Louis XI. and the Astrologer--A King's Enchanted
Cap--David I. and the Mysterious Stag--Merlin the
Magician--Prophecies concerning Queen Elizabeth and
Mary--Merlin's Mother--His mysterious Birth--Dragon
Caverns--Predictions of Evil--Strange Sights and
Sounds in the Air--Changing a King's Love--The Holy
Maid of Kent--Nobles put to Death for keeping company
with Sorcerers--James I. of England and the
Witches--His Queen in Danger--Marriage of the King and
Queen--Tranent Witches and Warlocks--Wise Wife of
Keith--Engagements to serve the Devil--Satan's Respect
of Persons--Two Hundred Witches sailing in
Sieves--Mischief at Sea--Raising Storms at Sea--Witch
and Warlock Convention at Newhaven--Meeting of Witches
at North Berwick--Dead Men's Joints used for Magical
Purposes--Witches tortured in Holyrood--The Devil's
Mark--Strange Confessions--Bothwell's Fortune
told--Witches and their Associates burned.
An astrologer told Louis XI. that a lady to whom he was fondly
attached would die in a few days, and the prediction was fulfilled.
The king caused the astrologer to be brought before him in an upper
chamber, and commanded the royal servants to throw the prophet out of
the window on a certain signal being given. As soon as the astrologer
was dragged before the king, the latter said, "You who pretend to be a
foreteller of events, and know so exactly the fate of others, tell me
instantly when and in what way your end will come." "Sire," replied
the astrologer, knowing he had much to fear, but without displaying
alarm, "I shall die just three days before your Majesty." On hearing
this the king's countenance changed from rage to concern, if not
alarm; and instead of giving the signal of death, he dismissed the
astrologer in peace, heaped honours on him, and took special care to
prolong his life.
King Erricus of Sweden publicly confessed that he was a magician. He
had an enchanted cap, which he pretended enabled him to control
spirits, and to turn the wind into any direction he pleased. So firmly
did his subjects believe in his supernatural powers, that when a storm
arose they would exclaim, "Ah! the king has got on his magic cap."
David I. founded the abbey of Holyrood. By tradition we are informed
that, in the year 1128, he, while out hunting in the royal forest near
Edwinsburg, was miraculously delivered from a stag at bay by the
interposition of an arm, wreathed in smoke, brandishing a cross of the
most dazzling brilliancy. At the sight of it the stag fled. The cross
remained as a celestial relic in the royal hand. In consideration of
this deliverance, strengthened by a vision, the foundations of
Holyrood were laid. The same tradition further tells us that the
miraculous cross was enshrined in silver, and placed on the high
altar, where it remained until the fatal battle of Durham, when David
II. was captured with his cross and crown.
Merlin was a noted magician and astrologer, who prophesied many things
that came to pass in England hundreds of years after his death.
Prophesying of the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and Mary, he says:
"Then shall the masculine sceptre cease to sway,
And to a spinster the whole land obey;
Who to the Papal monarchy shall restore
All that the Ph[oe]nix had fetched thrice before.
Then shall come in the faggot and the stake,
And they of convert bodies bonfires make;
Match shall this lioness with Caesar's son,
From the Pontific sea a pool shall run,
That wide shall spread its waters, and to a flood
In time shall grow, made red with martyrs' blood.
Men shall her short unprosp'rous reign deplore,
By loss at sea, and damage to the shore;
Whose heart being dissected, you in it
May in large characters find Calice writ."
Those acquainted with the history of Queen Mary's time, can have no
difficulty in discovering the circumstances to which the several
prophetic sayings refer; nor can they fail to be satisfied that the
following lines apply to Queen Elizabeth, and the state of England at
the time she swayed the sceptre:
"From th' other ashes shall a Ph[oe]nix rise,
Whose birth is thus predicted by the wise;
Her chief predominant star is Mercury,
Jove shall with Venus in conjunction be.
And Sol, with them, shine in his best aspect;
With Ariadne's crown, Astrea deckt,
Shall then descend upon this terrene stage:
(Not seen before since the first golden age).
Against whom all the Latian bulls shall roar,
But at Jove's awful summons shall give o'er.
