or Relations of Apparitions.
Containing
The Story of Henry Bell,
Apparition of Sir John Owen,
The Danish Witches, &c.
"Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live."
Revelations.
LONDON:
Printed for Tegg and Castleman,
No. 23, Warwick-Square:
And sold by Thomas Hughes, Stationers-court.
Price Sixpence
APPARITIONS, WITCHCRAFT, &c.
Apparition before death.
Mr. Joseph Glew, a sword-hilt-maker, lived with his wife (both ancient people) many years, and one woman-lodger, in the house over the archway in the passage to Bear-yard, near the Oratory, in Lincoln's-Inn-fields; and for the sake of company desired a nephew of his, by marriage, to come and lodge in his house. Accordingly, in the beginning of January, 1739-40, the nephew came to his uncle, and spent every evening with him and his wife in reading, &c. for their amusement. About the twenty-fifth of the same month, after the nephew had been reading to his uncle and aunt, who were at this time in very good health, some meditations out of Dr. Thomas Coney's Devout Soul, he retired to his chamber, a large back room, up two pair of stairs, and, having fastened the door, went to bed, and fell asleep before ten o'clock. A little before the clock struck twelve, he was awakened by the drawing of the curtain of his bed, and, starting up, saw by a glimmering light, resembling that of the moon, the shadow of his uncle in the night-gown and cap he had on when he last parted with him, standing on the right side, near the head of the bed, holding the head-curtain back with his left hand, and seemed as if he was either going to strike or stroke him with his right; but the nephew believed the latter, as the face of the spirit had a cheerful look, and they lived in the greatest amity. At this instant, Mrs. Cooke, an ancient women, that lodged in the fore two pair of stairs room, and who formerly belonged to Mr. Rich's company of comedians several years, came out of her apartment to light down stairs the widow of the facetious James Spiller, who had been this evening to visit her. He now heard the clock, which was in his uncle's apartment, underneath, strike twelve, and tried to call out to the two women as they passed by his door, but had lost all power of utterance. The ghost kept its position, and the nephew his eyes fixed on it, and heard, when the two women opened the street-door, that they called to the watchman, as he came by crying the hour of twelve, and agreed to give him some pence to light Mrs. Spiller to her lodging, which was but at a little distance, On which she went away, and Mrs. Cooke, having again fastened the door, was coming up the stairs, when the nephew supposes he swooned away; for, on coming again to the use of his reason, he found himself half out of bed, and immerged into a cold and sickly sweat. The first thing he heard, after he had recovered from his fright, was the clock striking one. He now wrapped himself up in his bed-clothes, but closed his eyes no more the whole night. About eight in the morning, as soon as he heard his aunt open the door of her apartment, he jumped out of bed, and, putting en his apparel with what expedition he could, hurried down to her room, and, having, asked how he did, heard he was pretty well. On this he told his aunt what he had seen, with the time and circumstances; but she, looking on it as fabulous, they called for Mrs. Cooke, who was just got up, and she confirmed every thing he had said concerning Mrs. Spiller and the watchman, a positive proof he was awake and in his senses. The aunt now desired he would not mention it to his uncle, which he promised he would not, but withal told her he could never more lie in that chamber, and went out about his business. The same day, before one o'clock, the nephew received a message from his aunt, where he was at work in Fleet-street, desiring him to come immediately to her: he accordingly went to her house, where he found his uncle dead, and was told that he fell down in crossing his room, and died suddenly about three minutes before twelve o'clock; exactly twelve hours from his ghost's appearance to his nephew.
This circumstance induced the young man to think his uncle might want to reveal something to him, and therefore desired to sit up with his corpse the night preceding his interment, which the aunt agreeing to, he fortified his mind, and prepared a devotional book for his companion, with which he shut himself up in the room with the body, about six in the evening, in hopes he might see the spirit of his uncle, if he had any thing to say or open to him; but as nothing occurred, during fourteen hours he was alone with the corpse, the following evening he attended his funeral to the north part of the church-yard of St. Giles's in the Fields, where his body was interred, leaving behind him the character of a good Christian, a tender husband, and a sincere friend.
Authentic and remarkable Account of a House that was haunted at Bow.
A certain gentleman, about thirty years ago, or more, being to travel from London to Essex, and to pass
through Bow, at the request of a friend he called at a house there, which began then to be a little disquieted. But not any thing much remarkable yet, unless about a young girl who was pluckt by the thigh by a cold hand in her bed, who died within a few days after.
Some weeks after this, his occasions calling him back, he passed by the same house again, but had no design to give them a new visit, he having done that not long before. But it happening that the woman of the house stood at the door, he thought himself engaged to ride to her, and ask her how she did. To whom she answered, with a sorrowful countenance, that, though she was in tolerable health, yet things went very ill with them, their house being extremely haunted, especially above stairs, so that they were forced to keep in the lower rooms, there was such a throwing of things up and down, of stones and bricks through the windows, and putting all in disorder. But he could scarcely forbear laughing at her, giving so little credit to such stories himself, and thought it was, the tricks only of some unhappy wags to make sport to themselves, and trouble their neighbours.
Well, said she, if you will but stay a while, you may chance to see something with your own eyes. And, indeed, he had not stayed any considerable time with her in the street, but a window of an upper room opened of itself, (for, they of the family took it for granted nobody was above stairs,} and out comes a piece of an old wheel through it. Whereupon it presently clapt to again. A little while after, it suddenly flew open again, and out came a brick-bat, which inflamed the gentleman with a more eager desire to see what the matter was, and to discover the knavery. And therefore, he boldly resolved, if any one would go up with him, he would enter the chamber. But none present durst accompany him. Yet, the keen desire of discovering the cheat, made him venture by himself into that room. Into which, when he was come, he saw the bedding, chairs, stools, and candlesticks, and bed-staves, and all the furniture, rudely scattered on the floor, but, upon search, found no mortal in the room.
Well! he stayed there a while to try conclusions; anon a bed-staff begins to move, and turn itself round a good while together upon its toe and at last fairly to lay itself down again. The curious spectator, when he had observed it to lie still awhile, stepts out to it, views whether any small string or hair were tied to it, or whether there were any hole or button to fasten any such string to, or hole or string in the ceiling above; but after search, he found not the least suspicion of any such thing.
He retired to the window again, and observed a little longer what might fall out. Anon, another bed-staff rises off from the ground, of its own accord, higher into the air, and seems to make towards him. He now begins to think there was something more than ordinary in the business, and presently makes to the door with all speed, and for better caution, shuts it after him. Which was presently opened again, and such a clatter of chairs and stools, and candlesticks, and bed-staves, sent after him down stairs, as if they intended to have maimed him; but their motion was so moderated, that he received no harm: but by this, he was abundantly assured that it was not mere womanish fear or superstition that so affrighted the mistress of the house. And, while in a low room he was talking with the family about these things, he saw a tobacco-pipe rise from a side-table, nobody being nigh, and fly to the other side of the room, and break itself against the wall; for his farther confirmation, that it was neither the tricks of wags, nor the fancy of a woman, but the mad frolics of witches and daemons: which they of the house being fully persuaded of, roasted a bed-staff; upon which, an old woman, a suspected witch, came to the house, and was apprehended, but escaped the law. But the house was afterwards so haunted in all the rooms, upper and lower, that it stood empty for a long time.
