rocks and high mountains without doing any damage.
Some witches also are poor, and have no wish for hail, through fear that it may cause a famine and that they will die; and therefore they contend at the Sabbat with those who are rich. There was one burned in this country who witnessed to the truth of this, saying that when the rich wished to cause hail and the poor opposed them, they had to throw dice to see which party should prevail. Antide Colas of Betoncourt also confessed that the poor are often at difference with the rich at the Sabbat over the question of destroying the crops; and she said that on one occasion the poor had defeated the rich in the Valley of Saint Marie, where the Devil, in the shape of a big black man, made them dance round a sheaf of corn turned upside down with the ears towards the ground.
But I have often marvelled at one thing which Satan does to witches when they assemble to produce hail;—he requires them to give him of their hair. I do not know whether he may be amorous of women’s hair; but I may say that there are Theologians who have maintained that the bad angels are amorous of women’s hair, Paracel. de Malefic. c. 7.
Binsfeld, de confess. malef. conclus. 5.
I Cor. 11.and the Suffragan of Trèves even says that the Incubus devils attach themselves chiefly to women who have beautiful hair; and it is contended that St. Paul had this in mind when he wrote to the Corinthians that woman should go with her head covered because of the Angels.
