HISTORICAL NOTICES OF THE POPU LAR SUPERSTITIONS, TRADITIONS, No. II. "A distant age asks where the fabric stood." COWPER. MR EDITOR, HAVING formerly given you a number of stories illustrative of the opinions which anciently prevailed amongst the inhabitants of Tiviotdale concerning fairies, I now proceed, as proposed, to a partial illustration of the notions of our forefathers regarding witches, &c. by the relation of a few stories concerning them. As civilization has evidently assisted more to destroy the belief in witchcraft, than it has had power to make the reality of supernatural appear ances doubtful, we now find the number of reputed witches to be exceed ingly small, if, indeed, any are to be found; for, instead of being branded, as they anciently were, with the opprobrious names of witches and warlocks, those who, at present, are of bad repute, generally go under the softer, though still suspicious, character of being uncannie or ill wishers. Notwithstanding this apparent emancipation, however, their bad wishes are by no means viewed as trifles, but are generally considered as being in no small degree portentous, though their fulfilment is not now directly attributed to the privileges of a paction with the devil, from which the powers of the ancient witches were supposed to be derived. In illustra tion of the more ancient mythology of Tiviotdale concerning witches, and their compact with Mahoun, a name which the inaccurate genealogical knowledge of our forefathers transferred from the son to the sire, take the following story: It was related to me by a very old woman who told me she had it from her grandmother, when she was a girl. The reader will excuse me for introducing a few of my narrator's expressive phrases. At Allanhaugh, a small village (the vestiges of which only now remain) in the upper parts of Tiviotdale, the devil was seen regularly every Saturday evening, walking along the loan. His presence in • See Number for April. a the village was always announced by Rafters. +Cuber dunner-spar clatter. The lum of a Scotch hut is of ample volume. § The word withershins, though not mentioned in Dr Jamieson's Dictionary, is to be found in many Scottish authors; it denotes going round a thing in a contrary direction to the sun. Hence, as it was supposed that witches always acted in contrariety to the laws of nature, we hear of their going thrice withershins round a thing to render it subject to their powers. And startled up auld liart carlins, may be Englished, "and transformed themselves into old grey headed witches." " the duties of a witch, and the advantages of being one; in particular, telling her that she should want nothing which she was desirous to obtain, and that she should be possessed of the power of inflicting upon her enemies whatever punishment or mischief she pleased; but these only upon the condition of her giving up to him both her soul and body. To this she gave a nod of approbation; and placing her right hand on her head, and her left under her feet, she gave up "a' between them to the powers aneth, renouncing a' aboon." The fiend then stuck a pin in her ear, and told her that neither God nor man was her master, and that she was a "lawfu' witch." After this ceremony was concluded, the company sat down to a repast, consisting of apples and wine, of which they all partook, except the man in black, who sucked the breast of one of the women. Upon finishing their collation, they all stripped and commenced dancing to the music of the bagpipes, which were played by the devil. In this harmless manner the carlins continued enjoying themselves, with much hilarity, and occasionally regaling themselves with a draught of wine or ale, (which, says my narrator, nae doubt they had stoun out o' some honest laird's cellar,") till the young men who were watching at the chimney top dreading the consequences of being detected, descended and went home no less astonished than pleased with what they had witnessed. On the Saturday evening following, the "deil's wind" having again blown, the two young men, induced by the success which attended their former adventure, again resolved to go upon the same errand. At first nothing was to be seen in the house but broomsticks and egg-shells. When about to descend, however, they were agreeably surprised with the loalling + of cats; which, upon making their appearance on the floor, were all trans 66 On broomsticks witches were said to ride-in egg-shells to swim across the sea: hence arose the practice of fixing the broom to the shank with scarlet thrums, (a celebrated preservative,) and of turning the egg-shell up after eating its contents, and breaking its ends, so that a witch might not be able to use it as her ferry-boat. + Crying. mogrified into women, as on the for- An' o' diseases be a nest ;” which she continued to do for some straw. But here" this rare sicht" met with a miserable interruption. The fears of being detected had caused the "twa chields" to give many a suspicious look over their shoulders, but of all they saw nothing appeared more inoffensive, and nothing from which they dreaded less ill, than a "bit harmless maukin." Before they took any particular notice of her, however, puss had "hirpled thrice withershins" round house, and then suddenly made a spring to the riggin, and bounced down the chimney to the hearth, where she was in an instant transformed into a "strang strappan hizzie.” In a twinkling she informed the company of their being watched from without, and "afore the twa lads could hae steppit owre a strae," the deil exploded like a bombshell, and threw the roof of the house to the ground, with them below it, where they were almost suffocated with the smell of brimstone which the devil left behind him!