E

Ea : (See Babylonia.)

Earth laid upon a Corpse : It is related in Pennant's Tour that it was the custom in the Highlands of Scotland to lay on the breast of the deceased a wooden platter containing a little earth and a little salt - the former to symbolize the corruptibility of the body, the latter the incorruptibility of the soul.

Ebennozophim : (See Astrology.)

Eber Don : Chief of the Milesian invaders of Ireland. Many of their ships were lost in a storm which the Danaans (q.v.) raised by magic.

Eblis, or Haris as he is also called : the " Satan" of the Mohammedans. It is said that he was an inmate of Azazil, the heaven nearest God; and when the angels were commanded to bow down to the first man, Eblis was the chief of those who rebelled. They were cast out of Azazil, and Eblis and his followers were sentenced to suffer in hell for a long time. It is supposed that he was composed of the elements of fire and that he succeeded the peris in the government of the world.

Ech-Uisque : A Gaelic word meaning water-horse. The Ech-nisque was a goblin of Highland folk-lore, understood to be a favourite form assumed by the Kelpie, in order to lure souls to his master the Devil. In the disguise of a fine steed, beautifully accoutred, the Kelpie grazed innocently by the wayside. The weary traveller, passing by, and believing this splendid animal to have strayed from his master, was tempted to make use of him to help him on his way and the deceitful Kelpie, remaining quiet as a lamb until the traveller was fairly mounted. would then with a fiendish yell of triumph plunge headlong into an adjacent pool. It was believed that the soul of the unfortunate man, who had had no time to prepare for death, would thus be safely secured to the Evil One while the Kelpie received the body in payment for his trouble.

Echo D'Outre Tombe (Journal) : (See France.)

Eckartshausen, K. Von : Author of The Cloud on the Sanctuary (1800). Eckartshausen, by birth and education an intensely religious man, at first wrote several little books of devotion that had great vogue in France and Germany. He later turned his attention to larger works of a more profound character, such as that mentioned above. According to Eckartshausen the requisite faculty of true communion with the church is the inward conception of things spiritual and with this sense present, is possible the beginning of Regeneration understood as the process of gradually eliminating original sin. His work on the Interior Church is in two parts first, elucidation of his doctrine second, a series of dogmas or assertions derived therefrom.

Ectenic Force : A supposed physical force emanating from the person of the medium, and directed by his will, by means of which objects may be moved without contact in apparent defiance of natural laws. The existence of such a force was first postulated by Count Agenor de Gasparin, to explain the phenomena of table-turning and rapping, and the name Ectenic Force was bestowed upon the supposed agency by de Gasparin's colleague, M. Thury. The experiments of Thury and de Gasparin are declared to offer some of the most convincing evidence that spiritualism can produce, and have influenced more than one eminent student of psychic research. If it be true that tables were moved without contact, then such a theory is indeed necessary, but the evidence for this type of phenomena is not abundant.

Eddy, Mrs. Mary Baker : (See New Thought.)

Eden, Garden of : (See Paradise.)

Eel : The eel is credited with the possession of many marvellous virtues. If he is left to die out of the water, his body steeped in strong vinegar and the blood of a vulture, and the whole placed under a dunghill, the composition will raise from the dead anything brought to it, and will give it life as before. It is also said that he who eats the still warm heart of an eel will be seized with the spirit of prophecy, and will predict things to come. The Egyptians worshipped the eel, which their priests alone had the right to eat. Magic eels were made in the eighteenth century of flour and the juice of mutton. There may be added a little anecdote told by William of Malmesbury. A dean of the church of Elgin, in the county of Moray in Scotland, having refused to cede his church to some pious monks, was changed, with all his canons, into eels, which the brother cook made into a stew.

Egbo, The : or Esik, is a secret society of Calabar, near the Niger delta. The name means tiger," and the society is divided into eleven grades, of which the first three are not open to slaves. Members, as a rule, buy themselves into the higher grades in their turn, and the money thus obtained is shared amongst the Nyampa who form the inner circle. The king is president of the society under the title of Cyamba. Each grade has its special festival day, on which their Idem or spirit-master exercises complete control. Whenever an Egbo day is announced, slaves, women, and children take flight in all directions, as the ambassador of the Idem, armed with a heavy whip, goes through the village and lashes everyone whom he may encounter. The Idem is usually a hermit who lives in the distant bush-land, and when he appears it is in a fantastic guise of mats and branches, which covers him from head to foot, and with a black mask on his face. The principals of the order themselves are linked together by a garb of leaves so gathered up that they seem to move in a connected mass.

The Order of Free Egbos, (says Froebenius) is said to have originated at the fairs which were held at a great palm-oil market in the interior, midway between Calabar and the Kamerun. As the place became the scene of much disorder, while the European trade made it necessary for the maintenance of public credit that all engagements should be strictly carried out, this institution was formed as a sort of Hanseatic Union under the most influential traders, for the mutual safeguarding of their interests. Later it acquired the political character of a Vehmgericht or secret tribunal, by bringing within its sphere of action the whole police of the Calabars and the Kamerun. The kings always sought to secure for themselves the Grand-mastership of the Order, since otherwise their authority would sink to a mere shadow. European skippers have frequently found it to their advantage to be enrolled in the lower grades, in order thereby the more easily to recover their debts. A member of the Egbo has the right to claim as his own property the slave of Isis debtor, wherever he may find him, merely by fastening a yellow strip to his dress or loincloth. Even in the interior of the continent the standing of an Egbo is still respected and feared, and affords one a certain immunity from molestation, such as is absolutely needed for the extensive commercial speculations in Africa.

In the Kamerun, as a preliminary to their acceptance into the Free Egbos, the young men are sent for a protracted period to the Mokokos, a bush tribe in the interior; with these they live naked in the fields, and only now and then dart out, clad in green leaves, to have a bath in the river. All women, and especially slaves, are prohibited, under heavy penalties, from approaching the forest where they reside. In the Kamerun, it is customary to pay particular honour to a visitor, above all if he be a European, by introducing the Egbo goat, which the people are otherwise seldom allowed to set eyes upon.

Holman reports that the whole of the Old Calabar district is subject to the rule of the so-called Egbo laws. These are promulgated at a secret Council, the Egbo Assembly, which is held in the ' Palaver-house ' erected for this special purpose. In virtue of his sovereign rights, the head-chief presides, under the title of Cyamab, over this assembly. Amongst the members of the Egie there are different ranks, which must be acquired in their due order, one after the other. Holman quotes Englishmen who state that Europeans have bought themselves into the Egbo, and even into the Yampai, in order to be thus better able to get in their money. He gives the following as the names and prices of the different grades of Egbo:

1 Abungo .. .. .. .. 125 bars

2 Aboko . .. .. .. 75 bars

3 Makairo .. .. .. .. 400 copper bars

4 Bakimboko .. .. .. 100 bars

5 Yampaic .. .. .. 850 copper bars

"To these must be added rum, clothes, membo, etc.

The Yampai is the only grade whose members are allowed to sit in Council. The sums paid for the various titles of the Egbo are distributed exclusively amongst the Yampai, who, however, are not limited to a single share, since every Yampai can multiply his title as often as he can purchase shares, and these give him a claim to the receipt of the corresponding quotas from the profits of the whole institution."

Egg, Orphean : The cosmic doctrine of the Greek sage Orpheus. He says: ' God, the uncreated and incomprehensible Being, created all things ; the ether proceeded from him; from this the unshapely chaos and the dark night arose, which at first covered all things. The unshapen mass was formed into the shape of n egg, from which all things have proceeded." The whole universe has the form of an egg, and everything in it strives to attain the same form. The Orphean theory has something in common with the doctrines of the magnetic philosophers.

Eglamour of Artoys, Sir : A magical English legend of French origin. The poem tells of the winning of Christabell by Eglamour. Christabell's father will agree to the union if Eglamour will fulfil three tasks. He must conquer the giant, Sir Maroke; bring from a distant land the head of an enormous boar, and kill a powerful dragon which has been devastating the country round Rome. In these adventures he is successful, but is kept in Rome by illness. Meantime, Christabell has given birth to a son, and is banished by her angry father. Her son is stolen from her by a griffin, and taken to Israel, where he is adopted by the king and named Degrabell. Many years afterwards, Sir Eglamour and Degramour meet in a tournament for the hand of Cliristabell. The former is successful, and eventually their identities are revealed. Eglamour and Christabell are married, and return to their native country with their son.

Eglinton, Wililam : A well known English medium, who in 1876 succeeded Slade as the principal exponent of slate-writing (q.v.) That Eglinton's performances in this direction were very skillfully carried out there is abundant evidence, for several practised conjurers, as well as many other investigators, were entirely at a loss to explain the modus operandi. Yet on one occasion, at least, Eglinton was seen-by Professor Lewis Cargill-to write the" spirit messages himself. This was in 1886, when his slate-writing was attracting attention. Some ten years earlier, when he was giving materialisation seances, there were discovered in his portmanteau a false beard and some muslin draperies, which were found to correspond with fragments cut from the hair and garments of the materialised spirit. Nor were these the only occasions on which he made use of fraudulent means of producing mediumistic phenomena. It may be objected that Eglinton was " controlled " to procure draperies and fake hair, but it necessarily casts a dark shadow on his mediumship.

Egypt : To the peoples of antiquity as well as to those of the modern world, Egypt appeared as the very mother of magic. The reason for this widespread belief is not far to seek. In Egypt the peoples of the ancient world found a magical system much more highly developed than anything within their native knowledge, and again the cult of the dead with which Egyptian religion was so deeply imbued, appeared to the stranger to savour strongly of magical practice. It must be borne in mind that, if the matter of the magical papyri be omitted, the notices which we possess of Egyptian magic are almost wholly foreign, so that it is wiser for a proper understanding of Egyptian occultism to derive our facts concerning it from the original native sources as far as is possible. Like all other systems, the magic of the Egyptians was of two kinds, that which was supposed to benefit either the living or the dead, and that which has been known throughout the ages as black" magic or necromancy.

The contents of the Westcar Papyrus show that as early as the fourth dynasty, the working of magic was a recognised art in Egypt, but in reality we must place the beginnings of Egyptian magical practice in neolithic times. Throughout the centuries magical practice varied considerably, but the principal means for its working remained the same. That is to say, the Egyptians relied for magical effect upon amulets, magical figures, pictures, and formulae, magical names and ceremonies, and the general apparatus of the occult sciences.

The objects for which magic was exercised were numerous. It exorcised storms, protected against wild beasts, poison, disease, wounds, and the ghosts of the dead. One of the most potent methods of guarding against misfortune of any kind was the use of Amulets. It must not be assumed that all ornaments or objects discovered on the mummy are of magical potency. These are frequently the possession of the Ra or double (q.v.), necessary to its comfort in a future existence. The small crowns, sceptres, and emblems of Osiris, usually executed in faience, are placed inside the dead person in order that he may wear them when he becomes one with Osiris, and therefore a king. The scarab, fashioned in the likeness of a scarabaeus beetle, symbolised resurrection. The dad symbolised the human skeleton, and, therefore, perhaps, the dead and dismembered Osiris. It has an influence on the restoration of the deceased. The uza, or eye, signifies the health necessary to the dead man's soul. The so-called "palettes" at one time supposed to have been employed for the mixing of paint, are now known to have been amulets inscribed with words of power placed on the breasts of the dead in neolithic times. The amulet of the menat was worn, or held, with the sistrum by gods, kings, and priests, and was supposed to bring joy and health to the wearer. It represented the vigour of the two sexes.

Spells.-The simplest type of spell in use in Egypt, was that in which the exorcist threatens the evil principle, or assures it that he can injure it. Generally, however, the magician requests the assistance of the gods, or he may pretend to that which he desires to exorcise that he is a god. Invocations, when written, were usually accompanied by a note to the effect that the formula had once been employed successfully by a god-perhaps by a deified priest. An incomprehensible and mysterious jargon was employed, which was supposed to conceal the name of a certain deity who was thus compelled to do the will of the sorcerer. These gods were almost always those of foreign nations, and the invocations themselves appear to be attempts at various foreign idioms, employed, perhaps, as sounding more mysterious than the native speech. Great stress was laid upon the proper pronunciation of these names, and failure in all cases was held to lie at the door of mispronunciation. The Book of the Dead (q.v.) contains many such "words of power," and these were intended to assist the journey of the dead in the underworld of Amenti. It was believed that all supernatural beings, good and evil, possessed hidden names, which if a man knew, he could compel them to do his will. The name, indeed, was as much part of a man as his body or soul. The traveller through Amenti must tell not only the divine gods their names, but must prove that he knew the names of a number of the supposedly inanimate objects in the dreary Egyptian Hades, if he desired to make any progress. (See Gnostics and Names Magical.)

Magical Books.-Many magical books existed in Egypt which contained spells and other formulae for exorcism and necromantic practice. Thus Medical Papyri in the Leipsic collection contain formulae spoken whilst preparing drugs ; the Ebers Papyrus contains such spells; the Harris Magical Papyrus, dating from the New Kingdom, and edited by Chabas, contains spells against crocodiles. The priestly Caste, who compiled those necromantic works, was known as Kerheb, or "scribes of the divine writings," and even the sons of Pharaohs did not disdain to enter their ranks.

The Ritual of Egyptian Magic. In many instances the ritual of Egyptian magic possesses strong similarities to the ceremonial of other systems and countries. Wax figures were employed in lieu of the bodies of persons to be bewitched or harmed and models of all kinds were utilised in order that the physical force directed against them might react upon the persons or animals it was desired to injure. But the principal rite in which ceremonial magic was employed was the very elaborate one of mummification. As each bandage was laid in its exact position certain words of power were uttered which were supposed to be efficacious in the preservation of the part swathed. After evisceration, the priest uttered an invocation to the deceased, and then took a vase of liquid containing ten perfumes, with which he smeared the body twice from head to foot, taking especial care to anoint the head thoroughly. The internal organs were then placed on the body, and the backbone immersed in holy oil, supposed to be an emanation from the gods Shu and Seb. Certain precious stones were then laid on the mummy, each of which had its magical significance. Thus crystal lightened his face, and cornelian strengthened his steps. A priest who personified the jackal-headed god, Anubis, then advanced, performed certain symbolical ceremonies on the head of the mummy, and laid certain bandages upon it. After a further anointing with oil the deceased was declared to have "received his head." The mummy's left hand was filled with thirty-six substances used in embalming, symbolic of the thirty-six forms of the god Osiris. The body was then rubbed with holy oil, the toes wrapped in linen, and after an appropriate address the ceremony was completed.

Dreams. The art of procuring dreams and their interpretation was much practised in Egypt. As instances of dreams recorded in Egyptian texts may be quoted those of Thothmes IV. (B.C. 1450) and Nut-Amen, King of Egypt (B.C. 670). The Egyptian magician procured dreams for his clients by drawing magical pictures and the recitation of magical words. The following formulae for producing a dream is taken from British Museum Papyrus, No.122, lines 64 fi. and 359 ff.

"To obtain a vision from the god Bes : Make a drawing of Besa, as shewn below, on your left hand, and envelope your hand in a strip of black cloth that has been consecrated to Isis and lie down to sleep without speaking a word, even in answer to a question. Wind the remainder of the cloth round your neck. The ink with which you write must be composed of the blood of a cow, the blood of a white dove, fresh frankincense, myrrh, black writing ink, cinnabar, mulberry juice, rain-water, and the juice of wormwood and vetch. With this write your petition before the setting sun, saying, ' Send the truthful seer out of the holy shrine, I beseech thee, Lampsuer, Sumarta, Baribas, Dardalam, Iorlex: O Lord send the sacred deity Anuth, Anuth, Salbana, Chambre, Breith, now, now, quickly, quickly. Come in this very night.'"