Apparition to Captain Henry Bell.
Captain Henry Bell, in his narrative prefixed to Luther's Table Talk, printed in England in 1652, after having mentioned the mystery and providence of the discovery of it under ground in Germany, where it had lain hid fifty-two years, relates the following astonishing admonition relating to the translating of it into English.
Captain Van Spar, a German gentleman, having, as before described, recovered the copy from the worms, desired Captain Bell, with whom he Was well acquainted while he was agent for king James I. on the continent, to translate it into English, and publish it in London for the advancement of religion; but Captain Bell was always somehow most unaccountably hindered from prosecuting that work in such a sort as to bring it to a proper conclusion, being prevented by such intervening business as his public occupation required him to execute.
About six weeks after he had received the German copy, being well in health, and in bed with his wife, between twelve and one o'clock, there appeared to him, standing at the side of the bed, an ancient man clothed in a light-coloured habit, and of a most reverend aspect, having a broad and white beard, which hung as low as his girdle, and, smiling at him, said, in a gentlemanly manner of rebuke, "Will you not take time to translate that book which is sent to you out of Germany? If you do not, I will shortly hereafter provide you both time and place to do it!" and then instantly vanished.
This extraordinary vision affrighted him so much, that he fell into an extreme sweat; so that his wife awaking, and finding him in that condition, she asked him what he ailed? He then related to her his vision, and the remarkable message attending it. But Captain Bell not paying much attention to the matter afterwards, time wore it off his memory, and he paid no more regard to what he had seen and heard than if it had been a mere dream.
However, he had soon reason to recollect the old man's words, for, soon after being at his lodgings in King-street, Westminster, at dinner with his wife, two messengers came from the Council-Board, with a warrant to carry him to the Gate-house, there to be confined till farther orders from the Lords of the Privy-Council. Upon this warrant he was detained ten whole years a close prisoner, whereof he spent five in the translation of the aforementioned work; having good cause to be mindful of the old man's saying, "I will shortly provide for you both time and place to translate it."
This narrative is extracted from the preface of Luther's Table-talk, printed in 1652 ; and, from what Mr. Aubrey observes upon this story, which he briefly relates, it appears, that whatsoever was pretended for the cause of his confinement, yet the true reason of the Captain's commitment was, because he was urgent with the Lord Treasurer for his arrears, which amounted to a great sum; he was unwilling to pay, and, to be freed from his clamours, hit upon the scheme of holding him in prison.
Apparition of Sir John Owen to his lady, to warn her of her extravagant way of living.
Sir John Owen was a person of note, and of well-known credit; his lady and one of her sons lived here in London; and being of a gay disposition, and given to live high and expensive, it was thought she spent beyond what the Knight could afford, and that she was sensible of it, and uneasy about it. She had a very good house in London, and a country-house, or lodgings for the summer, at Hampstead, and kept a great equipage; the consequence of these things did at last prove, that Sir John's dislike of it was justly founded ; but that's by the bye.
It happened one day, the lady being at her country-lodgings, a person well dressed, appearing very much like a gentleman, came to her city-house, and, knocking at the door, asked the maid if there were any lodgings to be let there, and if her lady was at home? The maid answered no, there were no lodgings to let there; and speaking, as it were with some resentment, Lodgings! says she, no, I think not! my lady does not use to let her lodgings. Well, but sweetheart, says he, don't be displeased, your lady has had some thoughts of staying at her summer-lodgings all the winter, and so would dispose of some apartments here for the parliament season; and I am directed by herself to look upon the rooms, and give my answer; let me but just see them, child, I shall do you no harm. So he stepped in, and, as it were, pushed by her, going into the first parlour, and sat down in an easy chair, his servant staying at the door; and as the maid did not apprehend any mischief, she went in after him; for, he did not look like one that came with an ill design, or to rob the house, but looked like a gentleman that could nave no such intent; so I say she went in after him.
When the maid came in, the gentleman rose up, and, looking about the room, he found fault with every thing there, even the furniture, and the disposition of it; nothing pleased him; but this was not because they were not good enough for him, but that all was too good, and too rich, far above her quality that owned it; and said, that the lady did not know what she did, that it was an expense she could not carry on, and her estate would not support it; and that such a way of living would bring her and all the family, to ruin and beggary, and the like.
By and by she carried him into another parlour, and there he found fault in the same manner: he told her, he was surprised at what her lady meant, and that she lived at so extravagant a rate as Sir John's estate could never maintain, but would run him into debt and ruin him; and so he would be undone by her extravagance.
Upon this, the maid began to take him short a little, and told him, that this was all out of the way to what he came about; if the lodgings were too good for him, that was his business indeed, but else he had nothing to do with her lady's conduct, and how she pleased to furnish her house; that her master was a gentleman of a great estate, and had large plantations in Jamaica; that he constantly supplied her lady with money sufficient for her support, and for all her expenses; and she wondered he should trouble himself with that which she was sure was none of his business: in short, the girl huffed him, and asked him what it was to him, who was quite a stranger, how her lady lived?
However, he turned to the maid, and, sitting down again, calmly entered into some discourse with her about her lady, and her way of living, and told so many of the secrets of the family to her, that she began to be more mild with him, and perceived that he knew more of the family than she thought he did, or indeed than she did herself; at last the girl began to be very uneasy, and to question with herself, whether it was not her master come over incognito, and that he had not yet discovered himself.
She tried several times to learn who he was, his quality, his country, his name, and how she might send to him; but he always put it off, and only told her he would go to Hamstead, where her lady lodged, and wait upon her lady himself; and so treating the servant very civilly, and thanking her for shewing him the house, he went away in form, with his servant following him, so that he did not vanish as an apparition.
Yet all this time the poor girl was very uneasy; she began to think it could not be an ordinary creature, because he gave such strange and particular accounts of things done in the family; such as, where several things were deposited that belonged to the family, with several circumstances belonging to her mistress, to her little son, and to his father in the West-Indies: and, in short, said some things, which, as she imagined, none but the devil could tell of; which, by the way, was talking as ignorant people talk of such things; namely, that if any thing be said or done out of the ordinary way, and more than is common for men to talk or to do, they will immediately say, it must be the devil.
The poor girl was very much surprised at this gentleman's appearance, and more so after he was gone than before; for, he did not give her time to reflect upon the particulars he mentioned to her; but, relating one thing after another, she had enough to do to take in the heads of things in general.
