d
by Christina Shaw of having been also active in tormenting her, came
of their own accord to Bargarran House, and before they approached the
girl she said she was now bound up, and could not accuse Margaret Lang
to her face. Subsequently she named Lang and her daughter as two of
her tormentors.

The commissioners had several conferences, and in their presence many
suspected witches were shown to the girl at Bargarran. At these
conferences strange things transpired, all tending to prove a most
diabolical plot to punish the girl for her insult to Catherine
Campbell. This was not all: the inquiry brought to light various other
acts of witchcraft, mischief, and even murder, perpetrated by the
devil and those in league with him. In due course the suspected
persons were arraigned before the judges and jury; and able arguments,
according to the light of those times, were entered into. An outline
of the specious pleading of the advocate who conducted the prosecution
is given, as an example of the manner in which convictions against
suspected witches were obtained two hundred years ago.

"Good men of inquest," he said, "you having sitten
above twenty hours in overhearing the probation, we
shall not detain you with summing up in particular,
but shall only suggest some things, whereof it is fit
you take special notice. 1st, The nature of your own
power, and the management thereof. 2dly, The object of
this power which lies before you, wherein you are to
consider, in the first place, whether or not there has
been witchcraft in the malefices libelled? and, in the
next case, whether or not these panels are the
witches?

"As to your power, it is certain that you are both
judges and witnesses, by the opinion of our lawyers
and custom; therefore you are called out of the
neighbourhood, as presumed best to know the quality of
the panels, and the notoriety of their guilt or
innocence....

"We are not to press you with the ordinary severity of
threatening an assize of error, in case you should
absolve; but wholly leave you to the conduct of God
and your own conscience....

"As to the probation itself, you see that it is
divided in three parts, viz. the extraordinariness of
the malefices; the probability of the concurring
adminicles; and the clearness of the positive
probation