Nay, all the ill Omens which disturb'd him, they presag'd good from;

_for Example_, he was at a prodigious Expence when he was at _Antioch_

to buy up white Beasts, and white Fowls, for Sacrifices, and for

predicting from the Entrails; from whence the _Antiochians_, in

contempt, call'd him _Victimarius_; but whenever the Entrails foreboded

Evil, the cunning Devil made the Priests put a different Construction

upon them, and promise him Good: When he entred into the Temple of the

_Genij_ to offer Sacrifice, one of the Priests dropt down dead; this,

had it had any Signification more than a Man falling dead of an

Apoplectic, would have signified something fatal to _Julian_, who made

himself a Brother Sacrist or Priest; whereas the Priests turn'd it

presently to signify the Death of his Colleague, the Consul _Sallust_

which happen'd just at the same Time, tho' eight hundred Miles off; so

in another Case, _Julian_ thought it ominous that he, who was _Augustus_

should be nam'd with two other Names of Persons, both already dead; the

Case was thus, the Stile of the Emperor was _Julianus Foelix

Augustus_, and two of his principal Officers were _Julianus_ and

_Foelix_; now both _Julianus_ and _Foelix_ died within a few Days of

one another, which disturb'd Him much, who was the third of the three

Names; but his flattering _Devil_ told him it all imported Good to him

(_viz._) that tho' _Julianus_ and _Foelix_ should die, _Augustus_

should be immortal.

Thus whatever happen'd, and whatever was foretold, and how much soever

they differ'd from one another, the lying Spirit was sure to reconcile

the _Prediction_ and the _Event_, and make them at least seem to

correspond in Favour of the Person enquiring.

Now we are told Oracles are ceased, and the _Devil_ is farther limited

for the Good of Mankind, not being allow'd to vent his Delusions by the

Mouths of the Priests and Augurs, as formerly: I will not take upon me

to say how far they are really ceas'd, more than they were before; I

think 'tis much more reasonable to believe there was never any Reality

in them at all, or that any Oracle ever gave out any Answers but what

were the Invention of the Priests and the Delusions of the DEVIL; I have

a great many antient Authors on my Side in this Opinion, as _Eusebius_,

_Tertullian_, _Aristotle_, and others, who as they liv'd so near the

Pagan Times, and when even some of those Rites were yet in Use, they had

much more Reason to know, and could probably pass a better Judgment upon

them; nay _Cicero_ himself ridicules them in the openest manner; again,

other Authors descend to Particular and shew how the Cheat was manag'd

by the Heathen Sacrists and Priests, and in what enthusiastic manner

they spoke; namely, by going into the hollow Images, such as the brazen

Bull and the Image of _Apollo_, and how subtilly they gave out _dubious_

and _ambiguous_ Answers; that when the People did not find their

Expectations answer'd by the Event, they might be imposed upon by the

Priests, and confidently told they did not rightly understand the

Oracle's Meaning: However, I cannot say but that indeed there are some

Authors of good Credit too, who will have it that there was a real

prophetic Spirit in the Voice or Answers given by the Oracles, and that

oftentimes they were miraculously exact in those Answers; and they give

that of the _Delphic_ Oracle answering the Question which was given

about _Croesus_ for an Example, _viz._ what _Croesus_ was doing at

that time? _to wit_, that he was boiling a Lamb and the Flesh of a

Tortoise together, in a brass Vessel, or Boiler, with a Cover of the

same Metal; that is to say, in a Kettle with a brass Cover.

To affirm therefore, that they were all Cheats, a Man must encounter

with Antiquity, and set his private Judgment up against an establish'd

Opinion; but 'tis no matter for that; if I do not see any thing in that

receiv'd Opinion capable of Evidence, much less of Demonstration, I must

be allow'd still to think as I do; others may believe as they list; I

see nothing hard or difficult in the Thing; the Priests, who were always

historically inform'd of the Circumstances of the Enquirer, or at least

something about them, might easily find some ambiguous Speech to make,

and put some double _Entendre_ upon them, which upon the Event solv'd

the Credit of the Oracle, were it one way or other; and this they

certainly did, or we have room to think the DEVIL knows less of Things

now than he did in former Days.

It is true that by these Delusions the Priests got infinite Sums of

Money, and this makes it still probable that they would labour hard, and

use the utmost of their Skill to uphold the Credit of their Oracles; and

'tis a full Discovery, as well of the Subtlety of the Sacrists, as of

the Ignorance and Stupidity of the People, in those early Days of

_Satan_'s Witchcraft; to see what merry Work the _Devil_ made with the

World, and what gross Things he put upon Mankind: Such was the Story of

the _Dordonian_ Oracle in _Epirus_, _viz_. That two _Pigeons_ flew out

of _Thebes_ (_N. B._ it was the _Egyptian Thebes_) from the Temple of

_Belus_, erected there by the antient Sacrists, and that one of these

fled Eastward into _Lybia_, and the Desarts of _Africk_, and the other

into _Greece_, namely, to _Dordona_, and these communicated the divine

Mysteries to one another, and afterwards gave mystical Solutions to the

devout Enquirers; first the _Dordonian_ Pigeon perching upon an Oak

spoke audibly to the People there, that the Gods commanded them to build

an Oracle, or Temple, to _Jupiter_, in that Place; which was accordingly

done: The other Pigeon did the like on the Hill in _Africa_, where it

commanded them to build another to _Jupiter Ammon_, or _Hammon_.

Wise _Cicero_ contemned all this, and, as Authors tell us, ridiculed the

Answer, which, as I have hinted above, the Oracle gave to _Croesus_

proving that the Oracle it self was a _Liar_, that it could not come

from _Apollo_, for that _Apollo_ never spoke _Latin_: In a Word,

_Cicero_ rejected them all, and _Demosthenes_ also mentions the Cheats

of the _Oracles_; when speaking of the Oracle of _Apollo_, he said,

_Pithia Philippiz'd_; that is, that when the Priests were brib'd with

Money, they always gave their Answers in favour of _Philip_ of

_Macedon_.

But that which is most strange to me is, that in this Dispute about the

Reality of Oracles, the Heathen who made use of them are the People who

expose them, and who insist most positively upon their being Cheats and

Impostors, as in particular those mentioned above; while the Christians

who reject them, yet believe they did really foretel Things, answer

Questions, _&c._ only with this Difference, that the Heathen Authors who

oppose them, insist that 'tis all Delusion and Cheat, and charge it upon

the Priests; and the Christian Opposers insist that it was real, but

that the _Devil_, not the Gods, gave the Answers; and that he was

permitted to do it by a superior Power, to magnify that Power in the

total silencing them at last.

But, as I said before, I am with the Heathen here, against the Christian

Writers, for I take it all to be a Cheat and Delusion: I must give my

Reason for it, or I do nothing; my Reason is this, I insist Satan is as

blind in Matters of Futurity, as we are, and can tell nothing of what is

to come; these Oracles often pretending to predict, could be nothing

else therefore but a Cheat form'd by the Money-getting Priests to amuse

the World, and bring Grist to their Mill: If I meet with any thing in my

Way to open my Eyes to a better Opinion of them, I shall tell it you as

I go on.

On the other hand, whether the _Devil_ really spake in those Oracles, or

set the cunning Priests to speak for him; whether they predicted, or

only made the People believe they predicted; whether they gave Answers

which came to pass, or prevail'd upon the People to believe that what

was said did come to pass, it was much at one, and fully answer'd the

_Devil_'s End; namely, to amuse and delude the World; and as to do, or

to cause to be done, is the same Part of Speech, so whoever did it, the

_Devil_'s Interest was carried on by it, his Government preserv'd, and

all the Mischief he could desire was effectually brought to pass, so

that every way they were the _Devil_'s Oracles, that's out of the

Question.

Indeed I have wonder'd sometimes why, since by this Sorcery the _Devil_

perform'd such Wonders, that is, play'd so many Tricks in the World, and

had such universal Success, he should set up no more of them; but there

might be a great many Reasons given for that, too long to tire you with

at present: 'Tis true, there were not many of them, and yet considering

what a great deal of Business they dispatch'd, it was enough, for six or

eight Oracles were more than sufficient to amuse all the World: The

chief Oracles we meet with in History are among the _Greeks_ and the

_Romans_, _viz._

That of _Jupiter Ammon_, in _Lybia_, as above.

The _Dordonian_, in _Epirus_.

_Apollo Delphicus_, in the Country of _Phocis_ in _Greece_.

_Apollo Clavius_, in _Asia Minor_.

_Serapis_, in _Alexandria_ in _Egypt_.

_Trophomis_, in _Baeotia_.

_Sybilla Cumaea_, in _Italy_.

_Diana_, at _Ephesus_.

_Apollo Daphneus_, at _Antioch_.

Besides many of lesser Note, in several other Places, as I have

hinted before.

I have nothing to do here with the Story mentioned by _Plutarch_, of a

Voice being heard at Sea, from some of the Islands call'd the

_Echinades_, and calling upon one _Thamuz_, an _Egyptian_, who was on

board a Ship, bidding him, when he came to the _Palodes_, other Islands

in the _Ionian_ Seas, tell them there that the great God PAN was dead;

and when _Thamuz_ perform'd it, great Groanings, and Howlings, and

Lamentation were heard from the Shore.

This Tale tells but indifferently, tho' indeed it looks more like _a

Christian Fable_, than a Pagan; because it seems as if made to honour

the Christian Worship, and blast all the Pagan Idolatry; and for that

Reason I reject it, the Christian Profession needing no such fabulous

Stuff to confirm it.

Nor is it true in fact, that the Oracles did cease immediately upon the

Death of Christ; but, as I noted before, the Sum of the Matter is this;

the Christian Religion spreading it self universally, as well as

miraculously, and that too _by the Foolishness of Preaching_, into all

Parts of the World, the Oracles ceas'd; that is to say, their Trade

ceas'd, their Rogueries were daily detected, the deluded People being

better taught, came no more after them, and being asham'd, as well as

discourag'd, they sneak'd out of the World as well as they could; in

short the Customers fell off, and the Priests, who were the Shopkeepers,

having no Business to do, shut up their Shops, broke, and went away; the

Trade and the Tradesmen were hiss'd off the Stage together; so that the

_Devil_, who, it must be confess'd, got infinitely by the Cheat, became

bankrupt, and was oblig'd to set other Engines at work, as other Cheats

and Deceivers do, who when one Trick grows stale, and will serve no

longer, are forc'd to try another.

Nor was the _Devil_ to seek in new Measures; for tho' he could not give

out his delusive Trash as he did before, in Pomp and State, with the

Solemnity of a Temple and a Set of Enthusiasts call'd Priests, who plaid

a thousand Tricks to amuse the World, he then had Recourse to his old

_Egyptian_ Method, which indeed was more antient than that of Oracles;

and that was by Magic, Sorcery, Familiars, Witchcraft, and the like.