"To procure dreams: Take a clean linen bag and write upon it the names given below. Fold it up and make it into a lamp-wick, and set it alight, pouring pure oil over it. The word to be written is this : ' Armiuth, Lailamchouch, Arsenophrephren, Phtha, Archentechtha.' Then in the evening, when you are going to bed, which you must do without touching food (or, pure from all defilement), do thus : Approach the lamp and repeat seven times the formula given below: then extinguish it and he down to sleep. The formula is this: Sachmu . . . . epaema Ligotereench: the Aeon, the Thunderer, Thou that hast swallowed the snake and dost exhaust the moon, and dost raise up the orb of the sun in his season, Chthetho is the name; I require, O lords of the gods, Seth, Chreps, give me the information that I desire;'

Medical Magic. Magic played a great part in Egyptian medicine. On this point Weidemann says: "The Egyptians were not great physicians : their methods were purely empirical and their remedies of very doubtful value, but the riskiness of their practice arose chiefly from their utter inability to diagnose because of their ignorance of anatomy. That the popular respect for the human body was great we may gather from the fact that the Paraskhistai who opened the body for embalmment were persecuted and stoned as having committed a sinful although necessary deed. The prescribed operations in preparing a body for embalmment were never departed from, and taught but little anatomy, so that until Greek times the Egyptians had only the most imperfect and inaccurate ideas of the human organism. They understood nothing about most internal diseases, and especially nothing about diseases of the brain, never suspecting them to be the result of organic changes, but assuming them to be caused by demons who had entered into the sick. Under these circumstances medicines might be used to cause the disappearance of the symptoms, but the cure was the expulsion of the demon. Hence the Egyptian physician must also practise magic.

"According to late accounts, his functions were comparatively simple, for the human body had been divided into thirty-six parts, each presided over by a certain demon, and it sufficed to invoke the demon of the part affected in order to bring about its cure - a view of matters fundamentally Egyptian. In the Book of the Dead we find that different divinities were responsible for the well-being of the bodies of the blessed; thus Nu had charge of the hair, Ra of the face, Hathor of the eyes, Apuat of the ears, Anubis of the lips, while Thoth was guardian of all parts of the body together. This doctrine was subsequently applied to the living body. with the difference that for the great gods named in the Book of the Dead there were substituted as gods of healing the presiding deities of the thirty-six decani, the thirty-six divisions of the Egyptian zodiac, as we learn from the names given to them by Celsus and preserved by Origen. In earlier times it was not so easy to be determined which god was to be invoked, for the selection depended not only on the part affected but also on the illness and symptoms and remedies to be used, etc.

"Several Egyptian medical papyri which have come down to us contain formulas to be spoken against the demons of disease as well as prescriptions for the remedies to be used in specified cases of illness. In papyri of older date these conjurations are comparatively rare, but the further the art of medicine advanced, or rather receded, the more numerous they became."

"It was not always enough to speak the formulas once even their repeated recitation might not be successful, and in that case recourse must be had to other expedients: secret passes were made, various rites were performed, the formulas were written upon papyrus, which the sick person had to swallow, etc., etc. But amulets were in general found to be most efficacious, and the personal intervention of a god called up, if necessary, by prayers or sorcery."

Magical Figures. As has been said the Egyptians believed that it was possible to transmit to the figure of any person or animal the soul of the being which it represented. In the Westcar Papyrus we read how a soldier who had fallen in love with a governor's wife was swallowed by a crocodile when bathing, the saurian being a magical replica of a waxen one made by the lady's husband. In the official account of a conspiracy against Rameses III. (ca B.C. 1200) the conspirators obtained access to a magical papyrus in the royal library and employed its instructions against the king with disastrous effects to themselves. These, too, made waxen figures of gods and of the king for the purpose of slaying the latter.

Astrology The Egyptians were fatalists, and believed that a man's destiny was decided before he was born. The people therefore had recourse to astrologers. Says Budge:-

"In magical papyri we are often told not to perform certain magical ceremonies on such apd such days, the idea being that on these days hostile powers will make them to be powerless, and that gods mightier than those to which the petitioner would appeal will be in the ascendant. There have come down to us fortunately, papyri containing copies of the Egyptian calendar, in which each third of every day for three hundred and sixty days of the year is marked lucky or unlucky, and we know from other papyri why certain days were lucky or unlucky, and why others were only partly so." " From the life of Alexander the Great by Pseudo-Callisthenes we learn that the Egyptians were skilled in the art of casting nativities, and that knowing the exact moment of the birth of a man they proceeded to construct his horoscope. Nectanebus employed for the purpose a tablet made of gold and silver and acacia wood, to which were fitted three belts. Upon the outer belt was Zeus with the thirty-six decani surrounding him; upon the second the twelve signs of the Zodiac were represented ; and upon the third the sun and moon. He set the tablet upon a tripod, and then emptied out of a small box upon it models of the seven stars that were in the belts, and put into the middle belt eight precious stones ; these he arranged in the places wherein he supposed the planets which they represented would be at the time of the birth of Olympias, and then told her fortune from them. But the use of the horoscope is much older than the time of Alexander the Great, for to a Greek horoscope in the British Museum is attached 'an introductory letter from some master of the art of astrology to his pupil, named Hermon, urging him to be very exact and careful in his application of the laws which the ancient Egyptians, with their laborious devotion to the art, had discovered and handed down to posterity.' Thus we have good reason for assigning the birthplace of the horoscope to Egypt. In connection with the horoscope must be mentioned the "sphere "or" table " of Democritus as a means of making predictions as to life and death. In a magical papyrus we are told to 'ascertain in what month the sick man took to his bed, and the name he received at his birth. Calculate the course of the moon, and see how many periods of thirty days have elapsed; then note in the table the number of days left over, and if the number comes in the upper part of the table, he will live, but if in the lower part he will die.'

Ghosts. The conception that the ha or double of man wandered about after death, greatly assisted the Egyptian belief in ghosts.

"According to them a man consisted of a physical body, a shadow, a double, a soul, a heart, a spirit called the khu, a power, a name, and a spiritual body. When the body died the shadow departed from it, and could only be brought back to it by the performance of a mystical ceremony; the double lived in the tomb with the body, and was there visited by the soul whose habitation was in heaven. The soul was, from one aspect, a material thing, and like the ha, or double, was believed to partake of the funeral offerings which were brought to the tomb; one of the chief objects of sepulchral offerings of meat and drink was to keep the double in the tomb and to do away with the necessity of its wandering about outside the tomb in search of food. It is clear from many texts that, unless the double was supplied with sufficient food, it would wander forth from the tomb and eat any kind of offal and drink any kind of dirty water which it might find in its path. But besides the shadow, and the double, and the soul, the spirit of the deceased, which usually had its abode in heaven, was sometimes to be found in the tomb. There is, how-ever, good reason for stating that the immortal part of man which lived in the tomb and had its special abode in the statue of the deceased was the 'double.' This is proved by the fact that a special part of the tomb was reserved for the ha, or double, which was called the ' house of the ha,' and that a priest, called the priest of the ha, was specially appointed to minister therein."

Esoteric Knowledge of the' Priesthood. The esoteric knowledge of the Egyptian priesthood is now believed to have been of the description with which the Indian medicine man is credited plus a philosophy akin to that of ancient India. Says Davenport Adams:

"To impose upon the common people, the priesthood professed to lead lives of peculiar sanctity. They despised the outer senses, as sources of evil and temptation. They kept themselves apart from the profanium vulgus, 'and,' says lamblicus, 'occupied themselves only with the knowledge of God, of themselves, and of wisdom ; they desired no vain honours in their sacred practice, and never yielded to the influence of the imagination.' Therefore they formed a world within a world, fenced round by a singular awe and wonder, apparently abstracted from the things of earth, and devoted to the constant contemplation of divine mysteries. They admitted few strangers into their order, and wrapt up their doctrines in a hieroglyphical language, which was only intelligible to the initiated. To these various precautions was added the solemnity of a terrible oath, whose breach was invariably punished with death."

"The Egyptian priests preserved the remaining relics of the former wisdom of nature. These were not imparted as the sciences are, in our age, but to all appearances they were neither learned nor taught ; but as a reflection of the old revelations of nature, the perception must arise like an inspiration in the scholar's mind. From this cause appear to have arisen those numerous preparations and purifications the severity of which deterred many from initiation into the Egyptian priesthood in fact, not in-frequently resulted in the scholar's death. Long fasting, and the greatest abstinence, appear to have been particularly necessary : besides this, the body was rendered insensible through great exertions, and even through voluntarily inflicted pain, and therefore open to the influence of the mind. The imagination was excited by representations of the mysteries ; and the inner sense was more impressed by the whole' than-as is the case with us-instructed by an explanation of simple facts. In this manner the dead body of science was not given over to the initiated, and left to chance whether it would become animated or not, but the living soul of wisdom was breathed into them.

"From this fact, that the contents of the mysteries were rather revealed than taught-were received more from inward inspiration and mental intoxication, than outwardly through endless teaching, it was necessary to conceal them from the mass of the people.

So says Schubert, dealing with the same subject : The way to every innovation was closed, and outward knowledge and science could certainly not rise to a high degree of external perfection ; but that rude sensuality, inclination for change and variety, was suppressed as the chief source of all bodily and spiritual vices. is clear, as well as that here, as in India, an ascetic and contemplative life was recommended.

"They imparted their secret and divine sciences to no one who did not belong to their caste, and it was long impossible for foreigners to learn anything; it was only in later times that a few strangers were permitted to enter the initiation after many severe preparations and trials. Besides this, their functions were hereditary, and the son followed the footsteps of his father."

"Concerning that which passed within the temples, and of the manner in which the sick were treated, we have but fragmentary accounts; for to the uninitiated the entrance was forbidden, and the initiated kept their vows. Even the Greeks, who were admitted to the temples, have been silent concerning the secrets, and have only here and there betrayed portions. Jablonski says, ' that but few chosen priests were admitted into the sanctum, and that admission was scarcely ever permitted to strangers even under the severest regulations.'"

"Dealing with the subject of hypnotism in Egypt, Montfaucon says.. Magnetism was daily practised in the temples of Isis, of Osiris, and Serapis. In these temples the priests treated the sick and cured them, either by magnetic manipulation, or by other means producing somnambulism." Presenting a painting of a mesmeric scene, he says : Before a bed or table, on which be the sick, stands a person in a brown garment, and with open eyes, and the dog's head of Anubis. His countenance is turned towards the sick person ; his left hand is placed on the breast, and the right is raised over the head of his patient, quite in the position of a magnetiser.

Egyptian Masonry : (See Cagliostro.)

El Buen Sentido : (See Spain.)

El Criterio : (See Spain.)

El Havarevna : (See Rosicrucians.)

Elbegast : A dwarf mentioned in the medieval semi-traditional saga-cycle Dietrich of Bern. He is friendly towards Dietrich and helps him in his search for the giant Grimm.

Elder : As an Amulet. Blockwick recommends as a charm against erysipelas an "elder on which the sun never shined." "If the piece betwixt the two knots be hung about the patient's neck. it is much commended. Some cut it in little pieces, and sew it in a knot, in a piece of. a man's shirt, which seems superstitious."

Elder Tree : The elder had wonderful influence as a protection against evil. Wherever it grew, witches were powerless.. In this country, gardens were protected by having elder trees planted at the entrance, and sometimes hedges of this plant were trained round the garden. There are very few old gardens in country places in which are not still seen remains of the protecting elder tree. " In my boyhood" says Napier, I remember that my brothers, sisters, and myself were warned against breaking a twig or branch from the elder hedge which surrounded my grandfather's garden. We were told at the time as a reason for this prohibition, that it was poisonous ; but we discovered afterwards that there was another reason, viz., that it was unlucky to break off even a small twig from a bourtree bush." In some parts of the Continent this superstition feeling is so strong that, before pruning it, the gardener says : Elder, elder, may I cut thy branches ? " If no response be heard, it is considered that assent has been given and then, after spitting three times, the pruner begins his cutting. According to Montanus, elder wood formed a portion of the fuel used ill the burning of human bodies as a protection against evil influences ; and, the drivers of hearses had their whip handles made of elder wood for a similar reason. In some parts of Scotland, people would not put a piece of elder wood into the fire, and Napier says Pieces of this wood lying about unused when the neighbourhood was in great straits for firewood but none would use it, and when asked why ? the answer was: We don't know, but folks say it is not lucky to burn the bourtree." It was believed that children laid in a cradle made wholly or in part of elderwood, would not sleep well, and were in danger of falling out of the cradle. Elder berries gathered on St. John's Eve, would prevent the possessor suffering from witchcraft, and often bestowed upon him magical powers. If the elder were planted in the form of a cross upon a new-made grave, and if it bloomed, it was a sure sign that the soul of the dead person was happy.

Eleazar : A Jewish magician who had much success as an exorcist. His method was to fasten to the nose of the possessed a ring in which was set a root used by Solomon,. and very efficacious.

Eleazar of Garniza : A Hebrew author who has left many works, of which several have been printed. Among his books was a Treatise on the Soul, and a Kabalistic Commentary on the Pentateuch.

Electric Girls : Girls in whose presence certain phenomena occurred, similar in nature to the time-honoured phenomena of the poltergeist (q.v.), but ascribed to the action of some new physical force, probably electricity. The best known of these electric girls was perhaps Angelique Cottin, a Normandy peasant girl, whose' phenomena were first observed about 1846. Finally she was taken to Paris and placed under the observation of Dr. Tanchon and others, who testified to the actuality of the phenomena. These included the movement of objects without contact, or at a mere touch from Angelique's petticoats, the agitation in her presence of the magnetic needle, and the blowing of a cold wind. She was also able to distinguish between the poles of a magnet at a touch. A commission appointed by the Academy of Sciences, however, could observe nothing but the violent movements of her chair, which were probably caused by muscular force. Other electric girls practised about the' same time', and even after the' begin-ding of the' spiritualistic movement in America they were occasionally heard of. They are' worthy of note' as a link between the poltergeist and the spiritualistic medium.

Electrobiology : A mode of producing hypnotism by looking steadily at metallic discs. The process was discovered about the' middle' of last century, and its fame spread by numerous lecturers in England and America.

Electrum : Amber is the' subject of some' curious legends under this name, but there' is also a metallic electrum, known to the French in modern time's as Orbas. A cup of this metal, according to Pliny, has the' property of discovering poison, by exhibiting certain semi-circle's like' rainbows in the liquor, which it also keeps sparkling and hissing as if on the' fire. A black species of electrum or amber is the' proper gargates of Pliny, and the' jet of the present day. The' occult virtues of electrum are of the' tell-tale character.

Elementary Spirits : The unseen intelligences who inhabit the' four elements, of the finest essence of which they are composed. The creatures of the air are called sylphs; of the earth gnomes; of fire salamanders; and of water, nymphs or undines. The best authority on the subject is the Abbe de' Villars, who published early in the' eighteenth century a short treatise' entitled Comte de Gabalis, from which a good deal of what follows is drawn. According to this work the creatures of the elements were' before' the Fall subject to Adam in all things, and we arc led to understand that by means of certain performances this ancient communication may be' restored, and that man may once' more' have at his beck and call the' elementary spirits. The' Abbe give's a brief sketch of the nature' of these' peoples. The' air, he' says, is filled with a great number of beings of human form, somewhat fierce' in appearance, but really of a docile' nature. They are much interested in the sciences, and are subtle, officious towards the' sages, hostile' toward"' the foolish and the ignorant. Their wives and daughters are of a masculine type of beauty, such as is depicted in the Amazons. The seas and rivers are' inhabited as well as the' air, beings dwelling therein whom the' sage's designated undine's, or nymphs. The female' population much exceeds the' male', the women being exceedingly beautiful, so that among the' daughters of men there' is none to equal them. The earth is filled almost to the centre' with gnome's, people' of small stature', the' guardians of subterranean treasure, minerals and precious stone's. They are ingenious, friendly towards men, and easy to command. They provide' the' children of the' sage's with all the money they require, asking no other reward for their services than the glory of performing them. The gnomides, their wives, are small of stature' but very good-looking, and they dress very curiously. As for the salamanders, the' inhabitants of the' region of fire', they serve' the' philosophers, but are' not over-anxious for their company, while their daughters and wives are' rarely seen. Their women are' very beautiful, beyond all the other elementals, since they dwell in a purer element. Their habits, mode of life, manners and laws are' admirable', and the attractions of their minds are greater even than that of their persons. The' Supreme Being they know and religiously adore', but have' no hope of eternal enjoyment of Him, since their souls are mortal. True' it is that, being composed of the' purest parts of the' elements wherein they dwell, and having no contrary qualities, they can live' for several centuries; yet are' they much troubled because' of their mortal nature. It was, however, revealed to the' philosophers that an elementary spirit could attain to immortality by being united in marriage' with a human being. The' children born of such unions are' more' noble' and heroic than the' children of human men and women, and some of the greatest figures of antiquity-Zoroaster, Alexander, Hercules, Merlin, to mention a few-are' declared to have been the children of elementary spirits.

