before, I queflion it.
Why you fay I am the DEVIL, the Child, you know, has always moft of the Mother in it, then that mud be a Devil too I think, what elfe can it be, fays fie ?
I can't tell that, Madam, faid Iy that's as you agree among your felves, this Kind does not go by Generation -9 that's A Difpute foreign to the prefent Purpofe. X z Then
308 The Modern HISTORY
Then I entred into a Difcourfe with her of the Ends and Purpofes for which the Devil takes up fuch beautiful Forms as hers, and why it always gave me a Sufpicion when I faw a Lady hand- fomer than ordinary, and fet me upon the Search to be fatisfied whether fhe was really a Woman or an Apparition ? a Lady or a Devil ? allowing all along that her being a Devil was quite out of the Queftion.
Upon that very Foot, fhe took me up again roundly, and fo, faysjhe^ you are very civil to me through all your Difcourfe, for I fee it ends all in that, and you take it as a thing confeft, that I am a Devil ! A very pretty piece of good Ufage in deed ! faysjhe > / thank you for it.
Nay, Madam, fays /, do not take it ill of me, for I only difcover to you that I knew it 5 I do not tell it you as a Secret, for you are fatisfied of that another way.
Satisfied of what? fays (he, that I am a Devil? I think the Devil's in you : And fo began to be hot.
A Devil ! yes, Madam, fays I, without doubt ameer DEVIL > take it as you pleafe, I can't help that : And fo I began to take it ill that {he fhould be diigufted at opening fuch a well-known Truth to her.
With that fhe difcovefd it all at once, for fhe turn'd Fury, in the very Letter of it 5 flew out in a Paflion, rail'd at me, curfl me moft hear tily, and immediately difappeared j which you know is the particular Mark of a Spirit or Ap parition.
We had a great deal of Difcourfe befides this, relating to fcveral other, young Ladies of her Ac quaintance, fome of which, 1 laid, were mere Appa- r/Vttwlikefierfelf* and told her which were fo, and which not 5 and the Reafon why they were fo,
and
of the DEVIL. 309
and for what Ufes and Purpofes, fome to delude the World one way, and fome another 3 and ihe was pretty well pleafed to hear that, but ihe could not bear to hear her own true Chara&er, which however, as cunning as ihe was, made her acl: the Devil at laft, as you have heard $ and then vaniih- ed out of my fight.
I have feen her in Miniature feveral Times fincej but {he proves her felf (till to be the Devil of a Lady, for ihe bears Malice, and will never forgive me, that I would not let her be an Angel 5 but like a very Devil as fhe is, ihe endeavours to kill me at a Diftance ; and indeed the Poifon of her Eyes, (Rafilisk-like) is very flrong, and fhe has a ftrange Influence upon me> but I that know her to be a Devil, ftrive very hard with my felf to drive the Memory of her out of my Thoughts.
I have had two or three Engagements fince this, with other Apparitions of the fame Sex, and I find they are all alike, they are willing enough to be thought Angels, but the Word Devil does not go down at all with them : But 'tis all one, whenever we fee an Apparition^ it is fo natural to fay we have feen the Devil, that there's no pre vailing with Mankind to talk any other Lan guage. A Gentleman of my Acquaintance, the other Day, that had courted a Lady a long time, had the Misfortune to come a little fliddenly up on her, when ihe did not expecl: him, and found her in fuch a Rage at fome of her Servants, that it quite diforder'd her, efpecially a Footman ; the Fellow had done fomething that was indeed pro voking, but not fufficient to put her into fuch a Paifion, and fo out of her felf j nor was ihe able to reftrain her felf when ihe faw her Lover come in, but damn'd the Fellow, and rag'd like a Fury at him.
X 5 My
a io The Modern HISTORY
My Friend did his bed to compofe her, and begg'd the Fellow's Pardon of her, but it would not doj nay, the poor Fellow made all the Sub- miffions that could be expected, but 'twas the fame thing : And fo the Gentleman, not caring to engage himfelf farther than became him, with drew, and came no more at her for three Days, in all which time fhe was hardly cool.
The next Day my Friend came to me, and talking of it in Confidence to me, I am afraid, fays he^ I am going to marry a She Devil) and ib told me the Story -y I took no Notice to him, but finding out his Miitrefs, and taking proper Meafurcs, with fome of my particular Skill, I foon found out that it was really fo, that fhe was a mere Apparition; and had it not been for that accidental Diforder of her PafHons, which difco- ver'd her Infide, fhe might indeed have cheated any Man, for {he was a lovely Devil as ever was feen 5 fhe talk'd like an Angel, fung like a Syren, did every thing, and faid every thing that was taking and charming : But what then ? it was all Apparition, for fhe was a mere Devil. It is true, my Friend marry 'd her, and tho' fhe was a Devil without doubt, yet either fhe behav'd fo well, or he was fo good, I never could hear him find Fault with her.
Thefe are particular Inftances 5 but alas ! I could run you a Length beyond all thofe Exam ples, and give you fuch a Lift of Devils among the gay Things of the Town, that would fright you to think of 3 and you would prefently con clude, with me, that all the perfect Beauties arc? Devils, mere Apparitions 5 but Time and Paper fails, fo we muft only leave the Men the Caution, let them, venture at their Peril. I return to the Subject.
We
of the DEVIL. 311
We have a great many charming Apparitions of like kind go daily about the W orld in com- pleat Mafquerade, and, tho' we mull not lay fo, they are in themfelves mere D evils , wicked dan gerous murthering Devils, that kill various Ways, iome, Bafilisk-like, with their Eyes > fome Sy ren-like, with their Tongues 5 all Murtherers, even from the Beginning : It is true, 'tis pity thefe pretty Apparitions fhould be Devils, and be fo mifchievous as they are > but fince it is fo, I can do no lefs than to advertife you of it, that you may ihun the Devil in whatever Shape you meet with him.
Again, there are fome half Devils, they fay, like the Sagittarii^ half Man, half Horfe, or ra ther like the Satyr ^ who, they fay r, is half Devil, half Man > or, like my Lord Bifhop, who, they /3}',was half-headed 5 whether they mean half- wit- ted or no, I do not find Authors agreed about it : But if they had voted him fuch, it had been as kind a thing as any they cou'd fay of him, be- caufe it would have cleared him from the Scandal of being a Devil, or half a Devil, for we don't find the Devil makes any Alliance with F- Is.
Then as to merry Devils, there's my Matter
Q } he may indeed have the Devil in him,
but it muft be faid, to the Credit of Pofleffion in general, that Satan would have fcorn'd to have entred into a Soul fo narrow that there was not room to hold him, or to take up with fo difcord- ing a Creature, fo abject, fo fcoundrel, as never made a Figure among Mankind greater than that of a Thier^ a Moroder^ moulded up into Quality, and a Raparee drefs'd up a-U-Mafque, with a Robe and a Coronet.
Some little Dog-kennel Devil may indeed take up his Quarters in or near (him, and fo run into and out of him as his Drum beats a Call j but
X 4 to
312 The Modern HISTORY
to him that was born a Devil, Satan, that never acts to no purpofe, cou'd not; think him worth being pofleis'd by any thing better than a Devil of a dirty Quality ; that is to fay, a Spirit too mean to wear the Name of Devil^ without fome Badge or Addition of Infamy and Meannefs to diftingufh it by.
Thus what Devil of Quality would be con- fin'd to a P ........ », who inheriting all the
Pride and Infolence of his Anceftors, without one of their good Qualities •, the Bully, the Bil* lingsgate^ and all the hereditary ill Language of his Family, without an Ounce of their Courage 5 that has been refcued five or iix times from the Scandal of a Coward, by the Bravery, and at the Hazard of Friends, and never faiFd to be un grateful 5 that if ever he committed a Murther, did it in cold Blood, becaufe no body could prove he ever had any hot 3 who pofTefs'd with a Poltroon il^ was always wickeder in the Dark, than he
durft be by Day-light 5 and who, after innumer able paffive Sufferings, has been turned out of hu man Society, becaufe he could not be kick'd or cufPd either into good Manners or good Hu mour.
To fay this was a Devil^ an Apparition, or even a half Devil , would be unkind to Satan jiimfelf, fince tho' he (the Devil) has fo many Millions of inferior Devils under his Command, not one cou'd be found bafe enough to match him, nor one Devil, found but what would think him- felf difhonour'd to be employ'd about him.
Some merry good-for-nothing Devils we have indeed, which we might, if we had room, (peak of at large, and divert you too with the Relation, fuch as my Lady Haft's Devil in E/ex, who up on laying a Joiner's Mallet in the Window of 3 certain Chamber, would come very orderly and
knock
of the DEVIL. 313
knock with it all Night upon the Window, or againft the Wainfcot, and difturb the Neighbour hood, and then go away in the Morning, as well fatisfied as may be 3 whereas if the Mallet was not left, he would think himfelf affronted, and be as unfufferable and terrifying, as poffible, breaking the Windows, fplitting the Wainfcot, committing all the Diforders, and doing all the Damage that he was able to the Houfe, and to the Goods in it. And again, fuch as the Drum- ing Devil in the Well at Oundle in Northampton" Jlrire^ and fuch like.
A great many antick Devils have been feen al- fo, who feem'd to have little or nothing to do, but only to allure us that they can appear if they pleafe, and that there is a Reality in the thing call'd Apparition.
As to Shadows of Devils, and imaginary Ap pearances, fuch as appear, and yet are invifible at the fame time, I had thought to have beftow'd a Chapter upon them by themfelves, but it may be as much to the Purpofe to let them alone, as to meddle with them j 'tis faid our old Friend Lu ther ufed to be exceedingly troubled with fuch invifible Apparitions , and he tells us much of them, in what they call his Table-talk -y but with Matter Luther's leave, tho' the Devil pafTes for a very great Lyar, I could fwallow many things of his own proper making, as foon as fome of thofc I find in a Book that goes by his Name, particularly the Story of the Devil in a Basket, the Child flying out of the Cradle, and the like.
In a word, the walking Devils that we have generally among us, are of the female Sex j whe ther it be that the Devil finds lefs Difficulty to manage them, or that he lives quieter with them, or that they arc fitter for his Bufinefs than the 2 Men9
The Modern HISTORY
Men, I fliall not now enter into a Difpute about that -, perhaps he goes better difguis'd in the fair Sex than otherwife $ Antiquity gives us many Hiftories of She-Devils, fuch as \vc can very feldom match for Wickedneis among the Men > fuch now as in the Text, Let's Daughters, Jo- fepb's Miftrefs, Sampfon's Dalilah, Herod's Hero- dias^ thefe were certainly Devils, or play'd the Devil fufficiently in their Turn j one Male Apparition indeed the Scripture furnifhes you with, and that is Judas ; for his Matter fays ex- prefly of him, One of you is a Devil ; not has the Devil, or is pofiefs'd of the DEVIL 5 but really is a DEVIL, or is a real DEVIL.
How happy is it, that this great Secret comes thus to be difcover'd to mankind ? Certainly the World has gone on in Ignorance a long time, and at a ftrange rate, that we ihould have fo many Devils continually walking about among us in humane Shape, and we know it not.
Philofophers tell us that there is a World of Spirits, and many learned Pieces of Guefs-work they make at it, representing the World to be fo near us, that the Air, as they defcribe it, muft be full of Dragons and Devils^ enough to fright our Imaginations with the very Thoughts of them ; and if they fay true, 'tis our great Felicity that we cannot fee any Eirthcr into it than we do, which if we could, would appear as frightful as Hell itfelf > but none of thofe Sages ever told us, till now, that half the People who converfe with us MZ Apparitions ^ efpecially of the Women > and among them efpecially this valu able Part, the Woman of Figure, the fair, the beautiful, or patch'd and painted.
This unufual Phenomenon has been feen but a little while, and but a little way, and the general Part of Mankind cannot come into the fame No tions
of the DEVIL. 315
tions about it j nay, perhaps they will all think it ftrange 5 but be it as ftrange as it will, the Na ture of the Thing confirms it, this lower Sphere is full of Devils j and fome of both Sexes have given ftrange Teftimonies of the Reality of their pre-exiflent Devilifm for many Ages part, tho' 1 think it never came to that Height as it has now.
It is true, in former times Satan dealt much in old Women, and thofe, as I have obfcrv'd alrea dy, very ugly, Ugly as a Witch, Black as a Witch ^ / look like a Witch ^ all proverbial Speeches, and which teftify'd what Tools it was Satan generally work'd with 5 and thefe old Spec~bres, they tell us, us'd to ride thro' the Air in the Night, and upon Broomfticks too, all mighty homely Doings > fome fay they us'd to go to vifit their Grand Seignior the Devil) in thofe Nocturnal Perambu lations : But be that as it will, 'tis certain the Devil has chang'd hands, and that now he walks about the World cloth'd in Beauty, cover'd with the Charms of the Lovely, and he fails not to difguife himfelf effectually by it, for who would think a beautiful Lady could be a Mafque to the Devil? and that a fine Face, a divine Shape, a heavenly Afpec~r, ihould bring the Devil in her Company, nay, fliould be herfelf an ^pparition^ a mere DEVIL.
The Enquiry is indeed worth our while, and therefore I hope all the enamoured Beaus and Boys, all the Beauty-hunters and Fortune-hunters, will take heed, for I fuppofe if they get the DC- vil, they will not complain for want of a For tune 3 and there's Danger enough, I allure you, for the World is full of Apparitions, non rofa fine fpinis 5 not a Beauty without a Devil^ the old Women Spe6bres, and the young Women Apparitions 5 the ugly ones Witches, and the
handfome
3i6 The Modern HISTORY
handfome ones Devils > Lord ha' Mercy, and a >J courting.
CHAP. VIII.
Of the Cloven- Foot walking about the World without the Devil, (viz.) of Witches waking Bargains for the Devil, and par ticularly of felling the Soul to the Devil.
I Have dwelt long upon the Devil in Mafque as he goes about the World incog, and efpe- cially without his Cloven-Foot, and have touch ed upon ibme of his Difguifes in the Manage ment of his Intereft in the World 5 I muft lay fome of his Difguifes only, for who can give a full account of all his Tricks and Arts in fo nar row a Compafs as I am prefcrib'd to ?
But as I laid, that every Devil has not a Clo ven-Foot, fo I muft add now for the prefent Purpofe, that every Cloven-Foot is not the Devil.
Not but that wherever I fliould meet the Clo ven-Hoof, I fliould expect that the Devil was not far off, and fliould be apt to raife the PofTe againft him, to apprehend him j yet it may happen other- wife, that's certain > every Coin has its Counter feit, every Art its Pretender, every Whore her Admirer, every Error its Patron, and every Day has its DEVIL.
I have had fome thought of making a full and com pleat Difcovery here of that great Doubt which has fo long piizzl'd the World, namely, whether there is any fuch Thing, as fecret making Bargains with the Devil, and the firft positive Aflurance I can give you in the Cafe, is, that if
there
of theDE VIL; 317
there is not, 'tis not his Fault, 'tis not for want of his Endeavour, 'tis plain, if you will pardon me for taking fo mean a Step, as that of quoting Scripture j I fay, 'tis evident he would fain have made a Contract with our Saviour, and he bid boldly (give him his due} namely, all the King doms of the World for one bend of his Knee : Im pudent Seraph ! To think thy Lord fhould pay thee Homage ! How many would agree with him here for a lefs Price ! They fay, Oliver Cromwell ftruck a Bargain with him, and that he gave Oliver the Prote&orfhip, but would not let him call himfelf King, which (luck fo clofe to that Furiofo) that the Mortification fpread into his Soul, and 'tis faid, he dy'd of a Garigreen in the Spleen. But take Notice and do Oliver Juftice ; I do not vouch the Story, neither does the Bi- iliop fay one Word of it.
Fame us'd to fay, that the old famous Duke of Luxemburg [made a Magic compact of this Kind 5 nay, I have heard many an (old Woman) Officer of the Troops, who never car'd to fee his Face, de clare that he carry'd the Devil at his Back. I re member a certain Author of a News Paper in Lon don was once taken up, and they fay, it coft him fo/. for printing in his News, that Luxemburg was Humpbacked. Now if I have refolv'd the Dif ficulty, namely, that he was not hump'd, only carry'd the Devil at his Back 5 I think the poor Man fhould have his f o /. again, or I fhould have it for the Difcovery.
I confefs, I do not virell underfland this com pacting with fach a Fellow as can neither write nor read j nor do I know who is the Scrivener between them, or how the Indenture can be exe cuted j but that which is worfe than all the reft is, that in the firft Place, the Devil never keeps Articles j he will contract perhaps, and they fay
he
|is The Modern HISTORY
he is mighty forward to make Conditions 5 but whd {hall bind him to the Performance, and where is the Penalty if he fails? if we agree with him, he will be apt enough to claim his Bargain and de mand Payment \ nay, perhaps before it is due $ but who fhall make him fland to his.
Beiides, he is a Knave in his Dealing, for he really promifes what he cannot perform j wit- nefs his impudent Propofal to our Lord mention ed above, All thefe Kingdoms will I give thee ! Lying Spirit ! Why they were none of thine to give, no not one of them j for the Earth is the Lords and the kingdoms thereof, nor were they in his Power any more than in his Right : So ( I have heard that) fome poor difmal Creatures have fold thcmfclves to the Devil for a Sum of Money, for fo much Cafh, and yet even in that Cafe, when the Day of Payment came, I never heard that he brought the Money or paid the Purchafe, fo that he is a Scoundrel in his Treaties, for you ihall trufl for your Bargain, but not be able to get your Money 5 and yet for your Part, he comes for you to an Hour : Of 'which by it felf.
