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Authors: Elizabeth Laird
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sermon.
Most of them had never heard Mr. Robertson preach before. The minister of Rothesay, Mr. Stewartâwho was away on the mainlandâwas a hot preacher. He loved to denounce sinners and proclaim humiliating punishments. Mr. Robertson was standing in for him. I could see in the faces in front of me how curious the congregation was and how they were looking forward to some thunderous ranting from the pulpit. It was Granny and me they hoped to see condemned. They were longing for it.
It was cold in the church and the sackcloth robes were thin, but I was so nervous that sweat trickled down my back.
All too soon, Mr. Robertson mounted the steps to the pulpit, high above our heads. The congregation had been singing the psalm lustily, and now they coughed to clear their throats, gazing up at him.
"I have been commanded by the presbytery," began Mr. Robertson in a solemn voice, "to preach to you today on the subject of witchcraft. My text"âhe ran a bony finger down the page of the Bible open in front of himâ"comes from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter eighteen." He found the place, cleared his throat, looked up, and paused, making sure that all eyes were fixed on him.
"
'There shall not be found any among you,'
" he read, "
'that shall use divination, or is an enchanter, or a witch.'
"
A satisfied hiss went from row to row, and though I didn't dare look up, I knew that heads were nodding. "
'Or is a charmer, or a consulter of familiar spirits.'
"
The silence that followed was uneasy, and glancing up at the faces for a moment, I saw that some were no longer meeting the minister's searching eyes.
"
'All that do these things,'
" he went on, stabbing at the book with his finger, "
'are an abomination unto the Lord, and the Lord thy God doth drive them out before thee.'
"
He closed the Bible and looked up.
"Now," he went on, dropping his reading voice and speaking more naturally, "there are those among you who have accused Elspeth Wylie and Maggie Blair of using vile sorcery and witchcraft. But I am punishing them today for the true faults that are proven against them: that they have failed to keep the Sabbath, that they have not come to church at the set times, and that, in the case of Elspeth Wylie, she has used slanderous language and stirred up anger among her neighbors. It is for these sins that they sit before you today in a state of repentance, and if they will confess their sins before the Lord and their neighbors, they will be forgiven in the sight of man and the sight of God. As for the other charge, they will be brought tomorrow morning before a proper court assembled for the purpose, and until that judgment has been given, these women are not to be molested. Let everything be done decently and in order."
The thought of standing before a court made me shudder, but I was comforted by Mr. Robertson's words. He seemed determined that we should be treated fairly and, at the very least, protected from the crowd. I twisted my head around and stared up at him gratefully. Granny, I could tell, was just as surprised. She was blinking rapidly, and a grim little smile creased her cheeks.
"At this point, I shall announce the following punishments," Mr. Robertson went on, pulling a sheet of paper from his pocket. "Alison McKirdy has been found guilty of drunkenness and accusing her neighbor of eating the lice off her head..." He paused for the laughter to die down. "She is to stand on the pillar for the next four Sundays. Andrew Macallister was seen plowing his field on the Sabbath day. He has admitted his fault and will be fined forty shillings. Robert..."
A murmur had begun as he had started on his weekly list of dull misdemeanors, and it was growing louder. There was a crash at the back of the church. Mr. Macbean had sprung to his feet, knocking over his stool.
"Exodus chapter twenty two verse eighteen," he roared, shaking his fist at the minister. "
'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.'
Do your duty,
Most of them had never heard Mr. Robertson preach before. The minister of Rothesay, Mr. Stewartâwho was away on the mainlandâwas a hot preacher. He loved to denounce sinners and proclaim humiliating punishments. Mr. Robertson was standing in for him. I could see in the faces in front of me how curious the congregation was and how they were looking forward to some thunderous ranting from the pulpit. It was Granny and me they hoped to see condemned. They were longing for it.
It was cold in the church and the sackcloth robes were thin, but I was so nervous that sweat trickled down my back.
All too soon, Mr. Robertson mounted the steps to the pulpit, high above our heads. The congregation had been singing the psalm lustily, and now they coughed to clear their throats, gazing up at him.
"I have been commanded by the presbytery," began Mr. Robertson in a solemn voice, "to preach to you today on the subject of witchcraft. My text"âhe ran a bony finger down the page of the Bible open in front of himâ"comes from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter eighteen." He found the place, cleared his throat, looked up, and paused, making sure that all eyes were fixed on him.
"
'There shall not be found any among you,'
" he read, "
'that shall use divination, or is an enchanter, or a witch.'
"
A satisfied hiss went from row to row, and though I didn't dare look up, I knew that heads were nodding. "
'Or is a charmer, or a consulter of familiar spirits.'
"
The silence that followed was uneasy, and glancing up at the faces for a moment, I saw that some were no longer meeting the minister's searching eyes.
"
'All that do these things,'
" he went on, stabbing at the book with his finger, "
'are an abomination unto the Lord, and the Lord thy God doth drive them out before thee.'
"
He closed the Bible and looked up.
"Now," he went on, dropping his reading voice and speaking more naturally, "there are those among you who have accused Elspeth Wylie and Maggie Blair of using vile sorcery and witchcraft. But I am punishing them today for the true faults that are proven against them: that they have failed to keep the Sabbath, that they have not come to church at the set times, and that, in the case of Elspeth Wylie, she has used slanderous language and stirred up anger among her neighbors. It is for these sins that they sit before you today in a state of repentance, and if they will confess their sins before the Lord and their neighbors, they will be forgiven in the sight of man and the sight of God. As for the other charge, they will be brought tomorrow morning before a proper court assembled for the purpose, and until that judgment has been given, these women are not to be molested. Let everything be done decently and in order."
The thought of standing before a court made me shudder, but I was comforted by Mr. Robertson's words. He seemed determined that we should be treated fairly and, at the very least, protected from the crowd. I twisted my head around and stared up at him gratefully. Granny, I could tell, was just as surprised. She was blinking rapidly, and a grim little smile creased her cheeks.
"At this point, I shall announce the following punishments," Mr. Robertson went on, pulling a sheet of paper from his pocket. "Alison McKirdy has been found guilty of drunkenness and accusing her neighbor of eating the lice off her head..." He paused for the laughter to die down. "She is to stand on the pillar for the next four Sundays. Andrew Macallister was seen plowing his field on the Sabbath day. He has admitted his fault and will be fined forty shillings. Robert..."
A murmur had begun as he had started on his weekly list of dull misdemeanors, and it was growing louder. There was a crash at the back of the church. Mr. Macbean had sprung to his feet, knocking over his stool.
"Exodus chapter twenty two verse eighteen," he roared, shaking his fist at the minister. "
'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.'
Do your duty,
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