The salamanders, the Comte de Gabalis goes on to say, are composed of the' most subtle' particles of the' sphere of fire, conglobated and organised by the action of the' Universal Fire', so called because' it is the' principle of all the motions of nature'. The sylphs are' composed of the purest atoms of the air; the' nymphs, of the' most delicate particle's of water; and the' gnomes, of the' finest essence of earth. Adam was in complete' accord with these' creatures because', being composed of that which was purest in the' four elements, he' contained in himself the' perfections of these' four people's, and was their natural king. But since by reason of his sin he' had been cast into the' excrements of the' elements, there' no longer existed the' harmony between him, so impure' and gross, and these' fine' and ethereal substance's. The' Abbe then gives a recipe whereby the' resultant state of things may be' remedied and the' ancient correspondence' restored. To attain this end we must purify and exalt the element of fire which is within us. All that is necessary is to concentrate' the' fire' of the' world by means of concave' mirrors, in a globe' of glass. There' will then be formed within the globe' a solary powder, which, having purified itself from the admixture' of other elements, becomes in a very short time a sovereign means of exalting the' fire' which is in us, and makes us, so to speak, of an igneous nature'. Thenceforward these' creatures of the' fire' become' our inferiors, and, delighted at the' restoration of mutual harmony between themselves and the human race', they will show towards man all the' good-will they have' for their own kind. Sylphs, gnome's, and nymphs are' more familiar with man than are' the salamanders, on account of their shorter term of life', and it is therefore' easier to get into touch with them. To accomplish the' restoration of our empire' over the sylphs, gnome's, or nymphs, we must close' a glass full of air, earth, or water, and expose' it to the sun for a month, at the end of which period its various elements must be' separated according to science'. This process is most easy in this case of water and earth. "Thus," says the' Comte "without characters, without ceremonies, without barbarous words, it is possible to rule' absolutely over these peoples." Other authorities prescribe' other means of obtaining dominion over the spirits of the' elements. Eliphas Levi, for instance, state's that anyone' desirous of subjugating' the elementals must first perform the' four trials of antique initiation; but as the' original trials are no longer known similar ones must be substituted. Thus he who would control the' sylphs must walk fearlessly on the' edge of a precipice, he who would win the service' of the salamanders must take his stand in a burning building, and so on, the' point of the ordeals being that the' man should show himself unafraid of the elements whose' inhabitants he' desires to rule'. In mediaeval times the evocation and exorcism of elementary spirits was much practised, the' crystal being a favourite means of evoking them. The' exorcism of earth is performed by means of breathing, sprinkling of water, and burning of incense', and the' repetition of a formula of prayer to the' gnomes. Air is exorcised by breathing towards the four cardinal points, and by the' recital of prayers to the air-spirits (sylphs). The casting of salt, incense, sulphur, camphor, and white' resin into a fire is declared efficacious in the exorcism of that element. In the case of water, breathing and laying on of hands, repetition of formulae, mixing of salt and ashes of incense, and other ceremonials are to be observed. In every instance' a special consecration of the four elements is a primary and essential part of the proceedings.

As has been said, it is possible for a human being to confer immortality on an elementary spirit by the' ceremony of marriage'. But this doe's not always occur sometimes the reverse is the case, and the' elementals share their mortality with their human mate. In literature, at all events, countless stories relate how men have' risked and lost their immortality by marrying a sylph or an undine. According to the Comte de Gabalis, however, it would seem to be a matter of choice whether a man confers his immortality on his ethereal partner, or whether he partakes of her mortal nature; for it is therein suggested that those' who have not been predestined to eternal happiness would do we'll to marry with an elemental, and spare themselves an eternity of woe.

Not every authority has painted so attractive a picture of the' creatures of the elements as has the Abbe do Villars. By some it is believed that there' are numberless degree's among these' beings, the highest resembling the' lowest angels, while' the lowest may often be' mistaken for demons, which, of course, they are not. Not only do multitudinous variations of form and disposition characterise the elementals of our own planet; the other planets and the' stars are the' abode' of countless hosts of elementary spirits, differing from those' of our world perhaps more' than the' latter differ from one' another. All the' forms of beasts, insects, and reptiles may be' taken by the lower elementals, as we'll as strange combinations of the shapes of different animals. The inhabitants of each element have their peculiar virtues and vices which serve to distinguish them. The sylphs are capricious and inconstant, but agile and active; the undines, jealous and cold, but observant; the salamanders, hot and hasty, but energetic and strong; and the' gnome's, greedy of gold and treasure's, but nevertheless hard-working, good-tempered and patient. One' who would seek dominion over any of these must practise' their virtues; but carefully avoid their faults, thus conquering them, as it were, on their own ground. Each species can only dwell in its own proper element. Thus a sylph may not invade the sphere of a salamander, or vice versa, while both would be' decidedly out of their element in the' regions of the' nymphs or the' gnome's. Four rulers have' been set over the four species-Gob, ruler of the gnome's; Paralda, of the' sylphs; Djin, of the salamanders; and Necksa, of the nymphs. To the' dwellers in each element is assigned a point of the' compass, where lie's their special kingdom. To the gnome's is given the' north; to the salamanders, the' south; to the sylphs, the' east; and to the undine's, the' west. The gnomes influence' those of a melancholic disposition, because they dwell in the gloom of subterranean caverns. The salamanders have' an effect on those of sanguine temperament, because' their home is in the fire. The influence' of the undine's is upon the phlegmatic, and of the' sylphs upon those of a bilious temperament. Though as a rule' they are' invisible' to human eyes, they may on occasion become visible' to those' who invoke them, to the' sages and philosophers, or even to the multitude. In the' reign of king Pepin, Zedekias suggested to the sylphs that they should appear to men, whereupon the' air was seen to be full of them, sometimes ranged in battle, or in an aerial navy. It was said by the' people that they were' sorcerers-an opinion to which Charlemagne and Louis the Debonnair subscribed, the latter at least imposing heavy penalties on the' supposed sorcerers. So that they might behold their admirable institutions, certain men we're' raised up in the' air, and while' descending we're seen by their fellowmen on earth. The latter regarded them as stragglers of the aerial army of sorcerers, and thought that they had come' to poison the' fruits and fountains. These' unfortunate' persons we're' thereupon put to death, along with many others suspected of connection with the' sorcerers.

To return to the' consideration of the nature of these' spirits, we find them collated in the Comte de Gabalis with the oracles of antiquity, and even with the' classic pantheons of Greece and Rome. Pan, for example, was the first and oldest of the nymphs, and the news of his death, communicated by the people of the air to the inhabitants of the waters, was proclaimed by them in a voice that was heard sounding over all the rivers of Italy-" The great Pan is dead " Mr. A. E. Waite considers that the" angels" evoked in medieval magic, as we'll as the' "devils" of the Sabbath, were higher or lower elementals. Others may see in the brownies and domestic spirits of folk-lore some resemblance to the subjugated elementary spirit. Even the familiar poltergeist, where he does not clearly establish his identity as the spirit of a deceased person. may be regarded with propriety as an elemental. The Theosophists use' the word ' elemental" in a different sense, tQ denote' the' " astral remains " (See Shell) of one who has lived an evil life' on earth, and who is loath to leave' the scene of his pleasure's. With some occultists, again, " elemental" really signifies a sub-human being, probably identical with an elementary spirit, but of a mental and moral status considerably lower than that of a human being. M.J.

Eleusis, Mysteries of : (See Mysteries.)

Elf Arrows : The superstitious name given to triangular flints, Belemnites, which are found in many countries, but notably in Scotland. It was believed that these stones were arrows shot by the elves, which prove fatal to cattle, -the cure being to touch them with the arrow with which they have been hit, and give them to drink of water in which the arrow has been dipped. It is even on record that an Irish bishop was thus shot at by an evil spirit; and it is said that they are' manufactured by the' Devil with the help of attendant imps who roughhew them, while' the' Archfiend finishes the' work. Cases are' on record where' they have' been known to be made' and used by the witches of Scotland within historic times. Similar superstitions regarding these' remnants of the stone' age' prevail in Italy, Africa, and Turkey.

Elf-Fire : The Ignis fatuus, or "foolish fire'." This is the name given to fire' obtained by rubbing two piece's of wood together, and which is used in superstitious ways. Amongst the Russian peasantry it is believed that these wandering lights are' the souls of still-born children, who do not desire to lure' people from the path, but who get no rest until they find their bodies.

Elixir of Life : No doubt exists that the medieval alchemists and mystics believed that they were' perfectly justified in their search for the Elixir of Life, the universal medicine, and the' renewal of youth. This, with the quest for gold, became' the grand aim of alchemy, and although this search may have' had a psychical and mystical side', it most certainly had a physical one'. But there does not seem to have been any standard method of accomplishing the manufacture' of the elixir. Thus in Petit Albert one' is instructed to take' 8lbs. of sugar of mercury as the' foundation of such a mixture'; while' Bernard Trevisan believes that the' precipitation of the' philosopher's stone into mercurial water results in the manufacture' of the elixir. This he' state's, will when elaborated to the' Red, transmute copper and other metals into pure' gold, and if elaborated to the' White', will produce' unalloyed silver.

But the' application of the' elixir to the prolongation of life' was undoubtedly the chief reason for its continued search. The retired alchemist in his later years, wearied with his quest for gold, craved the boon of youth and desired renewed health and strength to assist him to carry out his great purpose. As an illustration of the alchemical conception of the elixir of life, we quote the following from a work dealing with the secret of rejuvenescence, originally supposed to have been written by Arnold de Villanova, and published by Longueville-Harcour at Paris in 1716:-

"To renew youth is to enter once more into that felicitous season which imparts to the human frame the pleasures and strength of the morning. Here it is to no purpose that we should speak of that problem so much discussed by the Wise, whether the art can be carried to such a pitch of excellence that old age should itself be made young. We know that Paracelsus has vaunted the metamorphic resources of his Mercury of Life which not merely rejuvenates men but converts metals into gold ; He who promised unto others the years of the sybils, or at least the 300 winters of Nestor, himself perished at the age of thirty-seven. Let us turn rather to Nature, so admirable in her' achievements, and deem her not capable alone of destroying what she has produced at the moment she has begotten them. Is it possible that she will refuse unto man, for whom all was created, what she accords to the stags, the eagles, and the serpents, who do annually cast aside the mournful concomitants of senility, and do assume the most brilliant, the most gracious amenities of the most joyous youth ? Art,. it is true, has not as yet arrived at that apex of perfection wherefrom it can renew our youth; but that which was unachieved in the past may be accomplished in the future, a prodigy which may be more confidently expected from the fact that in isolated cases it has actually already taken place, as the facts of history make evident. By observing and following the manner in which nature performs such wonders, we may assuredly hope to execute this desirable transformation, and the first condition is an amiable temperament, such as that which was possessed by Moses, of whom it is written that for one hundred and twenty years his sight never failed him.

"The stag, eagle, and sparrow-hawk renew their youth. Aldrovandus has written on the rejuvenescence of the eagle. Among the birds of the air, we are told by Pliny that the raven and the phoenix live, each of them six hundred years. No one denies that the stag is renewed by feeding on vipers and serpents, while the apes of Caucasus, whose diet is pepper, prove a sovereign remedy for the lion, who grows young by devouring their flesh. Those who have written of the elephant maintain that his normal life is extended through three centuries, while the horse, which alone in creation participates in the natures of man, of the lion, of the ox, the sheep, the mule, the stag, the wolf, the fox, the serpent, and the hare, from each deriving three of its qualities, has occasionally survived with undiminished vigour the lapse of a hundred years. The serpent, who is instrumental in the rejuvenescence of the stag, himself renews his youth at the shedding of his scales, from all which considerations, it follows that it is not beyond belief that a like prodigy may be found in the superior order of the same productions whence man has been himself derived, for man is assuredly not in a worse condition than the beasts whom he rules."

Trithemius (q.v.) on his death-bed dictated a receipt which he said would preserve mind, health and memory with perfect sight and hearing, for those who made use of it. It consists of among other things, calomel, gentian, cinnamon, aniseed, nard, coral, tartar, mace, and five grammes of it were to be taken night and morning in wine or brodium during the whole of the first month; during the second month, in the morning only; during the third month thrice in the week, and so continuing through life. This is a more understandable receipt than that of Eu-genius Philalethes, who says: " Ten parts of coelestiall slime; separate the male from the female, and each after wards from its own earth, physically, mark you, and with no violence. Conjoin after separation in due, harmonic vitall proportion; and straightway, the Soul descending from the pyroplastic sphere, shall restore, by a mirific embrace, its dead and deserted body. Prbceed according to the Volcanico magica theory, till they are exalted into the Fifth Metaphysical Rota. This is that world-renowned medicine, whereof so many have scribbled, which, notwithstanding, so few have known."

In his History of Magic Eliphas Levi gives Cagliostro's great secret of rejuvenescence in the following terms:

"Let us now turn to the secret of physical regeneration to attain which - according to the occult prescription of the Grand Copht-a retreat of forty days, after the manner of a jubilee, must be made once in every fifty years, beginning during the full moon of May in the company of one faithful person only. It must be also a fast of forty days, drinking May-dew-collected from sprouting corn with a cloth of pure white linen-and eating new and tender herbs. The repast should begin with a large glass of dew and end with a biscuit or crust of bread. There should be slight bleeding on the seventeenth day. Balm of Azoth should then be taken morning and evening, beginning with a dose of six drops and increasing by two drops daily till the end of the thirty-second day. At the dawn which follows thereafter renew the slight bleeding; then take to your bed and remain in it till the end of the fortieth day.

"On the first awakening after the bleeding. take the first grain of Universal Medicine. A swoon of three hours will be followed by convulsions, sweats and much purging, necessitating a change both of bed and linen. At this stage a broth of lean beef must be taken, seasoned with rice, sage, valerian, vervain and balm. On the day following take the second grain of Universal Medicine, which is Astral Mercury combined with Sulphur of Gold. On the next day have a warm bath. On the thirty-sixth day drink a glass of Egyptian wine, and on the thirty-seventh take the third and last grain of Universal Medicine. A profound sleep will follow, during which the hair, teeth, nails and skin will be renewed. The prescription for the thirty-eighth day is another warm bath, steeping aromatic herbs in the water, of the same kind as those specified for the broth. On the thirty-ninth day drink ten drops of Elixir of Acharat in two spoonsful of red wine. The work will be finished on the fortieth day, and the aged man will be renewed in youth.

"By means of this jubilary regimen, Cagliostro claimed to have lived for many centuries. It will be seen that it is a variation of the famous Bath of Immortality in use among the Menandrian Gnostics."

Aristeus is stated to have left to his disciples a secret which rendered all metals diaphanous, and man immortal. The process would appear to consist in a mystic treatment of the atmosphere, which is to 'be congealed and distilled until it develops the divine sparkle, and subsequently becomes liquified. It is then subjected to heat and undergoes several other processes, when the elixir emerges.

There is surprisingly little literature upon the subject of the Elixir of Life. But a more prolonged notice on the subject will be found under the article " Philosopher's stone " (q.v.).

Ellide : The dragon-shaped ship of Frithjof of, the hero of an Icelandic legend. It was said to be golden-headed, with open Jaws, its under part scaled with blue and gold, its tail twisted and of silver, its sails red-bordered and black. When its wings were outspread, it could skim the calmest seas. This ship had been given to one of Frithjof's forefathers as a reward for kindness by Aegir, the sea-god.

Elliot : (See Spiritualism.)

Elliotism : (See Hypnotism.)

Eloge do l'Enfer : A critical, historical, and moral work, an edition of which was published at The Hague in 1759. It is very satirical, very heavy, and somewhat lacking in wit.

