midnight
The learned and judicious King James I. had women of this kind boiled , and then tasting the water of the cauldron , was able to say from its flavour , `` That was a sorceress ; '' or `` That was not one . '' It is to be regretted that the kings of these latter days no longer possess a talent which placed in so strong a light the utility of monarchical institutions . It was not without substantial grounds that Gilliatt lived in this odour of sorcery . One midnight , during a storm , Gilliatt being at sea alone in a bark , on the coast by La Sommeilleuse , he was heard to ask -- `` Is there a passage sufficient for me ? '' And a voice cried from the heights above : `` Passage enough : steer boldly . '' To whom could he have been speaking , if not to those who replied to him ? This seems something like evidence .