Of this we find the people of the _South_, that is, of _Arabia_ and

_Chaldea_ were the first, from whence we are told of the Wise Men, that

is to say, Magicians, were call'd _Chaldeans_ and _Southsayers_. Hence

also we find _Ahaziah_ the King of _Israel_ sent to _Baalzebub_ the God

of _Ekron_, to enquire whether he should live or die? This some think

was a kind of an Oracle, tho' others think it was only some over-grown

Magician, who counterfeited himself to be a _Devil_, and obtain'd upon

that Idol-hunting Age to make a Cunning Man of him; and for that Purpose

he got himself made a Priest of _Baalzebub_, the God of _Ekron_, and

gave out Answers in his Name. Thus those merry Fellows in _Egypt_,

_Jannes_ and _Jambres_, are said to mimick _Moses_ and _Aaron_, when

they work'd the miraculous Plagues upon the _Egyptians_; and we have

some Instances in Scripture that support this, such as the Witch of

_Endor_, the King _Manasses_, who dealt with the _Devil_ openly, and had

a Familiar; the Woman mentioned _Acts_ xvi. who had a Spirit of

_Divination_, and who got Money by playing the Oracle; that is,

answering doubtful Questions, _&c._ which Spirit, or _Devil_, the

Apostles cast out.

Now tho' it is true that the old Women in the World have fill'd us with

Tales, some improbable, others impossible; some weak, some ridiculous,

and that this puts a general Discredit upon all the graver Matrons, who

entertain us with Stories better put together, yet 'tis certain, and I

must be allow'd to affirm, that the _Devil_ does not disdain to take

into his Service many Troops of good _Old Women_, and Old Women-Men too,

who he finds 'tis for his Service to keep in constant Pay; to these he

is found frequently to communicate his Mind, and oftentimes we find them

such Proficients, that they know much more than the _Devil_ can teach

them.

How far our antient Friend _Merlin_, or the grave Matron his (Satan's)

most trusty and well-beloved Cousin and Counsellor, Mother _Shipton_,

were commissioned by him to give out their prophetic Oracles, and what

degree of Possession he may have arrived to in them upon their Midnight

Excursions, I will not undertake to prove; but that he might be

acquainted with them both, as well as with several of our modern

Gentlemen, I will not deny neither.

I confess it is not very incongruous with the _Devil_'s Temper, or with

the Nature of his Business, to shift hands; possibly he found that he

had tried the World with Oracular Cheats; that Men began to be forfeited

with them, and grew sick of the Frauds which were so frequently

detected; that it was time to take new Measures, and contrive some new

Trick to Bite the World, that he might not be expos'd to Contempt; or

perhaps he saw the Approach of new Light, which the Christian Doctrine

bringing with it began to spread in the Minds of Men; that it would

out-shine the dim burning _ignis fatuus_, with which he had so long

cheated Mankind, and was afraid to stand it, lest he should be mobb'd

off the Stage by his own People, when their Eyes should begin to open:

That upon this foot he might in Policy withdraw from those old Retreats

the Oracles, and restrain those Responses before they lost all their

Credit; for we find the People seem'd to be at a mighty Loss for some

time, for want of them, so that it made them run up and down to

Conjurers, and _Man-Gossips_, to brazen Heads, speaking Calves, and

innumerable simple Things, so gross that they are scarce fit to be

named, to satisfy the Itch of having their Fortunes told them, as we

call it.

Now as the DEVIL is very seldom blind to his own Interest, and therefore

thought fit to quit his old way of imposing upon the World by his

Oracles, only because he found the World began to be too wise to be

imposed upon that way; so on the other hand, finding there was still a

Possibility to delude the World, tho' by other Instruments, he no sooner

laid down his Oracles, and the solemn Pageantry, magnificent

Appearances, and other Frauds of his Priests and Votaries, in their

Temples and Shrines; but he set up a new Trade, and having, as I have

said, Agents and Instruments sufficient for any Business that he could

have to employ them in, he begins in Corners, as the learned and merry

Dr. _Brown_ says, and exercises his minor Trumperies by way of his own

contriving, lifting a great Number of new-found Operators, such as

Witches, Magicians, Diviners, Figure-casters, Astrologers, and such

inferior Seducers.

Now it is true, as that Doctor says, this was running into Corners, as

if he had been expell'd his more triumphant way of giving Audience in

Form, which for so many Ages had been allow'd him; yet I must add, that

as it seem'd to be the DEVIL's own doing, from a right Judgment of his

Affairs, which had taken a new Turn in the World, upon the shining of

new Lights from the Christian Doctrine, so it must be acknowledged the

_Devil_ made himself amends upon Mankind, by the various Methods he

took, and the Multitude of Instruments he employ'd, and perhaps deluded

Mankind in a more fatal and sensible manner than he did before, tho' not

so universally.

He had indeed before more Pomp and Figure put upon it, and he cheated

Mankind then in a Way of Magnificence and Splendor; but this was not in

above eight or ten principal Places, and not fifty Places in all, public

or private; whereas now fifty thousand of his Angels and Instruments,

visible and invisible, hardly may be said to suffice for one Town or

City; but in short, as his invisible Agents fill the Air, and are at

hand for Mischief on every Emergence, so his visible Fools swarm in

every Village, and you have scarce a Hamlet or a Town but his Emissaries

are at Hand for Business; and which is still worse, in all Places he

finds Business; nay even where Religion is planted and seems to

flourish; yet he keeps his Ground and pushes his Interest according to

what has been said elsewhere upon the same Subject, that wherever

Religion plants, the Devil plants close by it.

Nor, as I say, does he fail of Success, Delusion spreads like a Plague,

and the Devil is sure of Votaries; like a true Mountebank, he can always

bring a Croud about his Stage, and that some Times faster than other

People.

What I observe upon this Subject is this, that the World is at a strange

Loss for want of the Devil; if it was not so, what's the Reason, that

upon the silencing the Oracles, and Religion telling them that Miracles

are ceas'd, and that God has done speaking by Prophets, they never

enquire whether Heaven has established any other or new Way of

Revelation, but away they ran with their Doubts and Difficulties to

these Dreamers of Dreams, Tellers of Fortunes, and personal Oracles to

be resolv'd; as if when they acknowledge the Devil is dumb, these could

speak; and as if the wicked Spirit could do more than the Good, the

_Diabolical_ more than the _Divine_, or that Heaven having taken away

the DEVIL's Voice, had furnish'd him with an Equivalent, by allowing

Scolds, Termagants, and old weak and superannuated Wretches to speak for

him; for these are the People we go to now in our Doubts and

Emergencies.

While this Blindness continues among us, 'tis Nonsense to say that

Oracles are silenced, or the _Devil_ is dumb, for the _Devil_ gives

Audience still by his Deputies; only as _Jeroboam_ made Priests of the

meanest of the People, so he is grown a little humble, and makes use of

meaner Instruments than he did before; for whereas the Priests of

_Apollo_, and of _Jupiter_, were splendid in their Appearance, of grave

and venerable Aspect, and sometimes of no mean Quality; now he makes use

of Scoundrels and Rabble, Beggars and Vagabonds, old Hags, superannuated

miserable Hermits, Gypsies and Strollers, the Pictures of Envy and ill

Luck.

Either the _Devil_ is grown an ill Master, and gives but mean Wages,

that he can get no better Servants; or else Common Sense is grown very

low priz'd and contemptible; that such as these are fit Tools to

continue the Succession of Fraud, and carry on the _Devil_'s Interest in

the World; for were not the Passions and Temper of Mankind deeply

pre-engaged in favour of this dark Prince, we could never suffer our

selves to accept of his Favours by the Hands of such contemptible Agents

as these! How do we receive his Oracles from an old Witch of particular

Eminence, and who we believe to be more than ordinarily inspir'd from

Hell; I say, we receive the Oracle with Reverence; that is to say, with

a kind of Horror, with regard to the Black Prince it comes from, and at

the same time turn our Faces away from the Wretch that mumbles out the

Answers, lest she should cast an _Evil Eye_, as we call it, upon us, and

put a Devil into us when she plays the _Devil_ before us? How do we

listen to the Cant of those worst of Vagabonds the _Gypsies_, when at

the same time we watch our Hedges and Hen-roosts for fear of their

thieving?

Either the DEVIL uses us more like Fools than he did our Ancestors, or

we really are worse Fools than those Ages produced, for they were never

deluded by such low-priz'd _Devils_ as we are; by such despicable

_Bridewell_ DEVILS, that are fitter for a Whipping-post than an Altar,

and instead of being receiv'd as the Voice of an Oracle, should be sent

to the House of Correction for Pick-pockets.

Nor is this accidental, and here and there one of these Wretches to be

seen, but in short, if it has been in other Nations as it is with us, I

do not see that the DEVIL was able to get any better People into his

Pay, or at least very rarely: Where have we seen any thing above a

Tinker turn Wizard? and where have we had a Witch of Quality among us,

Mother _Je------gs_ excepted? and if she had not been more of something

else than a Witch, 'twas thought she had never got so much Money by her

Profession.

Magicians, Southsayers, Devil-raisers, and such People, we have heard

much of, but seldom above the Degree of the meanest of the mean People,

the lowest of the lowest Rank: Indeed the Word _Wise Men_, which the

_Devil_ wou'd fain have had his Agents honour'd with, was used a while

in _Egypt_, and in _Persia_, among the _Chaldeans_, but it continued but

a little while, and never reach'd so far Northward as our Country; nor,

however the _Devil_ has managed it, have many of our great Men, who have

been most acquainted with him, ever been able to acquire the Title of

Wise Men.

I have heard that in older Times, I suppose in good Queen _Bess_'s Days,

or beyond, (for little is to be said here for any thing on this Side of

her time) there were some Counsellors and Statesmen who merited the

Character of _wise_, in the best Sense; that is to say, _good_, and

_wise_, as they stand in Conjunction; but as to what has happen'd since

that, or, as we may call it, from that Queen's Funeral to the late

Revolution, I have little to say; but I'll tell you what honest _Andrew

Marvel_ said of those Times, and by that you may, if you please, make

your Calculation or let it alone, 'tis all one.

"To see a white Staff-maker, a Beggar, a Lord,

"And scarce _a wise Man_ at a long Council-Board.

But I may be told this relates to wise Men in another Constitution, or

wise Men as they are opposed to Fools; whereas we are talking of them

now under another Class, namely, as _Wisemen_ or Magicians,

South-sayers, _&c._ such as were in former Times call'd by that Name.

But to this I answer, that take them in which Sense you please, it may

be the same; for if I were to ask the _Devil_ the Character of the best

States-man he had employ'd among us for many Years past, I am apt to

think that tho' Oracles are ceased, he would honestly, according to the

old ambiguous Way, when I ask'd if they were Christians, answer they

were (his) _Privy-Counsellors_.