Elongation : The phenomenon of elongation is a fairly common one' at spiritualistic seance's. It may be described as a stretching out of the medium's body, till his height is in-creased by from three inches to nearly a foot. The feat is ascribed to spirit agencies. There are accounts by witnesses of standing in the social and scientific world of elongations of Herne, Home, Morse', and other well-known mediums. These manifestations usually made their appearance only when the light was low, but there were several exceptions. In describing an elongation of Home', Lord Lindsay says: " Home looked as if he' was pulled up by the' neck, the muscles seemed in a state' of tension. He stood firmly upright in the middle' of the' room, and before the elongation commenced I placed my foot on his instep." The same witness also declares that the' increase in Home's height on this occasion was eleven inches. Most accounts describe a violent swaying motion on the' part of the medium as preceding the elongation, which some critics have regarded a a convenient mode of covering the use of mechanism, which might be concealed in the medium's boots.

Elymas, the Sorcerer : A magician of Paphos, in Cyprus, who openly defied the apostle Paul before' the Roman governor. The latter, who did not know whether to credit Paul or Elymas, summoned them both before' him, when the apostle suffered the indignity referred to. " Oh, full of all subtlety and mischief," said Paul, in righteous anger, child of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord ? And, now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the' sun for a season." It is not related in what manner Elymas exercised his talents, or what were the characteristics of his sorceries, but we' are told that the sentence of Paul immediately took effect, and "there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he' went about, seeking some to lead him by the hand."

Emanations : Variously defined as subtle fluid, astral influence, psychic force, physical effluence, magnetism, radiations and vibrations. They are said to proceed from and surround all bodies and objects in nature, and when brought into contact through this medium, influencing and re-acting on each other, the' result being either interpenetration or repulsion. The attractive properties of the magnet were known to the ancients, some authorities claiming that it was used in their religious rites and mysteries, in Egypt, Greece and Rome. They adduced as evidence the' iron rings and wings used in the Samothracian mysteries, the iron wings worn by the priests of Jupiter to increase their magical power, and in the' various symbols ascribed to the' pagan gods. It is said too that meteoric stones, because' of their supposed radiation of force', were also made use of in the' religious rites, either being worshipped, or employed for purposes of divination and soothsaying. Small one's were worn by the priests and Pliny tells of the temple of Arsinoe which was vaulted with magnetic stone in order to receive a hovering statue of its patron. Cedrenus gives an account of an ancient image in the Serapium at Alexandria being suspended by magnetic force.

The most ancient writing extant in which this theory of emanations may be traced is ascribed to Timaeus of Locris in which he' ascribes the' creation of the' universe to the' divine emanations of God, an imparting of His being to unformed matter. By this union a world-soul was created which vitalises and regulates all things. Claudian in his Idyl of the Magnet uses it as a symbol of the informative' spirit of things, the laws of nature, creative and existent.

The mysticism of the' seventeenth and eighteenth centuries mainly depends on these ideas of radiations emanating from all things but especially the' stars, magnets and human beings, of a force which would act on all things and was controlled by the indwelling spirit. The writings of Paracelsus abound with instances of the theory. He' asserts that every substance in itself contains something of the nature of the loadstone; that the astral light, which is one of the finer media of nature, finer than the lurminiferous ether, exists throughout planetary space especially around the' brain and spinal cords of human beings; (See article Aura) that we' are' all but organised magnets having each our pole's which attract and repel; that our thoughts are magnetic emanations escaping from our brains. His theory of the universe was that it emanated from a great first Being and there was a reciprocity in all things. In man too there' exists an astral quality, emanating from the stars, which, whether physical or not, when compared with the physical body may be considered a spirit. This life stands in connection with the stars from which it sprang and draws to it their power like a magnet. He calls this Sidereal life the magnes microcosmi and makes use' of it to explain the manifestations of nature - it glows in the flower, glides in the stream, moves in the ocean and shines in the' sky. Van Helmont speaks of an ethereal spirit, pure' and living, which pervades all things. Robert Fludd explained sympathy and antipathy by the' action of the emanatory spheres surrounding man-in sympathy the emanations proceeding from the centre', in antipathy the' opposite movement taking place. He maintained that these sensitive emanations are to be found also amongst animals and plants, drawing an argument from the fact that if dead and inert substance's, such as the' earth and magnet seem to be, should have their emanations and their poles, their living forms must needs have them likewise. In the writings of Maxwell, a Scotch physician, is to be' found the statement: "There' is a linking together of spirits, an incessant outpouring of the rays of our body into another." Athanasius Kircher elaborated the theory deriving all natural phenomena from the action of magnetic radiation ; the arts and sciences being also emanations. Wirdig, Bartholin and many more pursued 'and developed their philosophical investigations along these line's.

Descartes asserted that all space is filled with a fluid matter which he held to be elementary, the foundation and fountain of all life', enclosing all globes and keeping them in motion. In Newton's doctrine of attraction, which he called the Divine' Sensorium, the idea of emanation and magnetism is found. The following quotation is from his Fundamental Principles of Natural Philosophy: " Here' the question is of a very subtle' spirit which penetrates through all, even the' hardest bodies and which is concealed in their substance'. Through the strength and activity of this spirit, bodies attract each other and adhere' together when brought into contact. Through it electrical bodies operate at the' remotest distances as we'll as near at hand, attracting and repelling; through this spirit the light also flows and is refracted and reflected and warms bodies." Mesmer enunciated the' following propositions : " Between the' heavenly bodies, the earth and human beings, there exists a mutual or interchangeable influence. The medium of this influence is an universally distributed fluid which suffers no vacuum, is of a rarity with which nothing can compare and has the' property of receiving and transmitting all impressions of movement. Animal bodies experience the mutual effect of this agent, because it penetrates the nerves and affects them directly. In the' human body particularly are observed properties analagous to those' of the' magnet. It is shown by experiment that a matter flows out so fine that it penetrates all bodies without apparently losing any of its activity. This may be' communicated to other bodies, animate or inanimate, such as mirrors; it is communicated, propagated, augmented by sound. Its virtues may be accumulated, concentrated and transported." On this theory he' based his famous "Animal Magnetism" (q.v.) and its practice for the' cure of disease', in fact all human ailments. Baron von Reichenbach, a man of scientific attainments, a chemist and metallurgist of some' repute, conducted a series of experiments to investigate this theory. He' procured the aid of a large number of sensitives, clairvoyants and mediums. These' persons he' placed in dark rooms, and then submitted to their spiritual sight magnets, shells, crystals, minerals, animals, human hands and a great variety of animate' and inanimate' objects, known only to himself but detected by the sensitive's through the luminous emanations given forth by each substance'. These' emanations or flames differed in colour, size and intensity according to the nature of the' object examined. The' sensations experienced seemed mainly of two kinds-temperature and perceptions of light and colour. The poles of the magnet emitted flames, reddish yellow from the' south pole', bluish green from the north; a similar polarity was observed in the' luminous emanations from crystals. The human fingers radiated light. Elementary substances each had their distinctive light and colour, the' metals giving the most vivid impressions. Iron, copper, bismuth, mercury and others gave off a red glow, each differing from the others; the flames emitted by lead, cobalt and palladium were blue'; those' of silver, gold, cadmium, diamond we're white. The' clairvoyants also perceived the luminous matter over the bodies of the' sick in hospitals; and a column of misty vapour hovering over a newly made grave'. This radiance emitted by the' various substances, was capable of illuminating other objects. It could be concentrated by a lens, reflected by a mirror but produced no effect on a thermometer and was liable' to be absorbed by the glass of the percipient's spectacle's. A large number of the' sensitive's fully corroborated each other's statements and observations, two artists amongst them sketching their clairvoyant visions. These' experiments of the' Baron's were conducted for years with the' most persevering attention and he arrived at the' conclusion that from every object in the' human, animal, vegetable' and mineral kingdom there emanated a force' which could be detected under favourable' conditions as flame's or luminous radiations. Some observers defined these as the' universal life of things. Reichenbach in his writings and descriptions of the experiments called them the " Od Force" or "Odyle'." Modern Spiritualism claims that all physical phenomena such as materialisations, (q.v.) levitation, (q.v.) apports, (q.v.) table-rapping etc. are' produced by the' spirits' manipulations of the medium's more' physical emanations in such a way as to give them power to manifest materially and control matter. The finer phases of mediumship are traced to a similar use of the' psychic aura or force' emitted from the medium's personality. Theosophy has elaborated the theory of emanations into grandiose conceptions of astral light, influences, auras, etc. In Paris, in 1901, a peculiar phenomenon produced through the' agency of a young Roumanian gentleman was investigated by Dr. Rozier. Broussay could occasion a gaseous bubbling of water when this was enclosed in a bottle and over this ebullition he had more or less control. In Dr. Rozier's presence this was carried out by the following process. A white glass bottle was taken, a quarter filled with water, and the neck of this was firmly closed up by Broussay's hand. It was then turned upside down and held tightly so that no moisture could possibly escape. On watching the water thus brought into touch with the hand minute air bubble's formed rapidly and rose in threadlike line's to the' surface. After lapse of a minute' or two the' appearance intensified and the bubbles rose in greater number until the effect resembled soda water in effervesence. When the experiment was at its height the bubbles seemed to fly from every part of the hand which was exposed to the' water and gathered round the neck of the' bottle' while' a crackling sound was audible. Light had no effect on the experiment and the' temperature of M. Broussay was normal, 37deg. to 38deg. at most. This experiment is similar to a favourite performance' given by Indian jugglers, who will boil an egg in from five to ten minutes at most without fire to heat the' water. An explanation of this phenomenon is given as being due to the electric vibrations passing along the' surface of the skin and raising the' temperature' of the water above boiling point-the' definition of electricity in this case being that as it is neither matter nor energy, though energy may be expended in moving or creating it' it is quite probably generated by the brain cells, a manifestation of cerebral force' and will vibrations. Later investigations in the' subject of emanations were set in motion by certain results detected in connection with a study of the' famous X " rays, when it was found that a new specie's of radiations was emitted by the' focus tube, which traversed aluminium, black paper, wood, etc. These new rays we're plane-polarized from the' moment of their emission ; were. susceptible of rotatory and elliptic polarization and could be refracted, reflected and diffused. The wave-lengths of the "N" rays are much smaller than those of light and they also appear to be' without heat. They can be obtained from various sources other than the Rontgen tube, and certain bodies seem to have the property of retaining or storing the rays for a considerable time. The human body is said to emit them unceasingly. Though non-luminous in themselves the rays will, if allowed to fall upon a phosphorescent body, increase its glow. A small spark or flame is similarly influenced. In photography the existence of the " N " rays is we'll demonstrated, those' pictures taken without the rays being very faint while' those obtained while the' " N" rays we're in action were much stronger. Pebble's exposed to sunlight spontaneously emit " N" rays and bodies such as Rupert's drops, hardened steel, hammered brass, etc, are permanent sources of the' rays. These rays we're named after the' initial letter of the town of Nancy where' the' researches were made that led to their discovery by Professor Blondlot. Further experiments proved that all matter possesses the' power of radiation and those potentialities can be' seen and registered by a fluorescent screen just as those' of the animal and human organism. Whenever muscular and nerve energies are manifesting rays are emitted, and it was found that they would pass through certain substance's whereas others would intercept and store' them. For example, they passed through an oak board three or four centimetre's thick, black paper, aluminium, etc, but water stopped them or even a cigarette paper if wet. Fresh water intercepted them but if the liquid were salt the' rays passed through. Dr. Baraduc for many years pursued his studies in the emission of human fluidic force's and used the biometre for registering vibrations emitted from human bodies. This instrument consists of a needle suspended by a fine thread and covered with a glass shade. When the hand approaches this shade, without touching it the needle is deflected. As the result of long observation he' formed the opinion that the' variations in the' movements of the needle were caused by various conditions, physical, mental and moral in the persons who approached it and that by these means he was able to estimate those conditions. Dr. Baraduc also experimented in photography on these' lines. He took photographs of the emanations given off from the hands of persons in varied, mental, moral and physical states. In these' the lines of radiation varied considerably. In one, described by him as a psychic hand, the luminosity seemed to radiate from the lower base' of the palm; another, where' all the' lines we're' confused. was a photograph taken from the hand of a man in mental distress. Dr. Baraduc also photographed some stone's which were said to have' been used in the initiation rite's of pre-Christian religions and the' stream of rays emanating from these' Stones was distinctly visible' on the plates ; also some holy water at Lourdes just after a miraculous cure had been effected, and there' again the influence was strong. He' photographed with similar result the' sacred wafer during the moment of elevation in a Roman Catholic Church. He also photographed both his son and his wife', the one' four minute's after death and the' other twenty-four hours after death, and in each instance there' was seen stretching from the lifeless body a great stream of force' which extended right up to the ceiling of the room and then turned down again. In the' one case the face of the' son could be' recognised by anyone who had known him and could be seen close to the' body. In the' other case the profile of Dr. Baraduc's wife' was to be seen halfway up the room. (See article Thought Photography.)

Emerald : A good preservative' against decay, promotes childbirth, arrests dysentery, and heals the bites of venomous animals. It is the' most grateful of all jewels to the' eye's, and reflects image's like a looking-glass. Nero is said to have' had one' of immense' size, in which he' beheld the combats of the gladiators.

Emerald Table, The : A symbolic work on the' hermetic art by Hermes Trismegistus.

Emerick, Catherine : (See Germany.)

Enchantments : (See Spells.)

Enchiridion of Pope Leo, The : Is a collection of charms, cast in the' form of prayers, which have nothing in common with those' of the Church. It is concerned chiefly with worldly, rather than spiritual advantages. It was perhaps printed at Rome in 1523, and again in 1606. Its magical virtue rests on a supposed letter from Charlemagne' to Pope Leo, in which he states that since receiving the Enchiridion he' has never ceased to be' fortunate. The charms it contains are' supposed to be' effectual against all the' dangers to which human flesh is heir-poison, fire, wild beasts and tempests. When a copy of the' book has been secured, it must be placed in a small bag of leather, carried on the person, and one page at least read daily. The' reading must be done' upon the knees with the face turned to the' east, and works of piety must be performed in honour of the' celestial spirits, whose influence it is desired to attract. The first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John is declared to be the most potent in the book. As for the symbols, they are mostly of oriental origin. It also includes the mysterious prayers of Pope' Leo, and certain conjurations of a semi-magical character, including the seven mysterious onions, which are merely clumsy imitations of the Roman ritual.

Enchiridion Physicae Restitutae : (See D'Espagnet.)

Endless Cord, Tying Knots in : About the years 1877-88 Professor Zollner of Leipsic investigated the phenomena of the medium Slade, and particularly anything which might prove a fourth dimension of space, in which hypothesis Professor Zollner was at that time greatly interested. The tying in an endless cord of such knots as could ordinarily only be made if the' ends of the' cord were free' provided such a test. In December, 1877, Zollne'r visited Slade with two pieces of hempen cord, the' free ends of each

being sealed to a piece of cardboard. To ensure the' cord always being in sight Zollne'r hung it round his neck, and kept Slade's hands continually in view. Under these circumstances four knots were produced, apparently on the original sealed cord.

England : (For the pre-Saxon inhabitants of England, See Celts.) The Anglo-Saxon system of magic was of course' Teutonic. Their pretenders to witchcraft we're called wicca, scin-laeca, galdor-craeftig, wiglaer, and morthwyrtha. Wiglaer is a combination from wig, an idol or a temple', and laer, learning. He' was the wizard, as wicca was the witch. Scinlaeca was a species of phantom or apparition, and was also used as a name' of the person who had the' power of producing such things: it is, literally, "a shining dead body." Galdor-craeftig implies one skilled in incantations ; and morth-wyrtha is, literally, "a worshipper .of the dead."

Another general appellation for such personages was dry, a magician.

The laws visited these practices with penal severity. The best account that can be given of them will be found in the passages proscribing them.

"If any wicca, or wiglaer, or false swearer, or morthwyrtha, or any foul, contaminated, manifest horcwenan (whore, quean or strumpet), he any where in the' land, man shall drive them out." We teach that every priest shall extinguish all heathendom, and forbid wilweorthunga (fountain-worship), and licwiglunga (incantations of the dead), and hwata (omens), and galdra (magic), and man-worship, and the abominations that men exercise in various sorts of witchcraft, and in frithspottum, and with elms and other tree's, and with stones, and with many phantoms."

From subsequent regulations, we find that these practice's we're made' the instruments of the' most fatal mischief; for penitentiary penalties are enjoined if any one should destroy another by wicce craefte; or if any should "drive' sickness on a man"; or if death should follow from the' attempt.