But when he was gone, and she began to reflect and compare things together, she began to consider who could this possibly be? how could he know such and such things? how could he tell whose picture that was? where my mistress had such a suit of curtains, and such
a cabinet; who must he be, to tell me how long my master has been at Jamaica; how much his estate is there, and how much money he has sent my lady over, at such and such times? This must be the devil in my master's clothes; something must be in it; I'll go to my lady, and let her know it all. And with this the maid gets a woman, that used to be trusted in such cases, to look after the house, and away she goes to Hampstead to her mistress.
I think it is a part of the story that the gentleman desired she would acquaint her mistress with it; that such a person had been there, and gave her some particular tokens, by which he said her mistress would understand who he was; and that she should tell what he said, that her income would not support the expenses she lived at, but that it would bring her to ruin, and she would be undone: but this part I do not positively remember; but am certain that he told the maid it would be so.
However, the poor girl, the more she ruminated upon the thing, the more she was alarmed at it: at length, away she went, as I have said, to give her lady an account of what had happened; and she was the more eager to go, because she understood him, to talk about the lodgings, and so she would prepare her lady to receive him, and to consider what kind of a man it must be, that she might not be frighted at him; but he had been too quick for the maid.
When she came to Hampstead, she found her mistress lying upon the bed, and so very ill, that they at first told her she could not be spoke with. Don't tell me, says Mary (the London maid), I must speak with her, and will speak with her. What extraordinary business can you have? says the lady's woman, in a taunting manner: if your business was from the devil, you can't speak with my lay just now, for she is very ill, and laid down upon the bed.
From the devil, says Mary, I don't know but it may, and I believe it is indeed; so I must speak with my lady immediately.
Nay, says the woman, here has been one messenger too many from the devil already, I think: sure you don't come of his errand too, do ye?
I don't know whose errand I come of, but I am frighted out of my wits; let me speak with my lady presently, or I shall die before I deliver my message.
Die! says the woman; I wish my lady don't die before she can hear it; pr'ythee, Mary, if it be any thing to frighten her, don't tell it her just now, for she is almost frightened to death already.
Why, says Mary, is my lady seen any thing.
Ay, ay: seen! says the woman, she has seen and heard too; here has been a man who has brought her some dreadful tidings, I don't know what it is.
They talked this so loud, or were so near, that the lady hearing something of it, immediately rang the bell for her woman.
When the woman went in. Who is that below, says the lady, talking so earnestly? is any body come from London?
Yes, Madam, says the woman, here is Mary come to speak to your ladyship.
Mary come! says she, in a surprize; what can be the matter! why, sure, has she seen something too? Mercy on me, what's the matter! what does she say?
She does not say much, Madam, says the woman, but she wants mightily to speak with your ladyship, and is in a great hurry.
What, says the lady, is she frighted?
I believe she is, says the woman, but she will tell nothing but to yourself.
Oh, I shall die! says the lady; call her up.
Pray Madam, says the woman, don't call her up till your ladyship has recovered yourself a little from your other disorder; she'll tell you some wild tale or other of her own imagination, that will discomfit you, and do you mischief.
O, says the lady, let her have whatever she will to say, I do insist upon hearing it; if it should be from the devil, it cannot be worse than it is; call her up, I must speak with her.
Accordingly Mary came up, and the woman was ordered to withdraw.
As soon as the door was shut, the lady again burst into tears; for she had been crying vehemently. O Mary,
says she, I have had a dreadful visit this afternoon; your master has been here.
My master! why, madam, that is impossible.
Nay, it was your master, I am sure; or the devil in his likeness.
In a word, it is certain it was her husband in apparition, or the apparition of her husband; and he talked very warmly and closely to her, and told her his estate would not support her expensive way of living, and that she would bring herself to misery and poverty; and a great deal more to the same purpose as he had said to Mary. Mary immediately asked her ladyship what manner he appeared in; and, by the description that her mistress gave, it was exactly the same figure that had appeared to her, and desired to see the lodgings. So Mary gave her ladyship a particular relation of what had happened to her also, and of the message she was charged to deliver.
What followed upon this alarm, and how the lady was reduced, and obliged to sell her fine furniture and equipage, and came to very low circumstances, though it be a part of the story, is not so much to my purpose in the relation. But what is remarkable to the case in hand is, that they allege, that, just at the juncture. Sir John Owen, the lady's husband, died in the West Indies. I suppose, by his death, her supplies were immediately stopped, and that was the occasion of her being reduced so suddenly.
This relation is taken from a manuscript, late in the possession of Sir Owen Ap Owen, of Breknockshire: the circumstance happened in the beginning of Queen Anne's reign.
Apparition seen by Doctor Donne.
In the year 1612, Doctor Donne accompanied Sir Robert Drury to Paris; where he is said to have had a most extraordinary vision: When Sir Robert requested him to go, Mrs. Donne, who was then with child, and under an ill habit of body, expressed an unwillingness, saying, "that her divining soul boded some ill in his absence:" but, upon Sir Robert's being importunate, she at last consented. Two days after their arrival. Dr. Donne was left alone in a room, where himself, Sir Robert, and some friends, had dined together: to which Sir Robert returning in an hour, as he left, so he found. Dr. Donne alone, but in such an extacy, and so altered in his countenance, that Sir Robert could not look upon him without amazement. He asked him, in God's name, what had befallen him in the short time of his absence: Dr. Donne was not able to answer directly, but, after a long and perplexed pause, at last said, "I have seen a dreadful vision since I saw you: I have seen my dear wife pass twice by me through this room, with her hair hanging about her shoulders, and a dead child in her arms. This I have seen. since I saw you." To which Sir Robert answered, "Sure, Sir, you have slept since I went out, and this is the result of some melancholy dream, which I desire you to forget, for you are now awake." Dr. Donne answered, "I cannot be surer that I now live, than that I have not slept since I saw you; and am as sure, that at her second appearing, she stopped, looked me in the face, and vanished."
A servant was immediately dispatched to Drury-house, to know whether Mrs. Donne was living, and, if alive, in what condition; who brought word, that he found and left her very sad and sick in bed, and that, after a long and dangerous labour, she hid been delivered of a dead child. And, upon examination, the abortion proved to be on the same day and about the same hour, that Dr. Donne affirmed he saw her pass by him in the room.
Mr. Walton observes, that, though he had not this story from Dr. Donne himself, yet he had it from a person of honour, and on the strictest intimacy with Dr. Donne, who affirmed the truth of it with the most solemn asseverations.
Apparition of the devil.
