The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1866-02-14
A Scotch witch Case.

A Scotch Witch Case.
Margaret was young. beautiful. high. spiri-
ted woman, wife of Archibald DeiD, burgess
Of Irvine, and not on the best of terms with
| John Dein, her husbands brother. Indeed,
she had had him and his wife before the Kirk
session for SANDER, and things had not gone
smoothly ever since. as., :.
When, therefore, the ship the Grace Of CO.,
in which John Dcn was sailing, sank in sight
OF land, drowning him and all his men, the
old quarrel was remembered, and Margaret
together with Isobel Inch,s and John Stewart.
a wandering "spaeman," was accused of hav
! Ing sunk the vessel by charms and enchaht.
ments.
Margaret disdaiufuly denied the charge from
beginning to end; lsobel said she had never
seen the spaeman in her lite before; but Stew
art ''clear'y and pounktallie confessed it" all
the charges brought against him, and also said
that the women had applied to him to DO
taught his magic arts, and that once he had
found them both modelling ships and figures in
clay for. the destruction Of the men and vessel
aforesaid ar...as.
And as it was proved that Stewart had spo.
ken of the wreck before he could have known
it ny ordinary means, suspicious of sorcery fell
upon him, and he was taken, and made his cor
fession. 1855.
lie said that he had visited Marga ret to help
fire from his nostrils had formed part Of the
conclavc, and Isobel's own child, little girl
Of eight, added to this a black man as we'll
lsobel Inch,# after denying all and sundry
OF the charges brought against her, under tor.
ture admitted their truth In the night time
she found means t. escape from her prison,
bruised and MANNED with the torture as she
was; but in scrambling over the roof she fellr
and was 80 much injured that she died fve
days afterwards.
Margaret was then tortured. The spaemaYi'
had stranged himself. which was the best
thing he could do, only it was a pity he did nos'
DO 1t before: and poor Margaret was the last Of
the trio.
The torture they used. said the Lords Con.
missioners. was "safe and gentle" They pu.
her bare legs into pair of stocks, and laid ON
them iron bars, augmenting their weight on.,
by one. till Margaret, unable to bear the PAIN.
yielded, and then confessed whatever they
chose to ask her; but, unfortunately. in her
rawlings, included one Isobel Crawford. who
admitted everything with which she was charg
ed.
Margaret's trial proceeded Sullen and dcs.
pairing, she assented to the most mons rous
counts. She knew there was no hope, and she
seemed to take bitter pride in suffering her
tormentors to befool themselves to the ut.
most.
In the midst other anguish her husband, Az
exander Dein. entered the court, accompanied
by lawyer. And then her despair passed.
and she thought she cav a glimmsr of life and,
salvation. She asked to be defended
"All that have confessed" she said, "waa
in an agony OF torture; and before God all that
have spoken is false and untrue. But, "Sho
added pathetically, turnir e to her husband.
"ye have been owre lang in coming!"
Her defence did her no good; she was con.
demned, and at the stake cntreated that no
harm might befail Isobel Crawford, who was
utterly and entirely innocent To whom dill
she make this prayer? TO hearts turned wild,
and wo'hsh by superstition; to hearts made
hendish by fear; to men with nothing of hu.a
manity save its form-with nothing OF religion
save its terrors.
She might as well have prayed to the ficrco
winds blowing round the courthouse, or the
rough waves lashing the barren shore! Sho was,
taken to the stake, there stranged and burnt
bearing herself bravely to the last.
foor, brave, beautiful. young Margaret!-
We, at this long lapse of time, cannot even
read o: her fate without tears. 1t needed all
the savageness of superstition to harden tho
hearts OF the living against the actual presence
OF her beauty, her courage, and her despair.
lsobel Crawford was now tried "After the,
assistant minister, Mr. David Dickson, had
made earnest prayer to God Tor opening her
oodurate aud closed heart, she was subjected
10 the torture OF the iron bars laid upon her,
bare shins, her feet being in the stocks, as in
the case of Margaret Barclay"
She endured this torture 'admirably," with.
out any kind of din or exclamation, suffering
about thirty stone of iron to be laid on kss
legs, never shrinking thereat in any sort. but
remaining steady and constant.
But when they shifted the iron bars, and
removed them to another part Of her legs. her.
constancy gave may, as Margarets had done..
and she too broke out into horrible cries Of
''Tak aft tax aft :"
She then confessed nything-everything-
and was sentenced. But on the way to her
execution she denied all that she had admitted,
interrupted the minister in his prayer, and re.
FUSED to pardon the executioner, according to
form. Her brain had given way. and they far
tened to the stake bewildcred, rayipg ma
hIac God rest their weary souls