1817.)

Letter from Jumes IV. &c.--Act respecting John Faw, fc.

167

ANTIQUARIAN REPERTORY.

LETTER FROM JAMES IV. TO THE

KING OF DENMARK,

to the provestis and ballies of Edin

burgh, Sanct Johnstoun, Dundee, MonIn favour of Anthony Gawino, Earl of ross, Aberdene, Sactandrois, Elgin, Little Egypt, gc. 1506.

Forress, and Inuerness ; And to the

Schirefis of Edinburgh, Fif, Perth, (Referred to at page 161.) Forfair, Kincardin, Aberdene, Elgyn ILLUSTRISSIME, &c. Anthonius Ga- and Foress, Banff, Crummarty, Inuer wino, ex Parva Egypto comes, et cæ ness, And all vtheris schirefis, stewtera ejus comitatus, gens afflicta et artis, provestis, and ballies, quhair it miseranda, dum Christianam orbem happinnis the saidis Egiptianis to reperegrinationes studio, Apostolicæ Se- sort; To command and charge thame, dis (ut refert) jussu, suorum more be oppin proclamatioun at the mercat peregrinans, fines nostri regni dudum croces of the heid burgh of the schirefadvenerat, atque in sortis suæ, et mi- domes, to depart furth of this realme, seriarum hujus populi, refugium, nos with their wifis, barnis, and compro humanitate imploraverat ut nos- panies, within xxx dayis efter thai be tros limites sibi impune adire, res chargit therto, vnder the pane of deid; cunctas, et quam habet societatem Notwithstanding ony vtheris letters, libere circumagere liceret. Impetrat or privelegis, granted to thame be the facile quæ postulat miserorum homi- Kingis Grace ; Becaus his Grace, with num dura fortuna. Ita aliquot menses avise of the lordis, hes dischargit the bene et catholice, (sic accepimus,) hic samyn for the causis forsaidis ; with versatus, ad te, Rex et Avuncule, in certificatioun and thai be fundin in this Daciam transitum paret. Sed oceanum realme, the saidis xxx dayis being past, transmissurus nostras literas exoravit, thai salbe tane and put to deid. quibus celsitudinem tuam horum cer- (MS. Act. Dom. Con. vol. 15. fol. 155.) tiorum redderemus, simul et calamitatem ejus gentis Regiæ tuæ munificentiæ commendaremus. Ceterum errabundæ Egypti fata, moresque, et [The following extracts form part of a genus, eo tibi quam nobis credimus series of depositions made before the Kirk notiora, quo Egyptus tuo regno vici- Session of Perth, 1623, and are copied from nior, et major hujusmodi hominum the original MS. signed, as below, by the frequentia tuo diversatur imperio. Il- clerks of Session and Presbytery. They are lustrissime, &c.

chiefly interesting on account of the álluMs. Reg. 13. B. II.)

sions they contain to several curious popular charms and superstitions. We have now

before us a number of other original papers ACT OF THE LORDS OF COUNCIL,

relating to the history of witchcraft, from

which, perhaps, we may hereafter give some Respecting John Faw, fc. Jun. 6,1541. extracts of a more strange and striking de(Referred to at page 161.)

scription, if we find that these can be sepa

rated from the profane and revolting details The quhilk day anentis the com -of which they contain more than enough plaintis gevin in be Jhone Faw and to shock even such readers as have the most his brether, and Sebastiane Lowlaw, voracious appetite for the horrible.] Egiptianis, to the Kingis Grace, ilkane pleinzeand vpoun vther of diverse faltis Depositiounes of Isso? Haldane suspect and Iniuris ; And that It is aggreit

of Wychcraft, confessit be her the 10 amang thame to passe hame, and to haue of Maij 1623, as followsthe samyn decydit before the Duke of Egipt. The Lordis of Counsale being ItemBeing askit if scho hed onye avisit with the pointis of the saidis conversatione with the Farye Folk complaintis, and vnderstanding perfit- Answerit, that ten yeiris syne, lying lie the gret thiftis and scathis done be in her bed, scho wes taikin furth, the saidis Egiptianis vpoun our sov- quhidder be God or the Deuill scho erane Lordis lieges, quhairuer thae cum knawis no!; wes caryit to ane hill or resortis ; Ordanis letters to be direct side; the hill opynit, and scho en

CONFESSIONS OF WITCHCRAFT.