It is but a little while ago, that I happen'd (in Conversation) to meet

with a long List of the Magistrates of that Age, in a neighbouring

Country, that is to say, the Men of Fame among them; and it was a very

diverting Thing to see the Judgment which was pass'd upon them among a

great deal of good Company; it is not for me to tell you how many white

Staves, Golden Keys, Mareshals Batoons, Cordons Blue, Gordon Rouge and

Gordon Blanc, there were among them, or by what Titles, as Dukes,

Counts, Marquis, Abbot, Bishop, or Justice they were to be

distinguish'd; but the marginal Notes I found upon most of them were

(being mark'd with an Asterism) as follows.

Such a Duke, such eminent Offices added to his Titles (* in the Margin)

------ _No Saint_.

Such an Arch---- with the Title of Noble added, ------ _No Archangel_.

Such an eminent Statesman and prime Minister, ------ _No Witch_.

Such a Ribbon with a Set of great Letters added, ------ _No Conjurer_.

It presently occurr'd to me that tho' Oracles were ceased, and we had

now no more double _Entendre_ in such a Degree as before, yet that

ambiguous Answers were not at an End; and that whether those Negatives

were meant so by the Writers, or not, 'twas certain Custom led the

Readers to conclude them to be Satyrs, that they were to be rung

backwards like the Bells when the Town's on fire; tho' in short, I durst

not read them backward any where, but as speaking of foreign People, for

fear of raising the _Devil_ I am talking of.

But to return to the Subject; to such mean Things is the DEVIL now

reduc'd in his ordinary Way of carrying on his Business in the World,

that his Oracles are deliver'd now by the Bellmen and the

Chimney-Sweepers, by the meanest of those that speak in the Dark, and if

he operates by them, you may expect it accordingly; his Agents seem to

me as if the DEVIL had singl'd them out by their Deformity, or that

there was something particular requir'd in their Aspect to qualify them

for their Employment; whence it is become proverbial, when our Looks are

very dismal and frightful, to say, I look like a Witch, or in other

Cases to say, as ugly as a Witch; in another Case to look as envious as

a Witch; now whether there is any Thing particularly requir'd in the

Looks of the DEVIL's modern Agents, which is assisting in the Discharge

of their Offices, and which make their Answers appear more solemn, this

the _Devil_ has not yet reveal'd, at least not to me; and therefore why

it is that he singles out such Creatures as are fit only to fright the

People that come to them with their Enquiries, I do not take upon me to

determine.

Perhaps it is necessary they should be thus extraordinary in their

Aspect, that they might strike an Awe into the Minds of their Votaries,

as if they were Satan's true and real Representatives; and that the said

Votaries may think when they speak to the Witches they are really

talking to the _Devil_; or perhaps 'tis necessary to the Witches

themselves, that they should be so exquisitely ugly, that they might not

be surpriz'd at whatever Figure the Devil makes when he first appears to

them, being certain they can see nothing uglier than themselves.

Some are of the Opinion that the Communication with the _Devil_, or

between the Devil and those Creatures his Agents, has something

assimulating in it, and that if they were tolerable before, they are,

_ipso facto_, turn'd into DEVILS by talking with him; I will not say but

that a Tremor in the Limbs, a Horror in the Aspect, and a surprizing

Stare in the Eyes may seize upon some of them when they really see the

DEVIL, and that the frequent Repetition may make those Distortions,

which we so constantly see in their Faces becomes natural to them; by

which if it does not continue always upon the Countenance, they can at

least, _like the Posture-Masters_, cast themselves into such Figures and

frightful Dislocations of the Lines and Features in their Faces, and so

assume a Devil's Face suitable to the Occasion, or as may serve the turn

for which they take it up, and as often as they have any use for it.

But be it which of these the Enquirer pleases, 'tis all one to the Case

in Hand; this is certain, that such deform'd _Devil-like_ Creatures,

most of those we call _Hags_ and _Witches_, are in their Shapes and

Aspects, and that they give out their Sentences and frightful Messages

with an Air of Revenge for some Injury receiv'd; for Witches are fam'd

chiefly for doing Mischief.

It seems the _Devil_ has always pick'd out the most ugly and frightful

old Women to do his Business; _Mother Shipton_, our famous _English_

Witch or Prophetess, is very much wrong'd in her Picture, if she was not

of the most terrible Aspect imaginable; and if it be true that _Merlin_,

the famous _Welch_ Fortune-Teller, was a frightful Figure, it will seem

the more rational to believe, if we credit another Story, (_viz._) that

he was begotten by the Devil himself, of which I shall speak by it self:

But to go back to the Devil's Instruments being so ugly; it may be

observed, I say, that the Devil has always dealt in such sort of Cattle;

the _Sybils_, of whom so many strange prophetic Things are recorded,

whether true or no is not to the Question, are (if the _Italian_

Painters may have any Credit given them) all represented as very old

Women; and as if Ugliness were a Beauty to old Age, they seem to paint

them out as ugly and frightful as (not they, the Painters) but even as

the Devil himself could make them; not that I believe there are any

original Pictures of them really extant; but it is not unlikely that the

_Italians_ might have some traditional Knowledge of them, or some

remaining Notions of them, or particularly that antient _Sybil_ named

_Anus_, who sold the fatal Book to _Tarquin_; 'tis said of her that

_Tarquin_ supposed she doated with Age.

I had Thoughts indeed here to have entred into a learned Disquisition of

the Excellency of old Women in all diabolical Operations, and

particularly of the Necessity of having recourse to them for _Satan_'s

more exquisite Administration, which also may serve to solve the great

Difficulty in the natural Philosophy of Hell; namely, why it comes to

pass that the Devil is oblig'd for want of old Women, properly so

call'd, to turn so many antient Fathers, grave Counsellors both of Law

and State, and especially Civilians or Doctors of the Law into old

Women, and how the extraordinary Operation is perform'd; but this, as a

Thing of great Consequence in Satan's Management of humane Affairs, and

particularly as it may lead us into the necessary History, as well as

Characters of some of the most eminent of these Sects among us, I have

purposely reserv'd for a Work by it self, to be published, if _Satan

hinders not_, in fifteen Volumes in Folio, wherein I shall in the first

Place define in the most exact Manner possible, what is to be understood

by a _Male old Woman_, of what heterogeneous Kind they are produced,

give you the monstrous Anatomy of the Parts, and especially those of the

Head, which being fill'd with innumerable Globules of a sublime Nature,

and which being of a fine Contexture without, but particularly hollow in

the Cavity, defines most philosophically that antient paradoxical

Saying, (_viz._) _being full of Emptiness_, and makes it very consistent

with Nature and common Sense.

I shall likewise spend some Time, _and it must be Labour too, I assure

you, when 'tis done_, in determining whether this new Species of

Wonderfuls are not deriv'd from that famous _old Woman Merlin_, which I

prove to be very reasonable for us to suppose, because of the many

several judicious Authors, who affirm the said _Merlin_, as I hinted

before, to have been begotten by the _Devil_.

As to the deriving his Gift of Prophesy from the Devil, by that

pretended Generation, I shall omit that Part, because, as I have all

along insisted upon it, that Satan himself has no prophetic or

predicting Powers of his own, it is not very clear to me that he could

convey it to his Posterity, _nil dat quod not habet_.

However, in deriving this so much magnified Prophet in a right Line from

the _Devil_, much may be said in favour of his ugly Face, in which it

was said he was very remarkable, for it is no new Thing for a Child to

be like the Father; but all these weighty Things I adjourn for the

present, and proceed to the Affair in Hand, namely, the several Branches

of the _Devil_'s Management since his quitting his Temples and Oracles.

CHAP. VI.

_Of the extraordinary Appearance of the_ Devil, _and particularly of the

Cloven-Foot._

Some People would fain have us treat this Tale of the _Devil_'s

appearing with a Cloven-Foot with more Solemnity than I believe the

_Devil_ himself does; for Satan, who knows how much of a Cheat it is,

must certainly ridicule it, in his own Thoughts, to the last Degree; but

as he is glad of any Way to hoodwink the Understandings, and bubble the

weak Part of the World; so if he sees Men willing to take every

Scarecrow for a Devil, it is not his Business to undeceive them; on the

other Hand, he finds it his Interest to foster the Cheat, and serve

himself of the Consequence: Nor could I doubt but the Devil, if any

Mirth be allow'd him, often laughs at the many frightful Shapes and

Figures we dress him up in, and especially to see how willing we are

first to paint him as black, and make him appear as ugly as we can, and

then stare and start at the Spectrum of our own making.

The Truth is, that among all the Horribles that we dress up Satan in, I

cannot but think we shew the least of Invention in this of a Goat, or a

Thing with a Goat's Foot, of all the rest; for tho' a Goat is a Creature

made use of by our Saviour in the Allegory of the Day of Judgment, and

is said there to represent the wicked rejected Party, yet it seems to be

only on Account of their Similitude to the Sheep, and so to represent

the just Fate of Hypocrisy and Hypocrites, and in particular to form the

necessary Antithesis in the Story; for else, _our whimsical Fancies

excepted_, a Sheep or a Lamb has a Cloven-Foot as well as a Goat; nay,

if the Scripture be of any Value in the Case, 'tis to the _Devil_'s

Advantage, for the dividing the Hoof was the distinguishing Character or

Mark of a clean Beast, and how the Devil can be brought into that Number

is pretty hard to say.

One would have thought if we had intended to have given a just Figure of

the _Devil_, it would have been more apposite to have rank'd him among

the Cat-kind, and given him a Foot (if he is to be known by his Foot)

like a Lion, or like a _red Dragon_, being the same Creatures which he

is represented by in the Text, and so his Claws would have had some

Terror in them as well as his Teeth.

But neither is the _Goat_ a true Representative of the Devil at all, for

we do not rank the Goats among the Subtle or cunning Part of the Brutes;

he is counted a fierce Creature indeed of his Kind, tho' nothing like

those other abovemention'd; and he is emblematically used to represent a

lustful Temper, but even that Part does not fully serve to describe the

Devil, whose Operation lies principally another Way.

Besides it is not the _Goat_ himself that is made use of, 'tis the

Cloven-Hoof only, and that so particularly, that the _Cloven Foot_ of a

Ram or a Swine, or any other Creature, may serve as well as that of a

_Goat_, only that History gives us some Cause to call it the _Goat_'s

_Foot_.

In the next Place 'tis understood by us not as a bare Token to know

_Satan_ by, but as if it were a Brand upon him, and that like the Mark

God put upon _Cain_, it was given him for a Punishment, so that he

cannot get leave to appear without it, nay cannot conceal it whatever

other Dress or Disguise he may put on; and as if it was to make him as

ridiculous as possible, they will have it be, that whenever _Satan_ has

Occasion to dress himself in any humane Shape, be it of what Degree

soever, from the King to the Beggar, be it of a fine Lady or of an _old

Woman_, (the Latter it seems he oftenest assumes) yet still he not only

must have this _Cloven-Foot_ about him, but he is oblig'd to shew it

too; nay, they will not allow him any Dress, whether it be a Prince's

Robes, a Lord Cha---r's Gown, or a Lady's Hoop and long Petticoats, but

the Cloven-Foot must be shew'd from under them; they will not so much as

allow him an artificial _Shoe_ or a _Jack-Boot_, as we often see

contriv'd to conceal a _Club-Foot_ or a _Wooden-Leg_; but that the

_Devil_ may be known wherever he goes, he is bound to shew his Foot;

they might as well oblige him to set a Bill upon his Cap, as Folks do

upon a House to be let, and have it written in capital Letters, _I am

the_ DEVIL.