In a Word, let me caution you all, when you trade with the Devil, either get the Price or quit the Bargain > the Devil is a cunning Shaver, he will wriggle himfelf out of the Performance on his Side if poffible, and yet expect you fhould be punctual on your Side. They tell you of a poor Fellow in Herefordjhire^ that offer'd to fell his Soul to him for a Cow, and though the De~ vii promifed, and as they fay, fign'd the Wri tings, yet the poor Countryman could never get the Cow of him, but flill as he brought a Cow to him, fome body or other came and challeng'd it, proving that it was loft or ftolen from them > fo that the Man got nothing but the Name of a Cow-itcaler, and was at laft carried to Hereford
Goal
vfthe DEVIL, 319
Goal, and condemned to be hang'd for dealing two Cows, one after the other : The wicked Fellow Was then in the greateft Diftrefs imaginable, he fummon'd his Devil to help him out, but he fail ed him, as the Devil always will $>he really had not ftolen the Cows, but they were found in his PoiTefHon, and he could give no Account how he came by them -, at laft he was driven to confefs the Truth, told the horrid Bargain he had made, and how the Devil often promised him a Cow, but never gave him one, except that feveral Times in the Morning early he found a Cow put into his Yard, but it always prov'd to belong to fome of his Neighbours : Whether the Man was hang'd or no, the Story does not relate -, but this Part is to my Purpofe, that they that make Bargains with the Devi^ ought to make him give Secu rity for the Performance of Covenants, and who the Devil would get to be bound for him, I can't tell, they muft look to that who make the Bar gain : Befides, if he had not had a Mind to cheat or baffle the poor Man, what need he have taken a Cow fo near home ? if he had fuch and fuch Powers as we talk of, and as Fancy and Fable fur- niih for him, could not he have carried a Cow in the Air upon a Broom- Hick, as well as an old Woman ? Could he not have flole a Cow for him in Lincoln/hire^ and fet it down in Hereford/hire^ and fo have performed his Bargain, faved his Credit, and kept the poor Man out of Trouble ? fo that if the Story is True, as I really believe it is, either it is not the Devil that makes thofe Bargains, or the Devil has not fuch Power as we bellow on him, except on fpecial Occafions he gets a Per mit, and is bid go, as in the Cafe of Job^ the Gadaren Hogs^ and the like.
We have another Example of a Man's felling himfelf to the Devil, that is very remarkable, and
that
320 The MoJernHIS TORY
that is in the Bible too, and even in that, I do not find, what the Devil did for him, in Payment of the Purchafe Price. The Perfon felling was Ahab) of whom the Text fays exprefly, there was none like him, who did fell himfelf to work Wickednefs in the Sight of the LORD, i Kings xxi. 20, and the ^$. I think it might have been ren- dred, if no£ tranflated in Spight of the Lord^ or in Defiance of God; for certainly that's the Mean ing of it ^ and now allowing me to preach a lit tle upon this Text, my Sermon {hall be very fhort. Ahab fold himfelf, who did he fell him felf to ? I anfwer that Queftion by a Queftion j who would buy him ? who, as *we fay^ would give any thing for him ? and the Anfwer to that is plain alfo, you may judge of the Purchafer by the Work he was to do 5 he that buys a Slave in the Market, buys him to work for him, and to do fuch Bufinefs as he has for him to do : Ahab was bought to work wickednefs, and who would buy him for that but the Devil ?
I think there's no room to doubt but Ahab fold himfelf to the Devil 5 the Text is plain that he fold himfelf, and the Work he was fold to do points out the Mafter that bought him 5 what Price he agreed with the Devil for, that indeed the Text is filent in, fo we may let it alone, nor is it much to our Purpofe, unlefs it be to enquire whether the Devil ftood to his Bargain or not, and whether he paid the Money according to A- greement, or cheated him as he did the Farmer at Hereford.
This buying and felling between the Devil and us, is, I rnufl confefs, an odd kind of Stock-jobbing, and indeed the Devil 'may be faid to fell the Bear-skin^ whatever he buys $ but the flrangeft Part is when he comes to demand the transfer 5 for as I hint ed before, whether he Performs or no, he expeclrs
his
of the DEVIL. 3Jt
his Bargain to a Tittle 5 there is indeed fome Dif ficulty in refolving how and in what Manner Payment is made 5 the Stories we meet with in our Chimney-Corner Hifiories, and which are fo many Ways made Uie of to make the Devil frightful to us and our Heirs for ever, arc general ly fo foolifh and ridiculous, as, if true or not true, they have nothing Material in them, are of no Signification, or elfe fo impoilible in their Na ture, that they make no Impreilion upon any body above twelve Years old and under ieventy *y or elfe are fo tragical that Antiquity has fabled them down to our Tafte, that we might be able to hear them and repeat them with lefs Horror than is due to them.
This Variety has taken off our Relifh of the Thing in general, and made the Trade of Soul- felling, like our late more eminent Bubbles, be taken to be a Cheat and to have little in it.
However, to (peak a little more gravely to it, I cannot fay but that fince, by the two eminent Inflances of it above in Ahab^ and in Chrift him- felf, the Fa6t is evidently afcertain'd > and that the Devil has attempted to make fuch a Bargain on one, and actually did make it with the o- ther. The Poffibility of it is not to be difpu- tedj but then I mult explain the Manner of it a little, and bring it down, nearer to our Under- {landing, that it may be more intelligible than it is 5 for as for this felling the Soul, and making a Bargain to give the Devil PofTeffion by Livery and Seifin on the Day appointed, that I cannot come into by any Means; no nor into the other Part, namely, of the Devil coming to claim his Bar gain, and to demand the Soul according to Agree ment, and upon Default of a fair Delivery, taking it away by Violence Cafe andall^ of which we have many hiftorical Relations pretty current among
Y usj
32* The Modern HISTORY
us j fome of which, for ought I know^ we mignt have hop'd had been true, if we had not been lure they were falfe, and others we had Reafon to fear were falfe, becaufe it was impoffible they fhould be true.
The Bargains of this Kind, according to the bed Accounts we have of them, ufed to confift of two main Articles, according to the ordinary Stipulations in all Covenants; namely,
1. Something to be perform'd on the Devil's Part, buying.
2. Something to be perform'd on the Man's Part, felling.
i . The Devil's Part : This was generally fome poor Trifle, for the Devil generally bought good Penny-worths, and oftentimes like a compleat Shar per, agreed to give what he was not able to procure $ that is to fay, would bargain for a Price he could not pay, as in the Cafe of the Hereford Man and the Cow 5 for Example, i. Long Life: This tho* the deluded Chapman has often had folly enough to contract for, the Devil never had Power to make good $ and we have a famous Story, how true 1 know not, of a Wretch that fold himfelf to the DEVIL on Condition he, Satan, fhould allure him (i.) That he fhould never want Victu als 5 (i.) That he fhould never be a cold * (3,) That he fhould always come to him when hecalFd him \ and (4.) That he ihould let him live one and twenty Years, and then Satan was at Liberty to have him 5 that is, I fuppofe, to take him where- ever he could find him.
It fecms, the Fellow's defire to be aflur'd of 2.x Years Life, was chiefly, that during that Time,, he might be as wicked as he would, and fhould yet be fure not to be hang'd, nay, to be free from all Punifhment ; upon this Foot 'tis faid he com- xnenc'd Rogue, and committed a great many Rob* c beries
DEVIL; 323
berics and other villanous Things 5 now it feems the Devil was pretty true to his Bargain in feveral of thofe things 5 particularly, that two or three times when the Fellow was taken up for petty Crimes, and call'd for his old Friend, he came and fright ed the Constables fo, that they let the Offender get away from them : But at Length having done fome capital Crime, a Set of Conflables, or fuch like Officers, feiz'd upon him, who were not to be frighted with the Devil, in what Shape foever he appear'd 5 fo that they carry'd him off, and he was committed to Newgate or fome other Prifon as effectual.
Nor could Satan with all his Skill unlock his Fetters, much lefs the Prifon Doors j But he was try'd, convicted, and executed. The Fel low in his Extremity, they fay , expostulated with the Devil for his Bargain, the Term of 2.1 Years it fecms not being expir'd. But the Devil^ it is faid, fliufH'd with him, told him a good while, he would get him out, bid him have Patience and flay a little, and thus led him on, till he came as it were within Sight of the Gallows5 that, is to fay, within a Day or two of his Execution > when the Devil cavuTd upon his Bargain, told him, he agreed to let him live zi Years, and he had not hindred him, but that he did not Co venant to caufe him to live that Time > that there was a great deal of Difference between doing and fufferingj that he was to fuffer him to live, and that he did 5 but he could not make him live when he had brought himfelf to the Gallows.
Whether this Story were true or not, for you muft not expect we Hiftorians fhould anfwer for the Difcourfe between the Devil and his Chaps, becaufe we were not privy to the Bargain : I fay, whether it was true or not, the Inference is to our Purpofe feveral Ways.
Y z *. It
324 The Modern HISTORY
i. It confirms what I havefaid of the Knavery of the Devil in his Dealings, and that when he has Stock -jobb'd with us on the bed Conditions he can get, he very ieldom per forms his Bargain.
z. It confirms what I have likewife faid, that the Devifs Power is limited 5 with this Addi tion, that he not only cannot deltroy the Life of Man, but that he cannot preferve it * in foort) he can neither prevent or bring on our Deftru£tion.
I may be allowed, I hope, for the Sake of the pre- fent Dilcourfe, to fuppofe that the Devil would have been fo juft to this wicked, tho' foolifh Crea ture, as to have fav'd him from the Gallows if he could > but it feems, he at laft acknowledged that it was not in his Power 3 nay, he could not keep him from being taken and carry'd to Prifon, af ter he was gotten into the Hands of a bold Fel low or two, that were not to be fcar'd with his Blufter, as fome fooliili Creatures had been before.
And how fimple, how weak, how unlike any Thing of an Angelick Nature, was it to attempt to (live the poor Wretch, only by little Noifes and fham Appearances, putting out the Candles, rufhing and jofleling in the Dark, and the like ! If the Devil was that mighty Seraph,which wehave heard of, if he is a God of this World, a Prince of the Air, a Spirit able to deftroy Cities and make Havock in the World 5 if he canraifeTem- pefts and Storms, throw Fire about the World, and do wonderful Things, as an unchain'd Ztavtao Doubt could do j what need all this Frippery ? and \vhat need he try lo many ridiculous Ways, by the Emptinefs, nay, the filly nonfenfical Manner, of which, he {hews, that he is able to do no better,
and
of the DEVI L. 325
and that his Power is extinguiuYd ? In a
he would certainly ac~b otherwife, if he could. Sed
caret pedibus^ he wants Power.
How weak a thing is it then, for any Man to expec~b Performance from the Devil ? If he has not Power to do Mifchief, which is his Element, his very Nature, and on many Accounts, is the very fum of his Dei'ires j How fhould he have Power to do Good ? how Power to deliver from Danger or from Death ? which Deliverance would be in itielf a Good, and we know it is not in his Nature to do Good to or for any Man ?
In a Word, the -Devil is ftrangely impudent, to think that any Man fhould depend upon him for the Performance of an Agreement of any Kind whatever, when he knows himlelf, that he is not able, if he was honeft enough, to be as good as his Word.
Come we next to his expecting our Perform ance to him > tho' he is not fo jufl to us, yet, it feems, he never fails to come and demand Pay ment of us at the very Day appointed : He was but a weak Trader in Things of this Nature, who having fold his Soul to the Devil^ fo our old Women's Tales call the Thing, and when the Devil came to demand his Bargain, put it off as a Thing of no Force, for that it was done fo long ago, he thought he (the Devil) had forgot it. It was a better Anfwer, which they tell us, a Lutheran Divine gave the Devil in the Name of a poor Wretch, who had fold himfelf to the Devil, and who was in a terrible Fright about his coming for his Bargain, as he might well be indeed, if the Devil has fuch a Power, as really to come and take it by Force. The Story (if you can bear a feriotts one) is this.
The Man was in great Horror of Mind, and the Family fear'd he would deftroy himfelf> at
Y 5 length
326 The Modern HISTORY
length they fent for a Lutheran Minifler to talk \vith him, and who after ibme Labour with him, got out the Truth (viz,) that he had fold himfelf to the Devil, and that the Time was almoft expir'd, when he expe&ed the Devil would come and fetch him away, and he was fore he would not fail coming to the Time to a Minute , the Minifler firfl endeavour'd to convince him of the horrid Crime, and to bring him to a true Penitence for that Part •> and having as he thought made him a fincere Penitent, he then began to encourage him, and particularly* defir'd of him, that when the Time was come, that the Devil fhould fetch him away, he, the Minifler, fhould be in the Houfe with him 5 accordingly, to make the Story faort, the Time came, the Devil came, and the Minifler was prefent, when the Devil came , what Shape he was in, the Story does not fay 5 the Man fliid he law him, and cry'd out \ the Miniller could not fee him, but the Man affirming he was in the Room, the Mini fler faid aloud, in the Name of the living God, Satan^ 'what comeft thou here for ? The Devil: anfwer'd, I come for my .own •> the Minifler an- fwer'd, He is not thy own^ for Jefus Chrift has re- deenfd him, and in his Name 1 charge thee to avoid. and touch him not, at which, fays the Story, the Devil gave a furious Stamp (with his Cloven- Foot I fuppofe) and went away, and was never known to mole fl him afterward.
Another Story, tho' it be in it felf a long one, I iliull abridge (for your reading with the Icfs Une-Afiiicfs) as follows.
A young Gentleman of &crg9 in the Elector
of Brandenburg]?* (now the King of Pruflta's) Dominions, being deeply in Love with a beautiful Lady, but fomething above his Fortune, and whom he could by no Means bring to love him again,
apply'd
Of the DEVIL. 327
apply 'd himfelf to an old thing call'd a Witch^ for her AHiftance, and promifed her great Things, if flie could bring the Lady to love him, or any how compafs her, fo as he might have his Will of her 5 nay, at lafl he told her he would give up his Soul to her, if {he would anfwer his Defire.
The old Hag, it feems, having had fome of his Money, had very honeftly tried what {he could do, but all to no Purpofe, the Lady would not comply j but when he offer 'd fuch a great Price, fhe told him, {he would conGder farther ngainll fuch a Time, and fo appointed him the next Even ing-
At the Time appointed he comes, and the
Witch made a long Speech to him upon the Ni cety of the Affair; I fuppofe to prepare him not to be furpriz'd at what was to come ; for {he fuppos'd he was not fo very defperately bent as he appear'd to be 5 {he told him it was a Thing of very great Difficulty > but as he had made fuch a great Offer, of felling bis Soul for //, {he had an Acquaintance in the Houfe, who was better skilFd (than fhe was) in fuch particular Things, and would treat with him farther, and {he doubted not but that both together they might anfwcr his End. The Fellow it feems was ftill of the fame Mind, and told her, he car'd not what he pawn'd or fold, if he could but obtain the Lady 5 well, fays the old Hag, fit 1U11 a while, and with that (he withdraws.
By and by {he comes in again with a Queftion in her Mouth -, pray, fays {he, do you feek this J^ady for a Wife, or for a Miftrefs, would you marry her, or would you only lie with her? The young Man told her »0, #0, he did not expect {he would lie with him, therefore he would be fatisfied to marry her, but asks her the Reafon of the Queilion , why truly, fays the old Hag, my
Y 4 Reafon
328 The Modern HISTORY
Reafon is very Weighty ; for if you would have her for your Wife, I doubt, we can do you no Service > but if you have a Mind to lie with her, the Perfon, I fpeak of,, will undertake it.
The Man was furpriz'd at that, only he objected that this was a tranfient or fhort Felicity, and that he fhould perhaps have her no more j the old Hag bid him not fear, but that if fhe once yielded to be his Whore, he might have her as often as he pleafed 5 •• upon this he confents, for he was Hark mad for the Lady 5 Behaving confented, fhe told him then, he ihould follow her, but told him, whoever he faw, he muft fpeak to no body but her, till fhe gave him leave, and that he fhould not be fur prized, whatever happened, for no hurt fhould befall him $ all which he agreed to, and the old Woman going out he follow'd her.
Being upon this led into another Room, where there was but very little Light, yet enough to let him fee that there was no body in it but hiinfelf and the Woman, he was defired to fit down in a Chair next to a Table, and the old Woman clapping the Door too after her, he asked her why fhe ihut the Door, and where was the Perfon ilic told him of? At which fhe anfwer'd there he /V, pointing to a Chair at a lit tle Di (lance: The young Gentleman turning his Head, faw a grave Kind of a Man fitting in an Elbow-Chair, tho' he faid, he could have fworn there was no body in the Chair when the old Wo man {hut the Door 5 however, having promis'd not to fpeak to any body but the old Woman., he faid not a Word*
By and by the Woman making abundance of flrange Geftures and Motions, and mumbling over feveral Things which he could not under/land, on a fuddain a large Wicker-Chair, which flood by the Chimney, removes to the other End of
the
of the DEVIL; 329
the Table which he fat by, but there was no body in the Chair > in about two Minutes after that the Chair remov'd, there appear'd a Pcrfon fit ting in that too, who, the Room being, as is faid, almoft dark, could not be fo diftinguiih'd by the £ye, as to fee his Countenance.
After fome while, the firfl Man, and the Chair lie fat in, mov'd, as if they had been one Body, to the Table alfo j and the old Woman and the two Men feem'd to talk together, but the young Man could not underiland any Thing they faid -, after fome Time the old Witch turn'd to the young Gentleman, told him his Requefl was granted, but not for Marriage, but the Lady fhould love and receive him.
The Witch then gave him a Stick dipt in Tar at both Ends, and bid him hold it to a Candle, which he did, and inftead of burning like a Stick it burnt out like a Torch > then foe bid kmrbreak it off in the Middle^ and light the other End j he did that too, and all the Room feem'd to be in a light Flame , then {he laid, deliver one Piece here, pointing to one only of the Perfons,fo he gave the firft Fire-flick to the firft Man or Apparition*, now fays fhe, deliver the other here, fo he gave the other Piece to the other Apparition, at which they both rofe.up and fpoke to him Words, which he faid he underilood not, and could |pt repeat, and immediately vanifh'd with the Fire- flicks and all, leaving the Room full of Smoke : I do not remember that the Story fays any Thing of Brimilone, or the Smell of it, but it fays the Door continued fail lock'd, and no Body was left in the Room but the young Gentleman and the Witch.
Now the Ceremony being over, he ask'd the Witch if the Bufinefs was done ? She faid yes. Well, but fays he? have I fold my Soul to the
Devil £
330 The Modern HISTORY
Devil? Yes, fays fhe, you have, and you gave him PofTcffion, when you delivered the two Fire- flicks to him. fo him! fays he, why, was that the Devil? Yes, (ays the old Hag. At which the young Man was in a terrible Fright for a while, but it went off again.
And what's next, fays he, when fhall I fee the the Lady for whole fake I have done all this? You fhall know that prefcntly, faid fhe, and open ing the Door, in the next Room fhe prefents him with a moft beautiful Lady, but had charged him not to fpeak a Word to her : She was exactly drefs'd like, and he prefently knew her to be the La-> dy he denYd > upon which he flew to her and clafped her in his Arms, but that Moment he had her fad, as he thought, in his Arms, fhe vanifh'd out of his fight.
