Part 8

As I was one day in conference with the said Robert Churchman, I desired him, that when any of their books came to hand, he would do me the kindness to bring them to me, that we might read them over together, assuring him of no unwillingness in me to hearken to whatsoever should appear reasonable. What I desired, he performed not long after; when I had received the paper into my hand, before I began to read, I suggested to him, that it would be convenient, that the person who had been, the cause of his seduction should be sent for, and hear what was replied to the contents, which he willingly consented to. When the Quaker was come, one branch of our discourse, was, Whether the scripture is to be owned as a rule, which the Quaker denied, asserting, That the rule was within them. After the expence of two or three hours discourse about this and other matters, I desired Robert Churchman to take notice, that the Quakers did not own the Scriptures for their rule, which before this conference I had intimated to him, but found him unwilling to believe it.——It pleased God so far to bless what was spoken, that the next time he met his brother Thomas Churchman, he told him of what had passed at my house, and that now he was assured, that the Quakers did not acknowledge the Scripture for their rule; and, for his part, he would not be of that religion, which doth disown the Scripture in that particular.——Not long after, the wife of the forementioned Quaker coming to his house to visit his wife, he met her at the door, and told her she should not come in, intimating that her visit would make division between them. After some parley, the Quaker’s wife spake to him in these words: “Thou wilt not believe except thou see a sign, and thou mayest see some such.” Within a few nights after, Robert Churchman had a violent storm upon the room where he lay, when it was very calm in all other parts of the town, and a voice within him, as he was in bed, spake to him, and bid him sing praises, telling him, That he should see the New Jerusalem, about which time a glimmering light appeared all about the room. Towards the morning, the voice commanded him to go out of his bed naked, with his wife and children. They all standing upon the floor, the spirit making use of his tongue, bid them to be down, and put their mouths in the dust; which they did accordingly. It likewise commanded him to go and call his brother and sister, that they might see the New Jerusalem, to whom he went naked about half a mile. When he delivered his message, that which spake within him charged him to denounce wrath against them, and declare that fire and brimstone would fall upon them, as it did upon Sodom and Gomorrah, if they did not obey, and so he returned into his own house, where upon the floor of a low room, he stood naked three or four hours. All that while he was acted in a very unusual manner. Sometimes the spirit within forced him to sing, sometimes to bark like a dog. When his brother and sister followed him, and were very importunate with him to resist it, it bid him kill them, making use of these words, “These mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them, bring and slay before my face.” It made him to utter with great readiness many places of Scripture which he had no knowledge of before. The drift of what was spoken, was to persuade him to comply with the Quakers, and it named some who lived in the neighbouring towns. About three or four hours being thus spent, he came to himself, and was able to give a perfect account of what had befallen him.——Several nights after, the same trouble returned upon him. His wife was tortured with extraordinary pains. The children which lay in the room complained, that their mouths were stopped with wool as they were in bed. The disturbance was so great, that they had thoughts of leaving his house for a time, and made it his desire to be at me, in mine. I prevailed with him, not to be so sudden in his removal, but to make some further trial. It pleased God, upon a continuance with him in prayer every day in the house, that he was at last perfectly free from all molestation. The Quakers hearing of his condition, gave it out, that the power of God would come upon him again, and that the wound was but skinned over by the priest, which made me the more importunate with him to keep close to the public service of God, and have nothing to do with them or their writings.——Which direction he observed till November 1661, and perusing one of their books, a little after, on the 10th of that month his trouble returned. A voice within him began to speak after the former manner. The first sentence it uttered was, “Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted?” The design which he discerned that it did aim at, was this, To take him off from coming to the church (where he had been that day) and from hearing the word of God. It suggested several other Scriptures, in order to the persuading him to a compliance with the Quakers, and told him, “That it would strive with him as the angel did with Jacob.” Upon Wednesday at night, he was peremptory in his resisting of it. When it began to solicit him, he replied, “That he saw it was a spirit of delusion, which he would not obey.” Upon which the spirit pronounced these words, “Go ye cursed into everlasting fire;” and so left him with a very great heat in his body.

