The Year after the Armada, and Other Historical Studies
David Hume · en
The Grand Inquisitor's secretary wrote in answer
to this, thanking him, but regretting that his
information was so limited. The street mentioned as
the residence of the first witch, namely, the Calle de
Herreros, did not exist in Madrid, and the friend
and the master beg the vicar to ask his friend the
Devil for more information as to the houses and
husbands of both witches, "as to seek a Maria in
the High Street of Madrid was like looking for a
needle in a haystack." They want also the name
{310}
of the person who ordered the second charm, and
the secretary ends his letter with an astounding
invocation of the Devil's aid. He is conjured in
the names of God, of His holy Mother, and of
St. Simeon of Jerusalem, the King's patron saint, to
intercede with God, "who, the lessons tell us, is
a relative," to aid in the King's recovery. No reply
appears to have been received to this letter, but it
was soon followed by another, saying that the friend
and the master have administered the charm
recommended by the Devil, and the King is better; but
they urgently beg for further aid from the same
quarter, and more charms if possible. This letter
was written on November 5, 1698, and produced
two replies from the vicar, who said that he had
been conjuring all the afternoon fruitlessly, and at
last the Devil burst out in a rage, "Go away! don't
bother me." In fact, it is quite clear at this point
that the vicar, having got himself into a perfect net
of confusion and contradiction, was getting very
frightened indeed; and his next letter said the
Devil was sulky, and would only reply to all his
conjurations that he, the Devil, had been telling
him a lot of lies and would say no more. All
would be known by and by, but not yet. The
vicar added to this a remark to the effect that
all the King's doctors were false and disloyal,
and should be dismissed; the doctor to be
appointed in their place was to be chosen more for
his attachment to the old Church than for his
medical science, and, in the meanwhile, the King's
abode and garments were to be changed and the
exorcisms continued.