Forest of Rossendale. 275 



hand into the fire, when the whole exploded with a report which 

 shook the adjoining cottages, and awakened the inmates. Next 

 morning it was reported that the reputed Witch was dead, having 

 been found lying underneath the bed in her own house, with her 

 right arm burnt almost to a cinder ! 



A number of the youths of the village of Crawshawbooth were 

 amusing themselves at football on a Sunday afternoon in the field 

 lying between "Pinner Lodge" and Sunnyside House. A 

 gentlemanly personage, dressed" in black, approached and stood 

 looking at them for some time, apparently interested in the game. 

 The ball at length rolled to his feet, and, unable to resist the 

 temptation, he took it in his hand, and gave it a kick that sent it 

 spinning into the air ; but instead of the ball returning to terra 

 firma, it continued to rise until it vanished from the sight of the 

 gaping rustics. Turning to look at the stranger who had performed 

 such a marvellous feat, they espied what they had not observed 

 before — the cloven foot and barbed tail (just visible from under- 

 neath the coat) of his Satanic Majesty. The effect of this 

 unexpected discovery on the onlookers may be imagined but not 

 described. Had the wall of the field been twelve feet high instead 

 of four, it could not have prevented their exit. As for the cause of 

 their sudden dispersion, he vanished in a blaze of fire, and the 

 smell of the brimstone fumes produced by his disappearance was 

 felt in the village for many weeks afterwards. 



A correspondent in a local newspaper relates the same story with a 

 slight variation. One of the players thinking he would give the gentle- 

 man the chance of a knock, turned his foot towards him and kicked 

 the ball. The latter availed himself of the opportunity, and gave the 

 ball a tremendous kick, which struck it into a blue blaze ! The 

 same correspondent (under the signature of Oliver Dingle) states 

 that " he has often heard an old Crawshawboothian relate a story 

 of a bewitched cow, the owner of which, seeing that something was 

 wrong with it, but not being able to tell what, called a number of 

 his friends and neighbours together to look at it, the person who 

 related the story being one of these. The cow was turned out into 



