Series 5 > Miscellany [of the Scottish History Society] XIII

TRIAL OF GEILLIS JOHNSTONE, 1614
115
the pane of the tortur.
And quhair it is affirmet in the said articles that Robert Duncane hir sone,
becaus of the grit noyse that rais in the hous at the devill’s away passing,
was sa affrayit that with feir he tuik seiknes and keipit bed quhile he wes
charmed thairof be his mother and curet: non relevat,1 except it war
qualifeit be the persewaris be quhat cure or plaister the diseas was
removet.
And thairfoir the said second article as being altogidder irrelevant in the
haill partis thairof sould nocht pas to ane assyse.
To the quhilk it is answerit be the persewaris that the foirsaid allegeances
aucht to be repellit, and the dittay in the second article thairof stands
relevant and sould pas to ane assyse, in respect it is affirmet that Geillis
Johnestoun hir consultations with Irishe Jonet, ane notorious witche, was
sciens et prudens hir to be [3r.] sic a devillische woman, anime et
intentione,2 for effectuating the uses specifeit in the dittay. Viz.: for
rasing the devill to cure hir sone of his diseas. And as to that part of the
allegeance contening the offering of the baime to the devill that it was
embrion and ane deid thing: aucht to be repellit in respect it is
sufficientlie qualifeit in this dittay that [[sho]] the mother of the baime,
drawing neir the time of hir perfite birth, was deliverit of the said baime a
schorte time of befoir, [[be resso]] quhilk deliverie was hastenet be
ressone of the mothir’s displesour for the seiknes of hir husband, sua that
it was na embrion quhairof sho wes deliverit and quhilk wes offerit to the
devill, bot ane baime quhilk anes had life. Inrespect quhairof, the said
allegeance sould be repellit, and the dittay in the said second article sould
pas to ane assyse.
The Lords be interlocutor findis the first part of the secund article of
dittay relevant anent the consultations with Irische Jonet to the effect
contend in the dittay, [[relevant]] and referris the samyn to the assyse.
Repellis that [[artic]] pairt of the article anent the charming of hir sone as
nocht relevant, and as to the deposition of Irische Jonet, [[lets the assyse
cognose thaimpoun]] remittis the samyn to the assyse quhat the said
deposition can wirk.3
3. It is allegit aganis the thrid article that the panned sould nocht be put to
the tryell of ane assyse for the cryme set doun thairin becaus it is nocht
1 not relevant
2 by spirit and purpose
3 But with regard to Irish Jonet’s depositions, see pp. 137-8 below. The lack of reference
to ‘instruments’, here and in several later articles, is probably an omission by the clerk.