"When orders have been issued for the meeting of the Sabbath, all the wizards and witches who fail to attend it are lashed by demons with a rod made of serpents and scorpions. In France and England the witches ride upon broomsticks; but in Italy and Spain the Devil himself, in the shape of a goat, supports them on his back, which lengthens or shortens according to the number of witches he is desirous of accommodating. No witch, when proceeding to the Sabbath, can go out by a door or window, were she to try ever so much. Their general mode of ingress is by a keyhole and of egress by the chimney, up which they fly, broom and all, with the greatest ease. To prevent the absence of the witches being noticed by their neighbours, some inferior demon is commanded to assume their shapes and lie in their beds, feigning illness, until the Sabbath is over. When all the wizards and witches arrive at the place of rendezvous, the infernal ceremonies begin. Satan, having assumed his favourite shape of a large he-goat, with a face in front and another in his haunches, takes a seat upon the throne; and all present in succession pay their respects to him and kiss him on his face behind. This done, he appoints a master of the ceremonies, in company with whom he makes a personal examination of all the witches to see whether they have the secret mark upon them by which they are stamped as the Devil's own. The mark is always insensible to pain. Those who have not yet been marked receive the mark from the master of ceremonies--the Devil, at the same time, bestowing nicknames upon them. This done, they all begin to sing and dance in a most furious manner, until some one arrives who is anxious to be admitted into the society. They are then silent for a while until the newcomer has denied his salvation, kissed the Devil, spat upon the Bible, and sworn obedience to him in all things. They then begin dancing with all their might, and singing.... In the course of an hour or two they generally become wearied of this violent exercise, and then they all sit down and recount all their evil deeds since last meeting. Those who have not been malicious and mischievous enough towards their fellow-creatures receive personal chastisement from Satan himself, who flogs them with thorns and scorpions until they are covered with blood and unable to sit or stand. When this ceremony is concluded, they are all amused by a dance of toads. Thousands of these creatures spring out of the earth, and, standing upon their hind legs, dance while the Devil plays the bagpipes or the trumpet. These toads are all endowed with the faculty of speech, and entreat the witches there to reward them with the flesh of unbaptized infants for their exertions to give them pleasure.