f
witchcraft. Several of the victims in the foregoing list, had only
themselves to blame for their fate. Many again, including the
apothecary's wife and daughter already mentioned, pretended to sorcery,
and sold poisons, or attempted by means of charms and incantations to
raise the devil. But throughout all this fearful period the delusion of
the criminals was as great as that of the judges. Depraved persons who,
in ordinary times, would have been thieves or murderers, added the
desire of sorcery to their depravity, sometimes with the hope of
acquiring power over their fellows, and sometimes with the hope of
securing impunity in this world by the protection of Satan. One of the
persons executed at the first burning, a prostitute, was heard
repeating the exorcism, which was supposed to have the power of raising
the arch enemy in the form of a goat. This precious specimen of human
folly has been preserved by Horst, in his "Zauberbibliothek." It ran as
follows, and was to be repeated slowly, with many ceremonies and
waivings of the hand:--

"Lalle, Bachera, Magotte, Baphia, Dajam,
Vagoth Heneche Ammi Nagaz, Adomator
Raphael Immanuel Christus, Tetragrammaton
Agra Jod Loi. Konig! Konig!"

The two last words were uttered quickly, and with a sort of scream, and
were supposed to be highly agreeable to Satan, who loved to be called a
king. If he did not appear immediately, it was necessary to repeat a
further exorcism. The one in greatest repute was as follows, and was to
be read backwards, with the exception of the last two words

"Anion, Lalle, Sabolos, Sado, Pater, Aziel
Adonai Sado Vagoth Agra, Jod,
Baphra! Komm! Komm!"

When the witch wanted to get rid of the devil, who was sometimes in the
habit of prolonging his visits to an unconscionable length, she had
only to repeat the following, also backwards, when he generally
disappeared, leaving behind him a suffocating smell:--

"Zellianelle Heotti Bonus Vagotha
Plisos sother osech unicus Beelzebub
Dax! Komm! Komm!"

This nonsensical jargon soon became known to all the idle and foolish
boys of Germany. Many an unhappy urchin, who in a youthful frolic had
repeated it, paid for his folly the penalty of his life. Three, whose
ages varied from ten to fifteen, were burned alive at Wurzburg for no
other offence. Of course every other boy in the city became still more
convinced of the power of the charm. One boy confessed that he would
willingly have so