n taught her when a child, she repeated the 23rd Psalm; and then
the evil spirit which had caused the rheumatism was assumed to be "telled
out" into the stoup of water; at all events William Stensgar would have no
more of it. Then the water was emptied out over the slap or gate so that
the next person passing by the stile might get it instead of William. One
man who had watched this devilry from the beginning, evaded the foul fiend
by pushing his way through the hedge higher up; but another unfortunate
wretch, not so lucky or not so early a riser, coming blundering over the
stile as usual, got laid hold of by the fiend which William Stensgar had
shaken off, and was holden by it hardly.

THE PLAGUE OF CATS.[76]

Year by year witches became scarcer, none of any special note presenting
themselves till we come to the case of Margaret Nin-Gilbert, of Caithness,
which happened in the year 1718; the same year as that in which the
minister of Redcastle lost his life by witchcraft, and Mr. M'Gill's house
at Kinross (he was minister there) was so egregiously troubled by a spirit
which nipped the sheets and stuck pins into eggs and meat, and clipt away
the laps of a gentlewoman's hood and a servant maid's gown tail, and flung
stones down the chimney, which "wambled a space" on the floor, and then
took a flight out of the window, and threw the minister's bible into the
fire, and spoilt the baking, and played all sorts of mad pranks to
disquiet the family and defy God. If such things as these could be done
in the light of the sun, why, should not Margaret Nin-Gilbert have
supernatural power? Nin-Gilbert had a friend, one Margaret Olson, a woman
of it is said wicked behaviour, whom Mr. Frazer put out of her house,
taking as his tenant instead one William Montgomerie. Upon this Margaret
Olson went to her friend Nin-Gilbert, the notorious witch, and besought
her to harm Mr. Frazer; but Mr. Frazer being a gentleman of rank and
fortune was defended from the witches, and Nin-Gilbert confessed she had
no power or inclination to hurt him. However, one night as he was crossing
a bridge, they attempted him, but succeeded not; and he, on being
questioned, said he perfectly remembered "his horse making a great adoe at
that place, but that by the Lord's goodness he escaped." Also he had a
great sickness at the time these women were taken, but he had common sense
enough to refuse to ascribe it to them. Finding that they could not
prevail agains