710 O H D 
which his wife, in the prefence of a great concoucfe of 
people, took up a confiderable quantity of burning coals, 
■which (he held in her clothes, and applied to her breads, 
without the leaft hurt to her perfon or her garments, as 
the legend fays; and, her example being followed by her 
hulband with the like fuccefs, the multitude admired 
the miracle, and proclaimed the innocence of the loving 
pair. 
A fimilar trick was played by St. Britius, bifhop of 
Tours, in the fifth century. This Britius, or Brice, was 
a native of Tours, and educated under St. Martin, w'ho 
appears to have had an untradtable pupil. The early part of 
the life of Britius was fo far from being marked by ex¬ 
traordinary attachment to monadic duties, that he con¬ 
temned the infirudtions and admonitions of his tutor, 
whom he treated as a “ doating old man and cherifhed 
a paflion for worldly enjoyments ill becoming that holy 
function for which he was intended, giving way to pride 
and doth, to an excefs that called forth the fevere re¬ 
bukes of his preceptor, whofe counfel, how'ever, at length 
brought him to reflection, and wrought in him fincere 
contrition. St. Martin freely forgave him; but “ pro- 
phefied that his youthful folly and contumacy would be 
vifited by many fevere afflictions, when he fhould become 
a bifhop, which he forefaui would one day be the cafe.” 
In 399 the latter part of the prophecy was fulfilled, b'y 
the eleftion of Britius to the fee of Tours, which had be¬ 
come vacant by the deceafe of his pious mailer; and it is 
probable that his fedival was placed next in fucceffion to 
that of St. Martin, on account of his fucceeding the lat¬ 
ter in his bifhopric: (the feafl of St. Martin is on the 
11th of November, that of St. Britius on the 33th.) St. 
Britius had enjoyed this dignity with great reputation 
for thirty-three years, when, “ in fulfilment of the pro¬ 
phecy of St. Martin, (landers were fpread abroad con¬ 
cerning him ; and, among other offences, he was accufed 
of incontinence with his laundrefs, who had given birth 
to an infant.” The people, enraged at fo fhameful an 
aberration from the path of virtue in a bifhop, would 
have put him to death ; but, fays his legends, “ he ad¬ 
jured the infant, when only thirty days old, in the name 
of Jefus, the bleffed child and fon of the living God, that 
he would declare the truth; and the child plainly and 
audibly teftified that he was not his father.” This miracle 
failed, however, in its efi'eCf, and was wholly attributed 
to forcery: whereupon the faint had recourfe to the 
fiery-ordeal, by which he hoped to make the truth mani- 
feit, and eftablifn his innocence: he accordingly carried, 
unhurt, burning coals in his lap to the flirine of St. Mar¬ 
tin, “ to (flow that he was as free from guilt as his gar¬ 
ments were from injury.” This fuccefs being alfo attri¬ 
buted to his intimacy with the powers of darknefs, he 
was expelled the city, and forced to retire for feven years, 
at the expiration of which time he was recalled through 
the influence of the pope, and reftored to his dignities, 
which he enjoyed without molefiation until his death, 
which happened in the year 444. 
II. Water-ordeal was'performed either by plunging 
the bare arm up to the elbow in boiling water, and 
efcaping unhurt; or by calling the perfon fnfpedled into 
a river or pond of cold water, and, if he floated therein, 
without any affion of fwimming, it was deemed an evi¬ 
dence of his guilt; but, if he funk, he was acquitted. 
The preparations by fadings, prayers, and other reli¬ 
gious exercifes, were the fame for both thefe ordeals. 