Finding himfelf thus difoppointed, he upbraids the old Woman with betraying him, and flew out with ill Language at her, in a great Rage 5 the Devil often deluded him thus, after this, with Shews and Appearances, but ftill no Perform ance i after a" while he gets an Opportunity to fpeak with the Lady her felf in Reality, but fhe 5vas as pofitivc in her Denial as ever, and even took away all Hopes of his ever obtaining her, which put him intoDefpairj for now he thought he had given himfelf up to the Devil for nothing, and this brought him to himfelf > fo that he made a penitent Confeffion of his Crime to fome Friends, \vho took great Care of him, and encouraged him, and at lad furnirh'd him with fuch an An- fwer as put the Devil into a Fright, when he cams for the Bargain.
For Satan, it feems, as the Story fay S, had the Impudence to demand his Agreement, not with - llanding he had fail'd in the Performance on his Part j what the Anfwer was I do not pretend to
have
of the DEVIL:
hav£feen, but it feems it was fomething like what is mention'd above, (viz} that he was in better Hands, and that he dtirft not touch him.
I have heard of another Perfon that had actual ly fign'd a Contract with the Devil •> and upon a Fall kept by fome Proteftant or Chriftian Di vines, while they were praying for the poor Man, the Devil was oblig'd to come and throw the Con t raft in at the Window.
But I vouch none of thele Stories, there may be much in them and much Ufe made of them, even whether exactly fuch in Faft, as they arc related, or no > the beft Ufe I can make of them, is this, if any wicked defperate Wretches have made Bargain and Sale with Satan^ their only Way is to repent, if they know how, and that before he comes to claim them ; then batter him with his own Guns j play Religion againft Devilifm, and perhaps they may drive the Devil out of their Reach > at leaft he will not come at them, which is as well,
On the other Hand, how many Stones have we handed about of the DeviPs really coming with a terrible Appearance at the Time appoint ed, and powerfully or by violence carrying away thofe, that have given themfelves thus up to him ; nay, and fometimes a Piece of the Houfe along with them, as in the famous Inftance of Sudbury^ Anno 1 66 z. It feems he comes with Rage and Fury upon fuch Occafions, pretending he only comes to take his own, or as if he had leave giv en him to come and take his Goods, as we fay^ where he could find them, and would ftrike a Terror into all that ihould oppofe him.
The greater! Part of the Terror we are ufually in upon this Occafion, is from a Suppofition, that when this Hell-Fire Contract is once made, God allows the Devil to come and take $e wick ed
3 *s The Modern HISTORY
ed Creature, how and in what manner he thinks fit, as being given up to him by his own Act and Deed $ but in my Opinion there's no Divinity at all in that $ for as in our Law we punifh a Felo defe^ or Self-murtherer, becaufe, as the Law faggefoi he had no Right to difmifs his own Life ; that he being a Subject of the Common-wealth, the Government claims the Ward or Cuftody of him, and fo 'twas not Murther only, but Robbery, and is a Felony againlt the State, robbing the King of his Liege-Man, as 'tis juftly caWd-y fo neither has any Man a Right to difpofe of his Soul, which belongs to his Maker in Property and in Right of Creation : The Man then having no Right to fell, Satan has no Right to buy, or at beft he has made a Purchafe without a Title, and con- fequently has no juft Claim to the PofTeffion.
It is therefore a Miftake to fay, that when any of us have been fo mad to make fuch a pretend ed Contract with the Devil, that God gives him leave to take it as his Due 5 V/V no fuch thing $ the Devil IMS bought, what you had no Right to fell, and therefore, as an unlawful Oath is to be re pented of, and then broken $ fo your Bufinefs is to repent of the Crime, and then tell the Devil^ you have better confider'd of it, and that you won't Hand to your Bargain, for you had no Power to fell > and if he pretends to Violence after that, I am miftaken > I believe the Devil knows better.
It is true, our old Mothers and Nurfes have told us other Things, but they only told us what their Mothers and Nurfes told them, and fo the Tale has been handed down from one Generation of old Women to another ; but we have no Vou chers for the Fact other than Oral Tradition, the Credit of which, I confefs, goes but a very little Way with me$ nor do I believe it one Jot
the
of the DEVIL: $5i
the more for all the frightful Addenda which they generally join to the Tale, for it never wants a great Variety of that Kind.
Thus they tell us the Devil carried away Dr. Fauftus,and took a Piece of the Wall of his Gar den along with them : Thus at Salisbury the De- *uil) as it is faid, and publickly printed, carried away two Fellows that had given themfelves up to him, and carried away the Roof of the Houfe with them, and the like; all which I believe my Share of 5 befides, if thefe Stories were really true, they are all againfl the Devil's true Interefr, Satan muft be a Fool, which is indeed what I never took him to be in the Main 5 this would be the Way not to encreafe the Number of Defpe- radoes, who fhould thus put themfelves into his Hand, but to make himfelf a Terror to them -, and this is one of the moft powerful Objec tions I have againfl the Thing, for the Devil, I fay, is no Fool, that muft be acknowledg'd 3 he knows his own Game, and generally plays it fure.
I might, before I quit this Point, ferioufly re flect here upon our Beau mondfoiz.) the gay Part of Mankind, efpecially thofe of the Times we live in, who walk about in a Compofure and Tranquillity inexpreffible, and yet as we all know, muft certain ly have all fold themfelves to the Devil, for the Power of a&ing the fooliftieft Things with the greater Applaufe $ it is true, to be a Fool is the mofl pleafant Life in the World, if the Fool has but the particular Felicity, which few Fools want, (viz.) to think themfelves wife : The learned fay, it is the Dignity and Perfection of Fools, that they never fail trufting themfelves > they believe themfelves fufficient and able for every Thing > and hence their want or wafte of Brains is no Grievance to them, but they hug themfelves
in
3)4 The Modern HISTORY
in the Sat;ietyt of their own Wit ; but to bring other People to have the fame Notion of them^ which they Have of themfelves, and to have their apifti and ridiculous Conduct make the fame Impreflion on the Minds of others, as it does on their own; this requires a general Infatuation, and irmft either be a Judgment from Heaven, or a Mift of Hell ; nothing but the Devil can make all the Men of Brains applaud a Fool, and can any Man believe, that the Devil will do this for nothing? no, no, he will be well paid for it, and I know no other Way they have to compound with him, but this of Bargain a'fid Sale.
'Tis the fame thing with Rakes and Bullies, as 'tis with Fools and Beaus ; and this brings me to the Subjcft of buying and felling it felf, and to examine what is underftood by it in the World, what People mean by fuch and fuch a Man felling himfelf to the Devil : I know the common Ac ceptation of it is, that they make fome Capitula tion for fome Indulgence in Wickednefs, on Con ditions of Safety and Impunity, which the Devil promifes them ; tho' as I laid above, he is a Bite in that too, for he can't perform the Con ditions ; however, I fay, he promifes boldly, and they believe him, and for this Privilege in Wick- cdneis, they confent, that he (hall come and fetch them for his own, at fuch or fuch a Time.
This is the State of the Cafe in the general Acceptation of it ; I do not fay 'tis really io, nay 'tis even an Inconfiftency in it felf; for one would think, they need not capitulate with the Devil to be fo, and fo, fuperlatively wicked, and give him fuch a Price for it, feeing, unlefs we have a wrong Notion of him, he is naturally enclin'd, as well as avow'dly willing to have all Men be as fuperlative ly wicked as poflibly they can, and mu ft neceflarily be always ready to ifTue out his Licenfes gratis, as
far
bf the D E V I L: 35 j
far as his Authority will go in the Cafe 5 and there- Fore I do not fee why the Wretches that deal with him, fhould article with him for a Price 5 but fuppofe, for Argument fake, that it is fo, then the next Thing is, fome capital Crime follows the Contract, and then the Wretch is forfaken, For the Devil cannot protect him, as he promi- fedj fo he is Trttft up^ and like Cokman at the Gallows, he exclaims that there is no frutb in Devils.
It may be true, however, that under the power ful Guard and Protection of the Devil, Men do fometimes go a great Way in Crime, and that per haps farther in thefe our Days of boafted Morals than was known among our Fathers 5 the on ly Difference that I meet with between the Sons of Belial in former Days, and thofe of our Ages, feems to be in the Devil's Management, not in theirs 5 the Sum of which amounts to this, that Satan feems to act with more Cunning, and they with lefs j for in the former Ages of Satan's Dominion, he had much Bufinefs upon his Hands, all his Art and Engines, and Engineers alfo, were kept fully employed, to wheedle, allure, betray and circumvent People, and draw them into Crimes, and they found him, as we may fay, a full Employment j I doubt not, he was call d the Tempter on that very Account ; but the Cafe feems quite alter'd now, the Tables are turned j then the Devil tempted Men to fin, But now, in flsort) they tempt the Devil 3 Men pufh into Crimes before he puihes them j they out fhoot him in his own Bow, out run him on his own Ground, and, as we fay of fome hot Spurs who ride Poll, they whip the Poft-Boy > in a Word, the Devil feems to have no Bufineis now but to fit and look on.
This,
336 The Modern HISTORY
This, I muft co»fefs, fcems to intimate fome fecrct Compact between the Devil and them 5 but then it looks, not as if they had contracted with the Devil for leave to fin, but that the Devil had contracted with them, that they fhould fin fo and fo, up to fuch a Degree, and that without giving him the Trouble of daily Solicitation, priratc Management, and artful fcrewing up their Pal- fions, their Affections and tUeir molt reur'd Fa culties, as he was before oblig'd to do.
This alfo appears more agreeable to the Na ture of the Thing •, and as it is a mofh exquifite part of Satan's Cunning, fo 'tis an undoubted Teftimony of his Succefs$ if it was not fo, he could never bring his Kingdom to fuch a height of abfolute Power as he has done $ this alfo folves feveral Difficulties in the Affair of the World's prefent Way of finning, which otherwife it would be very hard to underitand y as particularly how fome eminent Men of Quality among us, whofe tipper Rooms are not extraordinary well furnifh- ed in other Cafes, yet are fo very witty in their Wickednefs, that they gather Admirers by hun dreds and thoufands -y who, however heavy, lutn- pifh, flow and backward, even by Nature, and in force of Conftitution in better things, yet in their Race Devil-wards they are of a fudden grown nimble, light of Foot, and outrun all their Neighbours > Fellows that are as empty of Senfe as Beggars are of Honefty, and as far from Brains as a Whore is of Modefty ; on a fud den you {hall find them dip into Polemicks^ ftudy Michael Servettts^ Soclnus^ and the moft learned of their Difciples > they ihall reafon againft all Religion, as ilrongly as aPhilofopher$ blafpheme \vith fuch a Keennefs of Wit, and fatyrife God and Eternity, with fuch a Brightnefs of Fancy, as if the Soul of a Rocbcfter or a Hobbs was tranf- 5 migrated
of the DEVIL; as?
ftiigfated into them 5 in a little length of Time more they banter Heaven, burlefque the Trinity, and jeft with every facred thing, and ail fo fharp, fo ready, and fo terribly witty, as if they were born Buffoons, and were iingl'd out by Nature to be Champions for the Devil.
Whence can all this come? how is the Change wrought? who but the Devil can injcc~b Wit in Spight of natural Dullnefs, create Brains, fill emp ty Heads, and fupply the Vacuities in the Un- derftanding ? and will Satan do all this for no thing ? No, no, he is too wife for that 5 I can never doubt a fecret Compact, if there is fuch a thing in Nature i when I fee a Head where there was no Head, Senfe in Pojft where there is no Senfe in EJfe, Wit without Brains, and Sight
without Eyes, 'tis all Devil- Work : Could G
Write Satyrs, that could neither read Latin orfpell Englijh, like old Sir William Read, who wrote a Book of Opticks, which when it was printed, he did not know which was the right Side upper- moft, and which the wrong ? Could this eminent uninformed Beau turn Atheift, and make wife Speeches againft that Being, which made him a Fool, if the Devil had not fold him fome Wit in exchange for that Trifle of his, call'd Soul? Had he not bartered his Infide with that Son of the Morning, to have his Tongue tip'd with Blafphe- my, he that knew nothing of a God, but only to fwear by him, could never have fet up for a Wit, to burlefque his Providence and ridicule his Government of the World.
But the Devil, as he is God of the World, has one particular Advantage, and that is, that when he has Work to do he very feldom wants Inflruments j with this Circumftance alfo, that the Degene racy of human Nature fupplies him 5 as the late King of France faid of himfelf, when they
Z told
338 The Modern HISTORY
told him what a Calamity was like to befal his Kingdom by the Famine: Well, fays the King, then I {hall not want Soldiers > and it iva s /0, want of Bread (applied his Army with Recruits 5 fo want of Grace fupplies the Devil with Repro bates for his Work.
Another Reafon why, I think, the Devil has made more Bargains of that Kind we fpeak of, in this Age, is, becaufe he feems to have laid by his Cloven-Foot > all his old Emiflaries, the Tools of his Trade, the Engineers which he employed in his Mines, fuch as Witches, Warlocks, Ma gicians, Conjurers, Aflrologers, and all the hellifh Train or Rabble of human Devils^ who did his Drudgery in former Days, feem to be out of Work : I fhall give you a fuller Enumeration of them in the next Chapter.
Thefe, I fay, fecm to be laid aiide •, not that his Work is 'abated, or that his Bufineis with Mankind, for their Delufion and Deftruction is not the fame, or perhaps more than ever 5 but the Devil feems to have chang'd Hands j the Tem per and Genius of Mankind is alter'd, and they are not to be taken by Fright and Horror, as they were then : The Figures of thofe Creatures was always difmal and horrible, and that is it which I mean by the Cloven-Foot -y but now Wit, Beauty and gay Things, are the Sum of his Craft, he manages by the Soft and the Smooth, the Fair and the Artful, the Kind and the Cunning, not by the Frightful and Terrible, the Ugly and the Odious. :
When the Devil for weighty Difpatches, Wanted Meflengers cunning and bold,
He pafs'd by the beautiful Faces, And pick'd out the Ugly and Old.
Of
of the DE VIL; 339
OF thefe he made Warlocks and Witches^ To run of his Errands by Night,
Till the over wrought Hag- ridden Wretches, Were as fit as the Devil, to fright.
But whoever has been his Advifer, As his Kingdom encreafesin Growth -,
He now takes his Meafures much wifer, And Trafficks with Beauty and Youth.
Difguis'd in the Wanton and Witty, He haunts both the Church and the Court,
And fometimes he vifits the City> Where all the beft Chriflians refort.
Thus drefs'd up in full Mafquerade, He the bolder can range up and down*
For he better can drive on his Trade, In any one's Name than his own.
CHAP. VII.
Of the Tools the Devil works with, (viz.) Witches, Wizards or Warlocks, Conjurers, Magicians, 'Divines, Aftrologers, Inter preters of T>r earns, Tellers of Fortunes $ and above all the reft, his particular mo dern Trivy-Counfel/ors call'd Wits and Fools.
THO', as jl have advanc'd in the foregoing Chapter, the Devil has very much chang'd Hands in his modern Management of the World,
2* £ and
34o The Modern HISTORY
and that inftead of the Rabble and long Train of Implements reckoned up above, he now walks about in Beaus, Beauties, Wits and Fools j yet I mufl not omit to tell you that he has not dif- mifs'd his former Regiments, but like Officers in Time of Peace, he keeps them all in half Pay, or like Extraordinary Men at the Cuflom-Houfe5 they are kept at a Call, to be ready to fill up Vacancies, or to employ when he is more than ordinarily full of Bufmefsj and therefore it may not be amifs to give fome brief Account of them, from Satan's own Memoirs, their Performance being no inconfiderable Part of his Hiftory.
Nor will it be an unprofitable Digreifion to go back a little to the primitive Inftitution of all thefe Orders, for they are very antient, and I af- fure you, it requires great Knowledge of Antiqui ty, to give a Particular of their Original j I mail be very brief in it.
In order then to this Enquiry, you mufl: know that it was not for want of Servants, that Satan took this Sort of People into his Pay 5 he had, as I have obierv'd in its Place, Millions of dili-
fent Devils at his Call, whatever Bulinefs, and owever difficult, he had for them to do$ but as I have faid above, that our modern People are forwarder than even the Devil himfelf can defire them to be j and that they cd?me before they are call'd, run before they are fenr^ and crowd them- felves into his Service $ fo it feems it was in thofe early Days, when the World was one univerfal Monarchy under his Dominion, as I have at large defcnb'd in its Place.
In thofe Days the Wickednefs of the World keeping a juft Pace with their Ignorance, this in ferior Sort of low priz'd Inftruments did the Devil's work mighty well > they drudg'd on in his Black-Art io laborioufly, and with fuch
good
of the DEVIL. 341
good Succefs, that he found it was better to em ploy them as Tools to delude and draw in Man kind, than to lend his invifible Implements a- bout, and oblige them to take fuch Shapes and Drefles as were neceffary upon every trifling Oo cafion$ which, perhaps, was more Coft than Wor- fhip, more Pains than Pay.
Having then a Set of thefe Voluntiers in his Ser vice, the true Devil had nothing to do but to keep an exaft Correfpondence with them, and communicate fome needful Powers to them, to make them be and do ibmething extraordinary, and give them a Reputation in their Bufinefs j and thefe, in a Word, did a great Part of, nay almoft all the Devil's Bufinefs in the World.
To this Purpofe gave he them Power, if we may believe old Glanvilk^ Baxter^ Hlcks^ and other learn'd Confultors of Oracles, to walk invifible, to fly in the Air, ride upon Broom- (licks, and other Wooden Gear, to interpret Dreams, an- fwer Questions, betray Secrets, to talk (Gibbe- rifh) the univerfal Language, to raife Storms, fell Winds, bring up Spirits, difturb the Dead, and torment the Living, with a thoufand other need ful Tricks to amufe the World, keep themfelves in Veneration, and carry on the Devil's Empire in the World.
The firfr. Nations among whom thefe infernal Practices were found, were the Chaldeans j and that I may do Juftice in earneft, as well as in jeft, it muft be allow'd that the Chaldeans, or thofc of them fo calPd, were not Conjurers or Magicians, only Philofophers and Studiers of Nature, wife, fober and fhidious Men at firfr, and we have an extraordinary Account of them > and if we may believe fomc of our belt Writers of Fame, Abraham was himfelf famous among {hem for fuch Magick, as Sir Walter Raleigh
Z 5 expreffes
342 The Modern HISTORY
exprefles it, g)ui Contemplations Creaturarum Cog novit Great or em. .
