the virtue of purgatives and port wine, nor understanding the
value of rest and silence, took the poor young soul at her word, and found
her guilty of all the crimes and follies with which a diseased body, and a
mind overset and charged, had prompted her to accuse herself.

And now we come to

THE WITCHES OF AULDEARNE:[55]

and Isobell Gowdie's marvellous confessions: still in A.D. 1662. Isobell
was neither pricked nor tortured before she entered on her singular
history of circumstantial lies. She was probably a mere lunatic, whose
ravings ran in the popular groove, and who was not so much deceiving, as
self-deceived by insanity. The assize which tried her was composed of
highly respectable people, and she seems to have been only encouraged to
rave, not forced to lie. She began by stating that one day, fifteen years
ago, as she was going between "the towns" or farmsteads of Drumdewin and
the Heads, she met the devil, who spoke to her and invited her to meet him
that night at the parish church of Auldearne. She promised that she would,
and accordingly she went, and he baptized her by the name of "Janet," and
accepted her service. Margaret Brodie held her while she denied her
Christian baptism; and then the devil marked her on the shoulder, sucking
out the blood which he "spouted" into his hand, then sprinkled it on her
head, saying, "I baptize thee, Janet, in my own name!" But first he had
put one hand on the crown of her head, and the other on the soles of her
feet, while she made over to him all that lay betwixt, giving herself body
and soul into his keeping. He was in the Reader's desk while all this took
place, appearing as a "mickle, black, hairy man" reading out of a black
book; so Isobell was henceforth Janet in the witch world, and was one of
the most devoted of her covin; for they were divided into covins or bands,
she said, and placed under the leadership of proper officers. John Young
was the officer of her covin, and the number composing it was thirteen.
She and others of her band took Breadley's corn from off his land. They
took an unchristened child which they had raised out of its grave, parings
of their nails, ears of all sorts of grain, and cole-wort leaves, all
chopped very fine and small, and mixed up well together; and this charm
they buried on his land, whereby they got all the strength of his corn and
goods to themselves, and parted them among the covin. Another time they
yoked a plough of paddoc