*

*

*

*

terit in; thair scho stayit thrie dayis, for yeir and day: And as scho thretviz. fra thurisday till sonday at xij tinit sa it cam to pas; he dwynit houris. Scho mett a man with ane hauelie diseiseit.-The said Issobell grey beird, quha brocht her furth a confessis the away taking of the bere, gane.

the diseise of the man; and affirmeis Item-That same day John Roch that onlye scho said–He that delyudeponit that about that same tyme he erit me from the farye folk sall tak abeand in James Chrystie the wrichtis mendis on thé. buith, caussing the wricht mak ane Item-The same day scho confest cradill to him, becaus his wyff wes scho maid thrie seuerall kaikis, euerie neir the down lying, the said Íssobellane of them of ix curneis of meill gotHaldane com by, desyreit him not to ten fra ix wemen that wer maryit be sae hastie, for he neidit no! ; his madynis; maid ane hoill in the crown wyff sould nocht be lichter till that of euerie ane of theme, and pat ane tymne fyve-oulkis, and then the bairne bairne throw it thrie tymes in the suld neuer ly in the craidill, bot be name of

t borne, bapteisit, and neuer sook, bot to wemen that pat the saidis bairneis die and be tayne away: And as the thryse throw backwand wseing the said Issobell spak sa it cam to pass in saidis wordis. euerie poynt.-The said Issobell be ItemThe said Issobell confest that ing demandit how scho knew that, scho went silent to the well of Ruthanswerit that the man with the grey men and returneit silent, bringing watbeird tauld her.

ter from thence to wasch John Gowis Item-The said Johne Roch deponit bairne: quhen scho tuik the watter that Mart Buchannane, spous to Dau- frome the well scho left ane pairt of id Reid, being in helth at her ordinare the bairneis sark at it, q! scho tuik wark, the said Isso!! Haldane come with hir for that effect, and quhen to hir and desyreit hir mak hir for scho cam ham scho wousch the bairne deith, for befoir Fastingis evin, q! thairwith. Inlyk maner scho confest wes within few dayis, scho suld be scho hed done the elyk to Johne Powtaikin away: And as scho said, so it ryis bairne. wes befoir that terme the woman died. (May 27.)—The said Isso!!confessit --Being askit how scho knew the that scho hed gewin drinkis to cure terme of hir lyfe, the said Iso!? an- bairneis; amangis the rest that Dauid swerit scho hed speirit it at y same Moreis' wyff com to hir, and thryse man with the grey beird, and he hed for Goddis saik askit help to hir bairne tauld her.

thet wes ane scharge; and scho send (May 16.)--Patrick Ruthuen, skyn- furth hir sone to gather sochsterrie ner in Perth, compeirit and declairit, leaveis, quhairof scho directit the that he being wychit be Margaret bairneis mother to mak ane drink: Hormscleuch, Issobell Haldane com Bot the bairneis mother deponit that to see him : scho com in to the bed the said Isso!!

. Haldane, on being reand streichit hir self abone him, hir quirit cam to hir house, and saw the heid to his heid, hir handis ower him, bairne, said it wes an scharge taikin and so furth, mumbling some wordis, away, Tuik on hand to cure it, and he knew nocht quhat they war. The to that effect gaiff the bairne a drink, said Issobell confessit the said cure, efter the ressait q' of the bairne shortand deponit, that before the said Pa lie died. trick wes wychit scho met him, and foirbad him to go till scho had gone

WILLIAME YOUNG, Scribe to the with him.

Presbytrie of Pearth, at com(May 19.)--Compearit Stephen Ray

mand of the samyn, wt

, my hand. in Muretoun, and deponit that thrie JAMES DAVIDSONE, Notarie pubyeiris syne that isso!! Haldane hauing lic, and Clerk to the Sessioune stollin sum bere furth of the Hall of of Perth, at their command and Balhouffye he followit hir and brocht directioun, with

my

hand. hir bak agane: Scho chaipit him on the schulder, saying-Go thy way, thow + Scil. in nomine Dei Patris et Filii sall not win thy self ane bannok of breid et Spiritus Sancti.

