Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands Part 2

She never went to the Sabbath except when her husband remained all night fishing at sea.

Whenever she wanted to bewitch anyone and her powder happened to have been all used up, the Devil appeared to her and told her to go to such a place, which he named, for some more, and when she did so, she never failed to find it there.

DEPOSITIONS CONTRE COLLAS BECQUET.

_Le xvij Mai 1617._

_Susanne Le Tellier_, veufve de _Pierre Rougier_, depose que son mary estant decede, trouva des sorcerots en son lict; et qu'en son djt lict mortuaire, il se plaignoit este ensorcele par _Collas Becquet_, avec lequel avoit eu dispute, sur laquelle dispute luy dyt que s'en repentiroit; et la dessus fut prins de m...[A] duquel fut douze jours malade; qu'ils trouverent quarante-quatre sorcerots en l'oreiller de son enfant, que les uns estoyent fait comme herissons, les autres comme pommes, et les autres plats comme la rouelle de la main; et du fill de chanvre entortille avec de plumes.

[Footnote A: Illegible in the record.]

_Susanne_, femme de _Jean Le Messurier_, depose que son mary et _Collas Becquet_ plaiderent a jour pa.s.se ensemble; qu'allors ils avoyent ung enfant ayant de viron six semaines, et comme elle le despouilloit au soir, pour le coucher, il tomba sur l'estomac du djt enfant une beste noire laquelle fondit si tost que fut tombee, d'aultant qu'elle fist debvoir de la rechercher et ne peut jamais apercevoir qu'elle devint; incontinent l'enfant fut prins de mal et ne voulu teter, mais fut fort tormente; que s'estant avisee de regarder dans l'oreiller du djt enfant y trouverent des sorcerots cousus de fil, et les ayant tires et bien espluche la plume de l'oreiller, y regarda sept jours appres et y entrouva derechef avec une febve noire percee; dequoy, ayant le djt _Becquet_ ouy qu'il en estoit suspecte, sa femme vint ches la deposante comme le djt _Becquet_ estoit a la mer, et luy djt qu'a raison du bruit que la deposante avoit sucite sur son mary, iceluy _Becquet_ fuetteroit le djt _Mesurier_, son mary, et elle, et les tueroit; qu'apres cela la deposante fut ches eux leur dire que ne les craignoit, ny luy ny elle, de ce qu'ils la menacoyent de tuer son mary et elle; qu'ayant la deposante un jour six grands poulets qui couroyent appres leur mere, ils sortirent de leur maison et revinent au soir; et un a un se mirent a saulter en hault contre la cheminee et manget la scie, qu'ils moururent tous un a un, a voy ...[B] comme ils sautoyent, jusques au dernier qui dura en vie jusqu'a une heure devant le jour qu'il mourut; que depuis que l'eurent declare a _Mr Deljsle_ et les eut menaces, il a amende a son enfant et se porte bien.

[Footnote B: Illegible in the record.]

_Collas Rougier_ depose que son frere _Piere Rougier_ en mourant chargeoit _Collas Becquet_ de sa mort.

_Collas Hugues_ raport qu'estant en une nopsce y survint _Collas Becquet_ jouet avec sa belle-fille, laquelle le rebouta; et des le mesme soir elle fut frapee de telle facon qu'on pensoit qu'elle mourust a chacune heure; qu'elle est demeuree mechaignee de coste, et trouva un des sorcerots en son lict, qui pour lors furent monstres a Messrs de Justice qui estoyent a tenir des veues a St. Pierre; que la djte fille tomboit quelque fois y terre toute aveuglee.

La femme du djt _Hugues_ depose tout de mesme que son mary.

_Jean De Garis_, fils _Guillaume_, depose qu'il y a viron deux ou trois ans qu'ayant preste quelque argent sur un gage a _Collas Becquet_, luy demandant son argent, ou qu'il feroit ventiller son gage; luy repart.i.t le djt _Becquet_ a feray donc ventiller autre chose; qu'estant le djt _de Garis_ arive en sa maison, trouva la fille malade et affligee; qu'ils trouverent des sorcerots et aultres brouilleries par plusieurs fois a l'oreiller de leur enfant; mais que la mere du djt _Becquet_ estant venue en la maison du djt _de Garis_, luy donna a boire de l'eau et la moitie d'un pain comme avoit este conseille de faire; depuis ne trouverent plus rien a l'oreiller du djt enfant; toutesfois pour eviter les djts sorcerots, ont toujours depuis couche leur enfant sur la paille; croit que ce mal leur ariva par leur moyen.

