WHAT BUT A WITCH I 7 



And I must say that, to this day, I can't 

 quite see how that which is so dreadfully 

 wicked for a man to do, to serve his own 

 ends, can be any thing else but wicked when 

 it's done for some trumpery little quarrel 

 between one country and another, such as 

 I've read about in histories. But I must 

 not forget this poor old woman. I've said 

 the stable-boys called her a witch ; and to 

 prove it, they said the cats would always 

 get about her if they could, and she could 

 handle snakes without their hurting her ; 

 and one boy said he once caught her with 

 a great ugly toad feeding out of her hand. 

 At last the kettle got too hot to hold the 

 water, and blew the lid off; for all the horses 

 were taken bad together ; and the coachman 

 complained to the squire that it was all be- 

 cause he had offended the old woman, and 

 she had bewitched 'em. 



The squire, for fun, I suppose, called old 

 Mary to book ; but she soon showed him 

 that it was because she gave the cats mice 

 and little birds that they purred about her ; 

 and if she handled snakes, it was only the 

 harmless sorts, and not vipers. About the 

 toad she amused him a good deal, by fetch- 



