[Sidenote: Daunsing Spirits.] Many times, pleasant & mery yong men, disguise themselues like vnto Diuels, or ofe shroud themselues in white shéetes to make other men affraide: with whome if simple men chaunce to méete, they make no doubt of the matter, but verily thinke they haue séene spirites, and straunge sightes. And yet it is not alwayes the safest way, so to deceiue men with iests and toyes; for many examples might be brought to shewe how euill some men haue sped hereby. It is an vsuall and common thing that yoong men merily disposed, when they trauell by the way, comming to their Inne at night, tie ropes to the bed side, or to the couerlet or garments, or else hide themselues vnder the bedde, and so counterfeiting themselues to be Spirites, deceiue and mocke their fellowes. It chaunced once at _Tigurin_ where we dwel, that certaine pleasant yong men disguising themselues, daunced about the Churchyard, one of them playing on a béere with two bones, as it were on a drumme. Which thing when certaine men had espied, they noysed it about the citie, how they had séene dead men daunce, and that there was great danger, least there should shortly ensue some plague or pestilence. Moreouer, it is well knowne to all men, that harlots, and whooremongers, haue practised their wickednesse a long season vnder this cloake and pretence, perswading their family, that walking Spirites haunt the house, least they should bee taken with the déede dooing, and that they might enioy their desired loue. Many times such bugges haue bin caught by the magistrates, and put to open shame. Théeues likewise vnder this colour haue many times robbed their neighboures in the night time, who supposing they heard the noyse of walking Spirits, neuer went about to driue the théeues away. Touching this point, that an euil Spirit, by means of naturall things which haue strange vertues, can do maruellous things, by deceiuing mens senses, I will at this present speake nothing. CHAP. VI. Priestes and Moncks fained themselues to be Spirites: also how _Mundus_ vnder this colour defiled _Paulina_, and _Tyrannus_ abused many noble and honest matrones. To these thinges may bee added, that there haue bin in all ages certaine Priests, which practising strange deuises, and giuing themselues to Necromancie, haue bewitched foolish men that highly estéemed them, to the ende they might thereby encrease their riches, and follow their lustfull pleasures. Touching which matter, to the ende godly disposed men may be the more héedfull, I will rehearse a fewe histories. [Sidenote: Iosephus de antiquitatib.] =Iosephus= a writer of histories, in his 18.booke and 4.chap. of Antiquities, remembreth a notorious deed which hapned at =Rome=, in the time of =Tyberius Cesar= vnder the pretence of sacrificing to the goddesse =Isis=. I will record the historie as it is translated by =Galenius=, a very learned man. [Sidenote: Paulina and Mundus.]