New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-22

DID. 42T. J. w Bouton. 80,
NJ Adams has collected in this handsome VOL
ume a great deal of curious ana recoluiVo IN
sa-u,a,ion about alchemy, astrology, magic ana
yitchcraft. He makes no pre'ehce "
.u,;nod or studied the literature OF alchemy OF
"n Itch no Oives extracts from some
:, ,ho obscure and mystical writings which, WHO
81, ox.rcise n certain fascination upon some
-. orouss In others nothing but lmpatlehce
IL oor,emnt writer endowed with somewhat
,,o,e svmnathy would undoubtedly nave oeeh
.hlo % give a more ineligible and Interesting
account of these matters than Mr. Adams mas uohe'
with him every alchemist, astrologer ana s'uoe"c
", o,,it science is a fool or a lnave- or both,
and almost the only comment he makes upon the
,ories he has TO tell consists in wondering whe'her
such person was really fool enough 10 oe
Neve such stuff or deliberately set himself TO gun
che nubhc. This is not philosophical or a scientific
way of treating questions which present man!
amenities and are certainly of sufficient interest,"
70 deserve candid and impartial examination III
deed. tho spirit in which the compiler has APP
nroached his work is of kind hardly
.omna.ihle with the attainmcnts OF ValuaoIe
results and the reader should not be surprised 10
and that the historical side of Mr.. Adamss uhuer
.akinr has been dealt with in a perfunctory anu
unsatisfactory way.
The bistorv of witohcraft in England ana
Scotland has not yet been WRITTEN 'ipush
abundant materials for it exist. NO one now
eyer is fit 10 touch the subject who mas examined
IT. 40 supcrfcially to look for the GENESIS "
4lss y-ttchcxaft of the sixteenth ana seVen'oenoh
centuries in the immediate antecedenb Vi "iV
nhenomena Two broad currents are hi'oi'o"
IN this DEVELOPMENT: one of theological atavlsm'
the other of transformation i'll popular mythOIogy'
witchcraft can never be understood, IN lacV'
until IL Is studied in direct connection, not only
Wit, Teutonic and scandinavian mythology, out
with the far older theurgy and thaumaturU OF
Asia We must go back to Chaldea even lor
many of the oommoncst magical oeIels ol uho
Middle Ages. Take, for example, the IDEA ul'V
nv making a waxen or leaden image OF an eneihy'
and performing various magical ceremonies upon
IT, the living person represented by IL "ouiu
he injured made to waste away, ana hhfiIy uIo'
Now the first mention of this Superstition mas
been found in a tablet bearing Chaldelh maglcn
formula written i'll the Accadlan language 1hle
fractice was well known TO the Roman sorcefeIS'
moreover. and they also obtained it from Chaldea
AS 10 English witchcrafo, careful study Oh
Anclo-SaAon folklore and mythology shows that
II owes a large part Of its inheritance TO the
much older twelfth and thirteenth century, fairy
myths and traditions Gervese of Tilbury ana
Giraldus Cambrensis are the chief authorlueS
for tho fairy mythology of the twelfth century,
but before the evolution OF w1tchcraft sever"
changes had passed upon the popular behe1s'
The Church. which began by tolerating The
Fairies, elves, neckars, etc, gradually deVeIoled
n diabolc theory which included these harmless
sancies. From the ecclesiastical point OF we"
they became hobgobhns and thence the transluoh
20 positive devils was easy and direct "hen
Syitchcraft sprung into prominence under inc
stimulus of persecution, popular beliefs were stlH
l,fe &c R1CnGlV
I'm n way which may be seen in Mr.. Adams's book,
though he does not appear 10 have noticed us
significance. In all the many examples here
given of examinations and confessions OF alleged
witches Two circumstances are TO be clearly per-
ceiyed One is that as q rule the matter OF the
confessions was suggested by the examiners. TINS,
indeed was still more generally the case in Con-
finental witchcraft trials, ond especially a1ter
6prenger's manual called the MaIleus Mhen-
carum," was adopted By all the InqulSltorS' For
Eprenner in codifyng the ecclesiastical law, ana
rollating presidents and instances, unwltunSV
proyided a complete theory of magic and sorcery,
GO csrfully adapted 10 the needs of the lnquslton
that the most ignorant peasant might be furnished
with ideas enough to consign him or her TO the
,+al,e without fail. Both on the Continent and
in England moreover, il was found absolutely nee
essarv 10 furnish these suggestions, inasmuch as
commonly taken for the most part possessed no
ideas of their own, and were quite destitute of
,narination Unless prompted therefore, these
moor folks would have rested in obstinate denfals,
even under torture, and so have failed TO anord
the necessary excuse for burning them
The second fact to be noted in the confessions
ia that when the accused did las occasionally nap
nened) speak without prompting; when, that Is TO
saw. they had some imagination, their CONFESSIONS
reflect the archaic fairy mythology much more
rIearIv and strongly than the more recent
monkish demonOlogy. This second trait Is
shown, in the present work most markedly IN tne
extrncts from the Scotch witch trlais! Inc
cortbern IMAGINATION has always been peculiarly
robust and prolific as regards the unseen universe
and the Scotch witches and warlocks went directly
hack 10 the old fairy folklore, and drew thence
The stories of bargsinings with the devil, visits
% Tho Sabbot and all tho rest of the gallimanfry
One ,esnlt Of this is that the Scotch witches are
much more interesting than the English ones.
nearly all of whom were hopelessly stupid old
crones accused by equally stupid, ignorant super
stitious and bigoted rustics.
MIR Adams expresses surprise at the morbid fancy
revealed in the confessions Of attendance at the
Eabbot; but surely this is one OF the plalnest or
cases. The Sabbot, as an institution, mas greaC
antiouitv but il descended straight from Ieutomc
mythology 20 the meuafNal "IVcheS' anu ii'
sha. mythology filtered through Reneratl'hs OF
follx-tales came every detail in the accounts
This too explains the curious uniformity OF the
Eabbot stories, for essential difference IS 70 De
found between those Of Germany. France. Eng
land Scotland and Scandinavia. They had the
same parent. and they are all variants from the
one original.
Mr. Adams has not added anything to the
worlds knowledge Of witchcraft and his book is
little more than compilation unenhghtened by
special study. But he has brought together many
stories and recitals Of fact calculated to amnse
and interest the general reader and he has written