These charges were considered sufficient by the Presbytery of Kincardine,
and were duly signed by "Mr Jhone Ros, Minister at Lumphanan."
The following, under date February 8th, 1719, will, however, more clearly
illustrate the manner in which an accused person was examined by Kirk
authority:--
"The said day, Mr William Innes, minister of Thurso, having interrogat
Margaret Nin-Gilbert, who was apprehended Fryday last, on suspicion of
witchcraft, as follows:--1_mo_, Being interrogat, If ever there was any
compact between her and the devil? Confessed, That as she was travelling
some time bygone, in ane evening, the devill met with her in the way in
the likeness of a man, and engaged her to take on with him, which she
consented to; and that she said she knew him to be the devil or he parted
with her. 2_do_, Being interrogat, If ever the devil appeared afterwards
to her? Confessed, That sometimes he appeared in the likeness of a great
black horse, and other times riding on a black horse, and that he appeared
sometimes in the likeness of a black cloud, and sometimes like a black
henn. 3_to_, Being interrogat, If she was in the house of William
Montgomerie, mason in the Burnside of Scrabster, especially on that night
when that house was dreadfully infested with severall catts, to that
degree that W. M. foresaid was obliged to use sword, durk, and ax in
beating and fraying away these catts? Confessed, That she was bodily
present yr, and that the said M. had broke her legg either by the durk or
ax, which legg since has fallen off from the other part of her body; and
that she was in the likeness of a feltered cat, night forsaid, in the said
house; and that Margaret Olsone was there in the likeness of a catt also,
who, being stronger than she, did cast her on Montgomerie's durk when her
legg was broken. 4_to_, Being interrogat, How she could be bodily present
and yet invisible? Declares, She might have been seene, but could give no
account by what means her body was rendered invisible. She declares, that
severall other women were present there that night in the other end of the
house. Being interrogat, How they came not to be seene, seeing they were
not there in the likeness of catts, as were others condescended on?
Declares, The devil did hide and conceall them by raising a dark mist or
fog to skreen them from being seen.... 6_to_, Being interrogat, What
brought her and her accomplices to Montgomerie's house? Answered, They
were doing no harm there. To which Mr Innes replyed, that the disturbing
and infesting a man's house with hideous noises, and cryes of catts, was a
great wrong done to him, having a natural tendency to fright the family
and children. The premisses are attested to be the ingenuous confession of
Margaret Nin-Gilbert, _alias_ Gilbertson, by William Innes, minister of
Thurso.... _Nota_, That upon a vulgar report of witches having the devil's
marks in their bodies, Margaret Olsone being tryed in the shoulders, where
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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