Now granting this, it is all to my Purpofe, name ly, that the Devil drew thefe wife Men in, to fearch after more Knowledge than Nature could inftrucT: them in > and the Knowledge of the true God being at that Time funk very low, he de- bauch'd them all with Dreams, Apparitions, Con jurers, &c. till he ruin'd the juft Notions they had, and made Devils of them all, like himfelf.
The learned Senenfisy fpeaking of this Chaldean Kind of Learning, gives us an Account of five Sores of them 5 you will pardon me for being fo grave as to go this Length back.
i. Cbafiedin or Chaldeans 3 properly fo calPd, being Aflronomers.
z. ,/lfapbim or Magicians, fuch was Zoroafires and Balaam the Son of Beor.
3. Chatumim or Interpreters of Dreams and hard Speeches, Inchanters, &c.
4 Me caff him or Witches, call'd at firfl Pro phets, afterwards Mahfici or Fenefici^ Poi- (oners.
. j-. Gazarim or Aumfpices^ and Diviners, fuch as divin'd by the Entrails of Beads, the Li ver in particular -y mentioned in Ezek. or as others, call'd Augurs.
Now, as to all thefe, I fuppofe, I may do them no wrong, if I fay, however juftifiable they were in the Beginning, the Devil got them all 'into his Service at lad, and that brings me to iny Text again, from which the reft was a Di- grdnon,
|. The Chafcedmw Chaldean Aflronomers turn- . ed Aftrologers, Fortune-Tellers, Calculators
of
of the D E V I L. 343
of Nativities, and vile Deluders of the Peo ple, as if the Wifdom of the holy God was in them, as Nebuchadnezzar faid of Daniel on that very Account.
Z. The Afaphim or Magi, or Magicians j Sixtus Senenfis fays, they were fuch as wrought by Covenants with Devils, but turn'd to it from their Wifdom, which was to ittidy the practical Part of Natural Philofophy, work ing admirable Effects by the mutual Appli* cation of Natural Caufes.
J. The Chartumim from being Rcafoners or Difputers upon difficult Points in Philofophy, became Enchanters and Conjurers. So,
4. The Mecafphim or Prophets, they turn'd to be Sorcerers, Raifers of Spirits, fuch as wounded by an evil Eye, and by bitter Curfes, and were afterwards fam'd for having familiar Converfe with the Devil^ and were called Witches.
y. The Gazarim, from the bare obferving of the good and bad Omens, by the Entrails of Beails, flying of Birds, &c. were turn'd to Sacrifts or Priefls of the Heathen Idols and Sacrificers.
Thus, I fay, firft or laft the Devil engrofs'd all the Wife-Men of the Eaft, for fo they are calPd j made them all his own, and by them he work'd Wonders, that is, he filPd the World with lying Wonders, as if wrought by thefe Men, when indeed it was all his own, from Be ginning to the End, and fet on Foot meerly to propagate Delufion, impofe upon blinded and ignorant Men j the God of this World blinded their Minds, and they were led away by the Sub- tilty of the Devil^ to fay no worfe of it, till they became Devils themfelves, as to Mankind j
Z 4 for
344- The Modern HISTORY
for they carried on the Devil's Work upon all Occafions, and the Race of them flil) continue in other Nations, and fome of them among our ielves, as we {hall fee prcfently.
The Arabians follow'd the Chaldeans in this Study, while it was kept within its due Bounds, and after them the Egyptians j and among the Latter we find that Jannes and Jambres were famous for their leading Pharaoh by their pretend ed magic Performances, to reject the real Miracles of Mofes y and Hiflory tells us of flrange Pranks the Wife-Men, the Magicians and the Southfay- ers plaid to delude the People in the mofl early Ages of the World.
But, as I fay, now, the Devil has improved himfelf, fo he did then j for the Grecian and Roman Heathen Rites coming on, they outdid all the Magicians and Southfayers, by eflablifh- jng the Devil's lying Oracles, which, as a Maf- ter-Piece of Hell, did the Devil more Honour, and brought more Homage to him, than ever he had before, or could arrive to fince.
Again, as by the fetting up the Oracles, all the Magicians and Southfayers grew out of Credits fo at the ceafing of thofe Oracles, the Devil was fain to go back to the old Game again, and take up with the Agency of Witches, Divinations, Inchantments and Conjurings, as I hinted before, anfwcrable to the four Sorts mentioned in the Story of Nebuchadnezzar, (viz.) Magicians, Af- trokgerS) the Chaldeans and the Southfayers : How thefe began to be out of Requeft, I have men- tion'd already; but as the Devil has not quite given them over, only laid them afide a little for the prefent, we may venture to ask what they were, and what Ufe he made of them when he did employ them.
The
345
The Truth is, I think, as it was a very mean Employment for any thing that wears a human Countenance to take up, fo I muft acknowledge, I think, 'twas a mean low priz'd Bufinefs for Satan to take up with j below the very De vil-, below his Dignity as an Angelic, tho' con- demn'd Creature 3 below him even as a Devil; to go to talk to a parcel of ugly, deform'd, fpite- ful, malicious old Women 5 to give them Power to do Mifchief, who never had a Will, after they enter'd into the State of old Pieman-Hood^ to do any thing elfe: Why the Devil always chofe the uglieil old Women he could find 5 whether tFizardifm made them ugly, that were not fo before, and whether the Ugliaefs, as it was a Beauty in Witchcraft, did not encreafe according to the meritorious Performance in the Black- Trade? Thefe are all Queftions of Moment to be decided, (if human Learning can arrive to fo much Perfection) in Ages to come.
Some fay the evil Eye and the wicked Look were Parts of the Enchantment, and that the Witches, when they were in the height of their Bufinefs, had a powerful Influence with both; that by looking upon any Perfon they could be witch them, and make the Devil, as the Scots exprefs /f, ride through them booted and fpurr'd $ and that hence came that very fignificant Saying, to look like a Witch.
The flrange Work which the Devil has made in the World, by this Sort of his Agents call'd Witches, is fuch, and fo extravagantly wild, that except our Hope that mod of thofe Tales .happen not to be true, I know not how any -crrie could be eafy to live near a Widow after fhe was five and fifty.
All the other Sorts of Emiflaries which Satan employs, come fhort of tjiefe Ghoftsj and Appa ritions
The Modern HISTORY
ritions fometimes come and {hew themfelves, on particular Accounts, and fome of thole Particu lars refpc preventing Mifchief j fometimes in Matters very confiderable, and on Things fo neceflary to pub- lick Benefit, that we are tempted to believe they proceed from fome vigilant Spirit who wifhes us well > but on the other Hand, thefe Witches are never concern'd in any thing but Mifchief ; nay9 if what they do portends good to one, it ifTues in hurt to many > the whole Tenour of their Life, their Defign in general, is to do Mifchief, and they are only employ'd in Mifchief, and no thing elfe : How far they are furnifli'd with Abi lity fuitable to the horrid Will they are veiled with, remains to be defcrib'd.
Thefe Witches, 'tis faid, are furnifh'd with Pow er fuitable to the Occafion that is before them, and particularly that which deferves to be confi- der'd, as Prediction, and foretelling Events, which I infift the Author of Witchcraft is not accom- plifh'd with himfelf, nor can he communicate it to any other : How then Witches come to be able to foretel Things to come, which, 'tis faid, the Devil liimfelf cannot know, and which, as I have {hewn, 'tis evident he does not know him- felf, is yet to be determin'd} that Witches do foretel, is certain, from the Witch of Endor, who foretold Things to Saul, which he knew not before, namely, that he ihould be flain in Battle the next Day, which accordingly came to pafs.
There are, however, and notwithftanding this particular Cafe, many Inflances wherein the De vil has not been able to foretel approaching Events, and that in Things of the utmoft Confequence, and he has given certain foolifh or falfe Anfwers in fuch Cafes $ the DEVJL'S Priefts, which were
fummon'd
of the D EVIL; 347
ftmmon'd in by the Prophet Elija, to decide the Difpute between God and Baal, had the Devil been able to have inform'd them of it, would certainly have received Notice from him, of what was intended againft them by Elija 3 that is to fay, that they would be all cut in pieces -y for Satan was not fuch a Fool as not to know that Baal was a Non-Entity, a Nothing, at beft a dead Man, .penfli'd and rotting in his Grave* for Baal was Bell or Belus anantient King of the Jffyrian Monarchy, and he could no more anfwer by Fire to confume the Sacrifice, than he could raifc him- iclt from the dead.
But the Priefts of Baal were, left of their Matter to their juft Fate, namely, to be a Sa criface to the Fury of a deluded People; hence
infer his Inability, for it would have been very unkind and ungrateful in him not to have anfwer'd them, if he had been able. There is another Argument raifed here moft juftly againft the De vil, with Relation to his being under Refiraint, md that of greater Eminence than we imagine and it is drawn from this very PafTage, thus! •tis not to be doubted but that Satan, who has much of the Element put into his Hands, as Prince of the Air, had a Power, or was able po tentially fpeaking, to have anfwer'd Waal's Prietfs by Fire 5 Fire being in Vertue of his airy Prin cipality a Part of his Dominion ; but he was certainly withheld by the Superior Hand, which gave him that Dominion, I mean withheld for the Occafion only: So in another Cafe, it was plain that Balaam, who was one of thofe Sorts of Chaldeans mentioned above, who dealt in Divi nations and Inchantments, was withheld from curf- ing Ifrael.
Some are of Opinion that Balaam was not a Witch or a Deafer with the Devil, becaufe 'tis
348 The Modern HISTORY
faid of him, or rather he fays it of himfelf, that he faw the Vifions of God, Numb. xxiv. \6. He hath faid) who heard the IVords of GOD, and knew the Knowledge of the mo ft High, which faw the Vifions of the Almighty, faUinginto 0 TRANCE, but having his Eyes open : Hence uiey alledge he was one of thofe Magi, which St. Auguftin fpeaks of, de Divinatione^ who by the Study of Nature, and by the Contemplation of created Beings came to the Knowledge of the Crea ture j and that Balaam's Fault was, that being tempted by the Rewards and Honours that the King promifed him, he intended to have curs'd If- raeh, but when his Eyes were open' d, and that he law they were God's own People, he durfl not do it 5 they will have it therefore, that except, as above, Balaam was a good Man, or at leaft that he had the Knowledge of the true God, and the Fear of that God upon him, and that he honeftly declares this. Numb. xxii. 18. If Balak would give me his Houfe full of Silver and Gold, I cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord MY GOD : Where tho' he is calPd a falfe Pro phet by fome, he evidently owns God, and af- fumes a Property in him, as other Prophets did ; MY GOD, and I cannot go beyond his Orders^ but that which gives me a better Opinion of Ba laam than all this is, his plain Prophefy of Chrift, Chap. xxiv. 17. where he calls him the Star of Jacob) and declares, I jh all fee him, but not now, I Jhall behold him, but not nigh 5 there Jhall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter Jhall rife out of Ifrael, and Jhall fmite the Corners of Moab, and dejlroy all the Children of Seth, all which cxprefs not a Knowledge only, but a Faith in Chrift} but I have done preaching, this is all by the by, I return to my Bufincfsa which is the
Therq
of the DEVI t: 349
There is another Piece of dark Pra&ice here, which lies between Satan and his particular Agents, and which they mult give us an Anfwer to, when they can, which I think will not be in hafte j and that is about the obfequious Devil fubmitting to be call'd up into Vifibility, whenever an old Woman has her Hand crofs'd with a white Six-pence, as they Call it : One would think that inilead of thefe vile Things call'd Witches, being fold to the Devily the De vil was really fold for a Slave to them > for how far foever Satan's Refidence is off of this State of Life, they have Power, it feems, to fetch him from home, and oblige him to come at their Call.
I can give little Account of this, only that indeed fo it is j nor is the Thing fo ftrange in its felf, as the Methods to do it are mean, foolifh, and ridiculous > as making a Circle and dancing in it, pronouncing fuch and fuch Words, faying the Lord's Prayer backward, and the like $ now is this agreeable to the Dignity of the Prince of the Air or Atmofphere, that he fhould be command ed forth with no more Pomp or Ceremony than that of muttering a few Words, fuch as the old Witches and he agree about ? or is there fome- thing elfe in it, which none of us or themfelves underftand ?
Perhaps, indeed, he is always with thofe Peo ple call'd Witches and Conjurers, or at lead: ibme of his Camp Volant are always prefent, and fo upon the leaft call of the Wizard, it is but putting off the mifty Cloak and Showing them felves.
Then we have a Piece of mock Pageantry in bringing thofe Things call'd witches or Conju rers to Juftice, that is, firft to know if a Wo man be a Witch, throw her into a Pond, and if
fhe
3 50 The Modern HISTORY
fhe be a Witch, {he will fwim, and it is not in her own Power to prevent it 5 if fhe does all fhe can to fink her fell-; it will not do, fhe will fwim like a Cork. Then that a Rope will not hang a Witch, but you muft get a With, a green Ofyer ; that if you nail a Horfe-Shoe on the Sill of the Door, fhe cannot come into the Houfe, or go out, if fhe be in 5 thefe and a thoufand more, too fim'ple to be believ'd, are yet ib vouch'd, fo ta ken for granted, and fo univerfally received for Truth, that there is no refilling them without being thought atheiftical.
What Methods to take to know, who are Witches i \ really know not 5 but on the other Side, I think there are variety of Methods to
be ufed to know who are not j W- - - G , Efq>
is a Man of Fame, his Parts are great, becaufe his Eftateis fo$ he has threefcore and eight Lines ofFirgilbj rote, and they take up many of the Intervals of his merry Di'fcourfesj he has juft as many witty Stories to pleafe Society 5 when they are well told, once over, he begins again, and fo he lives in a round of Wit and Learning > he is a Man of great Simplicity and Sincerity 5 you mufl be careful not to miftake my Meaning, as to the Word Simplicity -y fome take it to mean Honefty, and fo do I, only that it has a Nega tive attending it, in his particular Cafe> in a
Word, W G is an honeft Man, and no
Conjurer ; a good Ghara&er, I think, and with out Impeachment to his Underflanding, he may be a Man of Worth for all that 5 take the other
Sex, there is the Lady H is another Dif-
covery ; blefs us ! what Charms in that Face ! How bright thole Eyes ! How flowing white her Breads ! How fweet her Voice ? add to all; how heavenly, divinely good her Temper ! How inimitable her Behaviour ! How fpotlefs her Vir
tue!
if the D EVIL. j5I
tue ! How perfect her Innocence ! and to fum
up her Character, we may add, the Lady H .
is no Witch 5 fure none of our Beau Critics will be fo unkind now as to cenfure me in thofe ho ned Defcriptions , as if I meant that my good Friend W G Efqj or my ador'd An gel, the bright, the charming Lady H were Fools $ but what will not thofe Savages, calPd Critics, do, whole barbarous Nature en- dines them to trample on the brightefl Chara- 6r,ers, and to cavil on the cleared: Expreffions ?
It might be expected of me, however, in juftice to my Friends, and to the bright Characters of abundance of Gentlemen of this Age, who, by the Depth of their Politics, and the Height of their Elevations might be fufpefted, and might give^ us Room to charge them with Subterra nean Intelligence j I fay, it might be expected that I fhould clear up their Fame, and afliire the World concerning them, even by Name, that they are no Conjurers, that they do not deal with the Devil, at leaft, not by the Way Witchcraft and Divination, fuch as Sir 5T — k, E — B-»-, Efq> my Lord Homily, Coll. Swagger, Jeoffry Well with, Efq> Capt. Harry Go Deeper, Mn Wellcome Woollen, Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, Henry Cadaver, Efqj the D • of Caerfilly, the Marquefs of Sillyhoo, Sir Edward Thro' and Thro* Bart, and a World of fine Gen tlemen more, whofe great Heads and Weighty Understandings have given the World fuch Oc- caflon to challenge them with being at leaft de- fcended from the Magi, and perhaps engaged with old Satan in his Politics and Experiments j but I, that have fuch good Intelligence among Satan's Minifters of State, as is neceflary to the prefent Undertaking, am thereby well able to clear up their Charaders : and I doubt not, but 2 they
§52 The Modern HI S TORY
they will value themfelves upon it, and acknow ledge their Obligation to me, for letting the World know the Devil does not pretend to have had any Bufinefs with them, or to have en- roll'd them in the Lift of his Operators $ in a Wor^ that none of them are Conjurers : Upon which Teftimony of mine, I exped they be no longer charg'd with, or fo much as fufpefted of having an unlawful Quantity of Wk, or having any Sorts of it about them, that are contraband or prohibited, but that for the future they pafs tinmolefted, and be taken for nothing but what they arc, (viz.) very honeft worthy Gentlemen.
CHAP. X.
Of the various Methods the 'Devil takes to converfe with Mankind.
HAving fpoken fomething of Perfons, and particularly of fuch as the Devil thinks fit to employ in his Affairs in the World, it comes next of courfc to fay fomething of the Manner how he communicates his Mind to them, and by them to the reft of his Acquaintance in the World.
I take the Devil to be under great Difficul ties in his Affairs on his Part, efpecially occa- fion'd by the Bounds which are fet him, or which Policy s oblige him to fet to himfelf, in his Ac- cefs to the converfing with Mankind ; 'tis evi dent he is not permitted to fall upon them with Force and Arms, that is to fay, to mufter up his infernal Troops, and attack them with Fire and Sword j if he was not loofe to aft in this Manner as he was able, by his 9wn feraphic Power to
j have
of the DEVIL; 353
have deftroy'd the whole Race, and even the Earth they dwelt upon, fo he would certainly, and long ago have effectually done it ; his parti*- cular Interefts and Inclinations are well enough known.
But in the next Place, as he is thus reftrain'd from Violence, fo Prudentials reftrain him in all his other Actings with Mankind 5 and being con* fin'd to Stratagem, and fdft ftill Methods, fuch as Perfuafion, Allurement, feeding the Appetite, prompting, and then gratifying corrupt Defires, and the like > he finds it for his Purpofe not to appear in Perfon, except very rarely, and then in Difguife > but to a£b all the reft in the Dark, un der the Vizor of Art and Craft, making Ufe of Perfons and Methods conceal'd, or at leaft not fully underftood or difcover'd.