It appeared, upon the deposition of several persons, that Margaret Wild, widow, of Guildford, in Surry, bore but a slight character, and had several times been observed, or suspected, to be with child, but nobody knew of any delivery. She lived in a lone house upon a piece of waste land, and occupied by possession. Several farmers having been robbed in the neighbourhood, set up a very rigid search in quest of their property, and in their pursuit thereof visited the widow's habitation, as not being the least suspicious place, where their property might be fenced. Upon searching, they found under her bed a bag with a great many little bones in it, and when they questioned her about them, she, without hesitating, replied they were her's, and nobody had a right to inquire why they were deposited there. Suspicions being very strong against her, she was fully committed to take her trial at the next assizes of Kingsten; where, from her own confession, it was found that, being secretly delivered, she had smothered the infant during the month, and afterwards (horrid to relate!) boiled the flesh off the bones, in consequence of a dream she had; from which she inferred that, as long as she could keep the bones, she should be safe from discovery; but yet, fearing the worst, she had twice carried them out to bury them privately in a field, or throw them in some by-place, but both times had been met by a strange gentleman in black, who she at first took for a clergy-man, and who cautioned her from exposing those bones, saying, that if she ever attempted to hide them in earth, sea, or other water, she would surely be discovered, but, while she could keep them, she would be safe.
Whether this creature saw an apparition, or the devil, is left to the reader to guess. That she might reckon herself safe while she could keep them was plausible enough, and when she could not any longer, her death was not far off.
Apparition of Sir George Villars.
Mr. Nicholas Towse, an officer in the King's wardrobe in Windsor-castle, of unimpeachable manners and unquestioned veracity, had in his youth been much noticed by Sir George Villars, father to the celebrated and unfortunate Duke of Buckingham. As this gentleman lay in his bed, perfectly awake, and in good health, he perceived a person of a venerable aspect draw near to his bedside; and, with much earnestness of look, asked, Whether he had any recollection of him? This question was repeated before the poor gentleman could recover from his apprehension, and summon courage enough to reply, that he supposed himself visited by the apparition of Sir George Villars, which, being assured of by his visitant, he was desired to go and acquaint his son from him, "that, unless he did something to ingratiate himself with the people, he must expect to fall a victim, and that very soon." After this injunction, he disappeared. The next morning, Mr. Towse recollected every particular, which, however, he paid no regard to, considering the whole as a dream. The following night the visit was repeated, by the apparition, with a countenance indicating dissatisfaction and resentment, accompanied with threats of haunting the house until the warning he wished to convey to his son were communicated to him; upon which the haunted man promised compliance. The lively representation of this vision threw him into great perplexity, yet did he slight it as he had done the former, and, considering at what a distance he was from the duke, was disposed to believe it deserved no notice. This occasioned a third visit, and reproaches for his breach of promise. He had now got courage enough to remonstrate; and alleged how difficult it was to gain admission to the duke, much more to be credited by him; that whoever went upon such an errand would be regarded as a madman, and endanger his liberty. The person, after having redoubled his former threats, said that the duke was known to be very easy of access; that two or three particulars, he would (and did) impart to him, charging him at the same time never to mention them to any other, would procure him credit; which having said, he vanished. This apparition had the desired effect; for, the old gentleman repaired immediately to London, where the court then was, and being known to Sir Ralph Freeman, who had married a lady nearly related to the duke, he acquainted him with enough to assure him there was something extraordinary in it, without revealing to him all the particulars.
Sir Ralph having informed the duke of what the man desired, and of all that he knew of the matter, his Grace with his usual condescension said, that he was on the following day to hunt with the king; that he would land at Lambeth-bridge by five in the morning, where, if the man attended, he would give him a hearing. Accordingly, the man being conducted by Sir Ralph, met the duke, and walked aside in conference with him for near an hour; Sir Ralph and his servants being at such a distance, that they could not hear a word, though the duke was observed to speak sometimes with emotion. The man told Sir Ralph, in returning over the water, that when he mentioned his credentials (the substance of which, he said, he was to impart to no man) the duke swore "he could come at that knowledge by none but the devil, for, those particulars were a secret to ail but himself and another, who he was sure would never divulge it." The duke returned from the chace at an early hour, and was closeted with his mother in Whitehall for two or three hours; and, when he left her, his countenance appeared full of trouble, with a mixture of anger. She herself, when the news of the duke's murder (which happened soon after) was brought to her, seemed to receive it without surprize, and as a thing she had foreseen.
Authenticated Apparition.
A young lady of my acquaintance having a sister that went out to spend the evening in apparent good health, came home when the clock struck twelve, quite indisposed, she accompanied her to bed, where she complained of being worse. In a short time afterwards, her mother, having occasion to go into the pantry, saw the appearance of a woman standing at the door; at first she thought it was a mist before her eyes, but, looking more stedfast at the apparition (which seemed to represent the appearance of her beloved sister} she walked along with a coffin-board at her back, and then disappeared. She went to bed very much alarmed, and acquainted her husband with what she had seen, telling him she was fearful of her death. When the solemn hour of two arrived, a watchman knocked at the door, and informed her that her sister was dying, and wished her to come to her; she went, and found her dead. On inquiry, her death happened at the precise time wherein she saw the said apparition.
Appearance to Mr. Tornley.
As a Mr. John Tornley was walking through King-street, Dublin, about ten o'clock on a Tuesday night, he met a lady who he perfectly knew, being his next-door neighbour; he accosted her with the usual compliments, and was answered with a smile, as was common with her: they walked to the end of the street, conversing all the way; she expressed herself very tired. Mr. Tornley asked her if she would ride, and, before he gave her time to answer, called a coach, when she got in, and he followed; and soon as he gave orders to the coachman, they began conversing on different subjects: she said that the coach made her head-ach; at which, Mr. Tornley put his head out of the coach, and told the man to stop; but great was his surprize, when, recovering his seat, the lady was gone! He jumped out of the coach, looked round him, but could see no appearance of any lady: and, what is still more remarkable, the coachman had never seen any lady get into the coach, and expressed his wonder at hearing Mr. Tornley say there was one got in; he said he had heard Mr. Tornley speak several tunes, but supposed it was to himself. Mr. Tornley then walked home; and to his great astonishment was told that his neighbour's wife, the lady he had seen, was dead but a few minutes, and that before she died she wished much to see Mr. Tornley.
The above fact happened, as near as I can remember, in August, 1787.
A mother's appearance to her son while at sea.
A woman, who had lived on Rhode-Island, in America, whilst on her death bed, and just before she expired, expressed a desire of seeing her only son, who was then a mariner, navigating in the West-India seas, and of delivering him a message. She informed the persons near her what she wanted to say to her son, and died immediately. About that instant she appeared to him, as he was standing at the helm, it being night and bright moonshine. She first appeared on the shrouds, and delivered her message; and afterwards walked over some casks that lay on the deck, then descended regularly to the water, where she seemed to float for awhile, and at last sunk and wholly disappeared. The young man immediately set down the time and day, and the substance of her message, and found, on his arrival at Rhode-Island, that she died at the very juncture when she was seen by him; and that the words she spoke to him, corresponded exactly with those she delivered to the persons around her. This young man had soon after the misfortune to be drowned at sea; perhaps her appearing to him, and sinking in the water, was a forerunner not only of her own but of his death.
