Discovery of Witches | Page 8

not free from the leading
fallacies which infected the reasonings of almost all the writers on
witchcraft. It is, nevertheless, exceedingly entertaining, and well
deserves a perusal, if only as transmitting to us, in their full freshness,
the racy colloquialisms of the age of Elizabeth. It is to be hoped that the
other works of Giffard, all of which are deserving of attention,
independently of their theological interest, as specimens of pure and
sterling English, may appear in a collected form. The next tract
requiring notice is "The Trial of Witchcraft, by John Cotta," 1616, 4to,
of which a second and enlarged edition was published in 1624. Cotta,
who was a physician of great eminence and experience, residing at
Northampton, has supplied in this very able, learned, and vigorous
treatise, a groundwork which, if pursued to its just results, for he writes
very cautiously and guardedly, and rather hints at his conclusions than
follows them out, would have sufficed to have overthrown many of the
positions of the supporters of the system of witchcraft. His work has a
strong scholastic tinge, and is not without occasional obscurity; and on
these accounts probably produced no very extensive impression at the
time. He wrote two other tracts--1. "Discovery of the Dangers of
ignorant practisers of Physick in England," 1612, 4to; 2. "Cotta contra
Antonium, or An Ant-Anthony," Oxford, 1623, 4to; the latter of which,
a keen satire against the chymists' aurum potabile, is exceedingly rare.
Both are intrinsically valuable and interesting, and written with great
vigour of style, and are full of curious illustrations derived from his
extensive medical practice. I cannot conclude this note without
adverting to Gaule's amusing little work, ("Select Cases of Conscience
touching Witches and Witchcraft, by John Gaule, Preacher of the Word

at Great Haughton, in the county of Huntingdon," 1646, 24mo.) which
gives us all the casuistry applicable to witchcraft. We can almost
forgive Gaule's fundamental errors on the general question, for the
courage and spirit with which he battled with the villainous witchfinder,
Hopkins, who wanted sorely to make an example of him, to the terror
of all gainsayers of the sovereign power of this examiner-general of
witches. Gaule proved himself to be an overmatch for the itinerating
inquisitor, and so effectually attacked, battled with, and exposed him,
as to render him quite harmless in future. The minister of Great
Haughton was made of different metal to the "old reading parson
Lewis," or Lowes, to whose fate Baxter refers with such nonchalance.
As the only clergyman of the Church of England, that I am aware of,
who was executed for witchcraft, Lewis's case is sufficiently interesting
to merit some notice. Stearne's (vide his _Confirmation of Witchcraft_,
p. 23,) account of it, which I have not seen quoted before, is as
follows:--
"Thus was Parson Lowis taken, who had been a Minister, (as I have
heard) in one Parish above forty yeares, in Suffolke, before he was
condemned, but had been indited for a common imbarriter, and for
Witchcraft, above thirty yeares before, and the grand Jury (as I have
heard) found the bill for a common imbarriter, who now, after he was
found with the markes, in his confession, he confessed, that in pride of
heart, to be equall, or rather above God, the Devill tooke advantage of
him, and hee covenanted with the Devill, and sealed it with his bloud,
and had three Familiars or spirits, which sucked on the markes found
upon his body, and did much harme, both by Sea and Land, especially
by Sea, for he confessed, that he being at Lungarfort in Suffolke, where
he preached, as he walked upon the wall, or workes there, he saw a
great saile of Ships passe by, and that as they were sailing by, one of
his three Impes, namely his yellow one, forthwith appeared to him, and
asked him what hee should doe, and he bade it goe and sinke such a
Ship, and shewed his Impe a new Ship, amongst the middle of the rest
(as I remember) one that belonged to Ipswich, so he confessed the Impe
went forthwith away, and he stood still, and viewed the Ships on the
Sea as they were a sayling, and perceived that Ship immediately, to be
in more trouble and danger then the rest; for he said, the water was

more boystrous neere that then the rest, tumbling up and down with
waves, as if water had been boyled in a pot, and soone after (he said) in
a short time it sanke directly downe into the Sea, as he stood and
viewed it, when all the rest sayled away in safety, there he confessed,
he made fourteen widdowes in one quarter of an houre. Then Mr.
Hopkin, as he told me (for he tooke