They seem to have' used philtres ; for it is also made punishable' if any should use' witchcraft for another's love', or should give him to eat or to drink with magic. They were also forbid to wiglian (or to divine) by the moon. Canute renewed the' prohibitions. He enjoined them not to worship the sun or the moon, fire or floods, wells or stones, or any sort of tree; not to love wiccecraeft, or frame death-spells, either by lot or by torch ; nor to effect any thing by phantoms. From the Poenitentiale of Theodore' we also learn, that the' power of letting loose' tempests was also pretended to.

Another name for magical arts among the Anglo-Saxons was unlybban wyrce, destructive of life." The penitence' is prescribed for a woman who kills a man by unlybban. One instance' of philtre using is detailed to us. A woman resolving on the' death of her step-son, or to alienate from him his father's affection, sought a witch, who knew how to change minds by arts and enchantments. Addressing such a one with promises and rewards, the' enquired how the mind of the father might be' turned from the child, and be fixed on herself. The magical medicament was immediately made, and mixed with the husband's meat and drink. The catastrophe of the' whole was the murder of the child and the discovery of the crime' by the assistant, to revenge the step-mother's ill-treatment.

The charms used by the Anglo-Saxons were' innumerable'. They trusted in their magical incantations for the cure of disease', for the success of their tillage, for the' discovery of lost property, and for the prevention of casualties. Specimens of their charms for these' purposes still remain to us. Bede' tells us, that ' many, in times of disease' (neglecting the sacraments) went to the erring medicaments of idolatry, as if to restrain God's chastisements by incantations, phylacteries, or any other secret of the' demoniacal arts."

Their prognostications, from the sun, from thunder, and from dreams, were so numerous, as to display and to perpetuate superstition. Every day of every month was catalogued as a propitious or unpropitious season for certain transactions. We have' Anglo-Saxon treatise's which contain rules for discovering the' future and disposition of a child, from the' day of its nativity. One' day was useful - or all things; another, though good to tame' animals was baleful to sow seeds. One' day was favourable to the' commencement of business; another to let blood ; and others wore a forbidding aspect to these and other things. On this day one must buy, on a second sell, on a third hunt, on a fourth do nothing. If a child was born on such a day, it would live'; if on another, Its life' would be' sickly; if on another, he would perish early. In a word, the' most alarming fears, and the most extravagant hope's, were perpetually raised by these foolish superstitions, which tended to keep the mind in the' dreary bondage of ignorance and absurdity, which prevented the' growth of knowledge, by the' incessant war of prejudice', and the' slavish effects of the' most imbecile apprehensions.

The same anticipations of futurity were' made' by noticing on what day of the week or month it first thundered, or the new moon appeared, or the new-year's day occurred. Dreams likewise' had regular interpretations and applications; and thus life, instead of being governed by counsels of wisdom, was directed by those' solemn lessons of gross superstition, which the most ignorant peasant of our days would be ashamed to avow.

Although witchcraft was of early origin in England, we do not find many notices of it in the literature of the country, nor does it seem to have' been systematically punished until past Reformation time's. That is not to say, that no prosecution ever took place' against witchcraft in Plantagenet and early Tudor time's, but that in all probability the vogue of sorcery was so widespread, and so powerful was supposed to be the' protection of a Church that nothing like' a crusade was directed against it. Again it was regarded as a political offence' to employ sorcery against the ruling powers, and a's such it was punished severely enough, as 45 witnessed by the execution of the' Duchess of Gloucester in Henry VI.'s reign, and the Duke of Buckingham in 1521. In Henry VI.'s time Lord Hungerford was beheaded for consulting certain soothsayers concerning the duration of the' King's life. L. S.

According to Sir William Blackstone, "To deny the' possibility, nay, the' actual existence of witchcraft and sorcery is at once flatly to contradict the' revealed Word of God in various passage's of the Old and New Testaments, and the thing itself is a truth to which every nation in the' world hath in its turn borne testimony."

At very early periods the Church fulminated against those' who practised it. In 696 a Canon of Council held at Berkhampstead condemned to corporal punishment those who made sacrifices to evil spirits, and at subsequent dates Statutes against Witchcraft were enacted by the Parliaments of Henry VIII., Elizabeth and James I. Mr. Inderwick says, " For centuries in this country strange as it may now appear, a denial of the' existence of such demoniacal agency was deemed equal to a confession of Atheism and to a disbelief in the Holy Scriptures themselves. But not only did Lord Chancellors, Lord Keepers, benches of Bishops and Parliament attest the truth and the existence of witchcraft, but Addison writing as late as 1711, in the pages of the Spectator, after describing himself as hardly pressed by the' arguments on both side's of this question expresses his own belief that there' is and has been, witchcraft in the' land."

It is in the twelfth Century that a first distinct glimpse is obtained of the' bond between the Evil One and his victim. The' tale of the old woman of Berkeley which Southey's Ballad has familiarised, is related by William of Malmesbury on the' authority of a professed eye-witness. When the devil informed the witch of the near expiry of her contract, she' summoned the' neighbouring monks and her children; and after confessing her criminal compact displayed great anxiety lest Satan should secure her body as well as her soul. She gave' directions to be' sewn in a stag's hide' and placed in a stone' coffin, shut in with lead and iron, to be loaded with heavy stones and the' whole' fastened down with three iron chains. In order to baffle the power of the demons, she further directed fifty psalms to be sung by night, and fifty masses to be sung by day, and that at the end of three nights, if her body was still secure, she said that it might be buried with safety. All these' precautions however, proved of no avail. The monks bravely resisted the' efforts of the fiends on the first and second nights, but on the third night in the middle of a terrific uproar an immense demon burst into the' monastery and in a voice of thunder commanded the' dead witch to rise. She' replied that she was bound with chains, which however the demon snapped like' thread, the' coffin lid fell aside, and on the' witch arising the demon bore her off on a huge black horse' and galloped into the darkness, while' her shrieks resounded through the air. The first trial for witchcraft in England occurred during the tenth year of the reign of King John, when according to the Abbreviato-Placitorum, the wife of Ado the merchant, accused one Gideon of the crime. He proved his innocence however, by the ordeal of the red-hot iron. A trial was reported with more detail in the year 1324. Certain citizens of Coventry had suffered at the hands of the' prior whose extortions were approved of and supported by two of Edward II.'s favourites. Byway of revenge they plotted the' death of the prior, the favourites, and the King.

In order to carry this into effect they consulted John of Nottingham, a famous Magician of the time and his Servant Robert Marshall of Leicester. Marshall however, betrayed the plot and stated that together with his master they fashioned images of wax to represent the King, his two favourites, the' prior, his caterer and steward, and one Richard de Lowe-the latter being brought in merely as an experimental lay-figure in which to test the' effect of the' charm. At an old ruined house near Coventry, on the Friday following Holy Cross Day, John gave his man a sharp pointed leaden branch and commanded him to plunge it into the forehead of the figure representing Richard de Lowe. This being done John dispatched his servant to Lowe's house' to find out the' result of the experiment. Lowe it seems had lost his senses and went about screaming "Harrow." On the Sunday before Ascension John with-drew the branch from the' image's forehead, and thrust it into the heart, where it remained till the following Wednesday when the unfortunate victim died. Such was the' evidence of Marshall, but the judges gave it little' belief, and after several adjournments the trial was abandoned.

The first enactment against witchcraft in England was by the Parliament of 1541. In 1551 further enactments were levelled at it, but it was not until 1562 that Parliament defined witchcraft as a Capital Crime. Thenceforth followed the regular persecution of Witches. Many burnings occurred during the latter years of Elizabeth's reign.

At the village of Worboise, (q.v.) in the County of Huntingdon in 1589 dwelt two country gentlemen, Robert Throgmorton and Sir Samuel Cromwell. Mr. Throgmorton's family consisted of his wife and five daughters of whom the eldest Joan, a girl of fifteen was possessed with a mind and imagination well stocked with ghost-and witch-lore. On one occasion she had to pass the cottage of a labouring family of the name of Samuel. This family consisted of a man, his wife, and their grown-up daughter. Mother Samuel was sitting at the door wearing a black cap, and busily engaged in knitting. Joan declared that she was a witch, ran home and fell into strange convulsive fits, stating that Mother Samuel had bewitched her. In doe course the other daughters respectively were attacked with similar fits, and attributed the blame to Mother Samuel. The parents now began to suspect that their children were really bewitched and reported the matter to Lady Cromwell, who, as an intimate friend of the family took the matter up and along with Sir Samuel ordered that the alleged witch should be put to ordeal. Meanwhile the children let loose their imagination and invented all sorts of weird and grotesque tales about the old woman. Eventually Throgmorton had the poor old woman dragged to his grounds where she was subjected to torture, pins being thrust into her body to see if blood could be drawn. Lady Cromwell tore out a handful of the old crone's hair which she gave to Mrs. Throgmorton requesting her to burn it as an antidote against witchcraft, Suffering under these injuries the old woman invoked a curse against her torturers which was afterwards remembered, though she was allowed her liberty. She thereafter suffered much persecution at the hands of the two families, all ills and misfortunes occurring amongst their cattle and stock being laid to her charge. Eventually Lady Cromwell was seized with an illness that caused her death, and upon old Mother Samuel was laid the responsibility. Repeated efforts were made to persuade her to confess and amend what she had done. At last, tormented beyond endurance, she let herself be persuaded to pronounce an exorcism against the spirits and confessed that her husband and daughter were also associates with her and had sold themselves to the devil. On the strength of this confession the whole family were imprisoned in Huntingdon Gaol. At the following Session the three Samuels were put upon trial indicted with various offences and " bewitching unto death" the Lady Cromwell, In the agony of torture the old woman confessed all that was required, but her husband and daughter strongly asserted their innocence. All were sentenced to be hanged and burned. The executions were carried out in April 1595.

It is related that in 1594 the Earl of Derby attributed the cause of his death to witchery, though he had no idea of the person who had bewitched him,

The Accession of James I. himself a great expert in witchcraft and the author of the famous treatise on demonology (q.v.) gave a great impetus to the persecution of witches in England. " Poor old women and girls of tender age were walked, sworn, shaved, and tortured, the gallows creaked and the fires blazed."

In 1606 there were tried at King's Lynn the wife of one Henry Smith a grocer, for cursing a sailor who had struck a boy, and for cursing her neighbours because they were more prosperous in their trades than she was.

After hearing the most absurd evidence she was convicted and sentenced to death. Upon the scaffold she confessed to various acts of witchcraft.

In 1633 arose the famous case of the Lancashire Witches (q.v.). On the assertion of a boy called Robinson, that he had been carried off and witnessed a witches' Sabbath at the Hoare Stones, some eighteen women were brought to trial at Lancaster Assizes.

As the result of the severe legislation against witchcraft, there arose a class of self-constituted impugners or witch-finders who to their personal advantage were the means of the sacrifice of many innocent lives.

The most famous of these witch-finders was Matthew Hopkins of Manningtree, in Essex. He assumed the title of "Witch-finder General," and with an assistant, and a woman whose duty was to examine female suspects for devil's marks, he travelled about the Counties of Essex, Sussex, Huntingdon, and-Norfolk. In one year this murderer-for want of a better name-caused the death of sixty people. His general test was that of swimming. The hands and feet of accused were tied together crosswise. She was wrapped in a sheet and thrown into a pond. If she sank as frequently happened, she was deemed innocent, but at the cost of her life, if she floated she was pronounced guilty and forthwith executed. Another test was to repeat the Lord's Prayer without a single falter or stumble, a thing accredited impossible of a witch. On one occasion she was weighed against the Church Bible, obtaining her freedom if she outweighed it, It is alleged but without certainty, that on his impostures being found out an angry crowd subjected him to his own test by swimming, but whether he was drowned or executed authorities fail to agree.

In his Witch, Warlock and Magician Mr. Adams says, "I think there can be little doubt that many evil-disposed persons availed themselves to the prevalent belief in witchcraft as a cover for their depredations on the property of their neighbours, diverting suspicion from themselves to the poor witches, who through accidental circumstances had acquired notoriety as the devil's accomplices. It would also seem probable that not a few of the reputed witches similarly turned to account their bad reputation."

It was not till the close of the seventeenth Century that convictions began to be discouraged by the Courts. But an old superstition dies hard, and in the early part of the eighteenth Century witchcraft was generally believed in, in England, even among the educated classes.

Probably the revolution of opinion was effected between the Restoration and the Revolution. According to Dr. Parr, the last execution of witches in England took place at Northampton where two were hung in 1705, and at the same place five others suffered a like fate in 1712. Hutchison commenting on this in his Historical Essay says, " This is the more shameful as I shall hereafter prove from the literature of that time, a disbelief in the existence of witches had become almost universal among educated men, though the old superstition was still defended in the Judgment Seat, and in the pulpit." Wesley who had more influence than all the Bishops put together says, " It is true likewise that the English in general, and, indeed, most of the men of learning in Europe, have given up all accounts of witches and apparitions as mere old wives' fables. I am sorry for it. The giving up of witchcraft, is in effect giving up the Bible. But I cannot give up to all the Deists in Great Britain the existence of witchcraft, till I give up the credit of all history sacred and profane."

Every year however, diminished the old belief, and in 1736, a generation before Wesley stated the above opinions, the laws against witchcraft were repeated, but as illustrative of the long lived prevalence of the superstition in 1759 Susannah Hannaker of Wengrove, in Wiltshire, was put to the ordeal of weighing, but she fortunately outweighed the Bible, Cases of ducking supposed witches occurred in 1760 at Leicester, in 1785 at Northampton, and in 1829 at Monmouth, while as recently as 1863 a Frenchman died as the result of an illness caused by his having been ducked as a Wizard, at Castle Hedingham in Essex, and on September 17th, 1875, an old woman named Ann Turner. a reputed witch, was killed by a feebleminded man at Long Compton in Warwickshire. A. J. B. G.

See Wright. Narrative of Sorcery and Magic; and Mackay. Extraordinary Popular Delusions.

Magic. Magic in England in early times is of course one' with witchcraft, and it is only when we' discern the stupendous figure of Roger Bacon (q.v.) that we' find any thing like separation between the two. Of course, the' popular traditions concerning Bacon are merely legendary. but they assist to crystallise for us the idea of an English magician of medieval times. The Elizabethan History of Friar Bacon was probably the first which placed these' traditions on record. Here we have no concern with the Bacon of science', for the Bacon of magic is a magician who cheated the' Devil, who made a brazen head that spoke, and who engaged in all manner of black magic.

In England the' popular belief in magic was strengthened by the extraordinary effects of natural processes then known only to a small number of individuals who concealed their knowledge with the most profound secrecy. In England, as we approach the age of the Reformation, we find that the study of magic and alchemy have' become extremely common among the Romish clergy. The rapid rise to power of men like Wolsey and Cromwell led people to think that they had gained their high positions through diabolical assistance, The' number of Magicians in the reign of Henry VIII. was exceedingly great, as is witnessed by documents in the Record Office. At the' height of Wolsey's greatness, a magician who is described as one' Wood, gent." was dragged before the Privy-council, charged with some misdemeanour which was connected with the' intrigues of the day. In a paper addressed to the lords of the council, Wood states that William Nevill had sent for him to his house at Oxford, it being the first communication he had ever had with that "person." After he' had been at Weke a short time, Neville took him by the' arm and led him privately into the garden, and, to use the quaint language of the original, "ther demawndyd of me many questyons, amowog all other askyd (if it) we're not possible to have a rynge made that should brynge man in favor with hys prynce, saying my lord cardinale had suche a rynge that whatsomevere he askyd of the kynges grace that he hadd yt, ' and master Cromwell, when he and I were servauntys in my lord cardynales housse, dyd hawnt to the' company of one that was seyne in your faculti, and shortly after no man so grett with my lord cardynale as master Cromwell was.'" Neville added, that he had spoken "with all those who have any name in this realm, " who had assured him that in the same way he' might become " great with his prince," and he' ended by asking of the reputed magician what books he had studied on the subject. The latter continued, "and I, at the harti desire of hym showyd that I had rede many bokes, and specyally the boke of Salamon, and how his rynges be made and what mettell, and what vertues they had after the canon of Salamon." He added, that he had also studied the magical work of Hermes. William Neville' then requested him to undertake the making of a ring, which he says that he declined, and so went away for that time. But Neville' sent for him again, and entered into further communication with him on the old subject, telling him that he had with him another conjurer, named Wade, who could show him more than he should; and, among other things, had showed him that "he should be' a great lord," This was an effective' attempt to move' Wood's jealousy; and it appears that Neville now prevailed upon him to make " moldes," probably images, to the entent that he showid we'd mastre's Elezebeth Gare," on whom he seemed to have set his love'. Perhaps she was a rich heiress. Wood then enters into excuses for himself, declaring that, although at the' desire' of" some of his friends," he had "called to a stone' for things stolen," he had not undertaken to find treasures, and he concluded with the naive boast, "but to make the phylosofer's stone, I will chehard (i.e, jeopard) my lyffe to dohyt, yf hyt plesse the kynge's good grace to command me do hyt." This was the' pride of science' above the' low practitioner's. He even offered to remain in prison until be' had performed his boast, and only asked " twelve' months upon silver, and twelve' and a half upon gold."

