THE SUFFOLK WITCHES. 485 



tortures were to come the pennywinkie, the boots, and the 

 caschielawis. Our English witches, so far as I can discover, 

 w r ere subject to none of these. 



Having adverted to Wesley's general belief, it may be as 

 well to give his confession in full : 



6 It is true,' writes he, < that the English in general, and 

 indeed most of the men in Europe, have given up all ac- 

 counts of witches and apparitions as mere old wives' fables. 

 I am sorry for it, and I willingly take this opportunity of 

 entering my solemn protest against this violent compliment 

 which so many that believe the Bible pay to those who do 

 not believe it. 



i I owe them no such service. I take knowledge these are 

 at the bottom of the outcry which has been raised, and with 

 such insolence spread throughout the nation, in direct oppo- 

 sition, not only to the Bible, but to the suffrage of the wisest 

 and the best of men in all ages and nations. 



* They well know, whether Christians know it or not, that 

 the giving up witchcraft is, in effect, giving up the Bible. 

 And they know, on the other hand, that if but one account 

 of the intercourse of men with separate spirits be admitted, 

 their whole castle in the air deism, atheism, materialism 

 falls to the ground. I know no reason, therefore, why 

 we should suffer even this weapon to be wrested out of our 

 hands. Indeed, there are numerous arguments besides which 

 abundantly confute their vain imaginations ; but we need 

 not be hooted out of one : neither reason nor religion re- 

 quires this.' 



THE END. 



LONDOX: 

 ROBSOX AXD SON'S, PRINTERS, FANCRAS ROAD, N.W. 



