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1817.]

Letter from James IV. &c.-Act respecting John Faw, &c. 167

ANTIQUARIAN REPERTORY.

LETTER FROM JAMES IV. TO THE

KING OF DENMARK,

to the provestis and ballies of Edinburgh, Sanct Johnstoun, Dundee, Mon

In favour of Anthony Gawino, Earl of ross, Aberdene, Sactandrois, Elgin,

Little Egypt, &c. 1506. (Referred to at page 161.) ILLUSTRISSIME, &c. Anthonius Gawino, ex Parva Egypto comes, et cætera ejus comitatus, gens afflicta et miseranda, dum Christianam orbem peregrinationes studio, Apostolicæ Sedis (ut refert) jussu, suorum more peregrinans, fines nostri regni dudum advenerat, atque in sortis suæ, et miseriarum hujus populi, refugium, nos pro humanitate imploraverat ut nostros limites sibi impune adire, res cunctas, et quam habet societatem libere circumagere liceret. Impetrat facile quæ postulat miserorum hominum dura fortuna. Ita aliquot menses bene et catholice, (sic accepimus,) hic versatus, ad te, Rex et Avuncule, in Daciam transitum paret. Sed oceanum transmissurus nostras literas exoravit, quibus celsitudinem tuam horum certiorum redderemus, simul et calamitatem ejus gentis Regiæ tuæ munificentiæ commendaremus. Ceterum errabundæ Egypti fata, moresque, et genus, eo tibi quam nobis credimus notiora, quo Egyptus tuo regno vicinior, et major hujusmodi hominum frequentia tuo diversatur imperio. Il lustrissime, &c.

MS. Reg. 13. B. II.)

ACT OF THE LORDS OF COUNCIL,

Respecting John Faw, &c. Jun. 6,1541.

(Referred to at page 161.)

THE quhilk day anentis the complaintis gevin in be Jhone Faw and his brether, and Sebastiane Lowlaw, Egiptianis, to the Kingis Grace, ilkane pleinzeand vpoun vther of diverse faltis and Iniuris; And that It is aggreit amang thame to passe hame, and to haue the samyn decydit before the Duke of Egipt. The Lordis of Counsale being avisit with the pointis of the saidis complaintis, and vnderstanding perfitlie the gret thiftis and scathis done be the saidis Egiptianis vpoun our soverane Lordis lieges, quhairuer thae cum or resortis; Ordanis letters to be direct

Forress, and Inuerness; And to the Schirefis of Edinburgh, Fif, Perth, Forfair, Kincardin, Aberdene, Elgyn and Foress, Banff, Crummarty, Inuerness, And all vtheris schirefis, stewartis, provestis, and ballies, quhair it happinnis the saidis Egiptianis to resort; To command and charge thame, be oppin proclamatioun at the mercat croces of the heid burgh of the schirefdomes, to depart furth of this realme, with their wifis, barnis, and companies, within xxx dayis efter thai be chargit therto, vnder the pane of deid; Notwithstanding ony vtheris letters, or privelegis, granted to thame be the Kingis Grace; Becaus his Grace, with avise of the lordis, hes dischargit the samyn for the causis forsaidis; with certificatioun and thai be fundin in this realme, the saidis xxx dayis being past, thai salbe tane and put to deid. (MS. Act. Dom. Con. vol. 15. fol. 155.)

CONFESSIONS OF WITCHCRAFT.

[The following extracts form part of a series of depositions made before the Kirk Session of Perth, 1623, and are copied from the original MS. signed, as below, by the clerks of Session and Presbytery. They are chiefly interesting on account of the allusions they contain to several curious popular charms and superstitions. We have now before us a number of other original papers relating to the history of witchcraft, from which, perhaps, we may hereafter give some extracts of a more strange and striking description, if we find that these can be separated from the profane and revolting details --of which they contain more than enough to shock even such readers as have the most voracious appetite for the horrible.]

Depositiounes of Isso Haldane suspect of Wychcraft, confessit be her the 10 of Maij 1623, as follows

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Item-Being askit if scho hed onye conversatione with the Farye FolkAnswerit, that ten yeiris syne, lying in her bed, scho wes taikin furth, quhidder be God or the Deuill scho knawis not; wes caryit to ane hill side; the hill opynit, and scho en

terit in; thair scho stayit thrie dayis, viz. fra thurisday till sonday at xij houris. Scho mett a man with ane grey beird, quha brocht her furth agane.