It must be confess'd this is very particular, and would be very hard

upon the _Devil_, if it had not another Article in it, which is some

Advantage to him, and that is, that _the Fact is not true_; but the

Belief of this is so universal, that all the World runs away with it; by

which Mistake the good People miss the _Devil_ many times where they

look for him, and meet him as often where they did not expect him, and

when for want of this Cloven-Foot they do not know him.

Upon this very Account I have sometimes thought, not that this has been

put upon him by meer Fancy, and the Cheat of a heavy Imagination,

propagated by Fable and Chymny-Corner Divinity, but that it has been a

Contrivance of his own; and that, in short, the Devil rais'd this

Scandal upon himself, that he might keep his Disguise the better, and

might go a Visiting among his Friends without being known; for were it

really so, that he could go no where without this particular Brand of

Infamy, he could not come into Company, could not dine with my Lord

Mayor, nor drink Tea with the Ladies, could not go to the Drawing-R----

at ------, could not have gone to _Fountainbleau_ to the King of

_France_'s Wedding, or to the Diet of _Poland_, to prevent the Grandees

there coming to an Agreement; nay, _which would be still worse than

all_, he could not go to the Masquerade, nor to any of our Balls; the

Reason is plain, he would be always discover'd, expos'd and forc'd to

leave the good Company, or which would be as bad, the Company would all

cry out the _Devil_ and run out of the Room as if they were frighted;

nor could all the Help of Invention do him any Service, no Dress he

could put on would cover him; not all our Friends at _Tavistock Corner_

could furnish him with a Habit that would disguise or conceal him, this

unhappy Foot would spoil it all: Now this would be a great a Loss to

him, that I question whether he could carry on any of his most important

Affairs in the World without it; for tho' he has access to Mankind in

his compleat Disguise, I mean that of his Invisibility, yet the Learned

very much agree in this, that his corporal Presence in the World is

absolutely necessary upon many Occasions, to support his Interest and

keep up his Correspondences, and particularly to encourage his Friends

when Numbers are requisite to carry on his Affairs; but this Part I

shall have Occasion to speak of again, when I come to consider him as a

Gentleman of Business in his Locality, and under the Head of visible

Apparition; but I return to the _Foot_.

As I have thus suggested that the Devil himself has politically spread

about this Notion concerning his appearing with _a Cloven-Foot_, so I

doubt not that he has thought it for his Purpose to paint this

_Cloven-Foot_ so lively in the Imaginations of many of our People, and

especially of those clear sighted Folks who see the _Devil_ when he is

not to be seen, that they would make no Scruple to say, nay and to make

Affidavit too, even before _Satan_ himself, whenever he sat upon the

Bench, that they had seen his Worship's Foot at such and such a Time;

this I advance the rather because 'tis very much for his Interest to do

this, for if we had not many Witnesses, _viva voce_, to testify it, we

should have had some obstinate Fellows always among us, who would have

denied the Fact, or at least have spoken doubtfully of it, and so have

rais'd Disputes and Objections against it, as impossible, or at least as

improbable; buzzing one ridiculous Notion or other into our Ears, as if

the Devil was not so black as he was painted, that he had no more a

_Cloven-Foot_ than a Pope, whose Apostolical Toes have so often been

reverentially kiss'd by Kings and Emperors: but now alas this Part is

out of the Question, not the Man in the Moon, not the Groaning-Board,

not the speaking of Fryar _Bacon_'s Brazen-Head, not the Inspiration of

_Mother Shipton_, or the Miracles of Dr. _Faustus_, Things as certain as

Death and Taxes, can be more firmly believ'd: The Devil not have a

Cloven-Foot! I doubt not but I could, in a short Time, bring you a

thousand old Women together, that would as soon believe there was no

Devil at all; nay, they will tell you, he could not be a Devil without

it, any more than he could come into the Room, and the Candles not burn

blue, or go out and not leave a smell of Brimstone behind him.

Since then the Certainty of the Thing is so well establish'd, and there

are so many good and substantial Witnesses ready to testify that he has

a Cloven-Foot, and that they have seen it too; nay, and that we have

Antiquity on our Side, for we have this Truth confirm'd by the Testimony

of many Ages; why should we doubt it any longer? we can prove that many

of our Ancestors have been of this Opinion, and divers learn'd Authors

have left it upon Record, as particularly that learned Familiarist

Mother _Hazel_, whose Writings are to be found in MS. in the famous

Library at _Pye-Corner_; also the admir'd _Joan_ of _Amesbury_, the

History of the _Lancashire_ Witches, and the Reverend Exorcist of the

_Devil_'s of _London_, whose History is extant among us to this Day; all

these and many more may be quoted, and their Writings referr'd to for

the Confirmation of the Antiquity of this Truth; but there seems to be

no Occasion for farther Evidence, 'tis enough, _Satan_ himself, if he

did not raise the Report, yet tacitly owns the Fact, at least he appears

willing to have it believ'd, and be receiv'd as a general Truth for the

Reasons above.

But besides all this, and as much a Jest as some unbelieving People

would have this Story pass for, who knows but that if _Satan_ is

empower'd to assume any Shape or Body, and to appear to us visibly, as

if really so shap'd; I say, who knows but he may, by the same Authority,

be allow'd to assume the Addition of the Cloven-Foot, or two or four

Cloven-Feet, if he pleased? and why not a _Cloven-Foot_ as well as any

other Foot, if he thinks fit? For if the _Devil_ can assume a Shape, and

can appear to Mankind in a visible Form, it may, I doubt not, with as

good Authority be advanc'd that he is left at Liberty to assume what

Shape he pleases, and to choose _what Case of Flesh and Blood he'll

please to wear_, whether real or imaginary; and if this Liberty be

allow'd him, it is an admirable Disguise for him to come generally with

his _Cloven-Foot_, that when he finds it for his Purpose, on special

Occasions to come without it, as I said above, he may not be suspected;

_but take this with you as you go_, that all this is upon a Supposition

that the _Devil_ can assume a visible Shape, and make a real Appearance,

which however I do not yet think fit to grant or deny.

Certain it is, the first People who bestow'd a _Cloven-Foot_ upon the

Devil, were not so despicable as you may imagine, but were real

Favourites of Heaven; for did not _Aaron_ set up the _Devil_ of a Calf

in the Congregation, and set the People a dancing about it for a God?

Upon which Occasion, Expositors tell us, that particular Command was

given, _Levit._ xvii. 7. _They shall no more offer their Sacrifices

unto_ Devils, _after whom they have gone a Whoring_; likewise King

_Jeroboam_ set up the two Calves, one at _Dan_ and the other at

_Bethel_, and we find them charg'd afterwards with setting up the

Worship of _Devils_ instead of the Worship of _God_.

After this we find some Nations actually sacrificed to the _Devil_ in

the Form of a Ram, and others of a Goat; from which, and that above of

the Calves at _Horeb_, I doubt not the Story of the _Cloven-Foot_ first

derived; and it is plain that the Worship of that Calf at _Horeb_ is

meant in the Scripture quoted above, _Levit._ xvii. 7. _Thou shalt no

more offer Sacrifices unto Devils_: The Original is _Seghnirim_; that

is, rough and hairy _Goats_ or _Calves_; and some think also in this

Shape the _Devil_ most ordinarily appeared to the _Egyptians_ and

_Arabians_, from whence it was derived.

Also in the old Writings of the _Egyptians_, I mean their hieroglyphick

Writing, before the Use of Letters was known, we are told this was the

Mark that he was known by; and the Figure of a _Goat_ was the

_Hieroglyphick_ of the _Devil_; some will affirm that the _Devil_ was

particularly pleased to be so represented; how they came by their

Information, and whether they had it from his own Mouth or not, Authors

have not yet determined.

But be this as it will, I do not see that _Satan_ could have been at a

Loss for some extraordinary Figure to have banter'd Mankind with, tho'

this had not been thought of; but thinking of the _Cloven-Foot_ first,

and the Matter being indifferent, this took place, and easily rooted it

self in the bewildred Fancy of the People, and now 'tis riveted too fast

for the _Devil_ himself to remove it if he was disposed to try; but as I

said above, 'tis none of his Business to solve Doubts or remove

Difficulties out of our Heads, but to perplex us with more, as much as

he can.

Some People carry this Matter a great deal higher still, and will have

the _Cloven-Foot_ be like the great Stone which the _Brasilian

Conjurers_ used to solve all difficult Questions upon, after having used

a great many monstrous and barbarous Gestures and Distortions of their

Bodies, and cut certain Marks or magical Figures upon the Stone; so, _I

say_, they will have this Cloven-Foot be a kind of a Conjuring-Stone,

and tell us, that in former Times, when _Satan_ drove a greater Trade

with Mankind in publick, than he has done of late, he gave this

_Cloven-Foot_ as a Token to his particular Favourites to work Wonders

with, and to conjure by, and that Witches, Fairies, Hobgoblins, and such

Things, of which the Antients had several Kinds, at least in their

Imagination, had all a _Goat's Leg_ with a _Cloven-Foot_ to put on upon

extraordinary Occasions; it seems this Method is of late grown out of

Practice, and so like the melting of Marble and the painting of Glass,

'tis laid aside among the various useful Arts which History tells us are

lost to the World; what may be practised in the Fairy World, if such a

Place there be, we can give no particular Account at present.

But neither is this all, for other wou'd-be-wise People take upon them

to make farther and more considerable Improvements upon this Doctrine of

the _Cloven-Foot_, and treat it as a most significant Instrument of

Satan's private Operation, and that as _Joseph_ is said to _Divine_,

that is to say, to _conjure_ by his Golden Cup which was put into

_Benjamin_'s Sack, so the _Devil_ has managed several of his secret

Operations, and Possessions, and other hellish Mechanisms upon the

Spirits as well as Bodies of Men, by the Medium or Instrumentality of

the _Cloven-Foot_; accordingly it had a Kind of an hellish Inspiration

in it, and a separate and magical Power by which he wrought his infernal

Miracles; that the Cloven-Foot had a superior Signification, and was not

only emblematic and significative of the Conduct of Men, but really

guided their Conduct in the most important Affairs of Life; and that the

Agents the Devil employ'd to influence Mankind, and to delude them and

draw them into all the Snares and Traps that he lays continually for

their Destruction, were equipp'd with this Foot in Aid of their other

Powers for Mischief.

