Witchcraft -- England; Witchcraft -- Great Britain; Witchcraft -- Scotland
which they did; and Margaret had her health for nine or ten days. But Meg,
not leaving off calling out against her, Isobel went to her, "and spak to
hir mony devillisch and horribill words," saying, "The faggot of hell
lycht on thé, and hell's cauldron may thow seith in!" So Meg was sick
again after this; and as a poor beggarwoman coming to the door to ask
meat told her she was bewitched, for that she had the right stamp of it,
the case grew serious, and Margaret cried out more loudly than before.
Then Isobel went again to her house with a creil on her back, and said
passionately, "Away, theiff! I sall haif thy hairt for bruitting of me sae
falslie;" which so frightened Meg that she took to her bed, and Isobel was
arrested, tried, convicted, and burnt.
BARTIE PATERSON'S CHARM.[18]
That same year James Brown was ill. Bartie Paterson went to him, and gave
him drinks and salves made of green herbs, and bade him "sitt doun on his
kneis thre seuerall nychtis, and everie nycht, thryse nyne tymes, ask his
helth at all living wichtis, aboue and vnder the earth in the name of
Jesus." He gave Alexander Clarke a drink of Dow-Loch water--poor Alexander
Clarke was fond of consulting witches--causing him each time he lifted the
mug to say, "I lift this watter in the name of the Father, Sone, and Holy
Ghaist, to do guid for their helth for quhom it is liftit." And he was
able to cast a spell over cattle by saying--
"I charme thé for arrow-schot,
For dor-schot, for wondo-schot,
For ey-schot, for tung-schot,
For lever-schot, for lung-schot,
For hert-schot, all the maist,
In the name of the Father, the Sone, and Haly Ghaist.
To wend out of fleisch and bane,
Into stek and stane,
In the name of the Father, the Sone, and Haly Ghaist. Amen."
So the law put a stop to his incantations, and he was strangled and
burnt, and all his goods escheit to the crown. But the crown did not get a
very full haul, for poor Bartie was scarce removed from beggary.
BEIGIS TOD AND HER COMPEERS.[19]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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