296 OLD SAItXIA. 



Coin de la Biclic ' at St. Martin's, between Saints and La 

 Villette ; and in the cross lane running from Le Carrefour 

 David to tlie Profond Camp past tlie house now called St. 

 Kilda, a small white hare was su])pose(l to be seen on stormy 

 nights accompanied by Le Feu Belengier (Will-o'-the-wisp). 



Besides the above there was the headless dog which 

 haunted La Ville an Roi and ' La Bete de la Devise de 

 Sausmarez,' at St. Martin's, a black dog that m^^d to haunt 

 the avenue near Sausmarez Manor." 



How a Guernsey Witch was Exorcised. 



The author of this contribution to the Transactions of 

 the Guernsey Natural Science Society says : — 



My late father, who Avas born in 1806, has left the fol- 

 lowing story among his papers, and told me more than once 

 that it was perfectly true : — 



When I was a little boy I had a grand-uncle, a pretty 

 large farmer, who was a firm believer in witchcraft. He 

 dwelt at St. Pierre-du-Bois One year three or four of his 

 cows fell ill and died. This, of course, he knew^ could not 

 have happened naturally. It must be the work of some Avitch 

 who had cast her " evil eye " on the animals, and a poor old 

 woman who, because she Avas crippled by the Aveight of years 

 had acquired a bad notoriety among ignorant and superstitious 

 prople like himself, Avas immediately suspected of being the 

 author of the death of the animals. Positive proof Avas Avant- 

 ing ; but my good grand-uncle knew hoAv to obtain this proof, 

 and this by a very simple process. It consisted in placing the 

 pluck of the last coav that had died in a large cauldron and 

 making an enormous fire underneath it imtil the contents Avere 

 reduced to ashes. When things arrived at this point, the 

 Avitch, Avho during the Avliole of the ojjeration had suffered 

 indescribable torments, came down the chimney and appeared 

 in the fireplace. My Tuicle fixed the ceremony for a certain 

 nio-ht, and mv father and mother Avere invited to attend. 

 They went and took me AAdth them. I shall never forget the 

 sight I Avitnessed that evening. When Ave arrived in the 

 kitchen, Avhich Avas the scene of operations, I saAv my kinsman 

 Avith about ten or a dozen countrymen standing in the room, 

 armed Avith pitchforks, rusty bayonets and other lethal 

 Aveapons. After our arrival the door was locked and the 

 key-hole and every chink carefully stopped up so that the 

 Avitch could find no means of entrance except down the chim- 

 ney. It was one of those Cyclopean fireplaces, such as you 

 may have seen, large enough to hold a couple of cartloads of 



