Among the hills of Ross-shire, an old man, who in his time was not ‘canny,’ died in his son’s house, a lonely hut in the hills remote from other houses. He was stretched and adjusted (_air a ruidheadh ’s air a chàradh_) on a board in a closet, and the shepherd, leaving his wife and children in the house, went to the strath for people to come to the wake and funeral. At midnight, one of the children, playing through the house, peeped in at the keyhole of the closet and cried out, “Mother, mother! my grandfather is rising.”[15] The door of the closet was fast locked, and the dead man, finding he could not open it, began to scrape and dig the earth below it, to make a passage for himself. The children gathered round their mother, and in extremity of terror all listened to the scraping of the unhallowed corpse. At last the head appeared below the door, the corpse increased its exertions, and the terror of the mother and children became intense. The body was halfway through below the door when the cock crew and it fell powerless in the pit it had dug. That pit could never afterwards be kept filled up to the level of the rest of the floor. In Tiree, a head-stone, placed at the grave of a man whom report accused of dabbling in the dark science, would not remain in its place till secured by a chain. It fell every now and then out of its position, but after the chain was fastened to it, it remained firm, and is so now without the chain. HOW TO DETECT WITCHES. Early in the morning, on the first Monday of each of the four quarters of the year, the smoke from a witch’s house _goes against the wind_. This may be seen by any one who takes the trouble of rising early and going to an eminence, whence the witch’s house can be seen. CHAPTER II. WHITE WITCHCRAFT. In English, a distinction is recognised between _black_ and _white_ witches. The former could hurt but not help; their power was only one of mischief. White witches were honest, harmless practitioners of sorcery, “whom our custom and country doth call wise men and wise women.”[16] In Gaelic, there are no names corresponding to Black and White Witches, but the distinction indicated is well known. Those to whom the name _Buidseach_ (witch) properly applies could only do harm. They raised storms, drowned people, took the milk from cows, etc., etc. There were others who by magic charms cured disease in man and beast, bestowed luck, warded off dangers, real and imaginary, and secured various benefits to those who resorted to them. One or more such wise people were to be found in every district, and any accusation of _witchcraft_, of dabbling in forbidden arts, or of being in league with the devil, would be indignantly resented by them. On the contrary, as in the case of a shepherd in upper Argyllshire, who was much resorted to for the magic cure of cattle, they claimed that their powers were given for a good purpose, and to counteract the Powers of Evil.