war, Matthew Hopkins, the witch-finder, stands eminent in his
sphere. This vulgar fellow resided, in the year 1644, at the town of
Manningtree, in Essex, and made himself very conspicuous in discovering
the devil's marks upon several unhappy witches. The credit he gained by
his skill in this instance seems to have inspired him to renewed
exertions. In the course of a very short time, whenever a witch was
spoken of in Essex, Matthew Hopkins was sure to be present, aiding the
judges with his knowledge of "such cattle," as he called them. As his
reputation increased, he assumed the title of "Witchfinder General,"
and travelled through the counties of Norfolk, Essex, Huntingdon, and
Sussex, for the sole purpose of finding out witches. In one year he
brought sixty poor creatures to the stake. The test he commonly adopted
was that of swimming, so highly recommended by King James in his
"Demonologie." The hands and feet of the suspected persons were tied
together crosswise, the thumb of the right hand to the toe of the left
foot, and vice versa. They were then wrapped up in a large sheet or
blanket, and laid upon their backs in a pond or river. If they sank,
their friends and relatives had the poor consolation of knowing they
were innocent, but there was an end of them: if they floated, which,
when laid carefully on the water was generally the case, there was also
an end of them; for they were deemed guilty of witchcraft, and burned
accordingly.

Another test was to make them repeat the Lord's prayer and creed. It
was affirmed that no witch could do so correctly. If she missed a word,
or even pronounced one incoherently, which in her trepidation, it was
most probable she would, she was accounted guilty. It was thought that
witches could not weep more than three tears, and those only from the
left eye. Thus the conscious innocence of many persons, which gave them
fortitude to bear unmerited torture without flinching, was construed by
their unmerciful tormentors into proofs of guilt. In some districts the
test resorted to was to weigh the culprit against the church Bible. If
the suspected witch proved heavier than the Bible, she was set at
liberty. This mode was far too humane for the witch-finders by
profession. Hopkins always maintained that the most legitimate modes
were pricking and swimming.

Hopkins used to travel through his counties like a man of
consideration, attended by his two assistants, always putting up at the