Imposture. - Richard Heydock, M.D., quondam fellow of New College in Oxford, was an ingenious and a learned person, but much against the hierarchie of the Church of England. He had a device to gaine proselytes, by preaching in his dreame; which was much noised abroad, and talked of as a miracle. But King James 1st being at Salisbury went to heare him. He observed that his harrangue was very methodicall, and that he did but counterfeit a sleep. He surprised the doctor by drawing his sword, and swearing, "God's waunes, I will cut off his head"; at which the doctor startled and pretended to awake; and so the cheat was detected. ___________________________________
One M{istress} Katharine Waldron, a gentlewoman of good family, waited on Sir Francis Seymor's lady, of Marleborough. Shee pretended to be bewitched by a certain woman, and had acquired such a strange habit that she would endure exquisite torments, as to have pinnes thrust into her flesh, nay under her nailes. These tricks of hers were about the time when King James wrote his Demonologie. His Majesty being in these parts, went to see her in one of her fitts. Shee lay on a bed, and the King saw her endure the torments aforesayd. The room, as it is easily to be believed, was full of company. His Majesty gave a sodain pluck to her coates, and tos't them over her head; which surprise made her immediately start, and detected the cheate. ___________________________________
[Speaking of the trial of Aim Bodenham, who was executed at Salisbury as a witch in 1653, Aubrey says:-] Mr. Anthony Ettrick, of the Middle Temple, a very judicious gentleman, was a curious observer of the whole triall, and was not satisfied. The crowd of spectators made such a noise that the judge [Chief Baron Wild] could not heare the prisoner, nor the prisoner the judge; but the words were handed from one to the other by Mr. R. Chandler, and sometimes not truly reported. This memorable triall was printed about 165-. 4to. [See full particulars in Hatcher's History of Salisbury, p. 418. - J. B.] ___________________________________
In the time of King Charles II. the drumming at the house of Mr. Monpesson, of Tydworth, made a great talke over England, of which Mr. Joseph Glanvill, Rector of Bath, hath largely writt; to which I refer the reader. But as he was an ingenious person, so I suspect he was a little too credulous; for Sir Ralph Bankes and Mr. Anthony Ettrick lay there together one night out of curiosity, to be satisfied. They did heare sometimes knockings; and if they said "Devill, knock so many knocks"; so many knocks would be answered. But Mr. Ettrick sometimes whispered the words, and there was then no returne: but he should have spoke in Latin or French for the detection of this.
Another time Sir Christopher Wren lay there. He could see no strange things, but sometimes he should heare a drumming, as one may drum with one's hand upon wainscot; but he observed that this drumming was only when a certain maid-servant was in the next room: the partitions of the rooms are by borden-brasse, as wee call it. But all these remarked that the Devill kept no very unseasonable houres: it seldome knock't after 12 at night, or before 6 in the morning.
[In Hoare's Modern Wiltshire, (Hundred of Amesbury,) p. 92, is a narrative, quoted from Glanvil, of the nocturnal disturbances in the house of Mr. Mompesson at North Tidworth, Wilts, in the year 1661, which excited considerable interest at the time, and led to the publication of several pamphlets on the subject. The book by Mr. Glanvil, referred to by Aubrey, is called "A blow at modern Sadducism; or Philosophical considerations touching the being of Witches and Witchcraft; with an account of the Demon of Tedworth." Lond. 1666, 4to. There are other editions in folio and 8vo. in 1667 and 1668. Addison founded his comedy of "The Drummer, or the Haunted House," on this occurrence. - J. B.] ___________________________________
About 167- there was a cabal of witches detected at Malmsbury. They ere examined by Sir James Long of Draycot-Cerne, and by him committed to Salisbury Gaol. I think there were seven or eight old women hanged. There were odd things sworne against them, as the strange manner of the dyeing of H. Denny's horse, and of flying in the aire on a staffe. These examinations Sir James hath fairly written in a book which he promised to give to the Royall Societie. ___________________________________
At Salisbury a phantome appeared to Dr. Turbervill's sister severall times, and it discovered to her a writing or deed of settlement that was hid behind the wainscot ___________________________________
Phantomes. - Though I myselfe never saw any such things, yet I will not conclude that there is no truth at all in these reports. I believe that extraordinarily there have been such apparitions; but where one is true a hundred are figments. There is a lecherie in lyeing and imposeing on the credulous; and the imagination of fearfull people is to admiration: e.g. Not long after the cave at Bathford was discovered (where the opus tessellatum was found), one of Mr. Skreen's ploughboyes lyeing asleep near to the mouth of the cave, a gentleman in a boate on the river Avon, which runnes hard by, played on his flajolet. The boy apprehended the musique to be in the cave, and ran away in a lamentable fright, and his fearfull phancy made him believe he saw spirits in the cave. This Mr. Skreen told me, and that the neighbourhood are so confident of the truth of this, that there is no undeceiving of them.