After this he was, in his own apprehension, in a very comfortable condition; and while he was considering what had happened, a voice within him spake to him, saying, That the spirit that was before upon him, was a spirit of delusion, but now the true Spirit of God was come unto him. Now Satan is turned into an angel of light. It acquainted him that the doctrine of the Trinity was true; and that God had an elect people; and that those whom the Father had elected, the Son had redeemed; and whom Christ redeemed, the Holy Ghost sanctifieth. And told him, “That the minister of the town would further instruct him about the truth of these things. Upon Thursday morning, about break of day, it set him upon his knees, as he was in bed, and bid him farewell.——The same day it came upon him in the fields, as he was going to and coming from the market, and pressed upon him to believe that it was the good spirit which he was acted with, which he still doubted of. One night that week, among many arguments, which it used to that purpose, it told him, “If he would not believe without a sign, he might have what he would.” Upon that Robert Churchman desired, “If it was a good spirit, that a wire candlestick which stood upon the cupboard, might be turned into brass,” which the spirit said he would do. Presently there was a very unsavoury smell in the room, like that of the snuff of a candle newly put out; but nothing else was done towards the fulfilling of the promise.——Upon the Lord’s day following, he being at church, it came upon him. When the chapters were named, he turned to them in his Bible, but was not able to read. When the psalms were sung, he could not pronounce a syllable. Upon Monday morning, his speech was wholly taken from him. When I came to him, and asked him how it was with him? He moved his head towards me, but was not able to speak. I waited an hour or two in the room, hoping that his speech might have returned unto him, and that I might have gained from him some account of his condition. But finding no alteration, I desired those who were present to join with me in prayer. As we were praying, his body with much violence was thrown out of the bed, and then with great vehemency he called me to hold my tongue. When prayer was done his tongue was bound as before, till at last he brake forth into these words, “Thine is the kingdom, thine is the kingdom,” which he repeated above a hundred times. Sometimes he was forced into extreme laughter, sometimes into singing. His hands were usually employed in beating his breast. All of us (there present) who stood by, could discern unusual heaving in his body. The distemper did continue towards the morning of the next day; and the voice within him signifying to him, it would leave him, bidding him to get upon his knees, in order to that end, which he did, and presently he had a perfect command of himself.—When I came to him, he gave me a sober account of all the passages of the day before, having a distinct remembrance of what the spirit forced him to do, and what was spoken to him by those who stood by. In particular, he told me he was compelled to give me that disturbance in prayer, which before I mentioned, the spirit using his limbs and tongue as it pleased, contrary to the inclination of his own thought and mind.—Upon the Thursday following the spirit began to rage after its former manner, as I was praying with him. It was very discernable how it wrought upon his body, forced him to grate his teeth, and draw his mouth awry. He told me, after I had done, that it bid him denounce woe against me. It pleased God, upon continuance in prayer with me, to release him out of his trouble, and so far make it advantageous to him and his wife, and some others who were so much biassed with the principles of the Quakers, that now they have a perfect dislike of that way, and do diligently attend upon the public service of God, in the parish church.—Sir, you may be confident of the truth of what is here related by your friend.

_Basham, Jan. 1, 1682._ JOHN TEMPLAR.

XXI.—_Touching Isabel Heriot._

This woman was born at Peaston, in the parish of Ormiston, and was for several years a very useful servant to the minister there, for all manner of out-house work. She was of a low stature, small and slender of body, of a black complexion, her head stood somewhat awry upon her neck; she was of a drolling and jeering humour, and would have spoken to persons of honour with great confidence.

