Sunday, January the 24th, 2010

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Those Cursed Scotch Pebbles

“I am sorry there are such occasions to clean your pebbles; you must make use of the powder to them by putting it in anything of substance, wherein it will not swim a-top of the water.”

The father, feeling unwell, frequently took water gruel. This was a proper vehicle for the powder.

“On Sunday morning, I again examined Mr Blandy. He seemed much relieved, but, on viewing his fundament, I found it almost surrounded with gleety excoriations and ulcers.”

“I always thought there was mischief in those cursed Scotch pebbles.”

Four extracts from an account of the case of Mary Blandy, given in Tales Of The Newgate Calendar by Rayner Heppenstall (1981)