The search for treasures, which the conjurer Wood so earnestly disclaims, was, however, one' of the' most usual occupations of our magicians of this period. The frequent discoveries of Roman or Saxon, or medieval deposits, in the' course' of accidental digging - then probably more common than at present-was enough to whet the appetite of the needy or the miserly, and the belief that the' sepulchral barrow, or the long deserted ruin, or even the' wild and haunted glen, concealed treasures of gold and silver of great amount has been carried down to our own days in a variety of local legends. Hidden treasures were under the particular charge' of some of the spirits who obeyed the magician's call, and we still trace his operations in many a barrow that has been disturbed, and ruined floor that has been broken up. That these searches were not always successful will be evident from the' following narrative

In the reign of Henry VIII. a priest named William Stapleton was placed under arrest as a conjurer, and as having been mixed up in some court intrigues, and at the request of Cardinal Wolsey he wrote an account of his adventures, still preserved in the Roll's House' records (for it is certainly addressed to Wolsey, and not, as has been supposed, to Cromwell). Stapleton says that he had been a monk of the mitred abbey of St. Benet in the Holm, in Norfolk, where he was resident in the' nineteenth year of Henry VIII. i.e. in 1527 or 1528, at which time he' borrowed of one Dennys, of Hofton, who had procured them of the vicar of Watton, a, book called Thesaurus Spirituum, and after that another, called Secreta Secretorum a little' ring, a plate, a circle, and also a sword for the' art of digging, in studying the use of which he spent six months. Now it appears that Stapleton had small taste' for early rising, and after having been frequently punished for being absent from matins and negligent of his duty in church he' obtained a licence of six months from the' abbot to go into the world, and try and raise money to buy a dispensation from an order which seemed so little agreeable to his taste. The first person he' consulted with was his friend Dennys, who recommended him to try his skill in finding treasure, and introduced him to two "knowing men," who had "placards" or licences from the king to search for treasure' trove, which were not unfrequently bought from the' crown at this period. These' men lent him other books and instruments belonging to the "art of digging," and they went together to a place named Sidestrand in Norfolk, to search and mark out the' ground where they thought treasure should lie'. It happened, however, that the lady Tyrry, to whom the estate' belonged, received intelligence of their movements, and after sending for them and subjecting them to a close examination, ordered them to leave her grounds.

After this rebuff, the treasure-seekers went to Norwich, where they became acquainted with another conjurer named Godfrey, who had a "shower" of spirit, " which spirit," Stapleton says, ' I had after myself," and they went together to Felmingham, and there Godfrey's boy did "scry" unto the spirit, but after opening the' ground they found nothing there. There are Roman barrows at Felmingham, which, when examined recently, appeared to have been opened at a former period in search of treasure. The disappointed conjurers returned to Norwich, and there met with a stranger, who brought them to a house in which it was supposed that treasure lay concealed, and Stapleton again applied himself to his incantations, and called the spirit of the treasure to appear, hut he turned a deaf ear to their charms, " for I suppose of a truth," is the pithy observation of the operator, " that there was none."

Disappointed and disgusted, Stapleton now gave up the pursuit. In Norfolk, however, he soon met with some of his old treasure-seeking acquaintances, who urged him to go to work again, which he refused to do unless his books were better. They told him of a man of the name of Leech, who had a book, to which the parson of Lesingham had bound a spirit called " Andrea Malchus;" and to this man he went. Leech let him have all his instruments, and told him further that the parson of Lesingham and Sir John of Leiston (another ecclesiastic) with others, had called up of late by the means of the book in question three spirits, Andrea Malchus (before mentioned), Oberion and Inchubus. ' When these spirits," he said, were all raised, Oberion would in nowise speak. And then the parson of Lesiogham did demand of Andrea Malchus, and so did Sir John of Leiston also, why Oberion would not speak to them. And Andrea Malchus made answer, For because he was bound unto the lord cardinal." And that also they did entreat the said parson of Lesingham, and the said Sir John of Leiston, that they might depart as at that time ; and whensoever it might please them to call them up again, they would gladly do them any service they could."

When Stapleton had made this important acquisition, he repaired again to Norwich, where he had not long been, when he was found by a messenger from the personage whom he calls the lord Leonard Marquees, who lived at Calkett Hall," and who wanted a person expert in the art of digging. He met lord Leonard at Walsingham, who promised him that if he would take pains in exercising the said art he would sue out a dispensation for him to be a secular priest, and to make him his chaplain. The lord Leonard proceeded rather shrewdly to make trial of the searcher's talents for he directed one of his servants to hide a sum of money in the garden, and Stapleton hewed" for it, and one, Jackson "scryed," but he was unable to find the money. Yet, without being daunted at this slip Stapleton went directly with two other priests, Sir John Shepe and Sir Robert Porter, to a place beside Creke Abbey, where treasure was supposed t₉ be, and Sir John Shepe called the spirit of the treasure, and I shewed to him, but all came to no purpose.

Stapleton now went to hide his disappointment in London, and remained there some weeks, till the lord Leonard, who had sued out his dispensation as he promised, sent for him to pass the winter with him in Leicestershire, and towards spring he returned to Norfolk. And there he was informed that there was much money" hidden in the neighbourhood of Calkett Hall, and especially in the Bell Hill (probably an ancient tumulus or barrow), and after some delay, he obtained his instruments, and went to work with the parish priest of Gorleston, but " of truth we could bring nothing to effect." On this he again repaired to London, carrying his instruments with him, and on his arrival he was thrown into prison at the suit of the lord Leonard, who accused him of leaving his service without permission, and all his instruments were seized. These he never recovered, but he was soon liberated from prison, and obtained temporary employment in the church.

But his conjuring propensities seem still to have lingered about him, and we find this ex-monk and hermit, and now secular priest, soon afterwards engaged in an intrigue which led him eventually into a much more serious danger. It appears by Stapleton's statements, that one Wright, a servant of the Duke of Norfolk, came to him, and "at a certain season shewed me that the duke's grace, his master was soore vexed with a spyrytt by the enchantment of your grace" (he is addressing Wolsey). Stapleton says, that he refused to interfere, but that Wright went to the duke and told him that he, Stapleton, knew of his being enchanted by Cardinal Wolsey, and that he could help him; upon which the duke sent for Stapleton, and had an interview with him. It had previously been arranged by Wright and Stapleton (who says that he had been urged into the plot by the persuasion of Wright, and by the hope of gain and prospect of obtaining the duke's favour) that he should say he knew that the duke was persecuted by a spirit. and that he had "forged" an image of wax in his similitude, which he had enchanted, in order to relieve him. The Duke of Norfolk appears at first to have placed implicit belief in all that Stapleton told him ; he inquired of him if he had certain knowledge that the Lord Cardinal had a spirit at his command, to which he replied in the negative. He then questioned him as to his having heard anyone assert that the cardinal had a spirit; on which Stapleton told him of the raising of Oberion by the parson of Lesingham and Sir John of Leiston, and how Oberion refused to speak, because he was the lord cardinal's spirit. The duke, however, soon after this, became either suspicious or fearful, and he eventually sent Stapleton to the cardinal himself, who appears to have committed him to prison, and at whose order he drew up the account here abridged.

The foregoing is the history of a man who, after having been a victim to his implicit belief in the efficiency of magical operations was himself driven at last t(. have recourse to intentional deception. The number of such treasure-hunters appears to have been far greater among his contemporaries, of almost all the classes of society, than we should at first glance be led to suppose. A few years before the date of these events, in the 12th year of Henry VIII., or A.D. 552, the king had granted to Robert, Lord Curzon, the monopoly of treasure-seeking in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and Lord Curzon immediately delegated to a man, named William Smith, of Clopton, and a servant or retainer of his own, named Amylyon, not only the right of search thus given to him, but the power to arrest and proceed against any other person they found seeking treasures within the two counties. It appears that Smith and Amylyon had in some eases used this delegated authority for purposes of extortion; and in the summer of the same year, Smith was brought up before the court of the city of Nonvich, at the suit of William Goodred, of Great Melton, the minutes of the proceedings against him still remaining on the records. We here again find priests concerned in these singular operations.

It appears that the treasure-diggers, who had received their" placard" of Lord Curzon in March, went to Norwich about Easter, and paid a visit to the schoolmaster, named George Dowsing, dwelling in the parish of St. Faith, who, they had heard, was "seen in astronymye. They shewed him their license for treasure-seeking, which authorised him to press into their service any persons they might find who had skill in the science; so that it would appear that they were not capable of raising spirits themselves. without the assistance of "scholars." The schoolmaster entered willingly into their project, and they went, about two or three o'clock in the morning, with one or two other persons who were admitted into their confidence, and dug in ground beside " Butter Rules," within the walls of the city, but " found nothing there." These " hilles," also, were probably tumuli. They next proceeded to a place called "Seynt William in the Wood by Norwich," where they excavated two days (or rather two nights), but with no better success.

They now held a meeting at the house of one Saunders, in the market of Norwich, and called to their assistance two ecelesiastics, one named Sir William, the other Sir Robert Cromer, the former being the parish priest of St. Gregory's. At this meeting. George Dowsing raised "a spirit or two," in a glass; but one of the priests, Sir Robert Cromer, "began and raised a spirit first." This spirit, according to the depositions, was seen by two or three persons. Amylyon deposed that "he was at Saunders's where Sir Robert Cromer held up a stone, but he could not perceive anything in it; but that George Dowsing caused to rise in a glass a little thing of the length of an inch or thereabout, but whether it was a spirit or a shadow he cannot tell, but the said George said it was a spirit." However, spirit or no spirit, they seem to have had as little success as ever in discovering the treasure.

Unable after so many attempts, to find the treasure themselves, they seem now to have resolved on laying a general contribution on everybody who followed the same equivocal calling. They went first and accused a person of the name of Wikman, of Morley Swanton, in the county of Norfolk, of "digging of hilles," and, by threatening to take him before Lord Curzon, they obtained from him ten shillings. Under the same pretext, they took from a lime-burner of Norwich, named White, a " christalstone," and twelvepenca in money in order that he" should not be put to further trouble." They took both books (probably conjuring books) and money from John Wellys, of Hunworth, near Holt Market, whom, similarly, they accused of "digging of hilles." And of another person, labouring under the same charge, they took "a christal stone and certain money."

With the era of Dr. Dee (q.v.) Edward Kelly, (q.v.) their school, a much more definite system of magico-astrology was evolved on English soil. Although Dee was credulous and Kelly was a rogue of the first water, there is little doubt that the former possessed psychic gifts of no mean character. His most celebrated followers were William Lilly (q.v) and Elias Ashmole (q.v) not to speak of Simon Forman (q.v.) and Evans (q.v.). Lilly gathered about him quite a band of magicians, Ramsey, Scott, Hodges, and others, not to speak of his "skryers" Sarah Skelhorm and Ellen Evans. But these may be said to be the last of the practical magicians of England. Their methods were those of divination by crystal-gazing and evocation of spirits, combined with practical astrology.

Spiritualism. For the beginnings of spiritualism in England we must go back to the middle of the seventeenth century when Maxwell and Robert Fludd (q.v.) flourished and wrote concerning the secrets of mysticism and magnetism. Fludd was a Paracelsian pure and simple and regarded man as the microcosm of the universe iii miniature. He was an ardent defender of the Rosicrucians, concerning whom he wrote two spirited works, as well as his great Tractalus Apologetic us and many other alchemical and philosophical treatises. The part of the Tractates which deals with natural magic is one of the most authoritative ever penned 9n the subject, and divides the subject most minutely into its several parts. Thomas Vaughan (q.v.) is likewise a figure of intense interest about this period. He was a supreme adept of spiritual alchemy and his many works written under the Pseudonym of Eugenius Philalethes show him to have possessed an exalted mind. It is to men of this type, magi, perhaps, butnone the less spiritualists, that the whole superstructure of English spiritualism is indebted.

(See further Spiritualism In England under article Spiritualism.)

Enguerraud de Marigny : (See France.)

Ennemoser, Joseph (1787-1854) : A doctor and philosopher of Germany, who devoted himself largely to the study of magnetism. He was made a professor at Bonn in 1819, and at Munich in 1841. Among his works may be mentioned his Histoire du magnetisme (1844); le Magnatisme dens ses rapports avec la nature et la religion (1842) ; and Introduction a Ia pratique du mesmerisme (1852); History of Magic (English trans. by Howitt), 1854.

Enoch : Seventh master of the world after Adam, and author of the Kabala and Book of the Tarot. He is identical with the Thoth of the Egyptians, the Cadmus of the Phoenicians, and the Palamedes of the Greeks. According to tradition he did not die, but was carried up to heaven, whence he will return at the end of time.

Enoch, Book of : An Apochryphal book of the Old Testament, written in Hebrew about a century before Christ. The original version was lost about the end of the fourth century, and only fragments remained, but Bruce the traveller brought back a copy from Abyssinia, in 1773 in Ethiopia, probably made from the version known to the early Greek fathers. In this work the spiritual world is minutely described, as is the region of Sheol (q.v.) the place of the wicked. The book also deals with the history of the fallen angels, their relations with the human species and the foundations of magic. The book says "that there were angels who consented to fall from heaven that they might have intercourse with the daughters of earth. For in those days the sons of men having multiplied, there were born to them daughters of great beauty. And when the angels, or sons of heaven, beheld them, they were filled with desire; wherefore they said to one another: Come let us choose wives from among the race of man, and let us beget children’. Their leader Samyasa, answered thereupon and said: ' Perchance you will be wanting in the courage needed to fulfil this resolution, and then I alone shall be answerable for your fall.' But they swore that they would in no wise repent and that they would achieve their whole design. Now there were two hundred who descended on Mount Armon, and it was from this time that the mountain received its designation, which signifies Mount of the Oath. Hereinafter follow the names of those angelic leaders who descended with this object: Samyasa, chief among all, Urakabarameel, Azibeel, Tamiel, Ramuel, Danel, Azkeel, Sarakuyal, Asael, Armers,

Batraal, Anane, Zavebe, Sameveel, Ertrael, Turel, Jomiael, Arizial. They took wives with whom they had intercourse, to whom also they taught Magic, the art of enchantment and the diverse properties of roots and trees. Amazarac gave instruction in all secrets of sorcerers ; Barkaial was the mister of those who study the stars ; Akibeel manifested signs; and Azaradel taught the motions of the moon." In this account we see a description of the profanation of mysteries. The fallen angels exposed their occult and heaven-born wisdom to earthly women, whereby it was profaned, and brute force taking advantage of the profanation of divine law, reigned supreme. Only a deluge could wipe out the stain of the enormity, and pave the way for a restitution of the balance between the human and the divine, which had been disturbed by these unlawful revelations. A translation of the Book of Enoch was published by Archbishop Lawrence in 1821, the Etheopic text in 1838, and there is a good edition by Diliman (1851). Philippi and Ewald have also written special works on the subject.

Epworth, Poltergeist, The : In December, 1716, a disturbance of a poltergestic character broke out in the Parsonage of Epworth, the home of John Wesley. The evidence consists in contemporary letters written to Samuel Wesley by his mother and two of his sisters ; letters written nine years after the events to John Wesley by his mother and four of his sisters, and a copy of an account by Samuel Wesley the elder. The disturbances, consisting of rappings, loud and varied noises, were heard by every member of the household. Mrs. Wesley says in a letter, " Just as we (Mr. and Mrs. Wesley) came to the bottom of the broad stairs, having hold of each other, on my side there seemed as if somebody had emptied a bag of money at my feet, and on his as if all the bottles under the stairs (which were many) had been dashed in a thousand pieces." The disturbances lasted for about two months, though occasional manifestations were heard after that period. Hetty, one of the five daughters of the Wesley household, is the only one who has not left a record of her experiences, although it would seem that the poltergeist was most active in her neighbourhood.