Through many forges shall this metal glide,
Like gold by fire re-pured, and seven times try'd,
Her bright and glorious sunbeams shall expel
The vain clouds of the candle, book, and bell.
Domestic plots, and stratagems abroad,
French machines, and the Italianated god,
The Spanish engine, Portuguized Jew,
The Jesuitic mine, and politic crew
Of home-bred vipers: let their menaces come
By private pistol, or by hostile drum;
Though all these dogs chase her with open cry,
Live shall she, lov'd and fear'd, then sainted die."
Merlin's early history was as strange as his prophecies were singular.
For reasons best known to herself, his mother refused to reveal his
father's name. She was daughter of King Demetrius, who reigned about
two hundred years after Christianity was introduced into England. King
Vortigern was obliged to fly into Wales from the fury of Hengist, and,
fearing that he would be pursued thither, commenced building a
stronghold on the Welsh soil. Though the ground appeared to be firm,
it turned out that every stone laid sank suddenly into the ground.
With the intention of discovering the cause of this mystery, the king
sent for his wizards and bards. After consultation, the wise men
informed him that his castle could never be built until the stones
were cemented with the blood of a male child begotten without a
father. The king, believing what he was told, sent his servants to
search for such a child. On their way the messengers arrived at
Marlborough, where they observed two boys fighting. One of these was
young Merlin, whom they heard taunted by his youthful antagonist of
being an imp that never had a father. This was enough: Merlin and his
mother were seized and carried before the king.
In answer to the king's inquiries, the mother, not knowing the danger
to which she was exposing little Merlin, told him that her boy never
had a father. Her tale was believed; but Vortigern had compassion on
the youth, who was fair and comely, and not only spared his life, but
took him into his house. When Merlin learned all the particulars
regarding the mysterious disappearance of the foundation stones, and
the charm proposed by the wizards and bards, he told the king that his
wise men were alike destitute of learning and natural penetration.
"Know," said he, "that under the ground where your Majesty intends to
build your castle is a deep lake, which has swallowed up all your
building materials, and that under the water there are two stone
caverns which contain two dragons. Dig deep into the earth, and you
will discover that what I have said is true," concluded Merlin. The
king commanded that a search, such as the youth had recommended,
should be commenced under his (Merlin's) directions. Means were taken
to drain the lake, which was discovered without difficulty, and, true
enough, two horrible dragons were found. On the caverns being opened,
the monsters, one red and the other white, rushed at each other. A
terrible conflict took place between them, ending in the red dragon's
death.
Merlin, in reply to the king's inquiries as to what all this
portended, informed his Majesty that evil days were drawing near--that
the time was not far distant when the Britons would be compelled to
fly before the Saxons, and seek refuge among the caves and mountains
of the earth, and that many of them would perish, for the red dragon
signified the Britons, and the white monster the Saxons. But he
assured the king that the Saxons would not always triumph, as a boar
would come from the forest and devour the white dragon. Merlin
predicted for Vortigern disappointments, defeats, and at last a
miserable death, all of which came to pass.
It is reported of Merlin, that after King Vortigern was driven from
power, he sought to amuse him in his solitude by bringing strange
sights before his eyes, and causing pleasant sounds to salute his
ears. The king supposed he heard melodious music in the air, and
imagined that shepherds and shepherdesses, in rustic costume, danced
before him. At times eagles and falcons were seen pursuing their prey;
and whatever bird the king wished for his dinner, fell down dead, as
if shot by a fowler. Hares and hounds were also made to appear in the
clouds, for the king's amusement. On his castle-tower he could stand
and watch a stag hunt with all the vividness of an ordinary chase.
Merlin professed to have the power of transforming a man into a beast,
and of making a man or woman look like a wild animal.
In the year 1474 the Duchess of Bedford was charged with having, by
the aid of an image of lead made like a maid, turned the love of King
Edward IV. from Dame Elianor Butteler, daughter of the Earl of
Shrewsbury, to whom he was affianced, and transferred the royal
affections to her own daughter.