Here they read us learn'd Lectures upon the sovereign Operations which

the Devil is at present Master of, in the Government of human Affairs;

and how the Cloven-Foot is an Emblem of the true _double Entendre_ or

divided Aspect, which the great Men of the World generally act with, and

by which all their Affairs are directed; from whence it comes to pass

that there is no such Thing as a single hearted Integrity, or an

upright Meaning to be found in the World; that Mankind, worse than the

ravenous Brutes, preys upon his own Kind, and devours them by all the

laudable Methods of Flattery, Whyne, Cheat and Treachery; _Crocodile

like_, weeping over those it will devour, destroying those it smiles

upon, and, in a Word, devours its own Kind, which the very Beasts

refuse, and that by all the Ways of Fraud and Allurement that _Hell_ can

invent; holding out a cloven divided Hoof, or Hand, pretending to save,

when the very Pretence is made use of to ensnare and destroy.

Thus the divided Hoof is the Representative of a divided double Tongue,

and Heart, an Emblem of the most exquisite Hypocrisy, the most fawning

and fatally deceiving Flattery; and here they give us very diverting

Histories, tho' tragical in themselves, of the manner which some of the

_Devil_'s inspired Agents have manag'd themselves under the especial

Influence of the _Cloven-Foot_; how they have made War under the

Pretence of Peace, murther'd Garrisons under the most sacred

Capitulations, massacred innocent Multitudes after Surrenders to Mercy.

Again, they tell us the _Cloven-Foot_ has been made use of in all

Treasons, Plots, Assassinations, and secret as well as open Murthers and

Rebellions. Thus _Joab_ under the Treason of an Embrace, shew'd how

dexterously he could manage the _Cloven-Foot_, and struck _Abner_ under

the fifth Rib: Thus _David_ play'd the Cloven-Foot upon poor _Uriah_,

when he had a Mind to lie with his Wife: Thus _Brutus_ play'd it upon

_Caesar_; and to come nearer home, we have had a great many retrograde

Motions in this Country by this magical Implement the _Foot_; Such as

that of the Earl of _Essex_'s Fate, beheading the Queen of _Scots_, and

diverse others in Queen _Elizabeth_'s Time: That of the Earl of

_Shrewsbury_ and Sir _Thomas Overbury_, _Gondamor_ and Sir _Walter

Raleigh_, and many others in King _James_ the I.'s Time; in all which,

if the Cloven-Foot had not been dexterously manag'd, those Murthers had

not been so dexterously manag'd, or the Murtherers have so well been

skreen'd from Justice; for which and the imprecated Justice of Heaven

unappeased, some have thought the innocent Branches of the Royal House

of _Stuart_ did not fare the better in the Ages which follow'd.

It must be confess'd, the Cloven-Foot was in its full Exercise in the

next Reign, and the Generation that rose up immediately after them,

arrived to the most exquisite Skill for Management of it; here they

fasted and pray'd, there they plunder'd and murther'd; here they rais'd

War for the King, and there they fought against him, cutting Throats for

_God's Sake_, and deposing both King and kingly Government according to

Law.

Nor was the _Cloven-Foot_ unemployed on all Sides, for 'tis the main

Excellency of this Instrument of Hell, that it acts on every Side, it is

its denominating Quality, and is for that Reason call'd a cloven or

divided Hoof.

This mutilated Apparition has been so publick in other Countries too,

that it seems to convince us the Devil is not confin'd to _England_

only, but that as his Empire extended to all the sublunary World, so he

gives them all Room to see he is qualified to manage them his own Way.

What abundant Use did that Prince of Dissemblers, _Charles_ V. make of

this Foot? 'twas by the Help of this Apparition of the Foot that he

baited his Hook with the City of _Milan_, and tickled _Francis_ I. of

_France_ so well with it, that when he pass'd thro' _France_, and was in

that King's Power, he let him go, and never get the Bait off of the Hook

neither; it Seems the _Foot_ was not on King _Francis_'s Side at that

Time.

How cruelly did _Philip_ II. of _Spain_ manage this Foot in the Murther

of the Nobility of the _Spanish Netherlands_, the Assassination of the

Prince of _Orange_, and at last: in that of his own Son _Don Carlos_

Infant of _Spain_? and yet such was the _Devil_'s Craft, and so nicely

did he bestir his _Cloven-Hoof_, that this Monarch died consolated (tho'

impenitent) in the Arms of the Church, and with the Benediction of the

Clergy too, _those second best Managers of the said Hoof in the World_.

I must acknowledge, I agree with this Opinion thus far; namely, that the

Devil acting by this Cloven-Foot, as a Machine, has done great Things in

the World for the propagating his dark Empire among us; and History is

full of Examples, besides the little low priz'd Things done among us;

for we are come to such a Kind of Degeneracy in Folly, that we have even

dishonour'd the _Devil_, and put this glorious Engine the Cloven-Foot to

such mean Uses, that the _Devil_ himself seems to be asham'd of us.

But to return a little to foreign History, besides what has been

mention'd above, we find flaming Examples of most glorious Mischief done

by this Weapon, when put into the Hands of Kings and Men of Fame in the

World: How many Games have the Kings of _France_ play'd with this

_Cloven-Foot_, and that within a few Years of one another? First,

_Charles_ IX. play'd the _Cloven-Foot_ upon _Gaspar Coligni_ Admiral of

_France_, when he caress'd him, complimented him, invited him to

_Paris_, to the Wedding of the King of _Navarre_, call'd him Father,

kiss'd him, and when he was wounded sent his own Surgeons to take Care

of him, and yet three Days after order'd him to be assassinated and

murther'd, used with a thousand Indignities, and at last thrown out of

the Window into the Street to be insulted by the Rabble?

Did not _Henry_ III. in the same Country, play the Cloven-Foot upon the

Duke of _Guise_, when he call'd him to his Council, and caus'd him to be

murther'd as he went in at the Door? The _Guises_ again plaid the same

Game back upon the King, when they sent out a _Jacobin_ Friar to

assassinate him in his Tent as he lay at the Siege of _Paris_.

In a Word, this Opera of the _Cloven-Foot_ has been acted all over the

Christian World, ever since _Judas_ betray'd the Son of God with a Kiss;

nay, our Saviour says expresly of him, _One of you is a Devil_; and the

sacred Text says in another Place, _The Devil enter'd into Judas_.

It would take up a great deal of Time and Paper too, to give you a full

Account of the Travels of this _Cloven-Foot_; its Progress into all the

Courts of _Europe_, and with what most accurate Hypocrisy _Satan_ has

made use of it upon many Occasions, and with what Success; but as in the

elaborate Work of which I just now gave you a Specimen I design one

whole Volume upon this Subject, and which I shall call, _The compleat

History_ of the _Cloven-Foot_; I say, for that Reason, and diverse

others, I shall say but very little more to it in this Place.

It remains to tell you, that this merry Story of the _Cloven-Foot_ is

very essential to the History which I am now writing, as it has been all

along the great Emblem of the _Devil_'s Government in the World, and by

which all his most considerable Engagements have been answer'd and

executed; for as he is said not to be able to conceal this Foot, but

that he carries it always with him, it imports most plainly, that the

_Devil_ would be no _Devil_ if he was not a Dissembler, a Deceiver, and

carried a _double Entendre_ in all he does or says; that he cannot but

say one Thing and mean another, promise one Thing and do another, engage

and not perform, declare and not intend, and act like a true _Devil_ as

he is, with a Countenance that is no Index of his Heart.

I might indeed go back to Originals, and derive this _Cloven-Foot_ from

Satan's primitive State as a Cherubim or a celestial Being, which

Cherubims, as _Moses_ is said to have seen them about the Throne of God

in Mount _Sinai_, and as the same _Moses_, from the Original represented

them afterwards covering the Ark, had the Head and Face of a Man, Wings

of an Eagle, Body of a Lion, and Legs and Feet of a Calf; but this is

not so much to our present Purpose, for as we are to allow that whatever

_Satan_ had of heavenly Beauty before the Fall, he lost it all when he

commenc'd _Devil_, so to fetch his Original so far up would be only to

say, that he retain'd nothing but the _Cloven-Foot_, and that all the

rest of him was alter'd and deform'd, become frightful and horrible as

the DEVIL; but his Cloven-Foot, as we now understand it, is rather

mystical and emblematick, and describes him only as the Fountain of

Mischief and Treason, and the Prince of Hypocrites, and as such we are

now to speak of him.

'Tis from this Original all the hypocritic World copy, he wears the Foot

on their Account, and from this Model they act: This made our blessed

Lord tell them, _the Works of your Father ye will do_, meaning the

_Devil_, as he had express'd it just before.

Nor does he deny the Use of the _Foot_ to the meaner Class of his

Disciples in the World, but decently equips them all upon every

Occasion with a needful Proportion of Hypocrisy and Deceit; that they

may hand on the Power of promiscuous Fraud thro' all his temporal

Dominions, and wear _the Foot_ always about them as a Badge of their

profess'd Share in whatever is done by that Means.

Thus every Dissembler, every false Friend, every secret Cheat, every

Bearskin-Jobber has a _Cloven-Foot_, and so far hands on the Devil's

Interest by the same powerful Agency of Art, as the _Devil_ himself uses

to act when he appears in Person, or would act if he was just now upon

the Spot; for this _Foot_ is a Machine which is to be wound up and wound

down, as the Cause it appears for requires; and there are Agents and

Engineers to act in it by Directions of _Satan_ (the grand Engineer) who

lies still in his Retirement, only issuing out his Orders as he sees

convenient.

Again, every Class, every Trade, every Shopkeeper, every Pedlar, nay,

that meanest of Tradesmen, that Church Pedlar the Pope, has a

Cloven-Foot, with which he _Paw wa's_ upon the World, wishes them all

well, and at the same time cheats them; wishes them all fed, and at the

same time starves them; wishes them all in Heaven, and at the same time

marches before them directly to the Devil, _alamode de Cloven-Foot_.

Nay, the very Bench, the everliving Foundation of Justice in the World;

how often has it been made the Tool of Violence, the Refuge of

Oppression, the Seat of Bribery and Corruption, by this Monster in

Masquerade, and that every where (our own Country always excepted)? They

had much better wipe out the Picture of justice blinded, and having the

Sword and Scales in her Hand, which in foreign Countries is generally

painted over the Seat of those who sit to do Justice, and place instead

thereof a naked unarm'd Cloven-Hoof, a proper Emblem of that Spirit that

Influences the World, and of the Justice we often see administred among

them; human Imagination cannot form an Idea more suitable, nor the

_Devil_ propose an Engine more or better qualified for an Operation of

Justice, by the Influence of Bribery and Corruption; it is this

magnipotent Instrument in the Hands of the Devil, which under the

closest Disguise agitates every Passion, bribes every Affection,

blackens every Virtue, gives a double Face to Words and Actions, and to

all Persons who have any Concern in them, and in a Word, makes us all

Devils to one another.

Indeed the Devil has taken but a dark Emblem to be distinguish'd by, for

this of a Goat was said to be a Creature hated by Mankind from the

beginning, and that there is a natural Antipathy in Mankind against

them: Hence the Scape Goat was to bear the Sins of the People, and to go

into the Wilderness with all that Burthen upon him.

