On the usual proclamation of a general pardon, on the accession of James I., the crime of witchcraft was specially excepted from the general amnesty; and the credulous King's belief in this superstition encouraged witch-finders and numerous accusations in all parts of the country. Amongst others, it was remembered that Dr. Dee, then warden of the Collegiate Church of Manchester, had in the preceding reign predicted a fortunate day for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, and had also undertaken to render innocuous the waxen effigy of that Queen, found in Lincoln's Inn-fields. He was also known to have made various predictions, to be the possessor of a magic crystal or stone,[126] and to have held a close intimacy with Edward Kelly, _alias_ Talbot, a noted seer, conjuror and necromancer of the time. Accordingly Dr. Dee was formally accused of practising witchcraft, and a petition from him, dated 5th January, 1604, (preserved in the _Lansdowne MSS._, Cod. 161,) praying to be freed from this revolting imputation, even at the risk of a trial for his life, sufficiently indicates the horror excited by the charge. The doctor's petition sets forth that "It has been affirmed that your Majesty's supplicant was the conjuror belonging to the most honourable privy council of your Majesty's predecessor of famous memory, Queen Elizabeth, and that he is, or hath been, a caller or invocator of devils or damned spirits. These slanders, which have tended to his utter undoing, can no longer be endured; and if, on trial, he is found guilty of the offence imputed to him, he offers himself willingly to the punishment of death, yea, either to be stoned to death, or to be buried quick, or to be burned unmercifully." He seems to have escaped scatheless, save in reputation; and in 1594, when applied to for the purpose of exorcising seven demons who held possession of five females and two of the children of Mr. Nicholas Starkie, of Leigh, he refused to interfere; advising they should call in some godly preachers, with whom he would, if they thought proper, consult concerning a public or private fast. He also sharply reproved Hartlay, a conjuror, for his practices in this case. THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. Come, gallant sisters, come along, Let's meet the devil ten thousand strong; Upon the whales' and dolphins' backs, Let's try to choak the sea with wracks, Spring leaks, and sink them down to rights. [_Line wanting._] And then we'll scud away to shour, And try what tricks we can play more. Blow houses down, ye jolly dames, Or burn them up in fiery flames; Let's rowse up mortals from their sleep, And send them packing to the deep, Let's strike them dead with thunder-stones, With lightning search [? scorch] to skin and bones; For winds and storms, by sea and land, You may dispose, you may command.