These satanic children of Witches are elfish creatures, sometimes butterflies, sometimes bumble bees, sometimes caterpillars or worms. They are called good or bad things--Holds or Holdikens. The Witches injure cattle with them; conjure them into the stem of a tree; and, as we have seen, bury them under the Elder-bushes; then, as the caterpillars eat the foliage of the tree, the hearts of those people are troubled of whom the Witches think. The ill-omened _Cercis Siliquastrum_, or Judas Tree, is reputed to be specially haunted by Witches, who experience a grim pleasure in assembling around the tree on which the traitorous disciple is said to have hung himself. Perhaps it is they who have spread the tradition that death overtakes anyone who is unfortunate enough to fall into one of these trees. The Witches of the Tyrol are reputed to have a great partiality for Alder-trees. Witches are fond of riding about through the air in the dead of night, and perform long journeys to attend their meetings. Matthison tells us that “From the deep mine rush wildly out The troop of Gnomes in hellish rout: Forth to the Witches’ club they fly; The Griffins watch as they go by. The horn of Satan grimly sounds; On Blocksberg’s flanks strange din resounds, And Spectres crowd its summit high.” Their favourite steeds for these midnight excursions are besoms, which are generally to be found ready to hand; but the large Ragwort (which in Ireland is called the Fairies’ Horse) is highly prized for aerial flights. Bulrushes are also employed for locomotive purposes, and other plants are used for equipments, as we read in ‘The Witch of Fife’:-- “The first leet night, quhan the new moon set, Quhan all was dousse and mirk, We saddled our naigis wi’ the Moon-fern leif, And rode fra Kilmerrin Kirk. Some horses were of the Brume-cane framit, And some of the greine Bay-tree, But mine was made of are Humloke schaw, And a stout stallion was he.” William of Auverne, who wrote in the thirteenth century, states that when the Witches of his time wished to go to the place of rendezvous, they took a Reed or Cane, and, on making some magical signs, and uttering certain barbarous words, it became transformed into a horse, which carried them thither with extraordinary rapidity.