6

ORIGINAL POETRY.

son.

THE PAST.

A LAST ADIEU.

And there, from the rue and the rose's perADIEU, my loved parent, the trial is o'er,

fume, The veil o'er thy couch of forgetfulness His dew-web of dawn shallthegossamer won; spread;

And there shall the daisy and violet bloom,

with the tears of a Thy kind heart shall grieve for my follies And I'll water them

no more, Nor the suppliant tear for thy wanderer be Adieu, my loved parent ! the trial is past shed.

Again thy loved bosom my dwelling may be;

And long as the name of thy darling shall Long over thy head has the tempest blown

last, fell,

All due be the song and the honour to thee ! But riches, unknown, were unvalued by thee;

H. In the wild wast thou born, in the wild didst

thou dwell,
The pupil of Nature, benevolent and free:

How wild and dim this Life appears !
And never, in all her uncultured domain, One long, deep, heavy sigh !
Was nourished a spirit moregenial and kind; When o'er our eyes, half-clos'd in tears,
Chill poverty could not thy ardour restrain, The images of former years
Nor cloud thy gay smile, or the glow of thy Are faintly glimmering by!
mind.

And still forgotten while they go,
When winter-wreaths lay round our cottage Dissolves at once in snow.

As on the sea-beach wave on wave so small, When fancy was ardent, and feeling was

Upon the blue and silent sky

The amber clouds one moment lic,
strong,
O how I would long for the gloaming to fall, And like a dream are gone !
To sit by thy knee and attend to thy song!

Though beautiful the moon-beams play

On the lake's bosom, bright as they,
The song of the field where the warrior bled ; And the soul intensely loves their stay,
The garland of blossom dishonoured too Soon as the radiance melts away
soon ;

We scarce believe it shone ! The elves of the green-wood, the ghosts of Heaven-airs amid the harp-strings dwell, the dead,

And we wish they ne'er may fadeAnd fairies that journeyed by light of the They cease ! and the soul is a silent cell,

Where music never played.

Dream follows dream through the long I loved thee, my parent-my highest desire Was 'neath independence to shield thy gray Each lovelier than the last

night-hours, head; But fortune denied it extinguished the

But ere the breath of morning-flowers, fire

That gorgeous world Aies past. And, now thou art gone, my ambition is fled.

And many a sweet angelic cheek,

Whose smiles of love and kindness speak, I loved thee !--and now thou art laid in thy Glides by us on this earth grave,

While in a day we cannot tell
Thy memory I'll cherish, while memory is Where shone the face we loved so well
mine;
In sadness or in mirth.

N. And the boon that my tongue aye from

Heaven shall crave, Shall be the last blessing that hung upon The landscape hath not lost its look; thine.

Still rushes on the sparkling river ;

Nor hath the gloominess forsook Though over thy ashes no tombstone is seen,

These granite crags that frown for ever, The place shall be hallowed when ages are

Still hangs around the shadowy wood, past;

Whose sounds but murmur solitude : No monument tells, ’mid the wilderness The raven's plaint, the linnet's song, green,

The stock-dove's coo, in grief repining, Where the minstreless lies of the Border the

In mingled echoes steal along : last.

The setting sun is brightly shining ; But over that grave will the lover of song,

And clouds above, and hills below, And the lover of goodness, stand silent and Are brightening with his golden glow. sigh ;

It is not meet it is not fit And the fays of the wild will thy requiem Though Fortune all our hopes hath thwarted, prolong,

While on the very stone I sit
And shed on thy coverlet dews of the sky: Where first we met, and last we parted,
Vol. I.

Y

moon.

THE MOSSY SEAT.

career

That absent from my mind should be

A NIGHT SCENE.
The thought that loves and looks to thee!