_Mr Thomas de Ljsle_ depose que _Thomas Brouart_, qui demeure en sa maison, ayant appelle le fils de _Collas Becquet_, sorcier, il arriva qu'il fut un jour trouve au lict du djt _Thomas_ grand nombre de vers, et les ayant le djt _Sieur de Ljsle_ veus, les jugea comme une formioniere, tant estoyent mouvans et espais, et a peine en peuvent vuider le dit enfant, l'ayant mis en plusieurs endroits; qu'appres fut le djt enfant accueillis de poulx de telle maniere que quoyque luy changea.s.sent des chemises et habits tous les jours ne l'en pouvoyent franchir; et qu'ayant le djt _Thomas Brouart_ un corset tout neuf, fut tellement couvert de poulx qu'on n'auroit peu cognoistre le drap, et fut contraint le faire jetter parmy les choux; surquoy fait menacer aultre _Ma.s.si_ de la batre si elle ne s'abstenoit d'ainsy traiter son enfant; qu'estant revenu trouva le djt corset parmis les choux denue de poulx, lesquels du depuis ont quitte le djt _Brouart_.

_Jacques le Mesurier_ depose qu'il y a viron deux ou trois ans qu'il rencontra _Collas Becquet_ et _Perot Ma.s.si_, quj avoyent du poisson, et d'aultant qu'ils lui debvoyent de l'argent, il voulut prendre de leur poisson a rabatre, mais ne luy en voulant bailler, eurent quelque dispute; sur quoy l'un des djts _Becquet_ ou _Ma.s.si_ le menacerent qu'il s'en repentiroit; qu'au bout de deux ou trois jours il fut saisi d'un mal que le brusloit, et quelques fois devenoit tout morfondu, sans qu'on le peust eschauffer, et sans aulcune relache; qu'il fut en ces tourments pres d'un mois. _Collas Becquet_ entendit que le deposant le chargeoit d'estre causte de son mal, et menacoit qu'il tueroit le djt deposant; mais bientost appres fut le djt deposant guery; dit de cuider et de croire les djts _Becquet_ et _Ma.s.sy_, ou un d'iceux, fut cause de son mal.

DEPOSITIONS AGAINST COLLAS BECQUET.

_MAY 17, 1617._

_Susanne Le Tellier_, widow of _Pierre Rougier_, deposed that after her husband was dead she found witches' spells in his bed; and that while he was upon his said deathbed he complained of being bewitched by _Collas Becquet_, with whom he had had a quarrel, and who during the quarrel told him he would repent of it; whereupon he was taken with ...[A], whereof he was ill for twelve days; they also found forty-four witches' spells in her child's pillow, some of which were made like hedgehogs, others round like apples, and others again flat like the palm of the hand; and they were of hempen thread twisted with feathers.

[Footnote A: Illegible in the record.]

_Susanne_, wife of _Jean Le Messurier_, deposed that her husband and _Collas Becquet_ had angry words together one day; they had an infant about six weeks old, and as she was undressing it in the evening to put it to bed, there fell upon the stomach of the said infant, a black beast which melted away as soon as it fell, so that although she carefully sought for it, she could never discover what had become of it; immediately afterwards the infant was taken ill and would not suck, but was much tormented; being advised to look into the said infant's pillow, she found there several witches' spells sewn with thread; these she took out and carefully dressed all the feathers in the pillow; yet when she examined it again a week afterwards, she found there a black bean with a hole in it; of which, the said _Becquet_ hearing that he was suspected, his wife came to witness's house while the said _Becquet_ was at sea, and told her that on account of the rumour which witness had raised about her husband, he the said _Becquet_ would thrash the said _Messurier_, her husband, and herself, and would kill them; after that, witness went to their house to say they were not afraid either of him or her, or of their threats to kill her husband and her; witness had six big chickens which ran after their mother, going out of the house in the morning and returning at night; and one by one they began to jump up against the chimney and eat the soot, so that they all died one after the other, ...[B] as they jumped, until the last one which remained alive up to one hour of daybreak, when it died; after they had told this to _Mr.

de Lisle_, and he had threatened the people, her infant recovered and remained well.

[Footnote B: Illegible in the record.]

_Collas Rougier_ deposed that his brother _Pierre Rougier_ when dying charged _Collas Becquet_ with causing his death.

_Collas Hugues_ reported that being at a wedding, _Collas Becquet_ arrived there, and began to toy with his daughter-in-law, who repelled his advances; the very same evening she was taken ill in such a manner that they thought she would have died from one hour to another; besides which she remained under the charm, and they found one of the witches' spells in her bed, which was shown to the Members of the Court, who were making an inspection at St. Peter's; the said girl sometimes fell to the ground quite blinded.

The wife of the said _Hugues_ deposed to exactly the same as her husband.

