the hie street under pain of 40s toties quoties." From a copy of an old Sheriff Court document, lately published by the Sheriff-Clerk, we learn that in the spring of 1692 there was a strange rumour being circulated through the town. It was to the effect that certain parties—named John Adams, late bailie of Paisley; William Henderson, writer; Allan Walkinshaw, Robert Menzies, Elizabeth Parkhill, Margaret Houston, Margaret Adam, Margaret Paterson, and Wm. Tarbert, procurator-fiscal (people moving in the first rank of society in the town)-had been guilty of the unpardonable sin of drinking the Devil's health. Now this, if proved against the parties, would have been sufficient to bring them to the stake. Fortunately for them, the procurator-fiscal was one of those maligned, and others were lawyers and ex-bailies. A prosecution in the form of a criminal libel was the result, brought against John Perrie, John White, James Hall, Margaret Finnie, John Cochran, and Janet Fyfe. John Perrie, John White, James Hall, John Cochran, and Margaret Finnie pled that they had been told that certain of the parties before mentioned "had drunken the Devil's good health," and had merely repeated it. This, however, did not satisfy the judge, for John Perrie and John White were ordered to confess their fault and apologise for the same in court; and James Hall and John Cochran were ordered to go to the stairfoot of John Adam's house, and there publicly confess their fault and apologise for the same; and the four of them were fined 100 merks scots, or in default were to be taken to the Market Cross in the evening, with a paper on each of their breasts, with the following inscription in large letters :- "We stand here for scandalising the good names of John Adam, William Henderson, William Tarbert, Elizabeth Parkhill, Margaret Houston and Margaret Paterson," and there to remain till they had confessed their fault to the crowd. Margaret Finnie was ordered to be at once taken to the Cross, with a paper on her breast, on which the above words were written, and remain there a quarter of an hour, and to go through the same ordeal next day. Janet Fife denied the charge in toto. But, after an examination of witnesses, the charge was found proven, and she was ordered to be taken to the Cross, with a paper on her breast, on which was written the above-mentioned words, there to stand for an hour and confess her faith to the crowd. She was further fined one hundred pounds Scots. ALGIE AND PARK. SIR,-In the part of the interesting historical sketch of the town of Paisley that appeared in your issue to-day, mention is made of the trial and execution of the martyrs James Algie and John Park, whose monument adorns our beautiful Cemetery. Having heard several years since from a venerable member of the Cameronian Church a curious tradition about these men, I take the liberty of stating it now, as it may be interesting when read alongside J. W. C.'s account of their sufferings. The tradition was as follows:-When Algie and Park were on the scaffold they sung part of the CXVIII Psalm, and when they repeated the lines "I shall not die, but live, and shall Baron Ross of Hawkhead, who was attending at the execution, and who is said to have been a noted persecutor, shook his head, and with a terrible emphasis said, "But by God, you shall die," and then ordered their voices to be drowned by the beating of the drums. The tradition further states that Baron Ross's head continued to shake ever after, that he died a loathsome death, and on the day of his burial the elements raged so furiously that his relatives were prevented from burying him where they intended. Of course, this, like other traditions, cannot be depended on as containing historic trnth, but it is worth mentioning when the history of Paisley is being sketched.-I am, &c., Paisley, August 17, 1878. R. M. THE TOWN OF PAISLEY: VI. In 1695, the population of Paisley was 2200. With regard to prison regulations in Paisley, in the seventeenth century, we are very ignorant, owing to the paucity of records of that time that have come down to us. One, however, which we find shows a state of affairs that could not exist in a well regulated prison at the present time. It is a prosecution in connection with the escape of a prisoner. A certain Robert Stevenson was lodged in the Tolbooth in 1696 to wait his trial for desertion from the army. He became very gracious with the jailer, and supplied him so very plentifully with ale, that he was enabled to take the keys and walk out. Having done so, he made a prisoner of the jailer by locking the door, and escaped. We now come to relate one of the most extraordinary stories of witchcraft that have come down to us. During the latter portion of the seventeenth century, there lived in the Parish of Erskine, a certain John Shaw, Laird of Bargarran. This John Shaw had a daughter named Christian, "a smart lively girl of good inclinations,” and, at the time the following circumstances took place, as related in the story, was eleven years of age. She, having seen Katherine Campbell, the maid servant, steal and drink some milk, told her mother, whereupon the servant cursed Christian. This was in August, 1696. In about a week after, Christian, as she was lying in bed, called repeated: "Help, help,” and immediately flew out of bed, and in all probability, would have dashed her brains out against the wall, had it not been for the intervention of some one present. She was then put into another bed, where she remained for a time as if dead, and then was so pained that for more than two days she tossed about in the greatest agony crying, Help, help." Her body then became bent and rigid, so that if set up with her feet and head touching the floor, she remained like a bow. John White, apothecary, and Dr Johnstone were sent for from Paisley, but could do nothing for her. She was then taken by boat to Glasgow, to a Dr Brisbane. On her way thither, she astonished all by vomiting hair of different colours, some plaited, some knotted. But her most extraordinary feat was in presence of the doctor, whom she surprised by bringing out of her mouth quantities of bones, sticks, pins, hot cinders, straw, and filth. The latter tasted so, that the girl had to wash her mouth repeatedly, after being delivered of it. The doctor declared that the case was beyond his skill. Subsequently, she vomited feathers, gravel, stones, lumps of candle grease, and egg shells, and always after her vomiting she was seized with sore fits and pitiable crying; four or five persons being hardly able to hold her from HISTORICAL SKETCH. dashing herself against the walls of the house. |