the Demon Drummer, and the Woodstock Devil who harried the
Parliamentary Commissioners to within an inch of their lives, and others
to the full as interesting; but there is no hook and eye with
them--nothing by which they can be hung on to the sad string of witches,
or witchcraft murders. Baxter has two or three such stories; and the
curious in such matters will find a large amount of interesting matter in
the various works referred to at the foot of the pages; matter which could
not be introduced here, because of its not belonging strictly to the
subject in hand. I do not think that any candid or unprejudiced person
will fail in seeing the dark shadow of fraud and deceit flung over every
such account remaining. The importance of which, to me, is the evident and
distinct likeness between these stories and the marvels going on now in
modern society.

JONET WATSON AND THE DEVIL IN GREEN.

Steadily went on these appalling judicial crimes. In February, 1658, two
women and a man were in the Tolbooth at Edinburgh, imprisoned on the
charge of witchcraft. One of the women died in prison, the other, Jonet
Anderson,[47] confessed that before her marriage, which had been only
three months ago, she had given herself up body and soul to the devil, and
that when she was married she had seen him standing by the pulpit. She was
kept only so long as was necessary to prove her not pregnant, and then was
executed, fully repentant. In August four women, "ane of them a maiden,"
were burnt on the Castle Hill in ghastly company; and soon after five more
from Dunbar; and then again nine from Tranent, all confessing. These
seemed to have stayed the appetite of the magistrates for a time, as we
come across no more until 1661, when a painful collection of lies,
slanders, and confessions again harrow up every feeling, and outrage every
reasoning faculty.

Jonet Watson was one of the first to make her confession. She said that in
April last, bypast or thereby, she being at the burial of Lady Dalhousie,
a rix dollar was given to Jean Bughane, to be divided among a certain
number of poor folk, whereof she was one. But Jean ran away with the
money, so poor Jonet got none of it: whereat being very grieved and angry,
when she came to her own house she wished to be revenged on Jean, and at
the wish appeared the devil in the likeness of a pretty boy in green
clothes, and asked: "what ailed her, and what revenge would she have?" He
then gave her his ma