_Jean de Garis_, son of _William_, deposed that about two or three years ago, having lent some money on pledge to _Collas Becquet_, he asked him for the money, or else for a verification of his security; when the said _Becquet_ replied that he would let him know what his security was; the said _de Garis_ having then returned home, found his daughter sick and afflicted; they found witches' spells and other conjurations several times in their child's pillow; but the mother of the said _Becquet_ having come to the said _de Garis's_ house, he gave her a drink of water and half-a-loaf of bread, as he had been advised to do; since which time they had found nothing more in the child's pillow; however to avoid all risk of the said witches' spells they had always since then let their child sleep upon straw; he fully believed that this evil had come upon them by their means.

_Mr. Thomas de Lisle_ deposed that _Thomas Brouart_, who resided in his house, having called the son of _Collas Becquet_ a wizard, it happened that there was one day found in the said _Thomas's_ bed a great number of maggots, which the said _Sieur de Lisle_ saw, and compared to an ant-hill, so lively and thick were they, and they could hardly clear the said child of them, although they put it in different places; afterwards the said child gathered lice in such a manner that although its shirts and clothes were changed every day they could not free it; the said _Thomas Brouart_ also had a brand new vest, which was so covered with lice that it was impossible to see the cloth, and he was compelled to have it thrown among the cabbages; upon which he went and threatened _Ma.s.si's_ wife that he would beat her if she did not abstain from thus treating his child; and on returning he found the said vest among the cabbages clear of lice, which had also since then quitted the said _Brouart_.

_Jacques le Mesurier_ deposed that about two or three years ago he met _Collas Becquet_ and _Perot Ma.s.si_, who had some fish and who moreover owed him money; he wished to take some of their fish at a reduced price, but they would not agree to it, and they quarrelled; whereupon one of the two, either _Becquet_ or _Ma.s.si_, threatened him that he would repent of it; and at the end of two or three days, he was seized with a sickness in which he first burnt like fire and then was benumbed with cold so that nothing would warm him, and this without any cessation; he suffered in this way for nearly a month. _Collas Becquet_ heard that witness charged him with being the cause of his sickness, and he threatened that he would kill witness; but very soon afterwards the said witness was cured; and he affirms and believes that the said _Becquet_ and _Ma.s.sy_, or one of them, was the cause of his attack.

NOTE ON THE GUERNSEY RECORDS.

The Records at the Guernsey _Greffe_, from which the foregoing confessions and depositions have been transcribed, and whence the following list of accusations is compiled, are of a very voluminous character. In fact there is enough matter in them, connected with Witchcraft alone, to fill at least a couple of thick octavo volumes.

There is, however, so much sameness in the different cases, and such a common tradition running through the whole, that the present excerpts give a very fair idea of the features which characterise the ma.s.s.

While some of these Records are tolerably complete, the greater part of them unfortunately are fragmentary and imperfect. The books in which they were originally written seem to have been formed of a few sheets of paper st.i.tched together. Then at some later period a number of these separate sections--in a more or less tattered condition--were gathered into volumes and bound together in vellum. It is evident, however, that very little care was exercised in their arrangement in chronological order. The consequence is that one portion of a trial sometimes occurs in one part of a volume, and the rest in another part; sometimes the depositions alone seem to have been preserved; sometimes the confessions; while in many cases the sentences p.r.o.nounced are all that can now be discovered. Nevertheless these old Records enshrine much that is interesting, and very well deserve a more exhaustive a.n.a.lysis than they have ever yet received. There are also in the margins of these volumes, scores of pen-and-ink sketches of a most primitive description, depicting the carrying out of the various rigours of the law. Rough and uncouth as these ill.u.s.trations are, they nevertheless possess a good deal of graphic significance, and I hope to reproduce some of them in facsimile, in a future publication. They represent, for instance, culprits hanging on the gallows--sometimes two or three in a row--with a fire kindled underneath; others attached to stakes in the midst of the flames; others, again, racing away under the lash of the executioner, &c., &c., and thus form a most realistic comment on the judicial severities recorded in the text.

WITCHCRAFT TRIALS IN GUERNSEY,

From 1563 to 1634, a period of 71 years.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.--1558-1603.

HELIER GOSSELIN, Bailiff, 1550-1563.

_November 19th, 1563._

Gracyene Gousset, Catherine Prays, Collette Salmon, wife of Collas Dupont,

Condemned to death and the Royal pardon refused.

_December 17th, 1563._

Francoise Regnouff, Martin Tulouff,

Condemned to death and the Royal pardon refused.

_December 22nd, 1563._

Collette Gascoing.

This woman was found guilty, and the Royal pardon being refused, she was whipped, had one of her ears cut off, and was banished from the island.

THOMAS COMPTON, Bailiff, 1563-1572.

_July 30th, 1570._

Jeannette Du Mareesc,