Item-That same day John Roch deponit that about that same tyme he beand in James Chrystie the wrichtis buith, caussing the wricht mak ane cradill to him, becaus his wyff wes neir the down lying, the said Issobell Haldane com by, desyreit him not to be sae hastie, for he neidit not; his wyff sould nocht be lichter till that tyme fyve-oulkis, and then the bairne suld neuer ly in the craidill, bot be borne, bapteisit, and neuer sook, bot die and be tayne away: And as the said Issobell spak sa it cam to pass in euerie poynt. The said Issobell being demandit how scho knew that, answerit that the man with the grey beird tauld her.

Item-The said Johne Roch deponit that Mart Buchannane, spous to Dauid Reid, being in helth at her ordinare wark, the said Isso!! Haldane come to hir and desyreit hir mak hir for deith, for befoir Fastingis evin, qk wes within few dayis, scho suld be taikin away: And as scho said, so it wes befoir that terme the woman died. -Being askit how scho knew the terme of hir lyfe, the said Iso!! answerit scho hed speirit it at yt. same man with the grey beird, and he hed

tauld her.

(May 16.)-Patrick Ruthuen, skynner in Perth, compeirit and declairit, that he being wychit be Margaret Hormscleuch, Issobell Haldane com to see him scho com in to the bed and streichit hir self abone him, hir heid to his heid, hir handis ower him, and so furth, mumbling some wordis, he knew nocht quhat they war. -The said Issobell confessit the said cure, and deponit, that before the said Patrick wes wychit scho met him, and foirbad him to go till scho had gone with him.

(May 19.)-Compearit Stephen Ray in Muretoun, and deponit that thrie yeiris syne that Isso!! Haldane hauing stollin sum bere furth of the Hall of Balhouffye he followit hir and brocht hir bak agane: Scho chaipit him on the schulder, saying-Go thy way, thow

for yeir and day: And as scho threttinit sa it cam to pas; he dwynit hauelie diseiseit.-The said Issobell confessis the away taking of the bere, the diseise of the man; and affirmeis that onlye scho said-He that delyuerit me from the farye folk sall tak amendis on thé.

Item-The same day scho confest scho maid thrie seuerall kaikis, euerie ane of them of ix curneis of meill gotten fra ix wemen that wer maryit madynis; maid ane hoill in the crown of euerie ane of theme, and pat ane bairne throw it thrie tymes in the name of

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to wemen that pat the saidis bairneis thryse throw backwand wseing the saidis wordis.

Item-The said Issobell confest that scho went silent to the well of Ruthuen and returneit silent, bringing watter from thence to wasch John Gowis bairne: quhen scho tuik the watter frome the well scho left ane pairt of the bairneis sark at it, qk scho tuik with hir for that effect, and quhen scho cam ham scho wousch the bairne thairwith. Inlyk maner scho confest scho hed done the elyk to Johne Powryis bairne.

(May 27.)-The said Isso!! confessit that scho hed gewin drinkis to cure bairneis; amangis the rest that Dauid Moreis' wyff com to hir, and thryse for Goddis saik askit help to hir bairne thet wes ane scharge; and scho send furth hir sone to gather sochsterrie leaveis, quhairof scho directit the bairneis mother to mak ane drink: Bot the bairneis mother deponit that the said Isso". Haldane, on being requirit cam to hir house, and saw the bairne, said it wes an scharge taikin away, Tuik on hand to cure it, and to that effect gaiff the bairne a drink, efter the ressait qr of the bairne shortlie died.

WILLIAME YOUNG, Scribe to the Presbytrie of Pearth, at command of the samyn, wt my hand. JAMES DAUIDSONE, Notarie public, and Clerk to the Sessioune of Perth, at their command and directioun, with my hand.

Scil. in nomine Dei Patris et Filii

sall not win thy self ane bannok of breid et Spiritus Sancti.

6

ORIGINAL POETRY.

.

A LAST ADIEU.

ADIEU, my loved parent, the trial is o'er, The veil o'er thy couch of forgetfulness spread;

Thy kind heart shall grieve for my follies

no more,

Nor the suppliant tear for thy wanderer be shed.