A clergyman in America sees his own apparition.
A clergyman, who lived in the Massachusetts, and had entertained an opinion, for more than fifty years, that such stories were the vapours of distempered and weak brains, was convinced at last in the following manner being in his own garden, he saw his own likeness or apparition, dressed just as he then was, pass by him, and look him full in the face. He ran into the house in a great surprize, told his family what he had seen, that he was convinced of his former error, and that he feared he should live but a few days. His words proved true, for he died a short time after.
Apparition of a corpse.
About the year 1611, there lived in Spitalfields, one Mrs. Ann Stephens, a person at that time well known and respected for her great dealings with the mercers on Ludgate-hill. This person sitting one evening in her house alone, and musing upon business, happened by accident to look behind her, when, to her great surprize, she saw, as it were, a dead corpse, as she thought, lying extended upon the floor, just as a dead body should be, excepting that the foot of one leg was fixed on the ground, as it is in bed, when one lies with one knee up; she looked at it awhile, and by degrees withdrew her eyes from so unpleasing an object: however, a strange kind of air of curiosity soon overcame her fears, and she ventured a second time to look that way, and saw it a considerable time longer fixed as before, but yet she durst not stir from her seat. She again turned from the horrible and melancholy spectacle, and resuming her courage, after a little reflection, got up with a design to ascertain herself of the reality of the vision, by going nearer to it; but lo! it was vanished!
Apparitions of spirits.
A nobleman in Silesia, having caused a sumptuous entertainment to be prepared for several of his friends, they, instead of being punctual to the time, according to promise, alledged divers excuses for the necessity they were under of absenting themselves, which so exasperated him, that he fell into a paroxysm of rage, exclaiming, "Since they have thus disappointed me, may as many devils from hell come and eat up the provisions those friends of mine refused to partake of!" which said, he sallied out of the house, and went to church, to hear a sermon. He had not been long gone, when a numerous company of horsemen, all arrayed in black, of extraordinary aspect and stature, appeared in his court-yard, and, alighting, called a groom to take their horses, bidding another run presently to his master, and tell him his guests were arrived. The servant, with hair upright, and looks betokening horror, entered the church where his master was, and acquainted him with the circumstance, as well as his fright would permit him. The nobleman immediately interrupted the sermon, intreating the preacher to assist him with his ghostly counsel. He, with all his congregation, made all speed towards the mansion, which had been deserted by the servants; who, in the hurry of their flight, had left behind them a young child, their master's son, sleeping in the cradle. By this time the devils were revelling in the dining-room, making a great noise, as if they saluted and welcomed each other. They looked through the casements, one with the head of a bear, another with that of a wolf, &c. taking the bowls at the same time, and quaffing, as if they drank to the master of the house. The nobleman, who, among others, was a witness of their revelry, seeing his servants safe, bethought himself of his son, and asked what was become of him? The words had scarcely passed his lips, when one of the devils had the infant in his arms, and shewed him at the window. The father, half frantic with his feelings, on seeing his beloved offspring so perilously situated, fetched a deep sigh, and turning to an old and faithful servant, said, "What will become of my boy?" "Sir," said the trusty domestic, truly affected by the agony of despair he saw his master in, "by God's help 1 will enter the house, and rescue the babe, or perish with him." "Heaven prosper thy Attempt," returned his master, "and strengthen thee in thy purpose!" He accordingly went, followed by the prayers of all present, and, having entered a room adjoining that in which the devils were rioting, he fell upon his knees, and commended himself to the protection of heaven; after which, he burst in among them, and beheld them in their horrible shapes. That instant they all pressed round him, inquiring what his business was there? He, under great terror, though resolved to fulfil the intent of his coming, addressing himself to the spirit that held the child, said, "In the name of God, deliver the child to me!" "No, (replied the fiend,) let thy master who is more interested in him come." "I am come, (rejoined the man,) to do that service to which God hath called me; by virtue of which, and by his power, I do seize upon the innocent:" so saying, he snatched him from the devil, and bore him off, the spirits clamouring as he departed, "Knave, knave, leave the child, or we will tear thee in pieces!" but he, undismayed by their diabolical menaces, effected his purpose, and restored the boy to his afflicted father.
A wonderful instance of the effects of a troubled conscience.
In the village of B--, in Lancashire, there has long been a popular story, of which we have lately gained the following particulars: One James Dunstable, a poor labouring man, had by great industry amassed a considerable sum of money, which, as he had but a small family, continually increased; so that, by the death of an uncle of his wife, who was a considerable farmer in that part, his possessions made him be looked upon as one of the most able peasants in that country. He lived for some time in this state; and was much respected among his neighbours. It happened that he was called off to a fair in one of the chief towns, and was away two days; as the fair lasted in general no longer, he was expected on the third; but, not coming at the expected time, and being a very sober and punctual man, there was some suspicion that he had met with an accident. On the fifth, not arriving, his wife and all the neighbourhood were much alarmed; and search was made round the country, but he could net be heard of, nor was he found at all at that time: so that it was concluded, and not without reason, that he had been murdered, especially as he had been known to have set out from the inn after the fair was over.
Things continued in this situation for several years; till the wife was persuaded to give her hand to a neighbour, who was thought to be very deserving. He made her a good husband, and for a little space of time they continued happy. But at last it appeared that all was not right with him; his wile was the first who perceived this change in his temper and carriage; he would frequently start, as if he beheld something supernatural of a sudden; he was troubled in his sleep, as if his dreams had been disagreeable. She would sometimes ask him the reason of those emotions; but he always excused himself. His fears grew upon him every day, and his neighbours perceived that he was neither so bold nor so steady in his deportment as visual.
One night in a party at an ale-house, where a pretty large company were collected, he got elated with drink, and recovered his wonted spirits, so that he was as cheerful and merry as the rest. In the midst of their festivity he was observed to start with great terror, and fixed his eyes upon a particular place. The whole company thought him mad or drunk, as they jokingly said: however, he could not be appeased; and at last, giving a shriek, he cried out loudly, "O there he is! look, he sees me! it was me!" There now arose great consternation in the house, and he was immediately seized, upon suspicion of having murdered Dunstable; he was tried soon after, and confessed the affair; that he had murdered him, and throwing his body into a deep pit, which had been partly filled up, and which had escaped the vigilance of those who made search for him. The body was found as described, and the murderer received his due reward. Whether in such a case the apparition of the deceased appeared to the murderer, or whether it might be the effects of his troubled imagination, is not easy to say: but, it is sufficient to prove, that such wicked and premeditated deeds will some day or other be brought to light.