After several years service, the minister began to dislike her, especially upon account of her not profiting in the knowledge of God, she having so much opportunity and occasion to know and learn; therefore she was put away, and went to other service for a long time; after which she returned to Ormiston town, and was sometimes haunting the minister’s house, but without his knowledge. She took sickness about the beginning of winter 1680; and about the time of her death, her face became extremely black. Within three or four nights after she was buried, one Isabel Murray, relict of William Craig the kirk officer, saw her apparition about twelve o’clock at night, and her white robes upon her, such as she was put into her coffin with, walking from the chapel toward the minister’s louping-on stone, where, according to her custom when she was alive, she halted a little while with her elbow leaning upon it. After this, she observed her to walk in at the minister’s back-yard towards the stable. We have only the bare testimony of this one woman for it. Within some few nights after, there was a throwing of stones over the minister’s house, and some thrown at the hall-door and windows. The stones were found in the close next morning, when they lighted; they fell softly for the most part. The minister coming in one night (against whom the devil’s malice chiefly was) at the back-door, and shutting it after him, had a great stone cast after him, which hit the door very smartly, and left a mark and impression behind it; this she did, or rather the devil, in imitation of a prank she had played while alive, for the minister having caused the other servants thrust her out at the same door, she threw a great stone at it with violence out of wrath and anger. The foresaid Isabel Murray coming out of the minister’s house one night, or going into it, was hit very sharply with a stone upon her back. The servant-man that keeped the horses, after he had been at his devotion, and was going into his bed in the stable, was by somewhat gripped by the heel, to his great amazement; he giving a great and loud cry, the mistress of the family and others came into the stable, and found the lad under a great affrightment: this night several clods and stones were thrown, but no person touched. One thing was remarkable, that an old horse comb, which had been wanting for several years, was thrown at the lad’s bed-stead with great violence, yet wronged nobody. The horses would have been found the next morning standing and lying disorderly, and sometimes all in a great sweat.——While the servant-man had been dressing the garden, he hath found several stones thrown at him, but was never touched, save by one, which hit him very favourably; the house was sometimes troubled within with some small noise and din.—One time there was a burning coal thrown under one of the beds. One of the family upon a night, had his night-cap taken of his head in the bed, and found the next morning full of cinders and ashes, lying under the chimney. If the devil could have done more, surely he would have done it. This is the most part of the trouble which the family met with, which continued for eight or nine weeks, not every night, but now and then; during which time, frequent and fervent prayers were sent up to God by those of the family, and others out of it, which wanted not success. There was much talking of this ghost, and things spoken rashly, and some out of malice did invent lies and untruths. One jeering, said, “Now let the minister and his brethren, with all their prayers, drive away the devil.” It is very remarkable, after that time, that there was no more trouble found about the family.—For what follows, we have only the simple word of the foresaid Isabel Murray, who, coming home from the church between the sermons, to the town of Ormiston, to visit her house and kail-yard, for fear of vagrant cows coming over the dyke, and going down her yard, she saw in the minister’s yard, being next adjacent, the apparition of Isabel Heriot, in that very habit she was laid in the coffin with. Never was an egg liker to another, than this apparition was like her face, her stature, her motion, her tongue, and behaviour. As like was the devil to her, as Apollo was to old Butes, whom Virgil excellently describes in the ninth book of his Eneids, bringing him down from heaven to wait upon Ascanius.

_Ascantiumque petit, forma tum vertiture oris Antiquum in Butten—Ibut Apollo Omnia longacvo similes, vocemque coloremque Etrorines albos et saeva sonantibus arma._

Apollo went, and from the heaven descends, And in old Butes’ form, to Ascanius bends. In all points, like the old man still he went, Whom then to wait on’s son, Æneas, sent; Such his white hair, complexion, and his voice, And dreadful arms, rattling with mighty noise.

Her face, said the woman, was black like the mouting foot, (one of her own expressions) the very colour which her face had when she died. She saw her walking under the fruit-trees, and over the beds where the seeds had been sown, bowing her body downward, as if she had been seeking somewhat off the ground, saying to herself, “A stane, a stane;” for so she pronounced the words; for she had gathered a considerable number of small stones in her lap, which the woman saw her throw down at a bush root, near to the foot of the yard. Some may apprehend that these were the stones which she frequently cast in the night-time. This woman seeing her, says, with very great confidence, “Wow! what’s thou doing here, Isabel Heriot? I charge thee, by the law thou lives on, to tell me.” See the like expression, page 16. She replies, or rather the foul fiend in her likeness, “I am even come again, because I wronged my master while I was his servant; for it was I that stealed his shekel.” This was a Jewish shekel of gold, (which, with some other things, had been stolen from him several years before,) “which I hid under the hearth stone in the kitchen, and then when I flitted, took it to the Canongate, and did offer to sell it to a French woman, who lodged where I served. She asked where I got it? I told her I found it between Leith and Edinburgh. One night,” says she, “I was riding home late from the town, and near the head of Fauside-brae, the horse stumbled, and I said, The devil raise thee; where upon the foul thief appeared presently to him, and threatened me if I would not grant to destroy my master the minister, he would throw me into a deep hole there, which I suppose is still yet remaining: or if I could not get power over my master, I should strive to destroy the schoolmaster.” It was very remarkable, that one of the minister’s servant women, had given to the schoolmaster’s servant woman some linens to make clean, among which there was a cross-cloth of strong linen, which could never be found, though diligent search was made for it, till one morning the master awakening, found it bound about his night-cap; which bred admiration both to himself and his wife; no more skaith was the devil or the witches able to do him. What way this was done, or for what end, it cannot be well known; but it is probable, that they designed to strangle and destroy him in the night-time, which is their usual time of working and doing mischief. This happened about the time, I suppose, that the devil had charged Isabel Heriot to destroy this honest man; yet within two days, a young child of his, of a year old, fell sick, which was quickly pulled away by death, none knowing the cause or nature of the disease.—But I proceed. She confessed likewise, how the devil met with her a second time, at Elphinston-mill, within a quarter of a mile of Ormiston, and told what the devil did to her.—And says she, “I was coming one night from Haddington-market with horse-corn, and met with the devil at Knockhills, who bid me destroy Thomas Anderson, who was riding with me; and because I refused; he threw the horse-corn off the horse.” This Thomas Anderson was a christian man. It is well remembered yet, that she went the next morning timeously, and brought home her oats, which had lain there all night. “And moreover,” says she, “I cheated my master when I went to the market to buy oats; for I made him believe I gave more money for the boll than I did. And do not you remember, Isabel Murray, that one night, you coming out of the minister’s house, got a sore knock on the back with a stone? It was I, but it was not for your own sake, but for your goodman’s sake, William Craig, who threw me one day into the Jawhole, and abused me.” She told this woman likewise, that she would fain have spoken with her master. After this conference, the woman began to be afraid, and came running home in haste.—During all this time, there was no person in the family that met with any hurt or skaith, or saw any thing, such, was the Lord’s kindness to them all. One Isabel Elliot a witch, confessed to the minister, that many nights his house and yard would have been beset with witches. The same woman asked the devil one time, Why they could not get amends of him? He told her, he was locked up.—This woman, Isabel Heriot, was never reputed a witch, nor delated by any for witchcraft; some jeeringly would have called her so. She was indeed ignorant of religion, notwithstanding of the many excellent opportunities she had for gaining knowledge. Next her riding and travelling from far places in the country, in the night as well as in the day time, and coming home late without fear, and her stunkard ill nature bred suspicion. If she had confessed a compact with the devil, before her death, it might have been a good ground; but this trouble happening to the family immediately after her death, and her apparition being seen, gave all occasion to say she was a witch. But these things do not infallible conclude. But what could her apparition be? It behoved to be either her real body, informed and acted by the devil, (for her soul could not be brought back) or only the devil taking upon him her shape and form, acting and imitating her to the life; which is more probable.

