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303
The Book of Dreams and Ghosts
·
Andrew Lang
132
CHAPTER
VII
More
Ghosts
With
A
Purpose
The
Slaying
of
Sergeant
Davies
in
1749.
The
Trial.
Scott's
Theory.
Curious
recent
Corroboration
of
Sir
Walter's
Hypothesis.
Other
Trials
involving
Ghostly
Evidence.
Their
Want
of
Authenticity.
"Fisher's
Ghost"
criticised.
The
Aylesbury
Murder.
The
Dog
o'
Mause.
The
Ghosts
of
Dogs.
Peter's
Ghost.
Much
later
in
time
than
the
ghost
of
Sir
George
Villiers
is
the
ghost
of
Sergeant
Davies,
of
Guise's
regiment.
His
purpose
was,
first,
to
get
his
body
buried;
next,
to
bring
his
murderers
to
justice.
In
this
latter
desire
he
totally
failed.
THE
SLAYING
OF
SERGEANT
DAVIES
We
now
examine
a
ghost
with
a
purpose;
he
wanted
to
have
his
bones
buried.
The
Highlands,
in
spite
of
Culloden,
were
not
entirely
pacified
in
the
year
1749.
Broken
men,
robbers,
fellows
with
wrongs
unspeakable
to
revenge,
were
out
in
the
heather.
The
hills
that
seemed
so
lonely
were
not
bare
of
human
life.
A
man
was
seldom
so
solitary
but
that
eyes
might
be
on
him
from
cave,
corry,
wood,
or
den.
The
Disarming
Act
had
been
obeyed
in
the
usual
style:
old
useless
weapons
were
given
up
to
the
military.
But
the
spirit
of
the
clans
was
not
wholly
broken.
Even
the
old
wife
of
Donald
Ban,
when
he
was
"sair
hadden
down
by
a
Bodach"
(ghost)
asked
the
spirit
to
answer
one
question,
"Will
the
Prince
come
again?"
The
song
expressed
the
feelings
of
the
people:--
The
wind
has
left
me
bare
indeed,
And
blawn
my
bonnet
off
my
heid,
But
something's
hid
in
Hieland
brae,
The
wind's
no
blawn
my
sword
away!
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