ng Fairlie with a terrible disorder, because
he called her "Winnie Annie;" and laid so frightful a disease on Beatrix
Nisbet, for some other trifling offence, that she lost the use of her
tongue; who made a "grit jist" (great joist) fall down on the leg of
Euphame Kincaid's daughter, because Euphame called her a witch on being
called by her a drunkard; and appeared to John Cockburn in the night--the
doors and windows being fast closed--terrifying him by her hideous old
apparition in his sleep, because he had disagreed with her daughter; and
who did all other wicked and uncanny things, like a raving, unprincipled,
old hag as she was. She even forespoke Alexander Johnstone's bairne, so
that it was eleven years old before it could walk, and all because she was
not made godmother, or "had not gotten its name;" and she made Margaret
Williamson sick and blind, by saying most outrageously, "The devill blaw
the blinde!" And she was a bad mother and evil exemplar to her daughter,
bringing her up to be as vile as herself, at least in the way of
quarrelling and fighting with her neighbours, and then backing her with an
unfair amount of her own supernatural powers. Thus, one day, Margaret
Robinson, the daughter in question, was using high words with Mawse
Gourlay, spouse of Andrew Wilson, and Mawse, in a rage, called her "ane
witche's get," which was about the worst thing that could be said in those
days between a couple of scolds. "Gif I be ane witche's get," cried
Margaret, in extremest fury, "the devill ryve the saull out of ye befoir I
come again!" After which cruel and devilish imprecation, helped on by
Winnie Annie's horrible art used at Margaret's instigation, Andrew Wilson
became "frenatik" and stark mad: his eyes starting out of his head in the
most terrible and frightful manner as he went about, ever pronouncing
these words as his ordinary and continual speech--the perpetual raving of
his madness--"The devill ryve the saull out o' me!" For all which
crimes--though she was ably defended--though, when her house was searched,
"there was neither picture, toad, nor any such thing found therein, which
ever any witch in the world was used to practize,"--yet the evidence was
held to be too strong, and Winnie Annie Finnie was ordained to be "brunt
to the deid," and her ashes cast out to the winds of heaven.

Janet Brown[39] was another of those who got into hot quarters. She
confessed that she had charmed James Hutton and Janet Scot