Spirit of a poor man, just deceased, appearing, is the means of a gentleman's preservation.
Mr. Weston, of Old Swinford, in Worcestershire, was walking, one evening in the summer of 1759, in the park of Lord Lyttleton at Hagley, and, being overtaken by a sudden shower, ran into a grotto, and stood under a spreading oak, under whose shade several cattle were standing. He had not been above ten minutes in that situation, before he saw the form of a man passing over the brook almost close to the shade. Supposing it to be a poor peasant, who had long worked for him, he called him by name, but received no answer; and the apparition quickly disappearing, he found his mind much agitated. Regardless of the storm, Mr. Weston withdrew from the place where he had sought an asylum, and ran round a rising hill, in order to discover the form which had presented itself to him. That however had not the effect desired; but one abundantly more salutary it certainly had; for, just as he had gained the summit of the hill, on his return to the grotto, a tremendous flash of lightning darted its forked fury on the venerable oak, shivered it to pieces, and killed two of the cattle under its boughs.
On Mr. Weston's return to Swinford, he found that the death of the labourer was just announced in the neighbourhood. He told the story to his friends, who, on the credit of his own veracity, could not well refuse it belief. He saw the body, at his own expense, decently interred, and afterwards contributed to the support of the widow, not only by remitting a year's rent for her cottage and piece of ground, but also by settling a small annuity upon her till she should marry.
Wt have told this tale simply as it was related by Mr. Weston, and leave the reader to make his own reflections on so marvellous an interposition of Divine Providence, without deciding in this, or any such other case, whether the form that appeared was the soul of the deceased, exerting its philanthropy in its flight to the unknown country, or the guardian angel of that soul returning to give up his charge, and produce his account at the bar of the Supreme. When Peter was redeemed from death, and freed from prison by a miraculous power, he visited the assembled company of Christians, who, at first, could hardly believe their eyes that it was the apostle, but said, "It is his angel!" This proves that the notion of ministering spirits prevailed in the earliest age of Christianity, a notion which not only accords with many passages of the Old, but also of the New, Testament.
Instance of witchcraft.
Duffe, the seventy-eighth King of Scotland, laboured with a new and unheard-of disease, his body languishing in a continual sweat, and his strength apparently decaying, insomuch that he was suspected to be bewitched, which increased by a rumour, that certain witches of Forrest, in Murray, practised his destruction, arising from a word which a girl let fall, that the king should die shortly; who, being examined by Donald, captain of the castle, confessed the truth, and how her mother was in the assembly; and, when certain soldiers were sent in search, they surprized them roasting a waxen image of the king before a slow fire, to the end that, as the wax melted by degrees, so should the king dissolve, and his life waste away with the consumption of the other. But the image being broke, and the witches hanged for it, the king recovered his health in a very short time.
Danish Witches,
Translated from the Icelandic.
Of the witches, and the estimation in which they were held amongst the Danes and Anglo-Saxons, we have some curious accounts in Erin's Rauga Saga and other Icelandic fragments; one of them is thus described: There was an old woman named Heida, famous for her skill in divination and the arts of magic, who frequented public entertainments, predicting what kind of weather would be the year after, and telling men and women their fortunes. She was constantly attended by thirty men servants, and waited on by fifteen young maidens. These miserable hags were all old women; for, age, among our ancestors, was always connected with an idea of wisdom; and princes and great men were always desirous of inviting them to their houses, to consult them about the success of their designs, the fortunes of themselves and families, and any future events which they desired to know. On these occasions they made great preparations for their honourable reception, and entertained them in the most respectful manner. The description of the witch Thorbiorga, in Rauga Saga, and her interview with Earl Thorckile, is curious; she is represented as the only survivor of nine sisters, all witches or fortune-tellers, who were famous for their knowledge in futurity, and also frequented public entertainments when invited. Earl Thorckile, in order to be informed when a sickness and famine would cease, which then raged in the country, sent for and made proper preparations for the reception of Thorbiorga; on her arrival in the evening, she was dressed in a gown of green cloth, buttoned from top to bottom; with a string of glass beads suspended from her neck, and her head was covered with the skin of a black lamb, lined with that of a white cat; her shoes were of calf-skin with the hair on, tied with thongs and fastened with brass buttons; and on her hands were a pair of gloves, of white cat's skin with the fur inward; about her waist she wore a hunlandic girdle, at which hung a bag containing her magical instruments; and she supported herself on a staff, adorned with many knobs of brass. On her entrance, the whole company rose and saluted her, and Earl Thorckile advancing took her by the hand and conducted her to the seat prepared for her, on which was a cushion of hen's feathers; after some ceremony, and refreshments was set before her, Thorckile, seriously approaching the prophetess, requested to know what she thought of his house and family, and when she would be pleased to tell them what they desired to know; she answered, the next day she would fully satisfy them. Accordingly on the morrow, having put her instruments of divination in order, she commanded Godnada, (or God's council) one of her maidens, to sing the magical song of Vardlokur, (or the word of fortune,) which she sung with so clear and sweet a voice as delighted the company, and particularly the prophetess, who declared that she then knew many things respecting the sickness and the famine, which before she was ignorant of. The famine would be of short continuance, and the sickness would abate. Each of the family then asked her what questions they pleased, and she told them every thing they desired to
know.
From several passages in the northern sagas, those witches, or fortune-tellers, were initiated into the arts of magic and divination in the early parts of their lives, and in some instances lived in a kind of college, or community, and were frequently persons of noble birth. The wizards, or male conjurors, were generally the priests of the heathen diviniteer, and were likewise much esteemed and of considerable rank.
Providential escape from poison.
On the first sabbath day, in the year 1749, Mr. Thomas Lilly, the son of a farmer in the parish of Kelso, in Roxburghshire, a promising young man, intended for the church of Scotland, and who then had studied a considerable time at school, happening to be at home keeping the house, with only a shepherd's boy, all the rest of the family, (excepting a maid servant,) being at sermon; the young student and the boy being seated by the fire, whilst the girl was gone to the well for some water, a venerable old gentleman, clad in an antique garb, presented himself; and, after some little ceremony, desired the student to open the Bible which lay upon the table before him, and turn over to a certain chapter and verse in the second book of Kings. The student did so, and read; "THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT."
On this the old man, with much apparent agitation, pointed to the great family-pot boiling on the fire, declaring, that the maid had cast a great quantity of arsnic into it, with intent to poison the whole family, to the end she might rob the house of the hundred guineas, which she knew her master had taken for sheep and grain, which he had sold. Just as he was so saying, the maid came to the door, announcing her approach by the noise of the nails in her shoe-heels. The old gentleman said to the student, "Remember my warning, and save the lives of the family," and that instant disappeared.
