e. they pretend to a sign in order to seduce. And thus worthy Sir, I have freely given you my thoughts upon yours, which you so much obliged me with the sight of and upon the whole, tho I cannot in the general but commend your Caution in not asserting many things contended for by others; yet must say, that in my esteem there is retain'd so much as will secure all the rest; (to instance) if a Spirit has a Vehicle, i. e. some portion of matter which it acts, &c. hence as necessarily may be inferred that Doctrine of_ Incubus _and_ Succubus, _and why not also that of Procreation by Spirits both good and bad? Thus was_ Alexander _the_ Great, _the_ Brittish Merlin,[95] _and_ Martin Luther, _and many others said to be begotten. Again if the Witch has such a Wonder-working Power, why not to afflict? will not the Devil thus far gratifie her? And have none this Miraculous Power, but the Covenanting Witch? then the offence lyes in the Covenant, then 'tis not only hard, but Impossible to find a Witch by such Evidence as the Law of God requires; for it will not be supposed that they call Witness to this Covenant; therefore it will here be necessary to admit of such as the nature of such Covenant will bear (as Mr._ Gaul _hath it in his 5th head, i. e.) the testimony of the afflicted, with their Spectral sight, to tell who afflicts themselves or others; the experiment of saying the Lords Prayer, falling at the sight, and rising at the touch, searching for Tets (i. e. Excrescencies of Nature) strange and foreign stories of the Death of some Cattle, or over-setting some Cart; and what can Juries have better to guide them to find out this Covenant by._ [83] _'Tis matter of lamentation, and let it be for a lamentation, to consider how these things have open'd the Floodgates of Malice, Revenge, Uncharitableness, and Bloodshed, what Multitudes have been swept away by this Torrent._ _In_ Germany, _Countries depopulated; In_ Scotland _no less than 4000 have said to have suffered by Fire and Halter at one heat._[96] _Thus we may say with the Prophet_, Isa. lix. 10. We grope for the Wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no Eyes: we stumble at Noon-day as in the Night, we are in desolate places as dead Men: _and this by seeking to be wise above what is written, in framing to ourselves such crimes and such Ordels (or ways of Tryal) as are wholly foreign from the direction of our only guide, which should be a light to our feet, and a Lanthorn to our paths; but instead of this, if we have not followed the direction we have followed the Example of_ Pagan _and Papal_ Rome, _thereby rendering us contemptable, and base before all People, according as we have not kept his ways, but have been partial in his Law._ And now that we may in all our sentiments and ways, have regard to his testimonies, and give to the Almighty the glory due to his Name, is the earnest desire and Prayer of, Sir, Yours to Command, R. C.