a cog of water out
of the burn that ran before William Anderson's door, coming back and
taking three straws--one for William Anderson's wife, and one for William
Coitts' wife, and one for William Bichen's wife--which she threw into the
pail with the water, then put the same on the cow's back; by which charm
the three straws danced in the water, and the water bubbled as if it had
been boiling. Then Elspeth took a little quantity of this charmed water,
and thrust her arm up to the elbow into the cow's throat, and on the
instant the cow rose up as well as she had ever been; but William
Anderson's ox, which was on the hill, dropped down dead. Likewise she
worked unholy cantrips for a sick friend with a paddock (toad), in the
mouth of a pail of water, which toad was too large to get down the mouth,
and when it was cast forth another man sickened and died immediately: and
she spake dangerous words to a child, saying, "Wally fall that quhyt head
of thine, but the pox will tak the away frae thy mother." As it proved,
for the little white head was laid low a short time after, when the
small-pox raged through the land. "Thow can tell eneugh yf thow lyke,"
said the mother to her afterwards, "that could tell that my bairne wold
die so long befoir the tyme." "I can tell eneugh if I durst," replied
Elspeth, over proud for her safety. But in spite of all this testimony,
Elspeth got off with "arbitrary punishment," which did not include burning
or strangling, so was luckier than her neighbours. Luckier than poor Jonet
Rendall was, who, on the 11th of November (1629), was proved a witch by
the bleeding of the corpse of the poor wretch whom she had "enchanted" to
his death. For "as soon as she came in the corpse having lain a good
space, and not having bled any, immediately bled much blood, as a sure
token that she was the author of his death." And had she not said, too,
when a certain man refused her a Christmas lodging, "that it wald be weill
if the gude man of that hous sould make ane other yule banket" (Christmas
banquet); by which curse had he not died in fifteen days after? Wherefore
was she a proved murderess as well as witch, and received the doom
appointed to both alike. Alexander Drummond was a warlock who cured all
kinds of horrid diseases, the very names of which are enough to make one
ill; and he had a familiar, which had attended him for "neir this fifty
yeiris:" so he was convicted and burnt.

Then came Jonet Forsyth, grea