As to the Perfons whom he employs, I have taken fome Pains you fee to difcover fome of them ; but the Methods he ufes with them, either to inform and inftriict, and give Orders to them, or to converfe with other People by them, thefeare very particular, and deferve fome Place in our Memoirs, particularly as they may ferve to remove fome of our Mi flakes, and to take off fome of the frightful Ideas we are apt to entertain in Pre judice of this great Manager j as if he was no more to be match'd in his Politics, than he would be to be match'd in his Power, if it was let loofe 5 which is fo much a Miftake, that on the contrary, we read of feveral People that have abufed and cheated the Devil, a Thing, which I cannot fay, is very honeft nor juft, notwith- ftanding the old Latin Proverb, Falkre fallentem non eft fraus, (which Mert conftrtie, or rather i-ender, by way of Banter upon Satan) 'tis no Sin to cheat the Devil, which for all that, upon the whole I deny, and alledge, that let the Devil
A a aft
354 The M^mzHISTORY
ad how he will by us, we ought to deal fairly by him.
But to come to the Bufmefs, without Cir cumlocutions > I am to enquire how Satan iflues out his Orders, gives his Inftruftions and fully delivers his Mind to his Emiflaries, of whom I have mention'd fome in the Title to Chap. IX. In order to this, you muft form an Idea of the Devil fitting in great State, in open Campaign, with all his Legions about him, in the height of the Atmofpherej or if you will, at a certain Di- ftancc from the Atmofphere, and above it, that the Plan of his Encampment might not be hur ried round its own Axis, with the Earth's di urnal Motion, which might be fome Difturbance to him.
By this fix'd Situation, the Earth performing its Rotation, he has every Part and Parcel of it brought to a diredk Opposition to him, and con- fequently to his View once in twenty four Hours: The laft time I was there, if I remember right, he had this Quarter of the World, which we call Chriftendom, juft under his Eye > and as the Motion is not fo fwift, but that his piercing Opticks can take a ftrift View of it tnfaffant} for the Circumference of it being but twenty one thoufand Miles, and its circular Motion being full twenty four Hours performing, he has fome- thing more than an Hour to view every thou fand Miles, which, to his fupernatural Penetration, is not worth naming.
As he takes thus a daily View of all the Cir cle, and an hourly View of the Parts, he is fully Mafter of all Tranfaftions, at leaft fuch as are done above Board by all Mankind j and then he difpatches his Emiffaries or Aid du Camps to every Part with his Orders and Inftruftions : Nowthefe Emiflaries, you are to underftand, are not the
Witch*
of the DEVIL. 555
' Witches and Diviners, who I fpoke of above, for I call them allb Emiflaries 5 but they are all Devils or (as you know they are call'cl) Devil's Angels 5 and theie may, perhaps, come and con- verfe perfonally with the Sub-em ifTaries I men- tion'd,to be ready for their Support and Affiftance on all Occafions of Bufinefs: Thefe are thofc De« vils which the Witches are faid to raifej for we can hardly fuppofe the Matter Devil comes him- felf, at the Summons of every ugly old Woman. Thefe run about into every Nook and Corner, wherever Satan's Bufinefs calls them, and are never wanting to him -, but are the moil diligent: Devih imaginable 5 like the Turkijh Chaiux, they no fooner receive their Errand, but they execute it with the utmoft Alacrity ; and as to their Speed, it may be truly written as a Motto, upon the Head of every individual Devil,
Non indiget calcarlbus.
Thefe are thofe, who they tell us our Witches, Sorcerers, Wizards, and fuch Sorts of Folks con- verfe freely with, and are therefore call'd their Familiar S'y and as they tell us, come to them in human Shapes, talk to theift with articulate plain Voices, as if Men, and that yet the faid Witches, &fr. know them to be Devils.
Hiftory has not yet enlighten'd us in this Part of ufeful Knowledge, or at lean: not fufficiently for a Defcription of the Perfons or Habits of thefe Sorts of Appearances 5 as what Shapes they take up, what Language they fpeak, and what particular Works they perform, fo we mutt re fer k to farther Enquiry; but if we may cre dit Hiftory, we are told many famous Stones of thefe Appearances 5 for Example, the famous Mother Lakland^ who was burnt for a Witch
A a & at
35* The Modern HISTORY
at Ipfwicb) Anno 164(5, confefTed at the Time of her Execution, or a little before it, that ihe had frequent Converfation with the Devil himfelf j that ihe being very poor, and withal of a devi- lifhpaflionate, cruel and revengeful Difpofition be fore, ufed to wiih fhe had it in her Power to do ftich and fuch mifchievous Things to fome that fhe hated j and that the Devil himfelf, who, it feems, knew her Temper, came to her one Night as ihe lay in her Bed$ and was between fleeping and waking, and fpeaking in a deep hollow Voice, told her j if ihe would ferve him in fome Things he would employ her to do, ihe ihould have her Will of all her Enemies, and fhould want for nothing: That ihe was much afraid at firftj but that he folliciting her very often, bad her not be afraid of him, and ftill urg'd her to yield, and as ihe fays, ftruck his Claw into her Hand, and tho' it did not hurt her, made it bleed, and with the Blood wrote the Covenants, that is to fay, the Bargain between them : being ask'd what was in them, and whether he required her to curfe or deny God or Chrift ? She faid no.
N. B. I do not find ihe told them whether the Devil wrote it with a Pen, or whether on Paper or Parchment, nor whether ihe fign'd it or no, but it feems he carry'd it a- way with him. I fuppofe, if Satan's Re- gifter were examin'd, it might be found a- mong the Archives of Hell, the Rolls of his affa PuUlca ; and when his Hiffcoriographer Royal publiflies them, we may look for it among them.
Then he furniih'd her with three Z)w;7r,to wait Upon her (I fuppofe) for ihe confefs'd they were to be employ'd in her Service > they attended in the Shapes of two little Dogs and a Mole: The
3 firft
of the DEVIL: $$?
firft flie bewitched was her own Husband, by which he lay a while in great Mifery and died j then fhe fent to one Captain Beal and burnt a new Ship of his juft built, which had never been at Sea 5 thefe and many other horrid Things fhe did and confefs'd, and having been twenty Years a Witch, at lafl the Devil left her, and fhe was burnt as fhe deferv'd.
That fome extraordinary Occafions may bring thefe Agents of the Devil, nay, fometimes the Devil himfelf, to afTume human Shapes, and ap pear to other People we cannot doubt •> he did thus in the Cafe of our Saviour as a fempter^ and fome think he did fo to Manaffes as a Familiar, who the Scripture charges with Sorcery, and having a Familiar or Devil > Fame tells us that St. Dunflan frequently convcrft with him, and finally, took him by the Nofe , and fo of others.
But in thefe modern Ages of the World, he finds it much more to his Purpofe to work under Ground as I have obferv'd, and to keep upon the Rcfervej fo that we have no authentick Ac counts of his perfonal Appearance, but what are very antient or very remote from our Faith, as well as our Enquiry.
It feems to be a Queflion that would bear fome debating, whether all Apparitions are not Devils or from the Devil j but there being fo many of thofe Apparitions which we call Spirits, which really aflame Shapes and make Appearances in the World, upon fuch Accounts as we know Satan himfelf (corns to be employed in, that I mufl difmifs the Queftion in favour of the Devil} afTuring them, that as he never willingly did any
food in his Life, fo he would be far from giving imfelf the Trouble of fettihg one Foot into the World, on fuch an Errand; and for that Reafon we maybe aflur'd thofe certain Apparitions, which A a 3 we
358 The Modern HIST DRY
we are told came to detect a Murther in Gkucejter- Jbire, and others who appear'd to prevent the ru ining an Orphan for want of finding a Deed, that was not loft, was certainly fome other Power equal' ly concerned, and riot the Devil*
On the other Hand, neither will it follow that Satan never appears in human Shape 5 for tho' every Apparition may no* be the Devil, yet it does not follow that the Devil never makes an Apparition : All I {hall fay to it is, as I have men- t ion'd before, that generally fpeaking, the Devil finds it. more for his Purpofe, to have his Tntereft In the World propagated another Way > namely, in private, and his peribnal Appearances are re- ferv'd for Things only of extraordinary Confe- quence, and, as I may fay, of evident Neceffity, where his Honour is conccViVd, and where his Inte l-eft could be carried on no other Way 5 not for getting to take Notice that this is very feldom.
It remains to enquire, what then thofe Things are which we make fo much ftir about, and which are call'd Apparitions, or Spirits afiiim- ing human Shapes, and {hewing themfelves to People on particular Occafions? whether they are evil Spirits or good ? and tho', indeed, this is out pf my Way at this Time, and does not relate at all to the DeviFs Hiftory, yet I thought it not amifs to mention it °, (i.) Becaqfe^ as I have (aid, 1 do not wholly exclude Satan from all Concern in fuch Things j and (i.) Becaufe-4-{hall difmifs the Quellion with fo very fhort an Anfwerj namely, that we may determine which are and which.are not the Devil's, by the Errand they come upon 5 every one to his own Bufmefs; if it comes of a good Errand, you may certainly acquit the ijDtatf/ of it, conclude him innocent, and that he has no hand in it 5 if it comes of a wicked and deviliih Errand, you may e'en take him up upon
Su(picion?
of the D E VI L: 359
Sufpicion, 'tis ten to one but you find him at the Bottom of it.
Next to Apparitions, we find Mankind difturb'd by abundance of little odd referv'd Ways which the Devil is fhrewdly fufpefted of having a Hand in, fuch as Dr earns , Nozfes, Voices > 8cc. fmells of Brimftone, Candles burning blue, and the like.
As to Dreams, I have nothing to fay in Satan's Prejudice at all there > I make no Queftion but he deals very much in that Kind of Intelligence, and why fhould he not ? we know Heaven it felf formerly converft very often with the greater! of Aden, by the fame Method, and the Devil is known to mimick the Methods, as well as the Actions of his Maker > whether Heaven has not quite left off that Way of working, we are not certain •> but we pretty well know the Devil has not left it, and I believe fome Inftances may be given where his Worfhip has been really feen and talk'd to in fleep, as much as if the Pcrfon had been awake with his Eyes open.
Thefe are to be diftinguifh'd too, pretty much by the Goodnefs or Badnefs of the Subject -y how often have Men committed Murther, Robbery and Adultery in a Dream, and at the fame time except an extraordinary Agitation of the Soul, and exprefs'd by extraordinary Noifes in the Sleep, by violent Sweating and other fuch Ways, the Head has never been remov'd from the Pillow, or the Body fo much as turn'd in the Bed ?
Whether in fuch Cafes, the Soul with all the Paffions and Affections being agitated, and giving their full affent to the Facts, of whatever Kind foever, the Man is not as guilty as if the Sins fo dream'd of his committing, had been actually committed ? tho' it be no Doubt to me, but that it is fo, yet as it is foreign to the prefent Affair, uncj not at all relating to the Devil's Hiftory5 I A a .
166 The Modern HISTORY
leave it to the Reverend Doftors of the Church, as properly belonging to them to decide.
I knew a Perfon who the Devil fo haunted with naked Women, fine beautiful Ladies in Bed with him, and Ladies of his Acquaintance too, offering their Favours to him, and all in hi$ Sleep 3 fo that he feldom flept without fome fuch Entertainment 3 the Particulars are too grofs for my Story, but he gave me feveral long Accounts of his Night's Amours^ and being a Man of a virtuous Life and good Morals, it was the great- eft Surprize to him imaginable 3 for you cannot doubt but that the cunning Devil made every thing be a manner the moft wicked 3 he own'd with Grief to me, that the very firft Attack the Devil made upon him, was with a very beautiful Lady of his Acquain tance, who he had been really fomething freer than ordinary with in their common Converfation * This Lady he brought to him in a Pofture for Wickednefs, and wrought up his Inclination fo high in his Sleep, that he, as he thought, a6tu~ ally went about to debauch her, {he not at all refitting 3 but that he wak'd in the very Moment^ p his particular Satisfaction.
He was greatly concerned at this Part, namely, that he really gave the Confent of his Will to the Faci, and wanted to know if he was not as guilty of Adultery, as if he had lain with her 3 indeed he decided the Queftion againft himfelf, fo forcibly, that I, who was of the fame Opinion before, had nothing to fay againft it 3 however, I confirmed fairn in it, by asking him thefe Queftions.
$. Whether he did not think the Devil had the chief Hand in fuch a Dream? he an- fwer'd, it could certainly be no body elfr? ij; mud be thejpwi/.
Z.I
of the DEVIL:
2. I then ask'd him what Reafon the Devil could have for it, if his Confent to the Fa6b in Sleep had not been criminal ? That's true indeed^ fays he, / am anfwer'd : But then he ask'd another Queflion, which, I confefs, is not fo eafy to anfwer, namely, How he fhould prevent being ferv'd fo again.
Nor could all my Divinity or his own keep the Devil from attacking him again 5 on the other Hand, as I have faid, he worried him to that De gree, that he injur'd his Health, bringing naked Women to him, fometimes one, fometimes ano ther, fometimes in one Poflure of Lewdnefs, fome times in another, fometimes into his very Arms, fometimes with fuch Additions as I am not mer ry enough, and fometimes fuch as I am not wick ed enough to put into your Heads 3 the Man, indeed, could not help it, and fo the Devil was more Faulty than he j but as I hinted to him, he might bring his Mind to fuch a ftated Habit of Virtue, as to prevent its aflenting to any wick ed Motion, even in Sleep, and that would be the Way to put an End to the Attempt; and this Advice he reliftfd very well, and pra&ifed, I be lieve, with Succefs.
£y this fame Method, the fame Devil injects powerful Incentives to other Crimes, provokes Avarice, by laying a great Quantity of Gold in your View, and no body prefcnt, giving you an Opportunity to fteal it, or fome of it, at the fame time, perhaps, knowing your Circumflances to be fuch as that you are at that Time in a great want of the Money.
I knew another, who being a Tradefman, and in great Diftrefs for Money in his Bufinefs, drcam'd that he was walking all alone in a great Wood? and that he met a little Child with a Bag of Gold in its Hand, and a fine Necklace of
Diamonds
36i The Modern HISTORY
Diamonds on its Neck, upon the Sight, his Wants prefently dictated to him to rob the Child 5 the little innocent Creature, (juft fo he dream'd) not being able to refift j or to tell who it was, ac cordingly he confented to take the Money from the Child, and then to take the Diamond Neck lace from it too, and did fo.
But the Devil) (a full Teflimony, as I told him, that it was the Devil, not contented with that, hinted to him, that perhaps the Child might fome time or other know him, and {Ingle him out, by crying or pointing, or fome fuch Thing, efpeci- ally if he was fufpe&ed and ihew'd to it, and therefore it would be better for him to kill the Child, prompting him to kill it for his own Safety, and that he need do no more but twift the Neck of it a little, or crufli it with his Knee 5 He told me he flood debating with himfelf, whe ther he ftiould do fo or not > but that in that In- ilant his Heart {truck him with the Word Mur- ther, and he entertain' d a Horror of it, refus'd to do it, and immediately waked.
He told me, that when he wak'd, he found himfelf in fo violent a Sweat as he never had known the like 5 that his Pulfe beat with that Heat and Rage, that it was like a Palpitation of the Heart to him, and that the Agitation of his Spirits was fuch, that he was not fully compo« led in fome Hours $ tho' the Satisfaction and Joy that attended him, when he found it was but a Dream, affifted much to return his Spirits to their due Temperament.
It is neither my Bufinefs or Inclination to turn Divine here, nor is the Age I write to Effici ently Grave to relifti a Sermon, if I was difpofed to preach, though they muft allow the Subject would very well bear it j but I {hall only ask if they think this is not the Devil, what
they
'tftbe DEVIL;
they think it is ? If they believe it is the Devil9 they will a£b accordingly I hope, or let it alone, as Satan and they can agree about it.
I fhould not oblige the Devil over much, what ever I might do to thofe that read it j if I fhould enter here upon a Debate of Interefts, (viz.) to enquire whether the Devil has not a vail Advantage upon Mankind this Way, and whether it is not much his Intereft to preferve it $ and if I prove the Affirmative, I leave it to you to enquire whofe Intereft it is to difappoint and iiipplant him.
In fhort, I take Dreams to be the fecond Beft of the Advantages the Devil has over Mankind 5 the fir ft, I fuppofe, you all know (viz.) the Treachery of the Garrifon within ; by Dreams he may be faid to get into the Infide of us with out Oppofition 5 here he opens and locks with out a Key, and like an Enemy laying fiege to a fortified City, Reafon and Nature, the Governor of the City, keep him out by Day, and keep the Garrifon true to their Duty 5 but in the Dark he gets in and parlees with the Garrifon (the Af- fe&ions and Paffions) Debauches their Loyalty, flirring up them to Difloyalty and Rebellion, fo they betray their Truft, Revolt, Mutiny, and go over to the Befieger.
Thus he manages his Intereft, I fay, and infi- nuates himfelf into the Infide of us, without our Confent, nay, without our Knowledge > for whatever Speculation may do, 'tis evident De- monflration does not affift us to difcover which Way he gets Accefs to the Soul, while the Or gan tied up, and dozed with Sleep has lock'd it up from A6tion$ that it is fo is clear, but how he does it is a Secret which I do not find the Antients or Moderns have yet made a Difcovery of.
That;
The Modern HISTORY
That Devil of a Creature, Mother whofe Story I mentioned above, acknowledged that the firft Time the Devil attempted to draw her in to be a Witch was in a Dream, and even when {he confented, {he faid, {he was between fleeping and waking 5 that is, Hie did not know whether flie was awake or afleep, and the cun ning Devil it feems was fatisfied with her Aflent given fo, when {he was afleep, or neither afleep or awake, fo taking the Advantage of her Inca pacity to a
The Stories of her bewitching feveral People, and the manner in which they died, are fo formi dable and extravagant, that I care not to put any one's Faith to the ftretch about them, tho' pub- lilh'd by Authority, and teftified by Abundance of Witnefles ; but this is recorded in particular, and to my Purpofe, whether from her own Mouth or not, I do not fay, namely, the Defcription of a Witch, and the Difference between Witches, and thofe other of Satan's Acquaintance who aft in his Name,
1. They have confulted and covenanted with a Spirit or Devil.
2. They have a Deputy Devil^ fometimes feve ral to (erve and afliit them.
3. Thefe they employ as they pleafe, call them by Name, and command their Appearance in whatever Shape they think fit.
4. They fend them abroad to or into the Per- fons who they defign to bewitch, who they always torment, and often murther them, as Mother Lakland did feveral.
