He understood the business, “But I must first,” says he, “have one of his sarks.” Which was soon gotten. What pranks he played with it cannot be known. But within a short while the gentleman recovered his health. When Hattaraick came to receive his wages, he told the Lady, “Your brother William shall quickly go off the country, but shall never return.” She knowing the fellow’s prophecies to hold true, caused her brother to make a disposition to her of all his patrimony, to the defrauding of his young brother George. After that this warlock had abused the country for a long time, he was at last apprehended at Dunbar, and brought into Edinburgh, and burnt upon the Castle hill.——I have inserted this story, which I had from the gentleman’s own brother, a thing well known at that time through the country, not so much for any matter in it, as that it may be an occasion to me to speak a little of charms. The word charm or incantation comes from the Latin word _carmen_, signifying a verse, because the Roman soothsayers gave their charms in verse. It is only a strange composure of words to blind the understanding of people, pretending, by virtue of words, great matters may be brought to pass. But words of themselves, either spoken or written, (as these charms) have no force to bring any thing to pass. It is only the power of the almighty God. Charming is much practised by the Pope and the Romish church. Their whole forms of religion, both in private and in public, consisting of charms of all sorts. Pope Leo had a charm, which he said he had from an angel, who taught him, that whosoever carried that charm in write about him, and said every day three Pater Nosters, three Aves, and one Creed, shall not that day be conquered of his enemies, nor be in other danger, ghostly or bodily, but shall be protected by these holy names of Jesus Christ, written with the four Evangelists, and crosses between them, as † Jesus, † Christus, † Messias, † Sotar, † Emmanuel, &c. It is still a common practice among the Papists to carry charms about them to make them shot-free when they go to war; as also hath been found by experience in the late Irish wars, many of the idolatrous Irish being found with charms in their pockets, composed by the Popish clergy. They make their holy water by a charm or conjuration, thus: “I conjure thee, thou creator of water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that thou drive the devil out of every corner of this church and altar, so that he remain not within our precincts, which are just and holy.” This is used in the dedication of their churches. Thus, by holy water, they not only conjure the devil from their churches, but from dwelling houses, from meat and drink, from salt upon the table. They dedicate their bells in steeples, which have power to clear the air from devils. It is likewise a sort of charm which many witches have, namely, to cut the rowan tree between the two Beltan days. If any man