of her cairiage comand it that shoe showld be browght in; bot when shoe come, shoe come trembling all the way to the howse—­bot shoe refuised to come nigh THE CORPS or to TUITCH it saying, that shoe “nevir tuitched a dead corpe in her lyfe!” Bot being arnestly desyred by the Minister, Bailliffes, and hir brother’s friends who was killed, that shoe wold “bot tuitch the corpes softlie,” shoe granted to doe it—­but before shoe did it, the Sone being shyning in at the howse, shoe exprest her selfe thus, humbly desyring, that “as the Lord made the Sone to shyne and give light into that howse, that also he wald give light to discovering of that Murder!” And with these words, shoe TUITCHEING the wound of the dead man, verie saftlie, it being whyte and cleane, without any spot of blod or the lyke!—­yitt IMEDIATLY, whill her fingers was wpon it, THE BLOOD RUSHED OWT OF IT, to the great admiratioune[84] of all the behoulders, who tooke it for discoverie of the Murder, according to her owne prayers.—­For ther was ane great lumpe of flesh taken out of his cheik, so smowthlie, as no rasor in the world cowld have made so ticht ane incisioune, wpon flesh, or cheis—­and ther wes no blood at all in the wownd—­nor did it at all blead, altho’ that many persones befor had tuitched it, whill[85] shoe did tuitche it!  And the howse being searched all over, for the shirt of the dead man, yitt it cowld not be found; and altho’ the howse was full of people all that night, ever vatching the corpes;[86] neither did any of them tuitch him that night—­which is probable[87]—­yitt, in the morneing, his shirt was fownd tyed fast abowt his neck, as a brechame,[88] non knowing how this come to pass!  And this Cristian did immediatlie transport all her owne goods owt of her own howse into her dowghter’s, purposing to flie away—­bot was therwpon apprehendit and imprisoned.’—­Pitcairn’s Criminal Trials, vol. iii. p. 194.

[Footnote 79:  See Dr. Hibbert’s “History of Orkney,” &c., to which this remarkable Trial is appended.]

[Footnote 80:  The name left blank.]

[Footnote 81:  Rede; advice.]

[Footnote 82:  Malicious.]

[Footnote 83:  The name given at her baptism by the Devil.  From “Collection of Original Documents,” belonging to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, MS. As a specimen of the other charges, take the following:  “Williame Richardsone, in Dalkeith, haiving felled ane hen of the said Cristianes with ane stone, and wpone her sight thereof did imediatly threatne him, and with ane frowneing countenance told him, that he ‘should newer cast ane vther stone!’ And imediatly the said Williame fell into ane franicie and madnes, and tooke his bed, and newer rose agane, but died within a few dayes:  And in the tyme of his sicknes, he always cryed owt, that the said Cristiane was present befor him, in the likeness of ane grey catt!  And some tyme eftir his death, James Richardsone, nephew to the said Williame, being a boy playing in the said Cristiane her yaird, and be calling her Lantherne, shoe threatned, that, if he held not his peace, shoe sowld cause him to die the death his nephew (uncle) died of!’ Whairby it would appeare that shoe tooke wpon hir his nepheas (uncle’s) death.”]