ndently of their theological interest, as
specimens of pure and sterling English, may appear in a collected
form. The next tract requiring notice is "The Trial of Witchcraft, by
John Cotta," 1616, 4to, of which a second and enlarged edition was
published in 1624. Cotta, who was a physician of great eminence and
experience, residing at Northampton, has supplied in this very able,
learned, and vigorous treatise, a groundwork which, if pursued to its
just results, for he writes very cautiously and guardedly, and rather
hints at his conclusions than follows them out, would have sufficed to
have overthrown many of the positions of the supporters of the system
of witchcraft. His work has a strong scholastic tinge, and is not
without occasional obscurity; and on these accounts probably produced
no very extensive impression at the time. He wrote two other
tracts--1. "Discovery of the Dangers of ignorant practisers of Physick
in England," 1612, 4to; 2. "Cotta contra Antonium, or An Ant-Anthony,"
Oxford, 1623, 4to; the latter of which, a keen satire against the
chymists' aurum potabile, is exceedingly rare. Both are intrinsically
valuable and interesting, and written with great vigour of style, and
are full of curious illustrations derived from his extensive medical
practice. I cannot conclude this note without adverting to Gaule's
amusing little work, ("Select Cases of Conscience touching Witches and
Witchcraft, by John Gaule, Preacher of the Word at Great Haughton, in
the county of Huntingdon," 1646, 24mo.) which gives us all the
casuistry applicable to witchcraft. We can almost forgive Gaule's
fundamental errors on the general question, for the courage and spirit
with which he battled with the villainous witchfinder, Hopkins, who
wanted sorely to make an example of him, to the terror of all
gainsayers of the sovereign power of this examiner-general of witches.
Gaule proved himself to be an overmatch for the itinerating
inquisitor, and so effectually attacked, battled with, and exposed
him, as to render him quite harmless in future. The minister of Great
Haughton was made of different metal to the "old reading parson
Lewis," or Lowes, to whose fate Baxter refers with such nonchalance.
As the only clergyman of the Church of England, that I am aware of,
who was executed for witchcraft, Lewis's case is sufficiently
interesting to merit some notice. Stearne's (vide his _Confirmation of
Witchcraft_, p. 23,) account of it, which I hav