That same year, in the month of July, a man and woman, John Palmer and
Elizabeth Knott, were hanged at St. Albans for curing folks of disease
without the leave and license of the authorities, and by the aid of the
devil. John made some curious revelations. He said, first of all, that
Marsh of Dunstable was the head of the whole college of witches, and that
he could do more than all the rest. Then he went on to say that he, John
Palmer, had held a blood covenant with the devil for sixty years, and that
he bore his brand; also that he had two imps, "George," a dog, and
"Jezabell," a woman, who did what he would. He had seduced to himself and
his arts Elizabeth Knott, his kinswoman; and both together they made a
clay picture of goodwife Pearls of Norton, which they put under some
embers, and as the picture consumed away, so did goodwife
Pearls--miserably and fatally. This was out of revenge for hanging a lock
on his door because he did not pay his rent. Then he sent "George" to kill
Cleaver's horses; and Elizabeth killed John Laman's cow by sending her
imp, which was a cat. The cat had promised that she should have all she
wanted, save money; but poor Elizabeth Knott did not add that puss had
promised to give them a halter and the gallows at the end of their
revenge: which would have been the only truth in the whole relation. She
killed Laman's cow, she said, because she had been teazed for money due to
him, or rather to his wife. When she was swum, her cat imp came up to her
and sucked upon her breast; so she said, poor raving creature: but when
she was taken out of the water she never saw it more. Palmer also
confessed that once he lay as a toad in the way of a young man he hated,
to get himself hurt. The young man kicked the toad, and Palmer had a sore
shin; but he bewitched the youth, so that he languished for years in woe
and torment. Then is given the list of all the people bedevilled and
bewitched by these two persons, and the account is signed, "Yours,
Misodaimon." Misodaimon would have done better if he could have called
himself Philalethes.