But we have a Saying among us, in Defence of which we must enquire into

the proper Sphere of Action which may be assigned to this Cloven-Foot,

as hitherto described: The Proverb is this; _Every_ Devil _has not a

Cloven-Foot_. This Proverb, instead of giving us some more favourable

Thoughts of the _Devil_, confirms what I have said already, that the

_Devil_ rais'd this Scandal upon himself; I mean, the Report that he

cannot conceal or disguise his Devil's Foot, or Hoof, but that it must

appear, under whatever Habit he shews himself; and the Reason I gave

holds good still, _namely_, that he may be more effectually conceal'd

when he goes abroad without it: For if the People were fully persuaded

that the _Devil_ could not appear without this Badge of his Honour, or

Mark of his Infamy, _take it as you will_; and that he was bound also to

shew it upon all Occasions, it would be natural to conclude, that

whatever frightful Appearances might be seen in the World, if the

Cloven-Foot did not also appear, we had no Occasion to look for the

_Devil_, or so much as to think of him, much less to apprehend he was

near us; and as this might be a Mistake, and that the _Devil_ might be

there while we thought our selves so secure, it might on many Occasions

be a Mistake of very ill Consequence, and in particular, as it would

give the _Devil_ room to act in the Dark, and not be discover'd, where

it might be most needful to know him.

From this short Hint, thus repeated, I draw a new Thesis, namely, That

_Devil_ is most dangerous that has no Cloven-Foot; or, if you will have

it in Words more to the common Understanding, the _Devil_ seems to be

most dangerous when he goes without his Cloven-Foot.

And here a learned Speculation offers it self to our Debate, and which

indeed I ought to call a Council of Casuists, and Men learned in the

_Devil_'s Politicks, to determine:

Whether is most hurtful to the World, the _Devil_ walking about without

his Cloven-Foot, or the Cloven-Foot walking about without the _Devil_?

It is indeed a nice and difficult Question, and merits to be well

enquir'd into; for which Reason, and diverse others, I have referr'd it

to be treated with some Decency, and as a Dispute of Dignity sufficient

to take up a Chapter by itself.

CHAP. VII.

_Whether is most hurtful to the World, the_ Devil _walking about without

his Cloven-Foot, or the Cloven-Foot walking about without the_ Devil?

In discussing this most critical Distinction of Satan's private Motions,

I must, as the Pulpit Gentlemen direct us, explain the Text, and let you

know what I mean by several dark Expressions in it, that I may not be

understood to talk (as the _Devil_ walks) in the dark.

1. As to the Devil's walking about.

2. His walking without his Cloven-Foot.

3. The Cloven-Foot walking about without the _Devil_.

Now as I study Brevity, and yet would be understood too, you may please

to understand me as I understand my self, thus.

1. That I must be allow'd to suppose the _Devil_ really has a full

Intercourse in, and through, and about this Globe, with Egress and

Regress, for the carrying on his special Affairs, when, how, and

where, to his Majesty, in his great Wisdom, it shall seem meet;

that sometimes he appears and becomes visible, and that, like a

Mastiff without his Clog, he does not always carry his Cloven-Foot

with him. This will necessarily bring me to some Debate upon the

most important Question of Apparitions, Hauntings, Walkings, _&c._

whether of _Satan_ in human Shape, or of human Creatures in the

_Devil_'s Shape, or in any other manner whatsoever.

2. I must also 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 without a _Devil_; or, in short,

that Satan is not guilty of all the simple Things, no, or of all

the wicked Things we charge him with.

These two Heads well settled will fully explain the Title of this

Chapter, answer the Query mentioned in it, and at the same time

correspond very well with, and give us a farther Prospect into the main

and original Design of this Work, _namely, The History of the Devil_. We

are so fond of, and pleased with the general Notion of seeing the

_Devil_, that I am loth to disoblige my Readers so much as calling in

question his Visibility would do. Nor is it my Business, any more than

it is his, to undeceive them, where the Belief is so agreeable to them;

especially since upon the whole 'tis not one Farthing matter, either on

one Side or on the other, whether it be so or no, or whether the Truth

of Fact be ever discovered or not.

Certain it is, whether we see 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, whether

behind me, or at my Elbow, or over my Shoulder, is not material to me,

nor have I once turned my Head about to see whether he is there or no;

for if he be not in the Inside, I have so mean an Opinion of all his

extravasated Powers, that it seems of very little Consequence to me what

Shape he takes up, or in what Posture he appears; nor indeed can I find

in all my Enquiry that ever the _Devil_ appear'd (_Qua Devil_) in any

of the most dangerous or important of his Designs in the World; the most

of his Projects, especially of the significant Part of them, having been

carried on another way.

However, as I am satisfied no Body will be pleas'd if I should dispute

the Reality of his Appearance, and the World runs away with it as a

receiv'd Point, and that admits no Dispute, I shall most readily grant

the General, and give you some Account of the Particulars.

History is fruitful of Particulars, whether Invention has supply'd them

or not, I will not say, 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 shall leave quite out of my List, because there

are so many Scruples and Objections against that Story; and as I shall

not dispute with the Scripture, so on the other hand, I have so much

Deference for the Dignity of the _Devil_, as not to determine rashly how

far it may be in the Power of every old (_Witch_) Woman, to call him up

whenever she pleases, and that he must come, whatever the Pretence is,

or whatever Business of Consequence he may be engaged in, as often as

'tis needful for her to _Pa wa_ for half a Crown, or perhaps less 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 concern'd to discover Frauds, detect

Murthers, reveal Secrets, and especially to tell where any Money is hid,

and shew Folks where to find it; 'tis an odd thing that Satan should

think it of Consequence to come and tell us where such a Miser hid a

Strong Box, or where such an old Woman buried her _Chamber Pot_ full of

Money, the Value of all which is perhaps but a Trifle, when at the same

time he lets so many Veins of Gold, so many unexhausted Mines, nay,

Mountains of Silver, as, we may depend upon it, are hid in the Bowels of

the Earth, and which it would be so much to the Good of whole Nations to

discover, lie still there, and never say one Word of them to any Body.

Besides, how does the _Devil_'s doing Things so foreign to himself, and

so out of his way, agree with the rest of his Character; namely, shewing

a kind of a friendly Disposition to Mankind, or doing beneficent Things?

This is so beneath _Satan_'s Quality, and looks so little, that I scarce

know what to say to it; but that which is still more pungent in the Case

is, these Things are so out of his Road, and so foreign to his Calling,

that it shocks our Faith in them, and seems to clash with all the just

Notions we have of him, and of his Business in the World. The like is to

be said of those little merry Turns we bring him in acting with us, and

upon us, upon trifling and simple Occasions, such as tumbling Chairs and

Stools about House, setting Pots and Vessels Bottom upward, tossing the

Glass and Crokery Ware about without breaking; and such like mean

foolish Things, beneath the Dignity of the _Devil_, who, in my Opinion,

is rather employ'd in setting the World with the Bottom upward, tumbling

Kings and Crowns about, and dashing the Nations one against another;

raising Tempests and Storms, whether at Sea, or on Shore; and, in a

word, doing capital Mischiefs suitable to his Nature, and agreeable to

his Name, _Devil_; and suited to that Circumstance of his Condition,

which I have fully represented in the primitive Part of his exil'd

State.

But to bring in the _Devil_ playing at Push-pin with the World, or like

_Domitian_ catching Flies, that is to say, doing nothing to the

purpose; this is not only deluding our selves, but putting a Slur upon

the _Devil_ himself; and, I say, I shall not dishonour Satan so much as

to suppose any thing in it: However, as I must 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 with, I shall

carry the weighty Point no farther. No doubt the _Devil_ and Dr.

_Faustus_ were very intimate; I should rob you of a very significant [6]

Proverb, if I should so much as doubt it; no doubt the _Devil_ shew'd

himself in the Glass to that fair Lady who look'd in it to see where to

place her Patches; but then it should follow too that the _Devil_ is an

Enemy to the Ladies wearing Patches, and that has some Difficulties in

it which we cannot so easily reconcile; but we must tell the Story, and

leave out the Consequences.

But to come to more remarkable Things, and in which the _Devil_ has

thought fit to act in a Figure more suitable to his Dignity, and on

Occasions consistent with himself; take the Story of the Appearance of

_Julius Caesar_, or the _Devil_ assuming that murthered _Emperor_, to the

great _Marcus Brutus_, who notwithstanding all the good Things said to

justify it, was no less than a King-killer and an Assassinator, which we

in our Language call by a very good Name, and peculiar to the _English_

Tongue, a _Ruffian_.

The Spectre had certainly the Appearance of _Caesar_, with his Wounds

bleeding fresh, as if he had just receiv'd the fatal Blow; he had

reproach'd him with his Ingratitude, with a _Tu Brute! tu quoque, mi

fili_: "What Thou _Brutus_! Thou, my adopted Son!" Now History seems

to agree universally, not only in the Story itself, but in the

Circumstances of it; we have only to observe that the _Devil_ had

certainly Power to assume, not a human Shape only, but the Shape of

_Julius Caesar_ in particular.

Had _Brutus_ been a timorous _Conscience-harry'd_, weak-headed Wretch,

had he been under the Horror of the Guilt, and terrify'd with the

Dangers that were before him at that time, we might suggest that he was

over-run with the Vapours, that the Terrors which were upon his Mind

disorder'd him, that his Head was delirious and prepossess'd, and that

his Fancy only plac'd _Caesar_ so continually in his Eye, that it

realiz'd him to his Imagination, and he believ'd he saw him; with many

other suggested Difficulties to invalidate the Story, and render the

Reality of it doubtful.

But the contrary, to an Extreme, was the Case of _Brutus_; his known

Character plac'd him above the Power of all Hypocondriacks, or fanciful

Delusions; _Brutus_ was of a true _Roman_ Spirit, a bold Hero, of an

intrepid Courage; one that scorn'd to fear even the _Devil_, as the

Story allows: Besides, he glory'd in the Action; there cou'd be no

Terror of Mind upon him; he valued himself upon it, as done in the

Service of Liberty, and the Cause of his Country; and was so far from

being frighted at the _Devil_ in the worst Shape, that he spoke first to

him, and ask'd him, _What art thou?_ and when he was cited to see him

again at _Philippi_, answer'd, with a Gallantry that knew no Fear, _well

I will see thee there_. Whatever the _Devil_'s Business was with

_Brutus_, this is certain, according to all the Historians who give us

the Account of it, that _Brutus_ discover'd no Fear; he did not, _like

Saul at Endor_, fall to the Ground in a Swoon, 1 _Sam._ xxviii. 20.

