Series 1 > Journals of Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall, with his observations on public affairs and other memoranda, 1665-1676

TALES OF SORCERY
45
wales falling; also rich moveables, as brave cloaths and others,
whiles above and whiles beneath; and go a litle wy farder yeel
sie brave tower which at every puft of wind give a rock, the
water busily undermining its foundation. A little way from
that ye have to admiration, yea, to the moving of pity, drawen
women wt their hair all hinging disorderly about their face,
wt their barnes in their armes, many a mint1 to get a clift of
a craig to save themselfes and the child to, some of them
looking wt frighted countenances to sy give the waves be
drawing neir them. In a nother ye have a man making a great
deall of work to win out, hees drawen hinging by the great
tronc of a try. At his back is drawen another that claps him
desperatly hard and fast by the foot, that if he win out he
may be drawen out wt him. Its wonderfull to sy whow weill
the sundry passions of thir 2, the anger of him who hes a grip
of the trunck, and the trembling fear of him who hes his
neighbour by the foot are expressed ; and what strugling they
make both, the one to shake the other loose of his gripes, the
other to hold sicker, and this all done so weill that it occasions
in the spectateurs as much greife in beholding it as they seim
to have who are painted. Finaly, the painter hath not forgot
to draw the ark it selfe floting on the waters.
On a night falling in discours wt some 2 or 3 Frenchmen of
Magick and things of that nature, I perceaved it was a thing
wery frequent in France, tho’ yet more frequent in Italy. They
told me seweral stories of some that practized sorcery, for the
most part preists who are strangely given to this curiosity. They
told of one who lived at Chateleraut, who, when he pleased to
recreat himselfe, would sit doune and sett his charmes a work, he
made severalls, both men and women, go mother naked thorow
the toune, some chanting and singing, others at every gutter
they came to taking up the goupings 2 of filth and besmeiring
themselfes wt it. He hath made some also leip on horseback
wt their face to the horse taill, and take it in their teeth, and
in this posture ride thorow all the toune.
Ware their not a Comcedian at Orleans who used to bring us
billets when their ware any Comcedies to be acted, who offered
for a croune to let us sy what my father and mother was doing
1 Mint, attempt. 2 Handfuls.