take up a <piece> steel, of 4 lb weight, which I made the lesse difficulty to beleeve because that with the point of a knife toucht at the same stone I sustaind a key of about 6 inches long & proportionably great < which I found to be>[replacing '& did not only sustain'd'] which I found the knife not only to sustaine but to detaine so vigorously that I could turne it & move it this way, & that way without makeing it fall out.

Having enquird of Monsieur who had <for> sometime practisd physick in the E. I. the Isles of the South Sea & even in China whether he had seen any magicall feats in those parts some of which (especiallie situat['ed' at end of word deleted] in the S. Sea) are said to abound with sorcerers, he answerd me that he had heard of severall effects of Magick some <of> which['ich' altered from 'o'] he judg'd to be true as being averrd to him by persons that he knew, that had themselves been mischeifd by them, & retaind tokens of the truth of what they said. But as for himself he answer'd me that he had seen but one thing that he confesst to be supernaturall, which when I desyrd some account of he told me 'twas this. A little Negroe that had been seen by the River syde, being not afterwards to be found, the commander of a little Dutch fort, near which my Relator lay at Anchor, was enformd that the persons concernd for the lost Negroe, guesst him to have been eaten up by one of the crocodils wherewith the River abounded, whereupon they went to a famous sorcerer, who undertook the next day to satisfie their curiosity at an easie rate, & promis'd he would make all the Crocodils that inhabited the neighbouring part of the River, passe before the parties concernd, & the commander of the fort if he should be there, this commander therefore invited my Relator to be present, who came thither with divers other persons. And the Magician according to his promise <met them at the time & place appointed, &> with a wand in his hand went into the neighbouring wood [ 'without be' deleted] where they saw not what he did, nor heard what he sayde, but soone after returning to them they saw the Crocodiles flock together, & one after sweeme along the River passing by that part of the bank where they stood, to the number as was guest of between 25 & 30, one of these which was [ 'the last that ca' deleted] the last, was that which he told them had devourd the Negroe (which to me signify'd <very little>[replacing 'nothing'], since <thô one could not confidently contradict him, he> it was affirm'd [ 'that' deleted] it without proof) but that which seem'd to him strange & supernaturall was, that when the sorcerer came out of the