As to the Difference between the feveral De vils that appear, it relates to the Office of the Perfons who employ thqm j as Conjurers, who
feem
df the t) E V I L:
fcern to command the particular Devil that waits upon them with more Authority, and raife them and lay them at Pleafure, drawing Circles, cafting Figures, and the like ; but the Witch, in a more familiar manner, whifpers with the Devil, keeps the Devil in a Bag or a Sack, fometimes in her Pocket, and the like, and like Mr. Faux fhews Tricks with him.
But all thefe Kinds deal much in Dreams, talk with the Devil in their Sleep, and make other People talk with him in their Sleep too ; and 'tis on this Occafion I mention it here ; in fhort, the Devil may well take this Opportunity with Man kind, for not half the World that came into his Meafures would comply, if they were awake j but of that hereafter.
And yet his thus insinuating himfelf by Dream, does not feem fufficient, in my Opinion, toanfwer the Devil's End, and to carry on his Bufinefs j and therefore we muft be forced to allow him a Kind of actual PofTeflion, in particular Cafe?, and that in the Souls of fome People, by different Methods from others 5 Luther is of the Opinion that the Devil gets a Familiarity with fome Souls juft at, or rather before their being embodied 5 as to the Manner and Method how he gets in, that is another Qucftion, and may be fpoken of by it felf j befides, why may not he, that at Satan's Requeft to enter into the Herd of Swine, faid £0, give the fame Commiflion to poilefs a fort of Creatures fo many Degrees below the Dignity of the Gaderenian Swine, and open the Door too ? but as for that, when our Lord faid g0, the Devil never enquired which Way he ihould get in.
When then I fee Nations, or indeed Herds of Nations fet on Fire of Hell, and as I may fay, enflam'd by the Devil \ when I fee Towns, Par- tics
3 66 The Modern HIST O.R Y
ties, Fa&ions and Rabbles of People vifibly pof- fefs'd > 'tis enough to me that the great Matter of the Devils has faid to him, GO> there's no need to enquire which Way he finds open, or at what poitern Gate he gets in j as to his appearing, 'tis plain he often gets in without appearing, and therefore the Queftion about his appearing ftill remains a Doubt, and is not very eafy to be re- folv'd.
In the Scripture we have fome Light into it, and that is all the Help I find from Antiquity^ and it goes a great Way to folve the Phenomena of Satan's appearing $ what I mean by the Scripture giving fome Light to it, is this > 'tis faid in feve- ral Places, and of feveral Perfons, God came to them in a Dream, Gen. xx. j. God came to Abi- mejcch in a Dream by Night ^ Gen. xxxi. 14. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a Dream^ Matt, ii. 13. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Jofeph in a Dream-, fhort Comments are fufficient to plain Texts, applying this to my Friend when he wanted to be facisfied about the How, relating to his Dream (viz.) how he fhould come to Dream fuch wicked Things? J told him, in fhort, the Cafe was plain, the Devil came to him in a Dream try Night : How and in what manner he form'd the wicked Reprefentations, and fpread debaucrTd Appearances before his Fancy, by real Whifpers and Voice, according to Milton, or by what other Methods, the Learned are not arriv'd to any Cer tainty about it.
This leads me neceflarily to enquire whether the Devil or fome of his Agents are not always in our Company, whether they make any vifible Appearances or no ? For my Part I make no Que flion of it, how elie could he come at the Know ledge of what we do j for as I can allow him no
Prcfcience at all, as for many Reafons I have ob-
j f » j
fervd
*f tt>e DEVIL:
ferv'd already, he mufl be able to fee and know us, and what we are about when we know nothing of him, or elfe he could know nothing of us and our Affairs , which yet we find otherwife $ and this gives him infinite Advantage to Influ ence our Actions, to judge of our Inclinations, and to bring our Paffions to clafh with our Rea- fon, as they often do, and get the better of it too.
All this he obtains by his being able to walk about invisible, and fee when he is not feen, of which I have fpoken already j hence that moil wife and folid Suggestion, that when the Candles burn blue the Devil is in the Room, which great Secret in Nature, that you may more fully be convinc'd of its imaginary Reality, I muft tell you the following Story which I faw in a Letter directed to a particular Friend, take it Word for Word as in the Letter j becaufe I do not make my felf accountable for the Fads, but take them ad referendum.
SIR,
WE had one Day, very early in the Morn ing, and for the moil Part of the Day a great deal of Rain with a high Wind', and the Clouds very thick and dark all Day.
In the Evening the cloudy thick Weather con tinued, tho' not the Rain, when being at a Friend's
Houfe in Lane London^ and feveral Ladies
and fome Gentlemen in the Room, belides two or three Servants (for we had been eating) the fol lowing Interlude happen'd for our Entertainment : When the Cloth was taken away, two large Can dles were brought upon the Table and plac'd there with fome Bottles and GlafTes for the Gen tlemen, who, it feems, were intending to drink and be very merry j two large Wax-Candles were a alfo
568 The MotternHIS TORY
alfo fet on another Table, the Ladies being going to Cards, alfo there were two large Candles in Sconces over or near the Chimney, and one more in a Looking-Glafs Sconce, on a Peer by the Window.
With all this Apparatus^ the Company feparat- ing fat down, the Gentlemen at their Table, and the Ladies at theirs, to play as above; when after fome time the Gentleman of the Houfe faid ha-
flily to a Servant, what a P ails the Candles ?
and turning to the Servant raps out an Oath or two, and bids him fnitff the Candles^ for they burnt as if the Devil was in the Room.
The Fellow going to fnurF one of the Candles, (huffs it out, at which his M after being in a Paf- fion the Fellow lights it again immediately at the other Candle, and then being in a little hurrfr, going to fnurF the other Candle fnuffed that out too.
The firft Candle that was relighted (as is ufual in fuch Cafes) burn'd dim and dull for a good while, and the other being out, the Room was much darker than before, and a Wench that flood by the Ladies Table, bawls out to her Mif- trefs, Law Madam! the Candles burn blue; an old Lady that fat by fays, ay Betty ! fo they do j upon this one of the Ladies flans up, Mercy upon us, fays flie, what is the Matter! In this unlucky Moment another Servant, without Orders, went to the great Peer Sconce, and becaufe, as he thought, he would be fure to fnuff the Candle well, he offers to take it down, but very unhap pily, I fay, the Hook came out and down falls the Sconce Candle and all, and the Looking-Glafs broke all to pieces, with a horrible Noifej how ever, the Candle falling out of the Sconce did not go out, but lay on the Floor burning dully, and as it is ufual on fuch Cafes, all on one
Side,
of the DEVIL: 369
Side, Betty cries out again. Law Madam^ that Candle burns blue too j the very Moment fhe faid -this, the Footman that had thrown down the Sconce, fays to his fellow Servant, that came to his Affiftance, I think the Devil is in the Candles to Night, and away he run out of the Room, for fear of his Mailer.
The old Lady, who, upon the Maid Betty's Notion of the Candles burning blue, had her Head jiift full of that old Chimney-Corner Story , the Candles burn blue when the Spirits are in the Room, heard the Footman fay the Word Devil, but heard nothing elfe of what he faid 5 upon this fhe rifes up in a terrible Fright, and cries out that the Footman faid the Devil was in the Room 5 as fhe was$ indeed, frighted out of her Wits, fhe frighted the Ladies moft terribly, and they all ftarting up together, down goes the Card Table, and put the Wax- Candles out.
Mrs. Betty^ that had frighted them all, runs to the Sconce next the Chimney, but that hav ing a long Snuff, fhe cried out it burnt blue too, and fhe durft not touch it -y in fhort, tho' there were three Candles left Hill burning in the Room, yet the Ladies were all fo frighted, that they and the Maids too run out of the Parlour fcreaming like mad Folks. The Matter in a Rage kick'd his firft Man out of the Room, and the fecond Man was run out to avoid, as I faid before, the like, fo that no Servant was to be had, but all was in Confufion. •
The two other Gentlemen, who were fitting at the firft Table, kept their Seats compofed and cafy enough, only concerned to fee all the Houfe in fuch a frights it was true, they faid, the Can dles burnt dim and very oddly, but they could hot perceive they burnt blue, except one of thofe over the Chimney, and that on the Table, which
B b was
370 The Modern HISTORY
was relighted after the Fellow had frmfFt it out.
However, the Maid, the old Lady and the Footman that pull'd down the Sconce, all infill that the Candles burnt blue^ and all pretend that the Devil was certainly in the Room, and was the Occafion of it j and they now came to me with the Story, to deiire my Opinion of it.
This put me upon Enquiry into the Notion of Candles burning blue when Spirits are in a Room, which upon all the Search into Things, that I am able to make, amounts to no more than thisj that upon any extraordinary Emiffion of fulphureous or of nitrous Particles, either in a clofe Room, or in any not very open Place, if the Quantity be great, a Candle or Lamp, or any fuch little Blaze of Fire will feem to be, or to burn blue j and if then they can prove that any fuch Effluvia attends or is emitted from a Spirit, then when SATAN is at Hand it may be fo.
But then 'tis begging the Queftion grofsly, be- caufe no Man can aflure us that the Devil has any fulphureous Particles about him.
It is true, the Candles burn thus in Mines and Vaults, and damp Places ; and 'tis as true that they will do fo upon Occafion of very damp, ilormy and moift A"*3 when an extraordinary Quantity of Vapours are fuppofed to be difpers'd abroad, as was the Cafe when this happen'd j and if there was any Thing of that in it on that Monday Night, the Candles might, perhaps, burn blue upon that Occafion 5 but that the Devil' was abroad upon any extraordinary Bufinfes that Night, that I cannot grant, unlefs I have fome better TefHmony than the old Lady that heard the Foot man's out-cry but by halves, or than Mrs. Betty ^ who firft fancied the Candles burnt blue j fo I muft fufpend my Judgment till I hear farther.
This
of the DEVIL; 37l
This Story however may folve a great many of thofe Things which pafs for Apparitions in the World, and which are laid to the Devil's Charge, tho' he really may know nothing of the Matter $ and this would bring me to defend Satan in many Things, wherein he may truly be faid to fuffer wrongfully > and if I thought it would oblige him, I might fay fomething to his Advantage this Way j however, Til venture a Word or two for an injur'd Devil^ take it as you will.
Firft, it is certain, that as thislnviiibility of the Devil is very much to our Prejudice, fo the Doc trine of his Vifibility is a great Prejudice to him, as we make Ufe of it.
By his Invifibility he is certainly vefted with infinite Advantages againft us -, while he can be prefent with us, and we know nothing of the Matter, he informs himfelf of all our Mcafures, and arms himfelf in the beft and moft fuitable manner to injure and aflault us, as he can counter act all our fecret concerted Defigns, difappoint all our Schemes, and except when Heaven apparent ly concerns it felf to over-rule him, can defeat all our Enterprises, break all our Meafures, and do us Mifchief in almoft every Part of our Life, and all this, becaufe we are not privy to all his Mo tions, as he is to ours.
But now for his Vifibility and his real Appear ance in the World, and particularly among his Difciples and Emiflaries, fuch as Witches and Wizards, Demonaifts, and the like : Here, I think Satan has a great deal of Lofs, fuffers manifeft Injury, and has great Injuftice done him $ and, that therefore I ought to clear this Matter up a little, if it be poffible, to do Juftice to Satan, and fet Matters right in the World about him, accord ing to that ufeful old Maxim of fetting the Saddle upon the right Horfe, or giving the Devil his due.
B b i Pirft,
The Modem H I S f O R Y
Firft, as I have faid) we are not to believe every idle Head, who pretends even to converfc Face to Face with the Devil) and who tells us, they have thus feen him, and been acquainted with him- every Day : Many of thefe Pretenders are imnifeft Cheats 5 and, however, they would have the Honour of a private Interest in him, and boaft how they have him at their Beck, can call him this Way, and fend him that, as they pleafe, raife him and lay him when and how, and as often as they find for their Purpofe 5 I fay, whatever Boafls they make of this Kind, they really have nothing of Truth in them.
Now the Injuries and Injufticedone to theZV* •vil) in thefe Cafes, are manifeft j namely, that they entitle the Devil to all the Mifchief they are pleated to do in the World 5- and if they commit a Murther or a Robbery, fire a Houfe, or do any A6b of Violence in the World, they prciently" are laid to do it by the Agency of theZ>^ vi!) and the Devil helps them > fo Satan bears the Reproach, and they have all the Guilts this is, (i.) a grand Cheat upon the World, and (2.) a notorious Slander upon the Devil > and it would be a public Benefit to Mankind, to have fuch would- be-Devils as thefe turn'd infide out, that we might know when the Devil was really at work among us, and when not ; what Mifchiefs were of his doing, and which were not 5 and that thefe Fel lows might not flip their Necks out of the Hal ter, by continually laying the Blame of their Wickednefs upon the Devil.
Not that the Devil is not very willing to have his Hand in any Mifchkf, or in all the Mifchief that rs done in the World -9 but there are fomelow priz'd Rogueries that are too little for him, be neath the Dignity of his Operation, and which 'tis really a Scandal to the Devil to charge upon
him*
of the DEVIL: 37$
turn. I remember the Devil had fuch a Cheat put upon him in Eaft-Smithfield once, where a Perfon pretended to converfe with the Devil Face to Face, and that in open Day too, and to caufe him to tell Fortunes, foretel Good and Evil, &c. dilcover ftollen Goods, tell where they were who Hole them, and how to find them again, nay, and even to find out the Thieves j but Satan was really flandered in the Cafe, the Fellow had no more to do with the Devil than other People, and perhaps not fo much neither: This was one of thofe they call'd CUNNING-MEN, or at leaft he endeavoured to pafs for fuch a one? but 'twas all a Cheat.
Befides, what had the Demi to do to deteel: Thieves, and reflore ftollen Goods? Thieving and Robbing, Trick and Cheat, are part of the Craft of his Agency, and of the Employments which it ie hi$ Buiinefs to encourage; they greatly miftake him, who think he will arlift any Body in fup- preffing and detecting iiich laudable Arts and fuch diligent Servants.
I won't fay, but the Devi!, to draw thefe Peo* pie we call Cunning-Men, into a Snare, and to pufh on his farther Defigns, may encourage them privately, and in a manner that they themfclves know nothing of, to make ufe of his Name, and abufe the World about him, till at laft they may really believe they do deal with the Devil, when indeed 'tis only he deals with them, and they know- nothing of the Matter.
In other Cafes he may encourage them in thefe little Frauds and Cheats, and give them leave,, as above, to make ufe of his Name to bring them afterwards, and by Degrees to have a real Acquaintance with him ; fo bringing the Jeft of their Trade into Earnefr,, till at length prompt ing them to commit fome great Villany, he fe- B b 5 cures
374 The Modern HISTORY
cures them to be his own, by their very Fear of his leaving them to be expofed to the World j thus he puts a Jonathan Wild upon them, and makes them be the very Wretches they only pre tended to be before : So old Parfons of Clithroe, as Fame tells, was twenty five Years a Cunning-man^ and twenty two Years a Witch > that is to lay, for five and twenty Years, he was only pretending to deal with the Devil^ when Satan and he had no manner of Acquaintance^ and he only put his Legcr-de-wain upon the People in the Devil's Name, without his leave j but at length the Devil's Patience being tir'd quite out, he told the old Counterfeit, that in fhort, he had been his ilalking Horfe long enough, and that now, if he thought fit to enter himfelf, and take a Com- mifHon, well and good 3 and he mould have a Leafe to carry on his Trade for fo many Years more, to his Heart's content 5 but if not, he would expofe his Knavery to the World, for that he mould take away his Peoples Trade no lon ger ^ but that he (Satan) would fet up another in his Room, that mould make a meer Fool of him, and carry away all his Cuftomers.
Upon this, the old Man confider'd of it, took the Devil's Counfel, and lifted in his Pay -, fo he, that had plaid his Pranks twenty five Years as a Conjurer, when he was no Conjurer, was then forc'd really to deal with the DEVIL, for fear the People mould know he did not : Till now he had ambo dexter^ cheated the Devil on one Hand, and the People on the other 5 but the De vil gain'd his Point at lafl, and fo he was a real Wizard ever after.
But this is not the only way the Devil is in-
jur'd neither, for we have often found People
pretend upon him in other Cafes, and of nearer
. Concern to him a great deal, and in Articles more
z Wcightyj
of the DEVIL;
Weighty, as in particular, in the great Bufinefs of PofTeilion 5 it is true this Point is not thoro'ly underflood among Men, neither has the Devil thought fit to give us thofc Illuminations about it, as I believe he might do> particularly that
feat and important Article, is not, for ought can fee, rightly explained, namely j whether there arc not two feveral Kinds of PoflefTion, (viz.) fome wherein the Devil poflefTes us, and fome in which we really poflefs the Devil 5 the Nicety of which I doubt this Age, with all its Penetration, is not qualified to explain, and a Dif- fertation upon it being too long for this Work, efpecially fo near its Conclufion, I am obHg^i to omit, as I am alfo all the practical Difcourfes up on the Ufefulnefs and Advantages of real Poflef- fion, whether confider'd one Way or other to Mankind, all which I muft leave to hereafter.
But to come back to the Point in Hand, and to confider the Injuftice done to the Devil, in the various Turns and Tricks which Men put up on him very often in this one Article (viz.) pretend ing to Pofleflion, and to have the Devil in them, when really it is not fo$ certainly the Devil mufl take it very ill, to have all their demented, luna- tick Tricks charg'd upon him 5 fome of which, nay, moft of which are fo grofs, fo fimple, fo empty, and fo little to thePurpofe, that the Devil muft be aiham'd to fee fuch Things pafs in his Name, or that the World Ihould think he was concern'd in them.
It is true, that Pofleffion being one of the principal Pieces of the Devil's Artifice in his managing Mankind, and in which, with the moflr exquifite skill he plays the Devil among us, he has the more Reafon to be affronted when he finds himfelf invaded in this Part, and angry that any Body fhould pretend to poflefs, or be poflefs 'd
B b 4 without
57
without his leave , and this may be the Reafon for ought we know, why fo many Blunders have been made, when People have pretended to it without him, and he lias thought fit not to own them in it 3 of which we have many Ex amples in Hiftory, as in Simon Magus^ the Devil of London, the fair Maid of Kent, and feyeral others, whofe Hiftory it is not worth while to enlarge upon.