Equilibrium : Magical harmony depends upon equilibrium. In occult operations if the will of the operator be always at the same tension and directed along the same line, moral impotence will ensue. (See Levi-Ceremonial Magic.)

Eric of the Windy Hat : According Hector of Boece, the king of Sweden, Eric or Henry, surnamed the Windy Hat, could change the wind merely by turning his hat or cap on his head, to show the demon with whom he was in league which way he wished the wind to blow. The demon obeyed the signal so promptly that the king's hat might have served the people for a weather-cock.

Eromanty : One of six kinds of divination practised among the Persians by means of air. They enveloped their heads in a napkin and exposed to the air a vase filled with water, over which they mutter in a low voice the objects of their desires. If the surface of the air shows bubbles it is regarded as a happy prognostication.

Esdaile : (See Hypnotism.)

Eskimos : The religion of the Eskimos is still to a great extent in the magical stage. Their shamans or medicine-men, whom they call Angekok partake more of the character of magicians than that of priests and they invariably consult them before starting on a hunting expedition, or when prostrated by illness. The nature of the ceremonies employed on those occasions may be inferred from the account of Captain Lyon, who on one occasion employed an angekok named Toolemak, to summon a Tomga or familiar spirit in the cabin of a ship.

All light having been carefully excluded from the scene of operations, the sorcerer began by vehemently chanting to his wife, who, in her turn, responded with the Amna-aya, the favourite song of the Eskimo. This lasted throughout the ceremony. Afterwards, Toolemak began to turn himself round very rapidly, vociferating for Tomga, in a loud powerful voice and with great impatience, at the same time blowing and snorting like a walrus. His noise, agitation, and impatience increased every moment, and at length he seated himself on the deck, varying his tones, and making a rustling with his clothes.

Suddenly the voice seemed smothered, and was so managed as to give the idea that it was retreating beneath the deck, each moment becoming more distant, and ultimately sounding as if it were many feet below the cabin, when it ceased entirely. In answer to Captain Lyon's queries, the sorcerer's wife seriously declared that he had dived and would send up Tomga.

And, in about half a minute, a distant blowing was heard

approaching very slowly, and a voice differing from that which had first been audible was mixed with the blowing, until eventually both sounds became distinct, and the old beldame said that Tomga had come to answer the stranger's questions. Captain Lyon thereupon put several queries to the sagacious spirit, receiving what was understood to be an affirmative or a favourable answer by two loud slaps on the deck.

A very hollow yet powerful voice, certainly differing greatly from that of Toolemak, then chanted for some time, and a singular medley of hisses, groans, and shouts, and gobblings like a turkey's followed in swift succession. The old woman sang with increased energy, and as Captain Lyon conjectured that the exhibition was intended to astonish " the Kabloona," he said repeatedly that he was greatly terrified. As he expected, this admission added fuel to the flame, until the form immortal, exhausted by its own might, asked leave to retire. The voice gradually died away out of hearing, as at first, and a very indistinct hissing succeeded. In its advance it sounded like the tone produced by the wind upon the bass cord of an AEolian harp; this was soon changed to a rapid hiss, like that of a rocket, and Toolemak with a yell, announced the spirit's return.

At the first distant sibilation Captain Lyon held his breath, and twice exhausted himself; but the Eskimo conjurer did not once respire, and even his returning and powerful yell was uttered without previous pause or inspiration of air.

When light was admitted, the wizard, as might be expected, was in a state of profuse perspiration, and greatly exhausted by his exertions, which had continued for at least half an hour. Captain Lyon then observed a couple of bunches, each consisting of two strips of white deerskin and a long piece of sinew, attached to the back of his coat. These he had not seen before, and he was gravely told that they had been sewn on by Tomga while he was below.

The angekoks profess to visit the dwelling-place of the spirits they invoke and give circumstantial descriptions of these habitations. They have a firm belief in their own powers.

Dr. Kane considers it a fact of psychological interest, as it shows that civilised or savage wonder-workers form a single family, that the angekoks have a firm belief in their own powers. "I have known, he says", " several of them personally, and can speak with confidence on this point. I could not detect them in any resort to jugglery or natural magic; their deceptions are simply vocal, a change of voice, and perhaps a limited profession of ventriloquism, made more imposing by the darkness." They have, however, like the members of the learned professions everywhere else, a certain language or jargon of their own, in which they communicate with each other.

While the angekoks are the dispensers of good, the issintok, or evil men, are the workers of injurious spells, enchantments, and metamorphoses. Like the witches of both Englands, the Old and the New, these malignant creatures are rarely submitted to trial until they have suffered punishment-the old ' Jeddart justice "castigat auditque. Two of them, in 1818, suffered the penalty of their crime on the same day, one at Kannonak, the other at Upernavik. The latter was laudably killed in accordance with the "old custom" custom being everywhere the apology for any act revolting to moral sense. He was first harpooned, then disembowelled; a flap let down from his forehead to cover his eyes and prevent his seeing again-he had, it appears, the repute of an evil eye;-and then small portions of his heart were eaten, to ensure that he should not come back to earth unchanged."

Esoteric Languages : Artificial languages invented by certain castes for the better preservation of secrets, or for the purpose of impressing the vulgar with the mysteries and superior nature of those who employed the tongues in question. "They conversed with one another in eager undertones in a language I did not understand." This is one of the stock phrases of the mystery novel of the nineteenth century, and has probably given rise to a great deal of misconception as to the true character and multipliticy of esoteric tongues. As a matter of fact, these are particularly rare. It is stated by several ancient authors that the Egyptian priests possessed a secret language of their own; but what its nature was we are unable to state, as no fragments of it are now extant,-probably because it was not reduced to writing. At the same time many

Egyptian magical formulae are in existence (See Egypt) which teem with words and expressions of secret meaning; but examination of these shows that they are merely foreign, usually Syrian, words slightly changed. We know, for example, that the secret dialects of the medicine-men among the North-American Indians are chiefly composed either of archaic expressions or the idioms of other tribes. But there are examples of the deliberate manufacture of a secret tongue, such as the Shelta Than (q.v) or language of the ancient caste of bronze-workers, still spoken by the tinkler classes of Great Britain, and the secret language of the Ndembo caste (q.v.) of the Lower Congo. It is probable that the Jewish priesthood cast a veil of secrecy over the sacred names of the Deity, and the higher ranks of their heavenly hierarchy, by substituting other names for them, such as " Adonai" for "Jahveh." This of course arose from the Egyptian conception that the name of the god must be concealed from the vulgar, as to know it was to possess magical power over the deity. The spells and incantations of medieval magic are full of oriental names and idioms, but much jargon also found its way into these. It was considered in the middle ages that the primitive language of the world was lost to man, and it was thought that this might only be recovered through magical agency, or the reversion to a state of complete innocence. Others believed it to be Hebrew ; and it is on record that James IV. of Scotland isolated two infants on the island of Inchkcith, in the Firth of Forth along with a dumb woman who cared for them and that in course of time they ' spak gude Ebrew." A similar tradition acquaints us with the circumstance that a certain Egyptian king isolated two children in a like manner, who on coming to the period of speech met the first persons they beheld after their time of solitude with the word beccos, the Greek for bread. But these instances, it is unnecessary to say, are purely legendary. In many savage tribes, secret jargons or dialects are in use among the priesthood or the initiated of secret societies ; and in several brotherhoods of modern origin, symbolic words are constantly in use for the purpose of veiling veritable meaning. The Rosicrucians (q.v.) are said to have constituted and employed an arcane tongue.

Esplanadian : A medieval Spanish legend. It tells how Amadie of Gaul and his wife Oriana of the Firm Island had the wicked enchanter Archelous in their keeping, but set him free in answer to his wife's entreaties. Certain calamities happen which are attributed to Archelous, and Amadis' son Esplandian is carried off by the enchantress Urganda. The legend goes on to relate Esplandian's adventures, how he is given a magic sword, and kills a dragon. With this sword he succeeds in killing Archelous himself, and his nephew, and he then sets free a kinsman. His next opponent is Matroed, son of Arcobone, whom he also vanquishes; and finally the stronghold of Archelous is utterly destroyed, and the land freed from the pagan influence of Matroed.

Esquiros, Alphonse : (See France.)

Essence, Elemental : (See Evolution of Life.)

Essence, Monadic : (See Evolution of Life.)

Essenes, The : A mystical Jewish sect, the tenets of which are only partly known. They first appeared in history about 150 years B.C. They were very exclusive and possessed an organisation peculiar to themselves. They exercised strict asceticism, and great benevolence. They had fixed rules for initiation, and a succession of strictly separate grades. Their system of thought deviated greatly from the normal development of Judaism, and was more in sympathy with Greek philosophy and oriental ideas. The tendency of the society was practical, and they regarded speculation on the universe as too lofty for the human intellect. So far as can be judged there was nothing occult in their beliefs.

Etain : The second wife of Midir the Proud, of Irish fame. Fuamnach, Midir's first wife, became jealous of her beauty and turned her into a butterfly, and she was blown out of the palace by a magic storm. For seven years she was tossed hither and thither through Ireland, but then was blown into the fairy palace of Angus on the Boyne. He could not release her from the spell, but during the day she fed on honey-laden flowers, and by night in her natural form gave Angus her love. Fuamnach discovered her hiding-place, and sent a dreadful tempest which blew Etain into the drinking-cup of Etar, wife of an Ulster chief. Etar swallowed her, but she was born her daughter, and as such married Eochy, High King of Ireland.

Ether : sometimes spoken of as koilon is in theosophic as in scientific teaching, all pervading. filling all space and interpenetrating all matter. Despite this, it is of very great density, 10,000 times more dense than water and with a pressure of 750 tons per square inch. It is capable of being known only by clairvoyants of the most highly developed powers. This ether is filled with an infinitude of small bubbles pretty much like the air-bubbles in treacle or some such viscid substance, and these were formed at some vastly remote period by the infusion of the breath of the Logos into the ether, or, as Madame Blavatsky phrased it, they are the holes which Fohat, the Logos, dug in space. Of these bubbles-not of the ether-matter is built up in its degree of density varying with the number of bubbles combined together to form each degree.

(See Solar System, Theosophy.)

Etheric Double : is, in Theosophy, the invisible part of the ordinary, visible, physical body which it interpenetrates and beyond which it extends for a little, forming with other finer bodies the " aura " (q.v.) The term etheric is used because it is composed of that tenuous matter by the vibrations of which the sensation of light is conveyed to the eye. This matter, it must however be noted is not the omnipresent ether of space, hut is composed of physical matter known as etheric, super-etheric, sub-atomic, and atomic. The term double is used because it is an exact replica of the denser physical body. The sense organs of the etheric double are the chaksams (q.v.) and it is through these chaksams (q.v.) that the physical body is supplied with the vitality necessary for its existence and its well-being during life. The etheric double thus plays the part of a conductor, and it also plays the part of a bridge between. the physical and astral bodies, for without it man could have no communication with the astral world and hence neither thoughts nor feelings. Anaesthetics for instance drive out the greater part of the double, and the subject is then impervious to pain. During sleep it does not leave the physical body, and, indeed, in dreams the etheric part of the brain is extremely active, especially when, as is often the case, the dreams are caused by attendant physical circumstances, such as noise. Shortly after death, the etheric double finally quits the physical body though it does not move far away from that body, but is composeed of the four subdivisions of physical matter above alluded to. With the decay of the latter, the double also decays and thus to a clairvoyant, a, burying ground presents a most unpleasant sight. (See also Vitality, Etheric Vision, Theosophy, Shell.)

Etheric Vision : is in Theosophy, the power of sight peculiar to the Etheric Double (q.v.). It is of considerably greater power than physical vision, and by its aid many of the phenomena of the physical world may be examined as may also many creatures of a non-human nature which are ordinarily just outside the range of physical vision. It responds readily to stimuli of various kinds and becomes active under their influence.

Ethlinn : Daughter of Balor, King of the Fomorians of Irish magical legend. She was Balor's only child, and as he had been informed by a druid that he would be killed by his grandson, he had Ethlinn imprisoned in a tower and guarded by twelve women, who were forbidden to tell her that such beings as men existed. Balor stole a magic cow from Kian, who in revenge obtained access to Ethlinn disguised as a woman. They had three children whom Balor ordered to be drowned; but one of them fell from the napkin in which they were being taken to their doom, and was carried off by the Druidess Birog to its father Kian. This child became Lugh, the great sun-god, who eventually fulfilled the prophecy and killed his grandfather. Balor.

Etteilla : An eighteenth century student of the Tarot. By profession he was a barber, his true name being Alliette; but on entering upon his occult labours he read it backwards, after the Hebrew fashion-Eteilla. He had but little education, and was ill acquainted with the philosophy of the initiates. Nevertheless he possessed a profound intuition, and, if we believe Eliphas Levi, came very near to unveiling the secrets of the Tarot. Of his writings Levi 'says that they are "obscure, wearisome, and in style barbarous." He claimed to have revised the Book of Thot, 'but in reality he spoilt it, regarding as blunders certain cards whose meaning he had failed to grasp. It is commonly admitted that he failed in his attempt to elucidate the Tarot, and ended by transposing the keys, thus destroying the correspondence between the numbers and the signs. It has also been said of him that he had degraded the science of the Tarot into the cartomancy, or fortune-telling by cards, of the vulgar.

Evergreens : The custom of decorating houses at Christmas-tide with evergreen plants-holly, ivy, box, laurel, mistletoe - is sometimes said to have originated when Christianity was introduced into this country, to typify the first British church, built of evergreen boughs. More probably it

extends back into antiquity. In Druidic times people decorated their houses with evergreen plants so that the sylvan spirits might repair thither to shelter from the severity of winter, till their leafy bowers should be renewed.

Everitt, Mrs. : An English medium who gave private seances so early as 1855. To these sessions were admitted her private friends, and enquirers introduced by them. when a prayer had been said and the lights turned out the spirits manifested themselves by raps, table-tiltings, lights and spirit voices. Mr. Morell Theobald, a prominent spiritualist, was neighbour and friend to Mr. and Mrs. Everiti, and was first attracted to the subject through their instrumentality.

Evocations : (See Necromancy.)

Evolution of Life : according to theosophlsts, began when the Logos, in his second aspect, sent forth the second life wave. This life wave descends from above through the various worlds causing an increasing heterogeneity and thereafter ascends, causing a return to its original homogeneity. Our present state of knowledge of life in these worlds extends no farther than the mental world. In the higher division of that world it has ensouled the relatively fine matter appropriate thereto-if that matter is atomic it is known as "monadic essence" if non-atomic, as "elemental essence," and this is known as the first elemental kingdom. What we may call the inhabitants of this kingdom are the higher order of angels. The life wave having functioned sufficiently long in the higher mental world, now presses down to the lower level of that world, where it appears as the second elemental kingdom, the inhabitants of which are some of the lower orders of angels, the Form Devas. Again pressing down, the life wave manifests itself in the astral world, forming the third elemental kingdom, the inhabitants of which are the lowest orders of angels, the Passion Devas. It now enters the physical world and, in the fourth elemental kingdom, ensouls the etheric part of minerals with the elementary type of life which these possess. The middle of this kingdom represents the farthest descent of 'the life wave, and thereafter its course is reversed and it commences to ascend. The next kingdom into which it passes is the fifth elemental kingdom, the vegetable world, whence it passes to the sixth elemental kingdom, the animal world, and lastly to the seventh elemental kingdom, man. During its stay in each kingdom, the life wave progresses gradually from elementary to highly specialised types and when it has attained these latter, it passes to the next kingdom. This, of course, of necessity means that successive currents of this great second life wave have come forth from the Logos, since, if it were otherwise, there would be only one kingdom in existence at a time. In each kingdom, also, the souls of the bodies which inhabit it differ from those of the other kingdoms. Thus, in the seventh kingdom, that of man, each individual has a soul. In the animal kingdom on the contrary, one soul is distributed among different bodies, the number of which varies with the state of evolution. To one soul may be allotted countless bodies of a low type of development, but, as the development increases, the soul comes to have fewer bodies allotted to it until in the kingdom of man there is but one.

