The Witch-cult in Western Europe Part 20

or

'I sall goe intill a craw, With sorrow, and sych, and a blak thraw.'

To return into human form the witch said:

'Haire, haire, G.o.d send thee caire.

I am in an haire's liknes just now, Bot I sal be in a womanis liknes ewin now.'

From a cat or a crow, the words were 'Cat, cat, G.o.d send thee a blak shott'

or 'Craw, craw, G.o.d send thee a blak thraw', with the last two lines as before. When the witch in animal form entered the house of another witch, she would say, 'I conjure thee, Goe with me'; on which the second witch would turn into the same kind of animal as the first. If, however, they met in the open, the formula was slightly different, 'Divell speid the, Goe thow with me,' the result being the same.[657]

The Somerset trials record the words used for cursing anything. These were simply 'A Pox take it', the curse being supposed to take effect at once. If the curse were p.r.o.nounced over an image of a person the words were 'A Pox on thee, I'le spite thee'.[658]

Alexander Elder's grace over meat is probably a corrupt form of some ancient rite:

'We eat this meat in the Divellis nam, With sorrow, and sych, and meikle shame; We sall destroy hows and hald; Both sheip and noat in till the fald.

Litle good sall come to the fore Of all the rest of the litle store.'[659]

The 'conjuring of cats' was a distinct feature, and is clearly derived from an early form of sacrifice. The details are recorded only in Scotland, and it is possible that Scotland is the only country in which it occurred, though the sanct.i.ty of the cat in other places suggests that the omission in the records is accidental.

In the dittay against John Fian, 1590, he was 'fylit, for the chaissing of ane catt in Tranent; in the quhilk chaise, he was careit heich aboue the ground, with gryt swyftnes, and as lychtlie as the catt hir selff, ower ane heicher d.y.k.e, nor he was able to lay his hand to the heid off:-And being inquyrit, to quhat effect he chaissit the samin? Ansuerit, that in ane conversatioune haldin at Brumhoillis, Sathan commandit all that were present, to tak cattis; lyke as he, for obedience to Sathan, chaissit the said catt, purpoiselie to be ca.s.sin in the sea, to raise windis for distructioune of schippis and boitis.'[660] Agnes Sampson of the same Coven as Fian confessed 'that at the time when his Majestie was in Denmark, shee being accompanied by the parties before speciallie named, tooke a cat and christened it, and afterwards bounde to each part of that cat, the cheefest parte of a dead man, and severall joyntis of his bodie: And that in the night following, the saide cat was convayed into the middest of the sea by all the witches, sayling in their riddles or cives, as is aforesaid, and so left the said cat right before the towne of Leith in Scotland. This doone, there did arise such a tempest in the sea, as a greater hath not bene seene.'[661] The legal record of this event is more detailed and less dramatic; the sieves are never mentioned, the witches merely walking to the Pier-head in an ordinary and commonplace manner. The Coven at Prestonpans sent a letter to the Leith Coven that-

'they sould mak the storm vniuersall thro the sea. And within aucht dayes eftir the said Bill [letter] wes delyuerit, the said Agnes Sampsoune, Jonett Campbell, Johnne Fean, Gelie Duncan, and Meg Dyn baptesit ane catt in the wobstaris hous, in maner following: Fyrst, twa of thame held ane fingar, in the ane syd of the chimnay cruik, and ane vther held ane vther fingar in the vther syd, the twa nebbis of the fingars meting togidder; than thay patt the catt thryis throw the linkis of the cruik, and pa.s.sit itt thryis vnder the chimnay.

Thaireftir, att Begie Toddis hous, thay knitt to the foure feit of the catt, foure jountis of men; quhilk being done, the sayd Jonet fechit it to Leith; and about mydnycht, sche and the twa Linkhop, and twa wyfeis callit s...o...b..is, came to the Pier-heid, and saying thir words, 'See that thair be na desait amangis ws'; and thay caist the catt in the see, sa far as thay mycht, quhilk swam owre and cam agane; and thay that wer in the Panis, caist in ane vthir catt in the see att xj houris. Eftir quhilk, be thair sorcerie and inchantment, the boit perischit betuix Leith and Kinghorne; quhilk thing the Deuill did, and went befoir, with ane stalf in his hand.'[662]

Beigis Todd was concerned in another 'conjuring of cats', this time at Seaton.

'Eftir thay had drukkin togidder a certane s.p.a.ce, thay, in thair devillische maner, tuik ane katt, and drew the samyn nyne tymes throw the said Beigis cruik; and thaireftir come with all thair speed to Seaton-thorne, be-north the ?et.... And thay thaireftir past altogidder, with the Devill, to the irne ?et [iron gate] of Seatoun, quhair of new thay tuik ane cat, and drew the samyn nyne tymes throw the said Irne-?ett: And immediatlie thaireftir, came to the barne, foiranent George Feudaris dur, quhair thai christened the said catt, and callit hir _Margaret_: And thaireftir come all bak agane to the Deane-fute, quhair first thai convenit, and cuist the kat to the Devill.'[663]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 465: Danaeus, ch. iv.]

[Footnote 466: Boguet, pp. 131-9.]

[Footnote 467: _Pleasant Treatise_, pp. 5-7.]

[Footnote 468: Lea, iii, p. 501.]

[Footnote 469: Remigius, pt. i, pp. 89, 91.]

[Footnote 470: Glanvil, pt. ii, pp. 137, 139, 163, 164.]

[Footnote 471: W. G. Stewart, p. 175.]

[Footnote 472: Danaeus, ch. ii.]

[Footnote 473: Cooper, p. 90.]

[Footnote 474: Rymer, i, p. 956.]

[Footnote 475: Chartier, iii, p. 45.]

[Footnote 476: From a trial in the Guernsey Greffe.]

[Footnote 477: De Lancre, _Tableau_, p. 123.]

[Footnote 478: Bodin, p. 187.]

[Footnote 479: Melville, p. 396; _see also_ Pitcairn, i, pt. ii, pp.

210-12, 239, 246.]

[Footnote 480: F. Hutchinson, p. 43.]

[Footnote 481: _Spalding Club Misc._, i, pp. 121, 125.]

[Footnote 482: Boguet, p. 411.]

[Footnote 483: Cannaert, p. 46.]

[Footnote 484: Id., p. 50.]

[Footnote 485: De Lancre, _Tableau_, p. 131.]

[Footnote 486: Michaelis, _Historie_, pp. 334-5.]

[Footnote 487: Pitcairn, iii, p. 613.]

[Footnote 488: De Lancre, _Tableau_, pp. 68, 126, 128.]

[Footnote 489: Id. ib., p. 148.]

[Footnote 490: _Spalding Club Misc._, i, p. 171.]

[Footnote 491: Boguet, p. 131.]

[Footnote 492: De Lancre, _Tableau_, pp. 72, 131.]

[Footnote 493: Doughty, _Travels in Arabia Deserta_, i, 89.]

[Footnote 494: Moret, _Mysteres egyptiens_, pp. 247 seq.]

[Footnote 495: _Spalding Club Misc._, i, pp. 97-8. Spelling modernized.]

[Footnote 496: Ib., i, p. 144. Spelling modernized.]

[Footnote 497: Ib., p. 149.]