In ihort, Pofieffions, as I have faid, are nice Things, as it is not fo eafy to mimick the Devil in that Part, as it may be in fome other > defign- ing Men have attempted it often, but their man ner has been cafily diiiinguifh'd, even without the Devil's Afliftance.
Thus the People of Salem in New- England pretended to be bewitch'd, and that a black Man tormented them by the Inftigation of fuch and fuch, whom they refoly'd to bring to the Gal lows : This black Man they would have be the 'Devil) employed by the Perfon who they acciis'd for a Witch : Thus making the Devil a Page or a Footman to the Wizard, to go and torment whoever the faid Wizard commanded, till the Devil himfclf was fo weary of the foolifh Part, that he left them to go on their own Way, and at laft they over-acted the murthering Part fo far, that when they con fefs'd themfelves to be Witches^ and poflefs'd, and that they had Correfpondence with the Devil, Satan not appearing to vouch for them, no Jury would condemn them upon their own Evidence, arid they could not get themfelves ha-ng'd, whatever Pains they took to bring it to pafs.
^Thus you fee the Devil may be wrong'd, and falfely accus'd in many Particulars, and often has been fo ; there are likewife fome other forts of counterfeit Devils in the World, fuch as Gyp-
DEVIL; 377
Jf.es9 Fortune-Tellers^ Foretellers of good and bad Luck, Sellers of Winds, Raifers of Storms, and many more, fome pra&is'd among us, fome in foreign Parts, too many almoft to reckon up ; nay I almofl doubt whether the Devil himielf knows all the Sorts of them 5 for 'tis evident he has little or nothing to do with them, I mean not in the Way of their Craft.
Thefe I take to be Interlopers, or with the Guinea Merchants leave, feparate Traders, and who act under the Skreen and Protection of Sa tan's Power, but without his Licenfe or Autho rity 5 no doubt thefe carry away a great deal of his Trade, that is to fay, the Trade which other- wife trie Devil might have carried on by Agents of his own> I cannot but fay, that while thefe People would fain be thought Devils, tho' they really are not, it is but juft they ihould be real ly made as much Devils as they pretended to be, or that Satan fhould do hitnfelf Juftice upon them, as he threaten'd to do upon old Parfons of 'Clithroe abovemention'd, and let the World know them.
CHAP. XL
Of 'Divination, Sorcery, the Black-Art, Tawawing, and fuch like ^Pretenders to not concerned in them.
THO' I am writing the Hiftory of the De vil,. I have not undertaken to do the like of all the Kinds of People, Male or Female, who fet up for Devils in the World : This would be a Task for the Devil indeed, and fit only for him
to
378 The Modern HISTORY
to undertake, for their Number is and has been prodigious great, and may, with his other Legi ons be rank'd among the Innumerable.
What a World do we inhabit ! where there is not only with us a great Roaring-Ly on- Devil daily feeking whom of us he may devour, and in numerable Millions of letter Devils hovering in the whole Atmofphere over us, nay, and for ought we know, other Millions always invifibly moving about us, and perhaps in us, or atleaftin many of us> but that have, befides all thefe, a vaft many counterfeit Hocus Poms Devils; human Devils, who are vifible among us, of our own Species and Fra- ternity,converiing with us upon all Occafions 5 who like Mountebanks fet up their Stages in every Town, chat with us at every Tea-Table, converfe with us in every Coffee- Houfe, and impudently tell us to our Faces that they are Devils, boaftof it, and ufe a thoufand Tricks and Arts to make us believe it too, and that too often with Succefs.
It muffc be confefs'd there is a ftrong Propen- fity in Man's Nature, efpecially the more igno rant part of Mankind, to refolve every ftrange Thing, or whether really flrange or no, if it be but ftrange to us, into Devilifm, and to fay every Thing is the Devil, that they can give no Ac count of.
Thus the famous Doftors of the Faculty at Pari^ when John Fauftus brought the firft print ed Books that had then been fcen in the World, or at leaft feen there, into the City, and fold them for Manufcripts : They were furpriz'd at the Perform ance, and queftion'd Fauftus about it ; but he af firming they were Manufcripts, and that he kept a great many Clarks employed to write them, they were fatisfied for a while.
But looking farther into the Work, they ob- ferv'd the exacb Agreement of every Book, one
with
of the DEVIL. 379
with another, that every Line flood in the fame Place, every Page a like Number of Lines, every Line a like Number of Words $ if a Word was mif-fpelt in one, it was mif-fpek alfo in all, nay, that if there was a Blot in one, it was alike in allj they began again to mufe, how this fhould be ? in a Word, the learned Divines not being able to comprehend the Thing (af^d that was always fufficient) concluded it muft be the Devil, that it was done by Magick and Witchcraft, and that in fhort, poor Fauftus (who was indeed nothing but a meer Printer) dealt with the Devil.
N. B. John Fauftus was Servant, or Journey man, or Compofitor, or what you pleafe to call it, to Kofter of Harlem, the firlt inven tor of Printing $ and having printed the Pfalter, fold them at Paris as Manufcriptsj becaufe as fuch they yielded a better Price.
But the learned Dofbors not being able to un- derfland how the Work was perform 'd, concluded as above, it was all the Devil, and that the Man was a Witch $ accordingly they took him up for a Magician and a Conjurer, and one that work'd by the Black Art, that is to fay, by the help of the Devil; and in a Word, they threatened to hang him for a Witch, and in order to it, commenc'd a Procefs againft him in their criminal Courts, which made fuch aNoife in the World as rais'd the Fame of poor John Fauftus to a frightful Height, till at laft he was oblig'd, for fear of the Gallows, to difcover the whole Secret to them.
N. B. This is the true original of the famous Dr. Fauftus or Fofter, of whom we have believ'd fuch flrange Things, as that it is become a Proverb, as mat as the Devil and
Dr.
3SO The Modem HIS TORY
Dr. Fofter : Whereas poor Fauftus was no Do&or, and knew no more of the Devil than another Body.
Thus the Magiftrates of Bern and Switzerland, finding a Gang of French Acbors of Puppet-fhew open'd their Stage in the Town, upon hearing the furpraing Accounts which the People gave of their wonderful Puppets, how they made them Ipeak, anfwer Questions, and dilcourfe, appear and disappear in a Moment, pop up here, as if they rife out of the Earth, and down there, as if they vanifh'd, and Abundance more Feats of Art, cenfur'd them as Demons > and if they had not pack'd up their Trinkets, and difappeared ai med as dextroufly as their Puppets, they had certainly condemned the poor Puppets to the Flames for Devils, and cenfur'd, if not other wife pu- niflied their Mailers. See the Count de Rochf art's Memoirs, p, ijp.
Wonderful Operations aftonifh the Mind, e- fpecially where the Head is not over-burthen'4 with Brains > and Cuflom has made it fo natural to give the Devil either the Honour or Scandal of every Thing, that we cannot otherwife Ac count for, that it is not poflible to put the People out of the Road of it.
The Magicians were, in the Chaldean Monar chy, call'd the Wife-men j and tho' they are join ed with the Sorcerers and Aftrologers in the lame Place, Dan. ii. 4. yet they were generally fo un- derftood' among thofe People > but in our Lan guage we underiland them to be People that have an Art to reveal Secrets, interpret Dreams, fore- tcl Events, &c. and that ufe Enchantments and Sorceries, by all which we underftand the fame Thing •, \vhich now in a more vulgar Way weex- prcfs by one general conrfe Expreffion, Dealing with the DEVIL. The
Ei: 381
The Scripture fpeaks of a Spirit of Dtoination, xvi. 16. and a Wench that was pofTefs'd by this Spirit Brought her Mafter much Gain by South- faying^ that is to fay, according to the Learned, by Oracling or anfwering Queftions > whence you will fee in the Margin, that this fouthfaying Devil is there call'd Python, that is, Apollo, who is often calPd Python, and who at the Oracle of Del- $hos gave out fuch Anfwers and double Entendre s, as this Wench poffibly did 5 and hence all thofe Spirits which were call'd Spirits of Divination, tvere in another Senfe call'd Pythons.
Now when the Apoflle St. Paul came to fee this Creature, this Spirit takes upon it to declare that thofe Men, meaning St. Paul and 'Timo- theus, 'were the Servants of the mo ft high God, 'which Jhew 'd unto them the Way of Salvation-, this Was a good turn of the Devil, to preferve his Authority in the poflefs'd Girl j fhe brought them Gain by Southfaying, that is to fay, relblving dif ficult Queftions, anfwering Doubts, interpreting Dreams, &c. Among thefe Doubts, he makes her give Teftimony to Paul and Timotheus, to \vheedle in with the new Chriflians, and perhaps (tho' very ignorantly) even with Paul and Tirno- theus thernfelves, fo to give a Kind of Credit and Rcfpecl: to her for fpeaking.
But the Devil, who never fpeaks Truth, but with fome finifler End, was difcover'd here and de- te&ed -y his flattering Recognition not accepted, and he himfelf unkenneled as he deferv'd > there the De- vil was over-fhot in his own Bow again.
Here now was a real Pofleflion, and the evil Spirits who pofiefs'd her, did ftoop to fimdry lit tle Acts of Servitude, that we could give little or no Reafon for, only that the Girl's Mafter might get Money by herj but perhaps this was a par ticular Cafe, and, prepar'd to honour the Au- l thority
3*2, The Modern HISTORY
thority and Power the Apoftles hud over evil Spirits- But we find thefe Things carried a great Way farther in many Cafes, that is to fay, wfcere the Parties are thus really poffefs'd > namely, the De vil makes Agents of the poffefs'd Parties to do many Things for the propagating his Intereft and Kingdom, and particularly for the carrying on his Dominion in the World : But I am for the prefent not fo much upon the real Poffeffion as the pretended, and particularly we have had many that have believed themfelves poffefs'd, when the Devil never believed it of them, and perhaps knew them better j fome of thefe are really poor Devils to be pitied, and are what I call Diabks Imaginaire 5 thefe have not with {landing done the Devil good Service, and brought their Mailers good Gain by Southfaying.
We find Pofleflions acknowledged in Scripture to be really and perfonally the Devil^ or accord ing to the Text, Legions of Devils in the Plu ral. The Devil or Devils rather, which poflef- fed the Man among the Tombs, is pofitively af- firm'd to be the Devil in the Scripture > all the Evangclifts agree in calling him fo, and his very Works fliew it 5 namely, the Mifchief he did, as well to the poor Creature among the Tombs, \vho was made fa fierce, that he was the Terror of all the Country, as to the Herd of Swine and to the Country in the Lofs of them.
I might preach you a I^e&ure here of the Devil's Terror upon the Approach of our Saviour, the Dread of his Government, and how he ac- knowledg'd that there was a Time for his Tor ment, which was not yet come : drt thou came to torment us before our Utme? It is evident the De vil apprehended that Chrift would chain them up before the Day of Judgment $ and therefore fome think the Devil here, being, as it were,
caught
385
caught out of his due Bounds, poflefling the poor Man in fuch a furious manner, was afraid, and petition'd Chrift not to chain him up for it, and as the Text fays, They befought him to fuffer them to go away, &c. that is to fay, when they fay, art thou come to torment us before the Time? the Meaning is, they begg'd he would not caft them into Torment before the Time, which was already fix'd 5 but that if he would caft them out of the Man, he would let them go away, &c.
The Evangelift St. Luke fays, the Devil be- fought him that he would not command them to go out into the Deep : Our learned Annotators think that part is not rightly rendered j adding, tshat they do not believe the Devil fears drowning j but with Submiffion, I believe the meaning is, that they would not be confin'd to the vaft Ocean, where no Inhabitants being to be feen, they would be ef fectually imprifon'd and tied down from doing MiP chief, which would be a Hell to them , as to their going into the Swine, that might afford us fome Allegory j but I am not difpofed to jefl with the Scripture, no nor with the Devil neither, farther than needs muft.
It is evident the Devil makes Ufe of very mean Inftruments fometimes, fuch as the Damfel pofTefs'd with a Spirit of Divination, and feveral others.
I remember a Story, how true I know not, of a weak Creature next Door to an Ideot, who was eftablilli'd in the Country for an Oracle, and would tell People ftrange Things that fhould be, long before they came to pafs ; when People were lick, would tell them whether they fhould live or die $ if People were married, tell how many Children they fhould have 5 and a hundred fuch Things as fill'd the People with Admiration, and they were the eafier brought to believe that the Girl was poflefs'dj but then they were divided about
her
The
her too, and that was the fineft fpun Thread th'fi Devil could work, for he carried a great Point in it 5 fome faid fhe had a good Spirit, and fome a bad, fome faid fhe was a Prophetefs, and fome that fhe was the Devil.
Now had I been there to decide the QuefKon, I fhould certainly have given it for the latter 5 if it were only upon this Account, namely, that the Devil has often found Fools very neceflary Agents for the propagating his Intereft and King dom, but we never knew the good Spirits do fo > on the other Hand, it does not feem likely that Heaven fhould deprive a poor Creature of its Senfes, and as it were take her Soul from her, and then make her an Inftrument of Initru&ion to others, and an Oracle to declare his Decrees by 5 this does not feem to be rational.
But as tar as this kind of Divination is in Uie in our Days, yet I do not find room to charge the DevilVith making any great Ufe of Fools, unlefs it be fuch as he has particularly qualified for his Work, for as to Ideots and Naturals^ they are perfectly ufelefs to him > but a fort of Fools call'd the Magi, indeed, we have fome Reafon to think he often works with.
We are not arrived to a certainty yet, in the fet tling this great Point, namely, what Magick is ? whether a diabolical Art or a Branch of the Ma- thcrnaticks? Our moft learned Lexicon Technicum is of the latter Opinion, and gives the Magic Square and the Magic Lantern^ two Terms of Art.
The Magic Square is when Numbers in Arith metical Proportion are difpos'd into fuch Parallels or equal Ranks, as that the Sums of each Row as well Diagonally as Laterally ihall be all equal j for Example, 2, 3, 4, f, thefe Nine in a Square of three, they will direft- ly and diagonally make 1 8. Thus^
This
r 1
jPL£jJ_
of the DEVIL; 335
/
This he calls the Magic Square, but gives no Reafon for the Term, nor any Account of what infernal Operations are wrought by this Con currence of the Numbers > neither do I fee that there can be any fuch Ufe made of it.
The Magic Lantern is an optic Machine, by the Means of which are reprefented, on a Wall in the Dark, many Phantafms and terrible Appear ances, but no Devil in all this, only that they are taken for the Effects of Magic, by thofe that are not acquainted with the Secret.
All this is done by the help of feveral little painted Pieces of Glafs, only ib and fo fituated, plac'd in certain Oppositions to one another, and painted with different Figures, the moil formida ble being plac'd foremoft, and fuch as are moil capable of terrifying the Spectators -y and by this all the Figures may be reprefented upon the op- poilte Wall, in the Inrgeit Size.
I cannot but take Notice, that this very Piece of optic Delufion feems too much akin to the mock PofTeffions and infernal Accomplishments, which mod: of the PofTeflionifts of this Age pretend to, fo that they are mod of them meer Phantafms and Appearances, and no more 5 Nor is the Spirit of Divination, the Magic, the Necromancing, ard other Arts which were call'd Diabolical, found to be of any Ufe in modern Practice, at lead, in thefe Parts of the World 5 but the Devil feems to do moft of his Work himfelf, and by fliorter Me thods 5 for he has fo compleat an Influence among thofe that he now Lifts in his Service, that he brings all the common Affairs of Mankind into a narrower Compafs in his Management, with a
C c Dexte-
3*6 The Modern HISTORY
Dexterity particular to himfelf, and by which he carries on his Interefl filently and furely, much more to the Detriment of Virtue and good Go vernment, and confequently much more to his Satisfaction, than ever he did before.
There is a Kind of Magic or Sorcery^ or what elfe you may pleafe to call it, which, tho' un known to us, is yet, it feems, flill very much en- courag'd by the Devil} but this is a great Way off, and in Countries where the politer Inftruments, which he finds here, are not to be had j namely, a- mong the Indians of North- America j This is call'd Pawawing} and they have their Divines, which they call Pawaws or Witches, who ufe ftrange Gefhires, Diflortions, horrid Smokes, Burnings, and Scents, and feveral fuch Things which the Sorcerers and Witches in antient Times are faid to ufc in cafting Nativities, in Philtres, and in determining, or as they pretended, directing the Fate of Perfons ; by burning fuch and fuch Herbs and Roots, fuch as Hele&ore9 Wormwood, Storax, JDevilworty Mandrake^ Nightjhade, and Abundance more fuch, which are call'd noxious Plants, or the Product of noxious Plants -y alfo melting fuch and fuch Minerals, Gums, and poifonous Things, and by feveral hellifh Mutterings and Markings over them, the like do thefe Pawaws-y and the Devil is pleafcd, it feems, (or is permitted) to fall in with thefe Things, and as fome People think, appears often to them for their Affiflance upon thofe Occaiions.
But be thai as it will, he is eas'd of all that Trouble here > he can Patvaw here himfelf, with out their aid, and having laid them all afide, he negotiates much of his Bufinefs without Ambaf- fadors j he is his own Plenipotentiary, for he finds Man fo eafy to come at, and fo eafy when he is come at, that he flands in no need of fecret Emiflaries, or at Icail not fo much as he ufed to do. Upon
of the DEVIL; 337
^ Upon the whole, as the World, within the Compafs of a few pafs'd Years is advanced in all Kinds of Knowledge and Arts, and every ufeful Branch of what they knew before improv'd, and innumerable ufeful Parts of Knowledge, which were coriceal'd before are difcover'd j why fhould we think the Devil alone fhould fhnd at a flay, has taken no Steps to his farther Accomplifh- ment, and made no ufeful Difcoveries in his Way? That he alone fhould ihnd at a Stay, and be juft the fame unimprov'd Devil that he was before ? No, no, as the World is improv'd every Day, and every Age is grown wifer and wiferthan their Fa thers > fo, no doubt, he has beftirr'd fiimfelf too, in order to an encreafe of Knowledge and Difco- very, and that he finds every Day a nearer Way to go to work wirh Mankind than he had before. Befides, as Men in general feem to have aher'd their manner, and that they move in a higher and more exalted Sphere, efpecially as to Vice and Virtue 5 fo the Devil may have been oblig ed to change his Meafures, and alter his Way of working j particularly, thofe Things which would take in former Times, and which a ftupid Age would come eafily into^ won't go down with us now : As the tafte of Vice and Virtue alters, the Devil is forc'd to bait his Hook with new Competitions ; the very Thing calPd Temptation is alter'd in its Nature, and that which ferv'd to delude our Anceftors, whofe grofs Concep tions of Things caufed them to be manageable with lefs Art, will not do now 5 the Cafe is quite alter'd j in fome Things, perhaps, as I hinted above, we come into Crime with eafe, and may be led by a Finger > but when we come to a more refin'd Way of finning, which our Anceftors ne ver underftood, other and more refin'd Politics xnufi be made Ufe of, and the Devil rws been put
C c z upon
3SS The Modern HI STORY
upon many ufeful Projects and Inventions, to make many new Difcoveries and Experiments to carry on his Affairs $ and to (peak impartially, he is ftrangely improved either in Knowledge or Experiment, within thefe few Years j he has found out a great many new Inventions to fhorten his own Labour, and carry on hisBuiinefs in the World currently, which he never was matter of before, or at lead we never knew he was.
