The first in order which we shall review, as being possessed of devils, will be Mary Magdalene, out of whom, it is recorded, Jesus cast seven devils. This woman must be considered most grievously afflicted. How they operated on her—whether it was by inflicting bodily pain, or a mental disease, we know not; at any rate, she seemed incapable of getting rid of them. The number being seven, and having dispositions opposed to each other, they no doubt often quarrelled among themselves, and disturbed her in her sleeping hours; at all events, her gratitude and attachment to Jesus is proof positive that she preferred their room to their company. Christians, in speaking of Mary Magdalene, convey the idea, that, previous to the casting out of the devils, she did not bear a good character. But this is a mistake; for, if the New Testament account of devils taking possession of persons, be true, and that no human power can eject them, it then follows, that Mary Magdalene was truly unfortunate, since no less than seven of these intruders were constantly about her. We are left to conjecture how the number seven could have been discovered. If Mary had been compelled to have had seven teeth extracted, the number could have been fully known to those who stood by; but how, or in what way, it could have been known that seven devils were cast out, unless they appeared visible to the by-standers, does not appear. But we will not dwell too long on such sheer nonsense, as not one word of truth is in the whole story of casting out devils; for the best of all possible reasons, because there were none at all to cast out. It is recorded that the Jews were troubled with devils of different kinds, such as unclean devils, deaf and dumb devils, and, in one case, a kind of devil which could not be cast out only by prayer and fasting. If, at the present day, a person was to apply for medical aid, and hint to the doctor that his wife was really possessed with (not seven) but one devil, the doctor would consider such a man a fit subject for a lunatic asylum.