The maid entered with a smiling countenance, emptied her pail, and returned to the well for a fresh supply. Meantime, young Lilly put some oatmeal into a wooden dish, skimmed the pot of the fat, and mixed it like what is called brose or croudy; and, when the maid returned, he, with the boy, appeared busily employed in eating the mixture. "Come, Peggy," said the student, "here is enough left for you; are not yon fond of croudy?" She smiled, took up the dish, and, reaching a horn spoon, withdrew to the back-room. The shepherd's dog followed her, unseen by the boy; and the poor animal, on the croudy being put down by the maid, fell a victim to his voracious appetite; for, before the return of the family from church, it was enormously swelled, and expired in great agony.
The student enjoined the boy to remain quite passive for the present; meantime he attempted to shew his ingenuity in resolving the cause of the canine catastrophe into insanity, in order to keep the girl in countenance, till a fit opportunity of discovering the plot should present itself. Soon after, his father, mother, brothers, and sisters, with the other servants, returned from church, all hungering after the word, and eager to sit round the rustic board.
The table was instantly replenished with wooden bowls and trenchers, and a heap of barley bannocks graced the top. The kail or broth, infused with leeks or winter cabbages, was poured forth in plenty; and Peggy, with a prodigal hand, filled all the dishes with the homely dainties of Tiviotdale. The master began grace, and all hats and bonnets were instantly off. "O Lord," prayed the farmer, "we have been learning thy word from the mouth of thy aged servant, Mr. Ramsey; we have been alarmed by the awful famine in Samaria, and of death being in the Pot!" Here the young scholar interrupted his father, by exclaiming: "Yes, sir, there is death in the Pot now here, as well as there was once in Israel. Touch not! taste net! See the dog dead by the poisoned pot!"
"What!" cried the farmer, "have you been raising the devil by your conjuration? Is this the effect of your study, sir?" "No, father," said the student, "I pretend to no such arts of magic or necromancy; but this day, as the boy can testify, I had a solemn warning from one, whom I take to be no demon, but a good angel. To him we all owe our lives. As to Peggy, according to his intimation, she has put poison into the pot, for the purpose of destroying the family root and branch!" Here the girl fell into a fit, from which being with some trouble recovered, she confessed the whole of her deadly design, and was suffered to withdraw from the family and her native country. She was soon after executed at Newcastle-upon-Tyne for the murder of her bastard child, again milking ample confession of the above diabolical design.
Assignation to appear after death.
The story of the Marquis de Rambouillet's appearing after his death to his cousin the Marquis de Precy, is well known. These two noblemen talking one day concerning the affairs of the next world, in a manner which shewed they did not believe much about it, entered into an agreement, that the first that died should come and give intelligence to the other.
Soon after, the Marquis de Rambouillet set out for Flanders, which was then the seat of war, and the Marquis de Precy remained in Paris, being ill of a violent fever. About six weeks after, early one morning, he heard some one draw the curtains of his bed, and, turning to see who it was, discovered the Marquis de Rambouillet in a buff-coat and boots. He instantly got out of bed, and attempted to shake hands with his friend; but Rambouillet drew back, and told him he was only come to perform the promise he had formerly made; that nothing was more certain than what they had been told concerning another life; that he advised him earnestly to alter his way of life, for that the first action he should be engaged in, he would certainly fall.
Precy made a fresh attempt to touch his friend, but he immediately withdrew. He lay wondering on his bed upon the strangeness of the circumstance for some time, when he saw the same appearance re-enter his apartment; upon which, Rambouillet, finding that he still disbelieved what was told, shewed him the wound in his reins, of which he died, and from which the blood still seemed to flow.
Soon after this, Precy received a confirmation of the Marquis de Rambouillet's death; and was killed himself, according to the prediction, in the civil wars, at the battle of the Faubourg St. Antoine.
It may naturally be asked here, whence it happens that so many other persons, who have made the same promise to come again after their death, have not done it? Seneca mentions a stoic philosopher, named Canius Julus, who, being condemned to death by Caligula, told his friends, that whereas they were inquiring whether the soul was immortal or not, he was going to a place where he should soon know: but we are no where told that he ever returned to clear up the point.
La Motte le Vayer, in his book on the Immortality of the Soul, relates how he made an agreement with a friend of his, that the first of the two that died should return and inform the other of his condition. It happened that his friend died first, but he never returned and kept his promise.
Mr. Montague's agreement with the Earl of Rochester ended in the same manner, as the story is related in Mrs. Rowe's Letters; but it is wrong to conclude, that, because the deceased sometimes return, that they always can; and it is equally absurd to deny their coming again, because some, that have promised to do so, have not been able to keep their word.
To justify these positions, we must suppose it to be in their own power to appear when and how they please;
but it seems evident, on the contrary, that this does not depend upon them, and that it is by the particular permission of Almighty God that they ever appear at all.
Extraordinary warning to a gentleman not to enter into the army.
A young gentleman of fortune, in the beginning of the last war with France, had a great inclination to see the world, as he called it; therefore resolved to go into the army; his father being dead, and had left him a good estate, besides his mother's jointure. His mother earnestly entreated him to desist from his resolution of going into the army; and represented to him the many calamities he would be exposed to, beside the danger of losing his life, as was too often the case with soldiers. He made light of his mother's arguments, and told her, that if he happened to be shot, he should die honourably, and that then there would be an end of him. Accordingly he mortgaged part of his estate, and purchased a post in the first regiment of light horse, then going abroad.
The night before he signed the agreement for the company, being in bed, and fast asleep, he saw in a dream his father coming to him in his gown, and with a great fur cap on, such as he used to wear, and calling him by his name, "What is the reason," says he, "that you will not listen to the entreaties of your mother, not to go to the wars? I do assure you, that if you resolve to take this commission, you will not enjoy it three years."
"Why, says he, (in his dream,) "what will hinder me?" being, it seems, desirous to know something of his fortune.
"Ask me not the particulars," says the apparition, "but either decline the employ; or, when you have enjoyed it two years and a half, sell out again, as I did before you, and you may thereby probably prolong your life."
He seemed to slight the admonition, and said it was too late to look back.
"Too late! too late!" says the apparition, repeating the words: "then go on, and repent too late."
He was not much affected with this apparition, when he awaked, and found it was but a dream; "for dreams," said he, "are not to be heeded!" So he went on, and bought the commission.
A few days after the commission was bought, the father appeared again, not to him but to his mother, in a dream too as before: and, taking notice to her how his son had rejected her admonition, he added: "Young heads are wilful; Robert will go into the army; but tell him from me he shall never come back."
All these notices were of no force with this young gentleman; but, as he had resolved, so he pursued his resolution, and went into the army: and two battalions of that regiment going into the field that summer, his company was one, and was ordered into Flanders.
He wanted no occasion to shew his bravery, and in several warm actions came off with applause; so that he was far from being suspected of cowardice; but one day, and in the third year of his service, the army was drawn out in order to battle, the general having received certain advice, that the enemy would come and attack them. As he stood at the head of his company, he was seized suddenly with a cold shivering fit; and it was so violent, that some officers, who were near him, (everyone at their post,) perceived it.