The Holy Maid of Kent, a nun of great sanctity, having, according to
common belief in the time of Henry VIII., the gift of prophecy, and
the power of working miracles, pronounced the doom of speedy death
against that monarch for his marriage with Anne Boleyn. She was
attainted in Parliament, and, along with several accomplices,
executed. So extraordinary were her miracles, and her predictions so
striking, that even Sir Thomas More believed in her.
In the year 1521 the Duke of Buckingham was put to death in
consequence of certain actions he was guilty of in conjunction with a
magician; and in 1541 Lord Hungerford was beheaded for inquiring at
fortune-tellers how long Henry VIII. would be king. In 1562 the Earl
and Countess of Lennox were found guilty of treason, and of holding
intercourse with sorcerers.
The story of King James VI. of Scotland and I. of England, and the
witches who attempted to drown him and his queen at sea, enables us to
judge of the credulity of the age in which this Solomon lived. The
king having resolved to marry, sought the hand of Princess Anne of
Denmark. In the month of July 1589 the Earl Marischal was despatched
to Copenhagen with a suitable retinue to conclude the match. He found
the Court of Denmark ready to listen to his proposals, and the lady so
willing to comply, that little time was lost in arranging the match.
Hasty preparations were made, and the marriage was solemnised by
proxy. A fleet of twelve sail was fitted out to convey the young queen
to Scotland. Through unforeseen circumstances, the queen's departure
was long after the time originally intended. At last the fleet sailed;
and it encountered such a fearful storm, that the ships were driven
back to the coast of Norway. Owing to the lateness of the season, and
the disabled state of the vessels, it was resolved that the queen
should not again expose herself to the dangers of an angry sea that
season.
When news reached the king of his queen's unfortunate misadventure, he
resolved to proceed on a voyage of discovery in search of her. On the
22nd of October he embarked at Leith, taking with him his chancellor,
chaplain, and a few courtiers. After a stormy passage of five days the
king landed at Upsal, where the queen was waiting. On the 23rd of
November the king and princess were married in a more solemn manner
than they had been some time previously by proxy, and they went to
Copenhagen to spend the winter. In Denmark the king spoke learnedly to
the great men of the state, whom he convinced of his superior
knowledge: he disputed on predestination and other favourite topics.
After six months delay, he departed for his kingdom, and on May-day
1590, he, his youthful bride, and splendid train arrived in Leith.
The coronation ceremony, performed with great solemnity, was gone
through on the 17th of May at Holyrood House. After three sermons, the
queen's shoulders and part of her breast were uncovered, and the holy
oil poured thereon, subsequent to which the crown was put on her head.
On the Tuesday following the queen made her public entrance into
Edinburgh, where she was received with extraordinary marks of
rejoicing. At the city gate a municipal orator greeted her Majesty
with an address in Latin, and then from a gilded globe, resting over
the gate, a little fellow, representing an angel, descended and
delivered to the queen the keys of the city.
James was convinced that the storms which kept him and his queen so
long from meeting were the results of diabolical agencies. After his
return to Scotland, suspicion fell on a dangerous gang of witches and
warlocks at Tranent, and the king resolved to inquire into the whole
case, with the laudable design of getting rid of such wicked subjects
should he find them guilty. A man named David Seytoun, who held the
appointment of deputy bailiff of Tranent, had a young female servant
named Geillis Duncan, celebrated among the town's people for her skill
in curing diseases. Seytoun, becoming suspicious that she was in
league with Satan, questioned her closely without receiving
satisfactory answers. Not to be defeated, he first put her to the
torture, which he thought he had a right to do in virtue of his
office, and then searched her person for devil's marks. One of those
sure tokens of witchcraft being found on her throat, she was committed
to prison. There she made a full confession, in which many persons
were implicated. She admitted that the cures effected by her were
brought about by means of witchcraft.
Of those said to have been associated with this woman in her guilty
deeds, the most noted were Dr. John Fian, sometimes called John
Cunningham, and three women, named Agnes Sampsoun, Euphame
Mackalzeane, and Barbara Napier. Fian was a schoolmaster at Tranent, a
small town on the south side of the Firth of Forth, and about nine
miles east of Edinburgh. He admitted that he was an agent of the evil
one. One night, he said, the devil appeared to him, and induced him to
become his servant, under the promise that he would never want if he
served him faithfully and well. The offer being tempting, the
unscrupulous doctor became an instrument of evil. That there might be
no mistake about the bargain, the devil put his mark on Fian's person.