_Then Saul fell all along upon the Earth, and there was no Strength in

him, and was sore afraid._ In a word, I see no room to charge _Brutus_

with being over-run with the _Hyppo_, or with Vapours, or with Fright

and Terror of Mind; but he saw the _Devil_, that's certain, and with

Eyes open, his Courage not at all daunted, his Mind resolute, and with

the utmost Composure spoke to him, reply'd to his Answer, and defy'd his

Summons to Death, which indeed he fear'd not, as appear'd afterward.

I come next to an Instance as eminent in History as the other; this was

in _Char._ VI. of _France_, sirnamed, _The Beloved_; who riding over the

Forest near _Mans_, a ghastly frightful Fellow (that is to say, the

_Devil_ so clothed in human Vizor) came up to his Horse, and taking hold

of his Bridle, stop'd him, with the Addition of these Words, _Stop King,

whither go you? You are betray'd!_ and immediately disappear'd. It is

true, the King had been distemper'd in his Head before, and so he might

have been deceived, and we might have charg'd it to the Account of a

whimsical Brain, or the Power of his Imagination; but this was in the

Face of his Attendants, several of his great Officers, Courtiers, and

Princes of the Blood being with him, who all saw the Man, heard the

Words, and immediately, to their Astonishment, lost Sight of the

Spectre, who vanish'd from them all.

Two Witnesses will convict a Murtherer, why not a Traitor? This must be

the _Old Gentleman_, emblematically so called, or who must it be? nay,

who else could it be? His Ugliness is not the Case, tho' _ugly as the

Devil_, is a Proverb in his Favour; but vanishing out of sight is an

Essential to a Spirit, and to an evil Spirit in our Times especially.

These are some of the _Devil_'s Extraordinaries, and it must be

confess'd they are not the most agreeable to Mankind, for sometimes he

takes upon him to disorder his Friends very much on these Occasions, as

in the above Case of _Cha._ VI. of _France_; the King, they say, was

really demented ever after; that is, as we vulgarly, but not always

improperly, express it, he was really _frighted out of his Wits_.

Whether the malicious _Devil_ intended it so, or not, is not certain,

tho' it was not so foreign to his particular Disposition if he did.

But where he is more intimate, we are told he appears in a manner less

disagreeable, and there he is more properly _a familiar Spirit_; that

is, in short, a _Devil_ of their Acquaintance: It is true, the Antients

understand the Word, _a familiar Spirit_, to be one of the kinds of

Possession; but if it serves our turn as well under the Denomination of

an intimate _Devil_, or a _Devil_ visitant, it must be acknowledg'd to

be as near in the literal Sense and Acceptation of the Word, as the

other; nay, it must be allow'd 'tis a very great Piece of Familiarity in

the _Devil_ to make Visits, and shew none of his Disagreeables, not

appear formidable, or in the Shape of what he is, respectfully

withholding his dismal Part, in Compassion to the Infirmities of his

Friends.

It is true, _Satan_ may be oblig'd to make different Appearances, as the

several Circumstances of Things call for it; in some Cases he makes his

publick Entry, and then he must shew himself in his Habit of Ceremony;

in other Cases he comes upon private Business, and then he appears in

Disguise; in some publick Cases he may thing fit to be _incog._ and then

he appears dress'd _a la Masque_; so they say he appear'd at the famous

St. _Bartholomew_ Wedding at _Paris_, where, he came in dress'd up like

a Trumpeter, danc'd in his Habit, sounded a _Levet_, and then went out

and rung the Alarm-Bell (which was the Signal to begin the Massacre)

half an Hour before the Time appointed, lest the King's Mind should

alter, and his Heart fail him.

If the Story be not made upon him, (for we should not slander the

_Devil_) it should seem, he was not thoroughly satisfied in King

_Charles_ IX.'s Steadiness in his Cause; for the King, it seems, had

relax'd a little once before, and Satan might be afraid he would fall

off again, and so prevent the Execution: Others say, the King did relent

immediately 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 loose

among the People, there was no recalling the Order. If the _Devil_ was

thus brought to the Necessity of a secret Management, it must be owned

he did it dexterously; but I have not Authority enough for the Story, to

charge him with the Particulars, so I leave it _au croc._

I have much better Vouchers for the Story following, which I had so

solemnly confirm'd by one that liv'd in the Family, that I never doubted

the Truth of it. There liv'd, in the Parish of St. _Bennet Fynk_, near

the _Royal Exchange_, an honest poor Widow Woman, who, _her Husband

being lately dead_, took Lodgers into her House; that is, she let out

some of her Rooms in order to lessen her own Charge of Rent; among the

rest, she let her Garrets to a working Watchwheel-maker, or one some way

concern'd in making the Movements of Watches, and who work'd to those

Shop-keepers who sell Watches; as is usual.

It happened that a Man and Woman went up, to speak with this

Movement-maker upon some Business which related to his Trade, and when

they were near the Top of the Stairs, the Garret-Door where he usually

worked being wide open, they saw the poor Man (the Watch-maker, or

Wheel-maker) had hang'd himself upon a Beam which was left open in the

Room a little lower than the Plaister, or Ceiling: Surpriz'd at the

Sight, the Woman stop'd, and cried out to the Man who was behind her on

the Stairs that he should run up, and cut the poor Creature down.

At that very Moment comes a Man hastily from another Part of the Room

which they upon the Stairs could not see, bringing a Joint-Stool in his

Hand, as if in great Haste, and sets it down just by the Wretch that was

hang'd, and getting up as hastily 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 stop and not

come up, shewing them the Knife in his other Hand, as if he was just

going to cut the poor Man down.

Upon this, the Woman stopp'd a while, but the Man who stood 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, _says he_, and help

the Man upon the Stool! supposing something hindred. But the Man upon

the Stool made Signs to them again to be quiet, and not come on, as if

saying, I shall do it immediately; then he made two Strokes with his

Knife, as if cutting the Rope, and then stopp'd again; and still the

poor Man was hanging, and consequently 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, having no more Patience, thrusts her

by, and said to her. Let me come, I'll warrant you I'll do it; and with

that runs up and forward into the Room to the Man; but when he came

there, behold, the poor Man was there hanging; but no Man with a Knife,

or Joint-Stool, or any such thing to be seen, all that was Spectre and

Delusion, in order, no doubt, to let the poor Creature that had hang'd

himself perish and expire.

The Man was so frighted and surpriz'd, that with all the Courage he had

before, he drop'd on the Floor as one dead, and the Woman at last was

fain to cut the poor Man down with a Pair of Scissars, and had much to

do to effect it.

As I have no room to doubt the Truth of this Story, which I had from

Persons on whose Honesty I could depend. So I think it needs very little

Trouble to convince us who the Man upon the Stool must be, and that it

was the _Devil_ who plac'd himself there in order to finish the Murther

of the Man who he had, _Devil_-like, tempted before, and prevail'd with

to be his own Executioner. Besides, it corresponds so well with the

_Devil_'s Nature, and with his Business, _viz._ that of a _Murtherer_,

that I never question'd it; nor can I think we wrong the _Devil_ at all

to charge him with it.

_N. B._ I cannot be positive in the remaining Part of this Story,

_viz._ whether the Man was cut down soon 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; but be it which it will, 'tis plain he

did his Devilish Endeavour, and stay'd till he was forc'd to

abscond again.

We have many solid Tales well attested, as well in History as in the

Reports of honest People, who could not be deceived, intimating the

_Devil_'s personal Appearance, some in one Place, some in another; as

also sometimes in one Habit or Dress, and sometimes in another; and it

is to be observed, that in none of those which are most like to be real,

and in which there is least of Fancy and Vapour, you have any Mention of

the _Cloven Foot_, which rather seems to be a mere Invention of Men (and

perhaps chiefly of those who had a Cloven Understanding) I mean a

shallow kind of Craft, the Effect of an empty and simple Head, thinking

by such a well-meant, tho' weak Fraud, to represent the _Devil_ to the

old Women and Children of the Age, with some Addition suitable to the

Weakness of their Intellects, and suited to making them afraid of him.

I have another Account of a Person who travell'd upwards of four Years

with the _Devil_ in his Company, and convers'd most intimately with him

all the while; nay, if I may believe the Story, he knew most part of the

Time that he was the _Devil_, and yet convers'd with him, and that very

profitably, for he perform'd many very useful Services for him, and

constantly preserv'd him from the Danger of Wolves and wild Beasts,

which the Country he travell'd thro' was intolerably full of. Where, by

the way, you are to understand, that the Wolves and Bears in those

Countries knew the _Devil_, whatever Disguise he went in; or that the

_Devil_ has some Way to fright Bears and such 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 diverting

Incidents attending it; but they are equal to all the rest in Bulk, and

therefore too long for this Book.

I find too upon some more ordinary Occasions the _Devil_ has appear'd to

several People at their Call: This indeed shews abundance of good Humour

in him, considering him as a _Devil_, and that he was mighty

complaisant: Nay some, they tell us, have a Power to raise the _Devil_

whenever they think fit; this I cannot bring the _Devil_ to a Level

with, unless I should allow him to be _Servus Servorum_, as another

_Devil_ in Disguise calls himself; subjected to ever old Wizard's Call;

or that he is under a Necessity of appearing on such or such particular

Occasions, whoever it is that calls him; which would bring the _Devil_'s

Circumstances to a pitch of Slavery which I see no Reason to believe of

them.

Here also I must take Notice again, that tho' I say the _Devil_, when I

speak of all these Apparitions, whether of a greater or lesser Kind, yet

I am not oblig'd to suppose Satan himself in Person is concern'd to shew

himself, but that some of his _Agents_, Deputies and Servants, are sent

to that Purpose, and directed what Disguise of Flesh and Blood to put

on, as may be suitable to the Occasion.

This seems to be the only Way to reconcile all those simple and

ridiculous Appearances which not _Satan_, but his Emissaries, (which we

old Women call Imps) sometimes make, and the mean and sorry Employment

they are put to: Thus Fame tells us of a certain Witch of Quality, who

call'd the _Devil_ once to carry her over a Brook where the Water was

swell'd with a hasty Rain, and lash'd him soundly with her Whip for

letting her Ladyship fall into the Water before she was quite over. Thus

also, as Fame tells us, she set the _Devil_ to work, and made him build

_Crowland_ Abbey, where there was no Foundation to be found, only for

disturbing the Workmen a little who were first set about it. So it

seems another laborious _Devil_ was oblig'd to dig the great Ditch cross

the Country from the Fenn Country to the Edge of _Suffolk_ and _Essex_;

which who ever he has preserv'd the Reputation of, and where it crosses

_New-Market_ Heath, 'tis call'd _Devil_'s _Ditch_ to this Day.

