I have instanced these few examples of my personal knowledge of witches and witchcraft not as throwing any light either upon their claims or their methods, but simply as some proof of what I have adduced earlier in this volume, that belief in witchcraft, under one form or another, is as widely prevalent in the modern civilised world as ever it was, and that it is ever likely to remain so. Nor does the fact that rogues and vagabonds not a few have availed themselves of its time-honoured respectability as a cloak for their petty depredations at all detract from its claims to respectful credence. That great faith is yet to be whose fundamental truths cannot be turned to the advantage of the charlatan, the swindler and the sham devotee--the greater the faith, indeed, so much the greater is, and must be, the number of its exploiters, battening upon the devotion of the faithful. Nevertheless, it is not upon questions of credibility or faith alone that the world-empire of the witch is founded. Demonstrably true or proven false, the cult of witchcraft has existed from the beginning and will continue until the end of history. Worshipped or reviled, praised, persecuted or condemned, witchcraft and the witch have endured and will endure while there remains one man or woman on the earth capable of dreading the Unknown. Rejoice or grieve as you will the witch is the expression of one of the greatest of human needs--that of escaping from humanity and its limitable environment--of one of the greatest of human world-movements, the revolt against the Inevitable. She does and must exist, for the strongest of all reasons, that constituted as it is humanity could not exist without her. BIBLIOGRAPHY The principal authorities made use of in this volume, and not referred to in the text, are given in the following list. The dates do not necessarily refer to the original year of publication, but to the edition made use of:-- Adams, W.H. "Witch, Warlock and Magician." 1889. Ainsworth, H. "The Lancashire Witches." Andersen, Hans. "Fairy Tales." Augustine. "De Civitate Dei." Beaumont. "Treatise on Spirits." Blackstone. "Commentaries." Blau, Dr. Ludwig. "Das altjüdische Zauberwesen." 1898. Bodin, J. "De la Démonomanie des Sorciers." 1580. Boulton, Rich. "A Compleat History of Magick, Sorcery and Witchcraft." 1715. Brand, J. "Popular Antiquities of Great Britain." 1905. Budge, E. A. "Egyptian Magic." 1899. Burr, G. "The Witch Persecutions." 1897. Casaubon, M. "Of Credulity." 1668. Cassel, P. "On Popular Rhymes and Charms." 1890. Davies, T. W. "Magic and Divination among the Hebrews." 1898. Fairfax, E. "Dæmonologia." 1622. Frazer, J. G. "The Golden Bough." 1900. Gomme, G. L. "Handbook of Folklore." 1890. Gould, S. Baring. "Old English Fairy Tales." 1895. Gould, S. Baring. "The Book of Were Wolves." 1865. Grimm. "Deutsche Mythologie." Harrison, F. (Edit.). "The New Calendar of Great Men." 1892.