or the cause that sa lang as he had them upon him he sould
never want siller.
15th Item—Fylit for being in North Berwick kirk at ane convention
with Satan and other witches, where Satan made ane devilitch
sermon, where the said Johnne sat upon the left side of the
pulpit nearest him; and the sermon being endit, he came down
and tuke the said Johnne by the hand and led him widdershins
aboot, and thereafter causit him kiss him behind.
16th Item—Fylit for the chasing of ane cat in Tranent, in
the quilk chase he was carreit heich above the ground with
great swiftness, and as lichtly as the cat herself, ower ane
dyke heicher nor he wes able to lay his hand on the tap of;
and being enquirit to what effect he chased the same, answereit
that, in ane convention haldin at Brumhollis, Satan commanded
all that wes present ta tak cats, lyke as he for obedience
to Satan chased the said cat purposely to be cassin in the
sea, to raise wyndis for destruction of ships and boits.
17th Item—Fylit that for as muckle as be his airt of witchcraft,
majic, and sorcerie, he gaif himself to declair to ony man
how lang they sould live, and what sould be thair end, gif
they wad tell the day of their birth, like as he foirtald
the same to Marion Weddell, that her son sould not live xv.
days, quhilk cam' to pass as he spak'.
18th Item—Fylit for declaring of the lyke to Alexander Bowis
wyffe in Edinburgh, and saying " hir son wad be a short
while in hir aucht, " as he died within a short space
thereafter.
19th Item—Fylit for the receiving of thir directions and commandiments
fra Satan: —1st, To deny God and all true religeon. 2nd, To
gif his faith to the devil and adore him. 3rd, He said to
the devil that he sould persuade as mony as he could to his
societie. 4th, He dismemberit the bodies of the deid corpse,
and specially of bairns unbaptisit. 5th, He destroyit men
be land and sea, with cornis, cattell, and guideis, and raised
tempests and stormy wedder, as the devil himself blawing in
the air, etc.
20th Item—Fylit for ane common notorious witch and enchanter.
Sentence: convict of divers poyntes of witchcraft, and to
be brynt. "
Dr Feane, we learn, while imprisoned in Edinburgh jail, "seemed
to have a care of his ain soul, and would call upon God, showing
himself penitent for his wicked life. Nevertheless he found
means to steal the key of the prison door, got out and fled
to Saltpans, where he was always resident, and
first
apprehendit. Of whose sudden departure, when the King's
majesty had notice, he presently commanded diligent enquiry
to be made for his apprehension, by public proclamation
into all parts of the land to the same effect, by means
of whose hot and hard pursuit, he was again taken and brought
back to prison. He denied all. But through the confession
he had been compelled to make in his own handwriting, by
tortures most cruel, he was condemned and burnt on the Castlehill
at Edinburgh, on January last, 1591. "
The confessions
of Feane, Sampson, and others, are said to have caused the
king considerable amusement; and in respect of the strangeness
of these matters, he took great delight to be present at
their examinations.
The following
is another case bearing on the district: —
Catherine
Liddel exhibited a complaint against Rutherford, baron bailie
to Morrison of Prestongrange, and against David Cowan in
Tranent, bearing that they had seized upon her, an innocent
woman, and had defamed her as a witch, and detained her
under restraint as a prisoner; and that the said Cowan had
pricked her with his pins in sundry parts of her body, and
bled and tortured her most cruelly.
The defence
was, that she was delated by other witches mala fama
arboratat, and was thereupon apprehended, and yet so
kindly used as not to be thrust into any public prison,
but kept in a private house. That she and her son-in-law
consented that she might be searched, it being desired for
the manifestation and vindication of her innocency.
As for the
pricker: —1st. He learned his trade from Kincaid, a famous
pricker. 2nd, He never came unsent for, because he was either
called by sheriffs, magistrates of boroughs, ministers,
baron bailies, etc. 3rd, The trade was not improbate, or
condemned by any law among us. 4th, All divines and lawyers,
when writing on witchcraft, acknowledge there are such marks,
called by them stigmata sagarum. Why then may there
not be an art for discerning them from other marks of the
body? The Council may restrain that way of trial for the
future, but must pardon bygones.
Answer 1st.
—Denies consent.
2nd. —None
can virtually consent to their own torture. As for the pricker,
he was a cheat, and abused the people for gain; and the
Chancellor remembered that he had caused imprison Kincaid
at Kinross for abusing the country there.
The Lords
of Privy Council first declared the woman innocent, and
restored her to her good name and fame, and ordained
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