Another circumstance, not less curious, is--that it is immediately after the story of the unnamed multitudes, so wonderfully cured by foul clothes,--that this story of the devil-masters discomfited by a rebellious servant of theirs, makes its appearance. Turn now to the supposed true devil-master--on this score, what was it that he did? Just nothing. The devil,--and a most mischievous one he was,--_he_ was doing all this mischief:--the man, who had all such devils so completely in his power, that they quit possession, and decamp at the mere sight or smell of a dirty handkerchief or apron of his;--he, though seeing all this mischief done,--done by this preëminently mischievous as well as powerful devil,--still suffers him to go on;--and not any the least restraint in any shape, does he impose upon him; but leaves him in complete possession of that receptacle, which, according to the narrative, he wanted neither the power nor the will to convert into an instrument of so much mischief. Was it from Paul himself, that, on this special occasion, for this special purpose, namely, the putting down these presumptuous competitors, this mysterious being received so extraordinary a gift? This is not said, but not improbably, as it should seem, this was the miracle, which it was intended by the historian should be believed. Occasions there are--and this we are desired to believe was one of them--in which the impossibility of a thing is no bar to the knowledge of it. "And this was known," continues the narrative, ver. 17, "And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus: and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified." Now, supposing this thing known, the fear stated as the result of it may without difficulty be believed:--fear of being treated as those sons of the chief of the Jewish priests had been: fear of the devil, by whom those, his unequal antagonists, had been thus dealt with: fear of the more skilful devil-master, under whose eye these bunglers had been thus dealt with. But the name here said to be _magnified_--the name of the Lord Jesus--how _that_ came to be _magnified_: in this lies all the while the difficulty, and it seems no small one.