being a sturdie young fellowe, went to a woman’s house, a little waie out of the citie, and not farre from the sea side, to see whether she had anie eggs to sell. Who, perceiuing him to be a lustie yoong fellowe, a stranger, and farre from his countrie, so as upon the losse of him there would be the lesse misse or inquirie, she considered with hirselfe how to destroie him; and willed him to staie there awhile, whilest she went to fetch a few eggs for him. But she tarried long, so as the yoong man called unto hir, desiring hir to make hast: for he told hir that the tide would be spent, and by that meanes his ship would be gone and leaue him behind. Howbeit, after some detracting of time, she brought him a few eggs, willing him to returne to hir, if his ship were gone when he came.
‘The yoong fellowe returned towards his ship; but before he, went aboord, hee would needs eat an egg or twaine to satisfie his hunger, and, within short space, he became dumb and out of his wits, (as he afterwards said.) When he would haue entred into the ship, the marriners beat him backe with a cudgell, saieing: What a murren lacks the asse? Whither the Diuell will this asse? The asse, or yoong man, (I cannot tell by which name I should terme him,) being many times repelled, and understanding their words that called him asse, considering that he could speake neuer a word, and yet could understand euerie bodie; he thought that he was bewitched by the woman, at whose house he was. And, therefore, when by no means he could get into the boate, but was driuen to tarrie and see hir departure; being also beaten from place to place, as an asse; he remembered the witches words, and the words of his owne fellowes that called him asse, and returned to the witches house, in whose seruice he remained by the space of three yeares, dooing nothing with his hands all that while, but carried such burthens as she laied on his backe; haueing onely this comfort, that, although he were reputed an asse among strangers and beasts, yet that both this witch, and all other witches knew him to be a man.
‘After three yeares were passed ouer, in a morning betimes he went to towne before his dame; who, upon some occasion, staied a little behind. In the meane time, being neere to a church, he heard a little saccaring bell ring to the eleuation of a morrowe masse, and, not daring to go into the churche, least he should have beene beaten and driuen out with cudgells, in great deuotion he fell downe in the churchyard, upon the knees of his hinder legs, and did lift his forefeet ouer his head, as the preest doth hold the sacrament at the eleuation. Which prodigious sight, when certeine merchants of Genua espied, and with woonder beheld; anon commeth the witch with a cudgell in hir hand, beating foorth the asse. And bicause (as it hath beene said) such kinds of witchcrafts are verie usuall in those parts; the merchants aforesaid made such meanes, as both the asse and the witch were attached by the iudge. And she, being examined and set upon the racke, confessed the whole matter, and promised that, if she might have libertie to go home, she would restore him to his old shape: and, being dismissed, she did, accordinglie. So, as notwithstanding, they apprehended hir againe, and burned hir: and the yoong man returned into his countrie with a ioifull and merrie hart.’
Credulous as James I. was, yet he could not swallow lycanthropy:
‘But to tell you simply my opinion in this, if any such thing hath beene, I take it to haue proceeded but of a naturall super-aboundance of Melancholie, which, as we reade, that it hath made some thinke themselues Pitchers, and some, horses, and some, one kinde of beast or other. So suppose I, that it hath so viciat the imagination and memory of some, as per lucida interualla, it hath so highly occupied them, that they haue thought themselues very Woolfes indeed, at these times: and so haue counterfeited their actiones in going on their hands and feete, preassing to deuoure women and barnes,34 fighting and snatching with all the towne dogges, and in using such like other bruitish actiones, and so to become beastes by a strong apprehension as Nabucad-netzar was seuen yeares.’
But popular opinion still inclined to the belief in the ability of witches to change their form: and we will take only one instance, which occurs in the play of ‘The Late Lancashire Witches,’ by Heywood and Broome (London, 1634):
‘Meg. Then list yee well, the hunters are
This day, by vow, to kill a hare,
Or else the sport they will forsweare;
And hang their dogs up.
Mawd. Stay, but where
Must the long threatened hare be found?
Gil. They’l search in yonder meadow ground.
Meg. There will I be, and like a wily wat,
Untill they put me up, ile squat.’
And this belief has descended to quite modern times, for Mr. E. J. Wood, writing in Notes and Queries, October 25, 1862, says:
‘In a certain hollow, or “bottom,” not many miles from Sevenoaks, lived an old woman (now deceased) who had the local reputation of being a witch, and who could, according to the vulgar belief, convert herself into a hare at will. Her cottage had a drain-hole, or aperture, through which hole the so-called witch used to pass when she had metamorphosed herself into a “puss.”’
To the outside world, a witch, be she young or old, looked like another woman, but to the cognoscenti there were certain marks about her which proclaimed her as a servant to the devil. All authorities agree that a witch had certain marks upon her which no one could mistake, and Scot sums it up very tersely:
‘Item, if she haue anie priuie mark under hir arme pokes, under hir haire, under hir lip, or in hir buttocke, &c., it is a presumption for the iudge to proceed and giue sentence of death upon hir.’
But perhaps we find the fullest details of these marks in the abominable book ‘The Discovery of Witches,’ by the wretch Matthew Hopkins, the professional ‘witch-finder.’
‘Query 5. Many poore People are condemned for having a Pap or Teat about them, whereas many People, (especially antient People) are, and have been, a long time, troubled with naturall wretts35 on severall parts of their bodies, and other natural excresscencies, and these shall be judged only by one man alone, and a woman, and so accused or acquitted?
‘Answer. The parties so judging can justifie their skill to any, and shew good reasons why such markes are not meerly naturall, neither that they can happen by any such naturall cause as is before expressed, and for further answer for their private judgements alone, it is most false and untrue, for never was any man tryed by search of his body, but commonly a dozen of the ablest men in the parish or else where were present, and most commonly as many ancient skilfull matrons and midwives present when the women are tryed, which marks, not only he and his company attest to be very suspitious, but all beholders, the skilfulest of them, doe not approve of them, but likewise assent that such tokens cannot, in their judgements proceed from any of the above-mentioned Causes.
‘Query 6. It is a thing impossible for any man or woman to judge rightly on such marks, they are so neare to naturall excressencies, and they that finde them, durst not presently give Oath they were drawne by evill spirits, till they have used unlawfull courses of torture to make them say anything for ease and quiet, as who would not do? but I would know the reasons he speakes of, and whereby to discover the one from the other, and so be satisfied in that.
‘Answer. The reasons, in breefe, are three, which, for the present, he judgeth to differ from naturall marks; which are
‘1. He judgeth by the unusualnes of the place where he findeth the teats in or on their bodies, being farre distant from any usuall place, from whence such naturall markes proceed; as, if a witch plead the markes found are Emerods, if I finde them on the back bone, shall I assent with him? Knowing they are not neere that veine,
