Domestic Annals of Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution, Volume 1 (of 2)Chambers, Robert
History
Domestic Annals of Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution, Volume 1 (of 2)
Chambers, Robert
Scotland -- History -- 16th century; Scotland -- History -- 17th century
Bessie from time to time consulted her ghostly friend about cases of
sickness for which her skill was required. ‘Tom gave out of his awn
hand, ane thing like the root of ane beet, and bade her either seethe
or make ane saw [salve] of it, or else dry it, and make powder of it,
and give it to sick persons, and they should mend.... She mendit John
Jack’s bairn, and Wilson’s of the town, and her gudeman’s sister’s
cow.... The Lady Johnston, elder, sent to her ane servant to help ane
young gentlewoman, her doughter, now married on the young Laird of
Stanley, and I thereupon askit counsel of Tom. He said to me, “that her
sickness was ane cauld blude that gaed about her heart, that causit
her to dwalm [faint]” ... and Tom bade her take ane part of ginger,
clows, anniseeds, liquorice, and some stark [strong] ale, and seethe
them together, and share it, and put it in ane vessel, and take ane
little quantity of it in ane mutchkin can, and some white suckar casten
amang it; take and drink thereof ilk day, in the morning; gang ane
while after, before meat; and she wald be haill.... Demandit what she
gat for her doing, declairit “ane peck of meal and some cheese.” ...
Interrogate, gif she could tell of ony thing that was away, or ony
thing that was to come, [she] answerit, that she could do naething of
herself, but as Tom tauld her ... mony folks in the country [came to
her] to get wit of gear stolen frae them.... The Lady Thirdpart in the
barony of Renfrew sent to her and speerit at her, wha was it that had
stolen frae her twa horns of gold, and ane crown of the sun, out of
her purse? And after she had spoken with Tom, within twenty days, she
sent her word wha had them; and she gat them again.... Being demandit
of William Kyle, burgess in Irvine, as he was coming out of Dumbarton,
wha was the stealer of Hugh Scott’s cloak, ane burgess of the same
town? Tom answerit: ‘That the cloak wald not be gotten, because it was
ta’en away by Mally Boyd, dweller in the same town, and was put out of
the fashion of ane cloak in [to] ane kirtle,’ &c.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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