--and they were only rescued from their perilous situation by the timeous arrival of some of their neighbours. My narrator concluded her story with an account of the calamities which afterwards overtook the truly unfortunate young men, who were caught in the act of watching the private transactions of the witches. Every thing, said she, under their charge, had "ill luck," and the career of their misfortunes was only checked by their having had recourse to the expedient of taking A harc. out, and burning the heart of one of the horses that had died through their mischievous cantrips. She told me also of a marvellous circumstance which took place at the fire. A large black grew (greyhound) came run ning with its mouth covered with foam, and seemingly ready to drop down with fatigue, and made a desperate attempt to pluck the heart from the flames, but its endeavours proved ineffectual, for one of the bystanders having struck it a severe blow with a stick across the back, compelled it to make off. On their way home the company was met by a villager, who came running, as fast as he was able, to inform one of the spectators that his wife had suddenly been taken ill. Upon reaching the house they found to their no small surprise, that her back was broken; but as she either could not, or would not, give a satisfactory account of the accident, they unanimously concluded that she was a witch, and that she had got her back broken by the blow which she had received when attempting, in the shape of a greyhound, to take the horse's heart from the fire. Being all satisfied of this, they ordered her, that they might set the matter completely at rest, to repeat that part of the Lord's Prayer which says, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;" this she could not do, always saying, "And lead us into temptation, but deliver us not from evil," &c. They immediately bound her, and carried her to the place where they had been consuming the horse's heart, and after cutting cross marks upon her forehead and breast to prevent her from flying away, tossed her into the flames. She told me also, that shortly after the adventure on the house top, the old woman's son died of excruciating pains all over his body, but more particularly in the sides and head, the places through which pins had been fixed in the waxen image. The serious and de vout gravity with which the old woman related this story, and the faith which she seemingly reposed in its authenticity, amused me much. Upon inquiring if it was generally believed in her younger days, "Who could doubt it!" answered she, apparently much displeased with so suspicious a question," did they believe the Bible, ye micht as weel hae askit, for the tane just deserves as weel to be believed in as the tither." There is a story of ancient date still current among some old people about Jedburgh, a place once famed for witches. I need scarcely inform the reader that it would be accounted little short of sacrilege in the estimation of some of the older inhabitants, to express so much as a doubt of its authenticity. It runs thus: A person of the name of Brown, the parish schoolmaster of Jedburgh, had the misfortune to be saddled with a wife who was known through the town to be a most mischievous witch. Brown being a pious good man, used to remonstrate with her upon her unlawful practices. Offended, however, by these reproofs, she formed the design of taking away his life. She accordingly, assisted by some of her associates, took him out of his bed in the night time and drowned him in the river Jed. Some of the Jedburgh people, who had been awakened by the noise, heard him singing the Twenty-third Psalm, as they were leading him, with a rope about his neck, down to the water, and at the same time a company of fairies were observed to be dancing on the top of the steeple of Jedburgh Abbey. After the witches had accomplished their diabolical purposes with the poor dominie, they joined the party of fairies on the highest pinnacle of the Abbey, and there the whole company regaled themselves with wine and ale; beverages of which they are said to have been particularly fond. The liquor was taken from the cellar of a Mr John Ainslie, who was either a merchant or innkeeper, and whose descendants are still living in very respectable stations of society. It is said that the drowning of the man was the exclusive act of