The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1897-08-25
RUFUS SANDERS.
THE WITCH OF BEN-Y-GLoE.


quentcd the Forest of AthoIe.
The most formidable, perhaps, of the
uuearthly beings who people the deer
forests, at all events III the central dis.
tricts of Scotland, was the witch Ben.
y-Gloe, which is the highest peak in
| the forest of Athole This amiabla en-.
| ehantress, whose diet consisted prin-
cipally of live snakes, delighted in
every kind of evil-doing, but in none
more than assisting mortals to crafty
the passion of revenge. Upon one oc-
casion her aid was invoked by he earl
of Athole's cup-bearer whose ,ou, a
robber, had been executed by the earl
The witch promised to aid his schemes
of vengeance in three ways. She pre-
scented him with certain herbs, which.
if given to his masters horse, should
so madden the animal that it would
dash out its riders brains. She fur.
ther gave him a deadly poison to put
in the earl's cup; and, lastly, she I'M
dertook, failing these devices, to con-
ceal the cup-bearer in the earl's bed
room, so that he might stab him in his
sleep. She clinched the matter by
yowing the most horrid vengeance
upon anyone who, having heard the
secret, should venture to disclose it
before st, Andrews day.
The earfs page had happened to
overhear what was passing, and was
much puzzled how to save his master
on the one hand, and how to elude the |
witch's resentment on the other if he |
dared to diyulge the plot. King James
Y. and his court, it should be said, were |
paying a visit at the time to the earl,
who entertained them with what Cant.
Costgan called "princelee hospitalite,"
and indeed had built palace special,
~ for their reception. When on the
following day the cup-bearer, as usual,
protfered the earl his morning."
Hold" exclaimed Willie, the page,
and pray to the saints that th/t
blessing may attend the days sport"
The earl accordingly fell on his knees,
when, to his great establishment. the
goblet instantly broke into thousand
pieces. But, the king, being mounted,
here was no time for commentary or
lelay, The earl's fiery steed is brought
ound; he makes ready to mount, but
carcely has he set foot in stirrup when
he twang of a bowstring is heard, 4
nd the horse falls dead, pierced to the
cart by the pages arrow The nat /
raj annoyance of the naughty noble
t such an occurrence is not sensibly
Unfinished by Wilie's somewhat lame
Reuse that he has been shooting at
n eagle and missed his mark. and il
light have gone hard with the boy
ut for the timely Intervention of the
ueen-mother.
The cup-bearer was now left, so to I
peak, with but one string to his bow. I
hat night at the banquet the king $
as summoned to the south to meet |
lie English foe, and set out forthwith, a
dding his host follow in the morning a
it'll his tail" The earl was on the
oint of retiring to his room, where
le cup-bearer and his friend the !,
itch, were carefully concealed, when !,
lie page, at his wits end how to avert
e dreaded catastrophe, made the bril- g
ant, though somewhat extravagant =
that the palace should be =
I on fire by way of providing the king =
it'll bonfire or beacon to guide his
cps through the darkness. The earl. Il
&c loyal yassal, jumped at the idea, P
hich was promptly put into execu- II
IN. The cup-bearer persisted miser- II
'ly in the flames; the witch escaped,
tcring loud excavations, in a column
smoke; and the page, when st. An a,
ew's day had come and gone, told =,
and was suitably reward &C.
with an estate and a bride. The last y,
ar in which the witch of Ben-y-Gloe .,
known to have held converse with ~
n was 1913, the very same in which :.
. Samuel johnson safely accom- -
shed his celebrated tour to the Heb,
journal. ~