" ACCIDENTS :" WITCHCRAFT, THE HAUNTED HOUSE. 121 



that his harrangue was very methodical!, and that he did but counterfeit a sleep. He surprised the 

 doctor by drawing his sword, and swearing, " God's waunes, I will cut off his head ;" at which the 

 doctor startled and pretended to awake ; and so the cheat was detected. 



One M ris . Katharine Waldron,. a gentlewoman of good family, waited on Sir Francis Seymor's 

 lady, of Maryborough. Shee pretended to be bewitched by a certain woman, and had acquired 

 such a strange habit that she would endure exquisite torments, as to have pinnes thrust into her 

 flesh, nay under her nailes. These tricks of hers were about the time when King James wrote his 

 Demonologie. His Majesty being in these parts, went to see her in one of her fitts. Shee lay on 

 a bed, and the King saw her endure the torments aforesayd. The room, as it is easily to be 

 believed, was full of company. His Majesty gave a sodain pluck to her coates, and tos't them over 

 her head ; which surprise made her immediately start, and detected the cheate. 



[Speaking of the trial of Ann Bodenham, who was executed at Salisbury as a witch in 1653, 

 Aubrey says: ] Mr. Anthony Ettrick, of the Middle Temple, a very judicious gentleman, was 

 a curious observer of the whole triall, and was not satisfied. The crowd of spectators made 

 such a noise that the judge [Chief Baron Wild] could not heare the prisoner, nor the prisoner 

 the judge ; but the words were handed from one to the other by Mr. R. Chandler, and sometimes 

 not truly reported. This memorable triall was printed about 165-. 4to. [See full particulars in 

 Hatcher's History of Salisbury, p. 418. J. B.] 



In the time of King Charles II. the drumming at the house of Mr. Monpesson, of Tydworth, 

 made a great talke over England, of which Mr. Joseph Glanvill, Rector of Bath, hath largely 

 writt ; to which I refer the reader. But as he was an ingenious person, so I suspect he was a little 

 too credulous ; for Sir Ralph Bankcs and Mr. Anthony Ettrick lay there together one night out of 

 curiosity, to be satisfied. They did heare sometimes knockings ; and if they said " Devill, knock 

 so many knocks," so many knocks would be answered. But Mr. Ettrick sometimes whispered the 

 words, and there was then no returne : but he should have spoke in Latin or French for the 

 detection of this. 



Another time Sir Christopher Wren lay there. He could see no strange things, but sometimes 

 he should heare a drumming, as one may drum with one's hand upon wainscot ; but he observed 

 that this drumming was only when a certain maid-servant was in the next room : the partitions of 

 the rooms are by borden-brasse, as wee call it. But all these remarked that the Devill kept no 

 very unseasonable houres : it seldome knock't after 12 at night, or before 6 in the morning. 



[In Hoare's Modern Wiltshire, (Hundred of Amesbury,) p. 92, is a narrative, quoted from 

 Glanvil, of the nocturnal disturbances in the house of Mr. Mompesson at North Tidworth, Wilts, 

 in the year 1661, which excited considerable interest at the time, and led to the publication of 

 several pamphlets on the subject The book by Mr. Glanvil, referred to by Aubrey, is called " A 

 blow at modern Sadducism ; or Philosophical considerations touching the being of Witches and 

 Witchcraft ; with an account of the Demon of Tcdworth." Lond. 1666, 4to. There are other 

 editions in folio and 8vo. in 1667 and 1668. Addison founded his comedy of " The Drummer, 

 or the Haunted House," on this occurrence. J. B.] 



About 167 there was a cabal of witches detected at Malmsbury. They were examined by Sir 



B 



