A certain gentleman, named Thomas Eastchurch, lived in Bideford with Elizabeth his wife, and Grace Thomas, her maiden sister. Mistress Grace had been ailing for some time, and had consulted several physicians, but to no purpose. Her brother did not attach much importance to the case, and considered she was suffering from natural causes. Doctors in those days called nervous attacks witchcraft. Some months previous to the date of our story, Mistress Grace Thomas had recovered sufficiently well as to be able to go out a little to take the air. While out she came across Temperance Lloyd, who, to her astonishment, fell on her knees, and thanked heaven that she was well and out again. Now, people do not usually go on their knees in the open streets to return thanks for the recovery of sick folk, even if they are doating old beggar women. This was suspicious, and coupled with the fact that it was Temperance Lloyd, the notorious witch, who was so surprisingly grateful, it caused Mistress Thomas to form a little theory about the origin of her ailments. That night she became much worse, and lay so for some months, sometimes better and sometimes worse. At length, on July 2nd, as she lay a groaning and complaining of her pains, and particularly of one knee, her sister looked at it, and on close inspection of the painful joint, discovered nine places like unto the pricks of a thorn. It needed no great amount of reasoning power to see that if people have nine prick holes on their knee, they must be bewitched. Then they recollected the fervent delight exhibited last September by Temperance Lloyd, and forthwith Dame Eastchurch procured an interview with that worthy. When asked if she had made any images of wax or clay for the bewitching of her sister, Temperance replied in the negative, but owned that she had used a piece of leather for that purpose. This distinction without a difference was not likely to avail her anything, and she was at once arrested. The next day, Sunday, July 3rd, a court of inquisition was opened at the Town-hall, and his worship the mayor, Mr. Thomas Gist, Alderman John Davies, and the town clerk, Mr. John Hill, formed the bench before which the case was tried. Mistress Thomas described very fully the history of her complaint. She gave all the symptoms; she told about the prickings, and pinchings, and swoonings in a style that would have satisfied any one; and what was more, she had lost every pain and ache ever since that Temperance Lloyd had been locked up. Then Dame Eastchurch related the discovery of the nine prick-holes, and of the acknowledgment by the prisoner of using the piece of leather to bewitch her sister.