So prevalent was the opinion of witchcraft, that great numbers, accused of that crime, were burnt by sentence of the magistrates throughout all parts of Scotland.

In a village near Berwick, which contained only fourteen houses, fourteen persons were punished by fire;[**] and it became a science, every where much studied and cultivated, to distinguish a true witch by proper trials and symptoms.[***] * Sir Edward Walker's Historical Discourses, p.

178.
** Whitlocke, p.

404, 408.
*** Whitlocke, p.

396, 418.
The advance of the English army under Cromwell was not able to appease or soften the animosities among the parties in Scotland.