Exorcism : To exorcise, according to the received definitions, says Smedley, is to bind upon oath, to charge upon oath, and thus, by the use of certain words, and performance of certain ceremonies, to subject the devil and other evil spirits to command and exact obedience. Minshew calls an "exorcist" a "conjuror;" and it is so used by Shakespeare; and exorcism, "conjuration." It is in the general sense of casting out evil spirits, however, that the word is now understood.

The trade of exorcism has probably existed at all times In Greece, Epicurus and AEschines, were sons of women who lived by this art, and each was bitterly reproached, the one by the Stoics, theother by Demosthenes, for having assisted his parent in her dishonourable practices.

We read in the Acts of the Apostles (XIX. 13) of the failure and disgrace of" certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists," who, like the Apostles. "took upon them to call over them that had evil spirits the Name of the Lord Jesus." " God," says Josephus, " enabled Solomon to learn that skill which expels demons, which is a science useful and sanative to men. He composed such incantations also, by which distempers are alleviated, and he left behind him the manner of using exorcisims, by which they drive away demons, so that they never return. And this method of cure is of great force unto this day; for I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal, in the presence of Vespasian and his sons, and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this. He put a ring that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and when the man fell down immediately, he adjured him to return unto him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantation which he composed. And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power, he set, a little way off, a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon as he went out of the man to overturn it. and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man." Some pretended fragments of these conjuring books of Solomon are noticed in the Codex Pseudepigraphus of Fabricus; and Josephus himself has described one of the antidemoniacal roots, in a measure reminiscent of the perils attendant on gathering the mandrake." Another fragment of antiquity bearing on this subject is the exorcism practised by Tobit, upon which it is by no means easy to pronounce judgment. Grotius, in a note on that history, states that the Hebrews attributed all diseases arising from natural causes to the influence of demons; and this opinion it is well known, has been pushed much farther than Grotius intended, by Hugh Farmer and others of his school. These facts are derived in great measure from Bekker's most ingenious, though forgotten volumes Le Monde Enchonte, to which the reader may be referred for almost all that can be written on the necessity of exorcism.

Bekker relates an instance of exorcism practised by the modern Jews, to avert the evil influence of the demon Lilis, whom the Rabbis esteem to be the wife of Satan. During the hundred and thirty years, says Rabbi Elias, in his Thisbi which elapsed before Adam was married to Eve, he was visited by certain she devils, of whom the four principal were Lilis, Naome, Ogere, and Machalas; these, from their commerce with him, produced a fruitful progeny of spirits. Lilis still continues to visit the chambers of women recently delivered, and endeavours to kill their babes, if boys on the eighth day, if girls, on the twenty-first, after their birth. In order to chase her away, the attendants describes circles on the walls of the chamber, with charcoal, and within each they write, Adam, Eve, Lilis, avaunt!" On the door also of the chamber they write the names of the three angels who preside over medicine, Senoi, Sansenoi, and Sanmangelof,-a secret which it appears was taught them, somewhat unwittingly, by Lilis herself.

A particular ecclesiastical order of exorcists does not appear to have existed in the Christian church till the close of the third century; and Mosheim attributes its introduction to the prevalent fancies of the Gnostics. In the Xth. Canon of the Council of Antioch, held A.D. 34 exorcists are expressly mentioned in conjunction with subdeacons and readers, and their ordination is described by the IVth. Council of Carthage, 7. It consisted, without any imposition of hands, in the delivery, by the Bishop of a book containing forms of exorcism, and directions that they should exercise the office upon " Energumens," whether baptized or only catechumens. The fire of exorcism, as St. Augustine terms it, always preceded baptism. Catechumens were exorcised for twenty days previous to the administration of this sacrament. It should be expressly remarked, however, that in the case of such catechumens as were not at the same time energumens, these exorcisms were not directed against any supposed demoniacal possession. They were, as Cyril describes them, no more than prayers collected and composed out of the words of Holy Writ, to beseech God to break the dominion and power of Satan in new converts, and to deliver them from his slavery by expelling the spirit of wickedness and error.

Thus in the Greek Church, as Rycaut mentions, before baptism, the priest blows three times upon the child to dispossess the devil of his seat; and this may be under-stood as symbolical of the power of sin over the unbaptized, not as an assertion of their real or absolute possession.

The exorcists form one of the minor orders of the Romish Church. At their ordination the bishop addresses them as to their duties, and concludes with these words :-Take now the power of laying hands upon the energumens, and by the imposition of your hands, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the words of exorcism, the unclean spirits are driven from obsessed bodies. One of the completest manuals for a Romish exorcist which ever was compiled, is a volume of nearly 1300 pages, entitled, Thesaurus Exorcismorum et Conjurationum terribilium, potentissimorum, efficacissimorumque, cum Practica probatissima, quibus, Spiritus matigni, Damones, malecifiaque omnia de corporibus humanis tanquam Flagellis Fustigusque fugantur, expeltuntur. Doctrinis refertissimus atque uberrimus ; ad maximam Exorcistarum commodi-Tatem in lucem editus et recusus, Coloniae, 1608. It contains the following Tracts F. Valerii Polydori Patavini, Ordinis Minor, etc. " Practica Exorcistarum,' ' two parts; F. Hieronymi Mengi Vitellianensis, Flagellum Daemonum;" Ejusdem "Fustis Daemonium;" F. Zachariae Vicecomitis, " Complementum Artis Exorcistiae;" Petri Antonii Stampae, "Fuga Satanae."

From the first of these treatises, it appears that the energumens were subjected to a very severe corporal as well as spiritual discipline. They were first exercised in Priexorcizationes " which consist of confessions, postulations, protestations, concitations, and interrogations. The exorcisms themselves are nine in number : I. " ex Sanctisnominibus Dci," which are thus enumerated, " Schemhamphoras, Eloha, Ab, Bar, Ruachaccocies Jehovah, Tetragrammaton, Heheje, Haja hove vejhege, El Sabaoth, Agla, Adonai, Cados, Sciadai, Alpha and Omega, Agios and Yschiros. 1. Theos and Athanatos; 2. cx omnium Sanctorum ordine; 3. ax priecipuis animadversione dignis Sanctorum Angelorum; 4. ex actibus vitie gloriosie Virg. Mariie ; 5. ex gestis, Domini Nostri Jesu Christi; 6. cx institutis venerabilium Sacramentorum; 7. cx priecipuis S. Eceleslie Dogmatibus; 8. Apocacalypsis (Apocalypsews) Beati Joannis Apostoli." All these are accompanied with appropriate psalms, lessons, litanies, prayers, and adjurations. Then follow eight " Postexorcizationes." The three first are to be used according as the demon is more or less obstinately bent on retaining possession. If he is very sturdy, a picture of him is to be drawn, " effigie horribili ac turpi," with his name inscribed under it, and to be thrown into the flames, after having been signed with the cross, sprinkled with holy water and fumigated. The fourth and fifth are forms of thanksgiving and benediction after liberation. The sixth refers to "Incubi" and " Succubi." The seventh is for a haunted house, in which the service varies during every day of the week. The eighth is to drive away demoniacal storms and tempests-for which purpose are to be thrown into a huge fire large quantities of Sabinae, Hupericonis, Palmae Christi, Arthemesize, Verbenae, Aristolochiae rotundae, Rutae, Aster, Attici, Sulphuris et Assae fetidae. The second part of the treatise " Dispersio Daemonum" contains many recipes for charms and amulets against possession. Besides these, there are directions for the diet and medicine of the possessed, as bread provided "contra Diaboli nequitiam at maleficiorum turbinem." Mutton " pro obsessi nutrimento atque Maleflcii at Diemonis detrimento." Wine pro maleficiatis nutriendis et maleficiis Diabolicisque quibuscunque infestationibus destruendis." Holy water for the same purpose, whenever wine is forbidden. A draught "ad omne maleficium indifferenter solvendum et Diabolum conterendum." Four separate lavements and a night draught for the delirious; two emetics "pro materialibus instrumentis maleficialibus emittendis." And finally, there is a conserve " virtuosius corroborativa ventriculi a maleficialium instrumentorum materialium vomitione fessi."

In the" Flagellum Daemonum "are contained numerous cautions to the exorcist himself, not to be deceived by the arts of the demon, particularly when he is employed with possessed women. If the devil refuses to tell his name, the demoniac is to be fumigated. If it be necessary to break off the exorcism before the evil spirits be wholly expelled, they are to be adjured to quit the head, heart, and stomach of the energumen, and to abscond themselves in the lower parts of his body, "puta in ungues mortuos pedum?'

In the " Fustis Daemonum the exorcist is directed, whenever the evil spirit persists in staying, to load him with vituperative addresses. After this railing latinity, redoubled precaution is necessary, and if the demons still refuse to tell their names, the knowledge of which is always great gain, the worst names that can be thought of are to be attributed to them, and fumigations resorted to. The seventh exorcism in this treatise is "mirabilis efficaciae pro his qui in matrimonis a Daemonibus vel maleficis diabolica arte impediuntur seu maleficiantur." Among other things, they are to be largely anointed with holy oil; and if all adjurations fail, they are to be strenuously exhorted to patience. In the last form, dumbness is attacked, and a very effectual remedy against this infirmity is a draught of holy water with three drops of holy wax, swallowed on an empty stomach.

Father Vicecomes, in his Complementum Artis Exorcistiae, explains the several signs of possession or bewitchment ; also, in how many separate ways the evil spirit notifies his departure, sometimes by putting out the light, now and then by issuing like a flame, or a very cold blast, through the mouth, nose, or ears. He then writes many prescriptions for emetics, perfumes, and fumigations, calculated to promote these results. The writer concludes with a catalogue of the names of some of the devils of commonest occurrence, which is of very narrow dimensions Astaroth, Baal, Cozbi, Dagon, Aseroth, Baalimm, Chamo, Beelphegor, Astarte, Bethage, Phogor, Moloch, Asmodaeus, Bele, Nergel, Melchon, Asima, Bel, Nexroth, Tartach, Acharon, Belial, Neabaz, Merodach, Adonides, Beaemot, Jerobaal, Socothbenoth, Beelzebub, Leviathan, Lucifer, Satan, Mahomet.

The Fuga Satanae of Stampa is very brief, and does not contain any matter which deserves to be added to the much fuller instructions given by Mengs and, Vicecomes. Several of the forms used by Mengs are translated and satirized, in the coarse ridicule which characterized those times, in a little tract entitled A Whip for the Devil, or the Roman Conjuror, 1683. A century and a half before this, Erasmus had directed his more polished and delicate wit to the same object ; and his pleasant dialogue Exorcismus seu Spectrum is an agreeable and assuredly an unexaggerated picture of these practices.

Those who desire to peruse a treatise on practical exorcism should consult the Histoire admirable de la possession et conversion d'une Penitente, seduite par Un Magicien, Ia faisant Sorciere et Princesse des Sorciers, au pais de Provence, conduite a Ia Scte. Baume, pour y estre exorcizee, l'an MDCX. au mois de Novembre, soubs l'authorite de R.P.F. Sebastien Michaelis, Prieur de Convente Royale de la Scte. Magdalene' a S. Maximin et dudict lieu de la Scte. Baume, Paris, 1613. The possessed in this case, Magdelaine de Palha, was exorcised during –four months ; she was under the power of five princes of the devils, Beelzebub, Leviathan, Baalberith, Asmodeus and Astaroth, "avec plusieurs autres inferieurs." Beelzebub abode in her forehead, Leviathan in the middle of her head, Astaroth in the hinder part of it ; " la partie de la tete ou ils estoient faisoit, centre nature, un perpetual mouvement et battement ; estans sortis la partie ne bougeoit point."

A second sister of the same convent, Loyse, was also possessed by three devils of the highest degree, Verin, Gresil, and Soneillon ; and of these, Verin, through the proceedings of the exorcists, appears to have turned king's evidence, as it were ; for, in spite of the remonstrances and rage of Beelzebub, " qui commenca a rugir et a jetter des cris comme feroit un taureau echauffe," he gave important information and instruction to his enemies, and appeared grievously to repent that he was a devil. The daily Acts and Examinations, from the 27th of November to the following 23rd of April, are specially recorded by the exorcist himself, and all the conversations of the devils are noted down verbatim. The whole business ended in a tragedy, and Louis Gaufridi, a priest of Marseilles, who was accused of witchcraft on the occasion was burned alive at Aix.

Michaelis is eminently distinguished in his line. We find him three years afterwards engaged in exorcising three nuns in the convent of St. Brigette, at Lisle. Whether the two unhappy women, Marie de Sains and her accomplice, Simone Dourlet, who were supposed to have been the causes of this possession, were put to death or not, does not appear. The proceedings may be found in a Histoire veritable et memorable de ce qui c'est passe sous l'Exorcisme de trois filles possedees an pais de Flandre, Paris 1623 ; and they are in some 'respects an appendix to those against Louis Gaufridi, whose imputed enormities are again related in a second volume of this work.

This transaction appears to have been the work of superstition alone; but one of far deeper dye, and of -almost unparalleled atrocity, occurred at Loudun (q.v.) in 1634, when Grandier (q.v.), cure and canon of that town, was mercilessly brought to the stake partly by the jealousy of some monks, partly to gratify the personal vengeance of Richelieu, who had been persuaded that this ecclesiest had lampooned him, an offence which he never forgave. Some Ursline nuns were tortured to feign themselves possessed, and Grandier was the person accused of having tenanted them with devils. Tranquille, one of the exorcists, published a Veritable relation des juste procedures observees au fait de la possession des Ursulines de Loudun, et au proces de Grandier, Paris 1634; and by a' singular fatality, this reverend personage himself died within four years of the iniquitous execution of his victim, ill a state of reputed possession, probably distracted by the self-accusations of remorse.

The last acknowledgment of exorcism in the Anglican Church, during the progress of the Reformation, occurs in the first Liturgy of Edward VI. in which is given the following form at baptism " Then let the priest, looking upon the children, say. ' I command thee, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that thou come out and depart from these infants, whey our Lord Jesus Christ has vouchsafed to call to His holy baptism, to be made members of His Body and of His Holy congregation. Therefore, thou cursed spirit, remember thy sentence, remember thy judgment, remember the day to be at hand wherein thou shalt burn in fire everlasting prepared for thee and thy angels. And presume not hereafter to exercise any tyranny towards these infants whom Christ hath bought with His precious blood, and by this His holy baptism calleth to be of His flock.' " On the remonstrance of Bucer, in his censure of the liturgy, that that exorcism was not originally used to any but demoniacs, and that it was uncharitable to imagine that all were demoniacs who came to baptism, it was thought prudent by our reformers to omit it altogether, in their review of the liturgy in the 5th and 6th of Edward VI.

The LXXIId canon thus expresses itself on exorcism, No minister shall, without the license of the bishop of the diocese, first obtained and had under his hand and seal,-attempt upon any pretence whatever, either of obsession or possession, by fasting or prayer, to cast out any devil or devils: under pain of the imputation of imposture or cosenage, and deposition from the ministry."

Extispley, or Extispicium : so named from exta and spicere, to view, consider, was applied to the inspection of entrails chiefly. The officers were Extispices or Aruspices, and one of the instruments they used was called by the same name as the craft, an extispicium. The Erturians were the first and also the most learned, who practised extispicy, and Romulus is said to have chosen his first Aruspices from among them. The art was also practised throughout Greece, where it had a consecrated priesthood confined to two families. The Roman Aruspices had four distinct duties, to examine the victims before they were opened, to examine the entrails, to observe the flame as the sacrifice was burnt, and also to examine the meat and drink-offering which accompanied it. It was a fatal sign when the heart was wanting, and this is said to have been the case with two oxen that were immolated on the day when Caesar was killed. If the priest let the entrails fall, or there was more bloodiness than usual, or if they were livid in colour, it was understood to be a portent of instant disaster. Itruvius has attempted to account for the origin of extispicy by the custom of examining the viscera of animals, before settling an encampment, to ascertain if the neighbourhood was healthy, an explanation to which little value can be attached.

Eye-biters : In the time of Queen Elizabeth there came among the cattle of Ireland a disease whereby they grew blind. The witches to whose malevolence this evil was attributed were called eye-biters, and many of them were executed.