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Taranaki Daily News, 11 March 1933, Page 15 (Supplement)

FAMOUS WITCHCRAFT CASES. KING JAMES AND HIS STORMS. (By Mabel L. Tyrrell.) Apparently there has never been an age without witches. Men and women have always sought to work miracles by means of the supernatural when, for some reason or other, they have lost faith in themselves and in their beliefs. Fear was also responsible for outbreaks of witch mania. In certain cases of disease, misfortune, or troubles of the heart, it seemed natural to some temperaments to turn to charms and spells in order to obtain relief from anxiety and pain. , , r , It is a mistake to think that witchcraft is a thing of the past. In spite of modem science and its teaching “witches” are consulted and charms bought in almost all country districts to-day, while in the town people go to fortune tellers, palmists, and crystal gazers. One of the most remarkable of oldtime cases of witchcraft was that investigated by King James the First when witch-hunting was pursued with such zeal that between the years 1560 and 1600 over eight thousand people were put to death in Scotland alone!

When Anne of Denmark was sailing to Scotland to join the young king she had married by proxy, her ship was blown to the coast of Norway, and there Anne was stranded. Very gallantly James went to her rescue, and, months later, when returning with his queen, the storms at sea were so violent that his ship only just escaped being wrecked. It was supposed that the Devjl, being alarmed by the fact that James was apparently sincere in his belief that theDevil employed certain men and women to assist him in his black deeds, and a great, witch hunt began. John Fian, Gellie Duncan, Agnes Sampson and others were accused of trying to wreck the king’s ship. But no person was put to death unless he “voluntarily” confessed to the crime, so

James witnessed horrible tortures and listened to the most pitiful confessions. John Fian’s hands and feet were crushed till he “confessed” that he and others had walked round a Church against the sun, after which the doors had blown open, the Devil had emerged, and they had all danced together inside the Church and plotted to take the king’s life. As a result of this plot the Devil had spread a mist over the sea, and John Fian had sent a horde of witches to sail the sea in sieves and thus stir up storms. Under torture Gellie Duncan, Agnes Sampson and numerous other women “confessed” the most ridiculous things, such as dancing with the Devil, and drinking wine from rich mysterious ships which they boarded while sailing in their sieves. Twenty-six witches and their master, John Fian, were then hanged or burned to account for the storms which the king and his bride had encountered at sea! “RULES FOR YOUNG MAIDENS.” SOME AMUSING HISTORY. (By C. R. J.) ■ In a volume dated 1824 I fdund soma amusing rules and advice for young English maidens between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four. “At fifteen;” said the sage, “affect vivacity, and line your boimet with pink! If in company with a likely husband, h<jld your breath long enough to blush when He speaks to you, and cast your eye to the ground when answering. Be sure to wear your frocks high in the neck that your charms may be brought to be greater than they really are, “At sixteen, high spirits, with the most unbounded submission to the opinions of the favoured-one, will serve you best. At this age you may look the gentleman in the face, but be sure your eyebrows are kept well arched. Affect to be fond of children and get the credit of being a good nurse! “At seventeen, you should read the news of literature and fashion and form your opinion of the follies of the day upon its model. Condemn play-going women, and talk of ‘retirement and domestic life.’ Wear low frocks, but not too low! “At eighteen, look out for a husband for yourself and make baby garments for your married friends. “At nineteen, go to routs and parties, but avoid general flirting. Dress fashionably, but with the greatest decency. Wear no flowers in the hair, but let your curls be displayed wildly. “At twenty, you may consider yourself in some danger of not getting a husband, and therefore suit your conduct to your circumstances. “At twenty-two, try the watering “At twenty-three, go to Cheltenham, or Bath, and look out for old AngloIndians. “At twenty-four, you cease to be a young maid. We have done with you,”