Johne Taylor and Janet Breadhead, his wyff, in Bellnakeith, Bessie Wilsone, in Aulderne, and Margret Wilsone, spows to Donald Callam in Aulderne, and I, maid an pictur of clay, to distroy the Laird of Parkis meall[62] children. Johne Taylor browght hom the clay, in his plaid newk;[63] his wyff brak it verie small, lyk meall,[64] and sifted it with a siew,[65] and powred in water among it, in the Divellis nam, and vrought it werie sore, lyk rye-bowt;[66] and maid of it a pictur of the Lairdis sones.  It haid all the pairtis and merkis of a child, such as heid, eyes, nose, handis, foot, mowth, and little lippes.  It wanted no mark of a child; and the handis of it folded down by its sydes.  It was lyk a pow,[67] or a flain gryce.[68] We laid the face of it to the fyre, till it strakned;[69] and a cleir fyre round abowt it, till it ves read lyk a cole.[70] After that, we wold rest it now and then; each other day[71] ther wold be an piece of it weill rosten. The Laird of Parkis heall maill children by it ar to suffer, if it be not gotten and brokin, als weill as thes that ar borne and dead alreadie.  It ves still putt in and taken out of the fyre, in the Divellis name.  It wes hung wp wpon an knag.  It is yet in Johne Taylor’s hows, and it hes a cradle of clay abowt it.  Onlie Johne Taylor and his wyff, Janet Breadhead, Bessie and Margret Wilsones in Aulderne, and Margret Brodie, thair, and I, were onlie at the making of it.  All the multitud of our number of WITCHES, of all the COEVENS, kent[72] all of it, at owr nixt meitting after it was maid.

The wordis which we spak, quhan we maid the pictur, for
distroyeing of the Laird of Parkis meall-children, wer
thus: 

’IN THE DIVELLIS nam, we powr in this water
among this mowld (meall,)[73]
For lang duyning and ill heall;
We putt it into the fyre,
That it mey be brunt both stik and stowre. 
It salbe brunt, with owr will,
As any stikle[74] wpon a kill.’

THE DIVELL taught ws the wordis; and quhan ve haid learned them, we all fell downe wpon owr bare kneyis, and owr hair abowt owr eyes, and owr handis lifted wp, looking steadfast wpon THE DIVELL, still saying the wordis thryse ower, till it wes maid.  And then, in THE DIVELLIS nam, we did put it in, in the midst of the fyre.  Efter it had skrukned[75] a little before the fyre, and quhan it ves read lyk a coale, we took it owt in THE DIVELLIS nam.  Till it be broken, it will be the deathe of all the meall children that the Laird of Park will ewer get.  Cast it ower an Kirk, it will not brak quhill[76] it be broken with an aix, or som such lyk thing, be a man’s handis.  If it be not broken, it will last an hundreth yeir.  It hes ane cradle about it of clay, to preserue it from skaith;[77] and it wes rosten each vther day, at the fyr; som tymes on pairt of it, som tymes an vther pairt of it; it vold be a litle wat with water, and then rosten.  The bairn vold be brunt and rosten, ewin as it ves by ws.—­Pitcairne’s Criminal Trials, Vol. iii. pp. 605 and 612.

[Footnote 62:  Male.]