Long over thy head has the tempest blown fell,

But riches, unknown, were unvalued by thee; In the wild wast thou born, in the wild didst thou dwell,

The pupil of Nature, benevolent and free: And never, in all her uncultured domain, Was nourished a spirit more genial and kind; Chill poverty could not thy ardour restrain, Nor cloud thy gay smile, or the glow of thy mind.

When winter-wreaths lay round our cottage so small,

When fancy was ardent, and feeling was strong,

O how I would long for the gloaming to fall, To sit by thy knee and attend to thy song! The song of the field where the warrior bled; The garland of blossom dishonoured too soon; mar

The elves of the green-wood, the ghosts of the dead,

And fairies that journeyed by light of the

moon.

I loved thee, my parent-my highest desire Was 'neath independence to shield thy gray head;

But fortune denied it-extinguished the fire

And, now thou art gone, my ambition is fled. I loved thee !—and now thou art laid in thy grave,

Thy memory I'll cherish, while memory is mine;

And the boon that my tongue aye from Heaven shall crave,

Shall be the last blessing that hung upon thine.

Though over thy ashes no tombstone is seen, The place shall be hallowed when ages are past;

No monument tells, 'mid the wilderness green,

Where the minstreless lies of the Border the last.

But over that grave will the lover of song, And the lover of goodness, stand silent and sigh;

And the fays of the wild will thy requiem prolong,

And shed on thy coverlet dews of the sky: VOL. I.

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THE PAST.

How wild and dim this Life appears!
One long, deep, heavy sigh!
When o'er our eyes, half-clos'd in tears,
The images of former years
Are faintly glimmering by!
And still forgotten while they go,
As on the sea-beach wave on wave

Dissolves at once in snow.
Upon the blue and silent sky
The amber clouds one moment lie,
And like a dream are gone!
Though beautiful the moon-beams play
On the lake's bosom, bright as they,
And the soul intensely loves their stay,
Soon as the radiance melts away
We scarce believe it shone !
Heaven-airs amid the harp-strings dwell,
And we wish they ne'er may fade-
They cease! and the soul is a silent cell,
Where music never played.
Dream follows dream through the long
night-hours,

Each lovelier than the last
But ere the breath of morning-flowers,
That gorgeous world flies past.
And many a sweet angelic cheek,
Whose smiles of love and kindness speak,
Glides by us on this earth-
While in a day we cannot tell
Where shone the face we loved so well
In sadness or in mirth.

THE MOSSY SEAT.

THE landscape hath not lost its look ;
Still rushes on the sparkling river;
Nor hath the gloominess forsook
These granite crags that frown for ever,
Still hangs around the shadowy wood,
Whose sounds but murmur solitude:
The raven's plaint, the linnet's song,
The stock-dove's coo, in grief repining,
In mingled echoes steal along :
The setting sun is brightly shining;
And clouds above, and hills below,
Are brightening with his golden glow.

N.

It is not meet-it is not fitThough Fortune all our hopes hath thwarted, While on the very stone I sit Where first we met, and last we parted,

Y

That absent from my mind should be
The thought that loves and looks to thee!
Each happy hour that we have proved,
While love's delicious converse blended,
As 'neath the twilight star we roved,
Unconscious where our progress tended-
Still brings my mind a soft relief,
And bids it love the joys of grief!

What soothing recollections throng,
Presenting many a mournful token,
That heart's remembrance to prolong,
Which then was blest, and now is broken!
I cannot-Oh! hast thou forgot
Our early loves-this hallowed spot!
I almost think I see thee stand;

I almost dream I hear thee speaking;.
I feel the pressure of thy hand;
Thy living glance in fondness seeking-
Here all apart by all unseen-
Thy form upon my arm to lean!

Tho' beauty bless the landscape still,
Tho' woods surround, and waters lave it,
My heart feels not the vivid thrill,
Which long ago thy presence gave it ;
Mirth, music, friendship, have no tone
Like that, which with thy voice hath flown!
And Memory only now remains,
To whisper things that once delighted:
Still-still I love to tread these plains,
To seek this sacred haunt benighted,
And feel a something, sadly sweet,
In resting on this mossy seat.

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A NIGHT SCENE.

