inclination and feeling, a Christian; life would be
intolerable to me if I were not so. "But," says Saint Evremont, "the
most devout cannot always command their belief, nor the most impious
their incredulity." I acknowledge with Sir Thomas Brown that, "as in
philosophy, so in divinity, there are sturdy doubts and boisterous
objections, wherewith the unhappiness of our knowledge too nearly
acquainteth us;" and I confess with him that these are to be conquered,
"not in a martial posture, but on our knees." If then there are moments
wherein I, who have satisfied my reason, and possess a firm and assured
faith, feel that I have in this opinion a strong hold, I cannot but
perceive that they who have endeavoured to dispossess the people of their
old instinctive belief in such things have done little service to
individuals and much injury to the community.

_Stranger_.--Do you extend this to a belief in witchcraft?

_Montesinos_.--The common stories of witchcraft confute themselves, as
may be seen in all the trials for that offence. Upon this subject I
would say with my old friend Charles Lamb--

"I do not love to credit tales of magic!
Heaven's music, which is order, seems unstrung.
And this brave world
(The mystery of God) unbeautified,
Disordered, marred, where such strange things are acted."

The only inference which can be drawn from the confession of some of the
poor wretches who have suffered upon such charges is, that they had
attempted to commit the crime, and thereby incurred the guilt and
deserved the punishment. Of this indeed there have been recent
instances; and in one atrocious case the criminal escaped because the
statute against the imaginary offence is obsolete, and there exists no
law which could reach the real one.

_Stranger_.--He who may wish to show with what absurd perversion the
forms and technicalities of law are applied to obstruct the purposes of
justice, which they were designed to further, may find excellent examples
in England. But leaving this allow me to ask whether you think all the
stories which are related of an intercourse between men and beings of a
superior order, good or evil, are to be disbelieved like the vulgar tales
of witchcraft?

_Montesinos_.--If you happen, sir, to have read some of those ballads
which I threw off in the high spirits of youth you may judge what my
opinion then was of the grotesque demonology of the monks and middle ages
by the use the