Now flaming no more on the soft-heaving
Each happy hour that we have proved,

main,
While love's delicious converse blended,

The sun's parting splendour is shed ;
As 'neath the twilight star we roved,
Unconscious where our progress tended

Night's dark-rolling shades have enveloped

the plain,
Still brings my mind a soft relief,
And bids it love the joys of grief !

And the twilight's faint visions have fled,

No longer in Day's gaudy colouring glows What soothing recollections throng, The landscape, in Nature's diversity gay: Presenting many a mournful token,

The loud-lowing herds are now lulled to reThat heart's remembrance to prolong,

pose, Which then was blest, and now is broken !

And hushed are the sounds from the hamlet I cannot-Oh! hast thou forgot

that rose,
Our early loves this hallowed spot!

And the music that flowed from the spray.
I almost think I see thee stand ;
I almost dream I hear thee speaking ;.

How solemn the Hour! In their splendid
I feel the pressure of thy hand ;
Thy living glance in fondness seeking-

The planets revolving are seen ;
Here all apart-by all unseen

And the proud towering hills 'neath their
Thy form upon my arm to lean !

glimmering appear

As the shadows of things that have been.
Tho' beauty bless the landscape still,

Dread Silence, her empire o'er Nature to
Tho' woods surround, and waters lave it,
My heart feels not the vivid thrill,

prove,
Which long ago thy presence gave it ;

Forbids that a whisper be heard in the vale,

Save the breeze breathing soft through the
Mirth, music, friendship, have no tone

far-stretching grove,
Like that, which with thy voice hath flown !
And Memory only now remains,

And the light curling waves in sweet cadence

that move
To whisper things that once delighted :
Still still I love to tread these plains,

Where the lake's gently kissed by the gale.
To seek this sacred haunt benighted, From behind yon dark hill, in deep sable
And feel a something, sadly sweet,

arrayed, In resting on this mossy seat.

The moon soars majestic and slow;

And her mild-beaming rays sweetly pierce 1.

thro' the shade Pour thy tears wild and free,

Of the thicket that waves on its browBalm best and holiest;

And now her full orb o'er the mountain Fallen is the lofty tree,

impending, Low as the lowliest !

Sublime in bright glory she glows in the sky; Rent is the eaglet's plume,

A stream of soft light o'er the vallies deTowering victorious ;

scending ; Read on the hero's tomb

On the lake's silver breast trees and cottages The end of the glorious.

blending 2.

With the splendours effulgent on high. Lean on that shivered spear,

Great Ruler of all ! while transported I view
It threatens no longer ;

This fabric so glorious and fair,
Snapt like its high compeer,

Oh! teach me, with rapture and reverence
The willow is stronger.

due,
See on its dinted edge

To trace benign DEITY there
The last day-beam flashes,

Serene as yon orbs in thy radiance shine,
If thine be the soul to stand

And light, life, and joy to creation impart, And number its gashes.

So fair

from my soul beam thine image di. 3.

vine, Press not that hallowed mould, And fervent, diffusive, unchanging like In darkness enshrouded,

thine,
Ashes, yet scarcely cold,

May benevolence glow in my heart. S.
Beneath it are crowded :
Thy feet o'er some noble heart

May stumble unheeding;
O'er thy familiar friend

Written in Spring—1812.
Perchance may be treading. REDEEMED from Winter'sdeadening reign,
4.

The joy

year revives again ;
Oh! ye were scattered fast,

And Alings, with rule-rejecting mirth,
Sons of the morning!

Her gladdening glories o'er the earth.
Triumph, but seen and past,

Through her full veins the transports run,
Your proud brows adorning, And hark! the woodland hymn's begun
After such mortal toil

From the close-foliaged grove the thrill
To slumber so soundly,

Comes softened up the breezy hill,
Can aught to the hcart of man With ceaseless bleat, and frequent low,
Speak so profoundly?

And mountain-rivulets' dashing flow,
June, 1815.

B. And all the stir and din below.

LINES

-The blent, but soon selected, call And, 0 !-though cold and silent now,
Of man, who loves and blesses all,

He feels that land still strong to bow
With kingly accent, sweet though high, The pilgrim's heart with reverential dread!
Completes the full-toned harmony.

