afterwards the spits, and beats them black and blue, and then laughs at them. And he bids them believe that the day of judgment will come speedily, and therefore sets them at work to build a great house of stone, promising, that in that house he will preserve them from God’s fury, and cause them to enjoy the greatest delights and pleasures; but while they work exceeding hard at it, there falls a greater part of the wall down again, whereby some of the witches are commonly hurt, which makes him laugh; but presently he cures them again.—They said, they had seen sometimes a very great devil like a dragon, with fire round about him, and bound with an iron chain; and the devil that converses with them tells, that if any confess any thing, he will set that great devil loose upon them, whereby all Swedeland shall come to a great danger. They added, that the devil had a church there, such another as in the town of Monra. When the commissioners were coming, he told the witches they should not fear them, for he would certainly kill them all. And they confessed, that some of them had attempted to murder the commissioners, but had not been able to effect it.—Some of the children talked much of a white angel, which used to forbid them what the devil had bid them to do; and told them, that those things should not last long; what had been done, had been but permitted, because of the sin and wickedness of the people and their parents; and that the carrying away of the children should be made manifest. And they added, that this white angel would place himself sometimes at the door, betwixt the witches and the children; and that when they came to Blockula, he pulled the children back, but the witches went in.—We come, in the next place, to shew the mischief and evil which the witches promised to do to men and beasts. They confessed, that they were to promise the devil, that they would do all that’s ill; and that the devil taught them to milk, which was after this manner: They used to stick a knife in the wall, and hang a kind of label on it, which they drew and stroaked; and as long as this lasted, the persons they had power over were miserably plagued, and the beasts were milked that way, till sometimes they died.—A woman confessed, that the devil gave her a wooden knife; wherewith, going into houses, she had power to kill any thing she touched with it; yet there were few that would confess, that they had hurt any man or woman. Being asked, whether they had murdered any children? that they confessed, they had indeed tormented many, but did not know whether any of them died of these plagues.—And added, that the devil had shewed them several places where he had power to do mischief.—The minister of Elsdale declared that one night these witches were, to his thinking, on the crown of his head; and that from thence he had a long continued pain of the head.—One of the witches confessed, that the devil had sent her to torment that minister; and that she was