I HEARD very much, but beleived very little, of the Second Sight; yet its being assumed by severall of great…
- Date of account
- Written 1691; later edited edition
- Source
- The secret commonwealth of elves, fauns & fairies
- Reference
- The secret commonwealth of elves, fauns & fairies · selected passage 51
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English/Scots historical text
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
I HEARD very much, but beleived very little, of the Second Sight; yet its being assumed by severall of great Veracity, I was induced to make Inquirie after it in the Year 1652, being then confin’d to abide in the North of Scotland by the English Usurpers
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyI HEARD very much, but beleived very little, of the Second Sight; yet its being assumed by severall of great Veracity, I was induced to make Inquirie after it in the Year 1652, being then confin’d to abide in the North of Scotland by the English Usurpers. The more generall Accounts of it were, that many Highlanders, yet far more Islanders, were qualified with this Second Sight; that Men, Women, and Children, indistinctly, were subject to it, and Children, where Parents were not. Some times People came to age, who had it not when young, nor could any tell by what Means produced. It is a Trouble to most of them who are subject to it, and they would be rid of it any Rate if they could. The Sight is of no long Duration, only continuing so long as they can keep their Eyes steady without twinkling. The hardy therefore fix their look, that they may see the longer; but the timorous see only Glances, their Eyes always twinkles at the first Sight of the Object. That which generally is seen by them, are the Species of living Creatures, and of inanimate Things, which was in Motion, such as Ships, and Habits upon Persons. They, never sie the Species of any Person who is already dead.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis material belongs to a folklore tradition. Story type, collector, community, transmission and literary editing matter when comparing it with other sources.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyLattice compares motifs and reported features without assuming that a traditional being is a biological species or that similar stories document one external cause.
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