I 



MODERN NECROMANCY. 151 



who was terrified to sucli a degree that he could scarce 

 distinguish objects, and seemed to he half-dead. Seeing 

 him in this condition, I said, ' Agnolino, upon these 

 occasions a man should not yield to fear, hut should 

 stir about and give his assistance, so come directly and 

 put on some more of these.' The effects of poor Agno- 

 lino's fear were overpowering. The boy hearing a crepi- 

 tation ventured once more to raise his head, when, seeing 

 me laugh, he began to take courage, and said ' That the 

 devils were flying away with a vengeance/ 



"In this condition we stayed till the bell rung for 

 morning prayers. The boy again told us, that there 

 remained but few devils, and these were at a great 

 distance. When the magician had performed the rest of 

 his ceremonies, he stripped off his gown, and took up 

 a wallet full of books which he had brought with him. 



" We all went out of the circle together, keeping as 

 close to each other as we possibly could, especially the 

 boy, who had placed himself in the middle, holding the 

 necromancer by the coat, and me by the cloak. As we 

 were going to our houses in the quarter of Banchi, the 

 boy told us that two of the demons whom we had seen at 

 the amphitheatre went on before us leaping and skipping, 

 sometimes running upon the roofs of the houses, and 

 sometimes upon the ground. The priest declared, that 

 though he had often entered magic circles, nothing so 

 extraordinary had ever happened to him. As we went 

 along, he would fain persuade me to assist with him at 

 consecrating a brook from which, he said, we should 

 derive immense riches : we should then ask the demons 

 to discover to us the various treasures with which the 

 earth abounds, which would raise us to opulence and 

 power ; but that these love-affairs were mere follies, from 

 whence no good could be expected. I answered, ' That 

 I would readily have accepted his proposal, if I under- 