the witches, and that it these were pulled from the image, the person whom it represented was relieved from her complaints," &c. was done without the knowledge of the fairies, for they never were considered as being addicted to deeds of violence, unless when they received provocation. Popular tradition says, that a son of Lord Torphichen, who had been taught the art of witchcraft by his nurse, was among the party on that occasion, and that he was the person who first gave information of the murderers of Brown. It is also said, that the same company of fairies passed through Jedburgh before the army of Prince Charles, with drums beating, probably attached to the ancient regime. It was supposed, that when a woman gave herself over, body and soul, to the devil, he gave her unrestrained power of doing all sorts of wickedness and mischief, but in consonance to his supposed character, he bound them down to perform nc good action whatever, except in furtherance of any of their foul schemes. This power of doing ill by supernatural means, seems, however, not to have been considered as altogether absolute, for many methods were practised to avert their machinations. Among these was the custom of branding such women as were by public repute witches, with a mark, or cross cut, on their foreheads, which was supposed to destroy for ever the Satanic influence, and to relieve those who had previously been bewitched by them from their malady. Scarlet thread was often wrapped round the horns of cattle to protect them from being bewitched, but when it was taken off they were again subject to their charms. I have often seen pins of rowan tree and boun tree or alder wood, fixed in stables and byres to protect the inmates. I once heard a woman say, that having stuck a bough of bower tree above her door head, she heard the witches and fairies " greeting at her door the whole night, and crying, "we canna win in." But (a mongst a thousand others) one of the most esteemed preservatives, particularly of the human person, against the spells of witchcraft, of which I have heard, was an ear of wheat, which was carried constantly in the pocket. It was vulgarly believed, that on every grain of wheat there is a representation of the human facesaid to be the face of our Saviour, and hence it derived its efficacy. " It was believed that a witch could not alter her natural appearance, when in human form, but that notwithstanding she was able to metamorphose herself into any animal shape she pleased, save that of the dove and the lamb, which, as they were considered emblems of divinity, no order of preternatural beings were supposed able to assume. Of all animal forms, that of the cat seems to have been their favourite, though we frequently hear of their exploits in the shapes of grews, or greyhounds, and hares. As I have already observed, the modern witch is of a less frightful character. Indeed, they are now nearly synonymous with a fortuneteller or strolling spaewife, or a gypsey. I intended to have given some illustrations of this, but this, together with what I have to relate concerning the ancient popular opinions about supernatural appearances, or what are vulgarly styled bogles, I must for the present defer, as I fear I have already obtruded too much on the patience of you and your readers. Meanwhile I am, &c. A. M. Hawick, April 29, 1820. SCOTTISH IMITATION OF A PASSAGE DEAR SIR, Since you have been so kind, The nymphs are fair, the day is good, I therefore mean to change the scene, When I was just a wee wee callan, While thus amang the wuds we ran, The bees drank honey 'mang the flow'rs. Eliza's cheek, vermillion pure, Than the soft languor of her eyes; Greenock, 10th May 1820. J. H. ANCIENT CONDITION OF EDINBURGH. -EXTRACTS FROM THE COMMONPLACE BOOK OF MR JONATHAN OLDBUCK. MR EDITOR, It was my lot some time ago to succeed to the property of an old antiquarian uncle, whom, as I cannot give you his real name, with the permission of the great and unknown novelist, we shall call Mr Jonathan Oldbuck. His house, of which I lately took possession, was an exact prototype of the mansion of Monk barns, so charmingly described in the Antiquary. It was an old-fashioned turretted pile, which contained a few dark low-roofed rooms. On their wainscoated walls of brown oak were hung up, in fantastic trophies, the precious relics and outlandish-looking gear, in collecting which he had spent the better part of his Her sweet wee mouth, wi' laughin glance, fortune. His library and papers I Began to try her magic pow'rs, Wi' lips as soft as honey flow'rs. She prest them to the bumbee wound, VOL. VI. The same age. found in great confusion; but, in attempting to restore some little order to the chaos of strange and heteroge neous elements which composed it, I chanced frequently to stumble upon valuable matter. Behind a mutilated Roman altar I found a MS. life of the famous Duns Scotus, he who, according to Mackenzie, was descended from that ancient and respectable family the Dunses in the Merse. Stuffed into an old steel skull-cap, which had . 3 Y |