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soTHE GODof the kind is that of Major \Veir in Edinburgh in 1670) whoseoutward appearance tallies with the usual descriptions of theDevil, and 'vhose conduct is only explainable on the suppositionthat he actually was the Chief of the witches: ' His garbwas still a cloak, and somewhat dark, and he never went withouthis staff. He was a tall black man, and ordinarily _lookeddown to the ground; a grim countenance, and a big nose.' 1His reputation for piety was so great that a woman, who hadactually seen him commit an offence against the critninallaw,\Vas flogged for mentioning the fact and thus defaming a manof such extreme and well-established piety. He was tried asa witch on his own unsolicited confession, and was burnt togetherwith his staff, dying 'impenitent' and renouncing allhope of a Christian heaven. The tnost interesting casehistorically, however, is that of the Devil of the North Berwickwitches (1590). The number of people in,rolved was thirtynine,i.e. three Covens ; but though the names of all wereknown, only four were tried. The records are given in considerabledetail, and the identification of the Chief is thereforepossible.The character of the accused in this case is of great importancewhen considering the evidence. Nothing moreunlike the conventional idea of witches can well be imaginedthan the man and women who were arraigned on that occasion.Agnes Sampson, the wise wife of l{eith, was 'a woman notof the base and ignorant sort of Witches, but matron-like,grave and settled in her answers, which were all to somepurpose'. John Fian, or Cunynghame, was a schoolmaster,therefore a man of education ; Effie McCalyan, the daughterof Lord Cliftonhall, was a woman of family and position;Barbara Napier was also of good family. These were clearlythe moving spirits of the band, and they were all personscapable of understanding the 1neaning and result of their .actions. 2The accusation against the witches was that they had mettogether to plot the murder of the King and Queen by witchcraft.The trial therefore was on a double charge, witchcraftl \Vilson, ii, p. IsS.2The trials are published by Pitcairn, i, pt. ii.