There was in Bucky-harbour, a method when they got a hearty drink, that they went down to dance among the boats, one, two, or three of the oldest went into a boat to see the rest dance; when e’er they admitted a burgher there was always a dance. One day they admitted a glied Rob Thomson, from the island of May, an’ after he was admitted they got account from Wise Willy that glied Rob was a witch, which made them all stop their dancing, and Rob was cried on to make answer to this weighty matter. Gly’d Rob cried none of you shall stir a fit for two hours, I’se warrand you: so Rob spang’d and jump’d over the boat several times and put them in great terror, some cried, O ’tis i’ the air, and then they cried they saw him i’ the air hinging, so that Rob was obliged to go back to the May, and carry coals to the light house.[188]
It was reported that gly’d Rob was born in Bucky and that his father was Willy Thomson’s son, who was banish’d for a slave to the May,[189] to carry coals; he would not tak with him, on account he had but ae eye. After that there was no more dancing at admitting of burgers; but the old usual way of scate rumple, and then drink until they were almost blind.
Upon the Rood day,[190] four young Bucky lasses were away early in the morning with their creels full of fish, and about a mile from the town, they saw coming down a brae like a man driving a beast, when they came near Tardy-Tib says, ’tis a man driving a big mauken Tib flang her creel and fish away, the other three ran anther way, and got clear; they said it was a horned devil. Tib told the frightsome story, and many ran to see the poor cadger man and his ass driving the auld mauken. The fishers look on all maukens to be devils and witches, and if they but see the sight of a dead mauken, it sets them a trembling.[191] The fisher lasses look with disdain on a farmer’s daughter, and a’ country lasses; they call them muck-byers and sherney-tail’d jades.
The Bucky lads and lasses when they go to gather bait tell strange stories about Witches, Ghosts, Willy with the Wisp, and the Kelpy, Fairies and Maukens, and boggles of all sorts.
The Ghosts, like old horses, go all night for fear they are seen, and be made to carry scate or fish, or be carted; and witches are the warst kind of devils, and mak use of cats to ride upon, or kill-kebbers, and besoms, and sail over seas in cockle-shells, and witch lads and lasses, and disable bridegrooms. As for Willy and the Wisp, he is a fiery devil, and leads people off their road in order to drown them, for he sparks sometimes at our feet, and then turns before us with his candle, as if he were twa or three miles before us, many a good boat has Spunkie drown’d; the boats coming to land in the night-time, they observe a light off the land, and set in upon it and drown.
The Kelpy[192] is a sly devil, he roars before a loss at sea, and frightens both young and old upon the shore. Fairies are terrible troublesome, they gang dancing round fouks lums, and rin through the houses, they haunt, and play odd tricks, and lift new born bairns from their mothers, and none of them is safe to ly with their mothers, a night or two after they are born, unless the mother gets a pair of men’s breeches under her head for the first three nights; when the Fairies are frighted, they will leave an old stock with the woman, and whip away the child. One tried to burn an old stock that the Fairies left in the cradle; but when the fire was put on, the old stock jumped on upon a cat and up the lum.[193] Maukens are most terrible, and have bad luck, none will go to sea that day they see a Mauken, or if a wretched body put in a Mauken’s fit in their creels, they need not lift them that day, as it will be bad luck, either broken backs, or legs, or arms, or hear bad accounts of the boats at sea.[194]
They are terrified for all sorts of boggles both by land and by sea.
THE MINISTER AND MUSSEL MOU’D HARRY.
Mussel Mou’d Harry, the skull-maker,[195] whose lug was nailed to a tree near my Lord’s garden, for cutting young saughs, for to make sculls and creels of. He assumed a headdress as he had been a devil, and went playing his tricks in the night-time, which frighted the whole town, until the time he was catched by my Lord’s piper. He was then sent for to the minister, and was obliged to put on his frightful dress, with the appearance of two horns on his head; the minister rebuked him, but he had the assurance to tell the minister, that he only frighted his own town, but that he frighted the whole parish, by telling them to repent or be d——d, this is your gate o’t stir, so I made them repent by fright, and I think, I sud be paid by your honour for’t; as you tell me stir about my Lord’s saughs which I suffered for, if your ’onour’s lug had been there, you could not get off so easy, for stir, your lugs is as long as my grey cat’s, so I bid you farewel until our next meeting.