Another Piece of Punishment no doubt it was, when the _Devil_ was

oblig'd to bring the Stones out of _Wales_ into _Wiltshire_, to build

_Stone-heng_: How this was ordered in those Days, when it seems they

kept _Satan_ to hard Labour, I know not; I believe it must be registred

among the antient Pieces of Art which are lost in the World, such as

melting of Stone, painting of Glass, _&c._ Certainly they had the

_Devil_ under Correction in those Days; that is to say, those lesser

Sorts of _Devils_; but I cannot think that the _muckle Thief Devil_, as

they call him in the _North_, the Grand Seignior _Devil_ of all, was

ever reduced to Discipline. What _Devil_ it was that _Dunstan_ took by

the Nose 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 so many warm Tricks with, and made him run away from

him so often: However, this I take upon me to say, in the _Devil_'s

Behalf, that it cou'd not be our _Satan_, the Arch _Devil_ of all

_Devils_, of whom I have been talking so long.

Now is it unworthy the Occasion, to take notice that we really wrong the

_Devil_, and speak of him very much to his Disadvantage, when we say of

such a Great Lord, or of such a Lady of Quality, _I think the_ Devil _is

in your Grace_: No, no, Satan has other Business, he very rarely

possesses F--ls: Besides, some are so far from having the _Devil_ in

them, that they are really transmigrated into the very Essence of the

_Devil_ themselves; and others again not transmigrated, or assimilated,

but Indeed and in Truth shew us that they are to have mere native

_Devils_ in every Part and Parcel of them, and that the rest is only

Masque and Disguise. Thus if _Rage_, _Envy_, _Pride_ and _Revenge_ can

constitute the Parts of a _Devil_, why should not a Lady of such

Quality, in whom all those Extraordinaries abound, have a Right to the

Title of being a _Devil_ really and substantially, and to all Intents

and Purposes, in the most perfect and absolute Sense, according to the

most exquisite Descriptions of Devils already given by me or any Body

else; and even just as _Joan_ of _Arc_, or _Joan_ Queen of _Naples_

were, who were both sent home to their native Country, as soon as it was

discovered that they were real _Devils_, and that _Satan_ acknowledg'd

them in that Quality.

Nor does my Lady D----ss's wearing sometimes a Case of Humanity about

her, call'd _Flesh and Blood_, at all alter the Case; for so 'tis

Evident, according to our present Hypothesis, _Satan_ has been always

allow'd to do, upon urgent Occasions; ay, and to make his Personal

Appearance as such, among even the Sons and Daughters of God too, as

well as among the Children of Men; and therefore _her Grace_ may have

appeared in the Shape of a fine Lady, as long as she has been suppos'd

to do, without any Impeachment of her just Claim to the Title of

_Devil_; which being her true and natural Original, she ought not, nor

indeed shall not, by me, be denied her Shapes of Honour, whenever she

pleases to declare for a Re-assumption.

And farther, to give every Truth its due Illustration, this need not be

thought so strange; and is far from being unjust; _her Grace_ (as she,

it may be, is now stiled) has not acted, at least that I never heard of,

so unworthy her great and illustrious Original, that we should think she

has lost any thing by walking about the World so many Years in

Apparition: But to give her the due Homage of her Quality, she has acted

as consonant to the Essence and Nature of _Devil_, which she has such a

Claim to, as was consistent with the needful Reserve of her present

Disguise.

Nor shall we lead the Reader into any Mistake concerning this part of

our Work, as if this was or is meant to be a particular Satyr upon the

D-----ss of -----------, and upon her only, as if we had no DEVILS among

us in the Phenomena of fair Ladies, but this one: If Satan would be so

honest to us as he might be (and 'twou'd be very ingenuous in him, that

must be acknowledg'd, to give us a little of his Illumination in this

Case) we should soon be able to unmasque a great many notable Figures

among us, to our real Surprize.

Indeed 'tis a Point worth our further Enquiry, and would be a Discovery

many ways to our Advantage, were we bless'd with it, to see how many

real _Devils_ we have walking up and down the World in Masque, and how

many Hoop-Petticoats compleat the entire Masque that disguises the Devil

in the Shape of that Thing call'd Woman.

As for the Men, Nature has satisfied her self in letting them be their

own Disguise, and in suffering them to act the _old Women_, as old Women

are vulgarly understood, in Matters of Council and Politicks; but if at

any time they have Occasion for the _Devil_ in Person, they are oblig'd

to call him to their Aid in such Shape as he pleases to make use of _pro

hac vice_; and of all those Shapes, the most agreeable to him seems to

be that of a Female of Quality, in which he has infinite Opportunity to

act to Perfection, what Part soever he is call'd in for.

How happy are those People who they say have the particular Quality, or

acquir'd Habit, call'd the _Second Sight_; one Sort of whom they tell us

are able to distinguish the _Devil_, in whatever Case or Outside of

Flesh and Blood he is pleas'd to put on, and consequently could know the

_Devil_ wherever they met him? Were I blest with this excellent and

useful Accomplishment, how pleasant would it be, and how would it

particularly gratify my Spleen, and all that which I, in common with my

fellow Creatures carry about me, call'd Ill-Nature, to stand in the

_Mall_, or at the Entrance to any of our _Assemblies of Beauties_, and

point them out as they pass by, with this particular Mark, That's a

_Devil_; that fine young Toast is a _Devil_; There's a _Devil_ drest in

a new Habit for the Ball; There's a _Devil_ in a Coach and Six, _cum

aliis_. In short, it would make a merry World among us if we cou'd but

enter upon some proper Method of such Discriminations: but, _Lawr'd_,

what a Hurricane would it raise, if, like -------, who they say scourg'd

the _Devil_ so often that he durst not come near him in any Shape

whatever, we cou'd find some new Method out to make the _Devil_ unmask,

like the Angel _Uriel_, who, Mr. _Milton_ says, had an enchanted Spear,

with which if he did but touch the _Devil_, in whatever Disguise he had

put on, it oblig'd him immediately to start up, and shew himself in his

true original Shape, mere _Devil_ as he was.

This would do nicely, and as I who am originally a Projector, have spent

some Time upon this Study, and doubt not in a little Time to finish my

Engine, which I am contriving, to screw the _Devil_ out of every Body,

or any Body; I question not when I have brought it to Perfection, but I

shall make most excellent Discoveries by it; and besides the many

extraordinary Advantages of it to human Society, I doubt not but it will

make good Sport in the World too; wherefore, when I publish my

Proposals, and divide it into Shares, as other less useful Projects have

been done, I question not, for all the severe Act lately pass'd against

Bubbles, but I shall get Subscribers enough, _&c._

In a Word, a secret Power of discovering what Devils we have among us,

and where and what Business they are doing, would be a vast Advantage to

us all; that we might know among the Crowd of _Devils_ that walk about

Streets, who are _Apparitions_, and who are not.

Now I, you must know, at certain Intervals when the Old Gentleman's

Illuminations are upon me, and when I have something of an

_Eclaricissement_ with him, have some Degrees of this discriminating

_Second Sight_, and therefore 'tis no strange thing for me to tell a

great many of my Acquaintance that they are really _Devils_, when they

themselves know nothing of the Matter: Sometimes indeed I find it pretty

hard to convince them of it, or at least they are very unwilling to own

it, but it is not the less so for that.

I had a long Discourse upon this Subject one day, with a young beautiful

Lady of my Acquaintance, who the World very much admired; and as the

World judges no farther than they can see, (and how should they, you

would say) they took her to be, as she really was, a most charming

Creature.

To me indeed she discover'd her self many Ways, besides the Advantage I

had of my extraordinary Penetration by the magic Powers which I am

vested with: To me, _I say_, she appear'd a Fury, a Satyr, a fiery

little Fiend as could possibly be dress'd up in Flesh; in short, she

appear'd to me what really she was, a very DEVIL: It is natural to human

Creatures to desire to discover any extraordinary Powers they are

possess'd of superior to others, and this Itch prevailing in me, among

the rest, I was impatient to let this Lady know that I understood her

Composition perfectly well, nay, as well as she did her self.

In order to this, happening to be in the Family once for some Days, and

having the Honour to be very intimate with her and her Husband too, I

took an Opportunity on an extraordinary Occasion, when she was in the

Height of good Humour, to talk with her; You must note, that as I said,

the Lady was in an extraordinary good Humour, and there had been a great

deal of Mirth in the Family for some Days; but one Evening, Sir _E----_

her Husband, upon some very sharp Turn she gave to another Gentleman,

which made all the Company pleasant, run to her, and with a Passion of

good Humour takes her in his Arms, and turning to me, says he, Jack,

This Wife of mine is full of Wit and good Humour, but when she has a

Mind to be smart, she is the keenest little _Devil_ in the World: This

was alluding to the quick Turn she had given the other Gentleman.

Is that the best Language you can give your Wife, says my Lady? O Madam,

says I, such _Devils_ as you, are all _Angels_; ay, ay, says my Lady, I

know that, he has only let a Truth fly out that he does not understand:

Look ye there now, _says Sir_ Edward, could any thing but such a dear

_Devil_ as this have said a thing so pointed? Well, well, adds he,

_Devil_ to a Lady in a Man's Arms, is a Word of divers Interpretations.

Thus they rallied for a good while, he holding her fast all the while in

his Arms, and frequently kissing her, and at last it went off, all in

Sunshine and Mirth.

But the next Day, for I had the Honour to lodge in the Lady's Father's

House, where it all happen'd; I say, the next Day my Lady begins with me

upon the Subject, and that very smartly, so that first I did not know

whether she was in jest or earnest: Ay, ay, _says she_, you Men make

nothing of your Wives after you have them, _alluding to the Discourse

with_ Sir Edward _the Night before_.

Why Madam, says I, _we Men_, as you are pleas'd to term it, if we meet

with good Wives worship them, and make Idols of them, what would you

have more of us?

No, no, says she, before you have them they are Angels, but when you

have been in Heaven, _adds she and smil'd_, then they are Devils.

Why Madam, _says I_, Devils are Angels, you know, and were the highest

Sort of Angels once.

Yes, _says she_, very smartly, all _Devils_ are Angels, but all Angels

are not _Devils_.

But Madam, _says I_, you should never take it ill to be call'd _Devil_,

you know.

I know, _says she_, hastily, what d'ye mean by that?

Why Madam, _says I_, and look'd very gravely and serious, I thought you

had known that I knew it, or else I would not have said so, for I would

not offend you; but you may depend I shall never discover it, unless you

order me to do so for your particular Service.

Upon this she look'd hard and wild, and bid me explain my self.

I told her, I was ready to explain my self, if she would give me her

Word, she would not resent it, and would take nothing ill.

She gave me her word solemnly she would not, tho' like a true _Devil_

she broke her Promise with me all at once.

Well however, being unconcern'd whether she kept her Word or no, I

began, by telling her that I had not long since obtain'd the second

sight, and had some years studied Magic, by which I could penetrate into

many things, which to ordinary Perception were invisible, and had some

Glasses, by the Help of which I could see into all visionary or

imaginary Appearances in a different Manner than other People did.

Very well, _says she_, suppose you can, what's that to me?

I told her it was nothing to her any further than that as she knew her

self to be originally not the same Creature she seem'd to be, but was of

a sublime angelic Original; so by the Help of my recited Art I knew it

too, and so far it might relate to her.

Very fine, says she, so you would make a _Devil_ of me indeed.