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!6visionaries as many of thc1n were, they resemble those Christianmartyrs whom the witch-persecutors often held in the highesthonour.Another objection is that, as the evidence of the witches atthe trials is more or less uniform in character, it must beattributed to the publication by the Inquisitors of a questionaryfor the use of all judges concerned in such trials; in short, thatthe evidence is valueless, as it was given in answer to leadingquestions. No explanation is offered by the objectors as tohow the Inquisitors arrived at the form of questionary, nor isany regard given to the injunction to all Inquisitors to acquaintthemselves with all the details of any heresy which they wereco1nmissioned to root out; they were to obtain the informationfrom those who would recant and use it against the accused;and to instruct other judges in the belief and ritual of theheresy, so that they also n1ight recognize it and act accordingly.'fhe objectors also overlook the fact that the believers in anygiven religion, when tried for their faith, exhibit a sameness intheir accounts of the cult, usually with slight local differences.Had the testimony of the \vitches as to their beliefs variedwidely, it would be przi!la facie evidence that there was nowell-defined religion underlying their ritual; but the veryuniformity of their confessions points to the reality of theoccurrence.Still another objection is that the evidence __ was always givenunder torture, and that the wretched victitns consequentlymade reckless assertions and accusations. In most of theEnglish and many of the Scotch trials legal torture was notapplied; and it was only in the seventeenth century thatpricking for the mark, starvation, and prevention of sleep wereused. Even then there were many voluntary confessionsgiven by those who, like the early Christian martyrs, rushedheadlong on their fate, detennined to die for their faith andtheir god.Yet even if some of the evidence were given under tortureand in answer to leading questions, there still remains a massof details which cannot be explained a\vay. Among othersthere are the close connexions of the witches with the fairies,the persistence of the number thirteen in the Co\·ens, the