I have adventured to publish this without his knowledge, presuming so much upon his goodness, love of truth, and useful instruction to the world, though I should displease his own humour, whilst haply I may, upon this mature consideration, gratify some more noble principle in him. For I know nothing in the thing that can turn to his dishonour; for the best of men and families have suffered from the devil in extraordinary ways, and it has been their glory, that by their faith and courage, and confidence in the arm of God, they have overcome him. If I have erred in some circumstances, or in any other thing, I am to be excused, since I was not an eye-witness. And what I have written anent the apparition, was most part from the woman’s own mouth.

XXII.—_Anent a Magician at Antwerp._

Mr. Tindal, the first translator of the Bible into English after the Reformation, being at Antwerp, whilst the persecution was hot in England against the truth, he was told by some English merchant there, of a notable magician in that place, whose use was at feasts, or when they used to meet at supper, to bring to the table whatever wines or delicious fruit the company would desire, and set presently before them, with other amazing proofs of the power of the devil. Mr. Tindal perceiving what a snare this might be to some, desired that when they met together with him, he might be present without being known what he was. After they were met and at table, this wretched magician, after this manner, began to try his black art, but it would not do with him; for whilst he had wearied himself in observing his spells, charms, and incantations, and what the farthest that hellish skill and power could do to satisfy the company, he was at last enforced to this confession before them all, which he spake with great wrath and anger, “That there was one in the company that hindered his work, by reason of whom he could get nothing done at that time.”—I may add to this a strange providence of God.—Mr. John Craig, that was a minister to King James here in Scotland, being, when he was a young man, apprehended at Rome, for venting heresy, as they called it, was shut up in prison. In the mean time Paul the IV. dies. The banditti that night broke up all the prison doors, and set at liberty all the prisoners. Mr. John Craig escapes with an intention to go to Bononia. But fearing hurt there, he set his mind toward Milan. When he had travelled some days, declining the highways out of fear, he came into a forest, a wild and desert place, and being sore wearied, lay down among some bushes, at the side of a little river, to refresh himself. He lay there pensive and full of thought; for neither knew he in what place he was, nor had he means to carry him out of the way. In the mean time there came a dog fawning upon him, with a purse in his teeth with money, and lays it down before him; he, strucken with fear, rises up; but construing the same to proceed from God’s favourable providence, he accepted of it, and held on his way till he came to Vienna in Austria.

XXIII.—_Anent a great Doctor of Divinity that rose out of the Bier, and spake to all that were present._