From that time the doctor was a sorcerer: he was often carried away in
the night to visit distant places of the world, and was present at,
and took part in, all the nightly meetings of witches held in the
Lothians. He rose so high in the devil's favour, that he was appointed
registrar and secretary of the conventions. One night Fian was carried
through the air to North Berwick, where he found a number of witches
and sorcerers assembled listening to Satan preaching to them from a
pulpit. He implored them to give up all slavish fears of him; promised
them great rewards so long as they were his servants, and assured
them, that so long as they had hairs on their bodies they would
receive no injury. He exhorted them to do all the evil they could,
and to eat and drink and be merry. One night when Fian was riding home
along a dreary road, in danger of losing his way, Satan came to his
assistance, and put four candles on the horse's ears, which enabled
the traveller and his servant to see as well as if it were day.
The three women mentioned occupied good places in society. Agnes
Sampsoun was known as the wise wife of Keith; she, too, had knowledge
of the healing art. In her confession she said that, after her
husband's death, the devil appeared to her and offered her great
riches if she would abandon all that was good, and serve him, the
lover of evil. At times Satan appeared as a man, but more frequently
like a black dog. On one occasion, when she was attending Lady
Edmestoune, who was unwell, the devil came to her at night in the
shape of a dog, and informed her that the lady would die. He then
inquired where the lady's daughters were, for he wanted to have one of
them. The witch, however, protested against such an outrage as the
carrying away of a dying lady's daughter, and the dog went away
howling into a well in the garden. At a later hour that night, when
the young ladies were walking in the orchard, the evil one, disguised
as before, rushed at them, seized one of them, and attempted to drag
her into the well. Agnes, seeing this, laid hold of the lady, and sent
the dog away howling. On another occasion Agnes and other witches
wanted assistance from Satan at the bridge of Faulstruther, and, to
secure this, they threw a cord into the river while some magical words
were being repeated. Presently the devil seized the end of the cord
that was in the water, and they drew him to land. After an assurance
from them that they had been good servants to him, he gave them a
charm by which they could perform wonderful works.
Euphame Mackalzeane was the daughter of Lord Cliftounhall. It would
appear that when this lady bore her first child, she consulted Agnes
Sampsoun as to how she could best get rid of her pains, which she
dreaded much. Agnes, willing to relieve the amiable lady of every pang
nature was prone to, transferred the pains to a dog. Time passed on,
and another child was about to be brought into the world by Euphame
Mackalzeane. Agnes was again called in, and the pains were conveyed to
a cat.
Barbara Napier was of a respectable family also, but nearly all the
other associates in their guilt were in poverty. Satan, like human
beings on earth, made more of the rich than of the poor; for while he
assigned exalted places to Dr. Fian and the ladies of birth, he
appointed a poor peasant, called Grey Meal, to be doorkeeper at the
witches' meetings.
More than one of the witches said that on Hallow-eve upwards of two
hundred witches went to sea in riddles or sieves, and that,
notwithstanding their perforated vessels, they were quite dry and
comfortable, faring on the best food, and drinking the richest wines.
At another time, Dr. Fian, Agnes Sampsoun, one Robert Griersoun, and
others, left Prestonpans in a boat, proceeded to a ship at sea, went
on board and made merry on good wine, after which they sank the vessel
with all her crew. Dr. Fian stated, on being put to the torture, that
Satan had told him and others, before the event, that he would make a
hole in the queen's ship on the way from Denmark, and force her to
return to her own country. Having intelligence that the queen was at
sea, they held a meeting at Broomhills, where it was resolved they
should go out to the ocean and raise a storm, to endanger her
Majesty's life. They took steps accordingly, and threw a dog into the
water, whereby the wind became boisterous, the sea rose, and the ships
were damaged. Other diabolical means were resorted to, to endanger
the queen's fleet. A meeting of witches was held at Prestonpans, when
the following ceremonies were gone through:--First, one of the witches
held a finger on the one side of the chimney crook, and another witch
put one of her fingers on the other side; then they put a cat three
times through or under the links of the crook; they next tied four
joints of dead men's fingers to the four feet of the cat; and then the
animal was conveyed to Leith pier and thrown into the water. Cats were
also thrown into the sea at other places on the Firth of Forth. By
these means a dreadful storm was raised, which wrecked many
ships--amongst them the ferry-boat sailing between Leith and Kinghorn,
with all on board. The fiendish crew, disappointed at the safety of
the queen, determined to endeavour to drown the king. More cats were
cast into the sea during his Majesty's voyage to Denmark; but all
infernal arts proved ineffectual, as the king had a charmed life.
