KATHERINE GRANT AND HER STOUP.[26]

Katherine Grant, in the November of the year 1623, was dilatit for that
she had gone to Henry Janies' house, with "a stoup in hir hand, with the
boddome foremost, and sat down ryght fornent the said Henrie, and gantit
thryce on him: and going furth he followit hir; and beiyan the brigstane,
scho lukit over her shoulder, and turned up the quhyt of her eye, quhair
by her divilrie, their fell ane great weght upoun him that he was forcit
to set his bak to the wall, and when he came in, he thoucht the hous ran
about with him, and theirefter lay seik ane lang tyme." Katherine Grant
was not likely to overcome the impression of such testimony as this: that
she should have gone to any man's house and yawned thrice, and added to
this devilry the further crime of looking over her shoulder, was quite
enough evidence of guilt for any sane man or woman in Orkney. Can we
wonder, then, that she was not suffered to vex the sunlight longer by
carrying pails bottom upwards, or yawning thrice in the faces of decent
folk, and that she was taken forth to be strangled, burnt, and her ashes
cast to the four winds of the merciful heaven?

THE MISDEEDS OF MARION RICHART.[27]

"Mareoune" Richart, _alias_ Langland, dwelt on one of the wild Orkney
islands, not far from where mad Elspeth Sandisome kept the whole country
in fear lest she should do something terrible to herself or to others.
Marion was invited to go the house, and try her skill at curing her, for
she was known to be an awful witch, and able to do whatever she had a mind
in the way of healing or killing. So she went, and set herself to her
charm. She took some "remedie water"--which she made into "remedy water,"
by carrying it in a round bowl to the byre where she cast into it
something like "great salt," taken from her purse, spitting thrice into
the bowl, and blowing in her breath--and with this magic "remedie watter
forspeking," she bade Elspeth's woman-servant wash her feet and hands, and
she would be as well as ever she had been before. This was bad enough; but
worse than this, she came to Stronsey on a day, asking alms of "Andro
Coupar, skipper of ane bark," to whom said Andrew rudely, "Away witch,
carling; devils ane farthing ye will fall!" whereupon went Marion away
"verie offendit; and incontinentlie he going to sea, the bark being vnder
saill, he ran wode, and wald half luppen ourboord; and his sone seing him
gat him in his armes, an