No wonder then that he has chang'd Hands too, and that he has left of pawawing in thefe Parts of the World $ that we don't find our Houfes difturb'd as they tifed to be, and the Stools and Chairs walking about out of one Room into another, as formerly -, that Children don't vomit crooked Pins and nifty flub Nails, as of old, the Air is not full of Noifes, nor the Church- Yard full of Hobgoblins > Ghofls don't walk about in Winding-Sheets, and the good old fcolding Wives vifit and plague their Husbands after they are dead, as they did when they were alive.
The Age is grown too wife to be agitated by thefe dull fcare-crow Things which their Fore- Fathers were tickled with > Satan has been oblig ed to lay by his Puppet-fhews and his Tum blers, thofe things are grown dale 5 his morrice- dancing Devils, his mountebanking and quacking won't do no w$ thofe Things, as they may be fup- pofed to be very troublefome to him, (and but that he has Servants enough would be chargeable too) are now of no great Ufe in the new Ma nagement of his Affairs.
In a Word, Men are too much Devils th'em- felves, in the Senfe that I have calPd them fo? to be frighted with fuch little low priz'd Ap pearances as thefe 5 they are better acquainted with
the
of the DEVIL. 389
the old Arch- Angel than fo, and they Teem to tell him they muit be treated after another man ner, and that then, as they are good-natur'd and traceable, he may deal with them upon better Terms.
Hence the Devil goes to work with Mankind a much ihorter Way ; for inftead of the Art of Wheedling and Whining, together with the la borious Part of Tricking and Sharping, Hurry ing and Driving, Frighting and Terrifying, all which the Devil was put to the Trouble of be- fore; in fhort, he acts the GRAND MANNER as the Architects call it (I don't know whether our Free-Mafons mayunderfcand the Word) and there fore I may hereafter explain it, as it is to be Diabo lically as well as mathematically underftood.
At prefent my meaning is, he a immediately and perfonally by a magnificent Tranf- formation, making them meer Devils to them- felves, upon all needful Occafions, and Devils to one another too, whenever he (Satan, has Need of their Service.
This Way of embarking Mankind in the De- viTs particular Engagement, is really very mo dern} and tho' the Devil himfelf may have been long acquainted with the Method, and as I have heard, began to practife it towards the Clofe of the Roman Empire, when Men began to act up on very polite Principles, and were capable of the moft refin'd Wickednefs, and afterwards with ibme Popes, who likewife were a kind of Church Devils, iuch as Satan himfelf could hardly expect to find in the World; yet I do not find that he was ever able to bring it into Praftice, at leaft, not fo univerfally as he does now : But now the Cafe is altered, and Men being generally more expert in Wickednefs than they were formerly ; they fuffer the fmaller Alteration of the Species, in
C c J being
3<>o The Modern HISTORY
being tranfmigrated -, in a Word, they turn into Devi Is ) with no trouble at all hardly, cither to the Devil or to themfelvcs.
This Particular would want much the left Ex planation, could I obtain a Licenfe from Sir Hel lebore Wormwood J*>M\.. or from my Lord I'h'wart- cver^ Baron of Scoundrel Hall in the Kingdom of Ireland^ write the trueHiilory of their own Conduct^ and how early, and above all, how ca- fily they commenc'd Devils^ without the leaft Impeachment of their Characters, as wife Men, and without any Diminution of that Part of their Denomination which eftablifh'd them for Fools.
How many mad Fellows appear among us every Day in the critical Juncture of their Tranfmi- gration, juft when they have fo much of the Man left as to be known by their Names, and enough of the Devil taken up to fettle their Cha racters ? This Eaiinefs of the Devil's accefs to thefe People, and the great Convenience it is to him in his general Buiinefs, is a Proof to me that he has no more Occafion of Diviners, Magi cians, Sorcerers, and whatever elfe we pleafc to call thofe People who were formerly fo great with him ; for what Occafion has he to employ Devils and Wizards to confound Mankind, when be is arriv'd to fuch a Perfection of Art as to bring Men, at leaft in thefe Parts of the World, to do it all themfelvcs j upon this Account we do not find any of the old Sorcerers and Diviners, Magici ans or Witches appear among us $ not that the Devil might not be as well able to employ fuch People as formerly, and qualify them for the Em ployment too, but that really there is no need of them hereabout, the Devil having a fhorter Way, and Mankind being much more eafily poflefs'dj not the old Herd of Swine were fooner agitated, tho' there was full 2000 of them together > Na ture
of tfo DEVIL: 391
ture has open'd the Door, and the Devil has egrefs End regrefs atPleafure, fo that Witches and Divi ners are quite out of the Queftion.
Nor let any Man be alarm'd at this Alteration, in the Cafe as it ftands between Mankind and the Devil, and think the Devil having gain'd fo much Ground, may in time, by Encroachment, come to a general PofTeffion of the whole Race, and fo we fhould all come to be Devils incarnate j I fay, let us not be alarm'd, for Satan does not
Set thefe Advantages by Encroachment, and by is infernal Power or Art, no not at all 5 but 'tis the Man himfelfdoes it by his Indolence and Neg ligence on one Hand, and his Complaifance to the Devil on the other 5 and both Ways he, as it were, opens the Door to him, beckons him with his very Hand to come in, and the Devil has no thing to do but enter and take PofTeflion : Now if it be fo,and Man isfo frank to him 3 you know the Devil is no Fool not to take the Advantage when 'tis offer'd him, and therefore 'tis no won der if the Confequences which I have been juft now naming follow.
But let no Man be difcourag'd by this, from reafluming his natural and religious Powers, and venturing to fruit the Devil out 5 for the Cafe is plain he may be fhut out 5 the Soul is a ftrong Caf- tle, and has a good Garrifon plac'd within to defend it 5 if the Garrifon behave well, and do their Duty, it is impregnable, and the cowardly Devil muft raife his Siege and be gone ; nay, he rnufl fly, or, as we call it, make his Efcape, left he be laid by the Heels, that is, left his Weak- nefs be expofed, and all his Lurking, lying in Wait, ambufcade- Tricks j this Part would bear a great Enlargement, but I have not room to be witty upon him, fo you muft take it in the Grofsj the DEVIL lies at Blye Bujhy asourCoun-
C c 4 try
39* The Modern HISTORY
try People call it, to watch .your coming out of your Hold j and if you happen to go abroad un- arm'd he feizes upon and mafters you with eafe.
Unarm'd, you'll fay, what Arms fhoulcl I take? what Fence again ft a Flail ? What Weapons can a Man take to fight the Devil ? I could tell you what to" fight him with, /xand what you might , fright him with, for the Devil is to be frighted with feveral Things befides Holy Water , but 'tis too ferious for you, and you'll tell me I am a preaching and a canting, and the like ; fo I muft let the Devil manage you rather than difpleafe you with talking Scripture and Religion.
Well, but may not the Devil be fought with*' fome of his own Weapons ? Is there no dealing with him in a Way of human Nature ? This? would require a long anfwer, and fome Philofo-; phy might be aclcd? or at leaft imitated, and fome Magic, perhaps 5 for they tells us there are Spells to draw away even the Devil himfelf j as in fome Places they nail Horfe-Shoes upon the Threfhold of the Door, to keep him out 5 in other Places old pieces of Flint, with fo many Holes and fo many Corners, and the like : But I mull anfwer in the Negative, I don't know what Satan might be fcar'd at in thofe Days, but he is either grown cunninger iince or bolder, for he values none of thofe Things now j I queftion much whether he would value St. Dunflan and his red hot Tongs, if he was to meet him now, or St. Francis or any of the Saints, no not the Hoft itfelf in full Pro- ceffion j and therefore, tho' you don't care I ihould preach, yet in fhort, if you are afraid he fhould charge upon you and attack you, if you won't make Ufe of thofe Scripture Weapons I fhould have mention'd, and which you may hear of, if you enquire at Efb. vi. i for better where you think you can find them,
i But
of the DEVIL. 395
But to go on with my Work, the Devil, I fay, is not to be fcar'd with Maukins, nor docs he employ his old Inflruments, but does much of his Work himfelf without Internments.
And yet I muft enter a Caveat here too, againft being mifunderftood in my faying the Devil itands in no need of Agents ; for when I fpeak fo, I am to be taken in a limited Senfe -y I don't fay he needs them no where, but only that he does not need them in thofe polite Parts of the World which I have been fpeaking of, and perhaps not much here 5 but in many remote Countries 'tis otherwife ftillj the Indians of America are par ticularly (aid to have Witches among them, as well in thofe Countries where the Spaniards and the Engtiflj) and other Nations have planted them- felves, as am ong-fl thofe where the European Nati ons feldom come : for Example^ the People of Ca nada, that is, of the Countries under the French Government of Qjiebeck, the Equimeaux, and other Northern Climates, have Magicians, Wizards and Witches, who they call Pilioatas or Pillo- toasy thefe pretend they fpeak intimately and fa miliarly with the Devil, and receive from him the Knowledge of Things to comej all which, by the Way, I take to be little more than this > that thefe Fellows being a little more cunning than the reft, think, that by pretending to fome- thing more than human, they fhall make the ilronger Impreffions on the ignorant People ; as Mahomet amus'd the World with his Pigeon, uf- ing it to pick Peas out of his Ear, and perfuaded the People it brought him fuperior Revelations and Infpirations from Paradife.
Thus thefe Pillotoas gaining an Opinion among the People, behave like fo many Mountebanks of Hell, pretending to underftand dark Things, cure Difeafes, praclife Surgery, Phyfick and
Nccro.
394 The Modern HISTORY
Necromancy altogether; I will not fay, but Sa tan may pick out fuch Tools to work with, and I believe does in thole Parts, but I think he has found a nearer Way to the Wood with us, and that is fufficient to my prefent Purpofe.
Some would perfuadc me the Devil had a great Hand in the late religious Breaches in France, among the Clergy, (viz.) about the Pope's Confli- tution UnigenituS) and that he made a fair Attempt to fet the Pope and the Galilean Church together by the Ears, for they were all juffc upon the Point of breaking out into a Church War, that for ought we knew might have gone farther than the Devil himfelf car'd it fhould ; now I am of the quite contrary Opinion, I believe the Devil really did not make the Breach, but rather heal'd ir, for fear it fhould have gone fo far among them as to have fet them all in a Flame, and have open'd the Door to the Return of the Hugonots again, which it was in a fair Way to have done.
But be it one Way or t'other, the hiftorical Part feems to be a little again!! me; for 'tis cer tain, the Devil both wanted and made Ufe of Le- fions of Agents, as well human as infernal, vifi- le and inviiible in that great and important Af fair, and we cannot doubt but he has innumera ble Inftrurnents ftill at work about it.
Like as in Poland^ J make no Queflion but the Devil has thouiands of his Banditti at work at this Time, and in another Country not far from ir, perhaps, preparing Matters for the next Gene ral Diet, taking care to prevent giving any Re laxation to the Proreftants, and to juflity the mo derate Executions at ^born, to excite a Nation to quarrel with every Body who are able to fight with no body ; to erect the Apoftate Race of S- — y upon a Throne which they have no Title to, and turn an eleftivc Throne into an heredita ry, in favour of Popery. I might
of the DEVIL. 395
I might anticipate all your Obje granting the bufy Devil at this Time employing all his Agents and Inftruments (for I never told you they were idle and ufelefs) in (hiving to en- flame the Chriftian World, and bring a new War to cverfpread Europe \ I might, perhaps, point out to you fome of the Meafures he takes, the Provocatives which his State Phyficians admini- fter to the Courts and Counfellors of Princes, to foment and ferment the Spirits, and Members of Nations, Kingdoms, Empires and States in the World, in order to bring thefe glorious Ends of Blood and War to pafs j for you cannot think but he that knows fo much of the Devil's Af fairs, as to write his Hiilory, muft know fome- thing of all thefe Matters more than thofe that do not know fo much as he.
But all this is remote to the prefent Cafe, for this is no Impeachment of Satan's new Methods with Mankind, in this Part of the World, and in his private and feparate Capacity j all this only fignifies that in his more general and national Af fairs, the Devil acts ftill by his old Methods 3 and when he is to feduce or embroil Nations, he, like other Conquerors, fubdues them by Armies, em ploys mighty Squadrons of Devils, and fends out flrong Detachments, with Generals and Genera- liflimos to lead them, fome to one Part of the World, fome to another 3 fome to influence one Nation, fome to manage and direft another, ac cording as Bufinefs prefents, and his Occaflons require, that his Affairs may be carried on cur rently, and to his Satisfaction.
If it were not thus, but that the Devil by his new and exquifite Management, of which I have faid fo much, had brought Mankind in general to be the Agents of their own Mifchiefs, and that the World were fo at his Beck, that he
need
596 The Modern HISTORY
need but command them to go and fight, declare War, raiie Armies, deftroy Cities, Kingdoms, Countries and People 5 the World would be a Field or" Blood indeed, and all Things would run into Confufion prefcntly.
But this is not the Cafe at all. Heaven has not let go the Government of the Creation to his fubdu'd Enemy, the Devil > that would overturn the whole Syitem of God, and give Satan more Power, than ever he was or will be vefted with > when, therefore, I fpeak of a few forward Wretches in our Day, who are fo warm in their Wicked- nefs, that they anticipate the Devil, lave him the Trouble to tempt, turn Devils to themfelves, and gallop Hellward fafter than he drives 3 I fpeak of them as iingle Perfons, and a&ing in their own perfonal and private Capacity, but when I fpeak of Nations and Kingdoms, there the Devil is oblig'd to go on in the old Road, and ac~b by Stra tagem, by his proper Machinery, and to make tile of all his Arts, and all his Agents, juft as he has done in all Ages, from the beginning of his politic Government to this Day.
And if it was not thus too, what would become of all his nurabcrlefs Legions, of which all Ages have heard fo much, and all Parts of the World have had fo much fatal Experience? They would feem to be quite out of Employment, and be rendered ufelefs in the World of Spirits, where it is to be fuppofed they refide; not the Devil him- felf could find any Bufinefs for them, which by the Way, to bufy and mifchievous Spirits, as they are, would be a Hell to them, even before their Timej they would be, as it were, doom'd to a State of Inactivity, which we may fuppofe was one Part of their Expullion from Bleflednefs and the Creation of Man j or as they were for the iurprifing Interval between the Deftruction of
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. 397
Mankind by the Deluge and Noah's coming out of the Ark, when indeed they might be laid to have nothing at all to do.
But this is not Satan's Cafe, and therefore let' me tell you too, that you may not think I treat the Cafe with more Levity than I really do, and than I am fure I intend to do -y tho' it is too true that our modern and modiih Sinners have arriv ed to more exquifite Ways of being wicked, than their Fathers, and really feem, as I have laid, to need no Devil to tempt them > nay, that they do Satan's Work for him as to others alfo, and make themfelves Devils to their Neighbours, tempting others to crime even falter than the Devil defires them, running before they are fenr, and going of the Devil's Emndsgratis 5 by which Means Satan's Work is, as to them, done to his Hand, and they may be faid to fave him a great deal of Trouble •, yet after all, the Devil has {till a great deal of Bufinefs upon his Hands, and as well himfelf as all his Legions, find them felves a full Employment in dilturbing the World, and oppofmg the Glory and Kingdom of their great Superior, whofe Kingdom it is their whole Bufinefs, however vain in its End, to overthrow and deftroy, if they were able, or at leaft to en deavour it.
This being the Cafe, it follows of courfe that the general Mifchiefs of Mankind, as well national and public, as family Mifchiefs, and even perfonal, (except as before excepted) lie all (till at the Dmfs Door, as much as ever, let his Advocates bring him off of it if they can •, and this brings us back again to the manner of the Devil's Management, and the Way of his working by human Agents, or if you will, the Way of human Devils, working in Affairs of low Life, fuch as we call Vi™™~ tion, Sorcery, Black- Art, Necromancy, and th
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3ps The Modern HISTORY
like> all which I take to confifl of two material Parts, and both very neceflary for us to be right* ly inform'd of.
I . The Part which Satan by himfelf or his infe rior Devils empowers fuch People to do, as he is in Confederacy with here on Earth $ to whom he may be laid, like the Mailer of an Opera or Comedy, to give their Parts to act, and to qualify them, to ac~b it > whether he obliges them toaRehearfal in his Prefence, to try their Talents, and fee that they are ca pable of performing, that indeed I have not enquired into.
i. That Part which thefe empowered People do voluntier or beyond their Commiffion,to ihew their Diligence in the Service of their new Mailer, and either (i.) to bring Grifl to their own Mill, and make their Market of their Employment in the beil manner they can $ or (z.) to gain Applaufe, be admir'd, wonder'd at, and applauded, as if they were ten Times more Devils than really they are.
In a Word, the Matter confifts of what the Devil does by the Help of thefe People, and what they do in his Name without him j the Devil is fometimes cheated in his own Bufinefs j there are Pretenders to Witchcraft and Black- Art, who Satan never made any Bargain with, but who he connives at, becaule at leall they do his Caufe no harm, tho' their Bufinefs is rather to get Money, than to render him any Service, of which I gave you a remarkable Inftance before.
But to go back to his real Agents, of which I reckon two.
i.Thofe
of the DEVIL. 399
I . Thofe who aft by Dire&ion and Confede racy, as I have faid already many do.
z. Thofe whom he acts in and by, and they (per haps) know it not, of which Sort Hiftory gives us plenty of Examples, from Machia- vers firft Difciplc to the famous Car dinal Alberoni, and even to fome more mo dern than his Eminence, of whom I can fay no more till farther Occafion offers.