2. Its thorns are in my breast-yet still But where are they—the Men of yoreI love this Earth with all its ill !

Whose deeds of fame that may not die, Though lone and heartless in the strife, Bade rise upon their native shore I dread the long fatigue of life

The home of holy Liberty ? And none to whom 'twere sweet to say, 0! rouse Ye at my voice of pain ! “ These heavens how bright ! this earth

0! rise and look on Græcia now ! how gay!”.

Reft of the gifts Ye gave in vain, With meeting soul and kindred mood

The servile neck behold her bow, Endear the charms of solitude

And hug, with trembling hand, the chain Though every hour has on its wing

The Tartar binds around her brow ! A sadder tear, a sharper sting

3. And balm and blessing were in vain Oh! bowed to earth and crushed and This friendless heart was formed for pain.

lone

Greece to my pensive eye appears
THE MERMAID.

A widow desolate, with quenchless tears
From the German of Goethe. Weeping her gods and all her heroes gone !

Alas! o'er all this lovely clime-
1.

In heart and soul by slavery wrung,
THE sea-wave falls—the sea-wave flows; The dastard sons of sires sublime
On lonely rock the Fisher lies,

Scarce know the land whereon they In clear cool stream his hook he throws,

sprung; And views the bait with wistful eyes ;

And feel-of all its glories gone, And as his silent task he plies,

Or weak regret—or memory none ! Behold! the floods apart are flung,

4. And where the circling eddies rise, Greece Greece alas ! is all entombed A Mermaid's form hath upward sprung!

And all that fired, and blessed, and bloomed, 2.

Survive but in her ashes now! And soft her tones and sweet her song :

And only strangers sorrow there 6. O, Fisher ! why ny train decoy ?

O'er ills—the deadliest-lands must bear 66 With craft of man--still wise in wrong

Where tyrants reign and bondsmen bow! “ Why seek to change to death their joy? Yes! on these plains of yore so blest,

“O! wist thou here what tasks employ Where sleep in death's unbroken rest “ What bliss the tribes of ocean know,

The hearts with Sparta's king that bled“ No more thy days should care annoy,

Their rankling chains a race of slaves “ But peace be sought these waves below!” Drag o’er a thousand heroes' graves,

Nor ever dream what dust they tread ! 3.

5. “ And seeks not aye the glorious sun,

But, ho!-the tomb's dark thraldom break" And beauteous moon, our watery rest? “ And springs not each, its course to run,

ing, “ Wave-wash'd, in tenfold glory drest ?

At length, Immortal Slumberers, waking,

Arise--arise! whose mighty story “ And charms not Thee in Ocean's breast

Shall live while nature's self endures ! 6. This nether heaven of loveliest blue ? “ Charms not thine own fair form imprest

O come arrayed in all your glory,

And Greece may live and yet be yours ! “ In liquid limning soft and true ?”

And, hark! the slave hath burst his chain, 4.

And Triumph's raptures shares again! The sea-wave falls--the sea-wave flows

New-born, he feels a Spartan's soul sublime, At length around his feet is flung;

And thrusts the Tartar from his sacred clime! He starts the flame within him glows,

6. That erst on love's embraces hung !

But ah! in vain the voice of grief And sweeter yet the sea-maid sung,

Is raised where all is desolate !. And sought, half-met, the charmed shore ;

No answering sound affords relief Her arms around her victim flung

To hearts that wail the wrongs of fate ; And ne'er was seen that Fisher more!

Death broods o'er these abandoned plains, J. F.

And horror's frozen silence reigns !

Alas! the dream that soothed his soul
GREECE.

Too fleetly fled the minstrel mourns ;-
From the French of Ardans.

Alas! when past th' infernal gaol (Almanach des Muses, pour 1815.)

No demigod to earth returns !

And hark! while here my voice of woe 1.

Is raised around their dwellings low LED by the light of bards of yore

Repeating many a hero's name The minstrel secks Illissus' shore :

With Sparta's linked_or Athen's fame,Like them inspired with holy rage

A turbaned Turk with sacrilegious blow That Greece, erewhile so great and sage, Lays the last column of Minerva low ! Greece, lovely still his footsteps tread;

J. F.