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blood of the centaur; and the moment he approached thealtar in it, it is conceived it took fire and destroyed him. Inhis agony he hurled his servant Lichas many miles into theAegean Sea.* It is conjectured this oil must have been alwaysemployed whenever offerings caught fire in an imperceptiblemanner . * 5 Thus we see in every period of the world, priestshave acted as jugglers among simple and ignorant people,operating by machinery beyond the recognition of sense,and holding the facvdties of their votaries in perpetual bon-dage.
In more modern times, the ordeal by fire was fashionable,particularly among our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, when, who-ever could walk over burning coals, and red-hot plough-shares, without hurt, excited wonder, and at the same timeproclaimed their own innocence.
Of this ordeal we have in our ancient history and chroni-cles, the story of the beautiful princess Emma, wife ofEdtvy, whom the infamous Saint Dunstan got condemnedto this ordeal, because her husband was more devoted to herand domestic happiness, and very properly bore more affec-tion to his lovely wife than that priest thought consistentwith the honour due to his God , or to the blind obediencehe wished to extort from him to the prevalent superstitionof the day. Another flagrant instance of the pride of thoseambitious priests.
We thank God we are not acquainted with any thingrelating to this mysterious trial by ordeal; and now, forthe first time, we regret it, for the sake of exposing suchinstances of moral delinquency; but we understand, whenpersons were accused, they were condemned to prove theirinnocence by holding in their bare hands red hot iron.Those whom the priests wished to free, or favour, andwere desirous to work the effect of miraculous agency upon,they previously prepared by three days instruction, exceptto any of their own order who needed it not; but thoseothers they covered their hafids, or feet, as the case mightbe, and sealed and unsealed the covering, under pretenceto prevent any preparation by art; this covering remainedupon the parts for three days and nights subsequent to theoperation.
A doubt can scarcely be said to exist but that during thatperiod some medicament was applied which is known to