274 History of the 



him alive, whilst repeating some magical incantation. A cake 

 was also made of oatmeal, mixed with the urine of those bewitched, 

 and, after having been marked with the name of the person 



suspected, was then burnt in a similar manner The 



wind suddenly rose to a tempest, and threatened the destruction 

 of the house. Dreadful meanings, as of some one in intense 

 agony, were heard without, whilst a sense of horror seized upon 

 all within. At the moment when the storm was at the wildest, the 

 wizard knocked at the door, and in piteous tones desired admit- 

 tance. They had previously been warned by the ' wise man ' 

 whom they had consulted that such would be the case, and had 

 been charged not to yield to their feelings of humanity by allowing 

 him to enter. Had they done so, he would have regained all his 

 influence, for the virtue of the spell would have been dissolved. 

 Again and again did he implore them to "open the door, and 

 pleaded the bitterness of the wintry blast, but no one answered 

 from within. They were deaf to all his entreaties, and at last the 

 wizard wended his way across the moors as best he could. The 

 spell, therefore, was enabled to have its full effect, and within a 

 week the Rossendale wizard was locked in the cold embrace of 

 death." 



Another formidable Witch is said to have practised her black 

 art in Rossendale fifty or sixty years ago. A person who had 

 suffered from her evil influences applied for advice under the 

 circumstances to a famous Witch doctor and Fortune-teller who 

 resided at Wardle. The doctor gave him a small packet contain- 

 ing some unknown mixture, with instructions to hold it over the 

 fire in a glazed earthenware pot, about the hour of midnight. 

 He cautioned him, however, to beware of allowing it to drop into 

 the fire, as, if he did so, it would assuredly burn the Witch to 

 death. At the time named, having first carefully bolted the door 

 before performing the spell, he took the mixture and held it as 

 directed. Very soon an unearthly groan was heard outside, as if 

 proceeding from some one in great distress. This so terrified the 

 operator that he allowed the dish and its contents to drop from his 