In the hot-water ordeal, the perfon to be tried was con¬ 
duced with great folemnity to the church, where the 
prieft began by faying certain prayers fuitable to the oc- 
calion ; after which mafs was celebrated ; and, before the 
accufed was permitted to communicate, he was adjured, 
in the mod awful form of words, to confefs if he was 
guilty. Fire was then kindled under a pot filled with 
water; and, while the water was heating, the pried faid 
many prayers compofed for that purpofe. As foon as the 
water began to boil, a done was fufpended in it by a 
E A L. 
firing, at the depth of one, two, or three, palms, accord¬ 
ing to the nature of the accufation. The pot was then 
taken down and placed by the fide of the fire ; and, the 
prifoner having faid the Lord’s Prayer, (not very rapidly, 
we may prefume,) and marked bimfelf with the fign of 
the crofs, plunged his naked hand and arm into the 
water, and fnatched out the done. His arm was indantly 
wrapped in linen cloths, and put into a bag, which was 
fealed by the judge in the prefence of the fpeftators. 
The prifoner was then reltored to the pried, who pro¬ 
duced him in the lame church at the end of three days; 
wdien the bag was opened, the bandages taken off, and 
the arm examined by twelve of his own friends, and 
twelve of the friends of the profecutor. If any marks of 
fealding then appeared upon the arm, the prifoner was 
found guilty : if no fuch marks could be difcovered, he 
was acquitted. 
The ordeal by cohl water was thus conducted : The per¬ 
fon who was tried w r as put under the direftion of a 
ghoflly father of great reputation for fandlity, who 
obliged him to perforin many extraordinary adds of de¬ 
votion, and to keep a rigorous fall for three days. When, 
this fall was ended, and the day appointed for the trial 
came, the prifoner was publicly conduced to the church,, 
w here the prieft celebrated mafs ; and, before he per¬ 
mitted the accufed to communicate, he addreffed him in 
the following folemn drain : “ I adjurp thee, O man, by 
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, by the time Chriftianity 
which you profefs, by the only-begotten Son of God, by 
the holy Trinity, by the holy Gofpel, and by all the holy 
relics in this church, that you do not prefume fo com¬ 
municate, or approach this holy altar, if you have com¬ 
mitted this crime, confented to it, or know' who com¬ 
mitted it.” If the prifoner made no confefllon, the prieft 
gave him the communion, faying, “Let this body and- 
blood of our Lord Jefus Chritt be received by you as a 
probation this day.” After this, a quantity of holy water, 
was confecra'ted ; and then the whole company left the 
church in proceflion-to the pool where the ordeal was to 
be performed. When they arrived there, the prieft gave 
the prifoner a draught of the holy water, faying, “ Let 
this holy water be to thee a probation this day.” If the 
prifoner ftill continued to deny his guilt, the prieft then 
pronounced a long and very fervent prayer over the pool, 
adjuring it by every thing that was divine and venerable 
in heaven or on earth, that, if the perfon to be thrown 
into it was guilty, it would rejeft him, and caufe him to 
float upon its furface; but, if he was innocent, that it 
would receive him into its bofoin. The prifoner was then 
itripped naked, his hands and legs made faft, and a rope 
tied about his middle, with a knot upon it, at the dif- 
tance of a yard and half from his body, and thrown into 
the pool. If he floated, which was hardly to be expedited, 
ltd was taken out, and declared guilty; if he funk fo deep 
as to carry the knot of the rope under water, he was in- 
ftantly pulled out, before he could receive any injury, 
and declared innocent. 
It is ealy to trace out the traditional relics of this 
water-ordeal, in the ignorant barbarity ftill pradiifed in 
many countries, to dilcover witches, by calling them into 
a pool of w'ater, and drowning them, to prove their inno¬ 
cence. 
The mod refpedlable authors, ancient and modern, at¬ 
tribute the invention of water-ordeal, in the Chriltian 
church, to pope Eugenius II. though Le Brun, a prieft of 
the Oratory, maintains, that it was more ancient. How¬ 
ever this be, the cultom was condemned and abrogated, 
by the authority of Louis the Meek, about the year 829. 
It was afterwards revived, and pradlifed in the 10th, nth, 
and 12th, centuries. 
‘ A very peculiar fpecies of water-ordeal is faid to pre¬ 
vail among the Indians on the coaft of Malabar. A per¬ 
fon accufed of an enormous crime, is obliged to fwim over 
a large river abounding with crocodiles ; and, if he efcapes 
unhurt, he is efteeined innocent. And at Siam, befiaes 
the 
