"That she had sent five devils into the
body of Louise Maillet. That a long time
before, she had given herself to the Devil,
who appeared to her in the shape of a tall
black man. That she had been an infinite
number of times to the Sabbath of the
Sorcerers in the village of Coryieres, at a
place called the Combes, near the water, and
that she rode there upon a white stick, on
which she sat astride. That she had danced
at the Sabbath and beaten the water in
order to make it hail. That she and big
Jacques Boguet (an accomplice was never long
wanting) had caused the death of Loys
Monneret by means of a piece of bread which
they had given him to eat, having previously
powdered it with something which the Devil
had given them. And, finally, that she had
caused the deaths of several cows by touching
them with her hands or with a wand, and
repeating certain words."

Here was enough, and more than enough,
to convict a dozen witches; and, indeed, it
unhappily befel that the poor old woman's
fears were so wrought upon, that she was
brought by degrees to extend her accusations
of complicity in witchcraft to a great many
others, in addition to her first-mentioned
colleague. The whole of these unfortunate
creatures suffered the extreme punishment
of the law, with the exception of Françoise
Secretain herself, who, however, only escaped
by committing suicide.

The Sieur Boguet drew up a Sorcerer's
Code, divided into ninety-one articles, of which
the following is a summary.—The presumption
of sorcery suffices for arresting the suspected
person. The interrogation of the accused
ought immediately to follow the arrest,
because the devil assists sorcerers by his advice
while they are in prison. The judge ought
carefully to watch the countenance of the
prisoner, to see if he fails to shed tears, if he
looks on the ground, mutters aside or
blasphemes, all of which are infallible signs of
guilt. Shame often causes a sorcerer to deny
his crime: therefore, it is good for the judge
to examine the prisoner alone, the clerk who
takes down the deposition being concealed.
If the sorcerer has a companion present who
also has gone to the Sabbath, he is always
confused. He must be shaved to compel him
to speak, and be examined by a surgeon to
discover his marks. If the accused does not
confess, he must be treated severely in prison
and have people about him who know how to
extract a confession. Torture ought to be
avoided, because it is of no use with a
sorcerer; however, if the judge thinks fit he
may employ it. It is a fair presumption that
the crime of sorcery is hereditary; and it is
allowable for the child to accuse the parent.
Conflicting evidence is not to tell in favour
of the accused, if its general tenor be against
him. The punishment of simple sorcery is
strangling at the stake before burning:
loups-garous (those who change themselves
into wolves) must be burnt alive. Those
who are condemned on conjectural or
presumptive evidence are not to be burnt, but
hung.

It is difficult to determine whether cruelty
or folly most prevail in this precious Code,
which, when it was first published, was
received with vast approbation by the bar of
which the Sieur Boguet was a member: he
dedicated it to Daniel Romanez, an advocate
at Salins. And yet there were in France, at
that day, wise and enlightened men both at
the bar and on the judgment seat.

In the works of the principal demonologists
mention is made of all the appliances in use
amongst sorcerers to effect their malefic
purposes, together with full accounts of all the
ceremonies practised at the Sabbath. The
principal personage at this nocturnal revel
disliked as much to be mentioned by his real
name as he did to appear in his proper person.
Thus, instead of calling him Satan or Beelzebub,
tout court, the French witches saluted
him by the names of Verd-Joli, Joli, Maitre
Persil (Master Parsley), Joli-Bois, Verdelet,
Saute Buisson (Jump-bush), Martinet, Abrahel,
and an infinity of others, " all of which,"
says the Sieur Boguet, "are agreeable."
Fancy Milton's ruined archangel being
summoned into court as Master Parsley! The
reason why this is so is, we learn from our
friend Boguet, because the demons " prefer
pleasant-sounding appellations, in order not
to frighten the sorcerers by telling them what
their real names are." Very considerate of
the demons who, for the same reason, no
doubt, preside at the Sabbath generally in
the form of an old black goat, an animal
sufficiently familiar to the agricultural sorcerer.
Delicacy and refinement were not to
be expected in this class of persons, and
therefore we are not surprised to hear of the
dirty tricks with which the Sabbath was
inaugurated, nor to learn that the unguents
with which the sorcerers anointed themselves
were frequently the most villanous
compounds. Sometimes they made use of the
fat of new-born children, if birth-strangled
so much the better; at others of the marrow
of malefactors collected at the foot of the
gibbet; of bat's blood, or of the " ruddy drops
that visit the owl's sad heart," mixed up
with the grease of sows, of wolves, or of
weasels; and, occasionally, of ingredients
more purely chemical—as preparations of
belladonna, of aconite, of parsley (rather
personal to Master Parsley, one would think), of
poppy, and of hemlock. An especial diet was
sometimes adopted, as in the case of Leonora
Galiga'i, the wife of the Marshal d'Anere,
who was accused—the better, they supposed,
to qualify herself for her alleged profession—
of eating nothing but cocks'-combs and rams'
kidneys, having previously charmed the
animals that produced them.

Leonora Galigai, wife of the Marshal
d'Anere, was one of those unfortunate