Prior to their Majesties' return, another convention was held, at
which Satan himself was present. He promised to raise a mist when the
royal ships were coming home, which would cause them to land in
England. According to Dr. Fian, the devil threw something like a
foot-ball into the sea. This caused a dense fog to rise; yet, in spite
of all their plans, James and his queen arrived safe in Leith.
Not long afterwards, more plots were entered into with the view of
doing harm to the king. On Lammas-eve a grand convention was held at
the Fairyhills, Newhaven, at which were present thirty of the
principal witches and sorcerers in the country. The devil, the
presiding genius, expressed a fear that their designs would be
frustrated unless unusual measures were resorted to. He promised to
give them an image of wax; and directed them to hang up and roast a
toad, and then to lay the drippings of the toad mixed with wine, an
adder's skin, and a certain part of the forehead of a newly-foaled
foal, in the way where the king was to pass, or to hang the
preparation in a position where it might drop on his body. These plans
again miscarried; for the king escaped the dangers of them all.
At Hallow-eve of the year 1590 there was a meeting of witches and
sorcerers, including those already named, in the church of North
Berwick. According to all accounts, three hundred women and a few men
were present. They danced across the churchyard; and when they reached
the church door the women first paid their homage, turning six times
round widderschinnes, and, following them, the men performed the same
ceremony nine times. The devil, it was seriously asserted, took his
place in the pulpit, around which old-like men, holding black candles
in their hands, stood. Satan appeared as a black man, with a beard
like that of a goat and a nose resembling a hawk's beak, and having on
a black gown, and a black skull-cap on his head, and he read from a
black book the names of those summoned to the meeting. The names,
however, were not the real or proper names of the persons, but
nicknames, by which they were known in the gang. The devil exhorted
his hearers to pursue a course of evil, and assured them that the more
mischief they did to mankind, the better he would be pleased with
them. After their master's address, loud revelling was indulged in.
Graves were opened, and the joints of two dead men taken out for
magical purposes.
When information reached the king's ears of the doings of this wicked
crew, he resolved to inquire into the case himself. Dr. Fian and a
good many witches were tortured in Holyrood House, in presence of
James, who took great delight in listening to their forced false
confessions. Agnes Sampsoun was stripped naked, that the devil's mark
might be discovered; but as it could not at first be seen, her body
was shaved, that what was looked for might not pass unnoticed. Of
course it was found, and the unfortunate woman confessed her guilt.
She said that Bothwell had consulted her as to the length of time the
king was to live. She had a spirit that regularly attended her in the
form of a dog, and it told her that in consequence of his Majesty's
piety and wisdom he was proof against incantations. The notorious
sorcerer Richard Graham confessed that the Earl of Bothwell had asked
him for supernatural assistance to hasten the king's death. He said
Bothwell had informed him that it had been predicted by a necromancer
in Italy that he (Bothwell) would become rich and powerful; that he
would slay two men; and would be accused before the king for two
capital crimes, but would be forgiven for the one, but not for the
other. Bothwell was satisfied that up to the time he consulted Graham
the prophecy was fulfilled; and now, he said, the time was come for
either him or the king being despatched. Barbara Napier, a witch
against whom James had a bitter feeling, was acquitted, on her trial,
by the jury, very much to the king's annoyance. Dr. Fian, Agnes
Sampsoun, Euphame Mackalzeane, and many of their associates in
supposed guilt, after mock trials, were burned.