It continued about a quarter of an hour, and the enemy came on as was expected; but the fight began upon the left, at a good distance from them, so that the whole left wing was engaged before they began.
While this lasted, the lieutenant called to the gentleman:
"Colonel," says he, "how do you do? I hope your shivering fit is over."
"No," says the colonel, "It is not over; but it is a little better."
"It will be over presently," says the lieutenant.
"Ay, so it will," says the colonel; "I am very easy; I know what it was now!" and with that he called the lieutenant to come to him for a moment. When he came, says he, "I know now what ailed me; I am very easy; I have seen my father; I shall be killed the first volley: let my mother know I told you this. Adieu!"
In a few minutes after this, a body of the enemy advanced, and the first volley the regiment received, was the fire of five platoons of grenadiers, by which the captain and several other officers, besides private men, were killed, and the whole brigade was soon after put into confusion; though, being supported by some regiments of the second line, they rallied again soon after; the young captain's body was presently recovered, but he was irrecoverably dead, for he received a shot in his face, which killed him immediately.
As I have observed before, how rarely do we find that any of these fore-warnings are regarded, let them come either from a bad or a good spirit, especially among the gay and unbelieving world.
Of a lady in Virginia-Street, who saw her husband when he was in danger at sea.
A certain lady of my acquaintance, going out of her chamber into a closet in the adjoining room, saw her husband walking along in the room before her: she immediately came down in great surprize, and told the family she had seen her husband, and she was sure it was he; though at the same time she knew her husband (who was the commander of a ship) was at sea, on a voyage to or from the Capes of Virginia.
The family took the alarm, and told her, that, to be sure, her husband was dead, that she should be sure to set down the day of the month, and the hour of the day; and it was ten thousand to one but she should find that he died that very moment, or as near as could be found out.
About two months after, her husband cams home very well, but had an accident befal him in his voyage, viz, that, stepping into the boat, or out of the boat, he fell into the sea, and was in danger of being lost; and this they calculated upon to be as near the time as they could judge that he appeared to his wife.
Cure of the ague by a charm.
While Mr. Hale was a student at Oxford, he and some other young gentlemen, his frienSs, being out on a shooting party, became much fatigued, and wanted some refreshment; and, meeting with a public-house, they agreed to go in and get such as it produced; but, upon inquiry among one another, it appeared that none of the party had any money; invention, therefore, was necessary; and Mr. Hale, seeing a miserable old trotting female sitting in the chimney-corner, he inquired the cause of her condition. She had been sorely afflicted, she said, for more than a year, with the ague, which baffled all the skill of the doctors. Mr. Hale immediately declared he would remove her complaint in ten days time, and accordingly got a pair of scissors, and, cutting out a circular piece of paper, wrote a line in Virgil in the margin thereof, and bid her wear it about her neck. The old woman had faith; and the students could not prevail on her to take what they offered, but what they had not to give. When Mr. Hale became Lord Chief Justice, a woman was brought before him for trial, charged with being guilty of witchcraft, &c. His Lordship was very unwilling to try, and much more to condemn, a poor innocent woman; (for, he was too good a philosopher not to suspect the weakness of the poor creature;) he therefore asked in what instance the prisoner seemed particularly criminal? Her accusers said, among other things, that she had a charm whereby she cured agues, which never returned. The judge called upon the old woman to answer to the charge, and she honestly owned that it was true, but absolutely denied that she possessed any supernatural power, but did it merely by means of a bit of paper which had cured her mother of a most obstinate ague, and was given to her mother as a rare and valuable legacy, which she had received from a young gentleman of Oxford. The Chief Justice required the woman to produce the charm, and was confirmed in his suspicion; for, he found it to be the very charm with which he had subdued his own and his companions hungry appetites! It is almost needless to add, that the witch escaped the trying-pool, and the Judge found a pleasing opportunity to discharge the prisoner, and to compensate for his youthful frolic.
Journey of a coffin.
M. de Pages, on a voyage up the Mediterranean, on drawing near the coast of Sicily, opposite the burning mountain on that island, observes: "We perceived something floating along the sea, and moving up and down in its course: we imagined it to be the buoy that had belonged to a ship, but, on its near approach, it appeared to be a very handsome coffin. It passed alongside our ship, and, narrowly watching it, we saw that it made to the shore, where it landed; and then (as if conducted by an invisible power) steered directly up to the summit of the burning mountain, and instantly darted down into the volcano.
Miss Pringle's appearance at two places at the same time.
Mrs. Jane Lowe, house-keeper to Mr. Pringle, in Clifton-park, in the south of Scotland, one morning, in the summer of 1745, beheld the apparition of a lady walking in the avenue, on the margin of a rivulet, which runs into the Kale water. The form exactly resembled a daughter of her master, who had long been absent from the family, at the distance of about a hundred miles south of Paris. As Mrs. Lowe walked down the avenue and approached the rivulet, she grew more and more certain of the similitude of the phantom to the idea in her mind of the Miss Pringle; and, seeing her master in an enclosure adjoining, she communicated to him what she had just seen. Mr. Pringle laughed, and said, "You simple woman, that lady is Miss Chattow, of Moorebattle." However, Mrs. Lowe prevailed on him to accompany her to the place; which they had nearly reached, when the apparition sprung into the water, and instantly disappeared.
Mr. Pringle and Mrs. Lowe, on returning to the hall, apprised the family of the vision, and for their pains were heartily laughed at. The Rev. Mr. Turnbull, minister of Linton, happened to breakfast that morning with Mr. Pringle, his lady, and two young daughters, who joined in the ridicule. About three months after, the same reverend gentleman honoured the family with his company; when, standing at a window in the lower room, he observed a poor ragged, lame, lean, man, slowly approaching the house: "Here comes another apparition!" cried Mr. Turnbull, with a kind of contemptuous smile. This drew the immediate attention of all present, and Mr. Pringle quickly recognized the person to be his second son; whom he had not seen before for ten years.
On his arrival he soon convinced them he was no apparition, declaring that he had narrowly escaped with his life from Tunis, in the vicinity of which he had been a slave to the Algerines seven years, but had happily been ransomed at the critical moment when he was ordered to be put to death for mutiny. He added, that on his return home through France, he called at the place where be had heard his sister resided, and to his unspeakable grief found that she died on the 25th of May, the same summer, about five o'clock in the morning, which he recollected to have been the precise time that he was rescued from the jaws of death, and when he thought he beheld his sister. Mrs. Lowe, Who was present in the room, on hearing his declaration, broke forth into an acclamation, affirming that the day alluded to was that on which she had shewn Mr. Pringle the apparition; and this was confirmed by the reverend divine, in whose study this story was found after his death.
The End.