particular uses. I shall give an account of one of those, described in _Wormius_’s Study, who saies that “the _Laplanders_ drum, which they use in their magic, and by beating which they discover those things they desired, is made of an oval piece of wood hollowed, in length a foot, in breadth ten inches; in this they make six holes, and put a handle to it, that they may hold in the left hand, whilst they beat it with the other; upon it they stretch over a skin, painted with diverse rude figures, drawn with blood, or red; upon this lies a piece of brass, in the shape of a Rhomboides, somewhat convexe, about two inches in diameter, in the middle of this, and at each corner hangs a small chain. The instrument, with which they beat the drum, is of bone, six inches long, about the thickness of a little finger, and made much like the Latine T.” This instrument the _Laplanders_ use for diverse designs, and are of opinion that whatever they do it is don by the help of this. For this reason they have it in great esteem and reverence, taking such care in securing it, that they wrap it with the Index, and hammer, up in a Lambskin, and for its greater safety, lay it in some private place. But I think it an errour, to suppose them to lay it in a Lambskin: for it is written in some places _Loomskin_, which signifies the skin of a bird that lives altogether in the water. They think it so sacred, and holy, that they suffer no maid that is marriageable to touch it; and if they remove it from place to place, they carry it the last of all, and this must be don too only by men; or else they go with it thro some untrod way, that no body may either meet or follow them. The reason they give for their great care in this particular, is, because they believe if any one, especially a maid that is marriageable, should follow the same way, they would in three daies time at least fall into some desperate disease, and commonly without any hopes of recovery. This they seem to verifie by many examples, that we may give the more credit to it; and we have the less reason to doubt the truth of this, since the devil severely commands his worship to be observed, and suffers not those rites and customs he hath imposed to be violated, so long as God is pleased to grant him this liberty. Now because it may happen sometimes that a woman may out of necessity be constrained to go that way, by which the drum hath bin carried, the devil is so favorable as to permit it without any danger, upon condition she first offers a brazen ring to the drum. [Illustration]