The portrait of Maggie Dickson is the second illustration I like more than the others. She is a woman that I dare say, modern. Modern due to her courage to be a free woman in a time not yet ready for it.
Repudiated by her husband, after she gave birth to their second son, Maggie decided to leave the city and went to live with some relatives in Newcastle. Although she never arrived there, she decided to stop and remain in the inn owned by Mrs Bell in Kelso, and she fell in love with Bell’s son, William. The men here behave in a juvenile manner, like children caught with their hands in the jam, but reprimanded with a pat and that’s all, what do you want to do, they are just kids ( in this way William and the first husband left the scene without paying any consequences). Maggie will pay everything and for everyone; having to leave her city, and losing her life because she was committing adultery in the eyes of the law (since she’s not divorced) and infanticide (in order to hide the pregnancy due to her relationship with William, she ends up losing her child). She tried, in fact, in total despair, to conceal the little corpse leaving it to the water of the river but at the last moment she just left it by the shore.
The misogynous society of the time not yet ready to see the figure of the woman as something to protect, pointed the finger at her and the sentence was declared: death by hanging.
About this historical event I think that society was not completely civilized in the XVIII century (even if nowadays sometimes we cannot still say it).
I will leave you here the full story that I suggest you to read in order to understand something that, even now, it is easy to see or hear or read on the news. Unfortunately in some countries it is still the same. But the disrespect that emerges, goes beyond the gender. We must learn to respect each other and our precious individuality.
Ghostly tales and sinister stories of old Edinburgh, Alan Wilson, Des Brogan and Frank McGrail, Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh) Ltd, 1991, pp. 66-67:
In 1723 Margaret Dickson, a fish hawker, was deserted by her husband shortly after the birth of their second son. Utterly distressed she decided to quit Edinburgh for some time and head for Newcastle to stay with some relatives.
She never reached Newcastle. To split her journey she stopped for a night in Kelso and stayed at an inn in the quiet Borders town. She liked the landlady and her family so much that she asked if she could stay for a while and work in return for her board and lodgings. This happiness turned sour. Not only did Margaret form a bond of friendship with Mrs Bell, the landlady, she formed an even stronger one with her son, William. Shirtly Margaret found herself in a state of pregnancy.
This was bad news. This was not in her contract of employment. So Margaret hid the fact that she was expecting. Her successful attempts at concealing her condition led to the child being born prematurely. After only a few days the baby died. Margaret determined to throw the baby in the river Tweed which flowed past the hotel. But at the last moment she lost her nerve and instead placed it in some reeds near the water’s edge.
That same day the body was found by a local fisherman who immediately drew his discovery to the attention of the magistrates. Kelso being a small town with everyone knowing everyone else’s business, the birth of the child was traced back to Maggie. She was arrested and charged under the 1690 Concealment of Pregnancy Act and returned to Edinburgh for trial. This was a capital offence. Maggie was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.
Maggie Dickson had been a popular well-known figure in Edinburgh’s street life. Many thousands turned up for her execution on 2 September 1742. The hanging took place in the Grassmarket. Some friends brought a cart and a coffin to give her a decent burial.
She was hanged. Death was pronounced by attending doctor and the body was cut down by the hangman. Then all hell let loose! The medical students were out that day and they wanted the body. A great scuffle ensued but the outrage Edinburgh mob gave students a sound thrashing and secured the body in the coffin.
On the way to Musselburgh where Maggie was to be buried, the funeral party decided to stop off at the Sheep Heid tavern in Duddingston. After an hour or two recounting the virtuous life of the deceased they continued the journey. But just as they turned into the graveyard the funeral party heard muffled moans and groans coming from the coffin.
They opened the lid and found to their astonishment that Maggie was alive! Returned to Edinburgh, Maggie recovered her full health during the following few weeks. But there was a problem. Should she be hanged again? Representatives from the Church, the University and the Town Council debated the issues.
The greatest brains of the day discussed Maggie’s future. Lawyers looked for precedents, but in vain. Finally it was decided that as death had been pronounced, any change in those circumstances must be an act of God – and even Edinburgh Town Council dared not challenge the works of the Lord.
Thus Margaret Dickson was set free and lived in Edinburgh for another 40 years – known by all the celebrated “Half-Hangit Maggie”.