N. B. I do not find she told them whether the Devil wrote it with a Pen, or whether on Paper or Parchment, nor whether she sign’d it or no, but it seems he carry’d it away with him. I suppose, if Satan’s Register were examin’d, it might be found among the Archives of Hell, the Rolls of his acta Publica; and when his Historiographer Royal publishes them, we may look for it among them.
Then he furnish’d her with three Devils, to wait upon her (I suppose) for she confess’d they were to be employ’d in her Service; they attended in the Shapes of two little Dogs and a Mole: The first she bewitch’d was her own Husband, by which he lay a while in great Misery and died; then she sent to one Captain Beal and burnt a new Ship of his just built, which had never been at Sea; these and many other horrid Things she did and confess’d, and having been twenty Years a Witch, at last the Devil left her, and she was burnt as she deserv’d.
That some extraordinary Occasions may bring these Agents of the Devil, nay, sometimes the Devil himself, to assume human Shapes, and appear to other People we cannot doubt; he did thus in the Case of our Saviour as a Tempter, and some think he did so to Manasses as a Familiar, who the Scripture charges with Sorcery, and having a Familiar or Devil; Fame tells us that St. Dunstan frequently converst with him, and finally, took him by the Nose; and so of others.
But in these modern Ages of the World, he finds it much more to his Purpose to work under Ground as I have observ’d, and to keep upon the Reserve; so that we have no authentick Accounts of his personal Appearance, but what are very antient or very remote from our Faith, as well as our Enquiry.
It seems to be a Question that would bear some debating, whether all Apparitions are not Devils or from the Devil; but there being so many of those Apparitions which we call Spirits, which really assume Shapes and make Appearances in the World, upon such Accounts as we know Satan himself scorns to be employ’d in, that I must dismiss the Question in favour of the Devil; assuring them, that as he never willingly did any good in his Life, so he would be far from giving himself the Trouble of setting one Foot into the World, on such an Errand; and for that Reason we maybe assur’d those certain Apparitions, which we are told came to detect a Murther in Gloucestershire, and others who appear’d to prevent the ruining an Orphan for want of finding a Deed, that was not lost, was certainly some other Power equally concern’d, and not the Devil.
On the other Hand, neither will it follow that Satan never appears in human Shape; for tho’ every Apparition may not be the Devil, yet it does not follow that the Devil never makes an Apparition: All I shall say to it is, as I have mention’d before, that generally speaking, the Devil finds it more for his Purpose, to have his Interest in the World propagated another Way; namely, in private, and his personal Appearances are reserv’d for Things only of extraordinary Consequence, and, as I may say, of evident Necessity, where his Honour is concern’d, and where his Interest could be carried on no other Way; not forgetting to take Notice that this is very seldom.
It remains to enquire, what then those Things are which we make so much stir about, and which are call’d Apparitions, or Spirits assuming human Shapes, and shewing themselves to People on particular Occasions? whether they are evil Spirits or good? and tho’, indeed, this is out of my Way at this Time, and does not relate at all to the Devil’s History, yet I thought it not amiss to mention it; (1.) Because, as I have said, I do not wholly exclude Satan from all Concern in such Things; and (2.) Because I shall dismiss the Question with so very short an Answer, namely, that we may determine which are and which are not the Devil’s, by the Errand they come upon; every one to his own Business; if it comes of a good Errand, you may certainly acquit the Devil of it, conclude him innocent, and that he has no hand in it; if it comes of a wicked and devilish Errand, you may e’en take him up upon Suspicion, ’tis ten to one but you find him at the Bottom of it.
Next to Apparitions, we find Mankind disturb’d by abundance of little odd reserv’d Ways which the Devil is shrewdly suspected of having a Hand in, such as Dreams, Noises, Voices, &c. smells of Brimstone, Candles burning blue, and the like.
As to Dreams, I have nothing to say in Satan’s Prejudice at all there; I make no Question but he deals very much in that Kind of Intelligence, and why should he not? we know Heaven it self formerly converst very often with the greatest of Men, by the same Method, and the Devil is known to mimick the Methods, as well as the Actions of his Maker; whether Heaven has not quite left off that Way of working, we are not certain; but we pretty well know the Devil has not left it, and I believe some Instances may be given where his Worship has been really seen and talk’d to in sleep, as much as if the Person had been awake with his Eyes open.
These are to be distinguish’d too, pretty much by the Goodness or Badness of the Subject; how often have Men committed Murther, Robbery and Adultery in a Dream, and at the same time except an extraordinary Agitation of the Soul, and express’d by extraordinary Noises in the Sleep, by violent Sweating and other such Ways, the Head has never been remov’d from the Pillow, or the Body so much as turn’d in the Bed?