Now flaming no more on the soft-heaving

main,

The sun's parting splendour is shed; Night's dark-rolling shades have enveloped the plain,

And the twilight's faint visions have fled. No longer in Day's gaudy colouring glows The landscape, in Nature's diversity gay: The loud-lowing herds are now lulled to repose,

And hushed are the sounds from the hamlet that rose,

And the music that flowed from the spray. How solemn the Hour! In their splendid

career

The planets revolving are seen; And the proud towering hills 'neath their glimmering appear

As the shadows of things that have been. Dread Silence, her empire o'er Nature to prove,

Forbids that a whisper be heard in the vale, Save the breeze breathing soft through the far-stretching grove,

And the light curling waves in sweet cadence that move

Where the lake's gently kissed by the gale. From behind yon dark hill, in deep sable arrayed,

The moon soars majestic and slow; And her mild-beaming rays sweetly pierce thro' the shade

Of the thicket that waves on its browAnd now her full orb o'er the mountain impending,

Sublime in bright glory she glows in the sky; A stream of soft light o'er the vallies descending;

On the lake's silver breast trees and cottages blending

With the splendours effulgent on high. Great Ruler of all! while transported I view This fabric so glorious and fair,

Oh! teach me, with rapture and reverence due,

To trace benign DEITY there

Serene as yon orbs in thy radiance shine, And light, life, and joy to creation impart, So fair from my soul beam thine image divine,

And fervent, diffusive, unchanging like thine,

May benevolence glow in my heart. S.

LINES

Written in Spring-1812. REDEEMED from Winter'sdeadening reign, The joyful year revives again; And flings, with rule-rejecting mirth, Her gladdening glories o'er the earth. Through her full veins the transports run, And hark! the woodland hymn's begunFrom the close-foliaged grove the thrill Comes softened up the breezy hill, With ceaseless bleat, and frequent low, And mountain-rivulets' dashing flow, And all the stir and din below.

C

The blent, but soon selected, call
Of man, who loves and blesses all,
With kingly accent, sweet though high,
Completes the full-toned harmony.

Its thorns are in my breast-yet still I love this Earth with all its ill! Though lone and heartless in the strife, I dread the long fatigue of lifeAnd none to whom 'twere sweet to say, "These heavens how bright! this earth how gay!"

With meeting soul and kindred mood
Endear the charms of solitude-
Though every hour has on its wing
A sadder tear, a sharper sting-
And balm and blessing were in vain-
This friendless heart was formed for pain.

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But where are they-the Men of yore-
Whose deeds of fame that may not die,
Bade rise upon their native shore

The home of holy Liberty?—
O! rouse Ye at my voice of pain!

O rise and look on Græcia now!
Reft of the gifts Ye gave-in vain,

The servile neck behold her bow, And hug, with trembling hand, the chain The Tartar binds around her brow! 3.

Oh! bowed to earth-and crushed-and lone.

Greece to my pensive eye appears

A widow desolate, with quenchless tears Weeping her gods and all her heroes gone! Alas! o'er all this lovely clime

In heart and soul by slavery wrung,
The dastard sons of sires sublime
Scarce know the land whereon they
sprung;

And feel of all its glories gone,
Or weak regret or memory none !

4.

Greece Greece-alas! is all entombed-
And all that fired, and blessed, and bloomed,
Survive but in her ashes now!
And only strangers sorrow there
O'er ills the deadliest-lands must bear

Where tyrants reign and bondsmen bow! Yes! on these plains of yore so blest,Where sleep in death's unbroken rest

The hearts with Sparta's king that bled,Their rankling chains a race of slaves Drag o'er a thousand heroes' graves,

Nor ever dream what dust they tread!

5.

But, ho!-the tomb's dark thraldom breaking,

At length, Immortal Slumberers, waking, Arise arise! whose mighty story

Shall live while nature's self endures!.

O come arrayed in all your glory,

And Greece may live and yet be yours!
And, hark! the slave hath burst his chain,
And Triumph's raptures shares again!
New-born, he feels a Spartan's soul sublime,
And thrusts the Tartar from his sacred clime!
6.

But ah! in vain the voice of grief
Is raised where all is desolate !
No answering sound affords relief

To hearts that wail the wrongs of fate;
Death broods o'er these abandoned plains,
And horror's frozen silence reigns!
Alas! the dream that soothed his soul
Too fleetly fled the minstrel mourns ;—
Alas! when past th' infernal gaol

No demigod to earth returns!
And hark! while here my voice of woe
Is raised around their dwellings low-
Repeating many a hero's name

With Sparta's linked-or Athen's fame,-
A turbaned Turk with sacrilegious blow
Lays the last column of Minerva low !

J. F.

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